Selim laid on his bed but he was uneasy. He tossed from side to side, uncomfortable with each turn. The word "engaged" rang continuously in his head. Frustrated, he sat up, "Urgh, I have to clear my head," he thought.. He got off the bed and walked over to where the dust covered practice sword laid, rested against the wall. He picked it up and began swinging. The technique he created from correcting the flaws in the Leoch sword style, the lazy sword— a seamless combination of all the sword style in the Leoch archives. Whilst he moved with extreme precision and grace, his mind has already began to run through scenerios. After thirty minutes, he had a plan. He dropped the sword and jumped into his bed, sllipping under the covers perfectly.
For the next two days, Selim gathered feathers from different birds all around the barony. At night on the second day, Selim sat with all the feathers and began to sew them together. With every seam, his mind screamed,"Too much effort!" But he knew he had to do this to save himself from the bonds of engagement. After two and a half hours of effort, needle pricks and a desperate battle to stay awake, it was finally ready. A robe made of feathers from different birds, with different colours and a weird aesthetic to it. Selim smiled as he raised his creation into the moon light while the candle flickered in its stand.He thought,"Lets see how she handles this."
The D-day finally arrived and Elaine bursted into Selim's room at first light, pulsating with excitement. "Wake up Selim, today you meet your bride to be."
Selim gave a little groan then continued sleeping. Elaine walked closer to the bed, "I said, WAKE UP!" She said, raising the bed from the side with a single, terrifyingly strong hand, sending Selim tumbling onto the floor.
"Up! Now! Bathe! The future Lady Leoch will be arriving in a few hours and you will not greet her smelling of nap-sweat ..." She sniffed the air around him. "And bird." She commanded, staring at Selim curious and confused, before bustling out to no doubt terrorize the rest of the staff.
"Move it people, I want this palace spotless!" Elaine's voice echoed from the hallway.
"Wow, " he thought. "She is unusually strong for a woman so reserved". Selim lay on the floor for a moment, contemplating the profound effort of standing. Then, a slow, sly smile spread across his face. The plan.
When the family assembled in the grand hall later that morning, a tense anticipation hung in the air. Maxim stood straight, Elaine vibrated with joy, Kaleb looked bored, and Gareth kept adjusting his collar nervously.
"Where is Selim?" Maxim muttered, his eye twitching slightly. "If he overslept again, I swear..."
The main doors began to creak open. Elaine clasped her hands together. "He's here! Oh, I just know he's made an effort! Trust him a bit more," she said nudging Maxim.
The doors opened fully. A collective gasp, followed by a stunned silence, swallowed the room.
Selim stood in the doorway, but he was unrecognizable. He was engulfed in a monstrous, disastrous robe stitched together from what looked like every known bird in the barony. Chicken feathers, duck down, vibrant songbird plumes, eagle primaries, crane feathers and even what appeared to be a few suspiciously large, scaly raptor feathers formed a chaotic, multi-textured, and multi-colored monstrosity. It was a masterpiece of deliberate absurdity.
He took a step forward, the robe rustling with a sound like a thousand pages turning at once.The room remained in silence, only the echoes of Selim's shoes against the marble floor as he approached his family.
"Mother. Father," he intoned with a gravity utterly at odds with his appearance. "I am ready to meet my destiny... in my very own, nature given cerimonial robe."
Elaine's smile had frozen on her face, her brain struggling to process the visual horror before her. Maxim simply stared, his mouth slightly agape, all words having fled his mind.
Kaleb was the first to break. A snort escaped him, then another, before he doubled over, howling with laughter he didn't even try to suppress. "HE LOOKS LIKE A WOUNDED PEACOCK THAT RAN AWAY FROM THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE!"
Gareth elbowed him sharply, but his own shoulders were shaking with the effort of containing his own bewildered laughter. Stiffling his laughter with tears, he asked, "Selim, what are you wearing?"
"Nature's finest brother," Selim answered.
Elaine took a step forward, her eyes blazing with fury and bewilderment, "Selim Del Leoch, you are so...."
Just then, a clear, calm voice cut through the chaos from the main entrance, which everyone had been too distracted to notice opening.
"Ahem."
Everyone froze and turned. There, standing just inside the door, was a girl about Selim's age. She wore a simple, elegant dark blue dress, her hair neatly braided. Her expression was one of amusement and intrigue, completely unfazed by the scene before her.
Her eyes were not on the Baron or Baroness. They were fixed, with intense fascination and bewilderment, on Selim. She tilted her head, taking in the madness before her.
"This is not what I expected. I did hear he was unique but this....." She exhales. "This is just not what I expected at all," she said, a poised smile on her lips. "Is it a courtship display, using Feathers of different birds for a robe?" She asked, staring at Selim who seems to be at a loss.
Her eyes then moved to the parents, "Is this a regular thing here in Leoch? My father never mentioned it whenever he spoke of your Barony, Lord."
Maxim finally regained composure and answered, "No, it's not. Selim is just...."
"You don't have to explain, he's perfect," she interrupted, a half smile played on her lips. "Ah, pardon my manners, Sylvia Energ in your presence, Lord Maxim" she said, dipping into a curtsey.
"Welcome to Leoch, Sylvia. We hope you have a pleasant stay," Elaine said, plastering a smile on her face.
Selim stood, staring at Sylvia, his smirk totally gone. "The plan had failed," he thought. "What does she mean by perfect. I am literally in an avian disaster of a clothing and she says it's perfect. She's weird and I need to stay away from her."
Selim turned to leave but a hand grabbed his shoulder. It was Elaine. She clamped down hard enough for him to feel pain without anyone noticing. Selim swallowed, cold sweat appeared all over his head. "Mother, what is it?" He asked, his eyes meeting hers that burnt with a mixture of rage and excitement.
"Show Sylvia around the palace," She said, her voice sweet as honey and sharp as a blade."It would be a shame if she were to get lost during her stay."
"Yes mother," Selim replied, defeated.
Selim led and Sylvia followed as they left the hall. The rest of the family watched as they left. Elaine let out a happy sigh and said, "Look at them, are they not perfect together?"
"Sylvia is a bit...." Maxim started.
"Crazy, weird," Kaleb finished.
"Acts like the opposite of Selim?" Gareth said
"She's just... different from the sweet little girl I met in Energ." Maxim said, looking a bit shell-shocked.
"They can be different together," Elaine decleared. "We must ensure this meeting goes well. She's good for Selim," Elaine said.
"But mother, are we not supposed to let them bond naturally?" Gareth asked.
"Yes Gareth, and bond they must," she said, moving to the window. "Even if it means us interfering for it to happen" she said, watching them walk towards the garden.