Laela tugged at Shafir’s hair as he sat before the vanity. His mother had kept his hair in his usual ponytail except she had braided the sides. Shafir found it troublesome to wear braids, which elves often wore. His hands could handle a sword or a bow, but doing something as delicate as braiding his hair was beyond him.
“When do you plan to settle down?” Laela asked as she tied a ribbon around the leather tie, holding his hair up. The little bow she had tied in was purple and matched his eyes. Not that he was one for color coordination. If it were his choice, he would arrive in his regular clothes.
“Settle down? Mother, I’m not even 30!” Shafir spat out. This was the worst time to make a joke like this. He had no plans to settle down soon. “I want to focus on my career before I even give that any thought.”
“I just thought, the sooner you find the one you love, the more time you’ll have with them before they return to the Mother,” Laela said softly. Her gentle grazes as she did Shafir’s hair clued him in on her feelings. He thought about his father’s untimely death. Perhaps his mother had hoped to meet him sooner, so they could have had just a little more time to spend together.
“...Fine.” Shafir gave in. The worst that would happen was his mother would bombard him with eligible elves. If he indulged her, she could experience some improvement in her mood. “Have a list together the next time I get home.”
A group of maids entered the room carrying clothes. Shafir reluctantly let his mother choose his outfit for the day.
~ ☽ ✧ ☾ ~
Shafir stood in front of the mirror as maids dressed him. Laela, his mother, and many others from the House of Honors received invitations to the Consort crowning ceremony. This was where Aila would show off her consort and wife. They would then appoint Orpha as the head of the Seilie Court.
The Seilie was composed of people chosen by the Empress to help take care of the kingdom. With a wife, Aila would no longer need to be there, so she could attend to other matters, as her wife would be an extension of herself. So Orpha ruling over them would be the same as Aila being there.
He had insisted that he could dress himself, but his mother was determined to treat him to the same service as others of his title, so she watched as the maids buttoned and poked at him to make sure the outfit was the right size.
The outfit was a bit much for him. The garment had tight sleeves that flared out dramatically at the wrists. He came to like the attire Aila selected, even though it was somewhat revealing. The pants, though, were more his style if a bit too tight. The navy blue was a gorgeous color, but it was, of course, wasn’t his favorite color but it was customary of the House of Honors to wear navy. As it denoted where he came from.
“Mother, don’t you think the sleeves are a bit much?” Shafir turned to look at his mother and the maids quickly turned his back. To be honest, he felt ridiculous. He saw his mother’s face in the mirror and resigned to wearing it.
Laela looked angry that he even made that suggestion. Shafir felt like a peacock with all the frills. The maids slipped gloves over his hands that only covered his middle and ring finger. His mother sure was pushing it, but he said nothing about it. Laela was only trying to make him look nice. So he couldn’t upset her more. “Does Eliqinor look as good as me?”
Laela looked at Shafir from the front and said, “I would say that you look more elegant than him.” She stared for a few minutes before unbuttoning the top button of his shirt and tying a ribbon around his neck. She tied a sash tightly around his waist. Now he truly did feel like a peacock.
“I can't complain as long as I look better than him..” Shafir looked himself over. Something like this seemed like it would fit Eliqinor more than him. Eliqinor’s waist was more narrow than Shafir’s and the sash would snatch his wai-
Shafir shook his head before his mind took a strange turn. There was no way he was going to think about Eliqinor like that. But his point still stood. That would match his regal look better.
Shafir’s mother tried to put a circlet around his head and he had to swat it away. He didn’t want that. Especially when it shared the same shape as Eliqinor’s. That would be like spreading false rumors about them sharing a bed. “I’m drawing the line. I’m not wearing jewelry.”
“Ah… I figured as much. I just wanted to see how far you were willing to go to please your mother…” Laela feigned sadness, but this was one thing he would not compromise on. Shafir observed as her face returned to a neutral expression upon realizing that she wouldn't get what she wanted.
“I’m sorry, mother,” Shafir said. He knew deep down she just wanted him to look nice, but jewelry was not his style and probably never would be.
“Let’s hurry. Eliqinor and his family are waiting for us.” Shafir followed his mother as they left the changing room.
~ ☽ ✧ ☾ ~
Shafir walked with his mother on his arm as they walked into the parlor. Everyone was dressed as fancy, if not more fancy, than Shafir and his mother. They all looked beautiful, and Shafir understood why his mother decided to go fancy. This way it demonstrated his close connection to the rest of the house.
One weird detail stuck out to Shafir, though. His mother was dressed similarly to Eliqinor's mother but with more modesty than the lady of the house. Not only that, but Gweyin, Miarie, and his mother all wore matching jewelry. Gweyin and Miarie wore a matching circlet, while they all wore the same bracelet on one wrist.
Shafir shook his head and ignored what that could be implying. He was determined to avoid the topic completely. The way his mother rushed her way over to the two who praised her for her good work was too much for Shafir.
Eventually, he looked over the crowd of high elves, but someone was curiously missing. He probably shouldn’t be concerned. As if Eliqinor wasn’t coming, it might be better for the dark elf.
“Gweyin where is Eliqinor?” Laela asked and Gweyin smiled. That meant Eliqinor was going and his sanity escaped his body. If he had to deal with that ass all night-
“I’m right here, Mistress Laela,” Eliqinor's voice grew louder as he entered the room. Everyone went quiet as Eliqinor showed up. No one knew what to say. Although Eliqinor's outfit was elegant, it maintained a strict military form, which made sense as he was a military captain. Not only did Eliqinor wear his usual fancy circlet, but Shafir was pleased he hadn't taken the one his mother had offered him.
Ba-thump
Ba-thump
Shafir wasn’t sure if the loud heartbeat was his or not. Though he doubted anyone else would be stunned by his clothing. The navy outfit felt familiar as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Perhaps if he touched Eliqinor-
That is NOT something I will do. Shafir thought as he reprimanded his instincts. There was no reason for him to speak to Eliqinor, let alone touch him.
“Since everyone is here now, we should head out,” Gweyin said, clapping her hands happily. Everyone bowed their heads before filing out of the parlor.
~ ☽ ✧ ☾ ~
Shafir hadn’t been expecting it to turn out this way. The carriages sent by the Empress were smaller than expected, so it was harder to fit so many people in them. So that was how Shafir ended up alone with Eliqinor sitting opposite the carriage. He would rather ride Nabu in this attire than sit in the carriage with Eliqinor. They hadn’t said anything to each other for a while. Shafir couldn't pinpoint why he felt strange around Eliqinor. Did his outlook on the other change since he almost died to the orc? Or was it something else that caused this unease?
Neither of them seemed interested in talking to each other. So Shafir and Eliqinor just stared out their respective windows. How long they had been doing this, Shafir couldn’t tell. Whenever he was with Eliqinor, it felt like time was off pace. Either too long or going so fast, he couldn’t keep up. The little slot that led to the coachman opened.
“It will be a bit bumpy ahead,” The elf said. Shafir couldn’t remember if he ever had a bumpy ride to Silan Esari. Though knowing the Empress, she probably had them taking a special path to prevent bandits from attacking the carriages. The door to the compartment shut and Shafir grasped the handlebar attached to his window to maintain balance. Eliqinor didn’t seem bothered by the warning. Shafir couldn’t decide if Eliqinor was strong enough to avoid getting thrown about or didn’t care.
Shafir felt the telling dip of the carriage getting close to the bump and braced himself. The carriage went up over the bump. The bump was small, so Shafir was glad, but he soon regretted this as the second one was enough to throw someone out of their seat. Which, unsurprisingly, it did. Shafir had managed to brace himself, but the idiot captain, unfortunately, did not.
Shafir felt Eliqinor land on top of him. It had been so strong that the jostle threw Eliqinor out of his seat and onto Shafir’s side of the carriage. Eliqinor braced his hands just slightly above Shafir’s shoulders as the bumps continued. Shafir tried distracting himself by looking anywhere but at Eliqinor’s lips. They were so close that if Eliqinor would lean down, then he could ki-
That’s when he noticed something gleaming in Eliqinor’s ear. The small earring hung down. It was a bar-shaped earring with a fancy gem attached to the lobe. When had Eliqinor got his ear pierced? It didn’t look like a fresh one that would be red and swollen, but the high elf never wore one before. Not that Shafir could remember, that is.
“Shafir, I have to tell you something. I’m in lo-” Whatever Eliqinor was trying to say was interrupted when the carriage stopped and Shafir shoved him away. He was determined not to get caught in a compromising situation.
Eliqinor appeared confused as the coachman opened the carriage door as if the sky was falling. Perhaps he wasn't expecting them to arrive too suddenly, but Shafir was happy he had thrown the high elf off of him, or else their whole family would have assumed they were entangled in a sordid affair.
