Chapter 10

Mokuba stood in the doorway of the room which lay between his and his brothers and sighed. After the events which had occurred a month ago Tristan had packed his belongings and gone to stay with his parents, but in the four weeks which had followed Tristan had spent more nights here than he had at home in order to, as he put it, escape his parents.

Okay, so maybe his parents had every right to worry about the son who'd spent the previous three months in a psychiatric hospital, but the way they constantly shifted between walking on eggshells and fussing every five minutes would have been enough to drive anyone crazy. And having seen it firsthand Mokuba didn't blame Tristan for needing an escape. But you would have to have been a complete idiot to think escaping his parents was the only reason Tristan was spending so much time here.

Some instinct made Mokuba pick his way across the room, open the balcony door and step outside. Down in the garden below him were Tristan and his brother. He was too far away to hear any legible part of their conversation, but watching them from this distance just reinforced all the feelings he had about their friendship. It was odd and strange and hard to believe, but, even though neither of them would ever admit it, it was clear it made both of them happy.

Mokuba sighed again and rested his arms against the railing in front of him. If the worst part about their friendship was how odd it was, then the best had to be how much more Kaiba was around because of it. If Mokuba had it his way, or at least had the guts to bring it up with them, he would just have Tristan move in. Okay it might raise a few eyebrows. Okay it might force him to acknowledge the uncertain thoughts at the back of his head which questioned just how close the two of them were. But Tristan would be happier without his parents breathing down his neck and Mokuba would be happier because Kaiba would be around more. As for his brother... well if the last few weeks were anything to go by he'd just be happier, wouldn't he?

Crovell gave a disgruntle squeak and seemed to almost glare at Duke. Duke sighed, shook his head and shot Crovell a sympathetic look.

'I know how you feel; I preferred the outfit I picked out for you too. But tradition is tradition and you should just be grateful what you're wearing actually has sleeves.' He shivered. 'I can't believe it's the middle of winter and I'm wearing nothing but a skirt.'

'It's a kilt, not a skirt,' Covo laughed and shook his head, 'and you should have thought about that before agreeing to wear it.'

'I agreed to wear it, before I knew what it was.' He glared down at the blue and pink Egyptian style kilt he now found himself in. 'If I known the traditional attire you were talking about was a skirt and nothing but a skirt, I would asked Crovell to send me home.'

'I told you, it's not a skirt, it's a kilt.'

'Well it's not a pair of trousers, that's all I care.' Duke shivered again. 'And why the hell is it blue and pink anyway?'

'Because those are the colours of the Lutoni house.'

'Wait, Silkoneon houses have their own colours?'

'No just the head four,' Covo smiled. 'The Odrays have white and purple, the Chaosas have black and yellow, the Ashmars have dark green and orange and the Lutonis have…'

'Blue and pink,' Duke cocked an eyebrow, 'what the hell kind of person chose those colours?'

'Makay.'

'So if these kilt things are the proper attire, how come Crovell gets a dress?'

'Tunic,' Covo corrected, 'and that's because he's a member of the Lutoni family, rather than just a Guard of the House, which is what I am and what you're pretending to be.'

'Joey is so going to kill me when he finds out about this, right?' Duke rubbed his arms, trying to warm them up.

'Probably, but it's his own fault for only having one official Guard of the House at the moment. For events like this he needs at least two.'

'Why does he only have one official one right now?'

'To be an official Guard of the House you need to be over a eighteen, he has a couple of unofficial ones who'll take on the roles properly in a few years, but...'

'You're the only one in the plus eighteen bracket,' Duke shivered, 'which technically I'm not in either.'

'Yeah, but you're a lot closer to it than anyone else right now and you are a close personal friend of Veronie's so you're the perfect candidate.'

'Until you remember Joey currently thinks I'm trying to steal his baby away from him,' Duke rolled his eyes.

'You know, I've been meaning to ask you about,' Covo studied him for a moment.

'About what?'

'You're attachment to him. Crovell I mean. The way you act towards him, anyone would think you were his father.'

'Really?'

'Don't play dumb,' Covo folded his arms, 'you wish you were his father, don't you?'

'What?' He laughed in surprise.

'You heard me; given half a chance you'd take that child, run off with him and raise him as your own, wouldn't you? That's why Ahna and Veronie don't trust you round him.'

'Don't be stupid.'

'I don't think I am,' Covo's face was filled with a stern look.

'He's not mine and I know he's not mine,' Duke sighed and stared down at Crovell. 'Sure there's a part of me that wishes he was, but I know he's not and he's not meant to be. My connection to him, as indefinable as it is right now, is not that of a parent. I know it and he knows it, so the chances of me running off into the night with him are almost non-existent.'

'Is it alright if I'm not sure whether or not to believe you?' Covo's face filled with a weird half smile-like look.

'Nobody else seems to, so why not.'

There were a few moments of silence, then Covo gave a heavy sigh.

'The run will begin in just over fifteen minutes, so it's time for us to meet up with the others.'

'Okay,' Duke nodded as he stared back up at him, 'lead the way.'

Mai couldn't believe how attractive Joey looked dressed in his blue and pink kilt, with a thick matching cloak draped round his shoulders and the light glinting of a curved silver diadem adorning his head. A warm, loving smile stretched across his face the moment he saw her approaching which just added to the overall appeal of his appearance.

'Mai you look beautiful,' he kissed her.

'Well I have Ahna and Korin to thank for that,' she nodded gratefully towards the two girls behind her, 'after all they helped me get ready.'

'It was our pleasure Mai,' Korin beamed.

There was an almost skipping like sound of footsteps approaching them seconds before Catilin came into view. She was dressed in a similar style robe to the one Mai was wearing; only hers was dark green and orange. Behind her followed two young girls, both in green and orange tunics the same style as the ones Ahna and Korin had on.

'Hiet braysta,' she jumped towards him, pulling him into an excited hug.

'Hey Cat,' he laughed hugging her back for a moment, before separating them to a more formal distance.

'Where's Covo?' She glanced around as she quickly assessed the situation.

'He'll be here soon.'

'And do you have another Guard yet?'

'No one else I would have wanted is anywhere near old enough yet,' Joey shook his head. 'So for now Covo will do.'

'But it needs to be three,' Catilin frowned. 'You should know how important three is. It's always three for official stuff.

'I know,' Joey sighed, 'but there really wasn't anyone else who could stand in. None of my unofficial guards even look old enough.'

'What about Duke?' Ahna gave a nervous cough.

'What about Duke?' Joey narrowed his gaze on her.

'Well he's kinda here.'

'What?' Joey's voice was tense with anger. 'Didn't you send him away?'

'I tried, but…' her eyes shifted, 'something stopped me.'

'Ayealor.'

'Look, I know he's far from popular with either of us right now, but… well, why don't you just go with him. For appearance sake.'

'Okay, for a start he's not even Silkoneon and for a second you're supposed to be able to trust your Guards with your life.'

'Mai's not Silkoneon,' Catilin tilted her head to one side, 'and Duke is your friend, so you should be able to trust him, right? And, and, and it's not as if anyone's going to look up and automatically know he's not Silkoneon, right? It'll just be us that knows.'

'Maybe,' Joey gritted his teeth, 'but...'

Before he could finish his sentence, Covo and Duke appeared walking down the corridor towards them. Duke was carrying Crovell and the level of displeased tension in Joey's face couldn't have been more obvious if there was a neon sign attached to it.

'He's already wearing a kilt?' Joey glared at Ahna.

'Well... when I realised I wasn't able to send him away Covo and I thought it might be a good idea to make him blend in a little,' Ahna shifted uncomfortably.

'Well that's just perfect,' his voice seethed more than a little, 'and here I thought I was supposed to have a choice over who my Guards were.'

'Hi Joey,' Duke shot him a wary smile.

'Don't you hi me,' he snapped, 'give Crovell to Ahna and come and stand behind me.'

'What?'

'You heard.' Joey glared at him. 'Now do as I ask or I'll send you home right now.'

Without hesitation Duke did as he was told and once Covo was in position beside him the whole procession made their way out towards the waiting crowd.