Today I was going to visit the Burnett's- specifically Travis. Since this is my first time visiting a friend and introducing myself to their family, I had no idea what to do. Hence I did a bit of research on Count Burnett and his family. Count Burnett and his oldest son- Darren- were knights and avid swordsmen. Countess Burnett was renowned for her embroidery. And Travis' big sister- Cassandra- was training to be a doctor- aka herbalist.

Gifts were the best way to make a good impression! For Count Burnett and Darren, I got them a sword each, made by the best blacksmith at the castle. High-quality fabric, embroidery needles, and embroidery floss for Countess Burnett. Small bags of herbs, vials of extracted oils, and a high-quality steam distillation set for Cassandra. And some sweets for Travis.

"Do you think they'll like the gifts?" I asked mom as the servants loaded the gifts into the carriage.

"Of course, they will," mom smiled, "who wouldn't?"

"A lot of people," I muttered under my breath. Travis may like me, but would his family? What if they thought I didn't deserve to be here because I'm the offspring of King Walton?

"Stop worrying, the Burnett's are good people. They... tend to deviate from noble mannerisms." Mom patted my head and pecked me on the forehead. "Go on, tell me all about it when you come back."

"O-Okay," I took a deep breath in. It'll be fine, I just need to stay calm and focused. Calm and focused. A knight helped me into the carriage and sat across from me inside. It reminded me of the time I got kidnapped. Oddly enough, the reminder didn't beget any fear or anger. Like I was detached from those memories. Maybe it's because I know King Walton can't hurt me anymore.

The carriage clattered down the stone-paved roads. The knight accompanying me had a stoic expression and stared out the window. I'm tempted to talk to him, but would it make it even more awkward? He didn't look talkative.

"...Thanks for coming with me," I said, gauging any reaction from him. Nothing.

"Hn." Yep, definitely not talkative. The rest of the journey was spent in silence. My previous anxiety rose up when the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the Burnett manor. Oh god, this wasn't a good idea. Is it too late to back out now?

The knight opened the door and stepped down, holding a hand out to help me. Guess it is too late to back out. With another deep breath, I held his hand and hopped down.

"Alcott!" A gleeful Travis yelled from the open gates. Beside him were the rest of the Burnetts, all of them had the same dog characteristics. "You're here!" He ran up and hugged me tightly. "I can't wait to show you around!"

"Thank you for inviting me," I smiled. Travis's smile eased my nerves. "I brought everyone something to show my appreciation."

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" Count Burnett laughed. Mom wasn't joking when she said the Burnetts weren't like other nobles. "You being here is a huge honor!"

"Honey, manners." The countess scolded her husband before addressing me, "we're honored to have you here, Prince Alcott"

"I prefer just Alcott... if you're comfortable with it." Really? That's the first thing you say to the countess? "I-It's a pleasure to meet you."

"So you're Alcott? You're smaller than I imagined," a teenage boy- I assume he's Darren- commented.

"Darren!" Countess Burnett looked furious.

"What? He said it's okay to address him informally,' Darren held his hands up in defense.

"You-"

"It's okay! I get that a lot," I laughed it off. I didn't want anyone to fight during my visit.

"C'mon Alcott! I wanna show you my room!" Travis tugged my arm.

"Hold on, I still need to give everyone their gift." I patted his head. The knight handed me one of the swords, which I gave to the Count.

"Did the royal blacksmith make this?!" The Count studied the sword in awe. Darren did the same when I handed the other sword to him. The countess smiled at her gift and Cassandra beamed when she saw all of the herbs and material.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Cassandra gushed, her eyes bright with a feverish gleam. "Thank you so much!" She unexpectedly squished me in a bear hug.

"You're...welcome," I gasped, relieved as she let go. "I got something for you too, Travis." I held the white box with both hands. "You can open it inside."

"Yay!" Travis exclaimed, "follow me!" He held my sleeve and rushed to the manor. I concentrated on not tripping over my feet. We went upstairs and down the hall and entered his bedroom. It was small compared to mine, but it was still big. I set the box down on the table and sat down on the couch. Travis plopped down next to me. He opened the box and squealed.

"Cake! It looks so good! Thank you, Alcott!" Another tight hug. "Can we eat some together after I show you around?"

"Sure," I grinned. At this point, I'm sure I'd agree to anything Travis wanted. The powers of a small child. "What did you have in mind?"

"Let's watch the knights train! Dad and big brother will be there too!"

"Sounds good," I let Travis drag me around, trying to remember the layout and what each room was as he chatted loudly.

"This is Cassie's room, over there is mom's special room," Travis didn't stop talking until we arrived at the training grounds. "And here's where we train!" He made me sit under a tree. A perfect spot to watch all the men train. All that eye candy...no! Need to keep my thoughts semi-pure.

That was easier said than done. Seeing all those muscles and shirtless men made it extremely hard to keep my thoughts PG-13. My gay mind thrived on this type of fanservice!

"My dad wants me to be a knight," Travis said, "but I'm not good with swords." I glanced over and saw his dispirited expression.

"You're only nine, dummy. You're not good at it because you just started learning. You'll get better with time and practice." I lightly bonked his head. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Besides, you have more experience than I do."

"I do?"

"Uh, yeah. I start training on Monday." Travis gasped in excitement.

"Let's spar! I can teach you the basic position and some moves!" My laziness balked at the idea, but the hope in his eyes tugged at my heartstrings. Nobody could deny those puppy eyes.

"...If you want to."

"Yes!" Travis jumped up, "I'll be right back!" He ran up to an older man by the weapons and grabbed two wooden swords. I expected him to trip as he sprinted back. "Here." The wooden sword wasn't heavy, but I knew it'd feel heavy soon.

"What do I do?"

"You have to position yourself like this!" Travis straightened up into a holding position. I did my best to mimic his posture. "You're holding the sword wrong." Travis switched my hands. "You need to hold it like this."

"It feels better the other way," I switched my hands back. "I'm left-handed, not right-handed."

"Oh," Travis looked confused, "okay." He resumed the holding position, "for an uppercut you swing like this.... Backhand...overhand..." we spent half an hour practicing swings. Travis seemed to enjoy teaching me, so I kept going until my arms ached.

"That's all I know," Travis smiled, "it's fun teaching!" I threw the wooden sword on the ground and shook my aching wrists.

"You're a good teacher," my muscles clearly didn't agree. "What now?"

"Um... cake?" I envisioned a lightbulb turning on above his head, "with mom! Cake with mom!" He tossed his sword by mine. "We can leave the swords here."

"Okay," I followed Travis back inside. We stopped by his room to grab the box of cakes and walked to the embroidery room, aka the Countess' "special" room. Travis opened the door without knocking.

"Mom! Wanna eat cake with us?" The Countess glanced up from the handkerchief she was embroidering.

"When will you learn to knock," she sighed, but put her stuff down. Travis took that as a yes and put the box down on a table. He eagerly motioned me to sit on the chair next to him. Countess Burnett gracefully stood up and handed us a piece of cake. Travis got a slice of chocolate fudge cake, I had cheesecake, and the Countess took the strawberry shortcake.

"How has your stay been so far?" Countess Burnett asked, "I hope Travis hasn't troubled you."

"Not at all, we practiced with swords and watched knights train." I took a small bite of cheesecake. Yum, cheesecake is the best!

"Yeah! I got to teach Alcott some moves!" Travis exclaimed.

"Sounds like you two had plenty of fun," the countess smiled- one of relief rather than happiness.

"Maybe next time I could invite Travis to the castle?" I asked.

"Of course, we'd be more than happy to send Travis to the castle." I grinned with glee, but quickly noticed how late it was.

"Oh! I need to go!" I carefully jumped down. "Thank you for letting me visit."

"Of course. Feel free to drop by whenever. You're always welcome here." The Countess bowed her head.

"Do you have to go already?" Travis whined, "can't you stay a little bit longer?"

"Hush, Travis," Countess Burnett chastised him. "You can hang out another day."

"I'll see you later!" I resisted the urge to pat his head. "Next time you can come to the castle." With that, I hurried out of the embroidery room and downstairs to the front of the manor where the carriage sat. The knight from before opened the door and helped me in.

The ride back felt long.