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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWGM6tDV1V
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWMOlWpu9G
“But Ceeeendra,” he said, pouting, “I was going to pay for it.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGvL0zCykU
A smile tugged at her lips. “Oh, really? And how were you going to do that?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TP0cHLok4
“Tom gave me some money,” he said, smiling mischievously at his older brother, “I was going to use that.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKKONKlNZj
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStjcUX7SVf
“Where did you find this?” she gasped.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBA84IvrksK
“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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPOaRGj5IB
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5BEJ0dnhJ
“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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmt2HD4dFZ
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhlUapCnq2
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURy14mcLtF
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluVkpunueO
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOk3Eq6ZOMR
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5yzgejLCD
“Jamie!” Tom whispered fiercely, elbowing him in the ribs. “You weren’t supposed to tell him!”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomRCNdaMgT
“What?” protested James, “That’s what Cendra told us to say, wasn’t it?” he looked up to Cendra for affirmation.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOo2QfZVw6z
“I said to tell the truth.” She reminded Tom disapprovingly.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JANCdBQpN
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwt92xjkJC
“Thomas.” Cendra bit out, “Give. Him. The wallet.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mOWNjKKpz
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIgWTVX190
“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!”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPluWZR19LX
She turned quickly to leave, eager to forget about the whole thing.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXujz4A6aV
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7E1fVziSF
“Can I help you, m’lord?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. We returned the wallet; what can he want now, she thought irritably.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6AK7rikt3
“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."493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbbeXEMvxz
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!493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsmSOLCmP8
"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’.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7lmZNybTv
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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveDp4eCtxZ
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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10zeaxs1H8
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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSQYe9Ltbi
Only to walk right into someone’s chest.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzvxEuh68p
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!493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBGu4Gv0MG
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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjETynypnWT
Cendra had already yelled enough for one day, so she suppressed her annoyance at the man before her.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvdaoJSv3t
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOkDug8TKs
“I’m Sir Drake, by the way,” he said, shaking it.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthgRXEOuNH
“Err -- pleased to meet you,” she replied, but did not give her own name, though it would have been the polite thing to do.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaggwHDxnR1
“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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFc6MHT6HTl
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgiu1m519f
“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. 493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQp8uJInFU
“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.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV33ukOLzHs
For what felt like the billionth time to Cendra, she was stopped.493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7WJ7LgLCU
“Well, little Spitfire,” Drake said, “I believe my friend has something he’d like to say to you. Don’t you, Glass?”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBNns0pKMx
“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!493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgGl6RvTf8
“No, I’m asking you to marry her.” Drake said with a sarcastic smile. “Of course I want you to apologize.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYydYOQxHW
“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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4AS40NoZP
“Good boy,” said Drake approvingly, “Now you can marry her.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpiG3lZijm
“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.”493Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡea8wpx606h
She marched away from the two men and returned to her tedious, but infinitely preferable, task of shopping.
