sword ◦ larry stylinson

XVIII

 eighteenth chapter

"WOULD YOU LIKE some more wine, your Highness?" The butler asked the prince, a hand carrying a pitcher of wine with the other arm folded against his stomach, a towel neatly folded hanging on his limb.

"I'd love to, thank you." Louis offered his flask and the butler filled it halfway. He sipped a little off of it before getting back to his meal; a meat of turkey with some fruit on the side. The butler strode until he was at the side again with the head maid by his side.

His mind told him something. For the past afternoon, he'd been thinking about it during his classes. He cleared his throat, "Father?"

The king was quite surprised at the sudden acknowledgement, and he nodded, "Yes, Louis?"

"I was wondering if I can have more duties around the castle." Louis asked in a steady manner, "I can always check on the stables, the crops and as well as the swords if they are doing a good job. I can do it." He could see his mother smile knowingly down at her plate, and he nervously connected gaze with his father. Was he that obvious?

"We have our lords to do that, Louis." Mark informed, "I do not want to transfer their duties to you."

It could mean anything, but Louis insisted, "It can help me be more responsible, Father, and I could not do that without responsibilities other than my classes, am I right?"

"You know, " Johannah placed her hand gently on top of the king's, smiling, "It can also assure us that nothing bad is happening around the castle if we have our son watching over it. It is a great start, is it not?"

That seemed to win the king over, so he straightened up his back and cleared his throat, "Very well, then. Your reason seemed to be reasonable so why not, yes? While you are at it, you can talk to the lords assigned on the places you want to check on also so it can be confirmed. Just make sure you are ready to make a commitment on these because I will not take it back."

"Yes, Father. I will make sure of it. I will not disappoint you."

"It would not be too much of a trouble for your classes, right?"

"No." Louis said, putting down his fork and cutlery, "My classes end at about three in the afternoon, so I will have enough time to check them all for an hour and probably a few more minutes before I can attend supper."

"That is good." Mark approved, "Alright. I shall hand the duties to you, then."

Louis couldn't stop himself from grinning too eagerly, before he cleared his throat a couple of times and deadpanning, "Thank you, Father."

"Alright." The king nodded firmly, "I expect you to do those duties every day, especially Saturday. If that is too much-"

Louis interrupted him, "No, No, Father. It would not cause me trouble." Saturday was the day he didn't have any classes, and it normally consisted of his mates Stan, Olly and a few others to come over and they'd go to the woods to hunt. They didn't come over for the past few weeks, and Louis absolutely didn't mind. They were just like this arrogant character he read in this fairytale book he used to read to his sisters. He'd rather be with Liam, Niall, Zayn and well, Harry. If only they weren't needed in the castle every day.

After supper, Louis bathed himself, letting Niall to wander in his room so the others would assume that he was with the prince, and he dressed in more comfortable clothes. As he entered his room, he found Niall looking around the drawers in search for something, and he frowned, "Niall, what are you doing?"