<span style="font-style: italic">Sigh..... I can already tell this will be a long day.</span><br/><br/>Gabriel brushed his hair over his left eye. No need for anyone besides Aspen to know the truth right now.  As Gabriel stood, he took another sigh and proceeded out into the hallway.  It was a shade of<span style="color: #008000">green</span>Gabriel always thought didn't quite catch the sheen of his ring, but was still an appropriate enough color to allow rooms to appear large while accenting the furniture.<br/><br/>Gabriel took his time going down the stairway to the foyer. There was no reason to rush; after all, his lessons were later in the morning, and Kroger would not be arriving until at least his afternoon tea time.  About halfway down, Gabriel looked up at the portrait of he and his parents. It had been commissioned when he was still young, about the age of 6, and was the only picture remaining of either of his parents in the manor.  He secretly loathed it, because the artist had made him look....cute.<br/><br/>He continued down the steps and walked into the dining hall, where Aspen had already prepared breakfast in the brief time since he left Gabriel's chamber.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #FFFFBF">Can I get anything else for you, My Lord?</span></span><br/><br/>"Actually, you can. When Mr. Kroger arrives this afternoon, I wish for us to have our tea out in the garden. And I want my favorite board game to be set up for us to play while we await the tea."