For The Sake of His Master

Master and Servant

-Theodor's POV-

"Servant! Hurry up and clear the table already!" Prince Jacobi commands, leaning back in his chair.

Tonight, Prince Jacobi ate in his room, which was unusual but not unexpected. Master Jacobi was known for his unusual behavior lately, and I was starting to get used to it. He slept in late and stopped going to his flute lessons. He also started to read. Master always hated reading; I don't understand why he'd start growing fond of it now.

In my opinion, he was just a brat, like all the other royal children. Of course, my opinion didn't matter. He was the youngest prince of the royal family, the king's fourth son, and I was just his humble servant.

I was four years older than the prince, and he still managed to loom over me. He was a head taller and was more built than I was. At age seventeen, he was more of a man than I was.

His hair was choppy and short, it was a color in between blonde and brown. He had scruff, which almost looked a couple shades darker. His eyes were a pretty blue color, something most women couldn't resist. His skin was tanned, a bronze like color that caught the attention of almost everyone in the court. He was strong. He was handsome. He was a jack ass.

How did all this make him more of a man than me? Well..

My hair was long and silky, so blonde that some people thought it was white. My face was bare. Though I had tried, on several occasions, to grow at least a small patch of stubble, I couldn't get any hair to grow on my face. My eyelashes were long, my lips were thin; my eyes were a rare green color, something you didn't usually see in these parts of the land. My pale skin attracted frilly men who didn't enjoy the company of a woman. I was thin. I was beautiful. I was-

"Damn servant! Can't you do anything right? I said clear off the table! Don't make me say it again!" Jacobi shouts, looking a little flustered from the wine he'd been given.

"My apologies, Prince." I mumble, hurrying to the table and gathering the dirty platters and bowls. I put all the used items onto a round tray, ignoring the fact that Prince Jacobi was staring.

I pick up the round tray and leave to go to the main kitchen.

I was Prince Jacobi's head servant. I cleaned up after him, I woke him up in the morning, I got his bed ready before he laid down to sleep, I entertained him with music or jokes, and I tasted his food before he ate. To put it simply, I took care of him. It had always been that way, ever since we were at a young age, and it will always be that way.

After giving the platters and bowls to the maids, I scuttle back up to Jacobi's room. If I wasn't quick enough, he'd raise his voice and question why I took so long. He was an impatient buffoon, and I didn't feel like being yelled at for no reason today.

When I get to my room, I barely recognize him. It may sound silly, I know, but he looked so different when he was reading. His eyes didn't spark with hatred; his face wasn't stiff and masked. He looked peaceful, almost calm. His hands were gentle with every page he turned, and his eyes glimmered with expectance.

"Say something, servant. It's rude to stare." he says suddenly, startling me.

I clear my throat, "I don't know what to say, Prince." I mutter, and try to keep my voice at a level tone.

"Tell me something, servant," he says, shutting his book. "My birthday was last month, yes? So in 11 months I'll be 18, and when a man turns 18, a woman is to be married off to him."

"Yes, Prince." I answer, not entirely sure where this conversation was going at.

"Huh. Well. What if I don't wish to be married at that time, what then?" he asks, irritation lingering in his voice.

"You would have to discuss that with your father, His Majesty." I reply. Jacobi looks at me for a second, and not a word is spoken.

The silence in the room makes me uncomfortable, but it was the way he was looking at me that bothered me the most. What was Prince Jacobi thinking? What had made him think about him getting engaged after he turned 18? Something strange was running through this brats head.

"You are dismissed for the day, servant." he grumbles, rubbing the left side of his head with his thumb. He only did that when he was thinking hard about something.

I bow and scurry out from the room. Whatever the prince was thinking about, it wasn't good. I'd never seen him act like this in my ten years of looking after him. But then again, he'd grown up a lot since then. He wasn't the sweet little boy I'd grown up with. Yes, he wasn't even close to that kind, caring young lad he used to be. It's strange to recall what had once been.

Over the years, Jacobi had changed into something I couldn't explain. He'd become distant and angry. He used to call me 'Theodor', not 'servant', believe it or not. I missed the way things used to be. But things changed. My master had changed. My master had grown up.