flowers and crowns-dnf

eleven-butterfly

I just woke up and realized all this was filler. I suck at this :,)

George POV

The camping days flew past quickly, and so did the days at the castle. 

I was moving into new living quarters tomorrow. Bad had said it would take about two days, but it took about two weeks to get the room prepared. 

I wasn't complaining though. I loved waking up to the sound of Tommy shouting and Phil constantly scolding them. 

But at least in the new living space, I wouldn't have to walk all the way to the main building in the cold. 

The Prince and I have had a few short conversations at the start, and now we're like old friends already. I looked back at how I was on the first day, and I shock myself, pretty much. 

I was a quiet person, unlike Clay. But I blame Clay's talkative behavior on the fact that he grew up without someone to socialize with. I was actually kind of surprised that I started talking to him so soon. I normally have major troubles starting conversations with new people, but with Clay, the words spilled out naturally. 

Sometimes, we spent hours mindlessly chatting. Talking about what the ball was going to be like, or what we thought the other day, dumb stuff like that. 

Needless to say, we got along. 

I felt quite bad for neglecting probably the most important rule of the job, but we both didn't mind. In fact, Clay would always encourage me to share my thoughts and opinions. 

And I did. 

Part of me knew, that Clay wanted so much more than he was capable of having. He does a good job of hiding it, even from me, but it's bitterly obvious.

His hungry eyes staring out of the window, starving for a life of socialization and adventures.

Flashback:

"Beautiful," he said softly, "isn't it?" 

I turned to him, who was standing by the window, smiling into the distance. "Uh... I guess so." I replied awkwardly.

"What's it like?" he asked innocently. He squinted into the moonlight, breathing in the crisp winter breeze. 

I tilted my head, thinking of what to say. "It's nice, I guess. Free, I guess. It's like... you can do whatever you want. Whenever. Mm, think of it like a..." 

"Butterfly?" Clay suggested, turning to me. 

I snapped my fingers. "Yes! Exactly! Like you can just fly everywhere. Free and happy," I said. I leaned against the wall, looking at Clay, who turned his gaze back to the window. 

"Y'wanna hear more about it?" I asked gently. He nodded eagerly, then walked away from the open window. He sat cross-legged in front of me, smiling heartily. 

"Tell me a story." 

Flashback over:

"...and I guess we lived happily ever after," I said. I ran a hand through my hair, thinking of what to say next. 

"That's a lame way to end the story," he teased.

I scoffed, offended. "I think it's a great way to end the story," I contradicted, smiling. 

"So... what happened to Alex?" Clay asked curiously. 

I laughed at the memory. Nick, Karl, Alex, and I were eight at that time. We had a tree-climbing competition and Alex kept boasting of how he could climb higher than us. In the end, he actually did beat us but couldn't get down from the tall tree. 

"Nick got a ladder for Alex," I said. Clay chuckled. 

He got up and quickly shut the open window. "It's really dark out, you should probably go soon," he observed. 

I got up from my seat on the ground. "Alright. By the way, I'm moving in next door tomorrow night," I reminded. 

His honey gold eyes sparkled in excitement. "Oh, cool! Now shoo," he said as I opened the door of the room. 

I stuck out my tongue in annoyance, then started walking away. I could feel his gaze still on me. After walking a distance away, I heard the door click shut. 

Phew.

I walked in complete silence, my footsteps making small sounds on the carpeted ground. I looked at the walls of the hallway. Detailed painted portraits hung on both sides. 

"Are you George?" a female voice sounded. I turned, trying to find where the voice came from. "The Prince's assistant?"

My gaze fell on a girl who stood two meters from me. She had long, dirty blonde hair and deep yellow (probably green) eyes. She looked at me skeptically, arms crossed. 

"Yeah," I said unsurely. It sounded more of a question than a statement. I started to walk past her but failed when she walked in front of me, eyebrows furrowed. I walked around her and kept on walking.

"Hey! Where ya goin'?" she called out. 

"C-block. Living quarters," I responded. 

"Oh," she said, pausing for a moment. "C-block, huh? Can you tell Darryl to bring me a muffin?" she pleaded. "Oh! And tell Tomathy that I forgive him. He goes by Tommy, y'know that guy?" she added.

"Yes, I know him. And...why would I do that?" I asked nervously. "And how did you know my name in the first place?" I wondered out of curiosity.

The girl shrugged, a smug look on her face. "Word gets 'round really quick," she paused for a short breath. "Also, while you're at it, tell my brother I said hi." She brushed past me.

As she walked away, I saw a flicker of light reflecting from her necklace.

The necklace was identical to the one Clay had, except this one was blue, I think. There was a small gold swirl on it, turning back on the other end, creating a loop of some sort.

My eyes widened as I noticed that it was the royal engraving on the necklace. Oh well,  I thought to myself. Was that actually the Princess? I wondered. I shrugged. I'll get a muffin anyways... to stay on the safe side. 

I walked tiredly the rest of the way to the living quarters, passing the carefully trimmed grass. The flowers glowed, the light of small lanterns illuminating the small walkway. 

Bad was sitting on the bench by the entrance of C-block, reading a book. He looked up and waved at me. "Hi, George!" 

I nodded back at him, then yawned. "You okay?" he asked concerningly. 

"Huh, oh yeah. Just tired," I reassured. 

"Okie then. Tell me if you need anything," Bad said cheerily. 

I nodded and opened the door, then turned back to him. "Wait, Bad!" I closed the door a bit. "Sorry but... can you please make me a muffin tomorrow? Some girl asked for one and I'm pretty sure she's the princess," I begged. 

Bad just smiled in response. "Must be Drista. Don't worry, George, I'll do it."

After I finished thanking him for the millionth time, I waved him goodbye. As thankful as I was, I was also very tired.

"Well, goodnight!" he said happily. 

"Goodnight, Bad!" 

The day after, I made sure to keep an eye out for a young girl with the royal necklace.

eek, this ended awkwardly.