Working For The Prince (BxB)✔

Chapter 19 - Next Target

Asher's head was spinning the more he contemplated what had happened between him and the beast. He really couldn't decided how to feel about the situation because he liked it, yet now knew it wasn't something that normally happened between a master and servant.

One theory on the creature's odd behavior was that the Prince was lonely and needed companionship, badly. Unfortunately it wouldn't be appropriate if he geared that fixation towards Asher instead of his prospective wife, so the servant was going to have to work fast and find someone to break that curse soon, or things were going to get a lot more complicated between them.

Returning to the village, he made a quick stop at the bakery to check in with his grandparents. They were both hard at work as usual, with his grandfather out front selling to customers and his grandmother and their assistant in the back, working on fresh new items.

Asher stopped by the kitchen and watched his grandmother work. She seemed happy and had a smear of flour powdering her face as she kneaded some dough. He wondered if he would ever be that content with his work?

Before, Asher had thought that working at the castle would be a dream come true, but once the weight of all those responsibilities set in, he realized he had been jumping in way over his head and needed to set his sights on more realistic goals.

His conversation with Leon the other night came to mind, and he contemplated maybe studying baking a little more. It wasn't like he had any other special talents. If he had taken his grandparent's lessons a bit more seriously, then perhaps he'd make a decent pastry chef once the curse was broken?

"Oh! Asher, you're back?" The old woman noticed the servant standing near the doorway and approached him with a large grin. "You've been away so long! How are things at the castle? Did you get your job back?"

Asher smiled crookedly. He had told his grandparents that he was going to see about getting his job back as an excuse to check on the Prince, but now that he'd actually gotten his job back, he was happy to give her some honest good news. "I did actually! And I've been pretty busy these past few days. I can't stay home for long though. I only came by to visit."

"Oh." The little old woman seemed less cheerful after hearing that.

"I can stay for dinner though?" He compromised. "If that's okay with you?"

"Of course! I can't wait to hear about what you've been up to!"

Asher smiled and returned to his room, once more moving some cleaning equipment out of the way as it had returned to its previous use as a storage closet.

In his mind, he'd been going over a list of women in the village in preparation for who to pick. He needed to choose someone who wasn't shallow or self centered, or else she'd never be able to look past Leon's current appearance and wealth. She also had to understand the purpose of the visit very clearly so that he wouldn't wind up with another 'Theo' incident.

Speaking of Theo, he needed to visit her as well and make sure she understood that she needed to stop spreading rumors.

Putting down his bags for now, he set out and kept his eyes peeled for prospective women along the way, hoping to spot someone that looked like they'd make a good match for the clingy creature.

Approaching a cottage on the outskirts of town, he prepared what he had to say and rose a hand to knock, only for the door to fly open with a beaming Theo standing there, smiling broadly.

"You're back!" She leapt, wrapping her arms around Asher's neck and practically knocking him onto the ground. Asher barely managed to keep his footing as he struggled to pry the clingy woman off. "I saw you approaching from the window! I'm so happy that you came to visit me for once!"