"Young Edous. It seems like you are not enjoying the party." The king of the neighbor Kingdom Medlas, Dowin said taking another sip of his wine.
Edous couldn't care less about all these attentions he was getting.
"King Ronald. Would you like me to introduce my daughters to your son?" he suggested turning to the King, Edous' Father.
"Oh. Yes, Please. My youngest son Edous really seem to need one since he hasn't been out with any girl yet and also refuses to sleep with anyone for a while now. I'm so worried about his future and so of my other sons who are yet to find a partner themselves."
"Really?..."
Edous just ignored them and walked past the crowd without paying any attention to anyone. He wondered why this party was even held in the first place if all they wanted to do was drink and gossip. It was just another party for bonding relationships between the neighbor Kingdoms after all.
"Oh my. My son. What's with that troubled expression on your face." A lady wearing cream laced gown with a fur overcoat mocked him as he almost walked past her. He looks at her with narrowed eyes while she only continues to smile tenderly. Her hip-long brown hair was braided and decorated with the most beautiful flowers and her forest green eyes sparkled with all the lights.
"Nothing." He said and continued walking away from his mother, Queen Shera.
"Oh. I remember. It's almost been a week since Zain came back right." Edous halted satisfying his mother, "Looks like he's working very hard in the kitchen these days. Did you see him?"
Edous turned his head to look at his mother's satisfied expression, like she knew everything. He didn't say anything, instead proceeded back outside the hall.
'That damn brat! Hiding himself from me now, is he.' He stumped on the ground as he started heading towards the kitchen.
Yes, it was almost a week since Zain was forced to come back to the Palace but for some unknown reasons Edous never had even a glance of him in the Palace and it pissed him off. He didn't know what he was ordered to do since he asked Carol to send him to the filthiest place of the Palace to work on. Now he was too embarrassed to ask Carol about him since it was his own orders. But Kitchen was the least place he would have expected him to be working on since it wasn't filthy at all and also Zain would have actually enjoy working there.
Walking into the kitchen he didn't expect anything less than the surprised expression on all the chefs and maids who stopped working at once. "Young Lord Edous." The Butler in-charge of the Kitchen, wearing a suit with kempt brown hair and dark eyes, walked front as everyone else gathered behind him, "Can we help you?" he asked in a polite manner.
Edous took a moment scanning the whole workers standing there and got restless when he didn't find the one, he was looking for. "Is this everyone that is working here?" he asked trying best to keep his mind calm. His expectations scattered when he heard the Butler answering, "Yes."
'That old Lady!' he mentally cursed before walking out of the kitchen in more annoyance than he was before.
Queen only laughed when he saw his furious son walking up to her. He excused herself from all the others ladies she was with and made a free space for her son. She looked as fragile as ever but her expressions always managed to find its way to show her cheerfulness.
"Why would you lie to me, Mother?" Edous asked walking up to her annoyed.
"So, you did go to the kitchen."
Being embarrassed to admit it Edous just covered it up with more questions, "How did you know Zain came back at the first place?"
"Because I talked to him, obviously. I know you have been trying to hide him from me and your Father but Mother knows everything. Carlo gave him the filthiest place to work on. My poor boy, Zain. What has come upon him to work there?" she held her slightly closed palms before her face and whipped off an imaginary tear with her other hand.
Edous would be lying if he didn't admit that his mother knew how to rub at all the wrong places, also that she was a drama queen.
"Where is he?" He asked again ignoring her dramatic weeps.
"I already told you." She replied continuing her act.
"You said in the kitchen and he's not there."
A lady came up to them distracting them from the conversation. Queen listened to her before answering to Edous, "What are you saying? He is. I wouldn't lie. If you can't find Zain yourself then you can't be my son." And started walking away with the lady leaving confused and annoyed Edous behind.
'Should I do a double check in the kitchen.' He wondered but at the same time grabbed the hand coming at him from behind, above his left shoulders.
"Brother Edous, you are no fun!"
"Seka. Stop playing around in a partly like this."
Seka walked to his front, pouting. His glared with his brown eyes at him intensely before finally giving up. He brushed his tidy blond hair to a messy one just to his liking.
"Why did you go to the kitchen though?" He asked as he fixed his hair, "The Chef told me you were in a bad mood when going out from there. Any news, brother?"
"No." Edous replied. He remembered Seka had a good relationship with the kitchen staff and workers as he was a foodie himself. So, there was no way he wouldn't know about Zain if he was working there, and there was no way he wouldn't let him know if he did.
"Where's Carlo?" he asked instead.
"He's with Brother Rave, as always." He replied before asking, "Why? I remember he was assigned with you a few days ago. Did something happen?" Along with being a foodie, he was always full of questions.
Edous didn't bother to answer him and went straight to the place where he knew he would find his elder brother, Rave.
Rave was startled when the room's door suddenly banged open while Carlo still had his composure standing beside him.
"Carlo!" Edous didn't bother to take notice of the red-haired guy sitting beside him and staring at him with his deep brown eyes.
"Yes, Young Lord?"
"Where is Zain?" he asked getting straight to the point.
"Zain? Is he back? Didn't he run away?" Rave asked but nobody bothered to listen.
"I sent him to work in the Servant's kitchen as it was the filthiest place I could think of, since even the servants would see him as a servant there. It's the lowest of the lowest just as you ordered."
Rave gasped at Carlo.
Clenching his fist Edous gritted his teeth trying his hardest to keep himself calm.
"Did he resist?" He asked in a rather serious tone.
"No." Carlo replied honestly and Edous snapped.
"If he's so happy working there, let him work for me like a dog from tomorrow onwards! Get him back now!"
Carlo didn't let his surprise show as he continued to keep his cool and nodded to the order.
Edous walked out of the room stomping his legs on the floor.
"Was Young Lord mad just now?" Carlo asked when he was out of sight.
"Yes. You never worked along with him before so you might not know but Edous and Zain has quite a relationship. It's very interesting." Rave smiled to himself as he flipped through the pages of the book he held, "Make sure to take care of Zain no matter what Edous says or else you'll make Edous angry more often."
"Yes. Understood." Carlo replied with no change of expression, to Rave's satisfaction.
------
Zain washed the last set of plates on the cold water. He felt nostalgic doing this again after such a long time. This was a proof that he annoyed Edous.
*flashback
"Why won't you play with me!" A pouty young Edous shouted at the fragile looking ash-haired boy who stood there looking down at the ground, without a single word.
Getting impatient Edous yelled again, "You always play with the servant's child but not me! Now you don't even talk to me! If you liked them so much then go stay with them and wash all the dishes in the kitchen like they do! Never show your face to me! I hate you!"
"Young lord." The servant accompanying reminded, "The kids are not to work and also It's winter. It'll be hard for young Zain to wash the dishes. We are here to so the them.. "
"I don't care! Let him do it! And don't you dare help him!" he shouted looking with the side of his eyes at the quiet Zain.
Zain was pulled back from his thoughts when he heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen. Two men entered the kitchen. They wore the servant's outfit but Zain didn't recognize them at all.
'Are they new here?' he wondered as he was familiar with most of the workers in the palace. He got confirmation when he heard what they said next.
"Isn't it the Young Lord Edous' favorite servant who ran away a few months ago.?"
Zain couldn't help but sigh before he tried to walk past them since he was already done with the work.
A sudden force on his shoulders pushed him back and he fell with a bump on the cold concrete. The servant looked down while the other replied, "Yes. Who would've though you would be found alive. Do you know how much trouble that shitty Edous gave us just because you went missing? We were punished for not keeping eye on you. Who has time for that when we have to work at a palace this big."
'Oh so they were here when i was around? Maybe newly recruited at that time.' Zain remembered he was busy planning the escae to care about new recruits.
"But why are you his favorite anyway?" the other servant asked scanning Zain from head to toe.
"Body?" the other suggested laughing while the other agreed, "Could be. He must be good at bed."
"What? Does Edous swing that way?"
"Who knows. All the royals have all the power to fuel their weird fetish anyway."
Zain sent a dead glare at their direction making the servant clearly annoyed because the next thing he knew was he was pulled by the collar with a strong hand so cold like the water he had been working with these few days. The servant glared straight into his eyes, "I'm gonna make you pay for the hard time you gave us." With that he was thrown back onto the slippery cold concrete.
As he managed to get his head up with the support of his arms a long gasp suddenly left his mouth as he shut his eyes tightly to avoid the soap water from getting into his eyes; too late.
The servant placed the bucket on the ground grinning with satisfied as Zain, drenched in the water completely started shivering.
"Hey, isn't this too much?" the other servant asked rather concerned, "What if the Edous know? He'll punish us for sure."
"IF he knows." The servant replied still enjoying the view of helpless Zain, "Don't worry too much. He'll never kno-"
"Is Zain present here?" A low voice startled them and they turned their head to the door in unison.
A little worker with a soft texture, stood at the doorway looking at them in surprise.
"What do you want?" The servant standing beside Zain shouted making the worker nervous, "T-The Young Lord has called for Z-Zain i-immediately. H-He has to reach the Palace in five minutes."
The servants looked at each other with dread then looks down at confused Zain who looked back at them. Avoiding his eye, the servants looked back at each other with wide eyes.
Zain slowly got up from the ground and started heading towards the door, "Then I'll see you later. Nice to meet you, new servants." He said before adding, "And also. You are not to state Young Lord by his name or I'll make sure of your punishment next time." and went out of the kitchen leaving them in great confusion.
As the little worker turned to follow Zain the servant pulled him by the back of his collar, "Why is Edous calling that guy?" He asked seriously.
The little worker couldn't help but raise his eyebrow, "Why is it a surprise that Young Lord called for him?" he questioned back instead.
The servants kept looking at him in confusion, "Is it because he is Edous favorite servant?"
"Oh. You both must be new so you don't know. He is not just a servant. He is Young Lord's childhood friend and apparently, he very obsessive with him. Anyone who hurts Zain is beaten or punished severely so no one tries to defy or hurt Zain in any way." He felt sympathy for the new servants who just threw themselves into the pit without knowing.
"I'll be going now. Have a good day." With that the servant was gone leaving scared kittens behind.