"Ouch! Agni, you're not doing this right!"

"I am very sorry, my Prince Soma, I…"

The butler flinched when the comb became entangled in Soma's violet tresses. He even let out a quiet "ouch" in sympathy for the prince.

"Yes. Ouch, indeed." Soma, his eyes reflecting in the mirror, shot him a glare. Deciding it was enough, he held up his hand, asking Agni to stop, and then turned around to the older male. Said one was now facing the floor, his arms hanging at his sides motionlessly. He seemed rather embarrassed (again, if Soma may point that out), though the prince didn't know if this was about the fact that Agni had just accidentally pulled out two of his precious strands of hair or about the breakfast plates he had dropped this morning. Either way, Soma couldn't really fathom how he could work up such a remorse about trivial things like those. Granted, Soma did feel a bit sorry for his lost tresses, though he didn't find it to be a terrible disaster.

But that was exactly what Agni looked like right now. As if he had committed a terrible crime. As if he hadn't done countless in his previous life.

Soma frantically searched for a way to get his new-found butler out of his misery, when suddenly an idea crossed his mind.

"Agni?"

The butler didn't budge. Soma regarded him with a sense of pity, but mostly annoyance. How could someone once so confident go from hundred to zero in just a few hours?

"Agni!"

This time, he lifted his head. Soma sighed.

Well, it was a start.

Not, that he had expected much more.

"You are going to accompany me to the market today. It's Monday, that means there are going to be lemons today."

Oh Kali, he could not quite begin to imagine the emptiness behind those grey eyes. They did not seem to hold any form of emotion. He could probably have told the man in front of him that they were, in fact, going to just hang him, since he was such a useless pile of trash, and he wouldn't have cared.

Soma was betting on it.

"Come on. Finish up my hair so we can leave," he tried a gentler tone now. He had seen his eldest brother use this tone on his child, whenever it seemed hurt or distressed.

Handing the white-haired servant an elaborate hair clip, he turned back to facing the mirror. Slowly, and very, very carefully, Agni continued combing the younger man's hair. Finishing his task, he grabbed a few of the violet strands and brought them together to a high ponytail, which he clipped in place with the hair jewelry.

Once he was done, he stepped aside, to let the prince admire himself in the mirror. And Soma had to admit that he was happy with the outcome.

"Very well." He smiled. "Bring me my jewelry box and then we're going to leave."

The market was crowded with people. Soma obviously wasn't the only citizen that cared for the lemons. As he later explained to Agni, those were being grown in Bengal and a lot of people seemed to love them solely for that sake.

When Soma saw the long line in front of the stall, he thought about just using his title and make his way to the front, but then a different idea struck him.

"We'll go and buy the other things first. Then we can return here and buy the lemons later. That way we will save time."

What else could Agni have done than agree with his prince?

Obediently, he followed him through the crowded streets of Bengal, always keeping a polite space between them. Agni kept his gaze fixed on the ground, though he did look up whenever the prince spoke to him. He'd taken Soma's advice to heart and really tried to speak up when the prince asked him something. Though most times it were trivial things such as "For dinner, what do you think I should prefer? Bhapa or jhal?".

Agni didn't think the prince really wanted him to answer. It was probably just an easier way of making decisions. So he didn't answer as in give a reply but rather as in, giving the occasional nod and a few unneeded agreements.

The sun had already begun to set when Soma decided that he'd rather have a curry for dinner. Ridden with new enthusiasm, the duo made their way to a market stall that only sold the best of spices. Or so Soma said.

At this stall they weren't stopped by a long line. In fact, they seemed to be the only customers.

While Soma leaned over a few bowls that held coriander and cinnamon, Agni kept his usual space. (He had found four feet to be a comfortable distance.)

"Doing the shopping again, I see," the slightly plumpish salesman commented.

"Well, it makes for a nice trip," answered Soma and chuckled a bit at the spice jokes that followed the small talk.

The prince's servant had just decided to occupy himself with his thoughts, when the conversation was broken by a gasp, which was quickly followed by a scream.

Agni turned and froze. It had been a woman's scream. Not any woman's, no. He recognized this one. Her light brown hair was in her usual up-do, her lips tinted a peach-pink.

"But…how…?" The young woman seemed confused, and frankly, Agni couldn't blame her. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Yes, well, I saved him."

Soma had placed himself next to his servant and had briefly forgotten his spices. While he looked the woman in front of him up and down, he was obviously trying to recall if he had ever seen her before. That didn't seem to be the case. And honestly, it would have surprised Agni a lot if the prince had.

"But…my prince…how could you…" Neela, as Agni recalled her name to be, seemed more than just surprised. Rather, she seemed to be terrified. Of him.

"As you just have clearly stated yourself, I am the prince and I may decide to save a person's life, if I view it to be the right choice," answered Soma. Obviously tired of the conversation, he turned back to the spices and took a handful of them.

"So, Agni, which ones do you think we should take?" he murmured, after he had given each of the spices his complete attention.

The woman didn't appear to just be accepting this dismissal. She still stood frozen, her hands clasped in front of her chest. Neela looked as if she had just seen a ghost.

And perhaps, Agni thought, she had.

"But how…? And why? How could you save such a worthless life? This man, Arshad, is a monster!"

It wasn't the first time that the Indian heard those words. But maybe it was the first time that they provoked something inside him. He was so lost in his thoughts, actually searching for any words that he jumped when the prince next to him turned and made a move towards the young woman.

"You see," there was no anger in his voice, only a strange sort of calmness, something similar to triumph, "The man standing in front of you isn't Arshad anymore. You may call him, however, by his new name. You may call him Agni, the butler of the beloved Prince Soma Asman Kadar."

Perhaps it was this day that Agni had decided to forever stay loyal to the young prince. Perhaps not. But it certainly had given him one of many reasons to stay by the prince's side.