Alphabet AU Challenge

K is for Kingdom: Servant Boy (Kellic)

kingdom au ayy !!! plus random bits of 21st century slang bc my continuity is shit and i have no idea where this is supposed to take place. some fictional kingdom that happens to exist in this time period. or something. whatever idc it was fun

also wattpad is being dumb and not showing that this was published/not giving a notification idk what that's about so i reuploaded it sighs

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Vic knows he's not supposed to associate with the servants. Really, he wouldn't dare. But sometimes he sees a particular kitchen worker, and he thinks of breaking that rule.

The worker is fairly new, and his name is Kellin, Vic's pretty sure, though he'd probably be in enough trouble simply from calling a servant by his name. They're probably not supposed to be on a first-name basis. Vic can't help but overhear the servants when they're talking to each other, though, which is also bad. He shouldn't be showing interest in what the servants are doing. He is of royal blood, after all, and of a much higher status. He is to be focused only on people of his own "kind," never acknowledging the servants beyond telling them what to do. He certainly isn't supposed to be thinking of them as equals.

Still, Vic finds himself staring for a longer period of time than he should at the worker, automatically looking for him whenever he nears the kitchen or whenever there's a meal. The palace is huge, but since Kellin mostly stays around the same area, Vic can often find him quite easily. This is a problem, because Vic should not be thinking about how easy it is to find Kellin. He shouldn't care.

Vic tries to be subtle about this newfound interest, and he thinks it's working for the most part. Kellin's not dumb, though, and considering that a large part of his job is to pay as much attention to Vic (and the rest of the royal family) as possible, he seems to notice it when Vic stares at him a lot more than he probably should. Judging by the way Kellin lifts his eyebrows at Vic or smiles at him slyly, the way he nods or winks or simply makes eye contact with him, it soon becomes evident that Kellin is at least somewhat aware. It's as if they're sort of dancing around each other, the prince and the servant, neither knowing what to do with the other. It's one of the quietest events to ever happen in Vic's memory of the palace, right under the noses of the rest of the household. He's not quite sure what to make of it.

It's a bit early in the morning—Vic often wakes up before other members of his family, though the servants are almost always awake before he is—when he has one of his first actual conversations with Kellin. Vic's just taking a stroll around the palace, checking up on everything even though his family tells him that there's no reason for him to be doing so (it's the servants' job to make sure the place is running smoothly anyway), when he hears a light, airy voice call out from the kitchen, "Good morning, Your Highness!"

Vic automatically stops and turns toward the sound, and in the main doorway to the kitchen stands Kellin in his working outfit with a cute little smile. In the distance, Vic hears another voice, belonging to a person unseen: "Kellin, how many times do I have to remind you to bow in the presence of the royal family?"

Kellin's face changes into an expression of panic and embarrassment. "Oops."

Just as he's about to stumble to the ground in a clumsy, desperate attempt at a bow, Vic interrupts him, the words that come out of his mouth surprising even himself: "You don't have to."

Kellin glances up at him, narrowing his eyes. "Huh?"

Vic waves a hand nonchalantly. "I'll, uh, I'll let it slide. Don't let my family know, though, or else they'll wonder what's gotten into me."

Kellin's expression changes again, back to a smile, though this one holds amusement and possibly a hint of something else, something playful. "I feel special," he says, leaning against the door in a more relaxed manner.