A Change Of Heart chapter: 1
Loose strands of wild red hair fell over Kyle's forehead, sticking to his sweaty skin. He could only imagine how ragged and dirty he must look. He wished the south wing wasn't so close to that damned hot spring. Mopping the floor wouldn't be so strenuous if it weren't for this unbearable heat. The filthy rags he was made to wear only added to his poor appearance as he cleaned the floor.
In the whole fortnight Kyle has been in the castle his mood towards the prince and all his subjects hadn't lightened in the slightest. He still hated it here and still dreamed of returning home to his small village just outside this stuffy castle. He'd rather deal with his less then kind parents then spend one more day here under prince Eric's rule. But he knew that even out there he would still be Cartman's slave, as all the subjects in his kingdom were.
During his stay in the royal palace Kyle learned many things about the prince and his mother, things that must never leave the castle walls. Many believed that queen Liane took control over the kingdom after her husband passed. But the truth was that all her political decisions were chosen either by her son or by the small council of five elders.
The queen didn't bother herself with her people's petty problems, she was too busy playing with her suitors to help them. She was more of a figure head then a queen. Kyle wouldn't be surprised if she let her own son overthrow her. He wondered if she would even care?
The walls of the castle whispered many secrets. Everyone seemed to have their own way of getting dirt on someone else. Kyle often pondered what kind of horrible things he could dig up about the prince, or if he even wanted to know. Prince Eric was an awful, cruel young man. He was ruthless to anyone that so much as annoyed him. Kyle remembered hearing about a jester in his village getting his tongue cut out because he made a joke about the prince's weight.
Who knows of all the other terrible things Cartman has done to people just because they insulted him. Kyle decided that he didn't want to know and to keep to himself so he doesn't share the same horrible fate.
"You will be working as a maid from now on." Prince Eric had told him two weeks ago. When Kyle asked what the consequences were if he refused the fat prince grinned. "If you refuse then I'll have your head. Oh, I think you will look lovely with a spike driven through your skull. " Kyle decided then that he didn't mind working with the maids and cleaning floors like a woman if it meant that he could keep his head.
So with that, Cartman sent Kyle away to be trained by Bebe.
Bebe, who was head maid in the castle and the one in charge of training the new servants, was showing a group of young girls the best way to polish the floor when her new recruit entered the room. "Remember girls," She had a warm, motherly voice as she spoke to the maids in training."circular motion, circular motion. That is the best way to get this blasted marble clean."
A few of the girls stopped working to look up at Kyle. Bebe followed their gaze and smiled when she saw the redheaded boy standing in the door way. She gestured for him to come forward. "Come in, come in, don't be shy!" Her sing-song voice was beginning to get on his nerves, though it was welcomed over prince Cartman's mocking tone. He smiled meekly at her.
Bebe was a young girl just beginning to descend into adulthood. Her hair was a cascade of golden curls that fell over her broad shoulders. Though she did have a womanly shape, she was built large and tall, possibly from all her years of hard work around the castle. Cartman told him that Bebe was brought here as a little girl and hadn't left the castle walls ever since.
But since childhood she had become one of his best and most loyal servants. That is how she became head maid of the castle, giving orders to other servants and teaching the new. Kyle figured that Bebe must be a good teacher if she taught all these girls in the womanly arts. He hoped that she would be just as nice and patient while teaching him.
"The...the prince told me to come here, for training." He told her, his eyes trained onto the freshly polished marble floor.
She grinned cheekily and handed him a bucket of water and an old rag. "Alright deary, you can start now." And that was how Kyle began to serve his new master, by getting on his hands and knees and cleaning with the other maids.
But he wasn't like them, he knew, and not just because he was a boy. He was treated differently then the other servants and he wasn't the only one to notice it. The other maids seemed to dislike him for his special treatment and Kyle couldn't help but feel like he's being ostracized. He didn't sleep in the attendant's quarters. Instead he slept in the same wing of the castle as the prince and the queen did.
Kyle just supposed that it was because of his job waking the prince up in the morning.
Some of the other servant were unsettled by that but otherwise didn't speak of it. Things would have been fine if the prince didn't pay him so much extra attention. Prince Eric often went out of his way to get close to Kyle, just to annoy the redhead. He would stand over Kyle's shoulder while he worked just to tease him and he would often touch Kyle in odd places where he really wished he wouldn't.
It took all his strength to fight down the anger that raised in him whenever Cartman got on his nerves. He couldn't risk losing it in front of the prince, he feared his life depended on him keeping his cool.
But what vexed the redhead even more was the fact that most of the female maids seemed to envy him. How could they feel spite over someone that is constantly being harassed by that fat bastard? They should be relieved that prince Eric is wasting all his energy picking on him instead of bothering them. It was Kyle who should be the envious one!
"You missed a spot." A sharp voice cut through his thoughts.
Startled, Kyle clutched the mop to his chest and whirled around towards the voice. In front of him was a beautiful young girl with long dark hair, dressed in a maid's uniform. Her dark eyes were disdainful and cold as she looked him over. She frowned distastefully at him before kicking over his water bucket. Dirty water splashed out all over the hallway. "Oops." She giggled darkly before pushing past Kyle and storming off.
Kyle was about to call out after her when Bebe suddenly appeared next to him. "That's Wendy. Don't worry about her," She said softly and placed a callous hand on his bony shoulder. "She can be a bitch at times but her bark is worse then her bite."
The redhead glared after the girl. "What's her problem anyway?" He asked Bebe. He could tell that he and this Wendy girl will not be getting along well anytime soon. Bebe just giggled at him.
"She's just miffed 'cause the prince hasn't been 'playing' with any of his girls since you came along." She left before Kyle could ask her to explain.
He didn't understand what 'playing' meant or how it had anything to do with him. He just hoped that it won't cause him anymore problems like this. Maybe the neglect of this "playing" is why everyone treats him so strangely. And if it had something to do with the prince then perhaps Kyle could ask Cartman what "playing" meant. Maybe he'll even have the kindness to show Kyle what it means.