Tristan's campaign on Constance is a delicate mix of ruthless and gentle, where it needs to be.

Let's start with ruthless. 

Take, for instance, Constance's miserable habit of refusing to get out of bed. Lying for an hour staring up at the ceiling, stewing in bad thoughts and self-doubt, before hunger or thirst or bladder forces her from her position. Cajoling, sweet talking and bribing do nothing.

The solution is taken to with the elaborate bloody-mindedness Tristan insists upon everything. An hour to drag his empty tub to the right spot. Two to practice lobbing snowballs until he cannot fail the throw. Another to fill a side table with a small pyramid of pre-made ammunition, as he'll not have a chance once he's in the tub. 

The second morning of their arrival in the castle, Constance is roused from bed from a snowball lobbed perfectly at her head, from through the castle window, through her curtains. No easy feat since their rooms are not on the first floor, and there is no direct line of sight. 

When she goes to the window, Tristan is starkers in a steaming bath in the snow-thick courtyard outside, keeping a thick layer of bubbles for modesty, already hefting his second shot from his supplies. He waves cheerfully. He has sculpted himself a white bubble beard to stroke thoughtfully. He does so while wiggling his eyebrows. 

It is impossible to hide in bed from a man so well-armed and comfortable.

Other weapons in his arsenal involve telling children stories about Constance-daughter-of-giants in the corriders and hallways she's set to pass through, and leaving wondrous ambushes. Hot drinks and a steady supply of sweets for leverage. [i]Outrageous[/i] gossip, only some of which even makes a pretense of being true. (Constance! Constance! I just saw Mort [i]unhinge his jaw [/i]and eat an [i]entire deer[/i]! It just ran straight in and- Look! There he is now! Pretend I saw nothing-) (Constance! Constance! Sir Harold is actually a head-shaped bird, and his 'human' body is just an elaborate puppet! Just you watch, I'll pull it straight off after dinner-) (Constance! Constance! The Lady Sauvage has [i]seventeen toes,[/i] and not all of them on her feet! You would not believe how I found out-) 

It'd be one thing if it were just compulsive lies, but Tristan seems to have an irrepressible knack for getting the targets in on the joke. Mort found a way to hide a large bone between his cheek and jaw, and pull it out at the right moment. Sir Harold chasing Tristan off at dinner by [i]hooting[/i], and shedding feathers from his scarf as he ran. The Lady Sauvage managed to cast a many-toed silhouette against a wall, in the process of taking her shoes off. 

The more elaborate the lie, the more elaborate the means of 'proving it' must be. Oh, nobody actually tries to convince Constance. Nobody breaks kayfabe, but the kayfabe itself is transparent. These jokes are [i]silly[/i], which makes it all the more important that an [i]incredible effort[/i] is put into them. 

Because that's what's really important here, more than the jokes themselves. Everyone's been talked into being a bit ridiculous [i]for her[/i]. It's a theatre with an audience of one. 

The subtle are important too. Listening to Constance when she needs to be listened to. Asking questions to keep her talking. Leaving her alone, and respecting that time, for hours - but still checking up with hot drinks every now and again, just to make sure her brooding is necessary and productive, and not a depressive spiral.

Tristan will have to be grim and serious again soon, he's sure. When Robena arrives, it's unlikely that it will be appropriate for him to be anything [i]but[/i]. It's why it's so important he has this two weeks to revel with. 

And there are so [i]many[/i] in the castle worth his interest, in the hours he leaves Constance alone. 

Who is Sir Harold? What did he mean about Lady Sauvage? What did he mean when he said the castle is a special case?

Why is the Lady not long for this world? What passion drives the Lady? What does she do for fun, around here? 

What about Sir Liana? Where did she learn her poems? Does she have any others? Does she dance? 

Tristan also makes time for Mort. He is his staunchest ally in the campaign against Constance's bad mood. What are his own notes, his own strategems and tactics? Where is Mort strong in helping Constance that Tristan is weak? Or vice-versa? 

And who is most likely to go and watch the winter sunset with him, at the highest point of the castle, which he does every day?