my king. dream x reader

one.

"it's a shame that joan had to step down," clay hummed to the maids fixing his room, all of them simply nodding along to any word he said as they had been for his entire life. "y'know, she was the best out of all of you, my favorite too," again, no response other than the agreement of the maids. it nearly infuriated him. he just wanted to have a conversation with someone that wasn't blind agreement out of fear from his father. actually, he didn't exactly want to talk about politics anymore while he was at it.

joan was his previous personal maid. she'd been his maid since he was a tiny baby, his mother nearly immediately knowing she'd be the perfect one. she'd been strict but kind and nurtured baby clay until she was of old age, an age too old to continue her services. her mother gave her an honorable retirement and gave her lots of gifts as a thank you. joan had never been particularly material though, so clay knew all the gifts were going to waste. while clay had liked her, she had felt very old fashioned to him. very by the books, she wasn't willing to bend any rule even slightly for him, the prince.

hopefully his new personal maid wouldn't be so old.

once he bed was maid and the room spotless, the three maids turned to him and gave a quick curtsy before hurrying off in a single file line. it was so despicable to him that they'd be so compliant and let him walk all over them, why couldn't they just stand up for themselves for once? his whole life had been nothing but quiet compliance, he wanted something different for once. he wanted someone that wouldn't hesitate to speak up when he said the wrong thing.

it would also be pretty nice to get to do things for himself every so often, but of course the maids and butlers refused to let him. if he got injured or scarred, his father would have their heads. making the prince a little upset over something that had no basis when brought up to the king than to make the king upset.

clay looked at his impeccably made bed with thought. he could redo it himself, but he knew his father would chastise his maids from the morning if it wasn't up to his standards. his father always seemed to ruin things for him. he was so incredibly strict that as a kid, clay had little to no friends. all the kids of the maids and butlers were told to not play with him because of his dad, so instead his dad hired some kids to be friends with him. thinking back on it made clay cringe incredibly hard, the relationship had obviously felt forced and the kids weren't too keen on spending time with him when they were off the clock.

his life was so lonely.

he slumped down in the window seat, self pity rising in his chest as he lamented his situation. while he continued to pity himself in his mind, his eyes traveled across the royal gardens that spread out from the castle itself. his window in particular had a pleasant view of the forest that lay just outside the castle walls along with the internal walls intricate gardens and paths. 

the grass and hedges were all trimmed to perfection, not a single branch or leaf even barely out of place. flowers were planted in particular beds as if to look naturally grown, but everyone knew the queen was very particular about her garden, often walking through to have tea on sunny afternoons when guests were at the castle. it was the talk of the town, whenever the king hosted open door balls, townsfolk would tour the garden just to see the inner workings of the queens prized garden.

it was still too early to have breakfast clay determined after a quick peak at the clock, so he might as well go walk the garden for a bit. some fresh air could cure all ailments as his mother said.

he closed the heavy spruce door behind him, not taking notice in the intricacies of the carving like he used to. he hadn't time for such trivial matters anyways, he constantly needed to be prepared to meet someone of importance, both in mind and dress. his father had been very adamant about it with him since birth. what clay did notice, however, as he left his room and started down the corridor, was the colors on the curtains and tapestries lining the walls. 

rich emerald green. it used to be his favorite color as a kid, now he was much more interested in brighter shades of the color; the depth and tint of this particular green always made clay feel as though the hallways of the castle were much smaller than they really were, even with all the natural light and the light color of the walls themselves. ever since he'd been told he would be king one day, he'd decided that he would change all of them. every single curtain and tapestry.

he'd always thought a lighter green suited him.

the carpet on the stairs was being swept when he thundered down them, just about giving the cleaner a heart attack as he so casually strolled past them. another miniature pity party was thrown for himself as he approached a set of doors that led to the garden. the same spruce heaviness pushed against him as he pressed them open to step out into the cool morning air.

the sun was mostly risen by now, but the air still held a chill to it that you only felt during the sunrise. gooseflesh rose on his arms, but he brushed it off to instead take a nice brisk walk around the garden. it wasn't anything new, nothing he'd never seen before. he'd already seen every inch of this garden as a curious kid. every flower bed had been carefully inspected by the younger prince, every hedge poked and prodded at until he got bored. he simply needed to pass the time.

the walk didn't last particulary long, a servant coming by saying that hisfather had called for himto join him in the dining hall for breakfast. clay could not refuse, no matter how badly he wanted to. he followed the leading servant, even if he knew the way to the dining hall better than the servant probably did. he entered the opened door and was seated to the right of his mother, settling into the plush of the chair before eyeing the food in front of him.

freshly baked bread; over easy eggs; thick cut slices of pork, bacon, and mutton; and various kettles of tea and coffee littered the small family table that the king and queen used on mornings like this. there was really no need to dirty the long hall table if there were only the three of them. his sisters had long left to travel and study since he was set to be the heir. they visited sometime, but it was mostly just him and his parents in the castle at any given time.

clay waited for his father to say grace as he did every morning before he dared touch the food, knowing the repercussions could be severe. small talk was made by his parents, but clay much rather eat and go back to his room than stay here and talk more politics with his parents.

"oh, clay," his mother dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before turning to him, "i would like you to meet your new personal maid today, so once you're done eating please go to your room," clay simply nodded, his mouth too full of food to reply back verbally.

as soon as his plate was empty, it was quickly picked off the table and rushed off to the kitchen to be cleaned while clay waited to be excused to his room. his father gave a gruff grunt and nodded his head, his personal way of excusing him. clay stood up and stepped aside, his chair quickly being pushed in for him and ushered out by a maid. the runner laid along the length of the corridor softened the sound of his dragging feet, the same rich color from the walls reflected on the plush velvet of the carpeting. 

"is she already there?" clay spoke up, looking at the maid who walked just a touch ahead of him and to his left.

"she is," he replied, not even looking to make eye contact with him.

"do you know anything about her?" clay asked, trying to lengthen his steps to match and keep up with the maid, who in turn walked faster to stay just a step ahead of him.

"no sir, i apologize,"

"it's fine, no need to be sorry," clay murmured, turning to look through the windows while he walked. the side of the hall he looked out just so happened to be the side facing the town, showing all the houses and the people who looked so tiny from a distance. it was like watching ants hurry around, trying to handle all their own business.

clay knew his father ran a tight ship when it came to ruling the state. he knew his fathers subjects were terrified of him. he also knew that the fear of his father was extended to himself. hopefully this new maid wouldn't be like the others, although that felt like trying to find a shooting star when the sky was covered with clouds. he reached his door and the maid had already pulled it open for him, bowing at the waist as the prince stepped into his room.

there she was.