12

Lord Dante was here, and he was with my horse, but that wasn't what I found suspicious, on the contrary I was more surprised at Jupiter than I was with him.

Jupiter could be a perfect gentleman sometimes, but that didn't mean he welcomed everyone. It had taken him a good while before he warmed up to the new stable boys, and I feared he might one day give them a good kick if they moved too close. He was that picky.

Yet for some reason here he was practically licking every inch of lord Dante's face, I guess even horses knew when something was beautiful.

At this rate lord Dante would mount him without any effort. If it had been anyone else I wouldn't have been so patient, not that anyone ever tried in the past. However, lord Dante was our guest, and father's sibling no less, I could spare him this once.

I turned to leave before he would see me, that would make the situation a bit awkward.

" Camille ! " he called, stopping me in my tracks as though he pulled on my reins. I stood still, my eyes widened with surprise. If he hadn't known my name, I might've stood a chance, but he knew it all too well.

I turned slowly, giving myself enough time to think about what I would say should he have any questions.

" Good evening lord Dante " I courtesied. I knew he was my uncle, but I just met him, and I couldn't help but act formally.

" Good evening Camille " He answered, " when I saw you coming this way, I thought you wanted to go for a ride ? " he asked while brushing his hands down Jupiter's hair, of course the horse would love him, Jupiter liked being spoilt and here was someone other than me who was eager to spoil him rotten.

" I changed my mind " I said simply

Here I was trying to avoid him when he had already spotted me from a mile away.

" Really ? " he asked, and started walking towards me when one of the stable boys handed him a napkin to wipe his face with . I could imagine how much saliva Jupiter must have left on him.

" This horse is splendid don't you think ? " he asked looking back at Jupiter for a moment, then back at me.

" Yes, I do agree " I replied.

" And have you ridden him before ? " lord Dante asked.

" More times than I can count I'm afraid "I replied.

" He is yours then ? " lord Dante asked.

" Yes, he is " I answered.

" So what made you change your mind then ?" he asked and suddenly I remembered what a terrible liar I was.

" You weren't leaving because you saw him with me were you ? "he asked.

It wasn't ladylike to stutter, you would look foolish and of course there was nothing attractive about it.

I hesitated long enough and when I finally put together a good lie, he didn't give me a chance to say it.

" Listen Camille, " he said in that tone that left you with no other option but to listen to him. " I know you may not be comfortable around me, seeing as we just met each other, but I would really like it if we could get to know each other better, " he said, " without the formalities of course, at least give me a chance to be a worthy uncle " he persuaded.

The way he said those words, I could see he hadn't decided to leave home by choice, and there was almost something sad about his look.

" Will you ? " he asked again, putting a pause in my analysis.

" Of course, lord Dante " I answered, and he looked at me with an arched eyebrow, I was being formal again, so I quickly corrected myself " I mean, of course... uncle " I said, and a brilliant smile curved on his face.

" Now that that's settled, what do you say we go for a ride, I'll race you, and don't worry you can ride your horse " he said with an innocent smile.

" I don't mind whatever horse I ride, I'll gladly set the pace for you uncle Dante " I replied confidently.

" Should I take that as a challenge " he asked.

" Not necessarily, more like a warning " I said, and smiled back at him, as I mounted Jupiter.

He mounted another horse as well, and with that we set off into the fields.

It surprised me how quickly I warmed up to uncle Dante, forget horse riding, soon I felt as easy with him as if he had always been a part of my life.

It was good having someone else I could talk to other than my mother or my maids, and he listened carefully.

He told me a few things about the army, the strict regimen they followed, how they always had to obey orders no matter how difficult it was.

I asked him if he was a good fighter, he answered that with a grin, and immmediately I got my answer.

He offered to teach me a few fighting techniques, but I didn't let him. Sword fight wasn't a lady's field, and even if I had any interest in learning it which I didn't at the time, mother would have never have allowed it .

The more time we spent together, the less of a mystery he became to me and we were getting along quite well.

That is until we received a letter from father stating that he would soon be home, mother looked happy about it, but uncle Dante looked more worried than he was relieved.

" Are you alright uncle " I asked him .

" Why yes Camille " he answered, even though he didn't look as alright as he tried to make me believe.

" You don't look alright to me " I said coming to sit beside him on the balcony.

" Do you believe in demons Camille ? " he suddenly asked.

I was taken aback by that question, of all the things in the world, he choose to ask me that.

" I don't believe in them " I answered plainly " personally I believe everyone has the potential to do good and also evil, I don't think that makes them a demon "I answered.

" You mean like your sister, Kayla " he asked, and I stopped to look at him.

" What ? " he asked innocently " I have studied you too, you more than her, she is younger than you isn't she ? " he asked and looked away from me.

" Yes, yes she is " I answered, as I watched the sun set behind the trees.

" So then why do you fight with her ? " he asked, " do you think she has a potential for good ? " he asked again.

" Kayla can be stubborn at times, pesky, rude, not to mention ill mannered, but that doesn't mean she's evil " I answered, I couldn't tell if I was defending her or myself, but either way my response surprised me, and when I turned to look at my uncle, he was smiling at me.

" What is it ? " I asked noticing his smile.

" Nothing " he answered, " you seem to care for her even though she causes you so much trouble " he said.

We both stayed quiet after a while, watching the sun go down, until it finally vanished behind the trees, then I heard him say something, that I couldn't quite understand .

" There are demons in the world Camille, and some are more similiar to us than you can ever know, " he said sounding lost in thought. He took a moment and he sat up suddenly then he turned to me, " we should go inside, it's getting cold " he said.

I stared again at the darkness behind the trees, and at the sky that was soon to birth a million stars, my uncle was right, the night was indeed cold, without wasting anymore time, we walked in.

However his words kept resounding in my head and I wondered, but too soon I lost sight of everything, and ever so soundly I fell asleep.