A/N: Got my computer back yesterday!! YAY! Stupid thing crashed, and I thought I lost all my work… But I didn’t! Oh the wonders of smart computer technician people geniuses.
Anywho! Here’s the next chappie! :D
The picture on the side is Violet ------------------------->
Chapter 5
The remainder of the day, I spent as much time as possible in the kitchens. I was surprised that Aaron hadn’t gotten sick of me already. He actually seemed to enjoy my company as much as I enjoyed his. He was turning out to be a good friend, although he did live up to his promise of making me do all his work for the remainder of the day. Occasionally, he would step in and help out, but for the most part, he just sat on one of the kitchen counters and talked with me as I slaved away at work… okay maybe that was a little too dramatic. The workload in the kitchens was significantly easier than yesterday’s, and Aaron’s presence made it all the more enjoyable. I would have to ask Thompson if I could have a permanent job in the kitchen.
Aaron was somewhat of a sous-chef to the other chefs in the kitchens. I had to do his dirty work including washing-I was smart enough the second time around not to start another bubble war with him-and drying the dishes, washing the floors, cutting vegetables, anything that had to be done in the kitchen.
Aaron, on the other hand was assisting the chefs in preparing the meals. While the other chefs prepared the main entrées, they let Aaron make some appetizers. And let me tell you, he was an excellent cook. This was another part I was beginning to like about my job. Other than being the kitchen help and enjoying Aaron’s company, I was a first-class taste-tester.
I didn’t really feel like talking about what had happened between Harry and me. I would tell Aaron about it eventually, but right now, I wanted to keep the atmosphere light. Aaron was a very good distraction from the thoughts clouding my mind, one thought in particular.
I had just made an enemy of one of the most powerful people in the palace.
……………
The next morning, I was feeling much better than I had the previous morning. I was actually able to go to bed at a decent hour, and as a result, woke up refreshed and ready to do my job. I didn’t think much of Harry, and even when his name popped into my head, I quickly pushed it away.
Safe to say, I was in a particularly good mood.
I smiled as I looked in the mirror while applying my sideburns, finding that the dark circles under my eyes had reduced from before. I actually looked alive again.
And yes, I wore sideburns.
I all but skipped to the dining hall an hour before breakfast was to be served. I was never a morning person, but I guess moving to London changed some things about me.
I made my way to the kitchens to see if anyone needed my help in preparing food for the staff. Aaron wasn’t there, but the main chef looked at me appreciatively when I offered to help, and throughout the morning, I could tell I was slowly gaining his respect.
When breakfast was ready, I piled food on my plate and made my way over to the table where I had met my new friends yesterday. Another good thing about the castle was that they sure fed you well. I would no doubt gain some weight from all the food, but I didn’t really care.
I heard footsteps behind me and saw a person with blonde hair at the buffet from the corner of my eye.
I turned around and greeted that person.
“Good morning!”
“You’re sure happy this morning,” Violet smiled as she made her way over to our table.
“I slept super duper well,” I grinned widely.
I felt someone ruffle my hair and turned to see Aaron sitting in the other seat next to me.
“Morning, prisoner,” he half-said, half-yawned. He had dark circles under his eyes and resembled how I look yesterday morning.
“You can’t call me that anymore. I stopped being a prisoner yesterday when I finished doing all your work for you.”
“You made the new kid do all your work for you?!” Violet exclaimed, frowning deeply. “That’s no way to welcome him!”
“Christ, I’m so tired…” Aaron folded his arms on the table before putting his head on top of them and closing his eyes.
“I can tell. You look like a truck ran you over,” I interrupted before Violet yelled anymore at Aaron.
“If poor Kaydee had to do all your work for you yesterday why would you be tired?”
“‘Kaydee’?” Aaron’s head popped up, and he wore an expression of disgust towards his sister.
“It’s my new nickname for him! What do you think, Kaydee?” she asked excitedly, now beaming at me.
“Um…”
“That’s his nice way of saying that’s the stupidest nickname invented in the history of ever,” Aaron explained in an exasperated tone, putting his elbows on the table and his head in his hands.
“I wasn’t asking you, junior!”
“I told you not to call me that!” His head snapped up again, and he looked extremely annoyed.
“Children, don’t get your knickers in a wad,” came a reprimanding voice from behind us. We turned to see Judith shooting Aaron and Violet serious looks but she had a playful glint in her eyes. Turning towards the buffet, she went to get her breakfast followed closely by Robert. I wondered if they were officially together. Neither wore a wedding ring, but they did seem to always stick close to each other. I would have to ask about that later…
“Anyway, why are you tired?” I asked for Violet.
Aaron scratched the back of his neck, now leaning back in his chair.
He seemed a little hesitant to answer and seemed to find the floor more interesting at the moment.
“Oh my gosh! Aaron! Please don’t tell me you did what I think you did.” Violet looked at her brother, disbelievingly.
I was really confused.
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do,” he grinned sheepishly at her.
“I can’t even believe you right now.”
“Anyone wanna enlighten me as to what exactly Aaron did?” I asked, hopefully. ‘Hopefully’ because I wasn’t sure if they would answer my question or continue fighting.
“Aaron snuck out last night with a girl.”
“It wasn’t to sleep with a girl! I went to a party and met a girl… a couple actually…but I didn’t sleep with any of them!” he added the last part when he saw the look Violet was giving him. “I just talked with one girl… and we kinda sorta maybe snogged.” Again, he muttered the last part quickly, but that didn’t prevent Violet and I from understanding every word he said.
“Aaron!” Violet shouted.
“I really liked her!” he yelled back defensively. “And she gave me her number,” he smiled dreamily, and I could’ve sworn I saw his eyes glaze over as he remembered whoever he was talking about.
“Who-”
“So, Kayden, I heard you met Prince Harry yesterday,” Judith made conversation as she sat down at the other side of the table, distracting the two bickering siblings, who were currently sitting on either side of me.
While I was happy she momentarily stopped them from fighting, I wanted to find out about Aaron’s new crush. I also couldn’t help but grimace a little when Judith mentioned his name.
“Yeah…” I trailed off, not really wanting to explain my experience with the spoiled Prince.
“Well, how was it?”
Guess I was going to have to.
I sighed. Here goes nothing.
I explained to them everything that happened yesterday, from the bet with Aaron to taking Harry breakfast to how we got into a fight in the middle of the hallway to how he warned me to “watch my back”.
By the time I was finished, everyone at our table, except me, had finished eating, and the dining hall had filled up with the rest of our coworkers.
“Oh no…” Violet muttered and shook her head.
“That was very foolish of you, Kayden,” Judith said, disapprovingly.
“Sorry, but I have a short temper, and it upset me how he talked about and disrespected women!”
Judith and Violet still shook their heads at me, but I could tell from the look in their eyes that they were somewhat proud of what I had done.
“You’re going to have to accept that Prince Harry is going to do whatever he wants, and it is no use to try to change him or reason with him. He has always been a little hellion, that one,” Judith explained. “Are you unaware of his reputation?”
“You should be very careful, Kayden. He’s a bad seed, I’m telling you. Just keep your distance, remain silent around him, and do what he says,” Violet warned with a serious expression.
“Are you serious?! Is that what everyone does around here? You don’t even attempt to stand up to him?”
They just shook their heads, clearly telling me that I needed to watch my mouth and do what everyone else was doing.
“Well why not?!”
“Kayden, calm down. You’re not gonna get anywhere by arguing with him,” Violet said, soothingly.
“Still! I don’t understand why he can just get away using people and being a jerk to anyone who even tries to speak up for what's right!” I argued nevertheless. Merely talking about him made my blood pressure rise.
“Oooh, I didn’t know you had a temper,” Aaron laughed, teasingly.
“Aaron! This is serious! I just hope that Prince Harry doesn’t say anything to Edith and that he isn’t going to get fir-”
“Mr. Evans!” Mrs. Thompson yelled from the entrance to the dining hall, effectively stopping Violet from continuing what she was going to say. A sick feeling came to my stomach as it tightened uncontrollably, and everyone became silent. I knew what this was about. Harry had probably told her of my bad behavior or “disrespectful” attitude, and she was going to fire me. It was times such as these when I wished I didn’t have such a big mouth and a large attitude to go with it. Only now did I realize the idiocy of what I had done, and I tried my best to suppress the fear I began to feel. I could’ve killed myself for making such a stupid mistake.
“Oh no…” Judith muttered just as Violet had a few minutes ago.
Really? I couldn’t survive three days on the job? That’s pretty pathetic. But still, it’s not my fault I had to put up with a self-centered, egotistical, womanizing, spoiled son of a b-
“I need you immediately!” Mrs. Thompson shouted, growing impatient.
“I’ll see you later guys… I hope.”
“Good luck,” Violet whispered with a small smile, but in her eyes there was an unmistakable emotion.
Pity.
I returned her small smile with a fake one of my own.
I tried my hardest not to shake from nervousness as I approached Mrs. Thompson. She was really scary when she wanted to be… no, never mind… she was scary all the time. The eyes of all the people in the dining hall were on me, and I tried not to let their curious and burning stares affect me.
I walked over to her and couldn’t figure out the emotion that was on her face. I was never good at reading people even though I was an open book.
She looked me over once and led me outside of the dining hall into the hallway.
“Is something wrong, ma’m?”
“Prince Harry-”
Here we go.
“-has spoken very highly of you.”
Wait… what?
I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard that. We were now in the middle of the hallway.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Maybe I was hallucinating.
She huffed loudly, clearly annoyed at having to repeat herself.
“He says that you have been an exceptional servant to him so far. I’m surprised he has taken a liking to you so quickly and requests to see you immediately.”
I didn’t quite grasp what she was trying to tell me yet.
“Wait… you mean I’m not fired?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Obviously not, you blithering idiot!”
Geez, someone forgot to take her meds this morning. She had a bigger temper problem than me.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes before continuing.
“He usually wakes up around eight so I suggest you get ready and start heading for his room immediately. That is all,” she dismissed me and started to walk back to her office. I was thoroughly confused as to why Harry would want to have me around. Maybe I misjudged him after all. I thought he would have wanted to stay as far away from me as possible or to have me fired.
Somehow, I had a sick suspicion that this was much worse.
“A-are you sure?” I stuttered, trying to keep the fear out of my voice as I called to Mrs. Thompson down the hall. “I’m actually really good at washing dishes, it’s pretty amazing. Maybe me and Aaron could-”
“Absolutely not.” Edith’s expression became cold and stern as she turned around abruptly and cut me off. “Ms. Taylor can do the dishes or work in the kitchen for you, it’s not that important a job, and as for you, you will obey my orders and do as I just told you. Now don’t keep His Highness waiting,” she snapped before turning around again and leaving me to myself.
Great.
As tempted as I was to curl up and hide in my room, I knew that would only result in my extermination.
I grudgingly walked to the third floor, utterly nervous and trying to keep my cool. My emotions were going crazy- I thought being a guy was easy. It probably is. But pretending to be a guy was proving to be extremely difficult.
And how many times would I have to go to Harry’s room as long as I worked here?
Homeboy can walk- why do I always have to go to see him by myself?
So much for my good mood.
Why couldn’t Edith just keep me in the kitchens washing dishes or something? Instead she was going to send Judith in my place.
Sexist.
I slowed down as I approached Harry’s room. I couldn’t shake the bad feeling in my gut. This was definitely not what it seemed to be. Just as I raised my hand to knock on the door, the door opened, revealing a fully clothed and smirking Prince Harry.
Wow, he was actually awake and dressed.
I glanced behind him and into his room and was somewhat surprised to see that a slutty girl was NOT hanging off the bed.
I turned my attention back to Prince Harry. He stepped out of the threshold and gestured for me to come into his room before shutting the door behind him.
I gulped despite myself. Not good.
Harry was the first one to speak as I turned to face him.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why you were sent here.” It wasn’t a question.
I merely nodded.
“I have requested that you be near me at all times as my personal butler.”
Oh dear.
“What’s the catch?”
He smiled smugly and took menacing steps towards me.
“Oh, but haven’t you figured it out yet? With you as my little servant, I can have you do anything I want,” he whispered threateningly into my ear.
I managed to somehow get the words that were burning in the back of my throat out of my mouth.
“It’s pretty clear you don’t like me. I’m not too fond of you either. Why didn’t you just have me fired? No doubt you would be able to make that happen.” I knew I was venturing into dangerous waters by asking him, but I was too curious. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but at least the cat got answers.
I glanced at him as he answered. “Things tend to get a little boring around here in the castle. I figured I’d have a little fun before you decide to quit of your own accord.”
“Why would I quit?”
He only answered me with that smirk of his before turning around and entering into one of the many doors in his room.
He came back out of what I assumed was the bathroom with an old toothbrush and a metal bucket with soapy water.
“My floors are looking especially dirty today,” he casually, throwing the toothbrush at my feet and placing the bucket next to it. “Take care of that, will you?”
I just stared at the toothbrush and somehow managed to nod.
“And to teach you some respect, you are to call me ‘sir’, ‘Your Highness’, ‘Your Grace’, or anything of that sort. Understood?”
Was he serious?
“Yes, sir,” I muttered, resentfully.
“What was that?”
“Yes, sir,” I answered more loudly.
“Very good.”
I got on my knees and began scrubbing the floor. I glanced around the room and sighed. It was pretty huge, but one room couldn't take forever, right? I shifted my gaze to the toothbrush in my hands… maybe not.
“Oh, and servant?”
“Yes, Your Highness?” I looked up at him as his smirked once again.
“Don’t forget the balcony.” He pointed to two large doors with windows that covered most of them. I could see through those windows that the balcony was huge and covered with expensive-looking tile.
Fantastic.
I watched as he made his way back to the bathroom and slammed the door. I heard laughing on the other side that was soon drowned out by the sound of running water from the shower.
I sat back on my heels and looked around the room.
How was I going to get out of this one?
I could always sue for harassment….
That thought lasted for about half a second. I almost laughed at my own stupidity. How exactly does one sue the Prince of England? I had a feeling that situation wouldn’t turn out too well for me. Besides, I still wanted to keep my job and wasn’t going to give up too easily. No, I would stick with this job whether I liked it or not, even if it killed me. It was either dealing with the cards I was dealt or moving back home and admitting defeat. And since I was set on avoiding the latter at all costs, I had to settle on the former.
I would just have to beat Harry at his own game.
And if this is how he wanted to play, then the games begin.
……………
My stomach grumbled from not being able to finish my breakfast this morning and losing track of time that I missed my lunch break. Dinnertime was approaching, and I was still scrubbing the floors. Harry- I’m sorry- His Highness- I rolled my eyes at his ridiculousness- really couldn’t have given me a normal sponge or rag or anything other than a flippin’ toothbrush?
Speak of the devil, he had just returned from doing whatever it is that princes do back to his room and smirked yet again when he saw me toiling away at scrubbing the floor.
“I hate that stupid, ugly smirk,” I grumbled under my breath as Harry grabbed something from his wardrobe and left the room without once saying a word to me.
“Arrogant jerk,” I muttered again to myself as I was left alone in his room.
If I thought my first day was difficult, I sure was a wimp back then. I knew that continuing to be Harry’s little slave was going to be much worse.
I needed to think of a plan… and fast.
A/N: So I just did a quick search on Prince Harry’s relationship status, and while I thought he was still with Chelsy Davy or single, he apparently has this new girlfriend who’s a rich blonde party-girl, lingerie model, and socialite, so she’ll be in my story, too…
Thanks for reading!! I really appreciate it! :D Please comment/vote/fan as well! It would make me the happiest person on the planet!