Working For The Prince (BxB)✔

Chapter 14 - Snapping Back

The evening was just as awkward as Asher expected it to be. The beast had returned to his room after their conversation and the servant took the opportunity to do the rest of his chores as he initially had planned. Unfortunately he lost track of time, so by the time he finished cooking lunch it was pretty much dinner.

He fretted over the meager meal, knowing it wouldn't be to the Prince's usual pallet but hoping it would suffice. He was also beginning to feel a bit irritated as well with how overwhelming his duties were. 

Every time he was reminded that he was the only one left to clean the castle, he felt more annoyed that he also had to tiptoe around the monster's mood swings. If he could just focus on trying to understand and comfort the guy, he'd be fine, but with an impossible list of tasks meant for twenty people, he was quickly losing his patience. 

He did try to reason with himself since he hadn't been doing this for long, but then he'd recall how the Prince had treated him before, and that he had traveled through the blistering cold to find women to try and break his curse, none of which the man ever thanked him for. Instead he had just shoved them out the nearest door and demanded he try again. 

Now Asher was also responsible for dressing the beast, cooking meals, lighting fires, doing laundry, caring for his horse, sweeping the halls, weather proofing the windows, and let's not forget how ridiculous it is for one mere servant to dust an entire castle!

Asher really did want to help Leon break his curse. The entire kingdom was in danger if that didn't happen, but after one day of trying to do everything himself, he realized he had taken on much more work than he was capable of. 

Finishing up in the kitchen, he took a calming breath and decided that he was done for the day. He would take the food up to the beast, get him changed, then go to his own room and rest for the night. 

With a bowl of soup and a few slices of bread, Asher greeted Leon in his room. The beast, still angry from earlier, ignored him completely. So, the servant silently went to place the food on the nearby table like he had that morning, but then Asher noticed that the Prince hadn't finished his eggs from earlier and even spotted a few bits on the floor.

Realizing that the stubborn Prince would rather starve than ask for the servant's help to feed himself, Asher's irritation spiked and he practically slammed the bowl down next to the creature's book, sloshing broth across the table and spattering the tattered pages that the Prince had been reading.

Startled,  Leon tossed a look at the angry servant who just pointed at the bowl with a scowl. "Eat!" He demanded in a hard tone. 

Everything he had put up with till now had been to help the Prince, so he certainly was not going to let the beast get away with refusing his care. 

"Are you giving me another order?" The beast stood, towering over the servant intimidatingly, causing Asher to nearly step back and second guess his outburst. "I may be cursed, but I am still the master of this castle and I will eat when I damn well please!"

His snarl was drowned out by the sudden growl of his stomach as it disagreed with his sentiment. Asher attempted to keep a straight face as his mood was slightly lifted by the poor timing of the creature's hunger.

Sucking in an angry breath, the beast attempted to continue his glare, but a second rumble from his stomach had him giving up his intimidation tactics as he sat back down, tight lipped.

Asher continued to drill holes with his eyes as the Prince slumped, frowning at the bowl. In one last stubborn attempt to redeem his poise, he reached over and tried to slide the bowl closer to himself, only to tip it.