Fir walked with his new mentor, still stewing over what happened. His mentor looked at him and sighed, “You alright buddy?”

Fir looked up, “of course I’m all right!” He said maintaining a straight-backed posture, his tail still, his whiskers straight and not drooping.

On the inside, though he was still wondering why.

His mentor glanced at him, then sighed once more. “Better get you something to eat. Follow me, I’ll show you to the cafeteria. Pretty sure it’s leaf pudding today.”

Fir followed him. “Mentor?”

“Yes?” The critter in question looked at him.

Fir said the question that was bugging him most, almost as much as the why question. “Where am I sleeping and where is my entourage?”

His mentor looked at him and started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh, not mean laughter but rather the laughter of someone who was genuinely surprised and found something funny. It took a while but eventually, he regained control of himself and said, “Has no one told you yet?”

Fir looked at him annoyed, “No, no one has told me about this mysterious something that has caused you to laugh for at least a minute straight.”

His mentor looked at him sympathetically, “Sorry bud, but your entourage has been sent home. So have all of your many clothing trunks.”

Fir stood stock still for a moment, unable to process the words that had just been said, or rather, processing the words that had been said and being unable to comprehend them. His reputation would be more than just tarnished. It would be ruined! A noble without an entourage had almost nothing to distinguish himself from the common mud-soaked critter! For an entourage to be taken away without his consent?

It was a travesty. That was what it was. A travesty. A crime! An insult!

“What do you mean my entourage has been taken away! I demand it returned!” Fir snapping out of his fugue went into a righteous fury, expressing all of his thoughts on the subject.

His mentor looked shocked for a moment before he said, “Calm down! It wasn’t me that made this happen!” His hands were out, making calming gestures, trying to calm the prince down.

“Then tell me who I can see to undo this! I demand it!” Fir shouted more, his tail lashing, his composure completely lost.

His mentor shouted at him, “CALM DOWN AND I WILL TELL YOU! BY THE EVERTREE!”

Fir sensing that he was about to lose the favour of the only critter who could help him undo the disrespect that has been shown to him. Remembering the words that his parents said to him he decided to try to get on this critters good side after all the critter might be a noble.

That meant apologizing.

“Look, I’m sorry for my misconduct toward you, please, forgive me,” Fir said through gritted teeth, apologizing was something he had practised but had never really done. After all, apologizing was beneath the nobility. Nobility do not apologise. Unfortunately, Fir recognized that he was in a new environment and when you are in a new environment you must adapt.

His mentor looked at him in surprise and then softened his voice. “That’s okay, we all lose our temper sometimes, especially when something precious is taken from you.” He looked at Fir with sympathy.

He leaned in close, “look, if want to try to change something that has been decided then you will need to go meet with the Warden. Either him or his wife.”

Fir remembered the Warden and thought it probably wouldn't be prudent to meet with him again so soon. The reason being that the Warden had already warned about arrogance, and while Fir didn’t think that asking for what was rightfully his counted as arrogance he wasn’t as sure about what the Warden would think, after all, he didn’t think that the Warden held the royal family in particularly high regard.

“Where is the Wardens wife located?” His mentor looked at him and his whiskers twitched in amusement,

“You must have already met the Warden then huh?” Fir nodded in agreement, “Indeed I have. I do not think he will be as sympathetic to my plight as you have been. Therefore I will try to talk to his wife.”

His mentor, spoke again, “She will probably be more sympathetic but you will have to weave your argument pretty well. If she thinks that it is at all for your own benefit then you will be refused. If she thinks that it would be for the benefit of the whole then she would most likely allow it.”

Fir excogitated on these words, he had done debate in the palace. In fact, he was rather good at it. He had only ever lost once in his life and that was too his parents. Indeed he and another noble had debated on whether being a prince was better than being a peasant. His opinion, was in support of the peasant, an opinion that was obviously weighed against him and yet still he won!

Of course, he was only putting on a show and was one hundred per cent certain that being a prince was better than being a peasant. Thinking back on it though it was rather curious that he won, in fact, he could have sworn the other noble changing his argument mid-sentence and looking quite pleased when he lost.

Fir dismissed these thoughts, it was evident that he was just a superb orator. His attention turned to the matter at hand-the Wardens wife.

Fir turned to his mentor, “Where can I find the Wardens wife?”