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Prince Yor’s castle at Katena wasn’t too different in layout from what she was used to in Prince Sett’s castle in Bastea, so she managed to familiarize herself fairly quickly. The vibes, on the other hand, were completely different, in no small part due to the gorgeous attendants that Prince Yor surrounded himself with. Thankfully she knew what to expect from when she had visited the Black Wing with Nina during their stay in Galgada. That time seemed so long ago now…
What was harder to get used to was the enormous size and opulence of her room at the castle. Surely, this was not a room meant for someone of her stature…a mere serving maid? It was three times the size of her previous accommodations at Bastea, after all!
One of Prince Yor’s close associates, not the most gorgeous but definitely the most earnest-looking one, assured her that Prince Yor treated his attendants very well and that her room wasn’t anything out of the norm.
That might be true enough, but when she was cleaning the other day, she couldn’t help but feel her room was one of the best, even when compared to Yor’s favorite aides.
And then there was the proximity of her room to Yor’s own to consider… She didn’t want to read too much into it in case she misunderstood something but…
“We never even thought this room would ever be occupied…” The earnest attendant was muttering something to himself that Anne couldn’t quite catch.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t quite hear you…”
The attendant merely waved her off with a big smile, “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it! You take some rest now; you’ve been working really hard since you got here. Just because you’re the only woman around, don’t feel like you have to take on more than your fair share. Prince Yor wouldn’t want that either!”
She wasn’t trying to overstep or anything… It’s just that she was surprised Prince Yor wanted her around to begin with. To her knowledge, he had never hired any female staff prior to her…ever. And because of how capable the male staff were around here; she didn’t feel like she had much to contribute.
Which begged the question… why was she hired at all?
Of course, she knew why Yor hadn’t hired female staff before. She was probably an exception because she knew his secret and he was comfortable with her due to their time in the eastern prison.
That was the only reason, really…
It was nice of him to offer her a place while things settled down in Bastea. Prince Sett had no need for her until Nina returned anyway…
She tried not to think about Prince Yor’s cute blush when he held her hand. He was just trying to help her because she was struggling with vertigo. Or his beautiful, shy smile…
She didn’t want to read too much into things and get her hopes dashed. After all she was a serving maid, and he was the second prince of Galgada. The prison may have levelled things for a while because they were both at the bottom of the barrel there, but things were back to normal now. How could things possibly work out between them?
It was a good thing that Prince Yor was busy with his duties in the few days since her arrival. She had to steel herself before they had a proper conversation again…
She didn’t quite know what sort of face she was making out here in the open, so she was about to go back to her room to wallow in peace, when a familiar voice made her freeze in her tracks.
“There you are! You don’t make it easy to track you down. H-have you had dinner yet?”
Yor had sauntered in pretty confidently, but his voice wavered at the end, at which point he started scratching the side of his face awkwardly. The contrast would have amused Anne had she not been caught off guard by his sudden entrance.
“N-no… not yet.”
“Come join me, then!”
“Me, Yor-sama? Eat with you?”
She was rather bewildered. Was that something unique to Yor’s territory? She had never heard of attendants eating with their masters before, not unless it was some big celebration. And even then, they didn’t normally eat at the same table… Even with Nina, despite how close they were, they had never eaten together until they were thrown into that prison.
Yor’s face fell but he covered it up with a scowl. “It’s fine if you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that, Yor-sama, of course, I would love to.” She hastened to correct his assumption. “It’s just that… is it allowed? Me, eating with you? I am a serving maid…”
Yor merely scoffed. “Who do you think runs this territory? And this castle? I can eat with whoever I want.”
“Oh…”
“Hmph. Our time at the prison must have made you forget. I am the second prince of Galgada you know!”
And then he pulled her by the hand towards the dining room. He didn’t look back at her, but she could see the tips of his ears turning red already. She stifled her giggle; even though it was purely affectionate and she thought it was super cute when he turned red like this, she knew he would think she was making fun of him.
One day, maybe she would have the courage to tell him how cute he looked when he blushed. For now, she just focused on the warmth of his hand.
Dinner was delicious, though Anne couldn’t help but feel self-conscious about her table manners. She did her best to copy the way she had seen Nina eat at formal dinners. She had been so elegant; Anne would never have guessed she wasn’t a real princess had it not been revealed to her.
Yor, who was sitting diagonally from her instead of all the way at the other end of the table, suddenly sighed.
“You don’t have to be so tense. It’s just me here. We’ve eaten barely edible gruel and moldy bread together, with no cutlery to boot!”
Anne giggled. “Thank you, Yor-sama.”
Yor’s kindness was often hidden under his caustic demeanor, but it always made her heart feel warm. She had missed it, these last few months while they were apart.
It was true also that there was no one around to judge her here. Yor’s attendants had mostly made themselves scarce, other than occasionally bringing in new dishes.
“It’s easier to look at those memories in the prison more fondly now that we no longer have to deal with it. Even thinking about that hard bread feels nostalgic!” Anne mused.
“You call those memories fond?! We nearly died multiple times over in that god-forsaken place!”
Anne smiled. “If we weren’t trapped there together, I would have never had the opportunity to get to know you, Yor-sama. Looking back now, it wasn’t so bad, since I had you and Nina with me. My two favorite people…”
Her smile grew a little wistful. She missed Nina so much. She hoped she returned safe and sound after she completed what she set out to do.
Yor’s nose wrinkled. “It’s still weird to think her name was Nina of all things. Why does she have the name of Sett’s bird?!”
“Haha, it’s Nina, not Neena. It’s a bit different.”
“Oh, come on, that’s as close as it can get! And Sett is obsessed with both! Well, I suppose I can see her charm after getting to know her. Not the bird though! I will always hate the blasted bird.”
Anne laughed at his energetic tirade (Nina was very energetic too, but in a way so different from Yor!).
“Neena isn’t so bad either, once you get to know her. She’s saved Nina a few times too.”
Somehow, Yor managed to scowl and smile at the same time at her response, another new expression of his she hadn’t seen before.
After dinner, they strolled around the garden at Yor’s suggestion. Anne was pleasantly surprised he wanted to spend more time with her, but of course, she didn’t mind at all. The weather was also quite nice today.
Eventually, they sat on a bench for a breather. Anne was more amused than offended by the fact that Yor sat as far away from her as possible on the bench. Old habits die hard.
Anne wracked her brain for something to talk about, but Yor beat her to it. “I-I hope you’re settling in here okay. Don’t feel bad about reaching out to me if you need something.”
“Thank you, Yor-sama! That’s very kind of you to offer. Your attendants have been very helpful, so I’m not wanting for anything.”
“Believe it or not, I did train them you know! They are extensions of myself.”
“They are very resourceful, for sure!” Anne responded agreeably. And extremely gorgeous.
“Of course, there are things that even they can’t do that I can.” Here he puffed up his chest in his Yor-like way and Anne had to hide a smile again.
The silence stretched on for a bit, so Anne hesitantly decided to venture on a track that had been on her mind.
“Yor-sama… there is something that maybe you can help me with.”
“Yes?”
She stalled a bit, not knowing exactly how to proceed. “More accurately, it’s something you would know best.”
“I’m listening.” He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting.
“Um…” She took a deep breath. “Will you tell me more about why you asked me to serve you? I can’t help but feel that there’s not much for me to do here. Your attendants are very good at their job and have everything more or less covered. I’m not sure how I can be useful to you… Of course, I understand my place here is temporary, so if you don’t have a specific role for me, that’s no problem. I am grateful for what you’ve done for me, and I will do my best to make myself useful…”
For some reason, Yor was looking more and more agitated at her words, and that made her trail off uncertainly.
“Yor-sama…?”
“You have a habit of looking down on yourself, woman. When did I ever say that your place here was temporary? Or that you have to make yourself useful?”
“You didn’t, but…” She stopped, puzzled. She gazed over at Yor who was a strange mix of abrasiveness, kindness, and shyness that she hadn’t fully figured out.
“Well, I shouldn’t blame you entirely since I was a coward and didn’t make myself clear.” Her prince looked at her now and she could see that even though he wasn’t holding her hand, his face was slowly turning red. “I asked you here because I want you to be by my side. You never expect anything out of me but let me be myself without any judgement. That’s more than enough, I don’t need anything else from you. I just need you to be here, as yourself.”
Anne felt tears pricking at her eyes before she knew it.
“W-Why are you crying?” Yor’s frantic voice broke her reverie. He searched through his pockets and handed her a handkerchief, almost dropping it in his haste.
“T-Thank you…It’s because no-one has said they wanted me just for me before! I was just really touched.” Even her parents hadn’t wanted her… “Yor-sama, you have such a kind-hearted, beautiful soul.” And she truly meant it.
“Beautiful soul?! You have really weird tastes, woman!”
Anne giggled. “You’re one to talk, Yor-sama. After all, you like me… of all people.”
Yor took her hand, even though he couldn’t look her in the eye. His face was turning even redder than before. How that was possible she didn’t know, but it was too adorable to describe.
“Not just like… I love you, A-Anne…”
Anne blushed speechlessly, staring at the caustic, kind prince who had stolen her heart. Was this really happening to her?
And this was how Anne’s love story with a prince began, which she felt was something like out of a fairytale. As for how the fairytale continues, that’s a tale for another time!