The Last Midnight

Chapter Six: "A Man Of Contradiction"

Nathan coughed, sitting down weakly on the shore to check himself over. When his eyes looked over at the man who had saved his life, his eyes narrowed on him as he asked curiously. "Do I know you?" The man didn't look up but answered very lightly. "Yes, Sire." Nathan leaned forward, reaching out to lift the man's chin in order to see his face. The man let him lift his head without resistance, but kept his eyes focused on the ground. Most Nobles looked at him after rising from a bow. The fact that this man didn't, made him think he felt unworthy, since only servants avoided eye contact so strongly. When he lowered his finger, the man started to bow his head again, prompting Nathan to keep his chin up and order him nicely. "Look at me." The man exhaled slowly, his eyes timidly rising to meet his. When their eyes met, he was taken aback. The man had eyes of evergreen. Not a color he often saw at court. Getting a little lost in them, he asked him softly. "What's your name again?" The man's cheeks turned a soft pink when he cringed out reluctantly. "Matthew." Nathan snapped out of his trance and tensed up as he dropped his hand from Matthew's face to blurt out. "Matthew? Count Matthew Patrick? The one who broke my nose?"

Matthew bowed his head, mumbling out guiltily. "Yes... and I still feel-" Nathan cut him off with a hearty laugh, before saying casually. "I didn't recognize you without your clothes. Or your book." Matthew self-consciously looked down to see that he only had his pants on and draped his arms over his torso to hide as much skin as he could. Nathan glanced around the shore, then asked him curiously. "Where are your servants? Shouldn't they be attending you?" Walking briskly from the water toward his clothes, Matthew lied in a blunt dry tone that just slipped out. "No. I let them have the day off today. Thought they'd want to celebrate your marriage with their families and friends." Bending over to pick up his clothes, Matthew winced as he realized how his words sounded. Where had that come from? Was he upset about that? He didn't think so. Yet the words had slid off his tongue so genuinely. Glancing back a bit worried that Nathan had caught his tone, he relaxed when Nathan shrugged out in disbelief. "You gave them a day off? Nothing will get done. Aren't you worried about that? What if they don't come back? And if they do, what condition will they be in?"

Matthew couldn't help snorting as he pulled on his loose undershirt. Then picking up his book, he sat down in the shade of the tree and chuckled out nicely. "I don't worry about that stuff. I find that those that enjoy their work, tend to work harder when you give them time to do something they want to do. Life is hard enough without others dictating how to live your life all the time. As for them not coming back... even if I released them, they have nowhere to go. People would just capture them and put them to work somewhere else. Your father calls it keeping the streets clean... but those that are homeless deserve better than being forced into labor they are not suited for. Give them work fine but give them the freedom to decide what they can do. Too many servants die every year because they are too old to do physically demanding jobs. Often whipped to death as a result of it as punishment. So, no. I don't worry. Because my servants are more like family. They aren't just things to be bought, sold, or traded away." Charles' eyes widened before glancing at Nathan. Matthew rocked a little now, clearing his throat as he realized what he said could be interpreted as an insult.

Nathan shifted to face him better, his face guarded and a little confused when he finally asked him. "You care about them?" Matthew pressed his back to the tree, replying in light but firm defense. "Of course, I do. I know everything about them. Don't you?" Nathan opened his mouth but seemed to rethink that. Sitting up better, Nathan answered honestly. "I guess not. There are hundreds of servants working in the castle. But... I don't recall interacting with them. Even the ones that attend me daily. I... I have more interactions with the royal guards and nobles. I've never really thought about the servants at the palace... They act like ghosts." Matthew tilted his head back against the tree, feeling bad for them when he blurted out without thinking. "Sounds depressing. To be ignored their whole life and die practically nameless." Nathan jerked his head to look at him, stating out a bit hurt. "Hey! I don't treat them poorly. I just... I ignore them because I was raised to..." Matthew raised an eyebrow as he heard the sudden regret and pain in his tone. It was a little frightening to see the way he looked so... lost. Had he really not thought about them before?