The Prince and The Servant
Isaac stood tall and straight with his hands clasped together in front of him, patiently awaiting his review by his queen. His pitch-black fur was combed down against his skin, his mane trimmed down and filled with all kinds of oils. He had dressed up in a purple and brown suit, with tight sleeves and collar. His leggings clung tightly to his thick legs, and the loose mid-riff was filled with stuffy air. It was supposed to look nice, at least the queen said so, but Isaac would take comfort over fashion any day.
"Oh, you look marvelous!" the Queen exclaimed, adjusting Isaac's collar. She brushed imaginary dust off his shoulders as she spoke. "Now, what's your mission?"
"Protect Prince Tahvo from any intruders, and get him to open up to you, your husband, and the public." Isaac recited what the Queen told him, not missing a beat.
"Very good. Oh, I think I just might have picked the right one!" The Queen said, practically squealing. Isaac smiled softly, his eyes still aimed directly at the wall in front of him. the Queen stepped into his limited view, giving him one final look-over. The lucario's age was visible, her fur was starting to get lighter and small wrinkles formed around her cheeks and eyes. Nonetheless, she looked as elegant as any Queen would be.
"Are you ready?" She asked him.
"Of course, m'lady," Isaac said, with just a hint of infliction. He wanted to sound disciplined, but not without emotion. The truth was, he was thrilled to be working for the royal family. This meant that he would not be sent off to join the army. Of course, this also meant many privileges for him and his family, which they dearly needed. It was by pure chance that he actually got the job.
With an honest smile, the Queen led Isaac through the castle and up the steps to the Prince's chamber. Isaac was trying his best to hide the shaking of his legs. He was rather nervous, uncertain of what the Prince would be like. This made the long walk upstairs quite a bit more taxing, along with the suit making the castle seem sweltering. Finally arriving at a modest wooden door, the Queen knocked for him. She wished him good luck one more time before the door opened.
Tahvo looked a lot like his mom, with enticing red eyes and a tall, skinny figure. He even looked like an introvert. Isaac assumed Tahvo hadn't been expecting company, as he was still wearing his bedwear. Baggy white pants, and a white shirt that looked like it was going to fall off of his shoulders. Isaac barely managed to keep a straight face.
"Oh, what is it, mother?" Tahvo asked quietly.
"Do you remember how I told you that you would be getting a personal servant?" She responded. She said it slowly, like she was talking to a wild dog.
"Ah, right. Is this him?" He asked, gesturing to the zoroark standing next to her.
"Yes it is! I think he's perfect, he's so strong and polite," She kept talking about Isaac like he was something she was offering for trade. Tahvo kept a wary eye on the black fox.
"Right, um, thanks." He said, his eyes flicking between the Queen and Isaac as he stepped aside to invite him in.
"Excellent, oh, are you coming down for dinner tonight, dear?" The Queen asked all too innocently.
"I'm sorry, I'm working on something," he responded.
"Oh, okay. I'll leave you be then," the Queen said. Isaac bowed politely before entering the room with Tahvo. It was much different from the Queen's room, more modest. Much of the floor space was unoccupied, with the only furniture being a bed, desk, and chair. The bed was placed with the head against the back well, near a large desk covered in various papers. To the left of the entrance, the chair was placed facing the fireplace, opposite of that a door leading to what must have been the balcony.
Isaac sat down at his desk without a word, leaving Isaac to stand there awkwardly. He tried not to take it too personally though, he knew the Prince was quite private. It was likely most of Isaac's time would be spent standing around. So the wait for orders from Tahvo began. Isaac simply stood up against the wall, waiting for something, anything to happen. It was kind of painful.
After a few long minutes of silence, Tahvo stood up and walked into another room near the fireplace. Moments later, he returned dressed up and with a sun cap on. Isaac snapped himself back into reality, looking curiously at the young Lucario.
"Where are you going?" Isaac asked, with a small frown.
"Out," was his only response.
"Shall I accompany you?" Isaac ventured.
"No thank you," Tahvo muttered as he walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him before Isaac could say anything else. It appeared that befriending the prince would be rather difficult. However, it was Isaac's job. He refused to fail. For now, it looked like he was going to be doing some chores. Isaac looked around the large room, looking for something to tidy up. There wasn't much for him. Everything seemed to be very welp kempt, except for the desk.
Isaac glanced back and forth, as if someone might be watching. He slowly walked over to the other end of the room, ignoring what he had been taught as a child. It may be snooping, but Tahvo just might have written down some personal things in these papers. How can you befriend someone if you don't understand them? Isaac approached the desk and rested his paws on top of it, glancing over some of the papers he could see. Most of it was political stuff, new laws, taxes, and whatnot. He ignored them, directing his attention elsewhere. It was the pile of papers he found tucked away in the desk that Isaac found much more interesting.
A few dozen or so pieces of paper had poetry on them, of all things. Parchment holding Tahvo's feelings and inner thoughts, this was perfect. Isaac didn't seem very interested in deciphering this poetry though. He was just fascinated by how well written it was. Every line felt like it's own story, a single thought was rarely spread out over several. It was all so cluttered and random, yet almost flawlessly organized into an elegant rhythm. Tahvo must have had a lot of free time to practice poetry this much. Isaac managed to escape the blissful fantasy that was Tahvo's writing and look even deeper into the writing. He found some interesting things indeed.
Tahvo arrived some time later, appearing to be in a better mood than he was before. He strode over to his desk and sat down, immediately getting to work. Isaac simply smiled softly, letting him get a bit comfy. He was determined to get this right.
"Prince Tahvo," Isaac said, trying to get his attention. Tahvo seemed a bit surprised to hear Isaac's voice, he turned his head slightly to acknowledge him.
"Yes, um," Tahvo paused. "What's your name again?"
"Isaac," he replied, trying not to get too offended. "Would you perhaps like something to drink?"
"Oh, yes, that would be fine," Tahvo answered, turning back to his desk.
"Lemon-spiced tea, I presume?" Isaac said. The sound of pencil on paper stopped for a moment.
"Yes," Tahvo said slowly. "Thank you." He soon returned to writing without too much suspicion. Isaac went down to the kitchen with a sly smile. He didn't mind fitting into the zoroark stereotype, it was for a good cause. It wasn't until he reached the kitchen that Isaac realized he didn't know how to make tea. The fox felt a little foolish for overlooking this, but he knew what to do. He walked over to an audino that he assumed was on of the cooks and gave them a tap on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, Tahvo has asked for lemon-spiced tea." Isaac said to them. The Audino turned and squinted at him.
"And who might you be?" The apparently female Audino asked.
"I'm Prince Tahvo's servant," he replied. "He has asked-"
"Do you have any proof of this?" She interrupted, her suspicion becoming very clear. Isaac frowned slightly.
"No, not at the moment. Perhaps you could ask the Queen," he said patiently.
"Alright, I will. But until then, stay out of my kitchen," the audino ordered. Isaac sighed and bowed to the cook before exiting the kitchen. He was used to such behavior around him, this town wasn't known for being friendly. It didn't help that he was a zoroark. Isaac leaned against a wall near the entrance to the kitchen, just thinking. Guilt still remained in the back of Isaac's head, but he managed to convince himself that the invasion of Tahvo's privacy was alright. Isaac was all too familiar with inner monologue.
The cook eventually found out that Isaac was telling the truth. She gave him the tea to take to Tahvo without a word, going right back to work. Isaac was fully aware that there would probably be more than a little suspicion about him at his job. With all of the recent reports of the Midnight Clan killing civilians within the kingdom, he's surprised anyone gave him a job, and a very important one no less. This is why he had been practicing and studying etiquette for weeks, hours a day. He would need to make an extremely good impression to get such a job. Even so, many believe that Isaac is an assassin who managed to creep his way into job to take out Tahvo. Isaac tried his best to not let it get to him.
Isaac came back to Tahvo's quarters to find him in the same spot as before. It was almost unsettlingly quiet in the room.
"Sorry it took so long, had a bit of an issue with the cook," Isaac said, breaking the silence. Tahvo jumped in his seat a little, glaring back at Isaac.
"Oh, sorry, sorry," Isaac stammered, bringing the tea to the Prince's desk. He let out a soft sigh and turned to accept the drink.
"What kind of problem?" Tahvo asked, taking a sip out of the small little cup he held.
"Oh it was nothing, just a little mix up," Isaac responded with a reassuring smile. Tahvo raised an eyebrow.
"I hope you weren't causing trouble down there," Tahvo said slowly.
"Of course not, my lord," Isaac replied. The prince softly grunted and turned back to his desk.
"Just so you know, I'm going to be keeping an eye on you. My mother may trust you, but my parents aren't new to making questionable decisions…"
"Right. I'll be on my best behavior," Isaac replied, wiping something off of his brow. With that, silence fell over the room again. The young servant sighed, knowing that this is how it would remain for at least another few hours. However, this gave him time to think. So far, the Queen was the only one who has fully trusted Isaac. Even before his first day, when he volunteered for the job, he was asked by plenty of people why he wanted the job. His answer was simple: For the pay, the reason for every job, but it wasn't difficult to see the doubt in their expressions.
All because a few members of his species decided to solidify the image of sly, untrustworthy foxes, gaining the trust of civilians before slaughtering them when they had their backs turned. Then again, so had Isaac. He had used his position as royal servant to go behind the Prince's back and examine private information. Despite thinking that it was for the greater good, it was wrong. Isaac knew this now. He was just like the members of the Midnight Clan.
No, he didn't want to be like those scum, he knew he could be better than that. What was something that those rogue zoroark never did?
Apologize.
This job was important to him, but not as important as the reputation of him and his species. He knew what he had to now. Taking deep breaths, Isaac stepped forward toward Tahvo's desk.
"My lord, I have something to confess," Isaac proclaimed. The Prince sighed and turned around to face him, as if he had been expecting this.
"What is it?" He asked nonchalantly.
"I was looking through some of the papers in your desk, sir. I'm terribly sorry; I thought it was for the best." Tahvo slowly shook his head.
"I figured as much," Tahvo muttered. Isaac winced, feeling his guilt clench his chest. "I should have had you thrown out the minute you came to my door. I'll inform my mother of your betrayal."
With that, the Prince got up and strode past Isaac to the door.
"I thought I could learn more about you, understand you better. I'm very sorry," he said, bowing his head slightly. Tahvo stopped in his tracks.
"You read my poetry?" Tahvo asked quietly.
"Yes, I did. My sincere apologies, once again," Isaac repeated. Tahvo quickly turned around.
"Please don't tell my parents, they'd be very upset with me if they found out," Tahvo pleaded. Isaac looked up at the Prince, looking very confused.
"Concerning the things you wrote about?" Isaac asked.
"Yes… They're quite strict, you must understand-"
"I understand, my lord. I won't tell them," Isaac interrupted. Tahvo breathed a silent sigh of relief.
"Thank you," the Prince muttered as he slowly walked back to his desk. Something stopped him at the foot of his chair. "How do I know you didn't look at anything else?"
Isaac gulped, trying to think of what to say. "Well, I couldn't tell you anything about what is on those documents." the Prince didn't seem satisfied with this answer. He stepped towards Isaac rather quickly, startling him. Isaac flinched, thinking he would be tortured to get answers he didn't have.
"Look at me, Isaac," Tahvo said sternly. Isaac relaxed his eyes and looked into Tahvo's. He could almost feel those red irises staring into his soul. They probed him and his thoughts, searching for evidence that he was lying. It made Isaac feel a bit strange. They were standing quite close to each other, and Isaac didn't even feel the urge to avert his eyes. It was silent for a moment as the Prince took a glimpse into Isaac's soul, before Tahvo took a step back, breaking the connection.
"Fair enough. Everything seems to be in its place anyway," Tahvo exclaimed before walking back to his desk. Isaac couldn't help but smirk. 'I suspected it anyways,' a man's way of saying 'I was wrong'. He was a bit proud of the fact that Tahvo knew he was telling the truth, and somewhat admit that he was wrong. It was probably immature, but he didn't care too much.
Silence fell over the room again. Isaac was satisfied with it.