"Brother Claude, Brother Claude!" The squeaky voice and thundering footsteps made Claude wince. He tried to remember his place in the religious text he'd been poring over, but before he could find it, the door to his tower room had burst open. "Brother Claude, guess what's happening!" The eleven-year-old boy's rosy face was even more flushed than usual; his sapphire eyes alight with excitement below his golden curls.
"Jehan," replied Claude irritably, snapping the tome shut. "Why do you think I seclude myself in this cell?" His brother's jubilant expression didn't change; he only bounced faster on his heels. "It is to focus on my studies, free from distraction by the likes of you!"
Jehan waved a dismissive hand. "Study, study, study. Tell me, brother, do you ever have time for fun?"
"Tell me, brother," snapped Claude, "do you understand how vital it is to—how dare you mock me!" Jehan stood stock still all of a sudden, the innocent expression on his face nothing short of angelic. It wasn't quite enough to look as though he hadn't just been mouthing over the lecture he'd heard countless times over his childhood, but it was very, very close.
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