For the drabbles.. Quiet Me, please?
At times, the young boy believed himself to be as much the princess's servant as he was the noble boy's, even if the latter was his only official master at this time. Once the duo reached adulthood, however, he would technically be both of theirs.
Not that he minded the girl herself, but... It was because she was a girl that made meeting her demands quite the task for the servant to take up.
The night she suddenly called for him was especially stressful.
Panting softly, the woman finally spoke, her voice quite audible even in its hushed tone amongst the absolute silence of the room. "Please, you must hurry. Princess Natalia is restless and throwing a bit of a fit. She's in tears because of a nightmare and she says she does not want me to console her!"
Pere only nodded and started to slide himself to the side of his bed, murmuring, "Alright, I will be at her side in just a-"
"No," the castle maid cut him off, her sights settling on Guy, who was still sitting upon his bed. "She asked specifically for Guy."
His heart dropped, panic settling in at the thought of being the one to comfort the crying princess. He couldn't! She would want to be held, cradled, maybe even tucked in! He wouldn't be able to help her at all, and yet she sent her caregiver for him. Stuttering, only able to voice the single letter "I," nearly starting his verbalization of his protest when Pere smiled towards the boy.
The elder man gave a small sweeping motion of the hand, "Go on, Guy. Her Majesty must get her rest, hm? Go to her and help her fall asleep."
Now even Pere was against him! Of anyone he knew, Pere should be the one to understand his fear most of all! Ever since they arrived here, he's been skittish around all women, and the older male had always been the man to save him. Now he's was insisting that he throw himself into what would prove to be a fright inducing situation.
Unable to do much else, Guy hung his head as he rose from his bed. "...I will be at Princess Natalia's bedroom in just a moment." The maid nodded once and went on her way, likely back to the castle to tell the girl that her request had been fulfilled.
The servant boy didn't bother dressing himself in his day attire, seeing no reason to when all he would need is shoes to go over there. His pajamas would work fine enough, wouldn't they? And so he slipped on his boots and shuffled towards the castle as quick as he could. Scared or not, it was his duty to obey all orders from his superiors. Saying no to the princess's request would not only earn him a punishment, but he would've had to go and do it anyway no matter how much he might've refused. Seemed he would have to grin and bear it and hope that Natalia wouldn't want him to get too close.
It didn't take him but a few moments to reach the girl's bedchambers, gingerly rapping against the door with his knuckles a few times, voice low as he spoke through the door. "Princess Natalia? You called for me, didn't you? May I come in?"
His only answer was the sound of high-pitched sobs and whimpers, obviously coming from Natalia. Immediately after, he thought of how pointless knocking at all had been, seeing as how it was terribly unlikely that she would've heard him through her own crying. He felt awful for her and hoped that this wouldn't take long, though it didn't seem as if she'd be letting up soon with just how loud her weeping seemed to be.
Stepping inside, Guy closed the door softly behind him and went to the side of the princess's bed... Well, at least a foot away from it. He maintained a calm composure, though the tiny frown was still present upon his mouth. The nightmare must've been a rather serious one, seeing as how the girl's face was red and stained with tears - tears that were still very much flowing. The redness to her cheeks must be from how out of breath she seemed; had she even stopped crying at all since she woke up with a fright? Just what in the world could he accomplish by being there? She should've let her maid take care of her; he couldn't do anything to help her!
Panicked, and seeming to have gone unnoticed by the crying girl, Guy looked around her room for something he could do. Spotting a large teddy bear the queen-to-be had settled in a group of other stuffed animals, he snapped his fingers and rushed over to it. Grabbing it and returning to his previous spot at the side of her bed, though he moved to be a bit closer to the edge, he held the large plush toy out in front of him before clearing his throat and proclaiming in as silly a voice as possible, "Why, Princess! Such a pretty girl shouldn't be crying! I am sure you are so much more lovely without all those tears in your eyes!"
As the servant boy waved the bear to and fro, the princess sniffled loudly, wiping her eyes with the cuffs of her nightgown's sleeves, and looked to the bear with widening eyes. She looked almost surprised at first, though she knew that it was Guy manipulating the toy to do such things. It only took a moment, however, for the other's antics to bring a smile to her face. She reached out quickly, snatching the bear from the blond boy's arms, and pulled it into a hug. Natalia giggled loudly, hiding her face in the soft plush of the stuffed animal as the boy took a step back to admire the girl's happiness.
He was glad that he'd been able to help stop her tears, thinking that it would be impossible to do before now, what with his phobia. Thank goodness for his quick thinking...
The girl bounced in place after a moment, shoving the teddy bear back into Guy's arms almost hastily, then started clapping her hands. "I want you to make the bear talk more! Put on a show for me, Guy!"
With a nod, he was happy to oblige. He went back to the area in which her toys were huddled around, and grabbed a few. Guy made sure to give each a name, a voice, and a personality. He played out an entire story - the teddy bear he'd first used turned out to be the king, Bearen the Fifth, and a sweet little lamb doll he'd picked up was the sweet princess of the kingdom, Princess Baabina. The handsome lion plush was her knight in shining armour, Sir Maneson, and he helped to save her from the evil Queen Rappigila who wanted to steal the lamb girl so that she may steal her beauty from here.
Guy didn't know exactly how long he'd stayed there, but by the time he'd played out the entire story, it coming to a conclusion with a happy ending, of course, the princess was content in her bed, dozing off before his very eyes. He put the toys back, setting them up just as he'd found them, except for the lion - Natalia had insisted that he leave it with her, so that Sir Maneson may protect her from any nightmares that dare to come her way again during the rest of the night.
As the servant was making his exit, Natalia called for him, her voice drowsy and soft. "Guy, I can't go to bed without a good night kiss. The maids always kiss me on the cheek..." Her voice dragged on, as if saying it was a terrible thing to do. She knew that he wouldn't be able to give her a peck on the cheek, but it really would help her. No matter who it was from, she enjoyed light kisses.
Having stopped, dead in his tracks at her request, the boy turned around to stare at her with an almost frightened look. But, hatching another idea, he walked over and smiled lightly. "Could I see Sir Maneson for a second more, Princess?" Natalia wasted no time in giving him the lion toy, curious to see what he would be doing. Was he going to act out another story?
Guy gave the lion a light peck on the snout, and then turned it around and pushed its muzzle unto the girl's cheek with a grin. "There. Sir Maneson gave you the kiss for me. Is that alright?"
A light blush on her face, Natalia bobbed her head up and down with a small "Yes," that she giggled out. Taking the lion back into her arms, she rolled over and snuggled into her covers. She hummed in content for a moment, and then promptly fell asleep after no longer than another minute more.
The servant boy was already on his way back to the manor at this point, and he climbed into bed, walking with the lightest of steps as to not disturb Pere as the elder snored away. Guy hugged his blanket and closed his eyes, proud of himself for being able to help the princess so suddenly.
Because of that night, Princess Natalia insisted that Guy play out a story for her before bed, at least once a week. The servant was cheerful in doing so, though he had no choice in the matter anyway. Not that he minded, really.
The number of plush toys that he had to kiss each story night went up quite fast.
