Chapter Text
He gazed at me. I returned it, both of us mindlessly staring. I knew his name was Nicaise, and I knew he was a boy my age from a middle-class family, and now was to be my servant, for every single thing I needed. To me, it felt a little bit odd—someone to help me dress, bathe, clean, accompany me on everything. My mother spoke to me as I stared, occasionally nodding to her every few seconds to tell her I was infact paying attention—though I only half my attention was on her; the other half on this boy.
He was exceptionally beautiful—with curly brown hair and pale olive-peachy skin, perfectly tanned by the sun, dappled with barely noticeable freckles and honey-golden eyes. If I was a girl, I think I would have fallen in love with him.
“Camille,” my mother said camly, though I don’t belive it was the first time she had called for me. I looked at her.“Did you hear me?”
“Yes, ma Mére,” I said, vaguely repeating what I had got from her ranting. Nicaise was now my personal servant, that I had to treat him well, he would stay in the servants quarters at the far end of my rooms that no servant has ever stayed in during my lifetime.
She smiled softly and breathed out. “Mon amour, I must attend to your sisters now. Take good care of him, alright?” And smiled at Nicaise. “Let me know if my son is a dick, alright?” She said, which I scoffed in disbelief at, then she pranced off and into the hall. My gaze fell back on Nicaise.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hello,” he replied.
“You are quite too exquisite to be my servant,” I started, realizing that I was speaking this out loud to his face. He flushed a peachy shade of pink, opening his mouth to talk, but then I blurted, “I meant, that you—don’t look like the other servants. You are different.”
He eyed me oddly.
“Shit, that was worse,” I cursed. “Forgive me, I think that I must be dehydrated.”
He was slightly pink, staring at me, which I was still flushed with embarrassment.
“Do you want me to get you water, My Liege?” he said after a second of unbroken and quite awkward eye contact.
“No leige, yes, water Camille—wait—“
God, I looked like an idiot. I swallowed. “Yes water, please. Just call me Camille.”
I bit my tongue and winced at myself. I was an idiot. I could not speak properly. I think this boy made me nervous for some bizzare reason—I was not sure why, but he did. He went to fetch a glass of water for me, and passed it to me as he returned.
“Thank you,” I murmured, taking the glass from him and sipped at it. He watched me do this—which felt… odd. Nervous. Like before. Why could a boy I did not know make me nervous? No one makes me nervous beside my mother—she made me nervous. I set the glass on the table, which he awkwardly looked out the window as soon as I did, fondling with his fingers.
“Have you seen the estate yet?” I asked.
He looked over at me. “Only a little—Mrs. de Valois showed me to your rooms, but that’s the extent of it.”
“Why don’t I show you around?” I offered.
He smiled. “I would like that.”
———
Together we walked around the large house and the lush garden my mother loved more than she loved me. It was nice. He was nice. I found that he was actually quite funny, every backhanded joke never failed to make me giggle. I learned he was 19, less than a year my senior, and also had a older brother and younger sister. His family was not poor, nor were they rich, but his father was a guard for my aunt’s infantry unit, the queen.
I began to feel like this was not going to be terrible.
While we were in the gardens, he picked a velvetly white flower, putting it to his nose.
“A Gardenia,” I said quietly. “They mean forbidden love and secret admiration,” I then added, glancing down at the bush, then back to wide eyed Nicaise.
“Sorry, I am a little bit of a nerd about flowers,” I explained.
“No no,” he said, a smile prickling on his mouth. “Thats actually—v-very cool,” he narrowed his eyes toward the floor, his face all the sudden a little pink.
After, he tucked the flower into my hair, which I slightly gasped in surprised, which made him grin. “There you go,” he said, smiling at it.
“Beautiful,” he said, before quickly adding, “I mean the flower, of course,” then eyes widening again. “Shit, I mean I’m not saying you aren’t beautiful—that—you are very—“ He swallowed, wincing, eyes locked on mine.
I bit my lip, trying my very hardest not laugh at poor Nicaise.
“Thank you,” I said simply, urging him to follow me as we walked down the path.
“You are quite beautiful aswell,” I mumbled.
———
Later that day, I had showed him the kitchen, grabbing our dinner to take it back to my rooms—and his. We sat there on the balcony of my bedroom, faced toward eachother, silently eating our dinner on the tile floor. He seemed to quite enjoy it, which made me glad. I enjoyed it too—onion soup topped with cheese and bread. I occasionally looked up it him, thankfully never making eye conact whenever I did, his attention on the warm soup.
“Do you like it?” I asked quietly, attempting at small talk rather to the silence.
He nodded, galcing up at me for a second, swallowing before he spoke.
“Yes, its very good.”
I nodded in agreement. “My families chef is very good. He cooks amazing things—as you will learn.”
He laughed a little, taking another spoonful and swallowing. “I am looking forward to it.”
I smiled. The rest of the meal was relatively quiet until he took my platter of food and dissapeared into he hall to take them back. I offered to help, worrying might get lost, but he assured me he would be fine. After that I sat on the balcony where I ate, taking the the last evening beams of the summer sun, letting it warm my whole body. I did hope Nicaise would be happy here.
When he was back. He came to sit next to me, silently staring into the blossoming stars in the purple sky. We both sat there, wordless, for several minutes.
“I do not know how to be a well servant,” he muttered. It caught be by slightly surprise, gaining my gaze on him. “I am sorry.”
I swallowed. “Its okay. I don’t mind.”
He looked at me, our gazes meeting. “You—don’t mind?” He sounded confused.
“I was not very keen on the idea of one at first,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my head, tilting it downwards. “I quite like you, though. I was hoping we could be more like… friends. Except I pay you—which is a little bit awkward, to be fair.” I winced.
He laughed a little, crossing his legs. “Yeah, but just don’t think too much about that. Friends is good.
———
That night I lay in bed, quietly staring out the balcony which I sat with Nicaise for dinner. He was a charming boy, and I was delighted my mother had hired him and not some creepy old man who had no sense of personality—I think thats what I was scared of. I liked Nicaise. He was exceptionally… hard to not stare at, aswell, which I am not sure was a bad or good thing.
I fell asleep then, heavy and hot from the heat of the summer.
———