Fic - Just a Love Story | Chapter 3
Monday, March 17th, 2014 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveYes, this is late! I know! :3 Hope you enjoy nonetheless! Tried to clear up some age issues this chapter, muddled through a few of them. Introduced a few new characters. Yay! I'll try to solve some more age issues and surrounding issues next chapter. There might be a slight time skip. But for now, enjoy!
“You must be very precise with your quill strokes, Kurt,” Mhykol said sternly. Kurt nodded, nibbling on his lip in concentration. “If you mess up one stroke, you will have to throw out the whole page. Ink stains paper terribly, and even one stray smear will ruin your hard work.”
“Yes, Mhykol,” Kurt said seriously. His hand was steady as he slowly copied down words on the paper. His words were as neat as ever, print small and flourishing in fanciness. He had just lifted his quill from the paper, and just in time too, as a small figure barreled through the previously quiet library without caution.
“Z’teau! Z’teau! Lookie! Books!” A black haired child hopped up and down elatedly, staring wide-eyed at the tomes surrounding him. He was constantly having to hitch up his pants, a pair Kurt recognized as one of his own, when he was younger. He frowned – was this what Uncle Baj was up to a few nights ago? Packing away his old clothes to give to another family?
He whirled around, careful to not knock over the ink bottle. “Careful!” He called, alarmed, as the young child ran over to inspect a stack of books. Ignoring Mhykol’s sharp call, he hurried over and scooped up the little one, startled at how light he was. The child stiffened, struggling.
“Let him go!” A taller, but extremely thin boy seemingly about his age rounded a bookshelf, quickly followed by whom he recognized to be the esteemed Grand Master of the Hunt. So startled was he at seeing the Grand Master in the library, he barely reacted when the child was snatched out of his arms.
“Zisteau, calm down,” the Grand Master Paul said soothingly. “I’m sure Kurt only had the best of intentions, didn’t you?” Kurt nodded rapidly as Paul smiled at him. Vaguely, Kurt realized that the small child had exchanged hands from the thin boy to Paul.
He had never seen these two around the castle before. As Paul introduced them to Mhykol, Kurt busied himself with shuffling together his papers and tried not to stare. However, he was caught anyways, by the boy called Zisteau. He had put the younger child down by now, (possibly his younger brother?) and was staring back.
Kurt swallowed. “Uh. Hi. I’m Kurt.” He smiled weakly, a gesture which Zisteau returned with slightly more confidence.
“I’m Zisteau,” he said. “Also, I’m seven years old!” Zisteau added, puffing out his chest in pride. Kurt wondered why.
“I’m six,” he replied quietly, fiddling with his quill.
“What’s that?” Zisteau pointed at Kurt’s written pages curiously. “It looks pretty.”
Kurt blushed, taking pride in his work. “I’m copying down pages from old books,” he explained. “Actually, they’re just practice pages. My mentor Mhykol is updating the real book.” Kurt pointed at an open leather bound tome on the table. Mhykol’s straight, neat lettering covered the page in tiny font. He very much admired Mhykol’s handwriting – his own was crooked and still rather messy after hours of practice.
Zisteau frowned. “Books. They’re rare, aren’t they?”
Kurt nodded sadly. “Yes. A lot of people don’t know how to read.”
Zisteau agreed. “I don’t know how to read,” he declared. He paused. “I think my Pa wants me to learn how to read.” He tilted his head, looking at Kurt oddly. “No one’s ever tried to teach me how to read before,” Zisteau whispered in a deathly quiet voice. “Never tried to teach myself either. Never could.”
Kurt gasped, horrified. The thought of not being able to read even the most basic sentence was absolutely appalling to him. “I’m going to teach you,” he said with a fierce determination, reaching for his quill and spreading out a piece of his practice paper. Mhykol wouldn’t mind terribly if he used it for something else. He was only practicing anyways. This was more important.
~*~
Paul and Mhykol smiled fondly at the two boys huddled together in their own little world. Kurt was painstakingly writing down letters on his paper and telling Zisteau what they were, Zisteau repeating the letters back to him carefully.
“They seem to have cottoned together nicely,” Mhykol observed, nodding. “Kurt doesn’t have many friends. This is good for him.”
Paul agreed, letting Vechs clamber around in his arms before settling himself on his shoulder. “Well, Mhykol, I’ve got a bit of a problem.” He gestured to Vechs and Zisteau, the former smiling innocently, if a little guardedly. “I’ve got to organize another forest patrol in a few days, just to make sure herd numbers are still stable after the hunt. I won’t be around to teach my sons how to read, and, well… Kurt seems to get along with Zisteau quite fine indeed.”
Mhykol looked at Vechs shrewdly, wisely not commenting on the fact that Paul didn’t have sons two days ago. “Don’t worry,” he said, smiling at Vechs. “Between me and Kurt, we’ll get the two of them literate in no time, Paul. Leave it to us.”
Paul chuckled. “Thanks, Mhykol. Zisteau!” He called, waving at the young child. Zisteau looked up, blinking at Paul. “We’re going to visit a few other people now. Say goodbye to Kurt – don’t look like that Zisteau, you’ll see him tomorrow.”
Instantly, the beam on Zisteau’s face was back. He patted Kurt’s hand before dashing off to Paul’s side. Kurt stared as they left the library.
Mhykol chuckled at the young boy’s slightly awestruck gaze. He had a feeling Zisteau would be good for Kurt. He needed a friend around his age anyways.
~*~
“Pa?”
“Yes, Zisteau?”
“What’s age?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Mum said I’m seven years old. And that was my age. But what is age?”
“Ah. It’s how long you’ve been alive, son.”
“Oh.”
“Pa old?”
“Ahaha, I suppose I am a bit old, Vechs.”
“How old are you, Pa?”
“I’m thirty one years old, Zisteau. You’ll learn what thirty one is soon.”
“Okay.”
“King old?”
“Ha, yes, King Avidya is old. He’s thirty five.”
“Is the book guy old?”
“Mhykol? No, Zisteau, he’s twenty four. Which mean he’s younger than both me and the King.”
“Okay. What about Mum?”
“Your mother is twenty seven. We married a bit young.”
“Married?”
“It’s when you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, Vechs. Then you marry them.”
“Marry Z’teau?”
“No, Vechs. You’re his brother. Just like I’m the brother of the King. Naturally you’ll be around with them.”
“Okay. Spend time with Z’teau?”
“Yes, you’ll probably spend lots of time with your older brother.”
“Yay!”
~*~
“And, and, and we met a guy called the Butcher, Mum! I don’t remember his name though. He was chopping a lot of meat!”
Kappa chuckled, tucking the blanket in more securely around Zisteau’s shoulders. “His name is Vintage Beef, dear.” While Paul had taken the kids out, BdoubleO had been kind enough to drop by with a small bed, big enough for both Zisteau and Vechs. He had refused any and all pay, only reminding her to tell him when the bed was getting too small.
“He was really nice, Mum!” Zisteau chattered on animatedly, and she was glad of that. He was much more at ease than when Paul had first brought them in. Spending the day with him had done them a lot of good. They had gone for a walk around the castle, meeting some of the workers.
“Did you meet the King, perhaps?” Kappa chuckled as Vechs snuggled into Zisteau’s arms, yawning minutely. He burrowed under the blankets until just the very top of his head could be seen.
“No. Pa said the King was busy. Maybe another day.” Zisteau curled around Vechs protectively, lifting his head to glance around with alert eyes. Apparently deeming all was safe, he settled his head on the soft, down filled pillow, blinking owlishly at Kappa. “G’night Mum,” he said hesitantly, before closing his eyes.
Kappa smiled, smoothing down Zisteau’s rumpled hair before exiting out of the boys’ bedroom. She was glad they had finally found a use for the extra room in the cottage Avidya had provided for them. At least Paul wasn’t using it to store all his useless items anymore. Perhaps she could finally convince her husband to throw some things away.
As she passed through the living room to continue washing some of the dishes in the sink, she caught Paul re-stringing his bow lovingly. She sighed, tutting as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. What was she thinking? She would never be able to convince him to throw anything away. Not even decade old socks.
Chapters:
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
“You must be very precise with your quill strokes, Kurt,” Mhykol said sternly. Kurt nodded, nibbling on his lip in concentration. “If you mess up one stroke, you will have to throw out the whole page. Ink stains paper terribly, and even one stray smear will ruin your hard work.”
“Yes, Mhykol,” Kurt said seriously. His hand was steady as he slowly copied down words on the paper. His words were as neat as ever, print small and flourishing in fanciness. He had just lifted his quill from the paper, and just in time too, as a small figure barreled through the previously quiet library without caution.
“Z’teau! Z’teau! Lookie! Books!” A black haired child hopped up and down elatedly, staring wide-eyed at the tomes surrounding him. He was constantly having to hitch up his pants, a pair Kurt recognized as one of his own, when he was younger. He frowned – was this what Uncle Baj was up to a few nights ago? Packing away his old clothes to give to another family?
He whirled around, careful to not knock over the ink bottle. “Careful!” He called, alarmed, as the young child ran over to inspect a stack of books. Ignoring Mhykol’s sharp call, he hurried over and scooped up the little one, startled at how light he was. The child stiffened, struggling.
“Let him go!” A taller, but extremely thin boy seemingly about his age rounded a bookshelf, quickly followed by whom he recognized to be the esteemed Grand Master of the Hunt. So startled was he at seeing the Grand Master in the library, he barely reacted when the child was snatched out of his arms.
“Zisteau, calm down,” the Grand Master Paul said soothingly. “I’m sure Kurt only had the best of intentions, didn’t you?” Kurt nodded rapidly as Paul smiled at him. Vaguely, Kurt realized that the small child had exchanged hands from the thin boy to Paul.
He had never seen these two around the castle before. As Paul introduced them to Mhykol, Kurt busied himself with shuffling together his papers and tried not to stare. However, he was caught anyways, by the boy called Zisteau. He had put the younger child down by now, (possibly his younger brother?) and was staring back.
Kurt swallowed. “Uh. Hi. I’m Kurt.” He smiled weakly, a gesture which Zisteau returned with slightly more confidence.
“I’m Zisteau,” he said. “Also, I’m seven years old!” Zisteau added, puffing out his chest in pride. Kurt wondered why.
“I’m six,” he replied quietly, fiddling with his quill.
“What’s that?” Zisteau pointed at Kurt’s written pages curiously. “It looks pretty.”
Kurt blushed, taking pride in his work. “I’m copying down pages from old books,” he explained. “Actually, they’re just practice pages. My mentor Mhykol is updating the real book.” Kurt pointed at an open leather bound tome on the table. Mhykol’s straight, neat lettering covered the page in tiny font. He very much admired Mhykol’s handwriting – his own was crooked and still rather messy after hours of practice.
Zisteau frowned. “Books. They’re rare, aren’t they?”
Kurt nodded sadly. “Yes. A lot of people don’t know how to read.”
Zisteau agreed. “I don’t know how to read,” he declared. He paused. “I think my Pa wants me to learn how to read.” He tilted his head, looking at Kurt oddly. “No one’s ever tried to teach me how to read before,” Zisteau whispered in a deathly quiet voice. “Never tried to teach myself either. Never could.”
Kurt gasped, horrified. The thought of not being able to read even the most basic sentence was absolutely appalling to him. “I’m going to teach you,” he said with a fierce determination, reaching for his quill and spreading out a piece of his practice paper. Mhykol wouldn’t mind terribly if he used it for something else. He was only practicing anyways. This was more important.
~*~
Paul and Mhykol smiled fondly at the two boys huddled together in their own little world. Kurt was painstakingly writing down letters on his paper and telling Zisteau what they were, Zisteau repeating the letters back to him carefully.
“They seem to have cottoned together nicely,” Mhykol observed, nodding. “Kurt doesn’t have many friends. This is good for him.”
Paul agreed, letting Vechs clamber around in his arms before settling himself on his shoulder. “Well, Mhykol, I’ve got a bit of a problem.” He gestured to Vechs and Zisteau, the former smiling innocently, if a little guardedly. “I’ve got to organize another forest patrol in a few days, just to make sure herd numbers are still stable after the hunt. I won’t be around to teach my sons how to read, and, well… Kurt seems to get along with Zisteau quite fine indeed.”
Mhykol looked at Vechs shrewdly, wisely not commenting on the fact that Paul didn’t have sons two days ago. “Don’t worry,” he said, smiling at Vechs. “Between me and Kurt, we’ll get the two of them literate in no time, Paul. Leave it to us.”
Paul chuckled. “Thanks, Mhykol. Zisteau!” He called, waving at the young child. Zisteau looked up, blinking at Paul. “We’re going to visit a few other people now. Say goodbye to Kurt – don’t look like that Zisteau, you’ll see him tomorrow.”
Instantly, the beam on Zisteau’s face was back. He patted Kurt’s hand before dashing off to Paul’s side. Kurt stared as they left the library.
Mhykol chuckled at the young boy’s slightly awestruck gaze. He had a feeling Zisteau would be good for Kurt. He needed a friend around his age anyways.
~*~
“Pa?”
“Yes, Zisteau?”
“What’s age?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Mum said I’m seven years old. And that was my age. But what is age?”
“Ah. It’s how long you’ve been alive, son.”
“Oh.”
“Pa old?”
“Ahaha, I suppose I am a bit old, Vechs.”
“How old are you, Pa?”
“I’m thirty one years old, Zisteau. You’ll learn what thirty one is soon.”
“Okay.”
“King old?”
“Ha, yes, King Avidya is old. He’s thirty five.”
“Is the book guy old?”
“Mhykol? No, Zisteau, he’s twenty four. Which mean he’s younger than both me and the King.”
“Okay. What about Mum?”
“Your mother is twenty seven. We married a bit young.”
“Married?”
“It’s when you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, Vechs. Then you marry them.”
“Marry Z’teau?”
“No, Vechs. You’re his brother. Just like I’m the brother of the King. Naturally you’ll be around with them.”
“Okay. Spend time with Z’teau?”
“Yes, you’ll probably spend lots of time with your older brother.”
“Yay!”
~*~
“And, and, and we met a guy called the Butcher, Mum! I don’t remember his name though. He was chopping a lot of meat!”
Kappa chuckled, tucking the blanket in more securely around Zisteau’s shoulders. “His name is Vintage Beef, dear.” While Paul had taken the kids out, BdoubleO had been kind enough to drop by with a small bed, big enough for both Zisteau and Vechs. He had refused any and all pay, only reminding her to tell him when the bed was getting too small.
“He was really nice, Mum!” Zisteau chattered on animatedly, and she was glad of that. He was much more at ease than when Paul had first brought them in. Spending the day with him had done them a lot of good. They had gone for a walk around the castle, meeting some of the workers.
“Did you meet the King, perhaps?” Kappa chuckled as Vechs snuggled into Zisteau’s arms, yawning minutely. He burrowed under the blankets until just the very top of his head could be seen.
“No. Pa said the King was busy. Maybe another day.” Zisteau curled around Vechs protectively, lifting his head to glance around with alert eyes. Apparently deeming all was safe, he settled his head on the soft, down filled pillow, blinking owlishly at Kappa. “G’night Mum,” he said hesitantly, before closing his eyes.
Kappa smiled, smoothing down Zisteau’s rumpled hair before exiting out of the boys’ bedroom. She was glad they had finally found a use for the extra room in the cottage Avidya had provided for them. At least Paul wasn’t using it to store all his useless items anymore. Perhaps she could finally convince her husband to throw some things away.
As she passed through the living room to continue washing some of the dishes in the sink, she caught Paul re-stringing his bow lovingly. She sighed, tutting as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. What was she thinking? She would never be able to convince him to throw anything away. Not even decade old socks.
Chapters:
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
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Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 03:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 03:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 09:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 04:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 10:06 am (UTC)I really like this. It's adorable. And cute. And I wuvs it! Did I mention it was adorable?
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Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 05:04 pm (UTC)*Thump*
That is logical. I fail at being a kid.
:D
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Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 05:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 05:08 pm (UTC)And yeah. :3 Zisteau like Kurt as a friend, first friend he's had since his brother. :D
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Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 10:41 am (UTC)Good to see a new chapter =)
It feels really short compared to the others, but we have two more characters introduced =D Well...sort of Xb We don't really know the status of either Mhykol nor Kurt, but at least we know that Kurt is a young boy taught by Mhykol in some aspects, so that is a start ^^
(And 31/35 is old, old enough to be the oldest people in the castle but 24 is somewhat young? I am worried about the lifespan for people in this world. It is probably not unlike our medieval time period, so that makes sense in every way possible, but it still leaves me worried.)
I still wish for more details, but I am quite enjoying the setup you're painting with this story =D
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Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 05:05 pm (UTC):3 Yeah. Mhykol teaches Kurt stuff. Also Baj is Kurt's Uncle, Kurt does address him as such. So yeah.
People in medieval times married early, had children early, and died early. I think 24 is a fine age.
:D
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Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 05:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 01:05 am (UTC)Another great chapter, Mew!
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Date: Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 05:09 pm (UTC)Kurt is adorable, isn't he? XD
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Date: Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, January 30th, 2017 06:38 am (UTC)-Observing Anon, time travel log 2