Chapter Text
As the sun rises over the Queendom of Roses, a young boy with navy blue hair pushes a chair up to a table. The metal gently scrapes against the concrete underneath it as it’s moved into place. A sign is set up right outside the door, showing off today's daily specials as the boy slides the doors to the cafe open, ready for customers.
Walking inside, the boy preps the coffee and pastries, making sure everything looks and smells amazing. He sets some magazines out on the tables before rewriting the menu, making it actually legible. Turning up the music and turning on the public access computers, the first of many customers started pouring into the cafe.
Orders rushed in, but he didn’t panic; this was normal for him. Decorating each cup with latte art, he stacked them all up on his tray before gracefully delivering each one to its respective customer. It was like this all day, and while others saw it as stressful, he saw it as mandatory.
The end of his shift was slowly approaching as he gathered up empty plates and cups, scooping up a few tips that were left for him in the process. Before his coworker showed up, the boy nabbed a pastry from the display case, tossing it into a bag. His coworker finally showed, allowing the boy to leave for the day, so he did.
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“And welcome back. Andrea and I are thrilled to be here and bringing you the 144th Prince Procession!” The male news reporter stated, staring into the camera.
“That’s right, Phil. And where are those princes processing?” The female new reporter asks as the screen transitions to the outside of a palace.
“Glad you asked, Andrea! Why to Night Raven College of course!” Fill answered his co-host, the screen showing a panoramic shot of the front entrance. “Where bold boys meet dreams of destiny!”
The boy walked through the door to his apartment, seeing the news cast on TV. He places a bag of groceries on the table next to the door before silently slipping behind the couch, covering the eyes of the woman sitting on it. “Guess who?”
“Oh no!” The woman yelled sarcastically. “The evil blueberry has caught me yet again!” She laughed, and the boy pulled his hands away from her eyes. “How was work, Deuce?”
Deuce looked down at her with a smile. “Not that bad. Same as usual.” He answered, tossing the bag with the pastry in it over to her. “I see you’re watching the lottery drawing.”
The woman simply nodded, her mouth too full of pastry to actually say anything. Just then, their TV audio cut out, being replaced with static. “Deuce, the TV’s doing that thing again.”
“Coming, Mom.” He called back, walking over to the TV to fiddle with the cords behind it. “We don’t need you hurting your eyes looking at this.”
“All hail Prince Deuce, master of technology!” His mom said jokingly as Deuce continued fiddling with the TV.
“Come on, Mom, I’m definitely not a prince.” With one last whack to the top of the box, the TV returned to normal. Deuce walks back into the kitchen to put his groceries away.
“Every boy is a prince; some just happen to have fancier crowns.” She replied, smiling at her son. “While you’re in there, can you grab my medicine?”
Deuce nodded and grabbed said medicine from the cabinet, pouring a glass of water for her as well. “How have you been doing?” He asked, handing his mom the water and pills.
“Eh, I’m getting there.” She admitted, swallowing the pill with little issue. “Doctor said I’m ‘comfortable’.”
“Comfortable?” Deuce raised an eyebrow, heading back to the kitchen yet again. “You should be all better. Don’t worry, you’ll get there… I just have to keep working.” Deuce opens the fridge to put the milk away and to hide his own worried expression. “Then we can afford a better place, and better doctors.”
Closing the fridge, Dylla saw all the old drawings Deuce had made as a kid. “I’m sure it’ll be exactly like how you imagined.” Deuce just chuckled a bit before a trumpet started playing on the TV. “Oop! It’s time for the lottery, come on, Deuce.”
“Just give me a minute, I have to put these away.” He answers, grabbing more groceries from the bag to put away.
On TV, the announcer introduced Divus Crewel, the vice-headmaster. “At NRC, those born to the royal life unlock their princely potential, yet every year, one regular citizen of the Queendom wins a full scholarship to the school, giving him the chance to become a chamberlain and change his life forever. Will it be you?” Crewel spoke into the microphone, the crowd below erupting with excited cheers. “To choose this year's lottery winner, I present Mister Vil Schoenheit.”
Crewel gestures to his side, where two blond men stand next to each other. The older man steps forward and takes over the microphone. “You, of course, mean Prince Vil Schoenheit. My son will soon be ruler of the Queendom.”
With a roll of his eyes, Crewel turns toward Vil, who was now standing behind the raffle box. The giant box spins around, and once it stops, Vil reaches inside to pick a name. Fumbling for a bit, he eventually grabs one and reads the name “Deuce Spade.”
Hearing his own name on TV caused the boy to immediately spin around, accidentally cracking his neck a bit in the process. Dylla mirrored her son’s shocked expression before jumping up and rushing over to crush the poor boy with a hug. “Yes! Looks like my little boy is gonna be a chamberlain!”
Deuce tried his hardest to get out of his mom’s death hug, and when he finally did, he looked her dead in the eyes. “Mom… did you enter me into the lottery?”
“Only once, a couple of months ago.” She admitted, still overjoyed that her son gets to attend NRC. Before Deuce could even finish processing the information, there was a strong knock at the door.
Dylla walked over to open it and was met with an incredibly intimidating man. “Deuce Spade?” He asked, and Dylla quickly let him inside. “Congratulations. I’m here to take you to Night Raven College.” The man said with a professional tone. Deuce couldn’t tell if the man took his job seriously or just completely hated it.
“Uh, about that… I’m not going.” Deuce exclaimed, only to get a slap on the back from his mom and a reassuring smile. “Mom… I don’t belong with a bunch of princes and chamberlains. Look at me, I’m a waiter.” He said, gesturing to his messy work uniform that he hadn’t changed out of yet.
“Deuce, I get it, and I shouldn’t have gone behind your back like that.” Dylla started, giving her son a serious look. “I know you value your responsibilities here, but this is a big chance. A position as a chamberlain…”
“Would change our lives forever…” Deuce finished, realizing the weight of the situation. With a smile and a hug, Vargas walked up behind the two of them.
“It’s time to go.” He stated bluntly, making Deuce panic a bit.
“Already? Uh, just let me throw together some clothes…” Deuce said, planning to rush to his room to pack.
“It’s all at the school,” Vargas explained. “We have to go now, or you forfeit your scholarship.” Deuce nodded and gave his mom one last hug before heading out the door.
Heading outside behind Vargas, he heard his name being called from above. Looking up, he saw his mom waving to him. As he was waving back, Vargas flicked the reins, putting the carriage into motion, so Deuce had to quickly hop on before it got too far.
“Goodbye, Deuce!” Dylla shouted as she watched her son leave. “You’ll always be my little prince.”
The carriage, now a good way down the road, gave Deuce the perfect chance to collect his thoughts. Looking around, he spotted a teapot and some makeup. Getting an idea, he grabbed a black makeup pen and closed his right eye, and started drawing a spade using the mirror… only for the carriage wheel to hit a rock, causing him to smear the makeup.
Reaching for a napkin, his wrist accidently spilled a cup of tea all over the floor of the carriage. “Ugh, great. I’ve already flunked carriage riding.” With that, Deuce wiped the makeup off and decided to just not touch anything else for now.
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Arriving at the school’s main entrance, Deuce was astounded by how big the grounds were. Students were roaming around outside, and none of them seemed to care about the late arrival pulling up to the door. Hopping off the carriage, Deuce turned to Vargas. “Thanks for the ride. Hey, I was wondering if, maybe, you could–” Before the boy could even finish his question, the man drove off. “Ok, guess not.”
Walking inside was even more world-shattering. The grand hall, the regal students walking around… not to mention the little pixie creatures flying around. As he was walking through the main entrance, he failed to look where he was going and accidentally bumped into a few students; thankfully, they didn’t seem to mind too much. When the bell rang, the grand hall quickly cleared out, leaving Deuce alone and confused.
It wasn’t for long, though, as a big bundle of joy came sprinting at him from behind, tackling him to the floor. It was a golden retriever, and an energetic one at that. “Haha! You scared me.” Deuce said, causing the dog to whine a bit. “Aww, it’s ok. You’re a good dog.” Looking down, Deuce spotted the dog’s collar and took a look. “Prince. Good boy, Prince.”
“Hm.” A voice hummed behind him, causing Deuce to turn his head around to see Crewel himself. “You must be Deuce Spade. We don’t usually find out future chamberlains sprawled on the floor.” He said, clearly finding the situation amusing.
“Oh, sorry,” Deuce said, standing up. “He’s just… he’s very sweet,” Deuce explained, gesturing to Prince, who was sitting next to the boy.
“Well, not usually, he’s normally quite shy,” Crewel commented with a smile. “Go and lie down, Prince.” With that, the dog left, and Crewel returned his attention to the boy. “I’m vice-headmaster Crewel. Welcome to NRC.”
Deuce shook the hand extended out to him. “Thank you, it’s an honor.”
“Let me show you to your locker.” Crewel offered before walking up the stairs. Deuce quickly fell into step next to the man. “NRC was founded on the principles of instilling young men with character and confidence, and it has been preparing them for royal life for nearly five centuries,” Crewel explained as the two entered the library.
“Whoa, my mom would love this,” Deuce commented, gaining a curious hum from Crewel. “She’s the one who convinced me to come, actually. I wasn’t going to, but it’s a chance to make things better for her.”
Hearing that, Crewel halted for a moment, looking at the boy who was now in front of him. “Deuce… only 27% of lottery winners make it through to graduation. Do you think you have what it takes?”
“I think so. I’ll sure give it my all.” Deuce said, a bit jittery from the raised stakes just presented to him. Crewel just nodded along with his words.
“Now, you’ll see that all of our students carry themselves with dignity and sophistication.” As if on cue, two students walked into the library, squealing something about tea and hanging out. A loud cracking sound soon followed, causing the two to shut up and look at Crewel. “Quite in the library, pups.”
With that, the two boys walked off, their heads hanging low. “Wow…” Deuce said, and Crewel returned his attention to the boy.
“Now then, you are standing in the original NRC castle; however, the inside has been evolving over the years,” Crewel explained as the two kept walking. “Most classes, as well as the student dorms, have been outfitted with modern technology.” Crewel gestured to Deuce’s side, where a large classroom was sitting. It looked completely different than what he had expected. “To your left, our Olympic-sized ballroom. There is also my personal favorite, our luxurious spa. Can never go wrong with a good mani-pedi from time to time.”
Coming to a stop, Crewel gestures to a locker along the wall. Only, Deuce’s attention was elsewhere. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear his name being called. “Deuce Spade? Has anyone seen a Deuce Spade?” Turning around, something slammed right into his shirt, staining it. The tiny lavender creature, who was holding a cupcake, pulled back and offered an apologetic smile. “Ehe… uh, at your service, sir.”
“This is Epel, your personal pixie assistant. Every student at NRC has one” Crewel introduced. “They are usually punctual and usually helpful,” Crewel said with a hint of snark in his voice, causing Epel to toss the cupcake to the side with an awkward chuckle. “I shall leave you in his… capable hands.”
Crewel saunters off after that, and Epel flies over to try and wipe the frosting off Deuce’s shirt. “I am so sorry… it was buttercream.” Epel sighs and shakes his head. “I just wanted to give you the traditional welcome cupcake.”
Deuce just laughed at the tiny pixie’s behaviour. “Aw, don’t worry. I can’t get too mad at a cute creature like you.”
“Don't call me cute!” Epel shouted at the boy, which quickly shut Deuce up. “Anyway, you wanna change clothes?” Epel asked, flying over to Deuce’s locker to open it. “This thing’s got everything a prince student needs. Books, pens, paper, makeup mirrors, fancy belt collection, and of course, emergency flats.” Epel explains, smirking at Deuce’s shocked expression.
“This… this is my locker?” Deuce asked, not believing his eyes at all. Epel just nods and continues showing off what was in the locker. The little pixie took it upon himself to start… throwing things out of the locker, yep.
“Here’s your beauty supplies. Bejeweled hair brush, diamond eyeliner… oh, I love this perfume!” Epel said as he tossed said perfume over to Deuce. The bottle flew over the boy’s head, but he luckily grabbed it by the squeezer… not so luckily, the perfume ended up spraying all over a blond-haired student.
The boy coughed and swatted at the air to clear the mist. Once it was gone, the boy glared daggers at Deuce. “Oh, I am so sorry. It was an accident.”
Just then, another boy walked over, and he had ginger hair instead. The boy sniffed the blond before looking at him. “Um, Vil… there’s such a thing as too much perfume.”
“Cater!” Vil scolded, and Deuce finally realized how badly he had messed up.
“Oh no… you’re–”
“Furious! That’s what I am.” Vil interrupted, scolding the boy. “How dare you!”
“Look, Vil… they’re serving floor cakes,” Cater said, completely oblivious the the rising tension as he picked up the dropped cupcake.
“I uh… I just got here, so…” Deuce tried to explain, only for Vil to cut him off again.
“You just got here? Let me guess, Deuce Spade, the lottery winner.” He said with a cocky smile on his face.
“Yes, so you understand. This is all so new to me and–”
“I understand the lottery is a joke! Isn’t it obvious?” Vil interrupted for the third time, looking the boy over from head to toe. “Potatoes like you don’t belong here. Right, Cater?” Vil asked, but Cater wasn’t paying attention; he was just eating the cupcake. Rolling his eyes, Vil stepped away from the two. “Rook!”
A purple pixie with blond hair quickly flew over. “Yes, your radiance?” he asked, and Vil demanded a ‘prince pamper package’. “Make way to the spa!” Rook shouted as the two left.
“Um, are you taking orders?” Cater asked Deuce. “Because I would do anything for a triple foam mocha latte… the floor cake was delicious.” With that, Cater handed the empty cupcake wrapper to Deuce before walking off.
There was an awkward silence as Deuce watched the two princes walk away. “Um, as you can see… everyone here is super nice… most of the time,” Epel reassured, or at least he tried to. “Uh, anyway… let’s get you ready for school. Ahem, locker, please extend the curtain for a princely prim.” Without wasting a second, the locker actually listened and extended a privacy curtain.
Epel parted the curtains and shoved Deuce inside with surprising force, given his tiny frame. Once inside, the curtains closed again, and a beam of magic showered down on Deuce. Within seconds, Deuce’s drab waiter ensemble was replaced with the ever-fabulous school uniform, complete with a red vest under his blazer and a properly drawn spade over his right eye.
Smoothing out a few aspects of his new uniform, Epel admired the outfit. “There we go, pretty as a prince… agh, chamberlain.” He corrected himself before flying up to look Deuce in the eyes. “Now, onto your schedule, let's get you all settled.”
Deuce smiled and nodded his head, following behind the pixie.
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Maybe This Won’t Be So Bad.