"Holidays are joyful, there's always something new. But ev'ryday's a holiday, when I'm near to you."

– Merry Christmas, Darling

After the brisk meeting with Jakob in the corridor, Inigo was marched to retrieve his luggage before being escorted to a room that would become his own.

"Are you sure this is my room?" Inigo asked, turning back to Jakob. The room was far grander than anything Inigo had ever resided in. It was larger than the room he had at his parent's place as a child, and it was perhaps even bigger than the entirety of his current apartment back in New York. The high ceilings were ornate with swirls and flowers, and there were large glass doors that seemed to lead to a balcony

Jakob ignored his question, presumably believing it was insignificant. "Please meet in the hall in an hour to meet with Princess Elise." And with that, Jakob turned on his heel and left Inigo standing in that grand room completely alone, with absolutely no clarification of where the hall was. Not that he minded, he could probably find a hall himself. He had an hour to collect his thoughts, and attempt to convincingly craft the character of 'Laslow'.

What was a royal tutor supposed to be like? One would probably say that they were supposed to be uptight and proper. Probably stuffy and boring. Inigo shook the thoughts of uptight old women with moles and permanent scowls embedded on their faces out of his head. He couldn't possibly change himself that drastically, and even then, he definitely didn't want to. If anything, if Princess Elise was drawn to his character, she might be inclined to give him more information. He felt manipulative saying it, but this was the best way to get the most information on Prince Xander.

He would just tone himself down a little. Inigo had been faking an aura of confidence his whole life, he knew it wouldn't fail him now. He had perfected it.

It was the same aura of confidence he had employed after the loss of his mother, just so his father wouldn't worry about him attending school, then university. It had served him well thus far, and it seemed Laslow would have to be just as confident as Inigo had always pretended to be.

Inigo walked around the rooms and dumped his bag in the back corner, before rummaging through and pulling out the very respectable sweater and trousers he promised Jakob he would wear.

After he changed, Inigo took in his appearance in the pristine floor-length mirror in the corner of the room. It was the most boring he could ever remember appearing. The dull green of the sweater made him look paler than he already was. Not even the silver earring he always wore could liven up his drab appearance. But it would have to do.

His phone began to vibrate in his pocket. Owain and Severa must have just woken up (time zones were terrible, truly), and were responding to the last stream of rather unfavourable texts Inigo had sent. He hadn't had the chance to update them since he snuck into Castle Krakenburg.

Severa: he really didn't show up? SLACK! Told u so

Owain: Perhaps the prince met a foe on his way, and had to go to battle!

Inigo was not inclined to believe that in the slightest. Their texts and theories kept escalating the longer they texted. Owain thought he was battling a dragon. Severa thought he was entertaining women. But that wasn't at the forefront of Inigo's mind, and he couldn't bring himself to reply to their antics.

Inigo: I may have snuck into the castle

He should have given more of an explanation than that.

Severa: what the actual fuck

Owain: ADVENTURE ON, BRAVE WARRIOR!

Severa: please elaborate?

And so Inigo explained exactly what had happened. It helped, really, to get his thoughts in order. They got over the initial shock surprisingly fast, but kept firing an endless stream of questions and comments towards him.

Severa: dude, you barely passed grade 11 math. how the hell are you going to tutor a princess?

Inigo hadn't planned that far ahead yet. It wasn't that Inigo was a horrible student (though, a few of his teachers may have thought differently), but that he never had the patience to learn things that he deemed unnecessary. Trigonometry was a beast he never bothered taming. He hoped that Princess Elise wasn't yet old enough to be learning things that surpassed Inigo's own ability. Perhaps she was interested in journalism? He'd get a kick out of that.

It was undoubtedly time to make his way to the hall. He left himself ten minutes to wander the corridors of the castle until he found it. He imagined it would be sufficient time to find such a central sounding room. The hall would be easy to find, he imagined.

He imagined wrong.

He gazed down at his watch for what felt like the millionth time that day. He had a minute to find the hall, and yet all he had found was himself lost in what felt like a never-ending maze of corridors. In his own confusion, he didn't realise he was walking right into someone until it was far too late.

"Someone's eager, hm?" The stranger's voice was smooth. Inigo looked up into one striking blue eye and one eyepatch. Inigo must have jumped back ten feet. He had never been this careless!

"Sorry! I-" Be confident, Inigo. The second thing he noticed was that the man he had walked into was seriously attractive. Was it a Nohrian thing? Were they all born with superior genetics? He had the first two buttons of his shirt undone, and his hair was sticking out in all directions. Inigo may have only been at Castle Krakenburg for an hour, but he knew that if this man worked here, he definitely didn't conform to Jakob's dress codes.

"I'm guessing you're the newest tutor? Tell me, do you offer hands-on experience?" The man was smirking at him. Inigo balled his hands into tight fists. While this man didn't appear to pose any real threat, but there was still an uneasiness present.

"Sorry, what?" This guy had to be joking, right?

"Niles, leave the poor man alone." Another voice, definitely Inigo's saviour, spoke from the end of the corridor. Blonde hair, pale skin and small stature; Inigo recognised this person immediately from all his research. For reasons unbeknownst to himself, the realisation that he was going to have to meet all of the Nohrian royalty was only hitting him now. He hadn't even considered what he was going to do! Here he was, in the same corridor as a prince and yet he had no idea what to do or how to act. And so he did the first thing that came to mind.

"Prince Leo". He curtsied, and then a sensation of burning in his cheeks that he prayed wasn't as red as it felt.

Oh, what a fool he felt. He heard the first man- Niles- snort at his panicked response. He really wasn't doing very well.

Whatever mistake he had made, Leo appeared to take pity on him and ignore it.

"You must be looking for Elise. I believe you'll find her in the hall. It's down the other end of this corridor, the last door to your left." His voice was completely void of expression. Prince Leo had to be the coldest teenager Inigo had ever come across. Perhaps this was the life of royalty; having to grow up faster. He was so evidently youthful in appearance, and yet he spoke as though he carried such a weight. Was this the result of being the son of King Garon? Inigo made a mental note to write on this later.

"Thank you, your highness." He bowed his head and offered a small smile.

"You should be off then. I am sure we will speak properly at a later period. Niles, come with me, please." With a smirk from Niles and a curt nod from Leo, both men turned around and left Inigo standing in the corridor.

Nohr was turning out to be a complete whirlwind. In just over an hour, he had found employment as a tutor, met someone who looked like a pirate out of an erotica novel, and a teenage prince.

But nothing could have prepared him for Elise.

Leo's directions were perfect. Inigo found the hall in under a minute and somehow was only a tiny bit late.

Elise was standing in the middle of the room, a giant smile on her face. Her blonde hair was styled in two immaculate pigtails, and her dress flowed around her in a cloud of baby-pink.

He bowed (Inigo was one to learn from his mistakes), and approached her. "Your royal highness."

"You're a tutor?" Her big brown eyes were soaking in his appearance. She was adorable. She couldn't possibly be much of a handful, right? She looked young, if Inigo were going to guess, he would have said she was about twelve.

"You don't look like a tutor."

Or perhaps she was going to be harder to fool then he thought.

"Of course I am, milady! Laslow the tutor at your service." He sent her a bright smile, hoping to win her over with his dazzling (fake) personality. She seemed to accept his answer, because she sent him a sweet smile, and stuck out her hand. It wasn't intended to shake, he realised upon noticing it was more clenched then open to be shaken. But Inigo had seen enough Hallmark movies to know what was expected! He took her hand in his and bowed over to place a kiss on the back of it.

He smiled, but celebrated his victory far too early. He felt her open up her hand and drop something into his palm. Something that was moving. He made an undignified yelp as she pulled her hand away and immediately noticed a small, white mouse in his hand. Elise must have found the look of absolute horror on his face hysterical, because Elise was giggling behind her hand at her own devilish prank.

Be cool, Inigo. She needs to like you. "And who would this be?" Her giggling stopped upon realising that he was no longer panicking. It wasn't so much that Inigo was scared of mice, but more the fact he hadn't been expecting one. Inigo didn't mind mice. The fond memory of playing with Severa's mice in her childhood home came to mind, and just like that, he was back to his ever-confident self.

"That's Mouseketeer. My last few tutors hated him." A frown was spreading across her face. She was trying to get rid of him, but Inigo was not going to budge.

"A noble name for a noble mouse. Does he also like to learn?" Inigo stroked the mouse's back.

"No, I suppose he doesn't." She held out her hand, and Inigo plopped Mouseketeer back into her palm. She smiled again, but Inigo suspected she was faking it. "You don't mind him?"

"He's more than welcome to join us, I think he's lovely." Elise perked up at this. She had never had a tutor who was so quick to accept her tricks, and even embrace them.

"Shall we go to the library?"

The library had a thousand shelves that spanned the ceiling to the floor, and contained books that looked absolutely ancient. The library at Castle Krakenburg contained more information and wealth than most could wish to see in their lifetimes. Inigo was going to have to take photos of it later.

They were positioned at a table by a window; the crisp white light streamed into the room, completely illuminating every nook and cranny of it

"What are we learning today?" Elise was already cradling her head in her hand. After dropping Mouseketeer back into her quarters it became clear that the girl really had no affinity for being tutored. "Can it not be something boring? Please? I've had enough algebra to last me all year!" Music to Inigo's ears.

However, he wasn't ready to yet teach her something. He wasn't even sure if he knew anything worth teaching! When he got back to his room tonight, he was going to watch enough YouTube tutorials to teach himself first. For now, his goal was for her to like him enough to trust him.

"I was thinking, why don't you tell me what you need help with, and we'll start there!" Inigo sat in the chair across from her. She really was the cutest kid he had ever seen, and her childlike nature only served to make Inigo immediately fond of her. She seemed so different to Leo. He hoped she would continue to warm up to him, too. It would make his job so much easier.

"I like writing! Can we do some writing?" She was practically beaming sunshine at him. How could anyone ever tell her no?

"Of course, milady. I do love writing," This was all panning out far better than expected.

"Are you a writer, Laslow?"

Inigo was internally cursing himself. He was supposed to be careful, but his own big mouth was going to thwart his plans. He had to think fast. A half-truth would save him here.

"I did an English degree at university." Inigo thought it best to cut out that he did a double-degree in journalism. He smiled at her again, but she didn't have time to comprehend his answer, as she was looking out the window beside them, distracted by a certain figure.

"I didn't realise Xander wasn't working!"

Inigo peered outside. In contrast to the snow which had blanketed the gardens, there stood a singular man. Inigo couldn't tell what he was doing, he was too far away.

"Why don't we go say hello?"