Chapter Text
Louis still wasn’t used to the whole palace thing, really.
Servants waiting on him, instead of him waiting on other people. Servants tending to him, instead of him tending to other people. Servants caring for him, instead of him caring for other people. Louis just wasn’t used to that. He had grown up, waiting on other people. He had grown up, tending to other people. He had grown up, caring for other people. Richer people. Nobler people. More deserving people. Louis had always served them. His customers. His siblings. His parents. He had taken care of all of them. And he wasn’t used to people taking care of him, instead. He just plain wasn’t used to it. Wasn’t used to the servants asking him if he needed anything. Wasn’t used to the servants rushing off like they were scared of him. Wasn’t used to the servants acting as though he was above them.
And Louis certainly wasn’t used to not being poor.
Because, well, Lestat was Lestat. And that meant that Lestat had used his powers as a prince to make him a damn duke. A duke. Because, as Lestat had said, it ‘was not a difficult process’. Or, as Louis said, Lestat just had way too much power for someone that impulsive. Whatever. Louis, and all his damn family, had a title now. And they had been gifted way too much gold than they ever needed. Louis was pretty sure he was also exempt from taxes, too. Because of course he was. And anytime he was at the palace, Lestat was just throwing gold at him. Money and power was no longer something Louis lacked, it seemed. In fact, he had both in excess.
And it was weird as hell. Louis wasn’t used to being comfortable with the amount of money he had, let alone have more than he knew what to do with. But now he did. It was more money than any person should have, really, and yet it was only a miniscule amount of what the damn royals had. Still, it was more than enough for Louis. He had new clothes. He had enough food to feed his family. He had reassurance that they were always going to be clothed, and fed, and housed. It was something Louis had never really experienced before, being certain that everything was covered. That he definitely had enough money for everything he and his family wanted. They had a dowery for Grace. They had all the dresses Claudia wanted. They had even gotten a doctor for Paul. And it was weird, having everything covered.
Maybe even weirder was the fact that he was nobility now. He had a title. He had a big damn title. Duke. He was a duke. There wasn’t much that was above duke, unless you were born from the damn royal family yourself. Actually, Louis was pretty sure he was above a bunch of people who did have royal blood. Which was- something. Mostly, though, it was damn weird. It was weird when people bowed to him out in the village. It was weird when people didn’t know how to talk to him, when they stuttered over titles. It was weird when people acted like he was the terrifying one, out in public. Which, he supposed he was terrifying. With a title like duke, and the prince wrapped around his finger, he could ruin people’s lives if he wanted.
And it was just- it was weird, okay? It was all so damn weird.
All of it was so damn weird. It was weird, not having to budget for every single little thing. It was weird, not having to say no to every single impulse he had. It was weird, being able to just relax, when he wanted to. It was weird, having people do his dishes and cook his food and clean up around him. It was weird, not having to worry so much anymore. And that didn’t mean that Louis had stopped worrying. He didn’t think he would ever stop worrying. And it wasn’t like he had moved into the palace, or had stopped working, or anything. He was still working. He was still living at home, most of the time. He was still worrying. He was just spending most of his time worrying at the palace, these days. And the palace was still damn weird.
Louis didn’t think he could ever get used to the palace. But he could get used to Lestat.
“Mon cher,” Lestat called, from across the room. “Mon cher, you simply must see this!”
“See what?” Louis asked, as he shrugged a shirt on. Lestat wasn’t even wearing a shirt, and yet he was standing by the damn window.
“Come, come,” Lestat urged.
Louis sighed, He walked across the room to the window, and looked where Lestat was. “Are those deer?”
“Oui,” Lestat said. “They come around here quite often.”
“They’re beautiful,” Louis admitted.
Lestat grinned at him. “You should come with us, then!”
“Come with you where?” Louis asked.
“Hunting,” Lestat said, as though it were as simple as anything.
And, okay, it wasn’t as though Louis was a stranger to hunting. He had hunted plenty before, actually, when he couldn’t afford any other food. He and Grace and Paul had lived off of only rabbits for a few months, when they were younger. But that had been when they had needed to hunt. And it was clear that Lestat did not need to hunt. He was a prince, dammit. He didn’t need meat. He didn’t need fur. He didn’t even need something to do, because he had hundreds of books to read and bands to listen to and friends to speak with. So why the hell was Lestat, and probably a bunch of rich folks, going off hunting anyway?
“You don’t need to hunt, Lestat,” Louis said.
“Non,” Lestat said. “But we do not hunt because we need to. We hunt because we can.”
Louis snorted. “You ever stop to think if you should?”
“Why would we not hunt?” Lestat asked.
“Because it’s an animal,” Louis said. “An animal with a brain and a heart. An animal that could feed a family who’s so poor they need to hunt.”
“But it is a long standing tradition, Louis,” Lestat said. He was still shirtless. It was rude of him to be that beautiful while he was being so infuriating. “A large hunt to celebrate the beginning of deer season.”
“You’re hurting the population, that’s what you’re doing,” Louis said. “Taking deer away from people who need to kill them to survive.”
“It is an important tradition,” Lestat said.
“Well, I’m not joining it,” Louis replied. “You have fun killing deer for no reason.”
“Louis,” Lestat whined. “Please! It is a wonderful event.”
“Not for me, it ain’t,” Louis replied.
“You would look spectacular in a hunting uniform,” Lestat cooed.
Louis simply sighed. “Not happening, Lestat.”
“But Louis,” Lestat started.
At least, Louis thought he could get used to him. Hopefully.
Because, truthfully, Lestat was a lot. He had known that since he had met him, of course. Getting Louis a whole new cart from the castle had been a lot. Inviting Louis to the dance had been a lot. Dancing with Louis in front of the whole damn ball had been a lot. Chasing Louis through the whole damn palace had been a lot. Declaring to the whole kingdom that he was looking for Louis had been a lot. So, yeah, Louis had always known he was a lot. But it was different, now that he was spending a lot of time with him. He was seeing Lestat at the palace, now, in his own natural habitat. But Louis still liked Lestat, even if he was a lot. And Louis knew that he would get used to his prince’s extravagance, eventually. He was certain of that much.
Louis was just as certain that he would never get used to the staff.
“You are not meant to be in here,” a voice behind him said.
Louis nearly jumped. “What the hell?”
Louis turned around to stare at whoever was talking to him. He looked vaguely familiar. “You’re Daniel’s friend, aren’t you?”
“Daniel and I are acquainted, yes,” the man said. His name had been Armand, hadn’t it? “But more important, I am the head guard. And you are not meant to be here.”
“Right,” Louis said, with a sigh. “I can’t cook here?”
“The kitchens are off limits for non staff,” Armand said.
“I know Lestat came in here before,” Louis said. “He sneaks snacks in the middle of the night.”
“You are not the prince,” Armand pointed out.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Louis said. He put down the knife.
“If you were hungry, you should have asked the staff,” Armand said.
“Well, maybe I didn’t want to ask the staff every time I’m hungry,” Louis spat.
“You are a guest in this castle,” Armand warned, voice tense.
And, okay, maybe that was fair. “Sorry,” Louis said, rubbing his neck. “I’m just a bit messed up right now. Didn’t sleep well.”
“Is there something wrong with the room?” Armand asked.
“No,” Louis said. “The room is just fine.”
“Is something else bothering you, then?” Armand asked.
“Why do you care?” Louis asked. “I’ll get out of the kitchen, I promise.”
“My job is, these days, to prevent the prince from doing anything dangerous,” Armand explained. “And you seem to be a great aid in my cause.”
Louis laughed. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“So,” Armand said. “I repeat myself. Is something else bothering you?”
“No,” Louis said. He sighed. “Or, yeah, maybe. Palace life isn’t exactly for me, that’s all.”
“You will warm up to it,” Armand said, sounding weirdly confident.
“Yeah?” Louis asked. “How do you know?”
“I was not born in this palace, Duke,” Armand said.
Louis choked on nothing. “Do not call me that. Just Louis is fine.”
“Alright then, Louis,” Armand said. “I was not born in this palace. I came here for work, as many others do. I had to grow into my place here.”
“Okay, but your place is still as a member of staff,” Louis said. “I’m used to being staff. And suddenly, I’m a damn duke.”
“I may not have ever risen to that height,” Armand said. “But I still had to adjust to being head guard. And it was difficult. Being someone who others listened to, instead of spending my life listening to others.”
“But you did adjust?” Louis asked.
“Yes,” Armand said, as he smiled softly. It was a strange sort of smile. “I did.”
And, okay, maybe Armand wasn’t that bad. “Thank you, Armand.”
“Now,” Armand said. “If you would clean up what you were attempting to do in the kitchen here, I will guide you to your room.”
“You ain’t gonna let me finish?” Louis asked.
“You are not supposed to be in here,” Armand reminded him.
“But now I have the head guard watching me,” Louis pointed out. “Come on. I’m almost done, anyway. And it’s the best damn food in existence.”
Armand stared at Louis. “You miss cooking.”
“Yeah,” Louis said, sighing. “I miss cooking. Don’t have much reason to anymore. Which sucks, because I like it. And I’m good at it.”
“Then, I suppose, you may stay,” Armand said, slowly. “As long as you clean up after yourself.”
“Of course,” Louis said.
“And I will watch you cook,” Armand continued. “To ensure your safety.”
“Sure,” Louis said, smirking lightly. “And it’s definitely not because you want to try some.”
“Certainly not,” Armand said. “That would be improper of me.”
Louis snorted. “Whatever you say, Armand. Whatever you say.”
So, okay, Louis liked Armand just fine. He liked all the staff just fine, actually. Louis just wasn;t used to being served by them, instead of working alongside them.
They lingered everywhere, waiting for Louis to need something. They stared at him as he ate. They stared at him as he read. They stared at him every damn moment he was in the palace. He knew that they were just doing their job. And he knew that rich people could be so damn rude to servants. But that didn’t mean that the lingering wasn’t creepy as hell. It was hard as hell to get some actual privacy in the palace, and Louis didn’t even live here. At least he could go back home to get a damn break from it all. But he didn’t want to be home, was the thing. He wanted to be at the palace, with Lestat. Because he liked Lestat. He just didn’t like all the staff staring at him like he was about to beat them, whenever he was there.
Louis would never get used to getting controlled like that.
“Do they just stay here all the time?” Louis asked, as he ate dinner with Lestat in one of the many dining rooms.
“They are here to attend to our needs, Louis,” Lestat said, primly.
“And what if I ‘need’ privacy?” Louis asked.
Lestat laughed. “Privacy is not easy to find in this castle. Unless you are very good at hiding. Or running.”
“Of course it isn’t,” Louis said.
“Besides,” Lestat said, gesturing with his cup. “Now we do not have to pause our dinner to get more wine.”
A servant quickly refilled Lestat’s cup. Because of course they did.
“Standing isn’t a hardship,” Louis replied.
“You will get used to them,” Lestat said. “And besides, we get plenty of privacy in the bedroom, do we not?”
Louis nearly dropped his glass of wine. “There are people right here, Lestat.”
“They have heard much worse,” Lestat assured him.
Louis groaned. “How do you say anything without thinking about the people who can hear it?”
“You will get used to it,” Lestat assured him. “And, besides, they are very well vetted. They will not be spreading any gossip.”
Louis laughed at that. “I wouldn’t be so certain of that.”
“Oh?” Lestat asked. “Pourquoi?”
“I heard some gossip about you, back in the village,” Louis said. “Lots of gossip, actually.”
Lestat frowned. “What gossip?”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” Louis replied impishly. “Since you clearly do not need to worry about servants sharing your secrets.”
“Louis!” Lestat whined. “What secrets?”
“Could I have more of that wine?” Louis asked one of the servants, ignoring Lestat.
“Louis!” Lestat repeated. “Louis you must tell me what you have heard!”
Louis simply ate in silence. He smiled into his wine glass.
“Louis!” Lestat whined. Again. “Louis, Louis. What have you heard about me? Louis?”
Louis would never get used to being watched like that.
He had grown up in a completely different world than Lestat, was the thing. Louis had grown up having to take care of himself, and his parents, and his siblings. Louis had grown up having to take care of rich people, just to have money. Louis had grown up having to take care of every single thing himself. He didn’t have any help. He certainly didn’t have any damn servants. And now- and now they still weren’t his servants, but they still breathed down his neck nonetheless. And they weren’t even his servants, so he couldn’t boss them around. Not that he wanted to boss them around, or anything. But he did want to be able to actually breathe in this damn castle. He just wanted to cook his own food, or visit a garden by himself, or walk through the castle without being stared at by seven different servants.
Louis would never get used to being in this damn palace.
He would never get used to the sheer size of the place. The palace was larger than any house had any right to be. Or, no, that wasn’t it. The palace was larger than any building had any right to be. And it didn’t matter if they were the damn rulers of the country, that was excessive. Nobody needed this many rooms. Louis had gotten lost every time he had gone to the castle for the first month. Actually, no, Louis was still getting lost in the palace, actually. The place was confusing, okay? There were too many rooms in the palace. There were too many hallways in the palace. There were too many doors in the palace. Actually, there were too many of everything in the damn palace.
He would never get used to the luxury of it all. Everywhere Louis turned in the damn palace was luxury. Rooms full of books. Rooms full of bedding. Rooms full of clothes. Rooms full of food. Rooms full of paintings, and treasure, and gold. If there was an item in the palace, then there were five hundred of the same item as well. And if there was an item in the palace was the best possible version of the item, too. There was no such thing as cheap in the palace. No such thing as a budget, either. No such thing as saving expenses. No such thing as holding back. And Louis just wasn’t used to that, okay. He wasn’t used to being able to just take, and take, and take.
He would never get used to the servants constantly lurking. That was still the weirdest part to Louis. The servants. They were everywhere. They were constant. They were always there. And Louis- Louis appreciated them, he did. They did a lot of work that Louis knew from personal experience was hard as hell. But he still wasn’t comfortable with them. He was just used to doing things himself. Doing everything himself, actually. And now here were these servants, trying to do everything for him. Trying to tell him where he could go. Trying to tell him what tasks he could or couldn’t do. Trying to tell him how he should act in the palace. Louis just wasn’t used to it. He wasn’t used to servants. He wasn’t used to rules. He wasn’t used to the castle.
And yet, Louis was curled up next to the fireplace, reading.
He had not started the fire himself. He had not chopped the firewood. He was not even the one tending to the fire. A servant was doing that. Damek, Louis had learned his name was. Asking the servants their names was the least he could do. Especially with all they did. He was drinking tea that he had not brewed himself. He had not sourced the leaves, or even bought them himself. He wasn’t even the one who had brought the tea to the library. That had been Rashid. He was eating a stew that he had not cooked himself. He had not grown the ingredients, or slain the cow, or even bought the food. He had not had any part in the stew. And yet, he was eating it, courtesy of the servants. When he wanted to start reading a new book, he did not have to fetch it himself. Damek handed it to him, instead, as to not dislodge his blankets.
Louis would admit that there were, maybe, some things that he could get used to at the palace. Maybe.