It was the day after the night that Mrs. Flaxfield had come home late. She now lay in bed, sick and miserable. Cendra had cleaned up her two brothers as best she could, and they now were on an outing to the market to get the necessities for the days ahead.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYQXeQnk2D
“James! Put the orange back now!” Cendra shouted wearily at her five year old brother. She apologized to the man who had been selling them, and scolded her brother thoroughly. “You should know better than to steal.” She said, scowling.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLScSPDJT6
“But Ceeeendra,” he said, pouting, “I was going to pay for it.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtIwFRIzJM
A smile tugged at her lips. “Oh, really? And how were you going to do that?”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8SJ3Yrv4S
“Tom gave me some money,” he said, smiling mischievously at his older brother, “I was going to use that.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE95ZafsMxS
“Can you show it to me?” Cendra asked. James looked from side to side as though to make sure no one was watching, and pulled a wallet out of his pocket. Not a moment later, Cendra had snatched the wallet and Tom was howling as she held his ear.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QYzDlhhlA
“Where did you find this?” she gasped.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufn0NVSbBh
“I -- I, well, s-someone lost it!” Tom said, pulling out of her grasp and crossing his arms over his chest. He stared at the ground and repeated, “Someone lost it. I found it.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0Mr9lKuTC
“In a man’s pocket.” James supplied, beaming. Tom glared at his younger brother, who was oblivious to what he had said, as Cendra grabbed Tom once again.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3TyGCVTZJ
“You, young man,” she said firmly, “are going to show me whose pocket you took it from. You will apologize to him sincerely for stealing his wallet. And you will be grounded from dessert for the rest of your life if you do not.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cbl0k48kC
Surprisingly, it was easy to convince the boys to point out the unfortunate victim of their theft. Normally their stubbornness would have made the process slower. But perhaps it was the threat of no dessert that made Tom instantly point to a figure across the market place. Angry and embarrassed, Cendra marched the boys to the stall where the man currently stood. Apparently he was making a purchase, as he reached into his pocket, presumably to pull out his wallet. His hand stopped the instant he realized his wallet was gone. Rather than look confused or upset, he instantly began to scan the marketplace, scowling. It was not hard for him to miss the sight Cendra and her brothers made as she dragged them by their ears towards him, her face flushed with annoyance and embarrassment.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBQ8GTosPH
Cendra looked up at the scowling man before her. He was tall -- taller than her. This made her even more annoyed, as she had worked hard to attain her five foot eleven inches, and still was forced to look up to most men. His curly brown hair framed his face, and his grey eyes pierced right through her, or at least it seemed to her that they did. In an angry sort of way, he was handsome, but of course most men were, and Cendra cared not a bit at the moment. She glanced down at her brothers and shoved them forward.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXmYuIZqvW
Tom and James stared sheepishly up at the man, two identical images of shame. If not for their difference in height, one could have mistaken them for twins. They both had round faces, blonde hair, and the same big, adorable eyes. Cendra, with her dark hair and eyes, looked nothing like them. As she glared at them, waiting for them to explain themselves to the man, she looked more like a disapproving mother than a sister of theirs.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRqoJaMvd8
Tom was the first to move, smiling innocently and holding the wallet out. “I found your wallet, your highness,” he said, making a ridiculously deep bow.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJFNk4DwzU
“Yeah,” said James, trying to imitate his brother, and outdo him in the bow he made, “We’re sorry for stealing your money, your eminence.” He stumbled over the last word, making it sound more like “em-in-em-in-mence” than anything else.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuafC4mHYjb
“Jamie!” Tom whispered fiercely, elbowing him in the ribs. “You weren’t supposed to tell him!”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky2MJwjoXk
“What?” protested James, “That’s what Cendra told us to say, wasn’t it?” he looked up to Cendra for affirmation.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0X89D1Apn
“I said to tell the truth.” She reminded Tom disapprovingly.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK8YMlTHyW
“Oh,” said Tom, turning back to the unimpressed man in front of them. “If you must know the truth, oh royal kingy-man, my brother stole your wallet, and I’ve come to return it.” Ignoring the protests made by James against the lie, he continued, “I’m happy to do a good deed, but of course, I wouldn’t mind being rewarded for my goodness.” He looked up with very convincing sincerity, though he still fiddled with the wallet, which was still in his hands.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYhJTziMIx
“Thomas.” Cendra bit out, “Give. Him. The wallet.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPVcFbvKCb
Tom held it up, and the man received it wordlessly, still staring coldly at the trio. The stall owner, as well as a few other people nearby, were watching them as well. The silence was extremely awkward for Cendra, and she rushed to get the whole thing over with.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLbabqIE0N
“Er -- we’re deeply sorry for troubling you, m’lord,” she said, bowing her head, “and pray you accept our apologies.” She waited hopefully for the words of forgiveness, but he remained silent, so she quickly added, “We had better, um, leave and stop bothering you. Have a nice day!”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCTGPIePlk
She turned quickly to leave, eager to forget about the whole thing.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsrslKQqWN
“Wait,” he said, reaching out his hand as though to stop them. Cendra spun back around, forcing an emotionless, or at least what she hoped to be emotionless, mask upon her face.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjaYKUjYgm
“Can I help you, m’lord?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. We returned the wallet; what can he want now, she thought irritably.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAW0Kv95ny
“As a matter of fact, yes, you can,” he snapped, crossing his arms. “You can teach your sons not to act like buffoons around a Lord, or anyone of high rank, for that matter."534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3h6ABYKq7w
Cendra's eyes widened at his rudeness. Why, the abominable, odious-- Wait! Sons? Did he just call them my sons? The nerve of this bastard!534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKJvaYx5Ln
"You can teach them basic courtesy," he continued, "such as when or not to steal from someone else. Perhaps give them a lecture on the results of a lack of morality. And you can explain to them the order of rank in this country, and the difference between ‘your highness’, ‘my lord’, and ‘kingy-man’.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYNCVh7wO3
That's it!
“Well, my lord,” spat out Cendra, losing her temper under the pressure of being scolded like a child, “I fully intend to teach my sons proper behaviour, if or when I have any. But as any man not too caught up in his own bloated opinion of himself could plainly see, I am not nearly old enough to be the mother of these two boys. What’s more, I can’t find that I am too angry with their lack of courtesy, when a nobleman such as yourself cannot control himself well enough to use it. And I don’t care much for the use of the titles of King, Duke, or Lord, when “buffoon” works just as well.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRj3wfe84CC
She paused for just a moment to catch her breath, as she had spoken too quickly and angrily to do so. “And so, my lord, if attempting to shame us is all you wished to do, we will take our leave, and return to more important business.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Nmd81A7r0
She refrained from poking him in the chest, though she was almost angry enough to do it. But though she had temporarily lost her head, she did not want to risk being around the haughty man any longer, and neither did she think it would the wisest decision to get any closer to him. So instead, she turned once more and started to storm away.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡalzXPbnqqK
Only to walk right into someone’s chest.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudgcHv8Igu
Blast. Murmuring an apology, face flushed once more, she looked up what seemed miles of chest and neck to make eye contact with the man she had walked into. Of course he had to be tall, Cendra thought, eyes widening, He’s at least six feet five!534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEQ0d56Cef
The man regarded her with thoughtful green eyes, his lips curled upward in amusement. “It was entirely my fault, ma’am,” he said, bowing slightly, “If I had been paying attention to my surroundings, no doubt I would have seen you storming through the crowd.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWlJQLoXck
Cendra had already yelled enough for one day, so she suppressed her annoyance at the man before her.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6z46EFgOr
“You are too kind,” she said curtly, and as he had made no movement to step aside, she went to walk around him. She was surprised, however, when he boldly took her hand.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaiarEBG4F
“I’m Sir Drake, by the way,” he said, shaking it.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0XRhTNoeV
“Err -- pleased to meet you,” she replied, but did not give her own name, though it would have been the polite thing to do.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvme6qffmDk
“If you don’t mind, ma’am,” Sir Drake said, tucking her hand in his arm, “I couldn’t help but overhear the argument you had with my friend. I’d hate to see a lovely lady such as yourself leave on such ill terms with him. He really is a good man, when you overlook a few traits of his.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT80f8C9eIw
“Oh, I’m sure.” she said stiffly, but when he pulled her forward she went along, not wanting to cause any greater a scene than she already might have. The boys followed along behind, for which she was grateful; she wouldn’t have to search for them after -- after -- well, whatever it was the man leading her was going to do.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCe757L4hLS
“Glass,” Drake addressed the other man, “I’d like you to meet a pretty acquaintance of mine. Glass, this is -- well, ma’am, I don’t quite recall you giving me your name. Would you mind repeating it for my friend’s benefit?”
Cendra glared at Glass; he glared back just as viciously. 534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezxeTIyqfd
“Drake, and… Glass,” she said, raising an eyebrow at the names, “it is an honor to meet you,” she said with obviously fake sincerity, while giving a mocking curtsey, which was rendered somewhat difficult by the fact that Drake still had her hand. She frowned at him and tugged it out of his grasp. “You can call me Spitfire. Have a nice day.” She smiled sweetly and moved to leave.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbJbTSbcS4
For what felt like the billionth time to Cendra, she was stopped.534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JCnJ7fvLf
“Well, little Spitfire,” Drake said, “I believe my friend has something he’d like to say to you. Don’t you, Glass?”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9r8jptiF0F
“You aren’t expecting me to apologize to her!” Glass exclaimed, much offended. Cendra stood shocked. Did Drake just call her “little”? Oh, that odious man!534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO7ISAyzSz
“No, I’m asking you to marry her.” Drake said with a sarcastic smile. “Of course I want you to apologize.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ctYVlya5Q
“Fine.” the other bit out, then turned to Cendra. “I am deeply sorry, my dear Spitfire, for being righteously angry at those who stole my property and treated me with disrespect. I should have let the thieving brats get away with it; I’m sure it would have taught them a lesson in morals and chivalry.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qkFVEESqt
“Good boy,” said Drake approvingly, “Now you can marry her.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNacQ1upQ8
“Not that I don’t appreciate the offer,” Cendra said, not appreciating his humor, “but I have enough problems in my life already without worrying about living up to expectations of a buff- that is, of a noble gentleman. I really must leave now. Goodbye.”534Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKAv6OZXub
She marched away from the two men and returned to her tedious, but infinitely preferable, task of shopping.
