𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 ;; 𝒶𝓊𝒷𝓇𝑒𝓎 𝓍 𝓀𝑒𝓁 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓉𝓈

↳ 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣 ・❥・: ̗̀➛

Kel nodded. "Why?"

"If it's the first dance of the night, maybe the girl he's dancing with caught his eye." She pointed to her, and he followed her finger to the black-haired woman in the purple dress. "That's Lady Mari. I'm pretty sure she and Prince Hero are the same age. I hear she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet, she can play the piano, she's a great baker, and she has a soft spot for cats. Plus, she's pretty."

The people who were previously blocking the view from the window had moved away, and Kel had a better view of Mari now. He could see her black eyes, her little smile, and the gentleness in how she held Hero as they danced. Her dance moves were graceful, and she treated Hero as if they had known each other their whole lives—which Kel's dance teacher was always telling him to do whenever he had to dance. She definitely was pretty.

But still, Kel's eyes were moving back to the maid on their own. Maybe it was just her pink hair, but she was prettier. It would be awkward to say that, though.

"That's dumb," he said instead. "Why would you lie about yourself to impress someone?"

"To make them think better of you, obviously. Not everyone does that, but don't shame the people who do."

Kel shrugged. He still thought it was stupid, but he would listen to her. "Hey, I just remembered that I don't know your name. What is it?"

"Oh, it's Aubrey."

"Hi, Aubrey. I'm Kel."

"I know. You're the younger prince." Right. Of course she did. Before he could come up with something to say, Aubrey's eyes widened and said, "Am I treating you too informally? I'm sorry, Your Highness."

"You're not. I don't care how you treat me. I mean, as long as it's not rude. No one wants to be treated like that. But you wouldn't do that. Because I'm the younger prince. But you know that. Obviously. Because you knew my name. And you're a maid here. I'll...stop talking," he added in a quieter voice when she had a confused frown. He looked away from her. Why was he messing up on his words? That wasn't like him at all.

"It's fine," Aubrey said. "I have to get back to work anyway. It's been nice talking to you."

"You too!" Kel called out as she left. Once she was out of sight, he sighed as he sat down under the window. The ball was still going on, but he didn't care about it anymore. He made himself look like a fool in front of a pretty maid, after all. Who cared if she was technically below him? That doesn't change the fact he embarrassed himself in front of a pretty girl!

. . .

"ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ to worry so much," Basil told Kel the next day when he told him all about how he embarrassed himself in front of Aubrey. "I'm sure Aubrey doesn't care about that."

Kel sighed. Basil was the castle's head gardener, and he always saw things more positively than others did. That was what drew him to spend time with him, but he didn't believe his words right now. "But what if she does care and think I'm a total loser now?"

Basil shook his head as he tended to a patch of roses. "She won't think that of a prince."

"But what if she does? I know people have opinions on royalty that they don't ever say to their faces! You don't have to hide it from me!"

"Well, I'm sure she doesn't. Even if she does, you don't have to care about her. After all, she's a maid, and you're a prince. Her opinion is basically irrelevant."

"Maybe to you or in the grand scheme of things, but not to me right now! Or to me ever!"

Basil frowned at him. "Why do you care, then?"