But I'm not interesting...you are
Summary - in a world of nuns, a new personality comes along in Lynel's life.
Characters - Marius Coulter, Lynel Belaqua
A golden monkey sat in the vacant seat next to him.
The sharp and intensely blue eyes of the eleven-year-old boy had been distracted shortly before by the movement caused by the sitting of several of the nuns of the convent after the evening prayer, as it was usual for him to be distracted from him. Exactly like during the lessons of Sister Fenella and her stories on the gospel, her rants on mathematics and on the importance of commas in writing. Lynel, for his part, found the prospect of being able to stop sitting and be able to run across the rooftops with Rosaria more interesting, no matter how much one of the sisters in the convent scolded him about his abrupt and unorthodox ways. Making the poor nuns take heart attacks every time they saw him and Pandora, his Dæmon, fly from roof to roof with enviable agility and courage. Once he had tumbled down from a branch that had broken off, and had landed unscathed ... but Sister Magdalena had turned pale as a rag and had collapsed on Sister Maria who was looking at the boy with apprehension mixed with maternal reproach.
Lynel could be considered a wild cat in all respects with his impulsive and indomitable manner ... but it was precisely that rebellious spirit that made the nuns loved him as he was their son. He boasted that he was not amazed by anything, even when he fell from a roof he didn't seemed to have been in the least scratched in spirit or adventurer soul ... but that monkey was watching him curiously, with those black eyes and that curious face. Small black hands grabbed the edge of the table to rise to it and better observe the boy and his blond curls.
Lynel eyed the alleged daemon with caution mixed with confusion, brows furrowing downward covering his immaculate golden lashes over his blue eyes.
The confusion came and went from his face like storm clouds until a new figure joined the scene, drawing the attention of one of the Sisters herself, who sat two chairs away from the boy and Pandora, who had now stood up from her his legs looking at the monkey with curiosity.
"Lynel," she said as if the newcomer wasn't that important, "this is Mr. Coulter, you might find him interesting." Mr. Coulter was no older than thirty-five, and he sat in that chair with lightness and elegance. A smile curved up the edges of his thin mouth and reaching his eyes, green and shadowed by the arched and proud shape of his brows. His daemon turned to him, looking at him briefly and then looking back at Lynel with the same gaze the man was now watching Lynel with. Instinctively the boy straightened up on his chair, leaning towards the newcomer with unprecedented curiosity "... hello-" he said, a shred of curiosity mixed with honor tinted his tone of voice.
From what they remembered, Lynel and Pandora had always lived here at the convent. They had always been surrounded by women, only women and all very distant ... some too distant to be considered mother figures. And without a mother figure, knowing how to recognize a father figure is even more complicated: The only important figure in his life was that of his aunt on the part of his deceased mother. Aunt Azrael was a woman as mysterious and distant as the nuns in the convent ... she was beautiful, no doubt ... but her only great love was science, travel and dealing with everything but chasing that undisciplined nephew and a liar who had taken on herself after her sister and her husband died, but to whom she sent postcards, and of whom she had photos sent every month, keeping them in her notebook. Aunt Azrael loved him ... but it was rare that she wanted to see Lynel more than once a year, and when she returned it was just to make sure he was in good health and studying. Although brief, the moments he could spend with his aunt were the most special in the boy's life. But he had never received a caress or a hug from her to convey affection. There were only vacant smiles and looks that conveyed a certain cold pride in Azrael's distant eyes.
"I'm not used to all this grandeaur." Mr. Coulter's voice was young and light, but at the same time he had a note of masculine depth that Lynel's still very boyish voice aspired to reach. He smiled as he spoke, but his tone was low and collected in a murmur. "You'll have to tell me which fork and knife to use, I don't want to make a fool of myself."
Lynel watched him closely. Men came and went to the convent, but most were travelers or visiting men: but all wore practical clothing. This man knew what elegance was and wore it proudly in his dark teal solid suit and slightly curly brown hair carefully trimmed and hanging down the side of his head. "Are you a scholar?"
Mr. Coulter smiled "you look surprised."
Lynel shrugged involuntarily "well ... scholars don't dress like you."
Any adult would have been taken aback, but Mr. Coulter laughed gracefully tilting his head down before his green eyes turned back to Lynel's "I take that as a compliment." he said, an ounce of laughter colored his voice. His daemon made her gaze sway between him and the boy letting go of curiosity verses every time Pandora poked her ermine nose to take a closer look at her, also extending a black hand to gently caress her head. Pandora did not withdraw in the slightest, quite the opposite: Lynel felt her lean into that touch of hers.
Mr. Coulter moved closer to him to look at him better, head tilted to the side "no, I'm not exactly a scholar." he said "I am a member of St Sophia's college. I work most of the time outside Oxford." Lynel could feel his eyes widen, which the man could clearly grasp given the smile he gave him "but I'm not interesting, you are. Your friendly rooftop raids don't go unnoticed, right Lynel? "
The boy blinked at him before a laugh came from both of them. "Raids?" he said, quieting the last bit of laughter in his throat.
The dullest part of the day was more manageable after the arrival of that mysterious man of unprecedented elegance, next to whom Lynel and Pandora now walked with him and his daemon. "You are a very captivating personality, Lynel." he proclaimed, speaking a little louder than before. "It's very odd that Azrael doesn't talk much about you."
Lynel's heart tumbled into his chest as his curly head turned to look at the man, a smile appeared on his face "you know my aunt? So you're a traveler too!" At which an affectionate laugh rose from the man's chest. "that's such a grand word," he said, a hand reaching out to fondly caress Lynel's head,running his hand across the surface of his dark blonde hair several times before letting it drop onto his shoulder. "but yes, I am a traveler."
"have ... have you ever seen an armored bear? or a Tartar?" A man from the north, a traveler ... who knows how many stories he could tell. A traveler like his aunt.
"Oh, I fought the Tartars and it was fun - watch the step -, with the armored bears I contacted ... and it was exhausting. They know how to be very stubborn creatures."
As they walked, the door to the common room was now in front of them even though it was closed. Mr. Coulter stopped in front of it and gave Lynel a look, turning to him completely "Are you sure you are interested? Sometimes I can be boring." But the boy's response was a vigorous head shake "oh, no no no. When it comes to the north I never get bored!" Mr. Coulter smiled at him, opening the flat door and with his head indicating him to enter "sit where you want."
Lynel threw himself into the first chair he met, or rather sat down on the sofa in the center of the room on which Mr. Coulter followed calmly "Lynel," he began solemnly "Sister Mariana asked me to find accommodation for you. And obviously I wanted to meet you first." Lynel leaned on the edge of the sofa, looking at the man with the big eyes hanging from his lips. Mr. Coulter's green eyes studied him, serious but kind. Then a slight smile opened on his face "and now that I have met you, I offer you a position as my assistant." Before Lynel could answer, since a smile had already made its way, Mr. Coulter spoke immediately "sure, you will have to learn and I will not let you slack off ... but with my competence and your personality we will be one great team."
Mr. Coulter sat down next to him "well, we'll go to London first. And you should be ready to go ... tomorrow morning." He watched him closely, but Lynel's eyes immediately dropped. In the morning?
... and what would become of his best friend?
Lynel looked at him "can Rosaria come too?"
Rosaria Parslow and Lynel had been friends since they were infants, and from what they remembered neither had ever been too far from the other. In that world apart from all they had was mutual friendship and the affection that one feels between brother and sister: they were two orphans. But if Lynel had (so to speak) Aunt Azrael, Rosaria was completely alone working in the convent kitchens. Mr. Coulter's shadowed brows frowned curiously down "Rosaria?" he asked.
Lynel slowly raised her eyes to the man's "She's not much of a travel girl ... but she can clean-"
"the girl in the dining hall?" Lynel nodded "please ... she's my best friend. My only friend." a hint of sadness tinged his voice, eyes now lowered. The older man looked away for a moment, then with a smack of his lips he spoke in a calm and gentle way. "All right. She can come."
A brand new smile appeared on Lynel's face, and before Mr. Coulter knew it the boy had rushed over to him and wrapped his arms around the man in a grateful hug. Automatically Mr. Coulter's arms were wrapped around Lynel in an instinctive movement. As if part of him wanted to hold him close. But an "Oh!" mixed with laughter came out of his mouth when Lynel walked over to him for the hug.
He felt the boy's head in the hollow of his neck, a smile was pulling his features.
And Marius Coulter smiled in turn.
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