The elder was trying to learn English, it was true.
And yet procrastination continued to hinder his education. The family that lived on the Estate was a busy one; Louvel and Leonie were the ones who kept him most company, but they too needed to sleep. He could not expect them to keep night hours just because he did, and so much of the night was spent rediscovering the rooms and halls. He watched a lot of television and tried to figure out the different quirks of the computer that had been given to him – though he didn’t post much to the family’s forum because he was almost one hundred percent sure that he was getting things wrong.
Everything always came back around to learning English. He would understand the movies better if he learned English. He would be able to communicate better if he learned English. There were so many reasons why he needed to learn English, and yet he often found himself getting up and wandering away from the study of it.
As a child he’d never been much good at school; he was better at estate management, learning from his father and his grandfather. They could not teach him the practicalities of running a household such as his at school. By the time he was twelve he was at home full time, having learned to read and write and do basic mathematics, he learned the rest from his ancestors. Teachers had decried Alaric’s attention span. Apparently, it was too short.
These nights Alaric’s meandering thoughts often strayed toward his family. Leonie and Louvel he knew best; he trusted their loyalty and their devotion, and he trusted them above all else. A lot of respect was given to Judah, though he did see the man less. He was a family man, Alaric knew, and had other responsibilities that he had to take care of. Judah had taken on the mantel of Chronicler and he had done it well, as if he were born for the part. Alaric knew that it was mostly to Judah that he owed his current existence, and these were the things that he had to remind himself. From Judah he detected a wariness, and he hoped that it would not lead to a repeat of history.
There were other faces that he knew but did not know as well as he liked – and so when he saw Mirella pass by the door to the library he was instantly on his feet and following her. Mirella did not know German, which made communication with her that much harder. But perhaps he could test on her what little English he had learned.
It would be a good excuse, anyway, to get away. Alaric cleared his throat.
”Hallo!” he called out, waiting for Mirella to turn.
”Please… to see you…?” he said. He had not spoken English out loud to anyone yet. He was not even sure he made any sense.
And yet procrastination continued to hinder his education. The family that lived on the Estate was a busy one; Louvel and Leonie were the ones who kept him most company, but they too needed to sleep. He could not expect them to keep night hours just because he did, and so much of the night was spent rediscovering the rooms and halls. He watched a lot of television and tried to figure out the different quirks of the computer that had been given to him – though he didn’t post much to the family’s forum because he was almost one hundred percent sure that he was getting things wrong.
Everything always came back around to learning English. He would understand the movies better if he learned English. He would be able to communicate better if he learned English. There were so many reasons why he needed to learn English, and yet he often found himself getting up and wandering away from the study of it.
As a child he’d never been much good at school; he was better at estate management, learning from his father and his grandfather. They could not teach him the practicalities of running a household such as his at school. By the time he was twelve he was at home full time, having learned to read and write and do basic mathematics, he learned the rest from his ancestors. Teachers had decried Alaric’s attention span. Apparently, it was too short.
These nights Alaric’s meandering thoughts often strayed toward his family. Leonie and Louvel he knew best; he trusted their loyalty and their devotion, and he trusted them above all else. A lot of respect was given to Judah, though he did see the man less. He was a family man, Alaric knew, and had other responsibilities that he had to take care of. Judah had taken on the mantel of Chronicler and he had done it well, as if he were born for the part. Alaric knew that it was mostly to Judah that he owed his current existence, and these were the things that he had to remind himself. From Judah he detected a wariness, and he hoped that it would not lead to a repeat of history.
There were other faces that he knew but did not know as well as he liked – and so when he saw Mirella pass by the door to the library he was instantly on his feet and following her. Mirella did not know German, which made communication with her that much harder. But perhaps he could test on her what little English he had learned.
It would be a good excuse, anyway, to get away. Alaric cleared his throat.
”Hallo!” he called out, waiting for Mirella to turn.
”Please… to see you…?” he said. He had not spoken English out loud to anyone yet. He was not even sure he made any sense.
[WEARING]
