"No..."
A fedora, tossed aside.
"No...."
A straw hat, sent flying and landing safely in a hat rack.
"No no no no NO!"
Hat after hat after hat flew until there was a decently sized hat pile on the floor.
Tinsdale Castle was home to many fashion-concious people, who always knew what to wear, when to wear it, and how to wear it proudly. One would see them strut onto the catwalks with whatever new trend was in style, primp as a peacock and as showy as one, too. It was the home of the "Goddess of Clothing", Dutchess Jessica Dia, and heaven help you if you strut through the glamorous halls with mismatched socks if she was there to see.
Not that Hansel particularly cared about fashion. With leather armor, acne scarred skin, and light brown hair, he figured he was already a walking fashion disaster. Granted, everybody said the acne was getting better, he was paranoid a zit would pop up in the middle of his head just to spite him. Today, though, he just wanted a hat, digging through Duke Reginald's massive collection of them in a vain attempt to see if they even looked good.
The Duke stared down at his sad, sad pile of hats and picked the straw hat off the rack, turning to the young boy and asking, "Are you sure this one does not suit you, Sir? I found it rather fitting when hiking through the mountains!"
Hansel reluctantly put it back on and stared at himself in the mirror before handing it back.
"Not to your liking?"
"It's nice," Hansel admitted, pulling up a chair and sitting down, drawing his sword only to prop himself up, "but it's not really... it wouldn't be any good for adventuring. And you talk about hiking up mountains as if it's safe to do that anymore."
"Oh, right," the Duke said, deflating like a balloon. "The smog, yes... my deepest apologies, young Sir."
"Don't call me Sir, Your Grace. I'm not exactly nobility."
"But you are a knight, one that saved my wife, in fact! How could I not-"
The boy stood up and thrust his blade to the floor, the sound of steel meeting floor ringing through the elegant room. The Duke took a few steps back, staring at Hansel with wide eyes, before the teenager looked away and frowned.
"Everybody keeps forgetting I had help. If it wasn't for Lady Runica, I might have been pasted. It wasn't all me, and I shouldn't get a heapload of the respect. Nobody even bothered cheering for Amie, who could bend the Clockwork Count's steel like it was nothing at all! Really, she was the star, not me!"
"B-but Sir, no one would believe that! I-I mean, I... well, nobody would believe that a woman did most of the work, not even if I was the one saying it! And... aren't you being a bit too humble?"
Hansel harumphed and crossed his arms. "Just another thing I have to change about this stupid place," he grumbled. "And I'm not being too humble! Amie actually did most of the-"
A creak startled both of the men as a young girl ran in, tickets clutched in her tiny hands. "I finally got them, everyone!" she said cheerfully, long brown hair flowing behind her. "I got the tickets to the Circus! I got them I got them I-"
She stared at the two men, then at the pile of hats. Both stared back at her, the younger of the two sheathing his sword and fiddling with his fingers.
After a moment, the girl put her hands on her hips and asked, "Did you guys go and have a hat fight? Without me? Again?!?"
Hansel glanced over to the Duke and added, "We actually have hat fights?"
"No! No, it wasn't that, dear Lady Runica!" Reginald protested. "Oh, no! We were just talking about how Hansel's deeds should go rewarded, after he rescued my wife from the clutches of the Count!"
"And I'm telling you, I didn't do much at all!"
The girl stepped between them and wrapped her arms around Hansel, pulling him into a hug.
"Ssssh," she whispered, stroking the top of Hansel's head, "Calm down, Hans. We all know you did a great job with all your illusionry!"
"B-but-"
Amie smiled at him so brightly, he could have sworn for a moment, she was the sun.
"We did it together, and that's what matters most! I don't really care if I don't get attention. You deserve some of it!"
It was hard to argue when someone was smiling at you, knowing that they appreciated what you did. Hansel found it even harder, especially when his heart was fluttering like a thousand butterflies were released within. He awkwardly hugged her back, cheeks flushed with red, before they parted.
"Anyway," Amie continued, "I got tickets to the Circus! I got one for me, I got one for Hans, and I got one for you, Your Grace! Oooh, I've been waiting so long to get these, but they always sell out so fast! But not this time; I managed to get tickets with the allowance my mom gave me earlier!"
The Duke and Hansel each grabbed their ticket, although the Duke looked at his in confusion. "Pray tell," he said, "what is a circus? I have been so busy, I had never bothered to find out!"
"Only the best thing ever!" the teenagers said in unison, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"It has acrobats that can walk on wires high in the air without being scared and some that flip through the skies through rings-"
"-And women that ride on elephants that are just so adorable, Your Grace, and the elephants can do tricks and-"
"There are men that tame hungry tigers-"
"Lions, Hansel! They're lions!"
"I'm not lion, they're tigers, last I went."
"Anyway, there are people who can juggle so many objects at once, fantastic dancers, and there's always that Strongest Man in the World act! Oooh, I want to see it so bad, and maybe challenge him to a fight!"
"I remember when Ulrik was the Strongest Man in the World... He was working in a circus to get some more money for us! It was really sweet!"
Amie gasped before she crossed her arms. "You didn't tell me, Hans! I could have asked him for a battle!"
"I didn't tell you because he'd leave with more than a bruised ego."
The Duke chuckled and placed a hand on their shoulders.
"Ah, sounds splendid! Then let me get ready. We must not miss our opportunity!"
Reginald headed off, shutting the door behind him. Hansel blinked before digging through the pile of hats and pulling out a trilby and setting it upon his head. He stared at himself in the mirror until the wave of disgust hit him and tossed the hat aside. The boy sat down in a chair, mumbling grumpily and letting out an exasperated sigh.
Amie peered over his shoulder and asked, "Still don't think any of the hats don't fit you?"
"Yeah," Hansel replied, slumping over and putting a hand on his chin. "None of them feel right, you know? It doesn't help that everybody around me dresses better than I do. Heck, even with your sort of out of place Eastern dress, you at least look miles better than I do!" He slumped more before letting out another sigh, fidgeting around with his fingers. "The nobles already hate me for getting the chance to save Lady Dia, nevermind actually saving her. They hate me for even living here for a chance to learn. I... I'm... I'm scared they'll just find this another reason to try to ruin my life..."
"And I won't let them, Sir Hansel."
He looked up at Amie, who stood up straight and had a serious expression on her face.
"They can try to deny it all they would like, but the truth is this: You were chosen, not them. And you rose up to the challenge. Whatever hatred they have is just pathetic jealousy because they didn't have the chance to show off how skilled they were. If they had taken the call for aid earlier, there wouldn't have been any choosing from a hat to see who went along with James, and you wouldn't have gotten that chance. But no, they did nothing, you did something! So they can stuff it!
...Besides, I think you look absolutely adorable just as you are, Hans!"
Hansel had barely any time to react as the little lady took his hand into her own and led him away.
"Now come on, let's go and get ready! We can't keep the Duke waiting, can we, Hanny?"
The boy said nothing, only following along with the butterflies in his heart fluttering faster, the negativity washed away with thoughts of being by Amie's side to enjoy the circus.
No comments:
Post a Comment