"Your problems aren't any less valid th-" He trailed off when he heard the footsteps of someone approaching. He removed his hand from the prince's shoulder turning to look to see who it was. What he saw, made his lips curve into a smile.

It was the younger prince, wearing a ridiculous looking hat and a cat. Of course trust the royalty to go off to look at glowing things and return with a cat. The cat seemed rather comfortable too. While the princes talked, he busied himself with putting the mirrors that they didn't want back. He wasn't sure how the king was going to response to a castle cat but that wasn't really none of his business.

"Do we need anything else from here?"

Aspen finished putting everything back and grabbed the mirror that they had decided on. He made sure to hold it with the reflective side against his leg so Prince Avery couldn't see his reflection.

"I believe that's all here. The next store would be the one across the street-it sells rugs and furniture," He explained, moving toward the counter to pay.

He was quick with paying. He didn't want to keep the princes waiting by talking to Cassandra again. He did love catching up with her but they only had a day to get the supplies that they need. He said his farewells and the two hugged one more time before he left her shop.

Aspen made a slight detour from the store to put the mirror and the cat antique in his truck. He sat them in the backseat before joining the others again. He heard Prince Robert announce he was going to stay outside. He agreed with that plan, speaking that very few shops allowed pets inside. Although, he was sure the prince could wiggle himself out of that rule. He gave a nod toward the younger one and held the door open for Prince Avery.

The smell of furniture surrounded them as he entered the building. It wasn't until they were both in there did he realize that it was only going to be the two of them again. But perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. After all, the prince seemed more friendly toward him and they both seemed to be adjusting to each other's company.

"I just love the smell of furniture stores," Aspen moved to lead the way. When he did, he miscalculated the distance between him and the prince and his hand accidentally brushed his thigh. He blushed heavily, not daring to turn around. Why were they always accidentally getting into each other's space? Also, why did it matter so much or make him so embarrassed when it did happen?

He grabbed a cart and began to lead the way around the furniture store. The furniture store had basic household appliances, furniture, rugs, vanities...it was compared to a Lowe's that would be found in the city. They also had paint but the paint wasn't high quality and it was very cheap. Sometimes cheap wasn't always a good thing.

He wasn't surprised to hear that Prince Avery hadn't been in a store quite like this one. He wouldn't see the purpose for the prince to be here when his family could get stuff through special shipment. However, he was sure the businesses would appreciate their support if they had decided to.

"I've been to a few auctions myself," He told the prince as he took him down the paint isle to grab new brushes, a paint pan, and painters tape,"Mostly cattle auctions back in my hometown. Cassandra used to drag me to them. Not really my cup of tea or at least not those type."

He was about to tell Prince Avery what they were looking for here when the prince continued to speak. He mentioned a warehouse and Aspen grinned. His parents having a warehouse would most definitely save money.

"I would love to see it. I'll save furniture and rugs until I have a look," He lead the way to the windows section. He figured the royal family wouldn't have a bay window hiding in their warehouse,"Most of our supplies will come from here. The hard wood flooring I mentioned before, the bay window, more woodwork trim for the doorframes..."

They made their way to the window section. He realized that this was one of the things the prince never saw-household items not inside of a house or in his case a castle. He smirked a little at the realization, deciding to play with the prince for a little bit.

"You see, when we pick out windows, we have to be careful about which ones we pick,"He pointed to a display of a regular window that had the dimensions written on them with dry erase marker,"Each of the windows are put together by the hard labor of the store workers. Each worker gets a number and the number is written on each window they make. The higher the number, the more experienced they are at making windows."

He pointed to the writing on the display,"We have to pay attention to that number written in marker there to make sure we only choose the most experienced worker's work or else our window might break before we even get back to the castle."

Aspen was thankful that his back was turned to the prince at what he said about the window making process. He had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing. The prince actually believed that ridiculous story about making windows.

He was also very lucky the prince had to answer his phone. He lost it after the prince left, busting out into laughter. He didn't expect the prince fo believe such a ridiculous story. He was able to recollect himself and began looking for a bay window. He found one and smiled to himself. This one would be perfect for the castle.

"Sorry again. Dad says that later this week we're going to the Island. That's where the other palace is. He says that if you're at a spot in your work where you can come, you can, and you can look over that palace. Dad wants it fully redone, and it could be a 5+ year job."

What he heard, he couldn't even begin to comprehend. An opportunity to repair a whole castle? That couldn't...wait a minute. Maybe the prince figured out his joke and was pulling one of his own. The king wouldn't dare offer somebody like him a job like that. The closest royal or rich bloodline he had dated back to the first humans.

"You're messing with me, aren't you?" He turned to Prince Avery, his eyes narrowing. A window joke was far less extreme than lying about a job opportunity like that. He wasn't one of those people that just got jobs handed to them,"That's not funny."

Aspen cursed loudly when the prince left the room faster than he had seen anyone before. He hadn't meant to accuse Prince Avery of lying. The job opportunity was great...just too shocking to believe.

Sighing he went to find a worker and told him them what window he would like.He then had the worker escort him to pick out hardwood for the castle. He went through his list quickly and once he was finished, he told the guy the castle's address to deliver the window and hard flooring. When the worker asked if he would need help installing, he shook his head and showed the worker his business card.

The rest of the stuff that didn't need to be delivered, he brought to the register to ring up. Gold spray paint, wood trim, the brushes and paint...He paid quickly and grabbed his sacks.

He felt awful for what he said to Prince Avery. He should have known better, the prince wouldn't joke about a job opportunity. The opportunity was just too great to be true. He found both princes outside and sitting on the ground with Prince Robert's new cat.

"Hey," He spoke quietly, setting his supplies down on the ground. He bit the inside of his lip before reaching and offering his hand to Prince Avery,"May I please ask to speak to you...alone?"

He owed the prince an explanation and an apology.