Tributes

Chapter Thirteen

A flash of red appeared in front of his eyes. He caught it with one hand, the thing close to having hit his face. Blinking, Tyreol lowed his hand and looked at the object before looking at who had thrown it had him. "Abel?" Tyreol rumbled disapprovingly, slightly amused by the fact Abel's cheeks were turning as red as the ball he has accidentally thrown at Tyreol.

"Sorry, Master," Abel said politely, smiling in a strange way. Tyreol guessed the boy was trying to copy Silas's cheeky grin which got him out of trouble as much as it got him into trouble. Sadly it didn't quite fit on Abel's face as easy. "I didn't mean too," he offered.

"He's a crap thrower," Silas complained, crossing his arms unhappily and glaring at his brother.

"Language," Julia yelled from the sofa not missing a beat. She was sowing a button back on to Silas's jacket. A servant would have done it happily, but she seemed happy doing the odd bits and bobs. If it made her happy and kept her from growing bored, Tyreol was happy to let her do as she wished. Julia was already playing a different role in his harem to the normal virgin 19-year-old he received as the surrogate mother to the three boys. Letting her do a bit of housework was the least of his concerns. 

 Silas pulled a face, not liking being scolded. "Sorry Julia," he intoned politely enough, though there was a touch of reluctance. Julia hummed, looking at him seriously with a look that had even Tyreol straightening a touch. Silas looked at Tyreol for help but Tyreol only smirked.

"Sorry lad, Julia is right. I can't have you cursing in court. Looks bad," Tyreol said amused. "Not unless you're a gladiator, and you are not," he added, ruffling Silas's hair. Silas complained but moved over and hugged Tyreol's leg. Tyreol smiled softly at the gesture, his chest warm.  He picked Silas up and walked further into the room. A human-looking man following behind him. Silas looked at him curiously but held onto Tyreol until Tyreol placed him down next to Abel.  "You two really shouldn't play that inside," he warned, scuffing Abel lightly. Abel flushed again and nodded. Tyreol kissed his hair lightly. 

"Can we go outside?" Silas asked brashly. It had been barely a week since the dragon incident and already the fear was gone, replaced with the frustration of being stuck in the walls again.

"No," Tyreol said firmly, trying not to smile as both Silas and Abel made noises of annoyance, pouting. He scuffed them both, and held them close. "Soon boys. Just hold on a little longer," he promised. He would need to ask Heilan to come up with some way to let them out in the gardens. Even if it was only for an afternoon. The boys needed to be able run about and play but it was taking longer than expected to get the castle back up to standard. He had really let standards fall without innocent humans running about the place. "Where is Paul?" he asked, noting the white-haired boy was not in the mix.

"I'm here," Paul called, appearing from his room with his hair tied up in a bun on his head. "Just hiding from stray balls," he smiled brightly. Abel blushed deeply. 

Laughing, Tyreol let the boys fall back down to their feet before turning and gesturing to the man who had followed him in. "Boys, this is Kayden. He will be teaching you your letters and number. You will be good and behave for him or I will deal with you. Is that understood?" Tyreol said sternly but there was a smile on his face. 

"Yes, Sir," Paul and Silas nodded. Paul had a wary look in his eyes while Silas just looked happy.  Abel nodded as well but was silent. His hands held on to Tyreol's coat. Tyreol smirked, hoisting the boy up much like he had done to Silas and rocked him slightly. Abel murmured embarrassed at the treatment before hiding his face in Tyreol's shoulder, just like a young child. Silas was a curious one but Abel was timider. He didn't like meeting strangers.