Tommy could not believe he had lowered himself to his life of damnation. As a child of royalty, Tommy had pride, in himself and in his people. A king should be willing to accept the finer things in life that comes as bargain for the sacrifices the king must make for the betterment of his country. It wasn't so much an egotistical thing as much as a sense of entitlement, though not in a negative connotation. Tommy was meant for greatness. He was molded into a product of intelligence, charisma, and strength that could advance his kingdom economically, politically, and diplomatically while protecting the country from external and internal threats.

Tommy had not been taught how to clean. He knew basic alchemy, moderate sorcery, ancient history, geographical locations, cultures, and a lot of subjects that were of great importance to a king. No one had taught Tommy how to clean windows, sweep halls, or cook dinners. Tommy could negotiate peace treaties, but he didn't understand how to clean all the little crevices of vases. Tommy could fight three men at once with a sword, but his handling of a duster was beyond his grasping. He understood the basics of it and the common sense elements, but the finer details were lost on Tommy. The one upside he brought to the table that kept him in a job as a male servant was that Tommy had powerful magic.

For everything the Antarctic Empire had, one thing it lacked was advanced magical skills. The air was barren of magical particles meaning that those who were naturally gifted would be none the wiser unless they travelled elsewhere. The people of the Innit Kingdom could use internal mana to perform spells, and their ancient people recorded detailed reports of their alchemy practices. Tommy's royal lineage enabled him to siphon the mana of his people, though he was taught that this was used in emergencies. Tommy discovered that he could siphon the mana from anyone, not just his people. Tommy would frequently take some mana from the other cleaners to make his job easier. It wasn't like people in the Empire needed mana. Half the people didn't know what mana was, and none of the other servants were given any education that would include a mana definition and explanation.

Another reason Tommy was still around was because of that one stupid prince. It happened like this...

——

Tommy was cleaning the prince's room. He wasn't sure how he got stuck with such an important job, but the butler had informed him to take care of all the rooms down the Starling hall. The hallway was given that dazzling name because the walls were plated in gold against a black surface. With the sun streaming in through large windows, the place shone like the night sky. Tommy was equal parts impressed and furious that someone would use that much gold for something so useless. Either the Antarctic Empire didn't place the same value to gold as the Innit people did, or the Empire had so much gold they could waste it on frivolous things. Either way, Tommy placed a high, high value on gold so it was atrocious to see it used in such a way.

Regardless of how Tommy felt about the usage, he was determined to make this place shine. Tommy held his rag in one hand, a bucket of soapy water in the other, and he made it his mission to transform this not even dusty hallway into the hallway of the gods. If gold was going to be wasted, it might as well be wasted beautifully. Tommy slowly went down the hallway with a critiquing eye to see if anything was off. Tommy made every single light ray from the sun come through the window. He made the floor glimmer like a frozen lake, and the window reflect the tiniest of details. Tommy had the table on the side that held a single vase look like it belonged on pedestal, and the vase itself was stolen from a dragon when Tommy was through with it. Tommy made that hallway sparkle. He made every speck of gold glimmer in the afternoon light. Tommy was covered in sweat and grime by completion, and he had rattled off more cuss words than his mother would have been happy with, but Tommy had worked hard. He didn't admit it but the self-satisfaction most people felt after a job well done was felt by Tommy, too.

The hallway had one door at the very end. Tommy didn't know what it led to. He figured that he might as well clean it. He wouldn't put in as much effort as the hallway, but Tommy would make sure the room was spick and span. As a king without a kingdom, he didn't have anything else to do in his enemies castle.

The room was large. Not really massive but it was far bigger than Tommy's old and new bedrooms combined. In the middle of the room against the far wall was a canopy bed with the curtains drawn tightly together. Around the room were various knickknacks. A dresser by the changing area, a desk with quills and papers, an untidy bookshelf, and a stand with a guitar in it. In the far corner was a dusty piano that yearned for a player. The room looked lived in but the piano was abandoned all by its lonesome in a corner of a dark room. Tommy lit the candles around the room to brighten the place up. He sat the bucket and rag at the end of the bench before sliding down by the piano keys.

Every noble knew at least one classical instrument. Whether it be the piano, lyre, violin, flute, or some cultural instrument, a noble needed to be mediocre at music so they seemed intelligent. Tommy was only different in the slightest way. He learned the basics of piano because it was mandatory for his education. He mastered the piano because he enjoyed playing. His mother would play the violin while Tommy accompanied her with his piano. That was his only complete memory of her. Tommy couldn't remember her face unless it was pressed against the worn wood of a loved violin as her fingers danced across the strings. Her pale hair was illuminated like a halo by the sun, and her eyes were closed in concentration, body swaying with the music. When Tommy saw and heard his mother play, she took him to a different world. Tommy felt the rush of emotions that he normally wouldn't understand as he heard the song. Tommy wanted to recreate that. He wanted to reach people's hearts. He wanted to break through language barriers, social standings, and primal hatred to make someone laugh and cry.

Tommy's fingers brushed against the keys. They were in tune, if a bit rusty sounding. The piano needed to warm up. It needed to remember what it was like to be played. Tommy ran through his scales to help nudge the piano's memory. Once the piano was ready, Tommy tapped against a random key. The noise rung out into the empty room. Tommy pressed another key with his opposite hand. That note mingled with the first before becoming a solo sound once the first stopped. Tommy pressed two more keys in quick succession to merge the sounds. Tommy tapped against the keys faster, leaving no time for the noise to cut out between notes. Tommy played a random, happy song that he had learned as his first 'beyond the basics' song. Tommy had done rather poorly the first time he played, but now Tommy sounded like a master. Tommy even added in notes because he liked the challenge it provided. It had been a long time since he last played. It had been before the war, of course, but Tommy was sure that he had only played once in his reign as king. He didn't have time for it when he had a kingdom to operate. Now, Tommy had all the time in the world for it.

"What are you doing in here?" A voice demanded. Tommy jumped in surprise, his fingers hitting three random notes that didn't sound right when they came together. Tommy looked over at the door to see one of those princes who were riding beside the Emperor when Tommy had gone to surrender. This was the brunette with brown eyes, and though he wasn't wearing the same outfit, Tommy knew who he was. He had wired glasses, a baggy white shirt tucked into brown leather pants, barefoot. He didn't seem angry, more like annoyed and curious. Tommy thought those were a contradictory combination of emotions, but he refrained from saying that. He didn't want to explain what he meant. Tommy didn't care about respect for the prince, though.

"I'm playing the piano. What the fuck does it look like I'm doing? I'm not shitting over here," Tommy said with a wave of his hands. The prince took large strides with his lanky legs to where Tommy was sitting. Tommy raised an eyebrow at the prince as he sized Tommy up. The blonde didn't back down from the eye contact, keeping a firm expression on his face. He was hoping to psyche the prince out.

"You do understand that with a single word, I can have you executed? You are sitting in my room uninvited, playing my piano without permission, have said crude words to my face, and have yet to show any respect?" The prince said in a tone that implied he was getting more amused by Tommy than annoyed. Tommy would take it, of course, but he didn't give a rat's ass how the prince felt.

"I came to this damn Empire thinking I'd be executed. I'm living on stolen time, 'cause I'm the poggest thief that ever thieved. I might as well have fun if I'm stuck cleaning your fucking laundry," Tommy said even though he had yet to be on laundry duty. Tommy was making a mostly valid point, if not an accurate one.

"Oh, that's right! You're the little king from Innit! This is where you have ended up? Cleaning my hallway? Great job, by the way," The prince said tilting his head to the door where the Starling hallway laid beyond. Tommy was angry with himself that he cleaned this asshole's hallway, but Tommy decided that he wouldn't call it that. The hallway Tommy had cleaned was the Gold hallway to him. If someone asked him to clean the Starling hallway, he'd say 'what?' and walk away.

"No, bitch, I ended up playing piano in the corner because some bastard doesn't bother to keep his shit well maintained. You have access to thousands of servants, rags imported from heaven, and buckets scavenged in hell, and you can't keep one fucking piano from collecting dust? What has this beautiful woman done to deserve your cold treatment?" Tommy said as he hugged what he could reach of the piano. His long arms could not wrap around the grand piano even through he reached them as far as he could. His point remained.

"I do have many servants. I suppose if I want someone to keep it clean, I would need someone to play it to make sure the insides don't rust. Do you agree with my conclusion?" The prince asked, his cheek pressed against the hand as he rested on the top of the piano. The prince had an amused smile on his face, completely letting go of his mock anger.

"I guess you aren't completely stupid. You need someone that will love the piano as she was meant to be loved. No wronguns that will cheat on her with a smaller, newer piano that sounds worse but looks better to other people because they have no taste in craftsmanship," Tommy nodded. The prince laughed at the words, his face brightening as the laugh passed through his body. Tommy never liked being laugh at, but something warm ignited inside his heart knowing that he had caused the prince to laugh.

"I'll keep that in mind. I'll pick the perfect servant, do not worry about that. Perhaps you should return to your quarters before the butler calls you for the servant's nightly meetings," The prince said. Tommy groaned audibly as he picked himself up from the piano bench. He whispered something oddly romantic as he walked away. The prince laughed as he watched him walk away. That was the first time he had laughed in a long time.

Part three...?