Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

Royal Pain: Chapter 3

Chapter Warnings: Injury, blood (marrow)

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Life in the palace was pretty good once the constant daily chores and proper etiquette expectations were taken out of the equation; he never had to wonder about his next meal, if he would be warm enough, or if he would be bullied or ignored... well, the last one still happened, but most servants went by largely unnoticed in a castle.

Goth had to get up early enough to bathe, get dressed for the day, and grab something to eat so he could make it to Palette's chamber at a reasonable time; from there, he was supposed to help them get ready for the day and escort them to the dining hall for breakfast, though being an early riser meant there were many mornings where his friend was already done getting dressed before he even arrived.

Once breakfast was served, he stood by against the wall in case Palette needed him; a servant didn't sit at the same table as the royal family, after all. His companion had initially been really upset by the revelation but was eventually forced to let it go since it was etiquette every servant followed. Goth's reassurance had helped in putting him at ease; as long as the smaller ate beforehand, everything was fine.

Afterward, Palette attended lessons with a variety of tutors ranging from academics to royal court mannerisms, and even sword fighting; in all honesty, it looked exhausting. Goth was always on hand in case he was needed, but he also had Meryl teaching him how to behave properly as a servant during set intervals.

He felt that he was steadily getting the hang of it; most of it was simply not speaking unless spoken to, bowing when greeting royalty or receiving a command, and following any orders given. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Palette frequently waived formalities whenever they were alone; while it made Goth happy that he was still treated normally when it was just the two of them, it also seemed to cause the prince to stumble on their words in more public settings. Of course, he had his awkward moments as well, but he seemed to catch himself more easily; it was a little surprising since his friend was the one of royal blood... then again, they were learning way more than he was, not to mention the penalties for a servant forgetting their place were much higher.

"Goth!"

Goth looked up from the texts he was reading to see his friend jogging up to him, "They said I could have a break; let's head over to the garden!" Palette grabbed his hand once he was standing and led him across the grounds and through the hedges that made up the garden. The prince slid onto the first bench he found, dragging the smaller down with him and letting out a sigh of relief.

"How're things going so far? Anything coming back to you?" Goth questioned, leaning back and running his fingers across the white stylized rungs of the bench.

"Kind of...?" Palette looked to the cloudy skies in a rare show of uncertainty, "I mean, it's been two months already... and yeah, all of the stuff they're teaching me sounds familiar and everyone's really nice about helping me along... but I feel like things should be clicking by now and they aren't. It feels like I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know what."

"It'll be alright. You'll get there eventually," Goth reassured him, patting him on the back.

The prince nodded, his sockets furrowing, "I know... it's just weird hearing about my past while feeling like I'm listening to stories about some stranger. It was a lot easier not worrying about this stuff when I wasn't surrounded by people who knew the old me."

"Well... if it's any consolation, I'll always be here if you ever need to relax or talk to someone about your problems," the smaller offered, nudging the pieces of loose gravel under the bench with his foot.