 “He’s not allowed in lessons, Morv,” Tristan explained, crouching down to tickle the dejected vaporeon under the chin, “he’ll be along soon though, he patrols.” Whenever Tristan was supposed to be studying Celidon would always pace up and down the corridor outside to make sure that no one suspicious tried to sneak into the classroom. The prince thought it largely unnecessary; most of his lessons were dull enough to keep most people at bay. There was no overriding the cu-sith’s guardian instincts. His exclusion from classes had one advantage however; he was able to keep an eye on Tristan’s pet dogs. The prince looked up and smiled when Danny introduced himself. He was used to people sounding a little nervous when they first met him and had learned that a smile could go a long way to making them feel at ease.
“Danny...” Tristan said thoughtfully studying the boy more closely... “Why does that ring a bell?” They hadn’t met before; Tristan was very good at remembering names. It was another good way to put people at ease. His father had taught him that.
“Oh shut up,” Tristan shot back at Thoth with a grin as he drew himself up to his full height again, “my ego is just fine.” It wasn’t true, at least not according to Humphrey’s father who had recently had to apologise for call Tristan an ‘arrogant toe rag’ during a meeting which had grown rather heated. He was one of the older lords who resented Tristan’s increasing presence and influence in kingdom matters. The only thing the prince had taken away from the incident however was amusement; it was like water rolling off a duck’s back.
“Ohhhhh!” Tristan said as realisation dawned. He looked back at Danny with a fresh grin, “are you one of Renn’s brothers? We talked about you last time she came to work on sketches for the paintings.” The connection made other things make more sense too. “Are you the doctor?” he looked between Thoth and Danny; no wonder they were friends. For a moment he felt a little jealous.
Tarquin, of course; he should have been able to guess it would have something to do with him. Tristan didn’t need to look at Danny again; he had already noticed the injuries he just hadn’t had a sinister explanation for them. The kid could have just fallen over in the yard or something. In the following moments the younger boy became momentarily insignificant; Tristan’s attention was focused solely on Thoth. He could tell from his friend’s expression that he fully intended to do something about it...for the first time ever. Tristan gave him a look.
“Your tune’s changed,” he commented, trying not to sound too indignant, “do you get it now? This is exactly how I feel whenever he goes after you!” Sighing, the prince glanced in Danny’s direction again, “you know me, I’m always up for getting one over on Tarquin...but have you got any rules about what I’m not allowed to do to him this time too?”
 |
|