At Your Service

Chapter 13- Legacy

The next morning I'm with Felix. I'm supposed to be with him all day today. It hits me that I don't know what he does whenever I'm not around. Right now, we're in his room. There's nothing planned, so we're just kind of... hanging out? "What's on the agenda today?" I asked him.

"Not much," he replied. "I have my studies at around ten, following that is archery practice, publicity photos, and I'm hosting a royal tea ceremony at five," he listed. Royal tea ceremony? I've never heard of such a thing, which is weird.

"Royal tea ceremony?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"This is the first time we've done this. My family is coming for a brief visit so mother thought it would be a nice treat to host a tea ceremony for them. Of course, you'll be accompanying me," he informed. Wow, a royal tea party. I thought this was the kinda shit you see in Disney movies. 

"Who's coming?" I asked.

"Well, on my mom's side there's my Aunt Ursula, Aunt Glenda, and Uncle Lance. On my dad's side, his only sibling, my Aunt Kiyoshi," he said. He's got a lot of family, I wonder where they all came from. I know Monette is American, and I'm pretty sure the king was Japanese.

"Where's your family from?" I asked.

"My grandfather was from Japan, and he married my grandmother who was the princess of Elodia. They had my father, Hero Aiura, and my aunt, Kiyoshi Aiura. My mother and her family are from Minnesota in the United States."

"Is Aria coming as well?" I asked. 

"I believe so," he says, checking the time. "It's 9:55. We should be off to the library," he smiled. I nod my head, as we head off. We made our way down through the corridors of the palace. The library is on the second floor, we're on the fourth right now.

"Do you wanna take the one of the elevators?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Let's take the long way today." We continued walking, as we made our way to the staircase. The stairs are spiraled with gold plated handrails along the sides. I could tell Felix was excited, for whatever reason. I doubt it's about learning. Maybe he was looking forward to seeing his family. That seemed more likely. 

We reached the library. I stepped inside and every wall was lined from top to bottom with books. Every kind of book you could imagine was in there. There was a large staircase which connects to another floor with a whole section of Elodian history. Felix immediately headed there, I followed behind. Each wall was lined with a painting from Elodia's history. Not that I'd know much about that, my dad told me myths and legends but never any actual history of the country. One picture I recognized was a painting of the previous king and my dad in a confrontation against an invading country. The one where they were both... . I turned my head away, trying not to let the memories come rushing back to me. Felix and I sat in a corner with a table, next to a window. He grabbed a book off the shelf without even looking, like he knew exactly where it was. He opened it, completely enveloping himself in the material. "Baker, would you get me a coffee with three lumps of sugar, some cream, and cinnamon from the cafe please?" he asked, not even so much as glancing up from his book.

"Where's the cafe?" I asked.

"It's behind the fantasy section," he said. I left to go fetch his coffee. Felix seemed like he knows a lot about Elodian history. I'll ask him to tell me some tales. I brewed his coffee, sprinkling some cinnamon on top. I wonder if he liked whipped cream? I add some just in case, for a lovely surprise.

I bring him back his coffee, he was thrilled. "Whipped cream? I love whipped cream," he gushes. I blush, touched deeply by his happiness. I've noticed myself craving his attention a lot more recently, I don't know why. I sat down next to him, as he continued to read his book. We sit in silence for a few minutes. Finally, I speak up.