— — One Shot — —
People tended to ignore the long list of chores that were required to be done in favor of gaping at the castle around them.
Sparkling clean windows revealing pristinely kept grounds.
Orderly lines servants fall into without prompting.
Delicious food ready at any moment.
Plan for guests.
None of this, of course, was Punz’s problem. The castle was clean like it always was, the servants were ready to be called on or were working on their duties like they always were, there were aggravating people he had to entertain coming in and out like always.
“Your highness.” A baritone voice with a faint lilt at the end of their sentence interrupted his musings. He glanced up, unimpressed, toward the servant. This one was dressed slightly differently than those he’d seen come in to serve his breakfast, lacking the cap and apron, or even the suit coat, instead just wearing a loose tie and a white dress shirt. His blonde hair was messier than most of the tidy styles those in the castle wore but his green eyes were lively despite how drab the job must’ve been. “Master Nook is awaiting your arrival for your etiquette classes.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay, I’ll be there in a moment.” Punz waved him off, annoyed that his moment of peace in bed had been interrupted. The blonde bowed but didn’t leave, instead standing near the door, eyes closed. What does he think he’s doing, staying here?
He opened his mouth to demand an explanation, or perhaps order him to leave when the other man held up a finger for a couple seconds before pointing toward the door at the same time his younger brother Purpled came barreling through the door into the servant’s awaiting arms.
As soon as Purpled was finished burying himself into the hug he looked over the blonde’s arm to glare at the prince. “What are you doing with my butler Punz?”
“Prince.” The blonde chastised, the hints of a laugh being held back in his voice. “He didn’t do anything. I was sent to see if he was prepared for Master Nook’s class, that’s all. And technically, I’m not your butler specifically.”
The dirty blonde wiggled out of the butler’s hold to pout at him. “But Punz doesn’t ever call you! That makes you my butler!”
“Do you even know his name?” Punz blurted, amused, from the king sized bed he was now sitting up on. His little brother always made things so much better, even if the rest of his day was going to be long and exhausting and incredibly boring.
Purpled spun toward him, opening his mouth to fight back before his vibrant violet eyes widened and he slowly closed his mouth without a sound as he shot a nervous, if not guilty, look over toward the butler.
In response he offered an over dramatic gasp, clutching at his chest. “The betrayal. I’ve been betrayed.”
“Wait, no!”
“I can’t believe this.” He upped his theatrics, leaving one hand over his heart and raising the other to press against his forehead. “I must take my leave and collect myself.”
“Noooo~” Purpled whined, giggles escaping at the over dramatized reaction. “I’m sorry!”
The butler peeked one eye open as his hand easily found the handle without his focus and landed on Punz. “Your arrival is expected before the hour.”
He blinked before nodding slowly. The blonde took it as it was, even though Punz had no doubt he could tell he wouldn’t be there on time if the beginnings of a smirk spreading across his face said anything. He’s letting me pick whether I go. Interesting.
The mischievous gleam quickly vanished as he resumed his act, face falling comically as he slipped out of the room, shaking his head sadly, making his fluffy, slightly overgrown hair move to cover his eyes.
The moment the door clicked shut Purpled burst into full blown laughter, falling back onto the bed with Punz, who cracked a smile at the younger’s reaction.
“So that’s our butler?”
“Yeah.” Purpled took a deep breath as he recovered, eyes sparkling as he turned toward Punz with a bright grin. “I’m surprised you haven’t met him yet.”
“How long have you known him?” He shot back teasingly.
“About four years.” His brother answered thoughtfully, raising a smug eyebrow in Punz’s direction, something he’d learned from him years ago.
“Wow, four years and you still don’t know his name…”
“Hey!”
“Prince Punz, I cannot teach you if you refuse to learn!” Master Nook pinched his nose in exasperation, eyes closed as he struggled to keep his composure. “You’re about to come of age to inherit the throne. You will, at the very least, be expected to be able to dance! I don’t need you to make this harder than it already is!”
“Master Nook.” A familiar voice gently broke into his rant. Both the teacher and the prince turned toward the butler who had somehow slipped in without drawing either’s attention. Punz pushed away his smile at the timed arrival. Ever since the run in with him a week ago he’d been spotting him around the castle more and more often, trying to make things a little easier for the blonde. In response he always seemed to cut a little time from his least favorite classes. “May I borrow his highness? I need to take his measures for the upcoming ball.”
“Yes, whatever, take him.” The older man waved his hand dismissively, looking years older than he was. A twinge of pity echoed in Punz’s chest but he pushed it away. That’s what you get for trying to make me dance!
Punz strolled past him, eager to get out of the stuffy room but paused in the doorway when he caught the faint whisper of the teacher’s name. He hesitated before peeking back into the room, straining to catch the conversation.
“You’re trying your best Sam, that’s all I can ask of you.” The butler soothed in a lower tone, squeezing the teacher’s shoulder comfortingly.
“But my failures reflect on you!” Master Nook hissed back, green eyes sad.
“And that’s alright.” He replied with a shrug. “I’m in charge of wrangling practically everyone on the castle staff. They can’t blame one person for the prince being stubborn.”
“You can’t just say things like that Dream!” The teacher stared at him in alarm. “Imagine if the prince heard you! Or his parents!”
“His parents haven’t been in the castle for a few weeks now and when they return they never stick around.” The blonde replied, voice dripping with unconcealed displeasure. “Personally I think having somebody who’s stubborn on the throne isn’t the worst thing in the world. He’s clever Sam. He knows how to manipulate a situation to his liking and he doesn’t pick sides just because of bias. He’s practically already the kingdom’s ruler, the only thing that’s holding him back from it is the title.”
“He could still try a little harder…”
“Then take a different direction for it. The ball is coming up, I’m assuming you’re teaching him the waltz?”
“I’m trying to.” He grumbled.
“Then perhaps a new angle would help. Have you considered offering him a dance partner instead of just your instruction? If he had somebody else to learn with and somebody he was comfortable with, he might be more open to the idea.”
Silence followed and Punz’s heart was pounding in his ears as he ducked out of the room. He’d never heard somebody so openly supportive of what a lot of the servants considered to be a downside of his personality.
“... I’ll consider that, thank you Dream.” Master Nook finally spoke. “You better head back before people wonder where you are.”
Dream. His head repeated. His name is Dream.
“Punz! Punz!” Purpled burst into his dressing room, beaming with excitement. He had just finished his fitting for the upcoming royal ball, something Punz found himself currently in the middle of himself. “Look!”
He twisted his head over his shoulder as far as he could without moving the rest of his body to take in the younger prince. He was dressed in a formal suit but instead of the Antarctic Empire’s colors that were black and gold, he was wearing a deep velvety purple color that highlighted his eyes, a few shades lighter than what could be mistaken as black.
There were gold accents along the collars and cuffs of the jacket as well as polished black boots and a black and gold tie. His boutonniere matched his tie, pinned neatly up above the coat pocket. His mess of dirty blonde hair remained tousled but in a much neater fashion. It fit his brother perfectly.
“Looks good bud.” Punz whistled. “If I didn’t know the ball was in a few weeks I’d say it was tonight.”
“Right!?” He bounced up and down on his heels proudly. “I heard he picked out your outfit too!”
“He?” The prince repeated, hopes rising despite himself.
“Yeah, the butler you’re trying to steal from me.” Purpled replied, sticking his tongue out.
“You mean Dream?” Punz didn’t bother hiding his smirk as his brother’s eyes widened at the name.
“That fits him so well!” He gasped, eyes sparkling once again, not missing a beat despite the fact that he wasn’t the one who’d discovered the man’s name.
“It does.” He chuckled.
“He did really well with yours.” Purpled observed just as the maid stepped away.
“Alright my prince, you can look now. Please let me know if any adjustments need to be made.”
Punz nodded instinctively before turning toward the mirror. A sharp intake escaped him as he stared at the figure reflecting back at him. Like his brother, the focus of his outfit wasn’t the colors of the kingdom. Instead he found he was wearing a long sleeved white dress shirt and black suit pants. He wore black boots that matched Purpled and a light blue cloak styled to hang off one shoulder, held in place by a piece of gold shoulder armor. A simpler version of the crown lay in his curls, black gems emphasized by the golden metal and lighter gold of his curled hair. He had a single black rose pinned to his shirt in place of a boutonniere.
It felt elaborate how the colors of the Antarctic Empire seemed to accent the outfit instead of being the main focus. Like this was proof that a new rule, a new reign would be coming over the people once he was crowned.
I guess that decides it. He smiled to himself as he did a little spin for Purpled, who clapped enthusiastically. I know what the plan is for the ball.
“Punz, my darling baby!” The queen opened her arms to embrace him. He forced himself to relax into the hug despite how tense he felt. It took far too long for her to step away and the fake curl on her lips left Punz feeling stiff and disgusting. “I’m so excited for you! You’ll be crowned as ruler soon!”
“I trust that you’ll lead this kingdom to a bright future son.” The king added, not moving forward to greet him, which Punz found himself appreciating.
“I swear it.” The practiced words slipped easily out of his mouth, without any real emotion behind it. The kingdom deserves somebody a lot better than you to lead them.
“We’re passing all of this to you the night of the ball.” His mother swept an arm regally around her, gesturing toward the general space around them. Her long black locks, something neither one of the princes had inherited, spun with her, a flash of black in the corner of his vision that made him jumpy.
The ball wouldn’t come soon enough.
Everything was in full swing, lively and bright as the kingdom’s rich celebrated the crowning of a new ruler inside the castle while those in the poorer factions hosted the parties they could afford in their own home. Punz had retreated for a moment, sipping on a glass of sparkling cider as he gazed over who he could now consider his subjects.
He wouldn’t be given the title of king until his parents died but he could finally begin to lead them to better places now that he had an official hand in their politics and laws. The responsibility, the power of it all sent a thrill down his spine. There was only one other thing he had to get through before his parents would leave for another undisclosed amount of time to a place nobody knew of. The waltz.
The queen and king had vanished into the sea of faces he’d soon have to learn but he had no doubt they’d reappear when it came time for the final established event of the night. They’d met because of their first dance after all.
“Your highness.” Master Nook approached him, dipping his head respectfully. There were still lines of stress drawn across his face, nerves attacking him as much as they were attacking Punz about the last upcoming ritual. “You’ve done quite well so far.”
“Thank you Sam.” He had a higher rank now, he was allowed to address his teacher with his given name.
“Do you know who you plan on sharing your first dance with?”
“I don’t.” The prince replied, eyes flicking to gaze over the swarm of people. “I’ve been trying to scope it out.”
Well… I have one person in mind but I have no idea where they are.
“I’m proud of you, you know.” The teacher admitted quietly, stealing Punz’s attention again. “You’re what our kingdom needs and I know you’ll guide us to better places. Remember that.”
“Of course Master.” He bowed his head in acknowledgement. Sam offered a more genuine smile before taking his leave and melting back into the crowd.
Punz resumed his task of scanning the room as he sipped on his drink. He needed to find somebody who had the same dance level as he did, if not a little lower, but every time he caught a flash of black and white in his peripheral vision he grew distracted, hoping to see his butler among them.
“Punz~” Purpled hissed from the crowd as he made his way slowly toward the dance floor. He paused, turning toward his little brother despite the feeling of displeased eyes from his parent’s direction on him.
“I’m a little busy buddy…”
“He’s over there.” The younger blonde ignored him, jutting his chin out in the a direction over Punz’s shoulder.
“What-”
“Oh come on, I can totally tell you like him.” He teased just before the queen clapped her hands, a small sound that was meant to regain his attention and refocus him on his task. Punz let a smile slip onto his face as he nodded before he straightened again and continued striding toward the floor.
He was perhaps only a few feet away from reaching the opening space in the ring of people when he finally caught sight of Dream.
The butler was still in service wear, though the more formal version of it, based on the black tail coat jacket he was wearing. Despite the strict dress code he had somehow managed to sneak in a little color of his own if the green and gold boutonniere said anything. He was currently serving a pompous looking rich couple, offering them two fancy looking cocktails.
The kingdom might not approve of this… A seed of doubt made itself known as Punz officially stepped into the circle that had been made for his first dance, girls pushing forward to the edge of the ring as they vied for his attention. What if they say I’m unfit to rule?
Dream glanced up as he found himself rooted to the floor, green eyes always full of light despite the faint eye bags underneath them that seemed like a permanent fixture to his character. Punz’s breath caught as he saw the definition of support flowing out of the butler’s body language.
He trusts me. He thought back to how his own brother had pointed it out when he had never uttered a word about his plan. So does Purpled. And that’s all that matters.
He rolled his shoulders back and approached Dream, passing an eager looking redhead as her hand stretched to take his but he moved past her, holding it unwaveringly in front of the blonde butler.
“May I have this dance?”
The music finally slowed to a stop and Punz couldn’t remove his gaze from Dream’s face, captivated by every freckle spread across his nose, every warm puff of breath on the underside of his chin, every twitch of the man’s cheek as he had to bite back a warm smile.
He didn’t remember hearing anybody react to his choice. He didn’t really remember anything that may have occurred around him because the moment Dream had taken his hand, the only people who existed in the universe were them.
In the background, somebody began clapping.
