A/N No excuses, I just got lazy and unmotivated, but I've finally settled on a path. I promise I will try get another chapter out every other week. This is probably the shortest chapter in the whole story. Don't worry, they get longer as it goes on, especially near the end.

P.S. I'm currently OBSESSED with Fire Emblem: Heroes. Loving it so much. I haven't missed playing it a single day since release. If anyone wants to PM me about it, I'd love to chat. I'm always curious about which characters other people have and what team they use.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Special shout out to Coral the Leviathan for being my first identifiable reviewer (besides my editor/best internet friend. XD). Please don't be too mad if I don't quiiiite characterize everyone the way you guessed... :P

Chapter 4

Cautiously, Nicholas opens the door just wide enough to fit through without reducing his body mass to slip inside.

Immediately, Nicholas takes in every little detail about Xander's room. The first thing he sees is the carpet. A thick layer of soft, deep purple carpet covers the entire floor with thin gold trim on the edges. Assorted rich mahogany furniture sits on the carpet as well as a floor to ceiling bookcase holding more books than Nicholas has ever seen in his life, a king size bed with a deep purple comforter on top that includes the kingdom's crest woven in gold thread, and a large writing desk strewn with papers and letters. Xander sits at the desk staring at a book and writing something on a thick piece of parchment paper. Nicholas brushes his clothes and straightens his posture.

Xander sets his feather pen down, turns to look at Nicholas, and smiles. The smile isn't too big, or too small, it just simply says "hello". "How dare he smile at me now…" Nicholas thinks as Xander gets up to walk over to him.

"Hello," Xander greets Nicholas. "Thank you for coming on such short notice; I apologize for that. Please sit down. I would like to talk to you." He motions toward two chairs facing each other with a small table in between. Nicholas nods, walks stiffly over to the chairs, and sits down in the one closest the door. His hands find themselves fidgeting with a string on his clothes.

Xander sits down too in a fashion only a king could; completely confident and without mistakes. After setting a sheet of paper on the table, he looks up at Nicholas's eyes which are staring dead at him, not daring to wander elsewhere. Xander begins to speak.

"I'm sorry!" Nicholas blurts out before anything can be said. Xander stops with his mouth barely open. "Excuse me?" he says after a moment.

"I'm sorry for what I did…" Nicholas says solemnly.

Xander starts eyeing him suspiciously. "What did you do?"

"Well, I certainly haven't done anything spectacular, so the only thing I can think of to constitute a summons from you, the king, is that I've done something wrong. I assure you, I did not do it with the intentions of doing anything bad but sometimes I can be a little forgetful…I'm so sorry!" Nicholas stammers out rapid fire.

Xander just stares. Then smiles. And even starts chuckling slightly. Then he returns to his normal kingly look.

Nicholas's brain can't compute the reaction immediately and he also just stares, though with a slightly less flattering expression.

"My, you're a nervous fellow," Xander comments. "I can see you've thought this through very thoroughly, but you haven't accounted for every possible outcome. There's nothing you've done wrong at all. I hope that will calm you down."

Nicholas's eyes brighten to a high degree for a moment, but he regains his well-rehearsed composure quickly. "Why have you called me then?"

Xander simply answers, "I have a job for you."

Nicholas's heart rate rises dramatically. "What job?"

"Well, since Gunter passed away, I am in need of a new butler. Are you interested in such a position?"

Internally, Nicholas shouts, "Interested? You have no IDEA…" and he almost blurts it out loud. Instead, focusing on years of training on simply acting professional, he replies with a very polite, "I certainly would."

"Good, glad to hear that," Xander replies. He picks up the paper he previously set in front of him. "I have here a letter from Sir Timothy about your skills as a butler…"

"Wait, he has a letter from Sir Timothy? Were they in cahoots?" Nicholas realizes.

"...and I want to ask you myself about a few things," Xander continues. "It says here you work extremely diligently. Now, as the butler to the king, your tasks will undoubtedly be much more important. Are you prepared to work very hard?"

"Working hard is what a butler is supposed to do. I am fully prepared for that," Nicholas assures. Xander's eyebrows raise incrementally.

"He also says you cook professionally," Xander continues.

"I have always had a fascination with culinary arts and spent a lot of time perfecting my skills in that area. Food is an art to me."

Xander still just stares at Nicholas. Nicholas hopes he just isn't showing his approval of Nicholas's cooking expertise.

"I suppose the most important thing I have to ask you if you are going to be my butler is your ability to fight and defend. The king can be a big target," Xander continues.

Nicholas starts to verbally explain but then gets an idea. "Why don't I show you?"

"This should be good," Xander thinks.

"Do you have a target?" Nicholas asks.

Xander ponders about what to use for a little bit. "Just a moment," he says after deciding. Xander goes to one of the china cabinets and takes an old teacup out from a cupboard below. After handing Nicholas a standard shuriken, he goes to the opposite side of the room and holds it up to the wall, the bottom facing Nicholas. "I want you to hit the handle. Not a scratch on the rest of it."

Nicholas's palms sweat ever so slightly from nerves as he stands up. He eyes the target across the room on the back wall; about fifty feet away. He takes a deep breath. Then, quick as a flash, his fingers working on almost solely habit, he deftly flings the shuriken at the teacup. It hits right where the handle meets the cup and breaks it clean off, but nothing on the cup is touched.

Xander visibly flinches. His shock and amazement are also clear on his face. "That's incredible."

Nicholas beams with pride. "I'm very glad to hear that, milord."

Xander takes the cup back to the table, still staring at the clean break.

"Anything else you would like to inquire about?" Nicholas asks.

Xander sets down the cup and looks at Nicholas. "It's a little earlier than I would like, but I do need a butler…" Xander thinks to himself.

"No, there is nothing else, except to say that I have decided to hire you as my butler. That is if you want the job," Xander says to Nicholas.

Nicholas could swear angels start singing inside his head. "I'm so glad I have pleased you, milord! I promise I will never let you down."

Xander's face sours ever so slightly. "I shall count on that." Nicholas doesn't notice the change. "If it is alright with you, I'd like for you to start right away. I will have someone return your horse to Sir Timothy and alert him of the recent news. Is that alright?"

Start now? The whirlwind of events is getting to be a lot for Nicholas. "I suppose so, milord. If that is what you wish. I am now your butler after all. A butler should be available at all possible times."

"Good. I will be back momentarily. In the meantime, stay here, and I will soon be back to show you to the staff's quarters and where you will be staying. Excuse me," Xander asserts and leaves the room. Nicholas has a mental celebration when he shuts the door, but doesn't dare move.

Xander heads down the stables, thinking to himself in the hallway. With a solemn look on his face, he says to no one in particular, "I hope you know I haven't forgotten you, Gunter. I could never do that."

He continues on with an expressionless face.