By any other name... [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

He sat alone, in his corner of the library. Everyone left him alone when he was reading. Maybe it was because he smelled funny. Maybe it was because of the children in the palace he was one of the strangest looking ones? Falkenhayn and Benedict seemed to top that one though. After all, he was at least one person, and the little robin on his shoulder didn't have a personality.

Conall turned the page in his book. This was the third time that he had read it through. He didn't know why he was so satisfied with reading the same story book over and over. There was just something interesting about the legends. They were things that weren't supposed to be true. Like Jokers, and yet he knew for a fact that his Mother was one. So did that make all the other myths a reality?

The boy paused in the middle of turning the page. "What... are you doing?" he without bothering to turn around. It was hard to miss the faint scent of flowers that were now lingering behind him. Not to mention that the little bird that sat on his shoulder alerted him of such things.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel was sulking. It happened every once in a while when she was alone. It made her feel a bit better when she smelled the flowers, but the only way to solve her problem was to either find someone to talk to, or distract herself with... something.

Maybe she should find Conall? He was always fun to be around. The little girl got up from her spot tucked away in the back of the gardens. She knew where he was going to be. He would either be in the library or be in his room. Her first bet was always the library.

It didn't take long for her to sneak her way into the room. As quietly as she could muster, she made her way over to the boy. He wouldn't suspect her from behind. At least that's what she thought. In reality she was always caught before she could spring any sort of trap on the boy.

When he spoke she jumped with surprise. "Oh! You knew?" She said as she walked over to the opposite side of the table. "Am I that bad at being sneaky? I just wanted to surprise you..."

[Kari Muffin]

Linnea was staring meaningfully at the bookshelves. She was supposed to be doing something somewhat productive. Her tutor had been very particular about what she was "supposed" to be studying as a young lady in the court of Hearts. Really, people just seemed to always talk down to her.

It was to be expected, she supposed. She was the lowest of the low even if she was a daughter of two high ranking people. Of course the only people who had outright made fun of her ended up being beaten to a bloody pulp. So most people who "talked down" to her did it unintentionally. At least she hoped.

One day she would make everything change. At the moment, however, she was still just a tiny squirrel in the palace of Hearts. Her ears twitched furiously as she listened to the conversations around her. Finally she heard a familiar voice. Her half brother. Who was he talking to? The little squirrel peered around the corner of the shelf to investigate.

[Kari Muffin]

Conall couldn't help but smile. Just the way Castiel acted, and how happy she always seemed to be around anyone. Nothing seemed to stop her enthusiasm. And for some reason she seemed to like him. The boy shut the book, making a note of what page he was on. "Yeah. And you're horrible at being sneaky. Maybe you should try to take lessons from someone."

She smiled, feeling a bit awkward doing so. But really, Castiel didn't seem to mind his fangs and tongue. Then again she didn't mind the sharp pointy implements sticking out from his back and the robin on his shoulder. She liked him no matter what he looked like.

"I didn't think that you would be here today. I thought your Mom was taking you on a trip to the Gardens. Or was that some other day?" He gave her a curious look with an incline of his head. He would never set foot in a place like that.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel gave a small shrug at his comment about her being sneaky. She could ask Grandma Peaches, but she knew that wouldn't go very well. Grandma didn't seem to think she was cable of such things, and said that she was better at being loud and straightforward. "I think I'm going to try to get someone to teach me how to fight instead. That way I can be just like everyone else in the palace."

She twirled for a moment before hopping into a seat across from the boy. He really did love the library, but why was he always so alone? There were plenty of other people in the palace who he could talk and play with. And there was someone super smart like Benedict to keep him company every once in a while. But no. He was often found alone in the library. It was... weird.

The question caught her off guard. "Ah well.... it was today. I just didn't really want to go."

[Kari Muffin]

The little squirrel's ears strained to hear the conversation. This was far more interesting than looking and books and musing about nothing in particular. Carefully she slipped out from behind the shelf to sneak up on the pair. If she wasn't careful her brother would see her, and Castiel might notice her scent. That was the only problem about being a Bog that she wasn't particularly fond of. Sneaking around was difficult when someone could smell you from a mile away.

But from the way things are going, neither of the younger children noticed. She had to choke back any sound of amusement that she had as she inched closer.

What were they talking about? Something about the Gardens? Well that made sense since Castiel was a Yarrow. But she was Mommy's daughter too... so it didn't mean that she had any of the Yarrow values that people seemed to preach about so often.

It was strange that she had never met Castiel for more than a few minutes. Or maybe it wasn't, considering how many siblings and how things got so terribly complicated here.

[Kari Muffin]

"Maybe you could get your Dad to teach you.... or maybe mine if she's too busy." He ran his fingers along the spine of the book. He probably shouldn't be offering up his own father when the King was probably just as busy as the Queen.

Her response wasn't what he expected exactly. Why was she so awkward about something like that? Maybe he should change the subject again. "Ah, well, I'm sure you can go some other time." He shrugged. "Now that you're here though... do you want to go on a little adventure? I herd a rumor about something that Nerissa was keeping hidden and I wanted to check it out at some point. I figure you'd be up to something like that."

He knew that she would jump on the chance for something like this. She always did. That's why everyone seemed to absolutely adore her. A large part of him was jealous, but the rest of him couldn't help but admire her.

[Kari Muffin]

"Daddy doesn't really want to teach me. Or well... I don't think she knows what to do since I'm not a Heart. But maybe I should ask your Dad? He's really powerful and Daddy really trusts him." The little girl bounced in her seat for a moment. Would someone be willing to teach her how to fight? She probably had to make an active effort to bother someone.

At the mention of adventure she snapped back to attention. Her eyes lit up as she leaned forward curious to read her friend's expression. He looked completely serious. The little girl almost let out a squeal. "Of course I want to go! Especially if there's a way to get back at nasty Nerissa. She's such a stick in the mud all of the time and downright mean to everyone!"

And then she hushed her voice when she remembered where she was. At least the library was pretty empty.

[Kari Muffin]

Linnea froze when Castiel rose the volume. For a moment she thought her cover was blown until the girl went back to hushing herself. Slowly she had been inching her way forward while the two of them were conversing. She didn't blend in particularly well but apparently she was being quiet enough that the pair of them didn't hear her.

"Could I go with you?" she asked after she took a seat a bit away from the pair of them. She may have been older, but she was all for adventure. And she enjoyed the idea of getting back at Nerissa. If there was a united front of people to dislike in the palace of Hearts, she was on the top of the list just because of the way she tried to manipulate everyone.

"If it's not too much trouble," she said with a smile Her tail curled behind her as she waited for their response

[Kari Muffin]

The appearance of Linnea was enough to cause both of the other children to jump. Neither of them had expected her to pop up, or ever suggest coming along. Conall paused for a moment. What was he supposed to do? It had been a while since he and Castiel had managed to have a good adventure.... but Linnea was always there for him.

He glanced at the human girl seeing if she seemed to be upset over the idea.

She was Castiel, he wasn't sure what he expected.

"Ah... I guess you could come along. As long as you don't mind getting in trouble. We're going to be investigating Nerissa's lab after all. She seems to have "acquired" a few interesting things." He shrugged nonchalantly as he slowly closed his book. He wasn't sure if he wanted the squirrel around or not for this adventure.