The Butler and his Prince

Chapter 4: Passed

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I look at the man in the mirror. I'm definitely not the same man I was when I came here six months ago. I look at my arms and see the muscle and abs that are noticeable even with my dress shirt on. I look at my face, it's still boyish-looking, but my eyes have a certain look that could scare away anyone with a weak will. 

I finish putting on my suit and getting ready, I pull my hair into my signature pony-tail and brush my teeth. Just before I leave the room I grab my tray from breakfast and glance at the clock, five-fifty. That's good enough. I begin my butler duties at six o'clock by grabbing the food for the royal family and meeting Erik at the King and Queens study. 

"As always," he puts his watch away, "you're right on time." He knocks on the door and delivers the food and we move along on our routine that has been the same for the last six months. We make it back to the kitchen to drop off the cart when Erik pulls me to the side. 

"I believe you are ready to work on your own now. I just need Amelia's go ahead and then we can assign you to the prince." 

I'm not overly shocked at what he says because I've been expecting it for a while myself. 

"I could ask her when we go to train later." 

"No. I told her that I was going to let you off early and that we all needed to talk about letting you go off by yourself." 

We begin to walk towards the training ground where Amelia is waiting for us. She's wearing her full armor and her sword reflects the sunlight from the noon sun. Her brown hair up in a high ponytail and her blue eyes hold a strong resolve. 

"Are you ready for your final test?" She lifts her sword up and lots of other soldiers come from around the training yard wooden swords at the ready. She throws her sword to someone else while another throws her a wooden sword. 

"Are you ready for your final test?" She smirks at me, while I take off my coat and dress shirt, so they don't get destroyed. 

I ready myself for an all-out war. I smirk at her, "Why wouldn't I be? I knew something like this was going to be my final test." 

Even as I fight all the soldiers I can feel a pair of eyes on me the whole time. I have felt these eyes before, it was at least once a day that these eyes watched me either while I was being a butler, or a soldier fighting for his life. I've never seen who these eyes belong to, but I have just learned to ignore them most of the time. 

I jump back to avoid a lunge attack from one attacker, just to spin around another attacker and use my sword to hit the back of their armor. That takes that one out so, I glance around the circle that has formed around me, one down, and near infinity more to go. 

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I stab lunge at the last soldier, hitting my mark. I'm done with all the small fry, but taking all these ones out have worn me down, while Amelia, my final target, is perfectly okay. 

"That took you about as long as I thought it would," she readies herself, "but now you have to fight me." 

Even though my body is screaming out at me, I ready myself for one final fight. 

Neither of us moves for a good solid minute. Then she attacks, running at me with her sword raised high above her head. I also run at her, hoping that I can either block or dodge and then attack. She brings the sword down, so I bring mine up to meet hers, but I fake her out. I quickly spin to my right and hit her right on her rear end. It stagers her, so not to miss a beat I run the opposite way she's moving her head to look at me and sweep her legs out from under her. She falls and remembering all the times when she had me on the ground I quickly do the same move to her. I sit on her and hold the sword right above her heart. 

"Do you yield?" I smirk at her, knowing that I have won. 

"I yield." I get off of her and help her up. "That last move was one that I was not expecting at all."

"Well, all's fair in love and war, you know."

She's about to say something else, but the sound of cheers from the soldiers that I had taken out stop her. I turn to them all and take a bow. Although, it all dies down pretty quickly when someone clapping silences them. I begin to rise from my bow but I'm stopped before I can see who it is.

"I believe you are ready to pay me back for saving your life now. Report to me tomorrow morning at seven when you bring me my breakfast in the library." The thing that was stopped me from rising falls to the ground and rolls under me, showing me that it was one of the practice swords. I don't rise until I know that he's gone. 

"Well," I rise, "I guess that means you do pass and can be on your own now." Amelia tosses me a towel and water bottle. I down the whole bottle in one breath. 

"Well, I'm going to take the rest of the day off to prepare for the new task I now have." I keep the towel around my neck and retrieve my shirt and coat from Erik, and head across the yard to the servant's entrance hidden between some bushes. 

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