In Which Jadin Knows It's Tuesday

May 22, 1184

"...so, long story short, I now owe Vera the laundress's fee on her school dress and a year's supply of chalk." And given that Searle had been generating his own income for years, Jadin would omit the fact that he, the heir, was still on an allowance from their father. He'd eventually make much more than Searle did, but for now, that wasn't the case, and he didn't want to talk about it. But he did want to talk about Wolf, because even if that kid cost him a lot of not-so-hard-earned money, at least he did it in ways that were fun to recount. "That silly boy is just like his old man, driving every adult in spitting distance out of their minds with his antics. Mind you, we'll need to get him focusing more on his actual studies--his report cards haven't exactly been worth bragging about--but at least he's having fun."

"That's... good, I guess?" Searle grimaced, probably relieved that Rennie and Arkon didn't have to put up with their nuisance cousin while they were trying to learn. Alina did, but Alina focused as well as any five-year-old could. "How are the other kids enjoying school?"

"Lyssa doesn't seem to be doing too badly; I think she likes getting out of the castle during the day. She's struggling a bit with mathematics, but Asalaye doesn't think it's worth worrying too much about it. Just a bit of remedial work in the evenings and she should be caught up in no time."

"And Dalston?"

...shit. Why did he always forget Dalston? "Well, actually. Near the top of his class."

"Even being one of the younger ones in Rona's group? That's impressive."

It was, which made it even more embarrassing that Jadin had neglected to mention him. He supposed he could just tell himself that he was more worried about Lyssa and Wolf? And that Dalston clearly didn't need his help on that front? Then again, he couldn't just say something opposite when he forgot to mention Dalston health-wise...

But hopefully he wouldn't need to be sitting here much longer. After this, he could go home and try to be a better parent to his shy, frail older son, assuming that the younger one didn't throw some distraction his way, which he probably would.

And to that, all he could wonder was why he hadn't done this years ago.

"Anyway, isn't this nice? Brother time. A nice, relaxing afternoon--just Alina Sadiel's two sons."

Searle cocked his head to the side, frowning. "What about Lonriad?"

"Eh. Lonriad bugs me." He said the same thing to Lonriad about Searle when it was just the two of them, and he was sure they said the same about him when he wasn't there. Besides, Lonriad would have just been an added complication today. Bribing Ashe to take Lonriad to the archery range had been a solid preventative measure. "He still makes fun of my mustache."

"Everyone still makes fun of your mustache, you idiot!"

Alarmed, Searle looked over to the door to see just who was speaking. Jadin fought back a smirk. "Sparron? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Struggling not to look at Searle, Sparron rubbed at his head, annoyed. "You told me to meet you here."

"Yes, I did. I told you to meet me here tomorrow."

"No, you told me to meet you here on Tuesday. Today's Tuesday."

"No, today's Monday." It wasn't Monday.

Sparron strode over and looked to Searle--exactly the desired effect. Searle grinned apologetically. "He's right, Jadin. It's Tuesday."

"Really? Well, don't I feel silly." But he smiled as he reached across the table and pointed to the seat next to Searle. "But since you came all this way, I suppose I might as well just have lunch with both of you."

His brother shrugged, but always the smarter of the two, Sparron's eyes narrowed. But apparently all it took was Jadin staring like the moron everyone thought he was, and Sparron sat. "All right..."

"Excellent!" He pushed the plate of bread a few inches across the table; Sparron picked a bit off the crust and nibbled. "When was the last time the three of us did anything together?"

Sparron and Searle shared a look--not an awkward look, not an angry look, just a look. Perfect.

"Um... I don't think the three of us have ever done anything together," answered Searle, running a thumb along the side of the table.

Sparron nodded. So they agreed on more than the fact that it was Tuesday. Also perfect. "Not without a fourth or fifth person around, at least."

"Really?" Jadin mock-sighed. "That's a shame. We should really do things together sometimes, just the three of us. Say, though... what day of the week is it, again?"

Right on time--another shared glance. "It's Tuesday..."

"Tuesday? Shit! I'm supposed to be in Armion having lunch with Lorn!" He thought he caught Sparron's eyes squinting into a thinly-veiled glare. He might get told off for it later, but it was a small price to pay. Enough time had passed now. These two had to figure things out for themselves. "Well, if I leave now, I suppose I won't be too late. You two have fun, all right?"

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