Troye POV
"I don't know why they always put me on kitchen duty," a boy named Caspar muttered beside me, as he prepared an omelet the the King ordered for breakfast,"I'm absolutely shit at this."
It was a week after the Prince made his official announcement of the Selection over live television, and ever since, my jobs have doubled. Why? Because since there will be thirty-five women coming to the palace, all of the maids are required to tidy of the rooms for their stay. Once the women arrive, three maids will be assigned to each of them, to basically do whatever the Selected tell them to do.
Because of that, all of the male servants will be taking over their jobs for the time being.
When Connor delivered the news to us all in the Servants' Lounge, I recall a collection of groans sounding out about the room. I kept silent though, keeping my frustration in check. After my time with Tyler, I was making sure now more than ever to go unnoticed by everyone. I had this eerie feeling that I was being watched by him, or at least by someone, but I figured that that was just paranoia. Still, I kept to myself, going about my duties like a chameleon, always blending in to my surroundings so that nothing looked out of place.
Back to now, I glanced over at Caspar's plate, looking over his omelet; I'm technically not supposed to be on kitchen duty, if it weren't for the maids being given other jobs, but I've had this particular shift a couple of years ago. I remember the main chef - Korey, I think his name was - teaching me how to make one lets the way the King likes them himself. I'm not sure what happened to Korey, but I know he's not on the kitchen staff anymore.
Caspar had the right idea; he put the right ingredients in the right order, and had the temperature on the right amount of heat. He just, well, undercooked everything.
Feeling a rush of sympathy for him ( and remembering the fact that what he does reflects on the entire staff ), I quickly made my way over to him, muttering,"I'll take care of it." He seemed surprised - understandable, seeing as I've never spoken a word to him in my life - but didn't protest, simply handing me the spatula.
I made quick work of the eggs, flipping them and spreading them around the sizzling pan, and adding salt and pepper once they were out of the pan. It was easy for me, and I almost felt nostalgic for the time that I used to serve in the kitchen; I'd take it any day over cleaning the bathrooms. But I knew that it was generally the women who worked in the kitchen, since they didn't have the muscle to lift around heavy things that needed to be moved. To be fair, some of the men, such as myself, didn't have that type of strength, either, but how could we? Once we finish working at the end of the day, we're all so exhausted that we usually eat dinner then pass out.
I was vaguely aware of Caspar watching me in earnest behind me, but I pushed the attention out of my mind, wondering what possessed me to do this in the first place. I didn't even know Caspar, yet here I was, doing him a favor without him even knowing my name.
Once I finished, I arranged the omelet in an intricate fashion, taking the tomatoes and cheeses that the King preferred, and sticking it in certain spots to create a floral design. I stood back, admiring my work, when Caspar let out a low whistle of appreciation. "Wow. How'd you do that?"
I glanced at him uncertainly, then explained,"I used to be on kitchen staff. I guess I just remembered, after all."
"Cool," he explained, and from the at he said it, I could tell it was actually genuine. Caspar must've been one of those types of people that found everything petty interesting, but then again, wasn't I the one fawning over Tyler's coat a week ago?
"Thanks, I guess, er..."
"Troye," I filled in. "Troye Sivan." I gave him the same name I gave Tyler, as I didn't exactly trust him. He seemed nice and all, but that didn't mean he was one of my best friends, either.
"Well, Troye, thank you," he said, a smile slowly taking up his entire face. "What can I do to make it up to you?"
I waved my hands in front of me, insisting,"Oh, n-no, that's not necessary, Caspar."
"Of course it is. I may not have known your name before today, but that doesn't mean that all of us servants," he paused, waving his arm around the rest of the staff in the kitchen, all blissfully ignorant of our conversation,"Aren't in this together. Plus, you did me a favor. And as charming and gorgeous as I am, Sivan, I don't get many favors these days." His lips spread in a cat-like grin. "So, yeah, I want to make it up to you. And it's because I want to, not because I feel obligated to. Trust me, I've had plenty of doing things I'm supposed to do, whether I want to or not," he muttered disdainfully.
I thought over his words, looking at it from his view, and slowly nodding in appreciation. I haven't thought much of Caspar Lee, but he clearly had more substance to him than I originally thought. He just... Got it, I guess I should say. He really understood.
"Alright," I said finally.
"So you'll let me?" he asked with barely congealed surprise. I guess he didn't expect me to agree so easily. Knowing me, I didn't blame him.
"Yeah, I mean, if you want. I don't know what I want you to do, though." I sighed over-exaggeratedly, looking down at my shoes. "But if the Caspar Lee is going to do me a favor, I guess I have to make it a good one, then, huh?"
He grinned even wider, if possible, nodding in respect. "Not we're talking. What do you got in mind?"
I glanced toward the ceiling in thought, tapping a finger to my chin for emphasis, and finally decided. "How about... Since I did your job, you do mine?"
"Done," he said without hesitation, and held out his hand. "Shake on it?" I looked at him in confusion, taken aback by the odd gesture. I've never seen it before, at least among the servants. "You shake my hand. It means we agree on a deal. Before I was a servant, and I lived back in Carolina, people did this all the time. The servants just don't do it much because they're supposed to do everything they're told, no matter what."
I raised my eyebrows at the explanation, still dumbfounded by the idea of it all. Still, I tentatively reached a hand out and grasped his hand in my own, swinging our arms up and down. "No, Troye," he said, attempting to hold back his laughter. "Softer, and just with your wrists. Like this," he told me, demonstrating once I stopped moving. I blushed, feeling like an idiot, but Caspar didn't seem fazed by it.
Once he let go of my hand, and clapped a hand on my back, and said,"Alright, get out of here, I'll handle it from here."
Looking back on it, I wonder if everything would've turned out differently, had I not done Caspar the favor that got me out of the kitchen earlier.
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I went over a mental checklist of what I was meant to do after my kitchen duties were taken care of, and felt strangely at ease once I went through it. I'd only done a small portion of what I was meant to do, but my next job was a relaxing one, and one that I probably won't get to do much in the future, once the Selection is over and done with.
I had to go to the Courtyard, and pick flowers to send to the maids to arrange in bouquets for the Selected girls' bedrooms.
It seemed like an almost degrading job on the surface - I was picking flowers for God's sakes - but any job that wasn't physically or emotionally taxing was one that I welcomed with open arms.
A small smile flitted across my face at the fact that I was going to get to go outside; I honestly can't remember the last time I was permitted to do so. Everyone was required to stay inside but the guards, unless given special permission ( or was in the Royal Family ), and since the gardens had watering systems installed, and garbage chutes inside the palace, there wasn't much cause for the servants to go outside.
I walked rough several labyrinthine hallways, taking the shortest route possible to reach the gateway leading to the courtyard, and finally found the tall, ebony doors with two guards standing alert at it. They noticed me coming, and stood up straighter as I got closer.
Once I was in range, one asked,"Name?"
"Troye Mellet," I replied, knowing that I had to give my real name in this case. They had to check through the schedule of who was allowed to out there and why, after all.
The guy on the left pulled out a small device, pressing several buttons in quick, precise movements, and eventually looked back up and said,"Alright, you're free to go. The baskets are to the left right when you go outside, and you have exactly one hour before you have to be back inside."
I nodded once, and they stepped to the sides to permit me through.
Tyler POV
I paced the inside of my room, continually opening and reopening the tiny, folded up note that was slipped under my door to read the words over and over again. I still had a hard time believing that they were real, and I had to press the letter to my face to inhale its scent, trying in vain to finally get it through my head that it is real, and that for once, a promise from my mother to meet again soon could be kept.
I opened it for the umpteenth time, reading silently:
Tyler,
I might have a bit of free time, after breakfast. I was thinking we could meet in the courtyard, then, and talk in person one last time before the Selection. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I can manage it this time.
Love,
Mom
I smiled widely, bringing a hand up to try to smother the smile, but it wasn't doing anything to quell the bubbly, euphoric feeling building up in my chest right now. I needed this, now more than ever, because this past week is just the calm before the storm. Already, thousands upon thousands of application forms to become the new Queen of Íllea have been sent in, and we haven't even been able to go through them, because they aren't due for another few days. I was getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people that wanted to be my wife, women that didn't even know me. Of course, I knew that they were all in it for the throne and the extravagant lifestyle, but they were willingly signing off the rest of their lives to be at my side forever. It was an insane commitment to make, one that I'm positive I'd never make, in their position.
I couldn't sway their choices, though. My father would have me in for that, in a heartbeat.
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Breakfast flew by, and I ended up eating by myself, for some strange reason. When I asked the servant who delivered my food, he just said,'They were caught up with something, and breakfast had to be sent to their room. That's all I know.' I didn't question it, since they often had food delivered to their private quarters, but I thought that since my mother had time after, she'd have time before, too.
I didn't let that bother me, though. If anything, I just devoured my food faster. There was no conversation to pause my eating with, and with no one scrutinizing me at every second, I didn't have to keep up the inhumanly perfect eating mannerisms, effectively letting me get through the meal faster.
After breakfast, I practically ran down the halls to the way outside, ready to meet with my mother, and had to control my erratic breathing once I reached the guards ( just because I'm the Prince doesn't mean I exercise much ).
Once I was in view of the guards, they bowed respectfully, saying,"Your Highness," in perfect unison. I nodded, and they stood back up. "Are you looking to have a morning stroll outside, sir?"
"Yes, I'm meeting with my mother, once she arrives," I told them quickly. "Is she out there right now?"
They shook their heads. "No, just one of the servants getting flowers for the Selected. Er, Troye Mellet, was it?" the guy on the fight asked, directing the question to the other guard. He nodded uncertainly, clearly not knowing for sure either. I didn't know a Troye Mellet, but I knew a Troye Sivan. I figured that they couldn't be the same person, though, and that I was probably just still stuck on that servant from a week ago still. In the back of my head, I wondered why I still thought about him - Connor didn't even stay on my mind for five minutes, and he was my regular - but I guess intriguing boys are my weakness. I wouldn't know, since everyone I know seems the same, thus far.
"That's fine, I can wait for her outside. I'm sure he won't be a bother," I told the guards. They nodded curtly, pressed a few buttons, and stepped aside for me to go outside.
Wow, look who updated twice today? I can't help it, I'm so in love with this story. Also I know I said Happy Valentine's Day earlier, but I have a few people that I wanted to dedicate this to.
WholockPhangirl teaminternetrxye to my dear fucktards mentioned joined in my bio, I just love you both so much. You're always there, always commenting funny things on every little paragraph, and every chapter, you leave one sweet little comment of praise that makes my day so much better.
troyleraccount YOU FUCKING REFERENCED ME IN YOUR REALLY AWESOME AND REALLY POPULAR FIC TODAY ( also bless you teaminternetrxye Elianapage for noticing that ) ILY.
bringcolourtomyskies You literally dedicated three paragraphs to me and my stories today, and you've been there since the very beginning, since the YTM days. You're one of the people that commented on all of my stories, and it really supported me to update faster, when I was a little lazy.
saaachie KitKatTaylor staylovelyxxx All three of you have voted and commented on my stories, and it was really gratifying because I've loved your works for so long and devour your updates in a heartbeat.
_ashlan Ashton5SOSDrumsticks I haven't heard from either of you in so long, but you were my first avid voters/commenters. You were the first people I ever got more than reads from, and this wasn't even until halfway through my second fanfiction, YTM. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you in a while, and idk how you guys are atm, but I never forgot you. You were both extremely extremely important to me, keeping me going and letting me know that my works weren't going unnoticed.
And to everyone else, because there's so so many people that deserve recognition, like ImLostButImHopeful and TroylerToujours , but I was supposed to keep this short, so: I love you all madly, and I really do appreciate every single one of you. You may or not not know it, but I actually do read each and every single comment that I receive from you all, even if I don't respond ( because I'm an awkward potato ) and they really really do brighten my day. I'm a part of an incredible fandom, and I genuinely do think of some of you as closer friends than people I know IRL.
Alright, I'll cut this love fest short. That's all for now.
♔Hope