Shuuichi stood in the middle of the prince's private common room, uncertain what to do with himself. His heart had only just returned to its regular tempo. After the proceedings, he'd been whisked away so he could familiarize himself with his new master's chambers, while the royalties went on with the day's matters.
He'd been trained since birth to be a personal assistant, having been lucky enough to be the son of one of Empress Morahiko's maiden. He'd found out one year ago that he would be presented to the Crowned Prince Yuki as a gift, the son of the king of a nearby country. He'd had to learn English, as well as the proper way to look after western royalty. There wasn't much of a difference, but he'd been so nervous during the journey here that he'd hardly been able to keep himself from going insane.
He'd known nothing of his new master. A large part of him had been fearing some kind of ogre-human hybrid, a dirty old man that drooled when he talked and missed when he tried to pee in the chamber pot, despite the fact Shuuichi knew he would only a few years older than himself. The truth of the matter was that Prince Yuki seemed to be an extremely private person, and so not many people could tell Shuuichi anything about him.
Ryuuichi had been luckier, in that he knew quite a bit about the man whom he would be serving. Prince Tetsua was known for how social he was, traveling to wherever he was invited for dinners and ceremonies, usually accompanying his father. He was several years younger than his brother, and was known for his good humor and skillful story-telling.
It was because he was younger that he'd been presented to the prince with higher status. And he had to admit that he'd been very pleasantly surprised. Prince Yuki was gorgeous! He had almost stopped breathing, his heart thudding loud in his ears, when his eyes had fallen upon the blonde. His expression had been bored and serious, but his eyes shimmered in the firelight like the ocean. His skin was so pale, silken and blemishless. Each blonde hair, long and shining, was in it's place, crowning his brow almost perfectly.
He could never of imagined someone so beautiful. Tall and perfectly sculpted, with a broad chest and shoulders. A shiver had gone down his spine when it had sunk in that it would be his duty to care for this person. He would be the one to sleep in the cot next to the bed, to bathe and clothe and aid the prince in any way he could.
And, suddenly, it didn't feel like he was the gift. The gift was being able to share this person's life, to be next to him and to get to know him. In the instant his eyes had fallen upon the other, Shuuichi had fallen in love.
There was still some time before he would be retrieved by another servant and shown around the castle, and so Shuuichi began exploring his master's chamber.
The main door lead into a small living area. Full bookshelves stretched along the side walls, the far wall mostly opened by a large window. There were thick curtains to keep the cold out, but for now it was opened to the warm sunlight and spring breeze. There were several chairs and a table, but this particular part of the room was bare of any personal touches. There were no pictures, no personal affects of any kind. Obviously, Prince Yuki wanted to keep the public part of his chambers clear of any of his personal items.
The small door to the left turned out to be a storage closet, containing Yuki's hunting and riding gear among a few other larger collections. Shuuichi frowned a little, wondering again at the personality of the man he would be serving. Most just left these kind of affects in common rooms, where they could be tended to by whichever hand was responsible.
There was a doorway to the right which lead into the bedroom. This room was much larger than the main room, although a good quarter of it was taken up by the prince's bed alone. The blanket was richly decorated, mostly crimson, with gold weaving the pattern of a phoenix across the spance of the top. It matched the only picture in the room, also crimson and gold, of a phoenix flying into the sun.
There was a large chest of drawers, each full of different types of clothing. Shuuichi already knew which were used for what, so he did his best to memorize their correct places for when he would need to retrieve them in the future.
The cot which would serve as his bed was presently bare, folded up against the far wall as though it hadn't been used yet. Shuuichi didn't mind that fact, it meant that the mattress would be unused and easily molded into his personal 'body-groove'. He would much rather crawl into the huge bed with his prince, but the cot would suit. It was much better than most that he'd seen, even the one he'd slept on before.
Shuuichi pulled it out, settling it against the bare wall where he would be out of Prince Yuki's path to the washroom and living room. He made a mental note to grab himself some bedding later before making his way into the washroom.
Thankfully, it would be someone else's duty to change the chamber pot. Still, Shuuichi made a mental note of it's position so that he didn't end up doing something stupid like trip over it. Every morning, another servant would place hot water outside the door. Shuuichi's duty would be to retrieve it and pour it into the wash basin perched atop a wall protrusion. Yuki's grooming necessities were there as well, which Shuuichi would use once his master was finished before cleaning and replacing them.
The washroom itself was the smallest room yet, mostly taken up by the bath tub. Shuuichi frowned at the size of it. Westerners didn't just wash and rinse as Shuuichi was used to. He would actually have to retrieve enough hot water to fill that thing whenever his prince asked it of him. The task seemed a little daunting, and he worried that he wouldn't have the strength to cart that many buckets of water around. Hopefully the kitchens weren't too far.
All in all, though, he wasn't about to complain. The prince's room was not nearly as decorated as those Shuuichi was used to seeing. There would not be much to clean and dust, and everything seemed to have a specific place to be put. Really, the books were the only difficult thing to tend to, but as he'd been taught to read as well as speak English, he found himself glad for their presence. While Prince Yuki was attending to his daily matters in which Shuuichi would not accompany him, it would be nice to be able to read something. He had never actually read a book before.
Unable to help himself, Shuuichi made his way back into the bedroom and threw himself on the huge bed. He couldn't help a little moan as he sank into the mattress, every part of himself feeling as though he were laying on fluff. The western bed was nicer than he'd heard. Really, this was something that Japan had to adopt. It was FAR more comfortable than the floor.
A knock resounded through the rooms and Shuuichi jumped off the bed quickly, knowing perfectly well that he was doing something bad. He'd been told not to touch his masters personal things, unless it was necessary. Probably the man was already having enough trouble with having to share his rooms, never mind finding someone else laying in his bed.
Shuuichi answered the door, finding a young woman he hadn't met before. Which wasn't surprising, considering he'd only met one of the other servants so far. She smiled at him before proceeding to dump a pile of linens into his arms.
"These are yours, for your bed," she stated, her smile staying in place. "I have your personal items as well, so if you want to lead the way, I'll help you carry them in."
"Right, thanks," Shuuichi replied, a little taken back as he made his way back into the bedroom.
"You'll clear out one of the bottom drawers in Prince Yuki's chest for now. There was no foreword about your coming, so no separate chest was made for you. When they have one done, you can move your clothes then. For now, leave this, and I'll show you around the castle. There are only a couple of hours before you'll need to bring Prince Yuki his evening meal, so we don't have a lot of time."
"Thanks," Shuuichi said again, a little uncertain as to how to address this girl. English didn't have the same respectful changes as Japanese did. Was he to address her as miss? She hadn't given her a name....
"You can call me Michelle, by the way. You're Shuuichi, right? It's already all over the castle, and probably most of the town. It's not every day that new people come to work in the castle, never mind being given top serving positions! I have to say, watch out for a girl name Samantha. She's been vying to be Prince Yuki's personal assistant for the last three years, and she's not too happy about you showing up."
Shuuichi frowned, not having expected to make an enemy.
"Ah, I wouldn't worry about it. She tends to the gardens, so she only gets to come inside when it's time to sleep anyway. As long as you stay out of there, the two of you will probably never meet. Everyone else is excited to meet you, you'd better be sure! You'll probably meet so many people today that you're head will spin. But don't worry about trying to memorize everyone's names or anything. It's just the locations you'll need to know. Don't worry about getting that down pat right away either. I'm in charge of this wing of the castle, so I should be nearby if you forget. Not that you'll have any troubles before long, I'm sure. Most of your duties take place right in this room anyway!"
Shuuichi waited a pause for her to start again. "Do you breathe?" he questioned when she didn't, a grin quirking his lips.
She blinked at him for a second, then laughed outright. "Sorry, I'm just so excited. Your and Ryuuichi's arrival is a big deal, you know, and I want to make sure I don't fail in my job of making sure you're prepared to start your duties."
"I'm sure you'll do fine, I just want to make sure I can get a word in, just in case I need to ask a question," he replied.
She laughed again at his teasing, then motioned for him to follow her out of the chambers. He was surprised to see Ryuuichi standing in the hall, obviously having been waiting for them.
"Shuuichi! Isn't this the best?" the older man exclaimed, giving him a fierce hug.
"Well, there's one person I don't have to introduce you to, at least," Michelle commented.
"We grew up together," Shuuichi offered as an explanation, Ryuuichi still hanging off his shoulders. "Our mothers both served the Empress, and so we were together pretty much every day. Most people saw us basically as brothers, which is probably why we were both brought here. This way, we would have a friend and wouldn't be struck so hard by the changes."
"That explains a lot," Michelle commented, probably noting how similar they were. The two of them could of easily passed as brothers by blood, especially when Ryuuichi adopted his more childish persona. Shuuichi didn't mind the comparison, as he loved Ryuuichi as he would of loved a brother anyway.
"Well, shall we be on our way?"