~BACKSTORY~

Character A is destined to marry a princess and rule over the kingdom. Character B...well Character B is lucky enough to have a job and a roof over his head. Character B works day and night as a carpenter and painter to earn just enough to pay rent. One day, the king hires him to "touch up the kingdom to its former glory". There he meets a handsome looking prince and the rest is history....

Please do not post here unless you are listed in the title. :)

Aspen sighed and rolled off his bed. It was another day of hard work just to afford his one bedroom apartment. His apartment was on the rough end with old brown brick walls and chipped hardwood floors. There were a few bricks that had fallen out of the wall in the night. His apartment only had one light fixture to provide lighting. The apartment was also on the sketchy side of town-one where not even the strongest most bravest man would feel safe adventuring out in once the sun sets.

But despite the rough ends of his apartment, he was proud of it. It was his first place away from home. He earned this place by working hard through the sweat and tears. So what if it wasn't perfect? It was his home.

He quickly opened up his three drawer dresser that had scratches and crayon all over it from the previous owners who's obviously had kids. He put on his work uniform which always consisted of a white tshirt and a pair of old jeans. Both of these items had paint stains on them from painting jobs that went outside of the typical color norms. Most people wanted their paint white, but sometimes there were just a few that decided to do things differently. He couldn't afford to buy new clothes each time he got paint on them.

He grabbed his keys off the counter and set out for the day. He already had five paint jobs booked for today and a couple of other jobs that wanted him to fix the framework on their storm and bedroom doors. That's how he made money, doing small work and spreading his name around the town. Over the past year he had worked up just the slightest reputation of being one of the best self-employed painter and carpenter in the town.

The first early morning job was an easy and quick one. It was an elderly couple wanting a few siding pieces nailed back onto their house and a side of their house painted to hide the mold that was making its way onto some of the siding pieces. Of course the elderly couple would have been better off to replace the siding with new ones but he knew that was more expensive than hiring someone to power wash your house and give it a good paint job. Besides, they were a very generous couple and offered him a large amount of money to do so. That type of money could handle half of the price for rent alone.

He moved onto the second morning job which was putting in tile flooring in the bathrooms of another home. He was doing small jobs until he could go to his next appointment. His next appointment wasn't a job persay. It was a meeting with someone who was interested in hiring him for one. He wasn't sure who since he had received the job invitation under an anonymous email. He did know one thing though: only important people reached out through email these days and important people meant more money for the job.

He finished putting in the tile and walked out to wrap it up with the owner of the home.

"Alright, your new tile is put in the bathrooms. Now all you got to do is keep those three boys of yours from staining it again," He teased the mother. The house belonged to a single mother trying to raise three kids on her own. He shook hands with her and gave her his address to send the check. She couldn't afford to pay him this week but she promised she would next week.

Normally, he would collect pay after doing a job and not accept late pay but he had sympathy for her. It was hard enough trying to earn your keep to survive when it was only you to take care of. He couldn't imagine trying to raise kids right and work a job all at the same time.

Walking out, he checked the time. He didn't have long before his next appointment. He was doing well on time, having time to complete two morning jobs before the meeting. The meeting was scheduled at some expensive coffee shop on the edge of town. He had 30 minutes to get there so it best to delay the other jobs until after.

As he walked toward the shop, he couldn't help but let his mind wonder over who might be offering him a job. He figured it was someone rich that needed someone last minute for an emergency situation. He was just starting to build his reputation in town, no way would somebody of higher class ask him unless if it was under dire circumstances.

He made it just in time for the appointment meeting. It took him a little longer than expected to travel from the single mother's house to the coffee shop. He expected to arrive with 15 minutes to spare but instead, he was rushing into the door with 4 minutes to spare.

He welcomed the fresh smell of the coffee shop and looked around. His eyes widened with horror as he spotted the familiar uniform of royalty. The king and one of the princes were here. He took a deep breath and turned his gaze away just as the prince took his gaze off of his phone and put his phone away.

Surely, his appointment was running late and not royalty themselves? The email had been fancy but he didn't think it was written by the royal thumb. Then again, it was easier to tell royalty written works from hand-written letters than email. Besides, there was no one else here but him and the royalty.

He felt anxiety rising in his chest. Aspen wasn't prepared for this. He was dressed formerly enough to meet with royalty, hell his hair wasn't even brushed. Taking a deep breath to calm his anxiety, he decided to go to the barista. The invitation said to ask if the barista to meet.

"What can I get for you?" The barista narrowed his eyes toward Aspen's appearance. Clearly Aspen didn't even look like he could afford this shop and in some way the gesture of judgement was correct.

"H-Hi, I'm Aspen Rhodes. I have a meeting scheduled here with somebody," He explained, giving another deep breath. Here comes the moment of truth. Please let the appointment be running late.

The barista gave a nod and told him to follow. He was led exactly where he was dreading. The one place he didn't want to go. Toward the king. Toward the prince. He wasn't prepared for this.

"Pardon me, Your Majesty. I introduce Aspen Rhodes, one of the workers that were invited to meet with you," The barista gave a bow. Aspen froze for a moment, his expression showing his anxiety and fear. There was no way he was going to get the job. He wasn't prepared for this.

The barista gave him a hard nudge with his elbow and Aspen quickly bowed, softly apologizing for the delay.

"Thank you so much for inviting me," His voice shook a little,"It is an honor to meet with you."

He could feel the prince's eyes on him the moment the barista introduced him. He heard the prince ask for a refill and wondered briefly what type of man he was. Most royalty were known for being spoiled and "rightfully so". He began to think the prince lived up to that reputation by the way he asked for a refill. Coffee shops did not do refills. It didn't take a high class genius to know that one.

After the introductions of both the king and the prince-not that he didn't need any, he waited for his invitation to be seated before sitting next to the prince. He was nervous enough about this meeting. He sure didn't want the king to smell the scent of paint that lingered on skin and clothing. The king was of higher ranking than the prince which meant he was probably in charge of this meeting. The prince couldn't decline him from the job position just because he smelled like paint but the king? He definitely could.

"So I hear you are hiring for a position in...castle restoration?" The invite didn't mention anything about the castle or why. It just said the amount they were willing to pay for somebody to do the job. Surely, a king could hire anyone in the world. He was a bit curious to why he was chosen,"I have experiences in working for property owners from both low-class and upper-class individuals. I can guarantee that I am qualified for the job."

He tried to sound confident, moving back to the conversation he had in his head about how this meeting would go. Of course, he didn't expect his client to be the royal family. That was a game changer. He just needed to take a deep breath and stick to the conversation plan. He really needed this job. It would keep the lights on and him off the streets for quite some time.

He noticed while he was talking that the prince's expression started to change toward him. He couldn't help but notice the prince's overly flirtatious attitude and gestures toward him. He briefly narrowed his eyes and turned his attention to the king. If he wanted this job, he had to stay focused on the prize. The prize being the king hiring him. He couldn't waste his time worrying about what that spoiled prince was up to.

"If you would like, I can show you a few pictures of my work. Although, I must warn you that the pictures are taken on my cell phone and they might not be of the highest quality," He heard somewhere that the king had a thing about cell phones. He definitely didn't want to make the king angry with pulling out his. Especially not during a professional meeting.