The Winter's Servant {Stucky AU} COMPLETED

~Chapter Six~

Steven flinched as his mother gently applied the antibiotic salve to his bruised face.

He remained tense as the cool gel was gingerly dotted to his black eye, around his bruised lip, and on the broken skin.

Steven felt bad that his mother still had to look after him, all because he was too stubborn to run away from a fight.

He knew his mother didn't mind, Steven just couldn't stand to see his mother doing any sort of work, not with her sickly, weathered both that kept getting worse day by day.

"I'm sorry, Mama." He whispered to the woman.

His mother smiled what little bit of a smile she could manage, but her eyes sparkled just as much as they always did. "I'm proud of you, Steven. " She ran her thin fingers through his hair. "You're so brave."

That was the thing with his mother. She would never be upset that he got into another fight, because she knew he always did it for good.

Her son was reckless, but he always stood up for the right thing.

She pressed her thin lips to her son's forehead and gently caressed his face. "I love you, Steven."

Steven smiled, even though it hurt his face. "I love you too, mama. "

He stood up from his small, creaky bed that he'd been seated on and gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek. "I should be getting back to work. I'll see you tonight. "

His mother smiles as Steven made his way out of their tiny shared room in the servant quarters.

The servant made his way down the corridor, heading towards the kitchen to bring Prince James his afternoon tea.
It was honestly an exciting task for him, anymore.
But Steven feared that he was becoming what Clint had jokingly called him the other day.

The Prince's pet.

The events of the past few days seemed like a dream to him.

Did James genuinely have feelings for him?

It seemed too good to be true, but Steven would gladly take any affection that the Prince would give him, real or not.

That was the one thing that Steven currently despised about this relationship.

He wasn't sure exactly how the Prince felt about him, but Steven knew he would walk to the ends of the earth if James asked him to.

He entered the kitchen, the scent of warm, buttered biscuits entering his nose, making his mouth water. Steven's thoughts went back to the pancake that James had fed him earlier in the day and how delicious it was.

The servant pushed the thought out of his mind, knowing that he couldn't allow himself to expect to be fed Royal food.

Expecting to see Peggy, Steven was surprised when the tray full of biscuits, tea, and cookies was handed to him by the new slave, Wanda.

The girl gave him a small, forced smile, then quickly turned back to her work washing dishes.

Steven expected that she was just bashful and hurried in his way to James's bedchamber, excited to see him.

He knocked on the oak door before entering to find James kneeling, putting his shoes on.

"Oh, " said the Prince, not looking up. "I'm afraid I don't have time for afternoon tea, Steven. "