Usagi sighed as she reached the castle, but not with sadness, but fear. Would the others in this castle welcome her, or would they banish her in the background for being a commoner and not one of royal worthiness. She was discovered by the royal planning association and offered a job to be the primary decorator for the castle. This included parties, seasonal attires, and anything else you could imagine. 

Some of the royal guard had met her at the base of the gate that lead to the large castle doors, and took her supplies. She followed them, not saying a word into the huge stone structure that was now her new home. After what seemed forever, Usagi had finally made it to her room, where she relaxed, cuddled in the pillows of her new bed, and cried. She was doing this to help her family, herself, and to secure a future.

Mamoru was in the castle library. He peeked out the window noticing someone's arrival. He had been told the new decorator would be moving in today and he wanted to get a look at her. Mamoru's staff had urged he hire her for decorating the palace for events, but also just for the everyday things. He finally gave in after months of pestering, figuring it would make everyone happy to see the palace decorated again. He knew that was something he would have never been able to do and figured this girl could help.

After he saw her enter, Mamoru went back to his reading chair and pulled out the latest book he was reading. He had been engrossed in a mythical tale lately and couldn't seem to put the book down...that was until he was interrupted by his butler who was informing him of the decorator's arrival.

Mamoru turned to the butler with a grim smile. "Invite this girl to dinner, I would like to meet the woman who is now going to be in my castle." he said in a serious tone.

Usagi, who had fallen asleep, heard a knocking at the door. She jumped up, fixed her wrinkled shirt, and ran to the door. It was the butler, indicating that her presence was needed at dinner with the prince. Usagi felt a blast of cold sweat down her back. She had not even unpacked anything and she was expected to be at dinner? What would she wear? How would the prince react to a commoner?

"Alright." She replied, trying to feel cheery.

Frantically, she dug through her many bags and finally decided on a red glittered dress.

Spoiler:

After Mamoru had been satisfied with his reading for the day he went to his room to prepare for dinner. He slipped on a white button down shirt and pulled on his royal coat. He paired his straight leg black pant with his attire and slipped into his black dress shoes.

Mamoru slowly made his way to the dining hall, stopping in the gardens on the way to admire all of the flowers that had grown. It made him think how proud his mother, the late Queen would have been to see how well he kept up her flowers she had planted when he was much younger.

Mamoru made his way to the dining room after a brief stop in the gardens he made his way to the dining room thinking of what he would say to this girl and how he would lay down they law and the rules of the castle that she would have to adhere to. He walked in and took his seat, he wanted to arrive early because he wanted to see her when she walked in.

Mamo's jacket:

Usagi strolled into the dining room, being lead by one of the castle maids. She didn't know where to sit, and the the maid made no motions towards her, but instead looked at her with a gleaming eye. She seemed annoyed with Usagi, which made Usagi even more nervous.

Mamoru had been sitting clear at the end of the other end of the table when she walked in. He slowly took her in before speaking. He noticed she had long hair, which she wore in a rather unique style.  He observed she hadn't seen her yet. He spoke in a neutral tone. "Please come sit closer, I would like to get a closer look at who has been hired to work in the palace."

He stood and motioned for her to join him.

Usagi froze when the Prince spoke. She took the seat next to him, and nodded, unsure what to do. 

"Thank you." She said in a solid voice, careful of her tone.

Once Mamoru had seen the girl take her seat he began to casually look her over. He had to admit she was a pretty girl, but he was much too busy to be spending time on a girl right now. He was in the process of going through training and was in charge at this moment as his father, the King was away on business.

He motioned for the staff to bring the two of them their meal. Once they had been served, he looked at her before speaking, "so I am told you have been hired to decorate, or whatever they call it this place," he said as he gestured his hand in a circle to motion he meant the palace. "Just what are you planning on doing, and let me make something clear, you are to never set foot in MY library." he said in a slightly sour tone. That was the one room he could get away too, the only room where he could hide all his secrets.

Usagi's eyes grew wide when he spoke to her. She felt fear, and wanted to retreat to her room as soon as she possibly could. 

"Understood". She said quietly, looking around at the staff members, hoping they could guide her in conversation. Unfortunately, they were measly peasants in the castle, and would most likely be fired if they spoke to him or her without permission. 

"The food....tastes good." She said, trying to stir the Prince into conversation.

Mamoru looked over at Usagi as he spoke, "only the best in the palace, my father and I won't settle for anything less." He said as he cut another piece of chicken and ate it. He looked at the girl and noticed she looked nervous, they all looked nervous when they had their first meal he thought as he tried to ease the mood, socializing was not one of his stronger qualities.

"So, why did you decide to become a decorator, I mean out of all the jobs out there, what made you choose to decorating?"

"Well..." Usagi swallowed a piece of bread with butter. "I was always fond of making things look desirable. I enjoy the idea of making something not wanted into something pretty. I feel like decorating allows someone to view the beauty of something." 

Usagi blushed. She didn't mean to get carried away.

Mamoru sat back and listened as the girl spoke about her passion to decorate. He would never admit it to anyone, but he had admired her as she spoke about how decorating allowed her to make things beautiful for people. 

It made him think back to him mother. He missed her so much, she had known so much and her garden was her legacy. Her flowers were the most beautiful flowers on the planet and Mamoru was determined to make sure they would not perish as she had.

Mamoru slowly sipped the wine he had brought out earlier in the night before speaking.

" Well I think you will have your work cut out for you here" he said in a solemn tone.

"After dinner I will show you the first room to be renovated." He was dreading this moment, but his father had requested months ago that the queen's room be renovated so the constant reminder of her death would be gone.

"Alright."Usagi said. She finished her food and waited quietly for the Prince to lead her.

Mamoru stood, leading Usagi through the palace. He didn't speak as he walked. He was never one for small talk. Once they reached the room he slowly opened the door and motioned for her to walk in. He flipped on the light and he was taken aback for a moment. 

Everything was left since the day she passed, nothing had been moved. He thought maybe his father would have made arrangements to have her things removed or relocated until he was ready to part with it. 

Mamoru spoke trying to keep his voice steady, he may be a prince, but he had loved his mother very much and she was teaching him a lot about life and her sudden death still pained him greatly. He swallowed a big gulp, finally finding the words. "This room is to be renovated to be a meeting room for the King and his court, it is going to be set up for smaller more informal settings. I will get my best men to move the large items. He paused looking around, he couldn't imagine seeing this room change, he remembered all the nights he had had nightmares or had been sick or scared because his father was away, he would go to his mothers room and she would comfort him and make him feel better.

He could feel the water welling up in his eyes, but forced the tears back, he would not cry now, especially in front of a commoner. "Just try to keep some of the feel this room has, I know it's going to be  a drastic change, but if you could just keep some of the elements somehow, I think his majesty would be most pleased, this room is still very important to the family and belonged to someone important, someone who is greatly missed."

He turned to leave, "feel free to stay as long as you like to determine where you will start, just be sure to turn off the lights when you leave." he turned and gave her a look over his shoulder, "and don't get any ideas about stealing ANYTHING from that room, thieves will not be tolerated in this place and anyone caught of stealing will be rightly punished."

With that Mamoru dissapeared down the hall towards his room.

Usagi wasn't told by the prince what the room used to be, but she quickly figured it out herself. The room was beautiful, expensive antiques lined the cabinets that were scattered throughout the room and the canopy bed was absolutely beautiful. Why would the King want a room like this changed? Weren't there other rooms in the palace that could be used as a meeting room for the King and hid court? 

Usagi stayed in the room for a few minutes before leaving. She slowly closed the door, and quickly walked down the hallway, hoping to bump into the Prince.

Endymion was halfway down the hall when he remembered he had left something very important in his late mother's room. He turned to go back and retrieve it, not wanting the decorator to find this item. He had kept a journal in her room, knowing it would be safe there, but now things were changing and he needed to retrieve the journal and find a new hiding spot for it.

On his way back he bumped into Usagi, he had been so lost in thought as he walked he hadn't realized he bumped into her at first. 

He backed away from the blonde and spoke, his tone flat, "sorry about that, I didn't see you there at first, do you need something?" He propped up against the wall to listen to what she had to say.

"Um...well..." Usagi felt like an idiot. She knew the prince most likely wanted nothing more to do with her, but knew she had to try. 

"Perhaps...." She scratched her head looking around, pretending she forgot, but in reality she was trying to think of how to present her idea without sounding like she was intruding on his personal life. "I'm sure there has got to be another room the King can use, although they may not be as big, I am sure I can work with something else to fit his needs."

Mamoru let out a surpressed sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He rested against the wall. She has a point, it is sorta cute how naive she is, he thought as he spoke his voice sounding exhausted. "I wish it were so and while if it were in my control, I would say you are more than welcome to, but...." he paused, technically he was in charge right now and there were plenty of other rooms that could be made into a smaller governing room.

"I will see what I can do, i will need time to find another room, I will deal with the King when he returns if he is unhappy with my decision." He said as he walked away back towards his late mothers quarters with determination. He was going to preserve the memory of his mother for as long as he could.

Usagi smiled when the Prince spoke. She followed him down the hallway, her shoes clicking down the hallway. When they rereached the room, Usagi didn't know what to say. The Prince looked like he was in thought.

Mamoru walked through the threshold of his mother's room, a room that held many memories and got him through many nightmare haunted nights as a child and  many late night talks with her as he grew older, his mother had been so wise and would always listen to his ideas no matter how irrelevant they seemed, now that she was gone- he had no one. His father had never had the time for him and was quite an emotionless man when it came to family duties. He cared more about his people than he did his own son. Mamoru wondered why he even stuck around- he didn't want to take over when his father died- he wanted to live among the people and help those in town, he wasn't sure how he would help them, but anything besides being confided to these palace walls would be better in Mamoru's mind.

"The decision has been made- do not change anything about this room, but if its not too much to ask, could you maybe dust and vacuum and the such- I know that isn't in your job description,  but I don't want to let just anyone in this room, too many of the kings workers are stealing right under his nose and I do not want a single one of those people anywhere near this room." 

He motioned for him to follow him as they continued to walk- he walked down the hall to the main library and sat in one of the chairs that overlooked the gardens, the moon was shining bright in the sky. Mamoru waited for Usagi to sit and join him so he could tell her his new plan.

ooc:

Usage felt honored that he was letting her, a stranger, take care of the room. Did he actually trust her? She felt warm inside.

She followed him to unknown parts of the castle and when they reached a room to entered as he wished. She took a seat next to him , staring out at the scenery.

Mamoru walked toward the door when a palace worker approached him,

"your grace, what are you doing- you know what the King's orders were...that room, it is to be made into a governing room before he returns next week..." the worker trailed off, he was fearful for confronting the Prince in such a way.

Mamoru turned to face this worker, his anger getting the best of him as he picked up the worker by his coat and walked him to where his back was pressed against the wall. Mamoru got right up in this workers face and shouted, "the room is to stay how it is, do I need to remind you that I am in charge when the King is not present, if he has a problem when he returns, i will deal with it, that room will NOT be changed, now get lost and why don't you try minding your own business for once?" he said as he shoved the worker off in another direction and walked through the door to the room he decided would be converted into a governing room.

He had completely forgotten about Usagi's presence as he began to pace the room.

Usagi slowly backed away from the shouting Prince. This side of him scared her. She looked blankly at the guard and nodded her head. She knew he was just reinforcing what the King wanted, but there was no reason to shove him. 

"Um...maybe you were too rough." She perked up her tone.

Mamoru clenched his fists and slammed them by his sides. He turned and glared at Usagi, and decided to hold his tongue, who is she to tell me how to speak to my workers, commoners really are a pittance, he thought as he walked into the room that he decided would be the king's governing  room, whether the king wanted it or not, Mamoru had made his deicsion and he wasn't going back now.

He walked through the door and stood facing out the window. He spoke, his tone was ice cold, "this room will do for the King's governing room- he likes dark blue's and golds, he will need a table and chairs for his council and some artwork and decor, but I leave that to you, after all that is why you were hired right?" Mamoru turned around to make sure the blond was still trailing behind him.

I really need to get to the gardens tonight. he thought as he plopped in an old chair in the room.

"Ya....ya ok. I understand." Usagi stuttered. She took a slow step backwards when his back was towards her. She didn't mean to upset him, and she felt horribly guilty. "

"Is there, a budget?" Usagi asked. Although she was hired for these types of tasks, she needed to know her limits. "Gold can be quit pricey...." she said, her voice dying out to silence when he sat in the chair.

Mamoru was gazing outside, admiring the view of the gardens when he snapped back to reality. He listened as Usagi spoke. He turned to answer her question. He was frustrates, not necessarily with her but with the fact that he had to tend to all these petty things, wasn't there someone on the council who could oversee the workers.

He spoke cooly, "the budget is 5,000 and the King is more found of Silver actually so do try to avoid gold. The King has become quite found of Silver, deep blues, and black." He began to walk away, he was ready to retire for the night.

He turned to face Usagi once more before retruning to his quarters for the night. "Take all the time you need, but be sure to close the door when you leave." he said before he dissapeared into the palace halls.

Usagi nodded, keeping quiet, and watched the Prince exit the room. She spun around slowly taking in the scenery. She pulled out a small notepad that she carried in her purse and began jotting down notes. She imagined deep blue thick curtains draping the windows with wooden chairs padded with matching cushion. Silver would be decorated throughout the room, and the centerpiece at the table would also be some sort of silver decor. This was how her mind worked, and Usagi refused to leave the room until everything was completely planned and perfect to her. She knew she didn't need to plan everything that night, it was already late, but she wanted the Prince to be happy with her.

The hours passed, and eventually her exhausted body caught up with her mind. Usagi fell asleep in a small love seat that was on the side of the room.

Mamoru walked back to his room. When he got there he plopped down into his chair for a moment. He hated all these tidbit duties he had to handle while his father was away, he much preferred handling the more strategic aspects of being a prince and the future King. He liked to work around analytic situations, but lately there had been a peace, not that he minded but he needed a distraction.

Mamoru's father was too distant since his mother died and all he saw Mamru as was someone who would take his place. Mamoru had tried to make conversation with his father, but their conversations had gone no where lately. Mamoru got up and walked over to his large window and opened it so he could get a view of the night sky. Something about the moon and stars had calmed  Mamoru. He got ready for bed and turned in for the night, after a very long and somewhat exhausting day.

Usagi stirred little during the night, but she finally came out of her slumber around 4am. Quietly, she made her way out of the room and double checked the door to make sure it locked before walking down the long hallway. She hoped that the guards wouldn't find her suspicious,, her first night in the castle and she was wondering the halls at such a late hour.