- relax your shoulders. ungrit your teeth.
sitting in the backseat of a car with windows deeply tinted, with his posture impeccable out of sheer nerves, matthias let his tense shoulders fall, and made it a point to relax his jaw. he was terrified. this gala defined his future, and his mind was screaming and begging to ask the driver to turn around. perhaps he'd forge a lie that he felt ill just to get out of a day or two of the thing. he was not ready to become more than an heir, much less to marry a woman who didn't know a thing about him. his mother knew each of his father's quirks-- matt learned that her hand on his shoulder helped the man to relax, a grip on the hand meant to breathe; the two met when they were young. she was the first austrian commoner to marry into their royal regime. nevertheless, matt was being forced into a marriage with some rando, who also happened to be an heir. the girl wouldn't even be his type. he liked men. not that his parents, nor anyone but himself, knew, though. he felt foolish, childish even, to deem it unfair.
but it was. it so was. sulking, he scrolled through twitter as the scenery flew by. pictures were being posted at a mile a minute. there was a hashtag trending about the gala, too. fangirls were keysmashing and reposting the same pictures of the same hot princes and critics raved over the extravagant looks from the ladies. it seemed that the most popular appearances were augustus of the united kingdom giving a meek wave, zachary of australia in his alarmingly informal outfit, and aurelia of italy and her most spectacular look in its entirety. pictures showcased luxurious cars behind the young royals, and suddenly matt felt very self-conscious in the plain black audi. his father was pushing the limousine idea, but matthias insisted on something a bit less.. long. and attention-drawing. anyways, he knew that he would make up for informality in retweets and likes. his looks seemed to be one of the main causes for his international popularity. his deep maroon suit fit him perfectly; he'd approached dolce & gabbana for assistance in looking "in-season" yet still magnificent in its own plain manner. his jacket was something to behold. a bit extra, perhaps, but captivating.
the car took a turn and slowed, causing his attention and gaze to raise to the fancy entrance of the castle. oh my god. when had they been so close to arriving? in a bit of a panic, matt rushed to the front-facing camera to make sure he looked polished and just as attractive as he was known to be-- no food in the teeth. hair in place. no coffee stains on the suit jacket. yeet. the door was opened quicker than he anticipated- only a second after he slipped his phone into his pocket- and he stepped out, blinded by a sea of cameras and clamor of paparazzi trying to redirect his attention to them. matthias's act was released. a brilliant grin took possession of his lips as he corrected his body language to someone approachable, someone marvelous, and perhaps someone capable of actually ruling an entire country. his walk inside was a bit of a blur as after just a few moments, he was seeing stars; matt was a bit surprised he was actually able to walk up the stairs, no stumbles involved, with his vision impaired.
the doors closed behind him and he let a breath out. his facade faltered for a moment before he realized it was time to interact with the other heirs, here for the same reason as himself. he was going to marry one of these people. yikes. relax your shoulders. ungrit your teeth. the reminder returned as he grew tense, anticipating the events that would play out in these next few weeks. he relaxed. he ungrit. then, he proceeded towards the others. his eyes flitted from eleanor, his online buddy that he was actually super excited to meet, to zachary, who was dressed so informally as compared to the rest of them. alessia was teasing the australian, who appeared offended before shouting the name of singapore's prince. augustus and aurelia were present also. then there was caspari.
matthias's breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of the young man. caspari looked exceptional. matt had always found him attractive, but never really regarded him besides simple, formal hello's. he'd heard from the grapevine that caspari was interested in him, and that, as well as his own feelings, made matt skeptical if it was something to flee from or to embrace. he'd tiptoed around the potentially-requited crush.. until now. seeing the other man made his heart leap, which instilled fear in the austrian. warmth sprouted in his face as he tore his gaze away, embarrassed and worried he'd be caught staring, and his eyes instead fell on his dearest friend and potential fiancée, adelisa. he all-but flew to her side.
"oh my god, elise," he said, his accent thick. "would you agree with me if i said this is a bit much?" he shook his head, eyes wandering the royal hall. "all this to get a bunch of us to get married."