Luke hadn't really expected anyone to remember his birthday.
Here in Oxford, with his family back on the island, who would remember? Certainly none of his fellow classmates- they snickered and jeered at him every opportunity, and the only thing that stopped Luke from becoming violent was the knowledge that all of them, deep down, were afraid of him.
He could see it on their eyes.
So he was surprised by the small, paper-wrapped package that had arrived with the mail. Luke didn't usually bother checking the mail sack, because he never expected anyone to write to him. In the end, a prefect had delivered the parcel to him. He had left extremely quickly.
Luke sat down on his bed and undid the twine. Inside the package was a small, folded piece of paper, and an elegant, silver-plated timepiece with the lid down. He picked up the note and opened it.
Dear Luke,
Happy birthday!
I know Father gave you an old brass watch when you left for school, but I really thought that you needed a better one. Katherine assembled it, and I painted the watch face. Father said I did a very good job. Thomas said it was ugly and useless, just like you, but then Mother glared at him and he quailed. I don't really care what Thomas says anyway.
I am sure that one day, you will be a great man, and every great man needs a crest. I know you don't like it when we tease you about being 'the last snake in Ireland', but the idea seemed to fit so well into the crest. I hope you think of me when you wear the watch, and I venture to guess no one in all of Oxford will have a nicer timepiece.
I miss you.
Love,
Jane
Luke smiled to himself as he flipped open the lid of the watch and looked at the face. Jane had painted a background of red, with a double-headed serpent twining intricately around a long, sharp sword.
It was perfect.
He was certain that, as Jane had speculated, he would be a great man someday. And his little sister was right- every great man needed a crest.
Luke slipped the timepiece into his pocket, and headed off to class.