"Is your shin okay?" Ceion asked later that day as he and Daniel were at Daniel's small house, sitting in the sleeping room he shared with his sister Emily.

"Yes. My leg is fine." Daniel replied, giving it a small rub. "A bit painful, but I will be fine."

"You are sure?" Ceion knew his brother kicked far too hard for his own good.

"Ye." Daniel glanced down at his leg and noted there were only a slight bruise. "No need to worry, Ceion."

"Well, I cannot help my self." His friend replied grabbed a book off the shelf by the bed. "Why don't we sit and read more of the Jules Verne book your sister has?"

"Sounds lovely." Daniel bent over and rolled the leg of his pants back down to cover the growing bruise. "Now, where did we leave off?"

'Um…" Ceion opened the book and glanced at the worlds. "I think… The time machine man was giving Wenna some flowers? Or something? I cannot remember his name for the life of me. Do you know it, Daniel?'

"Ceion, you dunce, that is the wrong book!"

The blonde paused and looked at his friend. "No…"

"Yes! The Time Machine is by H.G. Wells! It's brand new, you know. Just came out last month. You picked it up at the general store and could not find it in your heart to set it down!"

"Oh…" Ceion could hit himself over the head for his blatant lack of intelligence. "You are so correct, Daniel! I am such a dunce!"

"I hate to agree with that, but I will." His friend said with a chuckle, "We were reading Journey to the center of the earth! Axel just found a large human skull! And they also found giant fungus!"

Ceion glanced at the book Daniel was now holding, "Ew…. I hate fungus. That chapter scared me for a week. I was scared I would fall in a hole and tumble into that place."

"No wonder you have been avoiding walking on the grass, then."

"Yes. I have been. There might be holes."

Daniel sighed and opened the book of the story they had been reading together. "Do you want this, or the Hunchback of Notre Dame?"

"Shh!" Ceion hushed his friend. "Your sister is downstairs! She does not need to know we got that book!"

"Oh…" Daniel grinned widely, showing off his not so dainty teeth. "Yes. I forgot…But I have to say, I like all the dirty bits."

"Shh!" Ceion put his hand over his friend mouth. "Don't say that! Do you wish for your parents, or the Lord save us, my parents to confiscate it?"

Daniel shook his head.

"Good." Ceion uncovered his friends mouth and climbed on the bed next to him. "So, let's read Jules and become very, very scared!"

"Yes." Daniel opened the book and began to make his way to where they had left off last week. "So scared our parents will have to keep the candles lit."

"Or the electric candle." Ceion said, hearing a gasp from his friend.

"You have one?"

"Yes! Our Grandmother went on a trip to somewhere that I do not recall at the present moment and brought us one back." Ceion announced proudly. "Our father hates it so it's in our room. I thought you may have seen it when you came over last week."

"Oh, no." Daniel stated, rather disappointed about that one fact. "I was going to, but then I had to head to work, ye know."

"Oh… Yes." Ceion forgot. "And don't you have work later to day?"

"Ye." Daniel grinned. "I do. The mine isn't all that horrible. Besides, it makes my mum proud as I help her pay rent since my dad fell ill. Thankfully the shop gentleman on the corner lets her work for a enough. my father still is yet to be well, sadly. Emily, bless her heart, keeps up the chores like a good sister should. Do not share a word of this, Mum's trying to find a man for her to marry as we speak."

"Yes. I suppose she would be." Ceion said, knowing that Emily were almost seventeen. "An one she fancies?"

"I should not tell you such things!" Daniel laughed, loving how Ceion sometimes had no tact. "And you should care to watch your own mouth as ladies will not like it if you say such things."

"Oh, of course…" Ceion had to laugh at himself. "I am a dunce. Now, let us continue reading this story… which ever one it is…"

"Journey to the Center of the Earth." Daniel said as the two climbed back on the bed where a foot war occurred as the space were small. "And-ow! That was my shin, you just kicked. Again."

"Sorry." Ceion said, moving his foot. "I were trying to get situated so I can read for a long time. The elbows tend to fail me, do they not?"

"Ye, it's never painless. Now, who were I reading?"

"Axel and Hans. I read everyone else." Ceion said and the two began to read out loud. The hours passed as Ceion read and the two rushed to the kitchen for water every chapter as their voices became sore from talking. Soon it was time for Daniel to leave for work and Ceion to head back to his house where he found his parents and Alair all sitting at the large table for supper.

"Did you have a nice time at Daniel's house today?" His mother asked as he sat down next to his brother who seemed to be in his own world.

"Yes." Ceion smiled and put his napkin in his lap, "I did. How was your day, Mother?"

"It were just fine, dear." She said, watching her eldest son pick up his fork as he sat down at the table to join them. "Now, please eat up you two and get off to bed. Your father and I have business to discuss. I worked all day to make this food, I shall not allow it to go to waste."

Ceion nodded and tried his best to eat the food on his plate, but his mind kept wandering to the adventures in the Center of the Earth. It would be so wonderful to be an adventur-

"Ceion!"

He glanced up in surprise to see his little brother glaring at him from across the table.

"I need the salt, now."

"Alair!" Their mother scolded, a frown returning to her face. "We do not demand something. We ask for-"

"I know." Alair was not going to allow these foolish words to get in the way. "I was just wishing to state that I was in desperate need of the salt, of which, my brother was… was sitting across the table with it in his hands and I needed it as I stated before. Now," Alair paused to hold out his hand. "The salt, please?"

"Here you are." Ceion had barely had his hand across the table when the small shaker was ripped out of his hand. "Ah…"

"Alair! How many time do I-"

Mother, dear." Alair let out a long sigh as he set the salt back down on the table. "I don't have time at the moment to speak about manners with you and it shall have to wait as I have quite a few things to do before I retire to bed."

"Well, that seems to me you have no excuse for your manners." His mother replied, giving their father a glance down the table. How were they supposed to deal with Alair like this?

At first, the two come to enjoy the fact their son was highly productive after not be quite so up to snuff as his brother for a while, but now, Alair seemed to be a tireless worker and then come to a sudden halt for few days time.

"Dear…" Her husband sighed from the other end of the table and continued when he received a small nod from his wife, "Alair, why do you not finish eating and head upstairs?"

"Yes, I shall." Alair pushed his chair back and slid out of it. "As I am finished with my supper."

Ceion resisted a sigh as he watched his brother leave the table far before grace or even before the nightly conversation began. However, he did not argue as he knew he would always be better and more well behave than his younger sibling.

It was the way it was and the way it were always going to be.

Author's note: Thank you so much for waiting so long. I have been up to my nose in research lately. I am still gathering facts and such for this story. The next chapter will be drastically different as my writing style as changed so much in this one month. I did not wish to change this chapter too much as it was already written.