Kelric's Adventures Chapter 1 The Honeypot

[Shiral]

       Kelric hadn't meant to be naughty at all that bright September morning. It had simply happened. Nurse had been brusque and hurried with both himself and his sister this morning, quite unlike her usual patient, cheerful self. She hadn't even given him his customary extra bath time to play with his beloved fleet of toy boats, but scooped him out and began toweling him off the minute she judged he was clean enough. He had been bundled into his best new tunic and plunked into his special chair at the breakfast table. His sister was wearing her best new dress, too.

      Breakfast had been a hurried meal. And as soon as his sister had finished eating her share of porridge, Nurse had hustled her off to the opposite end of the nursery to comb and braid her hair with her best hair ribbons. Kelric sat patiently waiting to be helped down, but it appeared Nurse had temporarily forgotten about him. She had also for once forgotten to move the ceramic honey pot to the other side of the table out of his reach. Kelric stared at the unguarded white clay pot, the wooden spoon poking from it like a silent invitation. His conscience fought with his desire. Nurse kept honey and other treats strictly rationed but he tested this rule whenever possible. Something out of the ordinary was happening today, and Nurse obviously wanted both him and his sister to look their best. But she had her back to him at the other end of the room while she fussed over his sister, leaving him stuck at the table with a big pot of honey in easy reach. Nurse could come back at any minute now though or even turn around, and his chance would be lost. If she were to come back and catch him stealing honey right out of the pot, she was sure to scold, being in the mood she was in right now.

     After looking carefully in their direction, Kelric stretched out his hand then withdrew his forefinger coated with cool, smooth honey. He sucked his finger clean in great contentment. It tasted all the sweeter for being forbidden.The breakfast table was drawn up to a sunny window, and as he sucked on his finger, he saw a small golden bead of honey on the white tablecloth, gleaming in the strong, near-white sunlight. It looked almost like one of mummy's gold beads, and it even cast a tiny golden shadow on the white surface. After another look to make sure Nurse wasn't coming back yet, Kelric dipped his finger into the honey again and deliberately allowed a larger drop of honey to fall beside the first, smiled as the two melded together to form one large bead, then sucked his finger clean for the second time. He'd made a little trail of honey on the tablecloth this time too -- A thin thread like embroidery floss, or the trail left by a golden snail. He liked the way dewy grass looked when covered with a random silver net of snail trails. How something as cold and ugly as a snail could leave such pretty silver marks on the ground bewildered him. There were a great many things he didn't know or understand which worried him sometimes. Mummy explained it was because he was just three years old and that made it all right. He'd have time to learn and understand more as he grew older.

     The marks  he'd made were golden - even better than snail trails. The honey spot on the table stayed round and still gleamed, too. Kelric tilted his head, as he'd thought it would soak into the tablecloth and disappear the way water did. He loved making all sorts of different waves and splashes with his bath water, but honey had structural possibilities that had never occurred to him before. Boldly, he grabbed the wooden spoon and lifted it as high as he could reach. The honey streamed back into the pot, making not a splash but a ribbony raised mound for just a moment before it was absorbed again. The stream thinned or thickened depending on how high he held the spoon. He dipped the spoon back into the pot, and accidentally draped a long, thick cable of golden stickiness down the side of the pot and across the tabletop when he brought the spoon closer. His arm was getting tired, stretched out that way.

     Quite apart from being delicious, honey was fascinating stuff. It flowed like thick golden water, but the lines, dots and squiggles he made on the white tablecloth stayed where he put them. He lifted his arm high and waved the spoon about overhead for thin lines and tiny drops, then held it down low to make large beads and thick lines. All the rules about not playing with his food were forgotten in the pleasure of his discovery.
A loud gasp of dismay from overhead and across the table made him freeze the spoon held above the table at the full length of his arm. He had forgot to watch, and now Nurse had come back and caught him doing something forbidden. Full of guilt, Kelric dropped the spoon at once, though unfortunately he missed the honey pot and the spoon clattered all the way to the floor.

"Kelric Alain Morgan--!"

        Guilty and alarmed, Kelric looked up to see his mother, very splendidly dressed in a new sky-blue court robe, her hands braced on her hips and her blue eyes blazing. Mummy began her scolding then pressed her lips tightly together as if to keep angry words from flying out and hitting him. Her lips were pressed tightly together and there wasn't so much as a glimmer of a smile on her face. One had to be so careful with grownups; there was so much they didn't understand even when it was laid out right in front of them. Even Mummy who understood more than most adults looked at his pretty gold-on-white design and saw nothing but a mess. Obviously, she wasn't in the littlest bit pleased.

       Kelric bit his lip and looked down quickly. He adored Mummy and couldn't stand it when she was angry with him.

        "Just look at what you did!" Mummy said. "And on this morning when the King and the Hort of Orsal are coming too! Not only have you wasted all that honey by making that mess on the table, but just look at yourself!"

       Kelric didn't see how this was possible, and looked up at Mummy in appeal. She just glared down at him, hands still on her hips, not about to be charmed out of her anger. He looked down and saw sticky smears on the chest of his new emerald green tunic and the golden gryphon that had been appliqued to its front. Odd, he couldn't _remember_ dribbling honey on himself or wiping his hands on his new tunic. He dimly realized that his right hand with which he'd held the honey spoon was quite sticky, and honey seemed to have run down his arm, both into his sleeve and over it.

        "You've even got honey in your hair!" Mummy sighed in a kind of angry despair. "Now you'll have to have another bath, and your best new tunic will have to be washed immediately too -- don't do that, you'll only make it worse!"

          Kelric felt at his bangs and the little dots of honey that inexplicably decorated them, mashing them more firmly into his hair and adding the stickiness of his honey-coated fingers as well. Nurse came hurrying over to the table, hauling Briony by the hand. She blanched, seeing Mummy standing there, obviously angry, and her jaw dropped in a soundless scream as she looked at him, then at the honey pot which she had failed to move out of his reach. Briony's eyes went very round, and after a look up at Mummy, she gave Kelric a sympathetic 'you' re-in-for-it-now' look.
 
           His father, arrayed in his full ducal splendor with the embroidered arms of Corwyn bright across his chest, arrived right after Nurse, making Kelric' s heart sink. He could always soften Mummy's heart eventually, but Papa was not so easy to win over. Fortunately, when he saw the squiggles of honey on the tablecloth, then glanced at Kelric, Papa seemed more inclined to laugh than punish him. After looking at Mummy though, Papa arranged his face into an appropriately stern expression. 

             "I thought you knew better than to play with your food, Kel," He said in a very serious voice. "Honey is far too precious and expensive to waste this way. And you've made extra work for poor Nurse, too."

           "I'm sorry," Kelric whispered in the meekest voice he could manage. Mummy just snorted. Even Nurse was trying not to attract attention to herself.

            "And he's made a sticky mess of himself right before the King and Queen and the Orsal are all due to arrive," Mummy added. "And spoiled his best new tunic in his first wearing!"

            "Both Kelric and the tunic are washable, Richenda," Papa said. "The bathwater is already hot down in the kitchen; it's just a matter of having  more brought upstairs. He can wear his blue tunic instead, today. Kelson won't mind and the Hort knows what small children are like.
Niyanna has only just arrived at the harbor mouth yet, and it will take some time for them to get up to the castle."

        "If you please, Your Grace, it's partially my fault," Nurse confessed to Papa. "I forgot to move the honey pot out of Lord Kelric's reach."

        "We all make mistakes, Nurse," Papa said calmly. "Just do your best to make Lord Kelric presentable by the time the King and the Orsal arrive. And send his tunic down to the laundresses right away. I'm sure they can get it clean."

           Papa reached out a hand to Briony, summoning her with a smile, then firmly linked Mummy's arm through his, and all three of them left the nursery. Kelric sniffed with loneliness - Mummy had not only not give him her customary hug and kiss whenever she saw him, but she hadn't even given him a last over the shoulder look as she went out the door.
 
           Nurse shook her head at him, then plucked him out of his chair. Her brown eyes were amused and twinkling again however. Evidently her relief at escaping a scolding from Papa had lightened her mood.

           "All right now, my sticky little lord, it's straight back into the tub with you. You certainly did pick your morning for it, though, with the King and Queen and His Highness the Orsal on their way!"

[revanne]

Lovely story.

I wonder how many times poor Kelric is reminded of this incident.

[DesertRose]

Lovely story.

I wonder how many times poor Kelric is reminded of this incident.

Briony probably never let him hear the end of it for years! 

And I agree with revanne, Shiral.  I hadn't read this in a while, and I'd forgotten how much fun and how cute this incident was.   

[Laurna]

I am getting a lot of enjoyment from reading this story. I am on chapter 10 at the moment with the queen's puppy a the beach. Thank you for bringing this story over to this forum site.  I really like this peak at Dhugal and King Keslon too. 

[Shiral]

Lovely story.

I wonder how many times poor Kelric is reminded of this incident.

Anytime he's close to a honey pot, I'll bet!