Tenten followed behind Neji as he read out of a full one meter long scroll of rules she must abide by if she wanted to keep her job.
One, the maid shall stay at least one meter away from the Prince or there shall be consequences.
Two, the Prince's white yukatas must remain white. If any spot should be found on the clothes, there would be grave consequences.
Three, the Prince's breakfast must be ready before the sundial reads seven. If it exceeds even a minute past seven, consequences would follow.
Four, the maid must treat the Prince's hair like one would a child. If the Prince feels as much as a slight tug on the hair, it would be considered as treason.
Five, the maid must speak only when the Prince orders her to.
Six, the Prince's bath must be prepared after breakfast and dinner on all days, and must be warm. The maid must strike a balance between cold and hot. A little too cold or a little too hot bath would have consequences.
Seven, the tea leaves of the Prince's tea must be soaked in with boiling water for three solid minutes to extract flavor and essence. It must have a rich golden colour otherwise consequences are invoked.
Eight, the Prince's bed must be warmed before he retires, likewise his shoes before wearing them.
.
.
.
Twenty five, the maid must treat the Prince with utmost respect otherwise be thrown to the dungeons for treason and anarchy.
Tenten felt like he just came up that last one at the moment. She had big problems with all the rules, especially rule five!
"Your servant quarters would be in my compound as I shall be calling on you from time to time. I trust that you have no problem with the rules?" Neji concluded with a rhetorical question. He was not expecting an answer but the woman still spoke.
"Can you remove rule five and the last rule?" Tenten might have mumbled the words to herself but Neji heard them quite well.
"Is there any problem with my rules?" The pale eyed Prince asked, daring her to speak.
"Respect is earned, not given. I would find it rather hard to give you any respect." Tenten blurted. Immediately she did she slapped her hand over her mouth. 'Stupid,' she cursed herself, 'do you want to lose your job before you even start?!'
Neji's eyes narrowed at the small woman in front of him but he decided to ignore her little comment and show her to her quarters instead. He summoned a servant to do so and get her acquainted with the Prince's compound. Her work started the next day.
~ x ~
Tenten walked beside the servant girl named Moegi as she showed her to the servants' quarters. The girl was a few years younger than she was with ginger hair and dull blue eyes. Despite the age difference between them, the two of them became instant acquaintances.
"This is the kitchen where you would be getting Neji-sama's food and tea." Moegi stated as they came into the bustling kitchen.
Tenten bowed her head in respect to the head chef and introduced herself to the old woman. "My name is Tenten and I am Neji-sama's newly appointed personal maid. Please take care of me." The chef smiled and gave her some advice for taking care of the Prince which Tenten duly received.
The next place they went to was the Prince's bath. Moegi showed her the chamber pot, the Prince's favourite soap and the rose and myrrh leaves she should always prepare.
Moegi then showed her to the servants quarters, bathroom and kitchen and told her the times for eating for servants and certain rules to follow. Tenten's room was however separate from other servants' rooms as she was the Prince's personal maid.
The chestnut haired girl wondered why the Prince never promoted any of his servants to be his personal maid or butler but decided to pick an outsider and novice instead. Tenten shook her head free of the thoughts. It was because he decided to hire an outsider that she landed this job.
Judging from the Prince's excessive rules and the servants' schedule, Tenten had to plan a good time table to be able to cope with her duties well.
~x ~
Tenten was awake the moment the first cock crowed. She tended to herself first and ate an early breakfast with the other servants before changing into her custom blue and pink kimono.
First she went to check the temperature of the water for the Prince's bath and made sure that it was a bit hotter than the jerk's preferred temperature. That way, the bath would have cooled down a bit by the time the stuck up royal assness finishes his breakfast in bed.
After making sure that the herbs and scented soaps were in place, she went to the kitchen to get two leather canteens and filled them with hot water. She then ran to the Prince's quarters, taking note of the rising sun on her way, to fetch his shoes. Tenten placed the canteens in the shoes to warm them while she readied one of prince Neji's favorite white yukatas. This she did not do without constant grumbling and mumbling about the Prince's snarky attitude.
Tenten ran to the kitchen to get the tray of breakfast for the Prince when she noted that the shadow on the sundial was almost on the seven mark. When she got to the door, she dropped the tray gently on the floor and kneeled in respect. "Neji-sama, it is Tenten and I have come with your breakfast." She called.
"Enter."
The hoarseness from sleep in his voice certainty did not send shivers down her spine. It did not.
Tenten shook her head clear of any thought and opened the door before coming in and set the breakfast on the small table beside Neji's bed. The lavender eyed beau sat up on his bed and glared at the breakfast suspiciously.
"Good morning, Neji-sama." Tenten chirped but got a cold glare in return. If Tenten saw it, she ignored it and proceeded to make small chat. Prince or not, nobody could stop her cheerful attitude. "I see you are not one for mornings. The food looks delicious, you should eat."
"And how am I sure you have not poisoned my breakfast?" Neji asked with wary eyes lingering on the feast of a breakfast.
"I did no such thing. If I wanted to, I would slip in poison that would make you laugh until you die. That way, you shall die happy!" Tenten snapped. The nerve of him to believe she would resort to something as low as poisoning his food!
'My, what a short temper.' Neji thought to himself. He sat on the luxury futon placed in front of the breakfast table and picked up the expensive looking chopsticks beside them. Neji picked a piece of meat with the cutlery and extended his arms to Tenten's face as she was about to take her leave. "Have a bite. I do not know the methods you used to win Naruto's trust but you do not have mine."
"E-eh?!" Tenten stammered in surprise as light shades of pink sprayed across her face. Having the Prince feed you was indeed flustering and embarrassing.
"Go on, have it." Neji urged and pressed the tender meat softly on her lips. Tenten reluctantly opened her mouth and allow her taste buds to relish the deliciousness of tender lamb. Neji watched for any signs of food poisoning and even laughing and decided to eat when he found none.
The Prince was halfway through the piece of meat in his mouth when his eyes suddenly snapped open in realization and a small smirk displayed on his handsome face. He looked at the chestnut haired woman sitting across him, noticing the pink hue on her face. "I believe what just happened is what you call an indirect kiss." Neji commented.
His smirk grew when the girl with two buns choked on air and her blush grew darker. She looked less like a gold digger that way.
"I never knew you were one to flirt, Neji-sama." Said Tenten as she recovered herself.
The prince gave an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. "You pick up a thing or two when you have a loud mouthed person as your brother in law." He took some rice and stretched his hand over to Tenten. "Have this too."
"Are you advancing on me?" Tenten asked suspiciously, although she eyed the rice subtly. Rice was royal food and something she had never eaten in her life.
"I am having you take a bite out of every thing on this table." Neji said and urged her to eat again. Tenten reluctantly (ish) took the rice in her mouth and chewed on the delicious grains. She just ate royal food! Oh how she would gloat about this to Lee and Ino. Neji had her eat out of every dish and side dish before taking a bite or two out of them. "I am full." He declared.
Tenten looked at the barely touched food before her. "But-" She started on a lecture about learning to finish up the food provided for him but was interrupted by Neji.
"I take it that my bath is prepared along with my undergarments. I shall take my leave now." The dark haired man stood up and made his way to the bath with a guard in tow. Tenten gathered the leftovers in the tray she brought them with while wondering about the Prince's strange behaviour.
Only when she was half way to the kitchen did she remember something very important.
She forgot the Prince's undergarments!
Hello fellow NejiTen shippers! Should I continue this story or throw it in the thrash? Please review.
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