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Jann is minding his own business. He is playing by himself in the courtyard with a wooden sword: this definitely constitutes minding his own business. Nothing that follows is his fault.
"Sure."
They play cards until Jann's mother comes to inform him that it is his bedtime. She ruffles Milo's hair on the way out.
They play cards until Jann's mother comes to inform him that it is his bedtime. She ruffles Milo's hair on the way out.
So he will probably be surprised when, late one afternoon, he comes back from riding his horse and there is a small ball of silky black fluff waiting for him in the stable.
"Hi," says Milo's voice from within the fluff. Some fluff wiggles near one end; on close inspection, those are two little ear-tips poking up, and some distance below them there is a small soft nose. "I'm fluffier than you!"
"Probably it does fluff in proportion to deviousness." He picks Milo up so the horse won't step on him, sets the fluff on his shoulder, and installs the horse where it belongs. "How'd you get back in the treasure rooms without getting caught?" Pet pet.
"I just waited until the guard wasn't looking and ran past. It wasn't hard. And it was even easier getting out, I'm so little now." Triumphant ear-wiggle.
"It's fun! I can hop around! But I'm scared in case I break a bone like this, cause I couldn't set it by myself."
His parents have tried to discourage him from doing that, but Nightfire's blessing means that it's very easy to set Milo's bones, and he can almost never be bothered to go and get an adult and make them do it if he still has at least one working hand that can reach the problem area.
His parents have tried to discourage him from doing that, but Nightfire's blessing means that it's very easy to set Milo's bones, and he can almost never be bothered to go and get an adult and make them do it if he still has at least one working hand that can reach the problem area.
Pet pet pet. Jann goes out of the stable but doesn't go indoors lest someone notice the rabbit in his possession and get Milo in trouble for trying to be fair.
Milo doesn't actually know when it will count as being out under the new moon, but clearly that time has not yet come, because he remains teeny and fluffy and a rabbit.
Jann decides to sit down because this makes it less likely that he will drop Milo injuriously whenever this event occurs. Much petting ensues.
Milo remains teeny and fluffy and a rabbit until a little after sunset, at which point he reverts to a human, still perched in Jann's lap. He giggles and hops triumphantly to his feet.
"I did it!"
"I did it!"
seewhathappens
When Milo is not quite ten and Jann is not quite twelve, the Duke of Ferdinandia dies. His fifteen-year-old grandson Reko inherits.
Ainar and Celyta and a vast array of miscellaneous Raxwellian nobles - and Milo, and Jann - all go to Ferdinandia for the funeral. It is huge and impressive and there are solemn speeches and wine and less-solemn speeches after the advent of the wine. The new Duke Reko puts on his half of the crown of Raxwell, and nothing happens, not that anyone was expecting it to; it just falls over the way half a crown will tend to when you put it on someone's head. Later, in private, Reko and Ainar try to fit their respective halves back together. It doesn't work. It has never worked, but there's not much to do other than keep trying.
Reko escapes the ceremonies at the earliest polite opportunity. There aren't many places he can go and completely avoid well-meaning strangers congratulating him on his new title or wanting to talk about his grandfather... but his little Raxwellian not-cousins aren't strangers. He seems to remember someone having let the children into a courtyard earlier. He finds it.
Reko has the distinction of being the only person other than Ainar who has ever beaten Milo at chess. Milo respects him greatly.
When Reko enters the courtyard, Milo runs over and hugs him.
When Reko enters the courtyard, Milo runs over and hugs him.
abeance
Jann pays attention to the possibility that Reko might want to hug him (what with the deceased grandfather), but isn't quite so spontaneously enthusiastic about it.
"Hi," he says, trotting up behind Milo.
"Hi," he says, trotting up behind Milo.
seewhathappens
Reko seems pretty content with his Milo-hugs. He sits on the cobblestones and hugs back.
"Hi. I'm a Duke now," he sighs.
"I saw," says Milo. "It didn't fix the crown."
"There was no reason it would've."
Hugs.
"Hi. I'm a Duke now," he sighs.
"I saw," says Milo. "It didn't fix the crown."
"There was no reason it would've."
Hugs.
abeance
"I don't think I understand how that's meant to work anyway. The crown," says Jann, sitting down too.
seewhathappens
"Well, back when Raxwell was one kingdom, it had one entire crown," says Reko. "Then its king made some bad decisions, and it split into two half-kingdoms with half a crown each. The Dukes of Raxwell and Ferdinandia have been trying to put the crown back together ever since, but nothing's worked yet. Before it came apart, the crown would glow when crowning a new king, and if it didn't glow that person couldn't be king, and that's why we're dukes instead."
"The bad decisions were kind of funny," opines Milo.
"I think they were less funny to the people involved," says Reko.
"The bad decisions were kind of funny," opines Milo.
"I think they were less funny to the people involved," says Reko.