HOME | DD

Description
The summer sun bore down on the large lawn of the Kardos manor. The hectic hubbub that had so recently plagued the house now seemed like a distant dream. The only reminder came in the gentle form of Miss Demivi Amello, now Demivi Kardos, who hadn't left since the large ceremony that Mr. Bauldin wouldn't let Joliet attend. The small child frowned at the thought and looked up at where Mr. Bauldin (Father, now, she reminded herself with no small sense of bitterness) and Miss Demivi were speaking with Lord and Lady Carlisle. They had shooed her off earlier, but for once she wasn't the only one being shooed off.

Stormy gray eyes flicked to the diminutive form of the little boy that she had been told to play with and she gave him an appraising glance. Although she was sure to be polite to the adults, her five year old mind couldn't conjure a reason why she shouldn't be critical of the little boy. He was shorter than her by about an inch and had spindly arms and legs. He looked like a strong breeze could pick him up and carry him away. A wicked smile flickered across her young face, and Joliet rested her hands on her as-of-yet nonexistent hips. "We're gonna play tag, 'kay?" she declared. The little boy, Lucian if she remembered right, seemed to deflate at her words and his watery blue eyes flicked back and forth before settling a little to Joliet's left.

"What is this "tag?" It sounds dangerous," he asked quietly. Joliet had to strain to hear him, but when his words register she flashed him an incredulous look. All of the servant's children had known what tag was back when she had been allowed to play with them. They also knew it was a very bad idea to play it with Joliet, but still...

The little girl drew herself up to her full height of three feet and some odd inches and scoffed. "You've never played tag? Where've you been?" she demanded and stuck out one slightly pudgy finger to poke the smaller boy in the chest. Lucian's eyes briefly flicked to look Joliet in the eyes before they again drifted somewhere to her right. Joliet was beginning to wonder what was so interesting back there, and glanced back for a moment only to confirm that there was nothing behind her but the flower garden, which had been looking a bit worse for wear ever since her real daddy had left.

"Reading...?" Lucian offered, the statement coming out more as a question than anything else. Joliet sniffed, obviously displeased with the answer, and grabbed the smaller child by the arm. She swiftly turned and began to drag the boy away from the manor, dutifully ignoring his protests.

"Well, then, I'll just have to teach you. Come on, we need another person to play and I know just the guy, 'kay?" she said and flashed a grin over her shoulder. Lucian opened his mouth as if to protest, than closed it, clearly accepting that he could not win against the strangely forceful little girl. He wondered briefly if this was what his mother had meant when his mother had said that Joliet was "special." She certainly acted different from all the other little girls he had met in the past.

The two children raced across the immaculately kept yard, through bushes and past trees, until Joliet came to an abrupt stop. Lucian crashed into her back and they both stumbled forward, nearly ending up on the ground before Joliet caught herself and by extent, Lucian. The smaller boy frowned but didn't say anything, instead opting to peer around the taller girl to get a look at the location they had come to.

A large building, a bit larger than the average town house, rose out from the ground where it had previously been obscured by trees. It was not as well kept as the Manor and laundry and the like hung in plain sight. Lucian wrinkled his nose in distaste before turning to where Joliet was beaming up at the building like it was home. She glanced back and seemed to deflate at his expression, a genuinely uncertain look settling on her previously sunny face. "W-what?" she asked quietly and finally dropped his hand.

Lucian drew his arms up to cross his thin chest and attempted to puff himself up, only succeeding in looking like an enraged kitten. "Is this the servant's quarters?" he demanded, self-righteous indignation instilled by his parents flaring up. As Joliet opened her mouth to answer, a new voice interrupted.

"Yeah, so? Oh, hi, Jo. Who's the shrimp?"

Both children turned to look at another male child, this one about the same height at Joliet but obviously more accustomed to physical work. He sat precariously on a rickety fence that acted as the barrier for a small garden for growing food. The boy hopped down and swaggered over, his large brown eyes wide with curiosity as he approached. Lucian shrank back with a blush at the same time Joliet began to beam again and waved.

"Hi, Quint! This is Lucian; his parents came to visit the Manor and Mr. Bauldin told me to play with him. He doesn't know what tag is!" she said, pulling away from Lucian to jog up to meet the other child.

The boy, Quint, looked at her with wide eyes before glancing over at Lucian with something akin to pity. Lucian shrank away further, feeling much more vulnerable and embarrassed under the scrutiny of the other boy than he had from Joliet. Suddenly, he found himself with Quint's face inches from his own. A girly shriek escaped him and he drew back sharply, his blush intensifying at the proximity. The two other children burst into laughter and Lucian felt his face flame even more, if it was possible. His little body shook with barely suppressed tears of embarrassment and he turned to stalk back up to the house, determined to make his parents promise never to bring him back here again. However, before he could so much as take a step, two different pairs of hands grabbed each of his arms.

"Nooooooo, Lucian, we're sorry! Don't leave!" Joliet whined, at the same time as Quint said, "Lulu! You can't leave! We need to teach you our games!" Lucian frowned and glared at them both through red-rimmed eyes over his shoulder. He shook them off stiffly and turned around, hunching in on himself as if to form a protective barrier around himself.

"F-fine. But, you cannot make fun of me anymore," he said. After a moment he looked up at them, worry clear on his face as he began to chew his lower lip. "Okay...?"

The two larger children nodded furiously, equally earnest expressions on their innocent faces. "A'course not, Lulu. We'll be nice, promise," Quint assured him while Joliet made noises of approval to his left. Lucian allowed himself a small nod as well and allowed the two children to again take his hands. He glanced at each of them in turn as they began to lead his away from the servants quarters toward a large empty plot of yard. A tiny smile graced his lips and he looked down at the ground, a happy blush on his face.

"So, how does this tag work...?" he asked, and found that he didn't really mind when both of them launched into detailed explanations of the game.