Can I get a new partner? This one is an asshole.

"Mommy?" He whipped around, he was..in the garden. Sitting on top of that ridiculous bench was a woman who looked like him.

Long, flowing black curls, fair skin, and a mole, just like his, on his chin, right to the left of his mouth.

A smaller child crawled up onto her lap. His eyebrows scrunched as he observed the strain she had to go to just to pull him up.

"Hey—kid." "What's wrong, my little Judy?"

He paused, Judy, to his understanding, was what his ancestor had been called as a child, if not by Lord Arderne, than none else.

Now that he noticed it, his surroundings had a distinct dreamlike quality to them. He decided to walk closer, now that he knew he was dreaming, and wouldn't disturb the two in front of him.

"Its my doll…Sol took it and started tossing it around with the other children…I don't like him anymore."

The child, younger him he assumed, held up a small fawn doll, one of its legs was torn. His mother took it in a glove and inspected it.

She smiled, petting little Judy's head. "There's no need to worry, my love, it can be fixed."

There was a sound of heavy footfalls behind him, he looked behind him again, and he grimaced.

It was an older, slightly darker version of himself this time. He had a permanent sneer on his face, which ruined what could be nice features, considering he's seen himself in the mirror.

On his arm was a woman who looked much like Myrna. She herself was stoic, as they walked past the mother son duo.

The man glanced away from his Mother, only acknowledging her with a small "Judith." His lip curled in anger, he looked at Judy and his face cleared in surprise, when he found the same lip curl on that small cherubic face.

Judith hastily stumbled up, Judy slid down and elected to hide behind his mother's green dress.

"Who is this?! Josias! Why have you brought this woman into our home?!" Josias shook his head, "We spoke of this Judith. Not here, in front of Jude."

His Mother, although frail, still summoned up the strength to slap the man before she had to sit back down.

Josias took that with as much grace as a cheater could, and he spied the woman putting a hand over her mouth, either to without a smile or out of shock.

The man shook his head and sighed, like it was Judith who was being unreasonable. "Come, Betalla, should she get ideas to hit you next."

His Mother screamed after him, rage clear on her face, while Judy could do nothing but watch.

"I STAYED FAITHFUL! YOU UNGRATEFUL SON OF A WHORE!" She started crying, putting her face into her hands, "Why, why did I marry him, why did I listen to her? All he does is spend money and sleep around.."

He blinked, and suddenly it was him who was looking up at his Mother. Words came out of his mouth without his bidding. "Mommy…"

"Who was that woman?"

He had a few seconds more to watch her face crumple all over again before he woke up.

_-_

He shot awake, gasping for air. He stumbled out of bed, hitting the floor hard, not caring about the bruises, he rushed to his desk, rifling through all the scattered paperwork.

Finally, in the last drawer, the discarded diary of one Jude Harper lay. He'd found it and thrown it in there, unwilling to violate the original's space any more than he'd already done. But now he flipped through the pages, skimming the words quickly.

"Mother has become very ill. I won't be able to perfect my cursive before she passes, all my instructors said so. But I'm already four, and I've been told I'm the fastest ever to learn how to use an adult quill, I think I can do it."

He skipped ahead, scrolling through many shaky entries, until he happened upon one in particular.

"Father brought a woman home. She walked through Mother's garden, she didn't say a word to me or Mother, but Father made her scream. I know not what a whore is, but apparently Father is the son of one. It sounds like an insult, which can't be right, because I've met Grandmother, and she's very nice. She gives me sweet ginger candies all the time."

He skips ahead after the entry continues on about the different candies he liked.

He again had to skim down, until another entry, more shaky than the rest, caught his eye.

"She was his mistress. He cheated on Mother! I hate her. She tore out all of Mother's favorite lilies of the valley patches, she said it was her favorite part about our family line, our flower, and that witch just pulled them all out!"

He continued on with how much he hated her, so he went onto the next page.

"I was named the heir to the Harper house, and I gained a sister, on the same day. She's two years apart from me. I hate her too. Father dotes on her endlessly, and I can't even get him to say my name. But she looks at me all the time. Always tries to get me to talk to her. It's infuriating, doesn't she understand I don't like her? She even asked me to try to call her Mot—"

There was a knock on his door, and he slammed the diary shut, shoving it back into a random drawer.

"Come in."

He pulled himself away to greet Edmonde near the door.

"Lord? You're already out of bed? But it's before six." Edmonde checked his pocket watch again just to be sure.

"Your sass is noticed and unappreciated, it's too early for jokes."

Edmonde glanced behind him and shook his head. "Nevermind, My Lord, your tea is ready. Thankfully, with both Cely's asleep, and the other's already gone for the rest of the foreseeable future, you will be able to drink your sweetened lemon tea in peace."

His shoulders slumped in relief, he'd been getting tired of that damn Aloe.

"In other news, it seems we won't have to suffer the Celys for long, as the spring hunt comes upon us, so too does the royal guard come back from their expedition."

He busied himself with pulling his hair out of its braid for the morning so Edmonde could comb it. "Ah, what does that mean?"

Edmond cleared his throat, setting the tray on the bedside table, and pulled the wooden comb out of the side drawer.

"It means that commander Florence of the Burton family, the most rich and powerful family in all of the East —richer than even the royal family, mind you— will be coming back home and be available to talk with all the well-influenced nobility."

Edmonde pulled off his gloves as he rearranged Jude's hair, he moved to sit down cross-legged on the bed, reaching over to grab his already full teacup, and face his back to Edmonde.

"Ah, so they're looking to gain points with him. Well, at least I'll be left alone for a couple weeks."

"He's going to the spring hunt." Jude outright laughed, "Even better! Maybe I'll have two weeks of peace, just think, two whole weeks of utter silence."

Edmonde pulled around to look at him, half concerned. "My Lord…did you forget you were going with Sir Vaughan?"

He lost his smile.

Gods Damn it.

_-_

He muttered to himself angrily, Edmonde was busy re-directing Elias somewhere other than his hunting gear, heaven knows what those little rich boys know about actual gear aside from 'point and shoot'.

Which of course, left Lord Cely himself off the grid, which of course left Jude paranoid, but as long as he wasn't in the same room with him, he had no problem.

The door slammed open, no doubt leaving a dent in his nice dark blue walls.

"Ah, I thought too soon."

Lord Cely squinted and paused. "What?" He shook his head, "No, nevermind. I'm here for other reasons than to entertain the mutterings of a mad, deceased dog."

"Oh, so we're going with diseased now."

"Everything my Father said does not matter, I am the current heir, and acting Lord. So you shall not address me by my first name, nor will you use anything other than my brother's title, or his first name."

"It's been half a day. Could this not wait? I have other things to do besides entertain your posturing."

The blood vessel in Lord Cely's temple started to pulsate. "This is not 'posturing'! This is a genuine concern I have for the mental wellbeing of my brother! And you shall not ignore it, nor will I allow a mere step up from a commoner come close to hurting him."

He dropped his quill to rub at his temples instead. "May the Gods let me die now.." He sighed. "Alright, I'll humor you. You are Lord Cely, and Elias is Elias. Are we good now?"

"What?" Jude caught himself and coughed. "I mean are we alright now?"

Lord Cely sneered, "Clearly the poison has addled your brain, if your manner of speech is being affected as well. One almost pities you, fearing that your ailment might just get you caught in between the teeth of a particularly vicious rabbit."

Lord Cely turned to leave, and Jude perked up, "Ah. Right, I was meaning to ask.."

"Was your brother just drunk that night at the Vaughan ball, or did he give a different middle name from the one your Father granted him?"

Lord Cely grabbed the handle of his door hard, the metal creaking. "You will keep your business, and I will keep mine. That goes the same for my brother, we will leave after lunch."

And with that, he closed the door with the same abuse that he opened it with.

Jude winced, and pulled out another page. "Add a new door frame…" He wrote it down. Shaking his head, "Well, at least we have an in manor woodworker, I knew I was smart when I hired one.."

_-_

"Spring hunt this, nobility that, I just want to sit around and read a damn book." His muttering was fruitless, as he was directed to look through different muskets that would suit his built best.

"Can't I just use a bow and arrows, or, here's a thought— a handheld pistol!" Edmonde sighed. "It's too short notice to get a bow made for you, most bows are made for their user, and it would be uncouth to buy you a premade bow."

His right hand shook his head, "And unfortunately, I can't accompany you and protect you from any mischief." He froze, "Mischief?"

"Last year, the heir to the Darcy family was involved in a freak accident involving a cannon, it's why large arsenals are no longer allowed at the hunting race."

He hastily set down a beautiful black and silver embellished shotgun. "I don't want to go anymore."

He didn't want to go in the first place, but now, he really didn't want to go.

"You can not just reject Vaughan's invitation at the last minute. It will reflect badly on the family, impact it incredibly, in fact."

Jude threw up his hands, "So what am I supposed to do then, ride at the back of the man's saddle and clutch at his chest going 'Oh pwease don't let me get hurt mister Vaughan!'.

Edmonde rolled his eyes, breaking Lord and Servant decorum. He did that a lot, these days, but Jude never minded, not planning on ever getting used to being Lord.

He crossed his arms, turning up his nose, "I really don't see why our servants can't just come anyway, it's nothing but a stupid hunting party!"

"All the ladies in waiting will be watching, your kill count will be recorded and likely spread amongst the circles, it's supposed to demonstrate your strength and killing prowess, as all noble families train their children from very young to learn how to provide and defend themselves."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Oh boo hoo, so someone kills a bigger buck than you, if you ask me, I'd say this is all just a huge waste of time and gunpowder."

He turned his eyes to Edmonde while the man measured another gun. "Of course, if it was my handsome butler who killed that buck for me…"

"My Lord!" He outright cackled at Edmonde's scandalized look, bending a little and putting his hands on his knees.

"Please stop teasing my Lord, I'm trying my best to make sure you're both safe and that you match with sir Vaughan, while at the same time trying to keep your outfit from looking too expensive and making a faux pas!"

His butler shook his head, and he turned around, eyeing another handheld hung on the wall. Jude tsked, and turned to look at the knives instead.

"This is pointless…shouldn't we be worrying about the growing tensions with the French border? But no, instead, let's have a hunting party, and waste all our firearm resources on woodland creatures!"

He saw the blacksmith greet another customer out of the corner of his eye but ignored it. Must be another ponce looking for another weapon to his arsenal, this was a capitol store, he wouldn't be surprised if he ran into Lord Cely himself!"

"So I see my commoner partner does have some sense, if I find him shopping here." He almost dropped the knife he was holding. He hastily put it back as if his Father himself had come around the corner, whipping around on his heels.

A man with box braids in a bun looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You must be Lord Vaughan, a pleasure. I admit I'm surprised to see your face."

He's never seen the man up close, and now he regrets not doing so beforehand at their ball. He was handsome, that was for sure.

Gold jewelry was the centerpiece of his face, a pierced eyebrow, golden earrings dangling elegantly, various low necklaces that slightly glimmered in the lighting of the blacksmithy.

He glanced at the shelf behind him, reaching up to grab a sword. "Hm, fine work, but I wouldn't go for any of the blades here, they're too flimsy, and the balance is off, unless you were to get a cutlass, maybe."

The man looked at him searchingly.

He startled, "Ah." He pointed over at Edmonde, who was again, squinting at the guns. "My right hand is over there trying to pick the perfect weapon for me, he seems to think the same of the blades offered here."

Vaughan tsked, "Like a child…" He dragged him by his sleeve over to the front of the shop, where all the foreign firearms were on display, their prices way out of his budget.

"Come now, pick."

Vaughan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Jude shook his head. "What is this? A date? At least give your name first, you miscreant."

There goes his mouth again. Sure enough, the clench of the jaw, was telling of how much he was offending Vaughan right this second.

"Oh, a miscreant, then, am I?"

He grabbed a pistol at random and then shoved it in his hand. "A German pistol. It's silver, so it suits your complexion, look, it's even decorated along the bridge, perfect for a prissy Harper such as yourself."

He bristled, "Prissy?!" Vaughan rolled his eyes, "A faun is the center of your crest, your women and your tea are invaded with Lily of the Valleys, your signature color is an emerald green! Your literal Lordship ring has a Caribbean Emerald tarantula engraved on the emerald jewel."

"Eh?" He looked at his thumb ring and sure enough, a small, lineless engraving on the jewel itself gleamed in the lowlight.

He sniffed, switching hands of the pistol in question to put a hand to his heart. "Jude Harper, begrudgingly at your service."

The man was forced to mirror him for the sake of manners. "Mathias Uric Vaughan, displeased to meet you."

He shook his head, but looked at the pistol more closely anyway. "It is quite a pretty thing, and the shot is a quick and easy reload. It's useful, in dire situations, I'll admit."

The taller man hummed, "Yes, but unsuited for hunting. Good thing I will be doing most of it."

"If you didn't want me helping, why did you ask to be my partner?"

Mathias shrugged his shoulders as he went back to appraising the shelves. "Lord Cely doesn't like you. The Prince's partner is Lord Cely, therefore, I kill two birds with one stone."

He wordlessly held out the pistol to the approaching Edmonde as he glared at Mathias. "Don't pull me into your lovers' squabble! If you want to get back at him, cut his roses off at the root, or something like that."

"Ah, My Lord—"

"Do you think I'm so pathetic?! I would never, ever try to chase after a man, not even the Prince, if he wants to attend the spring hunt with Lord Cely at his back, who am I to make a fuss of it?"

"Then ask for someone more experienced, Oh, I've heard great things about the second son of the Burtons, I'm sure he'd give you a grand time."

"Henrie Burton is a skirt chaser, and his younger brother Lionel is a drunk." Mathias held up his hand, "Jeames Darcy, like you, hasn't touched a gun in his life, and his twin brothers Garret and Giles Darcy…are both arsonists."

"How unfortunate…" "Indeed."

He turned back, "Solomon Arderne?" "The man is the host this year, as he's funding the grand prize."

That damn monopoly man always gets out of things…

He opened his mouth but Mathias again interrupted him, "And under no circumstance will I ever even share a smidgen of camaraderie with Benjamin Wade."

So many names, so little faces.

"I'd still put my money with the arsonists." "They're being considered for the front lines." "What about the first son of the Burtons?" "Florence is going with Thomas Notfelde."

"So there really is only me?" Edmonde was now purchasing all the chosen items.

"Yes, unless I suddenly gain a heart and pull the Gaspers out of the mysterious sudden bankruptcy and draft letters they've been experiencing."

"That would be…my sister's family."

"Myrna Darcy? What in the heavens did they do to offend such a reclusive young Lady?" Edmonde returned, and he took that as his cue to wrap things up.

"They tried to kill her heirless older brother."

He then swiftly turned and signaled Emdonde to follow him out the door, hopefully leaving Mathias in the dust.