I was disabused of that notion a few days later when I returned to the library after another long day of council meetings.

I’m not sure where Cedas had got to, but he was not in the library, instead there was a rukus.

A rukus in the most important room in the entire castle! And at the centre of all this was Prince Uther...and some boy I had never seen before.

“Wh-what on Earth are you doing?!” I spluttered, looking around at the books on the floor in utter dismay.

“Geoffrey!” Prince Uther looked over from where he ws searching along a shelf, looking for all the world like he didn’t have a care in the world. Obviously the gravity of the situation was completely lost on him. “You can help us find what we’re looking for, right?”

I didn’t answer instead I continue to stare at the mess with a sinking heart wondeirng if any of the books had been damaged and if so could they be repaired.

“Geoffrey?” Prince Uther repeated. “We’re looking for a book about a giant and the first army in Cornwall. You know how to find that right?”

The boy I didn’t know seemed to be more aware of what the look on my face meant.

“Um, Uther...I thought you said we were allowed in here?” He said somewhat hesistantly.

“We are,” the Prince replied stubbornly, looking at me in annoyance as if I were the problem. “I come here for lessons practically every day.”

The boy seemed, at that point, to suddenly remember his manners, he gave me a grin and gave quick bow. “Good evening, I’m Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall’s son.”

The Duke of Cornwall had a son? Not that that mattered, what mattered was this son had come in here and turned it into a complete hovel!

Prince Uther rolled his eyes, but he finally left the books in peace and came over to stand next to Lord Gorlois. “Well, are you going to help us find the book about...what’s the giant’s name again?” he poked Lord Gorlois in the arm.

“Don’t poke me,” Lord Gorlois poked him right back which was a bit of a shock to me, he may be noble, but he was still in a lower position than a prince. “It’s Cthulwch,” he turned to me.

I finally found my voice. “Did you...did you check the catalogue.”

“There’s a catalogue?” Lord Gorlois sounded utterly surprised he turned to look at the prince. “You didn’t tell me there was a a catalogue.”

Prince Uther gave a shrug. “I didn’t think it was all that important.”

“That’s how you find the book we want,” Lord Gorlois groaned, shaking his head. He looked at me apologetically. “Um...sorry...we’ll pick everything up.”

“You will?” I stared at him stunned.

“We will?” Prince Uther said at the same time, looking at Lord Gorlois as if he had just suggested they jump out the window.

“Yes, we will,” Lord Gorlois spoke firmly. “While your tutor gets the book for us. If you have time that is.”

I was utterly amazed at the boy’s...consideration, I was used to Prince Uther and to a greater extent his father and uncles, they didn’t seem to realise that servants were in fact people. But here was Lord Gorlois speaking politely and respectfully. I didn’t even know what to say.

“Geoffrey, wake up!” Prince Uther’s voice broke me out of my reverie, followed by him giving a shout when Lord Gorlois punche him soundly on the arm.

“We’ll get to work putting all this stuff back,” Lord Gorlois assured me and picked up a few books that wee within reach and shoved them at the Prince.

For a moment I thought Prince Uther would simply drop the books to the floor (and damage them for good measure), but something gave him pause and finally he muttered pentualantly. “We’ll put them back.”

I wandered off to the catalogue room, leaving the boys to return the library to rights. As I searched for this...giant, Ctulwch, I suddenly realised something, this was the first time I’d seen Prince Uther with a companion his own age. He had mentioned Ector, Sir Hector’s son a few times, that was true, but I’d never actually seen him in the company of that particular boy. Prince Uther was usally off somewhere alone, or sulking. I wondered how the two had met, but it was hardly my position to ask, so instead I located the entry for books on Cornish legends - because obviously, a giant was a legend - and finding the correct name I headed to the necessary shelf – which was in an area of the library neither boy had been anywhere near and retrieved it.

It seems I neededn’t have worried, when I got back to where I’d left Lord Gorlois and the Prince all the books were off the floor and back on the shelf.

“None of them were broken?” I asked, surprised.

“None of the ones I picked up were,” Lord Gorlois assured me, he gave the Prince a look. “None of yours were either, right, Uther.”

Uther gave a shrug. “They looked fine to me.”

Lord Gorlois rolled his eyes and shook his head, then noticed the book in my hand. “Is that it?” He pointed.

“I believe so,” I held the book out to him.

"We'll be careful with it," Lord Gorlois promised me earnestly and after a moment gave the Prince a poke in the side.

"We definitely will," he added with an nod.

I was left utterly speechless. Nobility who treated servants more like equals than lessers? My mind boggled.

The council lasted for around two weeks, during which to I learnt a great deal about military strategy, which at the very least made me believe I could get Prince Uther interested in the idea of attending such Councils when he came of age. For me personally the only interest I found in the meetings was the bettering of my scribing skills and being able to study the personalities of the men who played so much importance in them.

Duke Daedilis was a man of great knowledge and had skills in negoation that put most other men to shame. It was a well known fact that no member of the Pendragon family enjoyed being corrected or interrupted in any manner. The Duke of Cornwall managed to do that and more all the while keeping the King and Royal brothers in fine spirits, they even put aside their habitual sniping at each other!

The Duke's son was also a master at words, I had never seen Prince Uther in such good spirits. I even heard gossip in the kitchens that he had become far more polite them and sometimes even thanked them for their services!

It was against that backdrop then that the council, a great success as it had apparently being every time it was held, came to an end and everyone servant and noble alike I believe was very sorry to see it so.

Indeed, in the coming years I would find myself wishing ferverently that the Duke of Cornwall and Lord Gorlois could have stayed in Camelot permanently.