Hey guys! If anyone's interested in seeing the tags for this work, just look at my AO3 account under the same name. It's posted there and you can read it without a character limit on the summary and you'll be able to see what's coming. Enjoy!

Zane flopped down onto his bed, staring up at the crystals hanging above him. They formed a massive chandelier, one that bounced the daylight everywhere, turning it into rainbows that decorated his white walls. He had a balcony that was letting the sunlight in, his room a nice temperature thanks to the glass doors. As far as the prince was concerned, his room sucked.

Everything was white, from the walls to the furniture to the hardwood floors to the frame of a portrait of him from a few years ago that his parents commissioned. Even his clothes were light colored, with a white short-sleeve shirt and pale blue pants that tapered at the angle with slits cut into the sides. Sometimes he was even scared to touch anything for fear of the oil in his fingers staining his room yellow. The only splash of color came from the light fixture that bounced rainbows onto his monochromatic enclosure.

Enclosure. Zane quirked his mouth, the new word registering in his mind. He had mentally called his room a cage, a prison, and a holding cell, but enclosure was new. He made a mental note to start a list sometime, glancing at the clock on the side of his bed. He had only an hour left of being bored to death. Earlier that day, Zane had decided to spruce up the way he went down the stairs and conjured up a board with his ice, sliding down the banister. His father had definitely not liked that, and had sent him to his room like you would an eight year old, despite the prince being seventeen. He didn't know if his father intended to force him into proper manners by isolating him until he cracked or what, but he was starting to think it wasn't working.

He passed the remaining time by playing solitaire with cards he made out of notebook paper, a card game he had learned from one of the servants a year or so ago. He had probably played thousands of games in that time span, as he seemed to get locked in his room a lot. As the clock indicated he only had five minutes left, he walked out onto his balcony, trying to observe as much as he could.

The prince had never been outside the palace walls. He could see a beach and a few shops, but the rest of the world was obscured by white palace walls. One time he had convinced a servant to bring him a shell and some sand, just so he could smell the ocean, but they were confiscated by his parents before he got very far. The one thing he could do? Read.

The palace library was the one place he never got in trouble in, because it was practically a second bedroom. The librarian, a lovely older woman, told him stories of the outside world, as he wasn't allowed to see any dignitaries his parents talked to, and most servants were afraid to speak to him for fear of being fired by the King and Queen.

Once the time in his room was up, he practically sprinted down the halls, eager to have some human interaction after five hours of entertaining himself. He made sure he slowed down once he reached the main corridor, as he swore his father was omnipresent. Servants bowed politely as he walked by, and Zane awkwardly smiled with the same energy as someone who definitely didn't want "happy birthday" sung to them but had to act happy anyway. Once he reached the library, he slipped inside to greet his favorite person in the palace, Mrs. Glamore.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Glamore," Zane greeted, and she smiled teasingly.

"Zane, you know your parents would not approve of you calling me 'mrs'. You are so far above me on the social ladder."

"I know. Just as you call me Zane and not 'your highness' or 'my prince'. I rather like being able to talk informally to someone," He sat down in a chair she kept by her desk just for him, and she slid over a novel.

"Just received this one earlier today. I was going to give it to you, but then I overheard the spat between you and your parents," She grimaced, having heard her fair share of the prince being chastised by the reigning monarchs, which often involved many harsh words she was sure the prince would never admit to taking to heart.

"What is it about?" He asked, eyes lighting up as he scanned the back.

"A group of pirates at sea trying to apprehend their rival ship. But the twist is that the captain is a girl in disguise and she's in love with the captain of the other crew."

"Is he her soulmate?" Zane asked, glancing down at his wrist, where he knew there was a clocking ticking away.

"I would assume so. I didn't have much time to check. Speaking of soulmates..."

"I know, my clock strikes in a few days. My parents are only holding a massive ball. Maybe they'll even let me see the people this time," Zane said wishfully, thumbing through the book.

"You seem nervous. Aren't you excited?" She asked, and Zane shrugged.

"Yes and no. I'm sure they'll be amazing, but what if my parents don't like them? You know about my whole thing with..."

"You liking girls and guys?"

"Shh!" Zane waved his hand frantically, looking behind him. "They can't hear. If my soulmate turns out not to be female..." He gulped, stomach twisting in knots. "They'll find out, and at the biggest royal ball in decades. I'll be dead before I can say hello to him."

"For your sake, I hope they're a she. But if your heart wants a male soulmate, Zane, then I don't know what you're going to do."

"Me neither. But thank you for the book," Zane smiled gratefully, scooping it up in his arm. "I think I'll see if my father has calmed down. But with how things have been going lately, he'll just lock my door and throw away the key."

"I think he's prepping you for marriage. He's been so strict since your clock hit one month."

"You're telling me," Zane sighed, standing. "Well, I'm hungry anyway. Haven't had food since dinner yesterday. See you tomorrow?" He waved goodbye as he left, and Mrs. Glamore called after him.

"Unless he locks you in your room again, that's the plan."

Zane decided to drop the book off in his room first, lest his parents get any ideas. Once the book was safely deposited under his mattress, he went to locate the monarchs. He entered the throne room as Servants parted to let him through, and his parents looked at him with unamused gazes.

"Mother, father," The prince bowed in greeting, and they nodded, satisfied.

"At least you remembered to enter correctly. That's a start," His father sneered, and Zane just smiled calmly.

"I have to start somewhere," The teenager didn't miss the worried looks exchanged between the staff members as he talked, knowing what the conversation could devolve into.

"Indeed," The Queen nodded curtly, and gestured to the space in front of their thrones. Zane walked over with even steps, standing before his parents with his heart beating at a gallop.

"The ball is in three days, son. Do you realize how close that is?" The King rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forwards. "Do you realize how unprepared you are?"

"I am afraid I do not know what you mean," Zane bit the inside of his cheek, knowing that was the wrong answer but at the same time having no clue what to say.

"Of course you don't," The elder sneered, and Zane inwardly flinched as his father stood, boots making a hard thud with each step he took. "It amazes me how you were raised by the two most disciplined people in the entirety of Ninjago, but you couldn't even descend the stairs without causing a scene."

"I apologize, father, I recognize how irresponsible my actions were."

"I don't care if you feel remorse after the fact," The King grabbed his son's chin harshly, and Zane's breath quickened. "That does not change the fact you will never lead Ninjago if you are as incapable as you are now."

"You think I'm incapable?" Zane asked softly, heart feeling as though someone was slowly sawing into it with a rusty butter knife.

Out of nowhere, a loud smack resounded off the walls. It took Zane a second to feel pain blossoming across his cheek. The staff fell silent, all eyes turned towards the royal family. Even the Queen looked surprised.

"Zane, you are dismissed," She said pulling her husband away as she at least had the decency to look the slightest bit remorseful. The prince bowed before exiting hastily, eyes on the ground as he felt the burning gazes of the servants boring into his back, his face hot with embarrassment and pain as he climbed the stairs to his room. Once in the safety of his bedroom, he felt tears welling up in his eyes. His father had never hit him before.

Zane sunk down against his door, arms around his knees as he tried not to cry, knowing there would be a servant soon arriving at the door with an icepack or something of the sort. If his eyes were puffy, word would travel to his father that his only child and heir to the throne could be brought to his knees by a single slap. Zane looked at the clock on his wrist wistfully, the stinging in his cheek slowly dying down. Thing would be better after he had his soulmate, right?