Three weeks have passed since that day. 

After he had been kicked out, Asher was forced to ride home in the freezing cold with no cloak or furs. By the time he arrived he had a terrible cold and was bedridden for four days.

His grandparents worried that the time off would affect his job and offered to send letters back to the castle regarding his condition, but Asher had to explain then and there that he was once again out of work.

Since his grandparents no longer needed help around the bakery, Asher was stuck doing minor chores. He would clean when he could, make deliveries, and wait for the animosity to die down from his old reputation. There were still quite a few religious shop owners he hadn't applied for, but he already knew what their answers would be.

Anyone who was shunned by the church was not welcomed in those stores.

At least he wasn't a complete outcast. The village still tolerated him like any normal citizen, they just wouldn't hire him. Cas made it a point to openly mock Asher whenever he was in sight though, which didn't help make the ex-servant feel any better about his unemployment.

Theo luckily returned safely as well, but in much better condition than Asher. According to her, the carriage dumped her right outside the village and she had to walk the rest of the way to her cottage.

Her parents became extraordinarily protective of her after that and started insisting that she be escorted by a family member whenever she went out. 

Theo insisted on visiting Asher as he recovered from his cold and popped in a few times with some soup. Her mother usually accompanied her and the first time he saw the pair together he thought they were twins.

Asher always accepted the gifts that Theo brought, but then her mother would drag her away, not knowing the full story of why she disappeared that night and not leaving her daughter alone long enough to have a private conversation with the man.

Once he recovered he did try his luck at reapplying for some of his old jobs, but as expected, they all turned him down. It had been weeks yet he was still jobless. 

With nothing better to do, Asher stood by a fence post staring out into the forest and wondering how the beast was faring in his isolation. The castle would provide everything he'd need to survive, but if he couldn't hear the voices of the servants, then he must be awfully lonely.

Serves him right for being such an ass.

"No longer kidnapping women for the Prince are we?" Becky's voice chirped from behind as she spotted the downtrodden man. The two hadn't seen each other since he returned on account of Cas doubling his efforts to win her over and thus attaching himself to her like a leech. It looked like she somehow managed to escape his advances for today.

Asher sighed. "Nope."

"I figured. I heard the last one didn't work out at all."

This had the man sputtering in alarm. "What do you mean you 'heard?!'"

"It was that new girl that lives by the fields. She said you had escorted her to help your friend break a curse on him and that he rejected her help. I suppose she's not afraid to die if she's going around talking about it."

"Theo is telling people about what happened?" Aside from not having a job, most citizens ignored Asher so it's not like he'd ever had a chance to sit down and listen to local gossip. The only good thing about this was that she still didn't know that the beast was actually the Prince. But still...

He should have made her promise not to tell anyone what happened!

"Sort of. She left out a lot of details, but when she mentioned a castle I knew it was you and the Prince." Becky stood beside him and likewise glanced out over the forest. "I've heard a few other strange rumors too, like how no one is able to find the Prince's castle anymore. Everyone who goes in search of it comes back saying they couldn't find the roads. But...You and I went there, didn't we?"

She seemed genuinely concerned, as was Asher because this was another new bit of information.

Why was he the only one able to find the castle? Was this another loophole in the curse? Were people not supposed to be able to find it? Eventually Becky got tired of waiting for an answer and prattled one. "Most of the village is busy preparing for the market this weekend so I finally found some time for myself. I figured while I'm at it, I'd ask for your version of the story. So what exactly happened? Everyone thinks she's insane so she's stopped bringing it up, but I'd like to hear it from the horse's mouth."

Asher sighed. If no one was taking her seriously and she still didn't know it was the Prince, then there was no harm.

"He has to get married to break the curse." 

Becky rolled her eyes. "Of course he does."

"What kind of reaction is that?"

"The kind people have when they hear blasphemy. I mean, who knows if that will actually break the curse? What if he stays like that afterwards? He may be rich, but he's certainly not handsome and no amount of money in the world will convince me or any sane woman to marry a thing like that."

"There's more to people than how they look." Asher tried to argue.

"Like personality?"

The sarcastic remark shut him up as he realized she was right. Getting married to a guy like that, regardless of looks or money, was not something he wished upon anyone. The Prince had made his bed. Now he had to lay in it.

"Even if it breaks the curse, I've seen enough of that man's personality to know I wouldn't last two minutes alone in a room with him. Plus women can't ask for a divorce in this country, so any woman he chose would be stuck. "

"I didn't know he had to get married! Okay? He hadn't told me anything until I brought Theo."

"You can't honestly mean you didn't suspect it? Even I knew right away."

"I mean, I sort of did but I wasn't going to let him force anyone into anything. Why do you think I haven't gone back?"

She gave the man a look and clicked her tongue. Asher nodded. "Right, yeah. Stupid question."

It was common knowledge that he couldn't hold down a job for very long.

"Who are you?" A woman's voice demanded, and up walked Theo from the road, hands on hips and looking absolutely livid as she glared daggers towards Becky.

The two women were a stark comparison to one another. Becky had her raven black hair down and was wearing her usual lavish fur coat with pompoms going down along the front and a grey fur lining. Theo was wearing a thick green wool coat that went down her her knees and had a sash around the waist.

"Excuse me?" Becky tsked. "Everyone knows who I am."

"Well I'm not everyone." Theo took a stance besides Asher and grabbed his arm possessively.

The ex-servant wondered where her usual chaperone was and how she managed to escape the over protective eyes of her parents, then he remembered what Becky said about the villagers focusing on the upcoming market day.

Becky took notice of her possessive actions and grinned mockingly. "Oh dear, you do have dreadful taste, don't you? Just like a real country bumpkin."

"Excuse me?!" She gasped, then turned towards Asher. "Are you going to let her talk to me like that."

Asher, in his confusion, turned towards Becky. "Am I going to let you talk to her like that?"

"No!" The dark haired woman huffed with an air of command. "I'm Becky Thornson. No one tells me what to do!"

"What's going on here?" A new, more irritating voice cut in as Cas joined the odd party. Despite it being winter, this man had his bare arms exposed to the cold as he trod up in nothing more than a fur lined vest and leather pants. 

There was a line of cottages on this end of town with a single road leading down into the woods. He figured that was where everyone had popped in from because it made no sense for these people to crowd around him out of the blue otherwise. 

Asher watched as the arrogant muscle head looped an arm around Becky's waist and glared likewise at the ex-servant. "Are you upsetting my Becky?"

Becky frowned. "I'm no one's property."

"Right babe. I get it. I'll take care of it." He pulled her closer to his side, causing the woman to stumble and lean against his chest. "Cas is here now."

"You better get going Becky. Your master is here to take you home." Theo mocked, and Asher's fight or flight reflex nearly kicked in.

What was she thinking? Becky was one of the wealthiest women in the village, and Cas was one of the meanest men. It was not smart to anger either one of them, even though the man was guilty himself of prodding the two. 

Cas noticed the freckled woman, then patted Becky's back before releasing her and stepping closer. "And who do we have here?"

Both Asher and Theo immediately became uncomfortable, so the ex-servant took action to pull her back and shield her from the man. "Let's go." Asher said.

An iron grip on his shoulder had the servant stopping in his tracks as he failed to make an exit.

"I didn't say you could leave." Cas hissed. "Is this your new hobby? To try and shoo away every woman I talk to?"

"In case you haven't noticed, women don't entirely enjoy your company." Asher shot back.

Cas burst out laughing as he faced Becky and pointed towards Asher. "Can you believe this guy?" Then he went serious and glared at the man. "At least I have a job. What about you? Still burdening your grandparents and sleeping in their closet?"

Asher's face flushed red, but the man persisted. "Even the church wants nothing to do with you. You know what that mean's right? Even if you managed to find a woman, you'll never be allowed to marry. You'll be alone forever."

"Not everyone needs to get married."

"Oh like that's the only thing wrong with you."

Asher froze. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Cas smirked triumphantly as he finally got under the smaller man's skin. "Just that you should be grateful your parents are dead. Better that they died before seeing what a failure you turned out to be."

The ex-servant made a move to punch Cas, only to have Theo grab his arm and start tugging him away. "He's not worth it." She reasoned, but Asher still struggled as the man leered after him.

Eventually he shrugged her off and stormed away in a fit.

This was why he hated socializing. Everyone loved mocking him and pointing out his flaws. They would tell him he was too weak or too sympathetic to make a good worker. If he wasn't too clumsy, he was too loud or thought too much. Everything he did was wrong.

Maybe Cas was right?

Asher's parents had died when the plague hit a few years back and before that, he had only ever helped his father at the tannery. Even when he was little he'd sneak off to play hooky, but his father never scolded him like everyone else did. As a matter of fact, he'd encourage Asher to be more adventurous and gather new skills so he wouldn't be locked down to one job.

What if he saw Asher now? 

Bursting through the bakery doors, he made a b-line for the stairs and ignored the looks from their assistant as he locked himself in his room to fume.

He probably would be alone forever. He'd never had any romantic feelings towards women and Cas always made fun of him for that. Perhaps he was feeling threatened now that it looked like Asher was also seeking a wife? It wasn't quite accurate since it was for a 'job', but he had definitely poked a bear when he chose to try and steal Becky away from him.

His grandparents wouldn't be around for much longer. They were getting along in their old age, and soon he'd be alone. No parents or siblings to turn to, nor a wife at this rate. He had no close friends and all his other relatives were spread out. He really didn't have anyone else to rely on.

The thought of being alone had a sudden weight fill his chest. It was as though a hole had opened up, and he didn't like it.

The Prince once asked how he'd like being trapped alone in a house for the rest of his life. The truth was, Asher knew that may very well happen one day, though minus the house bit since he would probably have to sell the bakery to make ends meet. He lacked the proper skills to run the bakery on his own unfortunately. 

Would he become a beggar, starving and dying on the streets, relying on the kindness of others?

That would deal quite a blow to his pride.

If he were a noble, he'd probably prefer death...

Asher's head shot up as a thought occurred to him.

The beast was raised as a noble who never had to humble himself to anyone before. What's more, he'd been alone in that castle for three weeks with no one to talk to and no hope of ever breaking the curse.

Maybe he'd learned his lesson by now?

Asher scratched his head in debate. Should he stay or should he go back and check on him?

He may have been fired, but was it really alright not to make sure the beast wasn't going insane from isolation? 

With a huff, he made up his mind and began packing. It wasn't like he was doing anyone any good by sticking around here. 

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