Hey, alligators! Back with another chapter! To reiterate, I am only writing for one RWBY story at a time to make sure they all get the proper amount of focus and don't end up complete garbage. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Velvet decided to hold off on teaching Blake how to read just yet. It was a long process that took years to master properly. She only had a month to make him presentable for the princess. Instead of working on letters, Velvet began a new training regimen with easier to learn things. Every day, she quizzed him on his knowledge of the castle corridors and reminded him of proper standing, walking, and eating form.
Tukson had created a nice set of suits for Blake to wear and Velvet made sure he knew how to get into them. Knowing how young Blake was, Tukson refrained from adding all of the usual furnishings to the suit. Instead, he simplified the design so that Blake only had to use a few buttons for each piece of clothing. Within a few hours of practicing how to put it on, Blake could do it himself no problem.
The month drew on and Velvet honored her promise to herself. Occasionally, she would let Blake play with some of the other young servants. None of them were as young as he, but they were nice enough to let him play along. This only happened once his duties were finished, but he didn't seem to mind so much.
As the final week descended upon them, it was time to bring in the more difficult training. Blake glanced about as Velvet led him through the castle. They were heading toward Kanekomuru's office from the looks of the hallways, but why? Did Kanekomuru ask Velvet to teach Blake something with him? Did Velvet need Kanekomuru's help? Blake perked up slightly as Velvet knocked at the door to the goat-Faunus' office.
"Enter," Kanekomuru's familiar voice called.
Velvet stepped into the office and the horned man glanced up. "Ah, Velvet! What brings you and young Blake here?"
"I believe it's time for Blake to begin his practice with the princess," Velvet explained calmly, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder.
"Good to hear," Kanekomuru murmured. "Well then, we had best go find Her Majesty so that Blake can get used to her."
"I'm used to her," Blake piped up. "I sleep in her room. In my chair."
The two adults chuckled. "That's not quite what I meant, Blake. We need to get you used to taking orders from the princess. As her servant, you have to do what she wants before you can do what you want."
"Oh," Blake's ears fell. "So, I can't play anymore?"
Velvet knelt beside Blake. "I know you like playing, but none of us are going anywhere, Blake. We're here to talk and help you. And if you want, I'm sure some of the older kids wouldn't mind playing with you at night. It's just, while the princess needs you, you have to be there for her."
Blake stared at the floor for a while. "Okay, Velvet."
Kanekomuru sighed, looking at the young boy. He must not have really understood what it meant to be the princess' servant. Poor boy. Unfortunately, they had no time to dwell on that for now. There was training to be done.
"Alright, so we have about a week to get young Blake familiar with the princess' pattern and begin waiting on her." Kanekomuru smiled down at the small servant. "Are you ready to put all that training to use, Blake?"
As if a switch had flipped, Blake's ears perked up and he nodded eagerly. "Yes, Mister Kanekomuru," he replied.
"Let's go find her then, shall we?" Kanekomuru led the way out of the room and strode along the halls. "Now, Blake, I know the schedule of each member of the Royal Family and almost every member of the staff here in the castle. If ever you have a question about where to find someone, just come to my office, understood?"
"Yes."
"The princess should be in the middle of her singing lesson right now, so we'll just go and listen for a bit until she's finished, alright?" Blake gave a nod in understanding.
Kanekomuru led them down a long corridor and he looked to Velvet. "Have you taught him the secret passages yet?"
"Not yet," Velvet explained. "I didn't want him getting lost in the walls. He's only been here a month, after all. I thought a few years to familiarize himself with the halls and then around age ten, I could teach him about the passageways."
"Good thinking," Kanekomuru nodded, looking back at Blake. "He is still quite young. Ah, here we are."
He opened a door and a soft melody filtered out. Blake's ears stood at attention when he realized someone was singing along. He moved closer to get a peek and spotted the princess standing beside some large black and white furniture. The music came from the furniture, and the princess was singing along. Blake watched her curiously. Every time he had seen her before, she looked grumpy and pouty. Now, the princess looked… nice. She didn't look grumpy and she wasn't pouting. She looked like she was having fun.
Without realizing, Blake crept further into the room, wanting to be closer. Velvet and Kanekomuru watched him carefully. They didn't want him getting in trouble for interrupting the princess' lesson. Blake stopped a little way away from the strange music furniture and just observed the relaxed way the princess was standing. Did that mean she liked singing? Maybe she could sing for him some time, so she wasn't grumpy at him all the time.
At last, the song ended and Princess Weiss took a breath. "Good job, Princess!" Blake jumped. He hadn't realized there was a person behind the strange machine. "Your vocals are progressing nicely. Every note was exact."
Weiss gave a soft huff before spotting the mass of black in the corner of her eye. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, drawing away from Blake slightly.
Instantly, Blake's ears fell. "I came to watch you sing," he responded. "You sound pretty."
"Thank you," Weiss said as Velvet and Kanekomuru walked in.
"Good morning, Princess," Kanekomuru greeted the young royal, bowing. "We have come to begin young Blake's training as your personal servant."
Sharp blue eyes blinked up at them before switching to Blake. He gave a wave, his ears perking up slightly. Weiss huffed. "Okay. But he can't get in the way."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Velvet agreed, taking Blake by the hand. She guided him off to the side and knelt to begin his lesson. "Alright, Blake. Tending to the princess is going to be a difficult job. You've got to be a good listener and pay attention to her. Are you ready to learn?"
"Yes, Velvet," Blake replied, his ears perked up attentively. "I wanna be a good servant."
"Good. From now on, Kanekomuru will be accompanying our lessons. He's going to teach you the princess' schedule and how best to serve her."
Blake looked to Kanekomuru and nodded. "Okay. What do I do?"
"We're going to have to get you into shape, Blake," Kanekomuru explained. "You're going to have to learn how to stand for a long time. And you can't get distracted. Understood?"
"U-under stood." Blake tripped over the word a little, but managed.
The servant manager smiled and knelt down. "Alright. First things first, a good servant stands straight and tall. We are proud to serve the Schnee Kingdom royal family, right?"
"Right!" Blake agreed, ears flopping slightly as he nodded. Kanekomuru gently helped him straighten his back and stand properly.
"Since you're still so young, it will be difficult for you to stand like the older servants for so long. You will be relegated to breaks, so you can rest. Also, you need to spread your feet to help your balance. I don't want you falling, trying to be like the older servants."
"B-but I wanna be a good servant, too," Blake protested.
Velvet placed a hand atop his head soothingly. "Blake, we know you want to be the best servant, but we have time to teach you all that, okay? For now, we just want you to be good at the basics. I'll help you as you grow."
"Promise?" the little Faunus sniffed.
"I promise."
Kanekomuru finished and stood. "How's that feel, Blake?"
Blake tested his muscles. "Okay." His hands were at his sides and his feet were a little apart. His back didn't feel good, but he was standing like Mister Kanekomuru, so he must have been doing it right.
"Good," Kanekomuru said with slight relief. "Now, Velvet and I are going to teach you how to watch for when the princess needs something. This will take time to get right, so you need to be patient, understood?"
"Yes, Mister Kanekomuru," Blake replied. He could watch the princess. He didn't mind. She was pretty. And she had gone back to singing, so he got to hear her sing while watching her.
For the rest of the practice, Velvet helped Blake look for any signs that Princess Weiss wanted something. Blake couldn't tell how Velvet knew, but he guessed that she had been doing this for a long time. Whenever the princess' voice got hoarse, Blake saw Velvet's ears twitch and he knew something was going on.
"She needs water, Blake," his mentor told him quietly. Kanekomuru handed him a goblet and Blake made his way over to the princess. Weiss blinked at him in shock, but took the goblet, watching him with squinted eyes.
The first time he needed to do this, Blake's ears immediately fell. Had he done it wrong? Maybe she didn't like water? He liked apple juice, so maybe she wanted that. Without a word, the princess had handed the goblet back and Blake walked back to his mentors.
"You did very well, Blake," Kanekomuru told him. "But remember to keep those ears perked, alright?"
"I think she's mad at me," the little Faunus mumbled.
Velvet chuckled. "She's not mad at you, Blake," she said. "The princess just doesn't know you yet. When she's familiar with you, she won't glare at you so much."
Blake nodded, not really convinced. He turned back to watch the princess and the session continued on. His ears flicked when he heard the princess sneeze and remembered he had a thing in his pocket. He pulled it out and walked over to Weiss, much to Velvet and Kanekomuru's surprise.
"Here you go," he said quietly, handing the handkerchief to the princess.
"Thank you," Weiss sniffed, blowing her nose. When she was finished, neither of them knew what to do with it and Kanekomuru hurriedly intervened.
"Young Majesty, I can take that for you," he said gently. Weiss handed over the handkerchief and the goat-Faunus led Blake back to where Velvet waited.
Kanekomuru stored the handkerchief into one of his pockets and smiled down at Blake. "That was very good instinct, Blake," he praised the small boy. "We didn't even need to tell you what to do."
Blake's ears perked higher at that and he squirmed happily. "I'm gonna try and get better!" he grinned. "So I can do it all on my own!"
"That's the spirit," Velvet laughed. "Come on, the princess is heading to lunch in a few moments. This is a good time to learn how to walk with her."
"I have to walk different?" Blake asked, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.
"Not quite," the rabbit-Faunus explained. "I'll show you."
She took his hand and Blake wondered just how much he really had to learn. Everything about being a servant was different than what he was used to. But he could do it. He was gonna be the best servant, and that meant knowing everything.
There ya go, alligators! Hope you liked the chapter! I'm going to be working on the next one soon!
Remember, you can see sneak peeks and update info on my tumblr, gothalbinoangel-fanfiction. I just opened commissions!