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Darkseeker
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Avery sighed softly. Obviously the guy was too professional, or he was straight. He waited for his father to explain, but then one of the bodyguards stepped forward, saying he needed to speak to the king on an urgent matter. The king slid the papers to Avery, and asked him to explain, before walking a distance away with the bodyguard. Avery stared blankly at the papers for a second, then snapped back to reality. He felt awkward, being left alone with the guy he was just flirting with, but left a neutral face on. "Well," he said smoothly, "I suppose I'll do my best to explain."
After deftly scanning the papers, he leaned back. "Father wants some kind of workers to come to the palace, and redo certain wings. The paint is chipping, and it's ruining the face of the kingdom. We, apparently, need a "expert" to come in and make it look perfect. If you agree to the job, you will recieve more details. Any questions?" He finished in a cool, bored voice, no longer interested in flirting. He pulled out his phone, and scanned it. Robbie must've been having one hell of a time, because he hadn't even texted to brag. A slightly irritated look flicked across his face, but he was used to having to hide his emotions in public, and quickly fixed his face.
Instead, Avery pulled up his schedule. There was some kind of banquet that evening. That meant even posher suits, and a circlet. It also meant a good deal of press. He turned off his phone as his father returned. King Andrew sat down with a tight smile.
"I'm afraid we'll have to cut this short. Does the job sound to your liking, sir?" |
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Neutral
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The prince's overly flirtatious behavior seemed to cease immediately after Aspen ignored him and went to talking with the king. His earlier judgement about the royalty being stubborn were ending up to be true. Although, he preferred not to decide an individual's personality based off of rumors. It seemed everything was leading up to be true. Aspen watched the king's expression change over so slightly and looked away to see a guard. The king pushed the papers toward his son and excused himself. He wasn't going to say he was particularly thrilled with this. The prince had proven himself to not be that charming so far. "Father wants some kind of workers to come to the palace, and redo certain wings. The paint is chipping, and it's ruining the face of the kingdom. We, apparently, need a "expert" to come in and make it look perfect. If you agree to the job, you will recieve more details. Any questions?" The prince began explaining what was expected from him. It sounded pretty simple, a job that almost anyone mildly interested in painting could do. He noticed that the prince began to be self-absorbed in his phone rather than on the meeting at hand. Things were a bit awkward, especially with the prince's earlier failed attempts to flirt with him. He was relieved when the king returned and said that the meeting had to be cut short. "The job sounds just perfect to me, sir," Aspen gave a nod,"I, however, would like to look at the wings of the castle sometime to get an idea about the type of work that the castle needs." Already ideas were forming in his mind on the materials he might need and how much time he would have dedicate to fixing up the castle wings. He was excited as well, working for the royal family was a rare opportunity. He would be foolish to not take the job. |
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Darkseeker
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Avery stood up, and waited by his father, confused that they weren't already gone. The next thing his father said froze his blood. "Well, it looks like I'm going to be busy with some bigger matters over the next few weeks, so I'm putting this project in my sons capable hands. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact him." The king shook hands with the younger man, and then herded Avery out to the car. Once safely on their way, Avery scowled at his father. "Why did you have to slap me with the project? I don't care if the paint's a bit chipped on a few walls! This is gonna be so annoying. Plus, did you see how that guy looked at me! There was an obvious and mutual dislike there, dad." His father looked pained.
"I know this isn't what you wanted, but there's a lot going on right now. And that's part of being a ruler, and just a person. Life isn't always fair, Avery. You know that." Avery huffed, and turned away. Soon the palace came into view, and he felt a bit better. The car pulled to a halt and he jumped out, heading up the steps. He was mildly aware that a few bodyguards were following, but he was so used to it that it didn't bother him. He ran a hand through his locks, and went it search of his mother and brother. He didn't really want to know how the boat had been, but at this point he just needed a distraction, and he knew Robbie would be able to provide it. He found the two having tea in a gazebo, and plopped down in a chair beside them. |
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Neutral
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Aspen froze at the king's next words. The thought of working with the prince made his blood turn cold. He could tell that the prince was stuck-up, spoiled and not interested in anything involving him. He could also see that the prince couldn't care less about him and didn't like him too well. The last thing he wanted to do was work with the son over this project.
His resentment was enough to make him want to change his mind about the job but he knew better. This job could pay for everything he currently owns and everything that he desperately wants to own. This job alone could put him into middle-class status. He could afford new clothes, groceries that didn't consist of perservatives, rent, maybe even a new place. He would finally have a chance to not struggle financially for a while with this pay. And if the king liked his work? This could possibly mean a permanent job at the castle. He had to take this opportunity even if it meant working with somebody who didn't know how to appreciate the things he has or recognize how privledged he is. He got the contact information of the prince from the king and shook hands with the older man. He would have shook hands with the prince too but the king was already shoving the younger man out the door. So this was it. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. It practically fell right into his hands as well. "Barista! I'll take a light chai please!" He called to the barista, settling back down and pulled out the money the elderly couple had given him. For once, everything seemed to be going his way. |
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Darkseeker
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Avery was glad when his mother smiled and left to talk to their dad, and he was able to spend some quality time with his brother. As much as the two boys bickered, they were great friends, and had always been there for each other when their parents couldn't be. After complaining about his day, Avery waited to hear what his brother had to say. Robbie sympathized for a few minutes, and then told him about the boat party. Apparently it had also been a disaster.
Robbie had thrown up because of the champagne, the boat had turned out to have a small leak which was putting the whole ship in jeopardy, and the prominent guest that was supposed to give a speech never showed up. The boys sat in silence for a few minutes, letting the bad day hang in the air. Then Robbie cracked lame joke, and they both laughed painfully before standing up with heavy sighs, and much complaining. They split up, and went to get ready for a late luncheon with their parents. |
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Neutral
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Aspen continued with the mini-jobs for the rest of the week. The whole entire time his mind was focused on his new opportunity though. In order to make sure the castle was his top priority, he limited himself to two mini-jobs per day. He really wanted to impress the king. He definitely didn't want to be a screw-up. He had gotten permission by the prince to visit the castle and to start on the job. The week passed quickly and the next time his alarm went off, it was time for his first day of work at the castle. Not even the prince's attitude could flatten the excitement he felt. Today would be the first day he had ever stepped into a castle. Today would be the first day where he wouldn't be viewed as a low-class citizen anymore. Anybody who worked for the king were respected. citizens. Today marked the day of a new day. He eagerly set out to the castle and found himself arriving 10 minutes early. He was too excited to wait any longer. He approached the entrance of the castle and that's when the guards appeared. One guard blocked the entrance and two more appeared out of nowhere, grabbing both of Aspen's arms and holding them back behind his back as if he was going to be arrested. Aspen's excitement fell to the pit of his stomach, behind replaced by anxiety. Surely the prince was in communication with the guards? Surely the guards knew that he was hired staff and not somebody wanting to sneak into the castle? |
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Darkseeker
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Avery scowled as he ran down the path, waving the guards off.
"It's just another one of dad's "project people", he yelled. As soon as the words left his mouth, he blushed. Around citizens, he was supposed to call the king "father", as well as use sophisticated language. He'd done neither. Shoving it aside, he stopped at the gates, brushing off his suit. He worked out enough that he wasn't out of breath, and the tint in his cheeks was due to the words. The guards stepped back and he turned to the guy, pulling forth years of etiquette. "I humbly beg your forgiveness. I forgot to inform the staff of your arrival, and they were simply doing their job."
He thought over the apology, pleased with it. It followed all the rules he'd learned. It had been polite, put the blame on him, and had left no doubt that the staff was innocent.
He gestured to the palace.
"You have free run of the south wing, and everything in it. If you see any staff members, please treat them politely, they're just trying to do their jobs." He paused, trying to think of anything else.
"And," he said, in a long-suffering tone, "if you see his Younger Highness, don't be afraid to tell him to shove off. He can be a pest."
Avery turned, and started back up the drive towards the doors. |
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Neutral
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"Project people" was definitely an interesting description of the job he was given. His job was to tidy up the castle and make it pretty again. He didn't think project people would be his actual title. He was relieved when the guards released him. He wouldn't admit it aloud but the grip they had on him was a little too tight. It left marks on his wrists. He shook out his arms and took a breath to calm his racing heart. The prince gave an apology but it was too elegant to be works of the prince. A real apology wouldn't sound like that. Too polite, definitely not a characteristic of the prince's personality or at least not one he had been given so far. Nonetheless, he gave a nod toward the attempt. He was still trying to get over his shock from the guards and didn't trust himself to speak. "You have free run of the south wing, and everything in it. If you see any staff members, please treat them politely, they're just trying to do their jobs." He wasn't sure where the south wing was. He just hoped the prince would show him. He definitely wanted to take a look and confide with his boss about his suggestions. Sadly, his boss in this instance was the annoying prince himself that wasn't much older than him. However, he would have to make due. "if you see his Younger Highness, don't be afraid to tell him to shove off. He can be a pest." Aspen gave the smallest of smirks and moved to follow the prince. He couldn't help but be a little amused by that statement. He caught up with the prince and walked to the left side of him,"So I take it that annoying little brothers run in every family-even royal ones?" |
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Darkseeker
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Avery sighed dramatically. "Yep. They're even worse when they're spoiled like Robbie is. I guess to someone like you I'm pretty spoiled seeming too." Avery didn't like the thought, and shoved it away. He kept his pace steady, and turned the corner to the entrance to the South Wing, and screwed up his face when he saw Robbie smirking in the doorway. "Oooh, hi Avey! How's life?"
Avery scowled at the nickname, and bumped into his brother's shoulder, hard.
"Watch it." He said, dangerously softly. He winced when he realized that Aspen was still there and he turned. "Sorry..." Pushing past Robbie, he walked down the hallway, pausing by a velvet window seat.
"Um. This is technically Robbie's and my wing, but we're not staying here while you're working. The only reason you might have to see us is if we need something, which we shouldn't have to do. Any questions?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robbie wandering down the hall, and a muscle in his jaw twitched, but he kept his face calm until his brother was next to him. "Robbie and I are going to go fence. The pit is right outside this window, so if you need anything, just yell." |
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Neutral
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Aspen had younger and older sibling. Most of them were his brothers. Well 6 brothers and 1 sister. He was the fourth kid in his family which meant he got the annoying part from both ends of the family. However, he still ended up being the disappointment out of all eight kids his parents had. When Prince Avery mentioned that his brother was spoiled, he couldn't help but give the faintest of snorts, covering it up with a brief cough. The prince's brother wasn't the only one that was spoiled. But then, as the prince continued to state that Aspin thought he was spoiled himself. And the prince sure wasn't wrong. "Hey the only thing worse than one spoiled brother, is six of them," He commented. He would have said more but then he saw a younger version of Prince Avery by the enterance to what he assumed was the south wing. He watched as Prince Avery shoved past his brother and gave his brother a warning. He frowned a little bit at the encounter. However, he wasn't going to confront the prince about his poor attitude toward his brother. Apparently Aspen wasn't the only one that the prince was rude to. He listened as the prince explained that this was his wing but he wouldn't be around. He wouldn't mind if the royal family stayed in the wing. He wasn't prone to distractions. "You two really don't have to leave the wing while I work. It's not really such a fuss. Feel free to come into the wing whatsoever." He told them, stepping pass the prince to get a good look at the wing. It honestly didn't look that bad, really a fresh coat of paint and a fresh layout of carpet would do the wing wonders. "Before you go fence, I would like to discuss my invoice with you before I start," He ran his hand against the chipping paint along the walls and studied some of the yellowing of the paint,"I'm thinking a fresh layer of flooring, you can stick with the carpet that you currently have or modernize it with hard-wood flooring. Of course if you choose wood-flooring I'll have to charge for trim but wood-flooring will be easier to keep clean and make the hallway look more...well more sophisticated per say. I will also have to charge for cleaning supplies so I'm not re-painting on a dirty surface unless you have that supplies on hand already. Then I would like to discuss paint options before I start."
He already had a plan for the wing, he had a vision already in mind. The design was a little outdated and old. He thought the castle would look more inviting and nice with a hint of modern edge.
He had been so obsessed with making the hall look nice that he had forgotten to address the prince with common royal etiquette. He made it sound like he was telling the prince what to do and not giving him much choices. He knew to never speak to royalty like that but he had gotten lost in the moment. When he turned to face the prince again, he realized how he was speaking and instantly blushed, dropping his gaze to the floor,"I-I mean, whatever you wish for me to do with the wing is fine." |
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Summer 
Night Weather: 
Clear Moon: 
