Aspen didn't make it as far as the door unlike the princes. He had walked inside, smirking. Inside there was a beautiful young woman with caramel brown hair. Her back was turned as she was counting register money with one hand and the other holding a coffee. She was whispering sharp curses to herself as she worked.

"afternoon, Cassandra," He leaned across the counter, his gaze reflecting an emotion of mischief.

"Oh if I was mistaken, that voice sounds like infamous Aspen Rhodes," The woman turned around and grinned. She had a rather strong country accent. She moved from being the counter and the two hugged,"Oh my god, boy. How have you been?"

The two were lifelong friends. They both grew up being the best of friends from their hometown. Cassandra was the first friend he ever had and for a while, they were roommates. Well until they both couldn't afford the rent of the large apartment and decided to go their separate ways. Visiting this particular antique shop was their first stop for a reason.

"My goodness, you have gotten thin these days," Cassandra pulled away from the hug, her hands resting on his sides,"I'm gonna have to pay my granny to come down here and fatten you up."

Aspen heard a throat clear and turned to look He hadn't heard them approach since he was talking to Cassandra. It had been awhile since he had seen her last. Even longer since he had a job that was after more vintage appeal.

Both princes looked disgusted, especially Prince Robbie. His own expression matched one of confusion to why they were looking at him like that. He heard the prince's question and approached them to take a look at what Prince Robert had found. He thought it would be a good fit, speaking that he planned on finding a little black table to sit it on.

"Does that statue match what you were going for?"

"But I thought you guys-"

Prince Robert's broken off question was almost unable to be heard since he asked it the same time Prince Avery did. He took the cat from the younger brother to examine it more, giving a nod.

"That looks great," He told the younger one. He was still confused to what he was going to ask before he held out the cat. He was even more confused by the disgusted expression of horror. He couldn't figure out why the princes would look that way.

"Cassandra, do you have any rustic gold mirrors?" He turned to find his friend staring at all three of them with her mouth open and eyes full of shock. She seemed to snap out of it when he spoke, moving out from behind the counter to give a bow toward the royal members.

"Y-Your highnesses. What a pleasant surprise," She spoke before gesturing for them to follow her. He fell into step beside her and all of a sudden he felt a pinch to his arm.

"Ow!" He whispered, flinching away from her,"What did you do that for?"

"How dare you not tell me about your guests! I dropped everything to follow you to fulfill your dreams in this god for saken town. The least you could have done was mention you were here with royalty before I made a fool of myself in front of them," She hissed toward him.

"I'm sorry but this job was just as surprising to me as it is to you," He whispered back as she lead them toward the mirror spot,"You know how much this means to me, having a once in a lifetime opportunity like this."

"I suppose so. At least the older one is cute. Maybe you can impress him and have little gay babies with him one day-however that works for you," Cassandra whispered back. A heavy blush appeared on his face as they arrived to the mirror section.

When Aspen and Cassandra arrived, the princes were already there. They were laughing over some sort of mirror. The sound of their laughter even sounded out of place and elegant somehow.

Once the blush from his cheeks faded a little, He moved to get a good look at what they were laughing at. It was a mirror that screamed country folk and resembled more the place he ran away from to start a business here. Giving a chuckle, he took the mirror from Prince Robert and set it off to the side.

"I don't think that mirror matches the elegance of the castle, or the two of you," He chuckled again and shook his head,"Although I would love to see you try to master an aesthetic such as that one. After all, you did do well with trying to dress more like me and less than royalty today."

He did look at Prince Avery when he spoke about their appearance. However, Prince Avery was speaking to Cassandra instead. He made a comment about her store.

"Why thank you. When I first came to a town like this one, I didn't fit in and I was incredibly homesick. I figured starting up an antique shop would be the perfect way to bring a touch of home into my life," She gave a nod of gratitude before glancing at the mirror Aspen had put away,"Yes, even that god-awful mirror still resembles home."

Aspen turned his back, looking through the mirrors to try to see if he could find a better mirror for the castle walls. He figured a mirror would be a perfect way to make the hall more welcoming and modern-while still keeping the vintage style that the castle was known for.

"Hmm, Prince Avery would you like to give me an extra hand with these mirrors. You know your wing better than anyone and I would love to have your opinion on choosing the right one," Aspin called, finding multiple gold mirrors that might look good in the wing.

While Aspen was looking for mirrors, Cassandra turned to the younger prince. She gave him a friendly smile,"Would you like to see something really special and secret? Some of the items in this store, they glow if you shine a special kind of light on them. I would be honored to show you some of these items."

Aspen wondered exactly what Cassandra was up to. Something told him it had something to do with the gay baby comment earlier. He was proven right when he looked up to watch the two of them leave and she gave him a wink. Of course the crazy straight woman would try to find a way to leave him and the prince alone together. The woman had been playing match-maker for him since his school days.

Aspen turned his gaze away from them and moved each mirror that he was considering right next to each other. One had a border of golden roses which he personally thought might appear too feminine for the south wing. The next one was a simple fat gold border, the next had golden swirls, and the last one had a straight border that would curl upwards into a spiral at the top and bottom corners.

He stepped to the side to look at Prince Avery but accidentally stepped into the prince's side by mistake. He didn't realize that the prince was standing so close to him. Whispering his apologies and feeling awkward, he moved so he wasn't touching the prince's side. However, they were still standing shoulder to shoulder and their shoulders could easily touch if one of them moved...wait what was he thinking? It was no doubt that the prince was attractive but he also knew better than anyone that he better not crush on this one because there was no way he would ever feel the same way.

"God, I look awful."

Aspen frowned at that comment, his gaze resting on the reflection of the prince and him standing together on the spiral mirror. The reflection of the prince's was everything but awful.

"Nonsense!" He told the prince, with a shake of his head. He lowered his voice a little so the guards couldn't hear and added,"What happened to that cocky prince that tried to flirt with me on day one? The one that knew he had good looks and wasn't afraid to use them to his advantage?"

"He's off trying to sort out why he's such a prick, and seeing if he can work out my problems."

Aspen was left speechless at the prince's statement. It wasn't one that he suspected to hear. Not by the way the prince had been so bold to flirt with him. Not the way the prince walked. He always had such of a purpose and confidence to his stance. Now Aspen was seeing how that purpose and confidence just faded when the prince was around a mirror.

Worse of all, he didn't know what to do or say, seeing this side of the prince. He had just assumed that Prince Avery knew his own self-worth-especially with the way he presented himself. The man might have been a horrible actor when it came to flirting but maybe the biggest role he was playing was appearing important for the whole town.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard Orince Avery speak again about which mirror he liked. When he looked, he see. the prince slide his fingers around the frame. He approached him and gave a light smile.

"I think that one is going to look great in the castle. I like it too," He stated, hesitating for a moment before reaching one of his hands out and placing it on the other man's shoulder.

"I know I haven't been the most welcoming toward you but if you would ever like to talk...I tend to be a great listener," He squeezed his shoulder before grabbing the mirror,"Truth be told, I spend every moment of every day stressing about this job and making sure my behavior reflects formality and etiquette. You see, when you barely have anything, messing up a job like this ruins more than just your reputation."