I stood still in awe and looked around the room I had been escorted to. I was still in a state of denial. It was hard to believe that I was currently standing in the Liberty castle, in a room that had been prepared just for me. After looking around for a bit, I put down my bag on the bed and let out a small huff. Back when Luke had first asked me, I thought it was an empty promise made out of politeness, but when I received the white envelope with the royal sigil, I learned that Luke kept his word. And so, a week later, a black car waited for me outside my apartment building and without a word from the driver, it took me straight to the castle. I had expected to be met by Luke, seeing as he was the one who had insisted on me coming here in the first place, but I still hadn't seen him. To make it worse, I found myself feeling disappointed by the lack of the young butler with the hairstyle I was still greatly impressed over.

''This is going to be interesting…'' I mumbled to myself and slumped down on the bed. My eyes stared at the ceiling but they quickly closed once I realized just how quiet it was.

Maybe it had been because of growing up with fairytales about giant castles, where parties were held every night and it would be pulsating with life, but I found myself a bit disappointed by now. Despite not having seen much of the castle, mostly just on my way in, I found it quieter than my own apartment building and the hallway had been mostly empty. In truth, I knew my expectations had been sat after an imaginary bar but the five year-old princess inside me was sulking. Sure, I was nothing but a mere student, majoring in literature and history, with absolutely no real reason to be in a royal castle, but I still felt like having a right to my expectations.

Oh well, Luke still had seven days to show his face and if he didn't, I had seven days to find him.

I couldn't explain why I had thought that just before drifting off to sleep. All I knew was that from the first moment where I saw that flustered smile, he had never really left my thoughts. As for now, I wrote it off as an innocent crush and nothing more. And now, not really knowing what the week in the Liberty castle had in store for me, I saw it as an opportunity to get to know him and then forget about the childish crush.

I wasn't aware that I had actually dozed off before someone knocked on the door.

''Miss Wood?''

I sat up slowly after regaining some brain function and let my fingers run through my curly hair while yawning and stretching. ''Yes?'' I called when I felt somewhat alive and stood up from the bed.

''May I come in?''

I stared at the door while the words took a few seconds to register. I was used to my roommate knocking but that would usually mean that I had about three seconds before the door would be opened, so this felt like a whole new world already.

''Yes, of course.'' I spoke while standing almost awkwardly in the middle of the room. I had no idea what to do with myself and simply kept my eyes on the door.

''Then, please excuse me.'' The voice spoke and the door opened slowly.

I blinked when I met the warm, brown eyes and quickly started to smile when I recognized them.

''Hello, Luke.'' I smiled, relieved and happy to see him again.

''Good afternoon, Miss Wood.'' He returned my smile effortlessly. ''I thought you might like some tea.''

Tea? I blinked and moved my gaze from his face, now noticing the tray he was carrying in his free hand.

''Oh, yes. Tea would be nice.'' I hummed and sat back down on the bed. I had never really been a huge fan of tea but since he had brought it…

''Good.'' He smiled and moved to a nearby table. ''How was the drive, Miss Wood?''

''It was fine, thanks, but I'm still a little confused as to why I'm here.'' I spoke and watched as he started to prepare the tea.

''Your visit here is prepared as an apology to when we got your clothes ruined. We're still terribly sorry about the incident and while you're here, I'll be acting as your personal butler.''

''My…? But I thought you were Prince Keith's butler?'' I asked in surprise.

''Well… actually, I'm not fully his butler yet.'' His voice had turned a bit smaller, as if he was embarrassed, but because he was standing with his back to me, I couldn't really tell. ''But I'm hoping you'll find my serving adequate during this week.''

''You're doing well so far.'' I chuckled and watched as he peeked over his shoulder. I could have sworn that his cheeks were faintly flushed.

''Thank you, Miss Wood. That's good to hear.'' He hummed and readied the teacup.

''Luke?''

''Yes, Miss Wood?''

''If you're going to be my butler for a whole week, can you at least call me by my first name?''

''But, Miss Wood-''

''Luke.'' I sighed softly and watched as he turned flustered.

''Then… Miss Lena.''

''Just Lena is fine.''

''It may be, but I do not wish to be rude.''

''Rude?'' I cocked an eyebrow. ''But I'm calling you by your first name.'' I spoke, feeling confused as to why he simply wouldn't call me by my first name and nothing else.

''That is a complete different matter. As a butler, I cannot address you without it being in a formal tone. Please understand that.'' He sighed softly.

I fell silent then while considering the situation but it only lead to another question.

''Then, you're probably not allowed to drink tea with me either.'' I guessed and continued to watch him.

''No, I'm not.'' He hummed while concentrating on pouring the tea into the white cup.

I made a mental note of keeping the questions at a minimum from now on. I wasn't here to learn about being a butler but then again, I wasn't really sure why I was here in the first place. Even so, I most certainly would not waste my time here on questions when there was so much else to see and experience. That, and the fact that Luke would be spending some time with me already made me want to treasure my time here.

''Miss Wo-um, Miss Lena.'' Luke's voice made me look up.

I felt my face warm up when I realized that I had been completely lost in my thoughts. I smiled apologetically and took the cup of tea he was offering me. ''Sorry, I guess I spaced out a little there. Thank you.'' I smiled and our eyes shortly met.

''You're welcome.'' He hummed softly before his eyes were cast down.

I kept a chuckle back and took the first sip of my tea. I took a moment to properly taste it and I let out a soft hum when I found that I liked the taste. It tasted like raspberries but with a perfect balance between sweet and bitter. I put the cup down slowly, still relishing the taste, and let my eyes find Luke again. When they did, I found myself wondering again but I forgot my own promise.

''Why don't you sit down?'' I asked softly and received a look of surprise.

''A butler stands. How's the tea?''

I frowned a bit when he tried to change the subject and my stubbornness wouldn't have it. Much to his surprise, I stood up. ''Then I will stand as well.''

''Miss-''

''If you don't want me standing, then sit down with me.'' I smiled at him and watched as his expression turned helpless.

His glance moved to the door and remained there while he looked like he was thinking it over. After another few seconds, he eventually let out a small sigh and his eyes returned to me. ''Alright, but only for a short time.''

I felt my smile widen when he agreed and I sat back down on my bed. My eyes stayed on him as he turned flustered, obviously not fully accustomed to my requests. To him, they would surely be absurd and I wondered if he thought I was strange for asking him. Even so, he had agreed and slowly, he sat down beside me. It lead to a soft silence between us where I continued to slowly drink my tea while he gradually relaxed beside me. It lasted until I had finished my tea and I put the cup down. My glance moved to him and for a few seconds, I was allowed to study his profile before his head turned and our eyes met.

It felt like the world around us came to a completely stop. His cheeks still had a faint touch of red across them and I could hear his breathing hitch while our eyes stayed locked. If I leaned a little closer, I could probably hear his heartbeat. Or was it mine? I couldn't tell.

Then, we both looked down, heath tingling in cheeks and hearts beating wildly.

''I-I better go check on supper.'' He stood up, his body almost looking rigid. ''I'll come get you when it's done.'' He spoke quickly and made a hasty bow.

Without getting to say a word, I watched as he, a little too quickly, walked out the door and I was left in an embarrassing silence.

What the hell had just happened?

I took a sharp breath and listened to my pulse drumming loudly in my ears.

Just a silly crush, that's it.

The sentence remained as bold letters in my mind while I decided to unpack, hoping it could keep me occupied.

I was left to myself for about thirty minutes before Luke had returned. He was back to his usual self and while telling me about the menu, we walked out of my room and down the hall. My glance moved around, trying to take in everything there was to see but my glance moved back to Luke when I noticed he had come to a stop.

''Good evening, your highness.'' Luke spoke and bowed his head.

My glance moved in front of me and I quickly found who Luke was addressing. My eyes met a pair of emerald ones and I quickly bowed my head as well.

''Who's this commoner?''

Nope. I still didn't like him.

''This is Miss Wood, your highness. She'll be staying here until Sunday afternoon.''

I stayed silent. It had been hard to not to return his insults back at the party in Charles but I was trying to avoid the unnecessary trouble.

''Oh, that was today?'' Despite still looking at me, the tone he used sounded absolutely bored. ''Not that I really care.'' He spoke before turning around and beginning to walk.

''The dining room is this way.'' Luke exhaled next to me and I nodded but we didn't get to move a single step.

''What?'' Keith asked while turning around and looking irritated. ''Let her eat in her room. I'm not about to eat with a commoner at the table.''

''But, your highness-'' Luke started but Keith quickly cut him off.

''Just because you invited her here, Luke, doesn't mean that I'm going to be dragged into entertaining her. That's your responsibility.'' Keith glared at the brunet, who promptly fell silent.

''Excuse me, your highness.'' I spoke before really realizing it and both Luke and Keith looked at me. ''The invitation I received had the royal sigil on it, which means, that I was invited here by the king and queen here and not just by one person.'' I kept my eyes locked with his as I spoke.

A silence fell between the three of us and I somewhat waited for Keith to insult me and then walk away. But instead, his lips curled into a confident smirk.

''A commoner standing up to a prince. Never thought I would see that. You're pretty bold, woman.''

''It's Lena Wood.'' I mumbled, annoyed at being referred to as commoner and woman.

''Fine, Wood, whatever.'' He chuckled as he turned around and started walking again. ''Let her eat in the dining hall, or wherever she wants. I don't care. Just don't ever expect me to act as her babysitter, Luke, she seems like too much of a handful.'' Keith spoke as he dug his hands into his pockets and made his way down the hall.

''I'll show you a handful.'' I muttered beneath my breath but I quickly forgot about my anger when Luke stirred beside me and I let my eyes find him.

''Miss Lena, please mind your words. He's a prince after all.'' He sighed but I knew he was serious.

The thought of him being punished for my behavior made me look down, almost ashamed. ''Sorry… I guess I have a temper.'' I huffed and looked up at him again with a small smile.

''You're definitively stubborn.'' He mumbled after a small sigh and started walking again.

''Hey!'' I smiled and caught up to him. ''What are you basing that on?'' I asked and looked at him. The sight made me lose my breath.

''Nothing.'' He chuckled softly, his cheeks a faint red and his eyes closed. He held up a hand to cover his mouth as a try to muffle the chuckle.

Without knowing why, I started laughing. Maybe it was to hide the fact that I could feel heat bubble in my cheeks or that I didn't want to call the feeling anything else but a childish crush. Even so, I decided that spending a week in the company of Luke would be worth the future insults from Prince Keith.

Yeah, it was definitively going to be worth it.

''Luke! Over here!'' I called out with from my spot behind one of the countless bookshelves. I watched as he turned around, using my voice to locate me, and then rushing to me when he found me.

''Miss Lena, this is a library, please keep your voice down.'' He spoke flustered, as if he was embarrassed on my behalf.

''Luke, it's a Monday morning, the only ones here besides us are two librarians, who're sitting all the way down by the entrance. I doubt they can hear us from here.'' I smiled at him.

''Even so, please keep your voice down.'' He sighed softly and looked at the books I was carrying in my hands. ''I never thought you would want to see the capitol library. I had prepared to show you some historical sites.''

''I like books…'' I hummed and moved me eyes back to scanning the books titles. ''And I visited Liberty last summer and saw all the popular historical sites.'' I looked back at him and couldn't help but smile when he almost looked disappointed. ''But I'm very happy that you prepared this for me. I hadn't expected that we would actually go out like this.'' I smiled back looked back at the books so he wouldn't see my slight embarrassment.

''G-go out?'' He chocked a bit on the words.

''Yeah, go out of the castle…''

''Oh.'' He took a quick breath.

I looked back at him when I realized how he had misunderstood my phrasing and warmth bubbled in my cheeks. ''I-uh, I didn't mean…'' I mumbled, stumbling across the words before sighing and giving up on explaining myself. ''Look at this.'' I smiled and held out the open book I had just found.

''It's a history book?''

''It's centered about the differences in politics between Liberty and Charles in the early seventeen hundreds. I've been looking for this.''

''I take it you're quite interested in history?''

''I'm majoring in history and literature, so I think interested would be an understatement.'' I smiled and flipped through some of the pages. ''I also found this.'' I closed the history book and found the much smaller book I was carrying.

''Poetry?'' He asked, sounding rather surprised.

''It's a collection of works by unknown writers.'' I looked at it fondly before letting my gaze move up to meet his. ''Have you read poetry before?''

''I can't say that I have.'' He admitted and his eyes moved down to the book. ''Of course I've read some of the more famous works but never something from an unknown author.''

''In my opinion, unknown works can sometimes be the ones which leaves the reader with the biggest impact. They speak the true words of the people instead of reflecting patriotism from a romantic view.'' I had looked down while speaking but once I realized that I was probably just blabbering on, I stopped and looked back up at him. ''Sorry, I got a little caught up there.'' I smiled flustered.

''No, it's fine. It's interesting to watch you when you talk about something you're passionate about.'' He smiled back.

I felt my heart flutter and I looked down flustered. Unusual of me, I didn't know what to say and simply closed the books.

''Do you want to borrow them?''

''The books?'' I asked while finding his gaze again.

''Yes.''

''Well, yeah…'' My glance flickered down to the books before going back to him. ''I don't have a library card though and you have to be a citizen of Liberty to have one.''

''You can borrow mine… if you want.'' He mumbled hummed softly and his cheeks had gotten a bit of color.

''That would be great. Thanks.''

We both smiled at each other and my grip on the books tightened slightly.

Why did he have to be so kind?

''Here.''

''Wha-'' He looked up from the book and eyed what I was holding in my hands. ''Ice cream?''

''I wanted to thank you with something for letting me borrow those books and since it's warm today, I figured ice cream was a good idea.'' I smiled and soft down next to him. ''One's chocolate and the other is vanilla. I hope you like one of them.''

''I'm quite fond of chocolate. Thank you.'' He smiled softly and took the cup with the two chocolate scoops.

I allowed myself to relish his soft smile and studied as a faint hue of red had crawled across his beautiful features. I knew I was going to hate myself for it later, but I let myself smile over the fact that I had made him smile. It was such a little thing but it set my heart racing happily.

''Luke, can I make a request?'' I asked after tasting the first spoonful of ice cream.

''Of course.''

''It's just… I thought that since we're out of the castle, maybe you could be a bit more informal with me?'' I asked and waited for his answer while feeling the ice cream melt on my tongue. When he glanced at me with hesitation, I opened my mouth again. ''Just for today, of course, and I won't mention it to anyone.'' I continued, hoping it would convince him to say yes.

His glance stayed hesitant while he watched me for a moment, then he sighed and a soft smile appeared on his lips. ''Alright, but only for today.'' He huffed faintly.

I felt myself smile big and felt my body relax from relief. It would be nice to just be to normal people instead of a butler and the person he was serving, even if it only lasted for some hours, it was better than nothing.

''Thank you.'' I smiled and let my eyes move down to the book, noticing how his fingers were keeping it open on a specific page. ''Did you find anything?'' I asked while looking back up at him and then taking another spoonful of ice cream.

''Uh…'' He mumbled, looking confused about what I was asking about. It took him a couple of seconds before he seemed to realize it and smiled. ''Oh.'' He breathed and opened the book in his lap. ''I didn't read that many and just flipped through the book but this one caught my eye.'' He spoke while using his free hand to prepare the right page and I leaned closer to look at it. I heard him take a shard inhale when I moved but I thought nothing of it while my eyes wandered across the poem.

''There's a rhythm in rush these days
Where the lights don't move and the colors don't fade
Leaves you empty with nothing but dreams
In a world gone shallow
In a world gone lean

Well the way I feel is the way I write
It isn't like the thoughts of the man who lies
There is a truth and it's on our side
Dawn is coming
Open your eyes
Look into the sun as the new days rise

I will stay with you tonight
Hold you close 'til the morning light
In the morning watch a new day rise
We'll do whatever just to stay alive
We'll do whatever just to stay alive''*

I read it out loud out of habit while my eyes scanned the lines. Once I was done, I took another bite of ice cream while thinking about what the poem and my glance moved up. I met a pair of surprised eyes focused on me and I suddenly felt self-conscious.

''What?'' I swallowed while I felt my cheeks turn red.

''N-nothing.'' He mumbled after blinking a couple of times and seemed to realize how he had been looking at me. ''You sound differently when you read a poem out loud.'' He smiled while his glance shifted down to the book instead of me.

I watched as he flipped through some of the pages before stopping. My glance went back up to him, noticing the puzzled look which had caused his eyebrows to furrow.

''This is quite an odd collection.'' He murmured as if he was talking to himself.

''Why?''

For a split second, he looked up but when our eyes met, he was quick to look down again.

''I thought poems had to rhyme.''

My glance travelled back to the book, looking over the page he currently had his fingers on. The poem was short and did indeed not rhyme.

''Rhyming is not essential for something to be poetic. Try to read it out aloud, then you'll be able to understand it.'' I smiled as he glanced at me, obviously hesitating. ''Just try it. There's no one but us who'll be able to hear it.'' I urged him with a smile and watched as he gradually became more flustered but his eyes did move back down to the page.

Despite his hesitation, it only took a couple of seconds before he started.

''We're all a little weird.

And life is a little weird.

And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours,

We join up and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness – and call it love

True love.''*

He spoke calmly but his voice did have a slight tremor caused by his nervousness. It was nice to hear his voice utter phrases like those and it had effectively caused me to close my eyes as he read it out loud. Once he had said the last line, a soft silence appeared between us until I spoke a moment later.

''I like that one.'' I smiled faintly and took another spoonful of ice cream.

He sat in silence while I ate and silently studied him out of the corner of my eye. His glance was focused on the words he had just read while his expression had turned into something I couldn't quite explain. It was as if I could see how hard he was thinking, or maybe he had just realized something, but I couldn't tell what it was. His brows shifted faintly as his concentration seemed to increase and I simply continued to stare at him for another moment. It was then I remembered that he had ice cream as well.

''Luke. Your ice cream.'' I spoke quietly while trying not to chuckle as I eyed the ice cream, which would soon be nothing but a puddle if he didn't hurry up and eat it.

''Oh.'' He murmured and blinked before looking down at his ice cream. ''Oh no!'' he exclaimed louder, grimacing and causing me to laugh, once he noticed the condition of it. He frowned at me quickly while asking me to stop laughing before beginning to eat it, intending to savor what was still somewhat frozen. I couldn't stop laughing, causing him to fluster and the irritation was clear on his face, but in the end, he couldn't keep a chuckle back himself.

Despite the many doubts I had about this trip, so far it was more enjoyable than I had imagined it to be.

*Jose Gonzalez – Stay Alive

*Robert Fulghum