A/N: This is my first posted work. It didn't come out as funny as I had hoped, but there you go. This is set somewhere near the beginning of the second book (or second half of the book)
"Danric, is this all you do?" I asked, waving a hand at the expanse of letters in the cramped office, "You answer all of these? By yourself? When do you find the time to sleep?" Vidanric studiously ignored my exaggerated disbelief and continued writing in meticulously neat, precise cursive. "Now wonder you show so many signs of fatigue."
Vidanric very pointedly set the quill down and gave me a quizzical look, saying dryly, "What would you have me do Russav? Leave them unanswered?"
"No! Just have a scribe do them! Like everyone else does. Don't you ever wonder what it's like to have a life?" I teased. He did not react, much to my disappointment, instead taking up his quill and writing once more. Even if he had elected to be his own scribe, it was evident that he was bored, his eyelids slack, his manner resigned. I heaved a world-weary sigh and sat down in one of the straight-backed chairs. "I pity you cousin, so I am going to try to lighten your burden. You may thank me later." He still remained scrupulously silent, so I busied myself with the cream colored parchment until my head swam. I blinked at the letter in front of me, opening the seal and then trying my best to keep the words from moving. I squinted at it and the words merged together, converging like colored ink patterns on canvas. I shook the feeling off and the words became normal again. I bit back a relieved expression; if Vidanric could answer this much mail in one day, so could I. Slowly, the time passed, and the pile of letters to reply to steadily diminished.
Soon enough the pile had dwindled to two or three letters when a runner bounded in. The boy was young and flashed a bright smile around the room before hastily bowing to Vidanric, and then after a moment's hesitation, as if he had forgotten to do something, bowing to me. In his hand lay a plain piece of parchment, with no seal embellishing it, and no insignia printed on the front. The runner handed it briskly to Danric and then skipped away, seeming to be resisting the urge to whistle. I hid a smile behind my hand until the boy was well out of sight and then looked to Danric. His gray eyes sparkled with interest and a smile chased the lassitude from his features. I cocked one eyebrow at him, but he was too engrossed in the letter to realize it. As surreptitiously as I knew how, I edged around to get closer to Danric and then with alacrity I had not known I had, snatched the letter from his hands. I grinned widely at him and began to skim the letter's content.
My eyes widened, and I gaped at him, probably looking very much like a fish. "Danric, does Meliara know she's writing to you?" I asked, piecing things together in my mind, "So that's why you wanted me to… oh." Vidanric stood with frightening swiftness and took several brisk steps forward.
"Russav, give me the letter," he said, his expression darkening. When I stepped away and held it out of his reach, his expression was a desperate one. "Give me the letter!"
"I just wanted to read it," I protested, but he grabbed the letter from me.
"This is a private correspondence Russav. I'll thank you kindly to not be reading my private mail," he snapped.
I took a step back, holding up my hands in a gesture of surrender and fled. When did Vidanric get so scary? I wondered. It was certainly something to ponder on a rainy day.