Dan looked out the palace window. Beyond the gates, the village seemed to be waiting for the day to start. No cows were grazing, no people swarmed the square. The rows and rows of plain brown houses were tinged orange as the sun began to rise, painting the sky all shades of red. 

It was a plain town, as far as they went. No big buildings or special markets. But to Dan, it was home. In one of those small buildings, his siblings were sleeping peacefully, relying on their big brother to bring home money so they could eat. Live. Survive. 

Just the thought was enough for him to gather up the will to go on.

For the past ten years of his life, since he was eight and therefore old enough to look after the young royal brats in the nursery, Dan had worked at the palace doing odd jobs. His parents had died only two years later, leaving him the only one able to support his six younger siblings. Even now Dan refused to let the others work for the royal family. The jobs payed well enough, to be sure, but there were...downsides. 

Downsides like how there was nothing stopping your superior from beating you if you did anything wrong. How rape was a common part of every job, and if you were targeted nothing could stop your attacker. 

Or like how the one who had held Dan's new job, as the prince's butler, had been beheaded simply for spilling tea in the kitchen. 

He shook his head, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. The castle was, quite unlike the town, wide awake. Awake and stuffed full of several pounds of raw sugar. Maids and butlers ran about, each trying to get to their own separate stations before the rooster sang. The cleaning staff was washing windows and polishing floors. One girl, who Dan assumed to be from the kitchen, was running around and asking anyone who would stand the few seconds it took to stop and listen if they had seen a bag of flour. 

The prince's room was remote, far away from the bustle of the castle. Dan supposed it would make sense; little mister royalty needed his beauty sleep. 

He was still asleep when Dan entered. Though Dan hadn't any prior training for this particular job (it was only temporary, until they could find a permanent replacement), he remembered the basics from watching his father for so many years. Dan pulled out dress pants and a button up shirt from the dresser. The maid had already brought in the tea, which was thankfully still piping hot. After he got the fire going, there wasn't anything left to do but wait.

It felt awkward standing there, watching the prince sleep, but Dan didn't want to risk sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs by the fireplace. If the last one had been killed for spilling tea, Dan hated to think of what would happen if he was caught degracing a chair with his ass. Instead, he dared to move around, taking in the prince's quarters. 

The room wasn't actually just one, but rather two. The second was a sitting room of sorts, which was where Dan stood. In it were the chairs and a plush couch that would've been big enough for even Dan, who was more than six feet tall, to take a comfortable nap on. A desk on which several tall stacks of papers, as well as a number of runaways sat, was placed under the window. A fireplace filled one wall and a fully stacked book shelf another.

Dan heard a yawn from underneath the mess of covers and blankets and hurried into the prince's room just before his eyes slipped open. 

"Good morning," Dan chirped, folding the clothes over his arm the way he remembered his father doing. (God, if his father could see him now. He'd be so disappointed--not in Dan, but in himself for forcing Dan into this life. For making it so that Dan hadn't even the money or time to earn his middle school degree, much less high school or, God forbid, college. At least he could read and write. Few others in the castle knew how, but that had been the one thing his mother insisted fully on.)

The prince eyed him tiredly, but also the least bit warily. Like he was debating whether or not to trust this brown eyed stranger who had so brightly invited him to the day at such an early hour. After a brief awkward silence, he cleared his throat, looking pointedly at the clothes folded over Dan's arm. "Be careful with those," he said, voice low and groggy, "you wouldn't want to get them wrinkled. Who knows what would happen then."

"Death, I'd assume," Dan muttered before he could sensor his words. Immediately, a flash of guilt and fear ran through him. Was it too late to write out a will?

To his surprise, the prince laughed. "You're a lot more honest than the last, really. Doesn't help that you're good-looking either. I think I like you..." He waved his hand as a cue for Dan to finish.

"Daniel. But you may call me Dan if you'd like. Your Highness."

"Phil." He pushed himself out of bed, grabbing the clothes from Dan. "I can change by myself. I have a feeling it'd be awkward if you did it for me and besides, I'm not a toddler anymore. Go...to the kitchen. Something. Better yet, head to the nursery. Help Daniella practice her alphabet. You may send away the tutor. I'm afraid I don't fancy him."

Dan hesitated, but Phil was already turning away.

The nursery was one of the smaller rooms in the castle, but still bigger than Dan's whole house nonetheless. On the floor was a rug embroidered to look like the galaxy, complete with the names of multiple constellations and stars. At one edge was the moon, and at the other the sun. He had always, stupidly, it seemed, thought it oddly romantic how the sun's rays reached out to the moon, stretching as far as possible, but never quite made it. It was like they loved each other but their romance was doomed from the moment they were placed in the sky.

The walls of the room were a deep blue, which Dan had always thought to be a very calming color. In one corner there was a stack of various games the children could play, but the majority was filled with school items: writing utensils, paper, books. 

Daniella, Phil's younger sister, was sitting in the middle of the room with her tutor. He was counting, "One, two, three, four..." and up until ten. When he finished, Daniella showed with her fingers the numbers as opposed to saying them aloud. 

Dan barely bit back a gasp. He had heard the rumor about the princess-that watching her mother be murdered at a young age had made her selectively mute-but knew better than to believe it. After all, he had also heard that Prince Phillip was a vampire, but that didn't seem to be true (though he did have rather pale skin).

"The prince sent me," he said, voice coming out louder than he had meant it to. Dan cringed, running a hand through his hair subconsciously. "He said...well...he said you may take the day off, and I'll teach the princess her ABC's."

"Ridiculous," the tutor said, standing up and storming towards Dan. Their faces were close enough that Dan could feel spit from the man landing on his face when the other talked. "The young prince may not like me, but he does not have the right to send me away in the middle of a lesson! And certainty not just to be replaced by an arrogant, most likely illiterate, fool!"

"I am not illiterate." Dan fought to keep his voice below a yell, not wanting to startle the princess. "And you and I both know better than to disobey direct orders from the prince. So I suggest you pack up your books and leave. Right now, preferably."

Dan could almost see smoke coming from the tutor's nose, but it didn't matter. He grabbed his books and note cards and stormed from the room, leaving them alone. 

He sat cross legged beside Daniella, giving her a small wave. "Hello there, Your Highness. My name is Dan. Your brother told me to help you with your alphabet?"

The girl nodded, sticking her thumb in her mouth. Another rumor about the princess was that she was illegitimate-the daughter of the king and a palace maid. Looking at her, Dan could almost believe it. Compared to Phil's icy looks, with ivory skin, bright blue eyes and black hair, Daniella was a desert. Golden hair and skin, warm honey eyes. Even with her being the young age of five, Dan could tell she would be a beautiful young woman. 

He nodded, looking around. Close by was a pad of paper the tutor had left, as well as a quill pen. "Here," he said, handing both to her. "Write what you know down for me, if you will."

She complied, handing Dan back the paper after only a few seconds. Not only was the writing impeccable, far neater than his, but all the letters were correct. If she didn't need help with the actual memorization, than Phil must've sent Dan to get her to say it aloud. 

That would take a lot more work.

"Good job, Daniella." The girl seemed surprised at the praise, her already wide eyes growing still bigger. He supposed that, she being a she and the younger sibling, Daniella wouldn't have too much attention. It made him feel a rush of empathy for the girl. "Now, can you just...say this for me? Please?"

She shook her head.

Dan sighed, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in the paper. It was fine quality. He would do anything to have one pad, just one, to bring home to his siblings. "If you do, we'll take a walk in the gardens."

The princess hesitated, but said, in a voice so soft Dan had to lean forward to hear, "A..b...c...c-can I stop there? I know it...it's just..." Her eyes filled with tears and she seemed to shrink in on herself.

"Yes, yes, of course," he told her hurriedly, "very good, princess. You're doing wonderful, really. I'm sure you'll be a fine scholar when you get older."

But of course she wouldn't. Princesses were married and carted off to distant kingdoms, where their only job were to produce male heirs for their husbands. Dan had never heard of a happy queen; female rulers lead their lives loveless and lonely. Many killed themselves at young ages. It saddened him to think that this would be Daniella's fate; she was such a sweet thing for such a cruel world. A rarity. 

They made their way out of the castle and onto the grounds. Despite the architecture done by only the best and exquisite decor of the palace, Dan had always found the gardens to be far more beautiful. Here, buds were always the first to bloom, and in such bright colors it was nearly impossible to believe that one hadn't stumbled upon heaven on earth. Even in the winter the snow seemed to shimmer brighter than anywhere else on the planet.

Despite its charm, he knew that the castle's royal inhabitants didn't see much of the outer parts of their home. He had never once seen the king leave his quarters, and from the number of times he had so much a glimpse of the prince and princess they might as well have been rumors themselves. 

Daniella ran out into the sunlight, only turning around once to grin at Dan before sprinting into the flower beds. He sat on an old bench, the silver of which was tarnished with age, and watched the princess run about. She stopped to smell just about every type of flower, gathering what seemed to be her favorites in her arm. 

After a few minutes, she found a ball hidden underneath leaves and managed to convince Dan to teach her a game with it. They played a simple game the boys in his neighborhood used to play in the streets where the ball had to stay in the air for as long as possible. Because she was small, Dan altered the rules to allow one bounce. Daniella sat down her bouquet on the bench and they played until both of them were smeared with dirt and breathless with laughter. 

The princess' nanny found them outside at noon and fed them lunch, but only after giving Dan a stern talking to about how "inappropriate this is," and how "the princess must be presentable, and you should be too, as a butler! The prince's, no less."

The princess ate and, leaving the tray on the bench for the gardener to pick up, scooped her flowers carefully in her arms and gestured for Dan to follow her. 

He did, letting the girl lead him to a small cemetery plot that was nearly empty. The half dozen people there left with bows and curtsies, leaving only one black haired boy in front of the largest, most elegant grave. The prince. 

Dan bowed, blushing furiously as he imagined how much of a mess he must look like, with his soiled clothes and dirty face. "Your highness," he greeted nervously. 

"Daniel." Phil didn't turn from the grave. There was a slight quiver to his voice, as if he had been crying. "I trust your day has gone well?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did my sister talk to you?"

"A-" Dan looked at Daniella, clearing his throat, "a small bit, sir. During the game and a few letters of the alphabet, sir."

"Well." Phil stood, keeping his face towards the ground. "Very well then. I'm turning in early tonight, Daniel. I do not believe I require your assistance."

Dan nodded, watching the princess, who was pretending to be oblivious to the conversation.

As he passed him, Phil smiled. Not a lot, but if one looked close enough it was definitely there. And it was hard not to notice when their faces were mere inches apart. "Thank you, Daniel. Congratulations on surviving your first day."