Or -
It had been a good day, anyhow.
He drew himself up, and looked down regelly - he hoped - at the rather larger scooter looked up at him, and then started rolling up the ramp towards him.
'Rather larger' then a certain Royal Guard assigned to himself, that is...
"Prince Darien." The large 'city scooter' said, with a properly dutiful bow. Darien nodded back.
"Sir Jade. What brings you here?"
Sir Jade of the Line of Sentinon was colored a rather striking jade-green and blue today, Darien noted sourly. Oh, the colors and patterns did fit him, but -
"My greetings on this good day, and - I am sorry for this unhastely speed, but may I have a word with my brother? It would not take long..."
It had better not, damnit. Darien nodded, curtly, and called for Jedite, who looked at the newcomer and sighed.
"By your leave, my Prince?"
"Go. Do not take overlong."
Great, was he channeling his great-grandfather or something, now? Darien groaned inwardly and turned away, letting the brothers wheel away in some semblence of privacy - well, as much privacy as such a crowded place as Lady Beryl's Pavillion was turning out to be could provide, anyhow...
Jadite groaned inwardedly as his elder brother looked him up and down. Now what?
"...Well, good. I'd been worried that they'd make you wear that stupid front basket even to the Tourney..."
That was hardly likely, and his brother should have known it, Jedite thought.
"You're looking good."
"Well, so are you." Jedite answered listlessly. "What is it? There isn't much time to waste, you know?"
"Well, alright?" Jade sighed, then. "Our Father sends his regards, and tells you he expects you to uphold the family name - "
"Exceedingly unlikely." Jedite groaned, again. It must have been really bad, for his brother not to be gloating about it. "What did he really say?"
" - Nothing you hadn't heard before, and nothing you really need to hear now. Alright - all the aunts and the uncles and the cousins and the servants expect you to uphold the family name, anyway, and they collectively outweigh even Father, I warrant."
Well - he supposed so. Jedite grinned a bit in spite of himself. "But they expect you to do the same thing, too..."
His brother could be - a bit odd, sometimes, but he meant well, he supposed...
"Well, to be sure, to be sure..."
Well, sometimes, anyway.
"Oh, and - you're not willing to drop me a hint about your Tourney plans, I suppose?" Jade grinned.
Jedite sighed. That was his brother, always looking for a angle - "No, nah, nada. - Unless you mean to trade?"
"Hmmmm." His brother made the 'I'm thinking about it' face. "I can't trust you enough without getting your word, and you'll demand mine in return, so - No, I suppose."
" - Well, then."
"Indeed." Jade sighed, then, suddenly serious. "But really, Jedite - What...what hold does he have on you, anyway? I mean...I - or father, or somebody - can still get you assigned to somebody else, you know? Or even someplace a bit far for a while, if you're afraid that he'd...make your life miserable, if you left his service."
Jedite gave him the look. It depressed him greatly that his brother actually seemed dead serious, for a change.
Excuse me, but my Prince is not really a cold-hearted monster, and maybe you shouldn't be believing your own propaganda -
Oh, well, he'd tried implying that before, and it never seemed to get through, for some reason.
"Brother mine. What about worrying about yourself, for a change?"
"...Eh? What..." Jade looked puzzed for a momoment. "Um, I don't know what...your friends...have told you about Prince Diamond, but..."
But what? Jedite sighed. Well, he had gathered that the Heir Apparent wasn't really all that cold a sea-swimmer in private - they said he even laughed aloud sometimes, as hard as that was to visulize - but...
Eh, whatever, whatever...
Prince Darien looked at the shiny vibrant blue sports-car wheeling his way carefully through the mob, and sighed.
The sports car looked back at him, at the foot of the ramp. Darien fancied he could hear him sighing, too.
"Prince Darien." The sports car said, with a tight bow.
"Sir Sapphire." Darien groaned. Why him, anyway? And if he was here and Sir Jade was here...
"What brings you here this good day, Cousin?"
Sapphire was the illigimate offspring of some member of the Royal family or other - Darien couldn't quite remember who at the moment, as what he'd been interested in when he heard that little titbit was whither Sapphire was actually yet another half-brother or not, and the answer to that, thankfully, had been no - who had been being brought up in the boondocks someplace, till the Prince Diamond had called him to Court, and the Royal Academy. He was a reasonably goodlooking car, as a sports coupe with 2+2 seating and a hatchback went, and his present coloring suited him quite well, Darien thought, but -
Well, it wasn't as if he could see why some people said they looked similar at all, anyway. They were both Sporty coupe types, but so were many, many other Cars at Court.
...Right?
He could see Sapphire studying him to, from below lowered eyes. He wondered if the other was thinking the same thing....
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(Posted Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:39)
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