A/N: I was at a camp for a week but I'm back now! Here's another chapter for you to enjoy! Not much to say but a usual heartfelt thank you to prowessMaster44.
~Chapter 10~
The next day, Nicholas gets up and completes the morning chores of making breakfast, setting out clothing and washing clothes in record time in order to get right to work on the meeting hall.
First on his list today is the tablecloth. Much like making the seat cushions and the curtains, he quickly gathers the necessary materials and gets right to work. But before he can get too focused, Abel walks up to him and taps him on the shoulder.
"Oh, hello, Abel. How are you today?" Nicholas greets.
"I'm fine but I was more so wondering about you. You were really focused yesterday making those cushions. Quite abnormally I would think. I was just wondering what you're doing," Abel explains.
"Ah, I see. I guess I do get very focused when I'm working hard on something. Xander actually assigned me my first special project which is to fix up the west meeting hall for a council meeting there in three days. Clearly, the room hasn't been used in a while, and I'm simply making it look presentable," Nicholas states.
"Oh, okay then. I guess I'll just leave to your work then. See you later then!" Abel says cheerfully and heads off to his chores. Nicholas resumes working.
He decides to make the tablecloth functional but proper at the same time. He chooses a thin, tightly-woven purple fabric to use for the bulk of the fabric, and, to stick with the current color theme, he uses black thread to stitch a simple repeating pattern around the perimeter. The tablecloth doesn't take much time to complete, and as soon as he does, he whisks the tablecloth away and carries it to the meeting hall.
Along the way, he happens to pass Camilla on the foyer balcony. Politely, he moves to the side and bows slightly, but Camilla stops to talk.
"Really, Nicholas," she begins. "It is hardly a few minutes past nine and you've already made breakfast, presumably washed clothes, and now procured a tablecloth I've never seen before which I assume you made it yourself. Why you need a tablecloth I can't possibly imagine, but the point is, don't you think you're working a lot, dear? I hate to see you drop dead from exhaustion so soon. Is Xander working you too hard? Perhaps I should have a talk with dear big brother."
"It is not Xander's fault at all, milady, he has been very good to me these first few days, and, as I told him yesterday, it is impossible for me to overwork myself. I am sorry to have worried you," Nicholas says.
"I do like you Nicholas. Slow down sometimes. At any rate, I'm afraid if I detain you much longer you'll have to work overtime. Goodbye, Nicholas," Camilla bids farewell, smiling. Nicholas returns the smile and they both go their separate ways.
As soon as Nicholas reaches the hall he unfurls the tablecloth and drapes it over the long, wooden table. After adjusting and readjusting several times and steps back and is finally happy with its positioning and looks. Then he starts to visualize the final decorations.
"Now, I want the corner pedestals to be simple in order to draw attention to the flower that will be put on them. Perhaps simply white marble?" Nicholas ponders. He conjures a mental image. "No, those would be too striking. I'll have to find something not quite so white. Perhaps simple marble will work best. Yes, simple cylindrical marble pedestals. The black roses will stand out quite nicely on those but not too much."
Finalizing his plans for everything, Nicholas decides to wait until after lunch to go shopping in order to have enough time.
Back in the kitchen, Teresa is the third person to ask him about his supposed overworking.
"So, I've been hearing things from Abel about how you've been working pretty hard lately," she comments.
Nicholas sighs. "I assure you it is nothing to worry about. I will not work myself too hard and…" he starts to explain but Teresa interrupts him with a slap on the back.
"Oh, you don't need to assure me. I know a hard worker from an overworker and you are certainly a hard worker. You're just like me you know. We can't stand to have anything be half-baked. Got to do everything to its fullest, y 'know." she states while vigorously stirring a bowl of batter.
Nicholas smiles. "I'm glad you agree then. That meeting hall was so bare, it made me cringe. I'm just making it the best it can be. I wouldn't want a bare room to reflect badly on Xander."
"No, you definitely wouldn't want that," Teresa says, chuckling. Nicholas scrunches his eyebrows but smiles too as he loads his finished meal onto plates and starts walking upstairs again. He delivers lunch to Xander, and after confirming that there is nothing else for him to do at the moment, asks permission to go out and shop, which Xander grants.
First off, Nicholas goes to a special shop in the middle of town that makes sculpted furniture of all kinds and picks out two thin and short pedestals that look exactly like he visualized earlier. He brings them back to the castle in a rental car provided by the seller and immediately realizes one crucial problem.
The pedestals are just a bit too heavy for one person to carry, and the hall is on the second floor.
To solve this dilemma, Nicholas goes to find Abel. Fortunately, when he locates him, Abel is just wandering around looking for something to do.
"Abel!" Nicholas calls to get his attention.
Abel turns around. "Oh, hi sir! What do you need? I'm not really in the middle of anything right now so I'd be happy to help."
"First off, just Nicholas, please. Second, I need your help carrying some things to the meeting hall. They're just a bit too heavy for me to lift up and I need to get them up a flight of stairs. It shouldn't be difficult with the two of us, though," Nicholas explains.
"Sure, I can help with that!" Abel says. "What are we carrying?"
"It would be better if I just showed you. I left the cart outside our entrance. Follow me," Nicholas says. He takes Abel outside where Abel sees the pedestals in the cart.
"You have pedestals? Goodness, you are really going all out in decorating this hall. The members are going to think it's a feast, not a meeting. I'll still help, though," Abel comments.
Lifting at the same time, the two of them lift the marble cylinder relatively easily. Carrying it through the middle of the lounge area certainly earns them some questioning and otherwise odd looks. At the top of the stairs, Nicholas stops to whisper to Abel before entering the hallway.
"Let's try and be very quiet walking through here. I'm sure if Xander saw me with these, he would think them a little too much. Don't make a sound," he whispers. Then he pushes open the door very quietly with his back.
The two of them walk very slowly, being very careful not to make any sounds going down the hallway. Fortunately, no one comes out of their room and they get to the meeting hall with no hiccups.
When they get inside, Abel sees what Nicholas has been working on and his mouth falls. "This room looks so cool!" he exclaims. "I love what you've done with it. Man, everyone is going to adore this. I bet when Xander sees this he'll be so amazed that he'll give you a present or something. Like a cat." Nicholas eyes Abel.
"A cat?" he questions.
"Well, I've always wanted a cat. They're so cute and fluffy. I once met this tabby cat on the street that followed me for blocks. It was so cute, but my mom won't let us keep a cat," Abel explains.
"Interesting tidbit," Nicholas comments. "Let's just focus on moving the pedestals shall we?" They both return to the cart.
The second one goes smoothly too and so does the third. But when they start carrying the fourth one, Abel steps on a squeaky board. Nicholas goes wide-eyed. "Quick!" he urges and they speed walk out the hallway door and close it just before Xander peers out to investigate, still curious what Nicholas is up too. Outside, Abel giggles.
"I feel like a ninja," he says.
"Ninjas wouldn't have cut it so close," Nicholas comments. "Quick, let's get this to the hall before Xander comes looking." They hurry the rest of the way and put the last pedestal in place.
"Whew, I think that looks good," Nicholas says after they set it down. "I just need the flowers for them now. But I also have to work on the table settings, too."
"I could help if you want," Abel offers. "I'm just a free-floater so it would be fine."
"That would be a big help," Nicholas agrees. He explains to Abel to use the cart they unloaded the pedestals off of to go find some dark red roses and pots that match the pedestals. Abel runs off to do that while Nicholas stays to plan the table decorations.
"Alright now," he begins. "How do I want this to look? The most important thing is obviously the centerpiece. Maybe since it's the middle of spring I'll make it spring themed. If I could find some ivy it might look good if I wrapped that around some potted pansies, purple of course. Yes, I feel that would look nice. Now for the place settings we'll need good plates. Not the really fancy ones; it shouldn't look like a tea party. I'll have to find some simple glass ones. I'll use some nice silverware and basic goblets for the drink. Perhaps Teresa can help me find all of this."
Nicholas memorizes his visualized table and goes downstairs to find Teresa, which he does very quickly.
"Good afternoon, Teresa." he greets cheerfully.
"Ah, hello! I'm doing quite well thank you very much. And how is my favorite busybody doing?" she returns.
"Just as busy as ever," he replies. "In fact, I need your help with the hall now. I'm working on designing place settings for the table and I was thinking about designing it something like this." He continues to explain everything he thought of back in the room and Teresa listens intently. After he finishes, Teresa ponders.
"Well I think that's quite wonderful," she concludes.
"Good! In that case, can you help me find everything?" Nicholas asks.
"Sure can! You're in luck; I just finished my last batch of bread for the day. I'd be happy to help you right now. Let's get started," she says.
Teresa shows Nicholas where the plates and glasses are kept while she heads to the other side of the room to pick out the silverware and napkins. Nicholas finds just the things he's looking for. He chooses a stack of light tan, simple glass plates and carefully lifts enough for all the settings at the table and goes upstairs to place them. While he's setting out the plates, Teresa comes up with another stack of neat napkins and a cup of polished silverware. Together the finish setting those out and then take one final trip with a set of silver goblets.
"Goodness, this table looks fit for a coronation feast," Teresa comments. "Won't Xander be absolutely delighted to see this!"
"I certainly hope he will be. I'll have to find out tomorrow. I think I'm done with everything for today, but is it alright if I go over the preparations for the meal with you tomorrow? I have yet to decide what will be served," Nicholas asks.
"Certainly. We'll be sure to make it a meal they'll remember for the rest of their lives," Teresa says determinedly.
"Thank you very much, Teresa," Nicholas says. "You were a big help this afternoon."
"Oh, it wasn't any trouble at all. I always help out people I like," she says while pinching Nicholas's cheek.
Nicholas sighs. "While I am glad I have earned your approval, please don't do that."
Teresa laughs heartily. "Only playing with you. You have a good evening now, you hear? Get some good sleep," she commands and then returns to the kitchen.
Nicholas follows to make dinner. As usual, he stands at the ready during the meal, expecting Xander to say something about his progress, but all Xander says is a thank you for the meal and asks for him to take some letters to be delivered tomorrow. Of course, Nicholas happily agrees to do it. After the first trip, Nicholas finds delivering letters to be his favorite thing to do as it allows him to explore at the same time. It is much too late to deliver them today, so he sets them neatly on his table at home and retires to bed early, anticipating finalizing the meeting hall so he can finally show Xander all of his hard work.