“That-That-That, why the do I have to explain myself to you?!” Eunhyuk yelled back, finding it easier than to explain reasons he didn’t even know. Why is a mere servant in my private chambers?

 

 

 

            “Oh yes you do! I was unconscious and in here, you could have v-v-violated me!” Donghae said, outrageous, he couldn’t believe what was going on, and he didn’t know how to react to waking up in a bathtub.

 

 

            “Violated? What are you talking about? Why on earth would a prince like me do anything like that to a peasant like you?”

 

 

            “Then explain why I was .”

 

 

            “You were only half clothed when I found you sobbing on my best friend.” The prince muttered, upset towards both younger boys.

 

 

            “Because of the rain, my clothes were drenched.”

 

 

            “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I only brought you back here and had one of the maids clean you up,” Eunhyuk lied, “there was no chance that I could have done violated you. Here I thought that I could do something nice, and in return I get an ungrateful and lazy servant.”

 

 

            “You got a maid to bathe me?” Donghae asked, somewhat feeling guilty for yelling.

 

 

            “Yes.”

 

 

            “Well I…I’m sorry prince Eunhyuk for accusing you of such a crime. Thank you for the clothes, I think I’ll be going now.”

 

 

            “Are you bipolar? Because of your mood swings, I’m really starting to think that there’s something wrong with you.” Eunhyuk stared confusedly at the nineteen year old brunet that was slowly standing up and making his way through the large room with his head down.

 

 

            For reasons unknown, the red head couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around the boy he made his servant. He had only known him for a few days, but there was a part of him that couldn’t imagine losing Donghae.

 

 

 

 

            “Aish, really, why was I in his room like that? And how come he brought me back on his horse like that? Was it really a maid that washed me, and not him?” There were so many questions swimming inside of Donghae’s head that he couldn’t help but let some of them out by mumbling to himself.

 

 

           The other people in the servant’s quarters must have thought that he was a mad man. Donghae had been pacing back and forth for the past hour and a half, muttering all sorts of things with an unreadable expression. A few of the other servants who lived there had their suspicions that the boy was chanting spells to curse the prince. There weren’t many personal servants to the prince who lasted more than a week.

 

 

            The pay was good and you got free food and lodgings. There aren’t that many jobs like that. Poaching, hunting, or joining the army are the most popular jobs a lowly peasant can have if you aren’t connected with anyone; and while they all seem good, not as many who are hired, get the chance to quit or be fired.

 

 

            “Excuse me, are you alright?” A high pitched voice asked the brunet, while a finger poked his side.

 

 

            Turning around suddenly, Donghae came face to face with a boy wearing a straw hat. He studied the boy’s features, and for some reason, the boy looked very feminine.

 

 

            “Huh? Oh yes, I’m fine, thanks.” He said, stopping his pacing and forgetting about the prince momentarily.

 

 

            “Are you the poor sap who has to look after the prince? Ya know, the boy who was about to be killed or something.” The boy asked.

 

 

            “Uh, yeah, that’s me. I’m Donghae, it’s nice to meet you...” He trailed off, not knowing the name of the person in front of him.

 

 

            “Most of the castle already knows your name, I’m Amber though, pleasure’s all mine.”

 

 

            “Amber?”

 

 

            “Yes.”

 

 

            “You’re…a girl?”

 

 

            The boy, now recognized as a girl, burst into laughter, earning a few side looks from the other servants and maids. “Everyone thinks I’m a guy at first, it’s okay, I won’t hold it against a good looking feller like you.”

 

 

            “R-Right…” Donghae trailed off, he already wasn’t in his right state of mind, and now he was even more confused at the person standing in front of him.

 

 

            “Don’t think about it too much, I’m actually a girl but I’m really strong. I work in the stables because being a maid didn’t really go so well for me.” Amber began to ramble on, enjoying meeting someone new.

 

 

            “I was just in the stables a few days ago, I didn’t see you there.” Donghae said, thinking back to the grueling work he did with the horse stalls.

 

 

            “Oh really? I saw you, and might I just saw that your abs look delicious.”

 

 

            Donghae nearly choked on air when he heard the boyish girl compliment him, something that he was normally used to, although not always in such a blunt way.

 

 

            “Tell me, did you really stop a sword with your hands?” Amber asked, sitting down on the bed and motioning Donghae to do the same.

 

 

            “Yeah, see,” Donghae put out his bandaged hand, having completely forgotten about then entire thing, and was surprised to see that the bandages had been changed.

 

 

            “Wow! That is so cool! You’re pretty awesome, you know that. It’ll be sad to see you go.” She sighed, and lowered her head.

 

 

            “What do you mean by that?”

 

 

            “You’re the prince’s personal servant, if you’re lucky, you’ll be gone by the end of the week.”

 

 

            “Why do you say that? And what exactly do you mean by gone?”

 

 

            “None of his servant’s stick around for more than a week, his personality isn’t the best. If he doesn’t start a tantrum and fire you, you’ll end up quitting soon after. The only people who can stand the prince are his knights and that young cutie friend of his.”

 

 

            “I don’t think it’ll be that simple for me. I wish I could quit, but quitting or being fired means death, so that’s out for me.”

 

 

            “That’s too darn bad, maybe you can make it if you don’t go and punch the prince again.”

 

 

            “Hey, he started it.” Donghae said, and found himself laughing along with his new found friend.

 

 

 

 

            The sun blazed down on the hardworking young man in the fields. His mind was fuzzy with sweat that dripped from his nose. Straightening out, he wiped his forehead and leaned on the heavy shovel. It was a dreary day even though the weather was beautiful. The reason behind the dreariness was what the brunet was doing.

 

 

            Early in the morning he had been woken up from bed along with several other men. They were all brought outside and into the royal cemetery where all nobles were buried. Not knowing what was happening as he was still sleepy, Donghae was handed a shovel and told where to dig.

 

 

            The battle with another kingdom had ended, and although the outcome was a peace between them, there were many casualties. Donghae and the other servants were to dig the holes for the fallen knights who bravely fought in the war.

 

 

            Donghae’s hatred for those born into the line of noblemen, the ones who were fed from a silver spoon, still burned strongly. The flame had died a little hearing the story behind Kyuhyun’s childhood, but it was still there. Still, there was nothing happy or good about someone dying, no matter who they were, it’s an upsetting thing to happen.

 

 

            “Hey you! Keep digging, there are plenty more graves to be dug.” One of the guards said, his voice carrying a sadness with it. There was a likely chance that he had known one of the deceased, he could have been good friends with most of them.

 

 

            Sighing, Donghae gripped his shovel, the cut on his hand stinging slightly. He didn’t exactly want to be upset about having to dig all day, someone had to do it, and it’d be rude not to. As much as the new servant wanted to get out of there, he couldn’t just ditch grave digging duty.

 

 

            As the piles got higher and the holes got lower, the day was nearing its end. Donghae shivered as a refreshing breeze blew through the trees. Climbing his way out of the fifth hole he had dug, the brunet closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him. The sounds of men grunting, wildlife speaking, and the soft echoes of the towns below calmed him down.

 

 

            “They really like to make us work hard, don’t they?” A head of blonde hair plopped down beside Donghae.

 

 

            “It’s not their fault, it’s just sad thinking that all we’re doing is digging holes to be filled with bodies.” Donghae said, accepting a cup of water from Amber.

 

 

            “You really are a nice guy.” Amber said, taking the water back and gulping down the rest of it.

 

 

            “What can I say?” Donghae smiled, standing back up and moving to the next digging spot.

 

 

            Amber shook her head and joined the brunet, helping him. Talking and laughing with each other made them more tired, but in a way it also helped them to get the work done faster. Until there were only three more holes to dig, a few of the older men were sent back, the manual labour proving too difficult on their aging bones.

 

 

            It was almost the middle of the night when all of the graves had been made. Finally, they were allowed to go back to their quarters. Just as Donghae and Amber were walking out of the cemetery, the same guard who yelled at Donghae stopped him.

 

 

            “You need to see the prince before you go back.” The guard said, letting stepping back out of the way.

 

 

            “What does he want from me?” Donghae asked, only wanting to be in bed.

 

 

            “You’re his personal servant, if you aren’t working then you need to be at his beck and call.” The guard simply said, pushing the two of them in the direction on the castle.

 

 

            “What a slave worker.” Donghae said to Amber, bidding her goodbye in the castle halls.

 

 

            “Remember to not kill him or anything, alright.” She said, waving before running off.

 

 

            Donghae smiled slightly after the younger girl, and he then knocked on the large wooden doors. When there was no response, he opened the door to stick his head in and see if anyone was there. Deciding that it would be better to go inside rather than stand outside in the cold hallways, the brunet quickly stepped in and closed the door behind him. Tip toeing his way inside, being quiet in case the prince was sleeping. Donghae looked around the candle lit room, his eyes resting on the burning fireplace that heated the room.

 

 

            The image of a fireplace always brought the boy back to the blacksmith’s. The forge was his home away from home, and he wouldn’t be able to get used to being away from it. Although he couldn’t continue making swords like he wanted to, he would just have to get used to life in the castle as a servant.

 

 

            Quickly turning away from the burning flame, his eyes caught sight of the large bed at the end of the room. He slowly walked towards the bed, his hand resting on one of the wooden poles beside it. In the middle of the sheets, lying right on top of all the fabric, was the hot headed prince.

 

 

            Seeing him lying on the bed fast asleep and cast in the orange glow of the fire somehow gave off a peaceful look. Donghae quietly and gently as possible lifted the prince’s legs up. He slipped Eunhyuk’s body under the blankets, and brought the covers up to his face, tucking him in nicely.

 

 

            Kneeling down on the hard floor beside the bed, Donghae rested his chin on his arms and studied the prince’s features. When he wasn’t speaking or moving around the prince was actually quite handsome. His single lidded eyes, plump lips, and sharp jawline wouldn’t look as appealing at first. But for some reason, the more he looked at it, Donghae found himself getting lost in Eunhyuk’s face. He was handsome and no one could say otherwise after seeing him sound asleep.

 

 

            “How can such an arrogant man look so peaceful?” Donghae thought aloud, his voice barely above a whisper. Although as quiet as he had been, the brunet managed to stir the prince from his dreams.

 

 

            A soft groan sounded from Eunhyuk, followed by his shifting on the bedding. Donghae began to panic, not wanting to be caught staring at the one person he was supposed to hate. Finding nowhere that he could hide, Donghae opted to lie on the floor, hoping the prince wouldn’t look down, or that he wouldn’t get off of his bed. Both which would be unlikely.

 

 

            With his body to the cold ground, Donghae waited anxiously for some sign that it would be okay for him to get up without the prince finding him. In some cases it may have been better to just be honest, if he was going to be found out then it would be less humiliating to be found standing up than on the ground.

 

 

            “What the are you doing down there?” Eunhyuk’s confused and somewhat annoyed voice sounded from above the brunet.

 

 

            “Uh…well I was just…looking for dust bunnies, yeah, dust bunnies.” Donghae lied, sweeping his hand under the bed back and forth.

 

 

            “Yeah right, this place is as clean as a new born baby.” He scoffed, sitting up in his bed.

 

 

            “Wouldn’t a new born baby be covered in blood though?”

 

 

            “Aish, just shut up you smartass.” Eunhyuk yawned, stretching his arms to ever so slightly reveal a bit of his milky white skin.

 

 

            Why the hell am I staring at his stomach? I should not be staring. Donghae thought, averting his eyes.

 

 

            “Why’s your face turning red?” Eunhyuk asked, pursing his lips.

 

 

            “It’s not.”

 

 

            “Yes it is. Woah, even your even are getting red. What the ?”

 

 

            “I said they’re not.”

 

 

            “Well you just can’t see it. Do you have a fever or something? What’s wrong with you?” Eunhyuk asked, his voice laced with worry, something new to the younger.

 

 

            The prince leaned forward, one hand on Donghae’s forehead and the other on his own. Caught off guard at the sudden close distance and a cold hand on his head, the brunet stared up at Eunhyuk. It was only for a moment, but their eyes met. There were so many different questions running through each of their heads. Thoughts that they couldn’t understand and longings that wanted to be fulfilled.

 

 

            The sudden atmosphere between them sent away all logic and reason, there was nothing else in the large room except for Donghae and Eunhyuk. It may have been because it was so late at night and both of them were tired. It had been a long day and they had both worked hard, so what happened next would be understandable. The sudden magnetic feeling that pulled the two men together, pushing them closer and closer without really knowing why.

 

 

            Eunhyuk’s lips slowly moved against Donghae’s. His body moving on its own no matter how hard his brain told him otherwise. It was reluctant at first, Donghae was half surprised that Eunhyuk would kiss him, and half surprised that he would go along with it.

 

 

            Although they might have mixed feelings for each other, the only thing that was happening right then seemed right. Eunhyuk’s body was bent over the side of the bed, his hands on either side of Donghae’s head. The brunet closed his eyes, responding to the kiss, his hands clenching the fabric of his tunic.

 

 

            They might argue over and over again as to who initiated the kiss. The two of them would deny that anything happened that night in the candle lit bedroom, but when it came down to it, there could be no excuses for their secret, strange, and undeniably wonderful first kiss.

 

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