At that moment, Diego’s father, Azul, returned, holding a series of blueprints and notes. “Diego! I apologize, My Prince. My son has not any experience with decorum.” he said. “I hope he has not bothered you.”

“Not at all.” Palm replied, slowly getting to his feet. “On the contrary, I found his company to be quite pleasant.” he added, giving the boy’s head a gentle pat.

“Papa!” Diego exclaimed. “He said that he can’t be my big brother, but he said that he’ll still come to see me a lot.”

“Did he?” Azul asked, beckoning for his son to come to him. Diego was happy to oblige. Cheerfully, he skipped over to his father and threw his arms around his long legs. “I’m sorry, My Prince.” he chuckled. “My son is the only boy among my five children and my brother and his wife have only daughters. He gets…lonely, at times. He’s asked for a big brother repeatedly and refuses to understand how older siblings work. Once you are born, the only older siblings you have are already here. But, if I could give him an older brother, I would. It would be good for him to have someone he could relate to.” he said, ruffling his child’s hair.

“Ah, at any rate,” Azul said, looking up at the dark-haired teenager, “here are the documents you requested.” he said, handing the papers to him.

“Thank you.” Palm replied, accepting the documents. “If it is alright, I would like to take these back to the palace to study them.”

“Of course.” the man replied. “It would be an honor. Please, if they can be of use to you, then feel free to keep them.”

“Keep them? But, are these not a treasured family heirloom of sorts?”

“Yes, but to be honest, I worry about them being damaged or lost or destroyed. We had a fire a few years ago and it very nearly reached the blueprints. We almost lost them. If the fire had spread, we certainly would have. If the documents were with you, I’m sure they would be far safer than keeping them here with us. It would be a relief knowing that they were in your care.”

“Are you certain?” Palm asked.

A solemn nod of his head was all the answer the Siamese cat offered in response.

“Very well. Then, I will have these incorporated into the palace library and accredit your great grandmother with their design and concept. They will be preserved in the archives and you can see them whenever you wish.”

“I…” Azul started to say, but his words failed him. He smiled, a look of pride and gratitude etched upon his features. “Thank you.” he said, at last. “It is a great honor to have my family relic entrusted to your library. I cannot thank you enough.”

Palm shook his head. “No, it is surely I who should be thanking you. With these, perhaps modifications can be made to the homes of our people that can help prevent a catastrophe like this from happening, again. It is with my immense gratitude that I accept these.” he added, bowing briskly before the man and his kitten. His thanks conveyed, Palm turned and started for the exit, taking his leave and the precious potentially lifesaving notes and designs with him.

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