Our Royal Duties

Chapter 3

Arthur sighed, sitting at the foot of the bed and just watching Francis sleep for a while. It was morning now, and the scent of tea and sex lingering in the air. A servant had brought them breakfast a short time ago and the unfamiliar sound had roused Arthur from his sleep. Luckily he had woken up hungry, so he didn’t have the heart to complain. He sighed and munched on a piece of fruit, something he hadn’t had in a very, very long time. Once the maid left Arthur let his gaze fall back to the golden-haired lump under the blankets, snubbing him and biting into the fruit as if he were biting Francis himself. He glanced at himself in the mirror. His short hair was tousled and tangled carelessly, the makeup covering his various scars and bruises had been rubbed away, and… well, let’s just say that Francis may have made a bit of a mess. He shivered, having nothing on himself except a blanket that he had thrown on when the servant came in. He set the breakfast tray aside, tossed the blanket aside, stood up, and immediately regretted it. He was still horribly sore from the previous night, taking some time to ease into a standing position as not to fall over completely. Even when he could walk he found himself stumbling to the wardrobe, digging around in it a moment before pulling out a long bathrobe that went down to his knees and slid off of his shoulders a bit. He figured that it was probably something of Francis’s but he didn’t care, tying the string carefully before peeking out into the hallway. He managed to get the attention of a servant girl nearby and asked her where the bathroom was. She smiled at him knowingly and winked, leading him down the hallway. Arthur was sure that she knew what he wanted, but he wasn’t sure of whether or not he should be insulted as to why she knew. He sighed, thanking her as he entered the bathroom. The room itself was huge, much bigger than any bathroom he had ever seen. There was large wash basin in one corner, big enough to comfortably seat two small children and possibly to wash a baby in. The bathtub it self was nearly ridiculous in size, and was big enough to seat at least two people if not perhaps a person and a half. It was also about halfway sunken into the floor, although he could tell that this was a design choice which meant that is probably had heated water in it. It took him a moment to figure out how to work the water faucets, as they weren’t exactly a common thing even in the homes of royals, and when he finally did he was so startled by the rush of hot water that he struggled as much to turn it off as he had to turn it on. By the time he did get the water to stop the tub had filled about halfway, giving off a lot of steam and covering the large mirrors that coated the walls. He sighed, undressing himself and waiting a while for the water to cool before sinking into the water. He frowned a bit at how much space was still in the tub, hoping that he had remembered to lock the door in case Francis woke up and wanted to join him. Francis… He frowned, kicking his foot and making a slash in the water. As angry as he was at the man about the previous night, he was still a bit afraid of facing him. He growled, hiding his mouth under the water. “Th-that idiot…” he muttered, making a few bubbled as he spoke. Arthur decided that he would avoid him all day if he could, but would at least try to enjoy himself if he did.

…

Francis woke up very slowly, lying in bed for a while with his eyes closed until he realized that his dear Alice was no longer there with him. He sat up a bit and stretched his arms, glancing around himself. The bed sheets were tangled together, tossed over each other, and a large, gaping tear in the mattress that had been made during his and Alice’s lovemaking the previous night. Their dinner clothes were littered around the floor, most of it flung carelessly aside. Francis climbed out of bed and picked up his dress shirt from the previous evening, slipping it on. He was still a little sore and quite hazy, not even noticing the extra padding in Arthur’s corset. He stumbled back to the bedside to put his shoes on and to look at his little plan book, smiling a bit. He had a free day today. There would be no work, no fuss, and no rush to get his butt downstairs for breakfast. He went to the vanity and tied his hair up with a blue ribbon, noticing the breakfast tray sitting by the bed. It had been made obvious that Arthur had eaten his half and left, no doubt just to be away from him as soon as possible. Francis ate his own breakfast and walked to the window, looking outside. The capitol city surrounding the palace had long since woken up, and people were already bustling through the streets. The traders were showing off the objects and trinkets that they had gotten from other far-off lands, children played in the streets, running aside whenever a carriage came by. It was as sweet sight to see, and if he were only younger he might ask if he could go join them. He soon got bored of simply watching them though, finishing his breakfast and wandering downstairs to the music room. A piano and a harp sat in one corner, along with a few long rows of chairs with an instrument at each. He went to the piano, seeing as it was the only instrument in the room that he could play, and opened the song book to the seventh page. It was a song he knew by heart, one that a nobleman from a far-off land had taught him to play. He played the song continuously for about an hour before his hands cramped up and he remembered that he still had no idea where Alice was. He went around asking the servants if they had seen her until he came to one that said that she had gone to take a bath, although of course by the time Francis got to the bathroom she was long gone.