the prince and the pauper ; kubokai royalty au

6 ¬ one more time ¬

Aren walked slugglishly through the palace hallways,  his surroundings illuminated only by candlelight and warm coloured oil lamps. The windows on the corridor walls showed it was late, as the sky was dark and he could feel a chill creeping in. Not to mention he was exhausted. But his work shift was not yet over. He soon arrived at the recreational area meant for staff, and it was expectedly clear of any servants. it was likely they'd all gone to sleep by now.

But Aren had to stay up later than anyone else (apart from the other night attendants for the other royal family members), as he was expected to wait until the prince himself was asleep at last, in case he required anything. There was a section of the wall lined with small bells accompanied by labels that each had a room written on it. And his job was simple. Aren had to sit and watch the bell that was labeled as 'Prince Shun's quarters', and if it rang, he'd rush to his side, and do whatever the prince required.

So he did. He sat by the bell in the dimly lit room, and waited.

And for a long while, Shun didn't call.

His eyes wandered about the room blankly. At first, it felt good to sit back and rest for a bit, as he'd been on his feet practically the entire day. However, he could only sit for so long before he grew bored. His eyes became heavy and it became an effort for him to keep them open. He looked over at the bell, and longed for it to ring.

Call for me.

At this point, he considered that Shun was asleep and it could be safe for him to turn in as well. But what if he wasn't, and he needed something and Aren wasn't there? So he forced himself to hold out for as long as he could. And just as his eyes were starting to close.. he heard the noise he'd so desperately wanted to hear.

Suddenly, it was if he wasn't tired at all. His eyes shot open and he jumped out of his chair, a smile creeping across his face. It was hard to conceal his eagerness, but he tried to compose himself as he walked. The hallways were becoming familiar by now, and he almost had the route to Shun's room memorized by heart. There was nobody around, and the atmosphere felt different from the morning earlier. It was subdued, as if the palace itself was sleeping too.

But not the young prince, it seemed.

He was sat up straight in his bed, he was smiling, yet he had an empty look on his face. But he didn't appear tired, not at all. His hair was even more curly and fluffy, as if that was possible, as he'd just washed it. And he was dressed in a longer robe that hung loosely off his right shoulder, and the loose sleeves fell over his hands.
And Aren.. well, all he could think of was how cute and small he looked, sitting there huddled in his too big bed and too big clothes. He wanted to smile and laugh at him, and joke with him about how tiny he looked. But then he noticed the faded red rings circling his eyes, and the forced look of his smile.

"Prince? Is something wrong?"

"Aha, what? No, I'm fine..why do you ask?" He stifled a laugh and tried to look confused, very clearly lying.

"Have you been crying?"

Shun turned his gaze away from Aren and looked off into the corner of the room, his smile gone. He knew that he couldn't pretend anymore, as it was obvious he had been crying, and there would be no point lying about it.

"Mmm. It doesn't matter."

Aren stepped forward hestitantly, then he went to sit on the corner of his bed, praying that he wasn't overstepping any boundaries by doing this. But Shun didn't seem to mind, in fact, he moved around some of the blankets so Aren could sit properly.

"You say that, but it must matter if it's upsetting you."

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine now."

"But it's my job to-"

"I don't care!" Shun shouted very suddenly, taking Aren aback.

"I don't want to tell you. Okay? So just leave it." He added, muttering. Once again he looked away, and the sad expression that he had been masking earlier was now spread across his face.

"I'm ..sorry, I shouldn't have pestered you." Aren said quietly after a silence.

"Stop." He whispered, still turned away.

"Stop..?"

"Stop apologising. This is my fault, right? I yelled at you, when you were trying to be nice to me. But because I'm the prince and you're just some servant, you just have to apologise to me. That's it? And that's how it will always be, between us, isn't it?!"

Another silence.

"No." Aren replied plainly.

Shun turned to face him, not expecting this. A tear was rolling down his left cheek, which he wiped away quickly.

"That's not true." He continued, and he took a breath. "Well, you're right about the servant thing. I hope I'm a little more than just a servant, but it is our first day knowing eachother, so I'll put it down to that." He said, smiling a little at his joke.

"But it wasn't your fault. You didn't want to tell me, yet I persisted, and so it's only right you'd lose your temper. Most people would tell. Just because you're a prince doesn't mean you can't have feelings that everybody else has. Much like how I would apologise the same to anyone. Shun, I don't care if you're a prince, or some homeless vagabond off the street. If I was impolite, I'd apologise to you."

Shun opened his mouth to speak, but Aren went on.
"And for the record, you knew just how nervous I was before I started working here. I mean, you would feel nervous too, if you were me, right? But I don't feel like that anymore. You've made me feel comfortable and welcome, something that ..I really really do like about you. So, I'm going to relay your words from earlier back to you. Please don't treat me as "just a servant". We are literally the same age. Whilst I guess technically I DO have to look after you, we are friends. Don't forget that." He finished, but suddenly threw his hand over his mouth. "I..I mean, only if you want to be, of course. Like, you don't have to, but it's just- you know?"

"AREN." Shun cut him off. Even he was laughing now, and to Aren's relief, the sad look on his face was gone.

"I ..wanted to say the same thing. I do want to be friends with you. It's so lonely around here..and I guess..I'm really glad I met you?" He said, his statement sounding more like a question. And once again, the overwhelming feeling of wanting to hide his face and scream came swiftly back as he said this. Why am I so stupid and embarrassing whenever I talk to him?!

"I'd say the same..but I think you already know that." He thought back to how he'd accidentally overshared about his past during their encounter in the garden, and how he said how grateful he was. His cheeks went a little pink at the thought of it.

"So..why did you call me here?"

"Oh,..um..I guess I just wanted to say that.." He fiddled with his hands as he spoke. " I knew they'd have you sat up waiting to come running to me, and you've been working all day. I was planning on going to sleep anyway,  and I thought it would be a relief to you if you knew you could go to bed without worrying about me."

"You know, that is a relief actually. I wouldn't want to get fired because I was asleep when the prince wanted a late night snack and a bedtime story."

"I wouldn't let that happen." Shun spoke in a serious tone now, different to his shy one from before. "You won't be fired, not if I have a say."

"Oh-um," Aren didn't know how to reply. "Thank you. That does make me feel better." He laughed and put his hand to the back of his neck, looking at the floor. "So if that'll be all-?"

"Yeah. I'm good."

"Well then.." Aren began with a smile, and both of their eyes locked.

"Goodnight, Shun. Sleep well."