The Prince and His Servant

Chapter 8

I closed the door behind me, not bothering to take the tea cart with me. Once out, I took a deep and slightly quivering breath.

It was difficult, managing to keep my face blank when he played that song for me on the violin. The words he sang, the notes he conjured... It was almost too much to keep a level head. No, there was no way I was going to keep a level head about this. The song I sang to myself when I slept at night, every night before I went to bed, the one thing in the world other than he himself that could bring me out of my shell, surrounded my darkness... having it brought back so suddenly was... kind of frightening.

"There's no way he could have known," he thought to himself. "I told no one, and yet there he was, lo and behold, bringing up the memories we shared. How did he know to play that specific song at that specific time? Was it showing on my face? Was it in my voice, my posture, my actions? what was it that let him know?"

But I knew that it didn't matter. No matter how much thought was put into the topic, there was nothing to be accomplished. I wasn't planning on asking him myself, and I know I couldn't get to the answer on my own, so there was no need to nitpick around for answers.

I went down the long hallway and into the guest bathroom. It took all of my strength not to break into a sprint and run there as fast as I could. I didn't want him to see it in my face, this feeling, these emotions. They were to always to remain hidden behind this shield I call a face. All of my secrets lie behind my face, the one thing that nobody can change. Minds are fickle things, always susceptible to change. But a face... a face could keep it's shape, it's ways, easily.

I closed the door. I heard footsteps soon after, at most a could minutes after. They were light, almost like a woman's. Most likely another servant girl. They were heading in the direction of the prince's study. What was her business? The better question, rather, is why am I so suddenly bent on knowing? Whatever her business was, it was her business.

Not much longer after that, I decided it was best to go and apologize to my prince. He meant the most to me, and my heart couldn't afford to have him hate me like the rest used to.

I stepped out of the bathroom, slowly closing the door behind me. I put on my emotionless mask, then proceeded down the hallway. I hadn't gotten five steps down the hall when the door to the prince's study opened and he walked, in regal clothing and a cool demeanor, in my direction. I tried to keep my face forward as we crossed paths, but it was not easily done. The moment I left his field of vision, I turned to face him.

He was, presumably, on his way to the main level of the manor, the space directly below us. His choice in clothes told me he was seeing a guest, an odd occurrence at such a late hour as this, but sometimes it happened. There was no stopping it.

I could feel myself start to silently sulk to myself. He didn't even look at me. I understand that I didn't look at him, but to have it done back to you-

Oh my goodness. I hadn't realized this before. What if... God, what if that's how he's been feeling? Here I am, standing here, sulking about how he hasn't been himself lately, how he's growing farther and farther apart from me. Despite this, not once did I sit down and think about the fact that he might be feeling the exact same way. I haven't been treating him the way he deserves, and it's probably getting at him too.

Oh, I can't believe I've been so stupid for so long!

If that was the case, I couldn't just let this slide. There was no way I was going to sit and let this happen. It was about time I came to terms with how I really felt about this whole situation.

And prince Jaeger, for that matter.

I made my way to the stairwell down which Eren ventured to see our guest. Of course, as a servant, it was the unfortunate situation that I could not just blatantly go down there and interrupt everything for my needs. Of course, the prince may be a bit lenient, considering our past, but with how we've acted toward each other lately, I have a feeling he may not be as lenient as I hope he would be.

I waited through their conversation about how the prince of Portugal, prince Jean, was interested in the princess of France, Mikasa. That, in turn, would cause prince Jean to forcibly invade France because of the lack of hope for an alliance.

Honestly, I think it made perfect sense. Even the names Mikasa and Jean sound like it would be a couple consisting of a goddess and an ass.

Shakespeare, anyone?

Once their conversation was over and the princess and her translator left, the prince almost immediately made his way to the stairwell. Of course, me being the slight wimp I am, I wasn't ready to face him without me approaching him first.

Before he could catch a glimpse of me, I slipped back into the bathroom, peering out of the cracked door I purposely left open. Once he passed, I quietly exited and made my way downstairs and to the kitchen, where the cooks were hard at work preparing a dinner fit for a king. Or a prince. It really didn't matter, somebody royal got food.

Naturally, me being a servant, and the prince's personal servant at that, I was instantly bombarded with questions by the cooks.

"What's the prince really like?" "What does he do on days he's in his study all day?" "Is he interested in anyone? Who?"

It got quite annoying quite quickly, so I just ignored them like I usually do. It was the easiest way to avoid something you didn't want or need. Regrettably, it only got worse, what with them physically touching me whilst asking for more information. Do they not understand they work with food, and they're touching me? What animals, just like the ones they burn!

Yes, they're terrible cooks at times, but I'm convinced the prince knows and simply smiles through the disgusting.

I turned away from them, wishing I hadn't picked the kitchen in particular to do my little stakeout, but it was all worth it when I caught a glimpse of the prince walking past everyone towards the "back doors" of the manor, the area neighboring the vast forest of big-ass trees. I didn't understand why he went to that place to often, but I wasn't going to question the prince's life choices.

If saying that I followed him out into the snow-covered forest to see what he was doing is too creepy, then let's just say I was curious as to what his reasons were for going out in the cold to relatively late at night, considering he usually was winding down, and decided it would be best to cast some supervision into the area so that nothing suspicious happened.

And yes, I understand that was a huge run-on sentence.

It was cold, of course, and I was shivering in only my suit. I should have worn a coat, but the fear of losing sight of him kept me from doing so. I didn't mind, though, mostly.

He ventured the forest, as did I. He walked and walked until he found the mother of all big-ass trees in the entire forest, one that could easily hold ten to twenty of me on it's lowest branch. He smiled at the tree, then smirked. And then he did something unexpected. He started to climb the tree.

The prince of Germany climbing a tree in the dead of winter like a child. What a sight to see indeed, I must say.

But as he made a childish decision, the world felt it right that I made one too, just as childish.

So I latched myself onto the lowest branch of the nearest tree and started to climb.