Disclaimer: I am not Darren Shan. I do not own any of the Cirque Du Freak characters.
The Little Things
Darren Shan sat in his throne in the Hall of Princes, doing nothing but staring blankly ahead at the doors to the Hall. Darren smiled to himself. Two years in and he still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of being a Prince. The feeling of sitting in his very own throne at the very top of Vampire Mountain.
Except for the two guards standing at the entrance to the Hall, Darren was the only one there. Mr. Crepsley was resting in his cell and the other three Princes that were present were overseeing new Generals being trained. They were at war after all. In fact, Darren was wondering why no vampires were entering the Hall with news about the war with the Vampeneze. They must have run out of things to complain about, I guess.
Realizing that without any vampires to order or talk to, there was really no point of him being in the Hall. Of course, he couldn't very well leave, considering the fact that at least one Prince had to be in the Hall at all times. Deciding that it would be useless to have one of the other Princes replace him, Darren began to think of some way to amuse himself.
It was then that his left hand, completely unnoticed by Darren, made its way to the panel on the arm of his throne. The moment his hand touched the panel, the doors to the Hall of Princes opened. Startled by the faint whooshing sound that the doors had made, Darren looked up. Furrowing his brow, Darren took his hand off of the panel. Immediately, the doors slid shut. A small grin found its way onto the young Prince's lips. With one swift movement, Darren put his hand back on the panel. The doors slid open. He took his hand off. The doors slid closed. Hand on. Doors open. Hand off. Doors close. On. Open. Off. Closed.
This pattern continued for several minutes and by the time the doors had closed for the fiftieth time, Darren has having an increasingly difficult time holding in his laughter and trying t act like a Prince. Sometime between the doors closing and opening for the twenty-eighth time, the guards had taken notice. They, too, were having a hard time not laughing hysterically. Although, they were laughing even more by looking at one of their Princes acting so childish. Of course, one of them thought, he really is just a kid.
A few minutes later, Darren recovered from his laughing fit and stopped putting his hand on the panel. Just moments after he had wiped the last tear of laughter from his eye, Darren heard a knock on the Hall's doors. Resisting the urge to burst into giggles, Darren put his hand on the panel once more to let in his visitor.
With his cape flapping behind him, Larten Crepsley entered the Hall of Princes to find that his assistant, as well as the guards, was fighting back laughter. Raising an eyebrow, Mr. Crepsley walked up to Darren's throne. In as serious a tone that he could manage, Mr. Crepsley said, "What, my I ask, is so funny?"
Darren, looking at his mentor, decided to keep the shenanigans of the last few minutes to himself. "Oh, nothing."
Sometimes, you just have to enjoy the little things.