“Humm…” Vregory smiled in a daze as he patiently listened to Vichard’s story, nodding in understanding, “Ya I remember that Solstice. Was good.”
“It was NOT!” Vichard huffed through the speakers, “Were you paying attention to anything I just said?!”
Tilting his head as if he didn’t understand, Vregory looked up at the hovering drone, “We had fun and you got good gifts though?”
The floorboards creaked under Vregory’s feet as he slowly walked across them, careful not to disturb any of the many sleeping residents in the house. If he was caught, this plan would fall through, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.
He made his way to the parlour, his eyes gazing up at the grand pine tree that filled a good portion of the room. It was festively decorated with bells and ribbons, which the servants had spent the previous day getting just right. Beneath it spilled mountains of presents, perfectly wrapped and waiting to be torn into. A lazy smile spread across Vregory’s face as he approached them, checking the tags on each before beginning to swap some.
Once he was pleased with his work, he nodded to himself and returned to his room. Well past his bedtime, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted into a peaceful slumber.
“WAKE UP!”
That was, until he found Vichard jumping onto his bed, shaking him awake excitedly, “Ah, is morning…”
“YEAH! They said we could open presents today!” Vichard all but shouted, grabbing Vregory by the hand as he forcefully pulled him out of bed and lead him down the halls. As the two ran into the parlour, the younger’s eyes widened, “Vreg, look!”
“Yeah is a lot…” Vregory smiled, nodding along. The presents were the last thing he was concerned about, as he watched his brother tear off towards them beginning to dig through the pile to find the ones with his name on them. As he began to sort through them, his pile seemed to grow bigger and bigger, dwarfing the amount that Vregory had.
“Look how many I got!” Vichard beamed, nearly gloating as he shook a package, “My plan worked! Do you see, Vreg?”
Sitting down next to him, Vregory nodded in agreement, “You must have been very good and got treats for it. Is good.”
“Hah!” Vichard puffed up proudly as he began to rip the fancy paper off one of the boxes, “It’s because I’m very smart!” The boy paused, seeing the smaller pile next to Vregory and frowned, “Next time I’ll make sure you get more too, okay? That way we can both have a lot!”
“Hummm…” Vregory shook his head, offering a smile, “Is okay… I like watching you open them more. What did you get?” He asked, perfectly content as the two spent the day going through the gifts and playing together.
“See? It worked. You were very smart,” Vregory nodded.
“Tch, no thanks to you!” Vichard huffed, “I remember that yes, and in the end despite your efforts to thwart me I managed to convince Panthala...ssa… to… bring me….” Vichard’s voice trailed off into a mumble before falling silent, and after a moment of reflection muttered, “You gave me your gifts didn’t you?”
Bringing his finger to his chin as if thinking, Vreg smiled lazily, “You deserved good treats.”
“G..GEH,” Vichard huffed, unsure how to cope with this new information, “YOU… YOU IDIOT! I’m… I'm... TCH! Have your gross cookie!” With that, Mich dropped the treat into Vregory’s hands before taking off, zooming out of sight.
Seeming unconcerned by what just took place, Vregory didn’t hesitate as he began to eat the cookie, wandering back home as he munched. After a few stops to rummage some trash cans, he eventually arrived to his dwelling, blinking as he found a box on his steps, “A surprise…”
Approaching it he lifted it, squinting at the note, “Eugene… What’s this say?” He asked, looking up to his rat companion to help. Squeaking in response, the two of them managed to read the message together:
“I don’t need your pity, don’t think you won this time!
I’ll show you who’s better at Solstice!
Here!
Vichard King, true heir and better brother”
Vregory beamed when he saw his brother’s name, and opening the gift he found it filled with expensive sweets. Immediately, Vreg began to share them with his rat friends as he mused happily, “Vichard’s a good brother, I’m glad we spent it together again…”
art by ghost
Tumbleweed
