Heir Apparently

A Servant's Work Is Never Done

           

"So I think all the princesses that come to visit us stay on the second floor in one of the suites, you'll have your own room of course, with everything you'll be needing." Molly assured.
"Lovely, thank you very much. This castle is very beautiful." Irene decided as they ascended one of the more open staircases, windows on the higher levels casting sun down the stone steps. That's the one thing Sherlock could agree with, this castle was pretty nice. That would be one of the few things he missed if he had somehow quit his lifelong job of being a prince, the castle, the servants, and the food.
"So Sherlock, have you had many other princesses come to the castle?" Irene wondered, sounding as if she were trying to make a hit list or something.
"Oh yes, many times." Sherlock agreed. He felt like he should add something that made Irene feel like she was special, but considering there was nothing he could think of he just let it go.
"Sherlock's a very picky prince." Molly added with a laugh, as if the awkward silence was too much for her. Irene's grip on Sherlock's arm became just a bit tighter after Molly had said that, as if she were trying to claim territory.
"Do you have any other suitors?" Sherlock wondered, hoping that a good few of them were more desirable than he was.
"Oh yes, many." She agreed, basically the same answer Molly had given. Sherlock smiled weakly and kept walking. Finally Molly opened the door to one of the nicer suites, letting Irene walk inside and take a look around. Thankfully she let go of Sherlock's arm and he was free to linger by the door, straightening the sagging crown on his head.
"Is there anything we can get you now?" Sherlock wondered.
"Oh that's all for now, I'm sure my servants will be up any moment." Irene assured.
"Lovely, well if you need anything just give me a ring." Molly suggested with a smile. Irene smiled at her, a little fire in her eyes that made Sherlock worried for Molly's wellbeing.
"Yes of course, and who are you, exactly? A servant?" she wondered. Molly blinked for a moment and Sherlock couldn't help but laugh, looking at Molly in shock. 
"No ma'am, sorry, I'm the daughter of one of the noblemen here at Lauriston, and I'm Sherlock's best friend." She said proudly, staring Irene right down. The two girls glared at each other for a moment but finally Sherlock cleared his throat.
"Well then, if that's all we best be going." He decided.
"Yes of course, have a nice rest of your day." Irene agreed.
"Ya um...bye." Sherlock agreed, walking out the door and letting Molly close it, walking a good twenty feet before stopping and leaning up against the wall, taking Mycroft's horrible crown off of his head and making sure the coast was clear before starting to laugh. Molly groaned, rubbing her forehead as if the very sight of Irene gave her a headache.
"And who are you, a servant?" Sherlock said in a cruel imitation of Irene's voice.
"My god what a horrible girl!" Molly agreed, laughing a little bit and looking down the hallway.
"Awful, truly awful. Did you see the way she was glaring at you?" Sherlock wondered, wiping off his sleeve wherever Irene had touched it.
"Oh ya, those daggers in her eyes. Why did you even think to bring me?" Molly wondered.
"Well I didn't know where she should be staying! And I didn't want to be alone with her, just in case she killed me or something." Sherlock added, and Molly just laughed at him.
"Sherlock you're so weak, it's almost like you're scared of women." Molly pointed out.
"That's no woman." Sherlock defended. Molly laughed in agreement, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Your father better not make you marry her, I don't know if I'd laugh or cry." Molly laughed.
"I know what I'd do." Sherlock admitted.
"What's that?" Molly wondered.
"Jump off the guard tower." Sherlock admitted, starting to walk towards his room.
"I'd be right after you." Molly agreed, following like an obedient puppy.
"So you think she'll stay long?" Sherlock wondered, twirling Mycroft's crown carelessly on his wrist as he walked.
"No idea, hopefully not. Your father seemed to like them though." Molly admitted.
"It was their first meeting; of course he'd seem like that." Sherlock defended.
"Ya but sometimes you can tell when his smile is fake. This one seemed genuine." Molly pointed out.
"Don't scare me like that Molly, it's cruel." Sherlock insisted. Molly just laughed, but thankfully she kept her mouth shut. Sherlock didn't want to hear any evidence of his father liking that witch, just to make sure he didn't actually have a future with her. Finally Sherlock got to his room he opened the door and collapsed onto his bed with a groan, staring up at the ceiling thankfully. Better the ceiling than that horrible girl. Molly went right behind the screen to try to take off her corset, which was quite a process without the help of some servant girls.
"Do you want to go riding tonight?" Sherlock wondered, hoping for a nice break from royal life.
"You're going to dinner with her, aren't you? There will be no time." Molly pointed out. Sherlock groaned loudly, rolling onto his stomach and groaning again into the fancy blankets.
"I don't want to go to dinner with her!" Sherlock whined.
"Come on, she's like every other princess you've come across. Just smile, be polite and poised, but make sure she doesn't fall in love with you." Molly pointed out.
"I don't want to get married Molly!" Sherlock groaned loudly.
"And you won't have to, as long as everything goes the perfect amount of wrong." Molly assured. Suddenly she took a deep, satisfied breath, as if she had just emerged from underwater. "There we go." She said proudly, swinging the corset overtop of the screen.
"At least I don't have to wear one of those." Sherlock said in relief.
"Yes, they're quite a pain." Molly admitted, finally coming out from behind the screen, fully dressed but looking a lot more comfortable.
"Can you come to dinner with me too?" Sherlock wondered hopefully.
"No Sherlock, I can't. You can't drag me into everything you don't want to do." Molly insisted.
"But you're fun; you're the only entertaining one here!" Sherlock pointed out. Molly just laughed, shaking her head and sitting on the bed next to where Sherlock was laying.
"Do you remember when we had that formal dinner for all the noblemen and their families and we were sitting across the hall from each other and you through a roasted potato at me?" she wondered. Sherlock just laughed, a difficult task when lying face down on the bed.
"And I hit your dad and blamed it on Mycroft?" he added.
"Yep, that's the time." Molly agreed with a laugh, laying down over top of all of Sherlock's pillows and staring at the ceiling herself. "God, that feels like years ago."
"It was only a couple of months ago, I know because I just got ungrounded like two weeks ago." Sherlock admitted.
"Your grounding is nothing, only one hundred gold pieces this week instead of two hundred, big deal. I'm not allowed to leave my chambers." Molly pointed out.
"You never get in trouble though." Sherlock insisted.
"Ya because I don't want that punishment." Molly agreed.
"Good thing you're a good person." Sherlock insisted.
"I just don't get caught." Molly shrugged. Sherlock just laughed, rolling back onto his back and glaring at Molly the best he could.
"You're such a liar, you're a good girl, when's the last time you did something rebellious?" Sherlock wondered.
"Shut up Sherlock, you just say that because you're not allowed to be rebellious." Molly pointed out.
"I can too!" Sherlock insisted.
"Then maybe we're both good people." Molly pointed out. Sherlock groaned, crossing his arms in denial.
"I'm not a good person." He insisted defensively. Molly just laughed, obviously she wasn't convinced but she kept her mouth shut anyway.
"You're going to have to learn to be, if you're going to be any kind of king." She pointed out.
"Don't talk about the future; you know it stresses me out." Sherlock insisted, getting even more upset. He could barely imagine himself getting married, much less being a king. Being a prince wasn't all it was cut out to be, it was stressful, it was miserable, and beyond all of that it was just plain tedious. Sherlock would much rather live the life of a servant, even if it meant he would give up his riches and fame. Servants had no worries; servants had no public image, no expectations. Being the lowest of the low had its advantages, and right now Sherlock envied them.