"I'm sure he'll receive things as well. And you may not need it, but I insist. I promise it will not take long. Rosie just needs to get some measurements." Lloyd led the group along to Rosie, who was supposedly the resident tailor. She was a plump, friendly looking woman with rosy cheeks and long brown hair tied up in a messy bun. "Lloyd! Aww, baby, it's been so long since you've visited me!" She grabbed him and kissed him on both cheeks, leaving him a bit ruffled, but still grinning. "I know, I know. I've been very busy with my studies. Would you mind getting some measurements on Ellis here?" He asked. "He's in need of new clothes." "Of course, of course! Come here, dearie!" She took Ellis by the arm and pulled him onto a short platform.
Ellis ducked his head shyly as he was pushed onto the platform. He hoped he would be able to keep his own clothes on; if he took them off, then the few little marks he had that showed his heritage would be visible, and god knew what would happen then. People like him weren't supposed to exist. Mixed races weren't tolerated in most places.
Luckily, Rosie never asked him to remove his clothes. She just took her tape measure, measured Ellis's waist, height, wingspan, hips, chest, and more until she seemed satisfied. "Alright, dearie! You're all done!" She patted Ellis's shoulder and ushered him off the platform. "Your clothes should be ready in three days at most, probably sooner. Have a lovely evening!" Lloyd waved to her and smiled as he led the group back out.
Ellis' wingspan was exactly zero, seeing as how he was half human, and pretty much everyone thought he was fully human. He nodded a little, saying a quiet thank you as he was led out of the fitting room. He fidgeted with his clothing a little bit.
(Wingspan as in the length of his extended arms lol. I believe it's the same term)
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Nathaniel asked, grabbing Ellis's hand again to drag him along. Lloyd smiled softly and led the group back to Ellis's room. "Rosie is fantastic at her job. She'll be very quick, I promise. I'm pretty sure she has nothing else to work on at the moment either." Lloyd said quietly.
(oooh i thought you meant actual wingspan and I was very confused lol)
Ellis shrugged a little bit, letting Nathaniel drag him. "Right, I just…I really don't need new clothes. The ones I have work just fine for me." he hadn't had to patch them yet, though he had done repair work a few times when the elbows on the shirt had torn open. He had had to let out the hems on the pants, too, since he had gotten them when he was a bit shorter than he was now.
(Lol np)
"You may not need them, but I would like you to have them. Now it's getting late, and I should probably return to my studies. Farewell, Ellis." Lloyd dipped his head politely and pulled Nathaniel off to his room, knowing the younger boy was going to want to join him. He returned to reading and gave Nathaniel some paper so he could practice the minimal origami skills he'd picked up from Ellis until he inevitably fell asleep. Lloyd studied late into the night and eventually passed out from exhaustion.
Ellis watched the princes go for a moment, then went into his room, letting out a breath as he sat down on the bed, taking the kerchief off and setting it aside. He rubbed his face with a hand, not quite sure what to do now. So he went to sleep, curling up on the bed beneath the blankets.
Lloyd and Nathaniel were still asleep in the morning when the others awoke, Nathaniel since he always slept in, and Lloyd since he'd stayed up so late. At some point, a servant came in and gently shook both boys awake. Lloyd drowsily thanked her and headed into his bathroom to take a much-needed shower. Nathaniel left the room and went to go find Ellis.
Ellis was already awake and had had breakfast. He had actually gone out to the stables. His and Anton's horses had arrived during the night, and he wanted to check on them. Gora, Anton's gelding, had snapped at him when he had come close, but Pixie, his own horse, had whickered, sidling up to him for a scratch. He was still in her stall, grooming her, having snuck her an apple from the kitchens. Pixie had belonged to his mother, and was already nine years old.
After showering, Lloyd spent a long time drying and preening his feathers before he came back out again. He yawned a bit and ran his fingers through his damp hair, his eye circles quite visible for the moment. He was exhausted, but alas, he had responsibilities to attend to. Nathaniel wandered around the palace until he resigned himself to the fact that Ellis probably wasn't inside and headed out.
Ellis kept visiting with Pixie, cleaning out her hooves, and grooming her coat, then moving on to her mane, combing out the tangles. He cooed to her quietly as he worked, a soft smile on his face. He had a device stuck in his pocket so that Anton could contact him if he needed him.
Nathaniel spotted Ellis with the horses and grinned, running over to him. "Good morning, Ellis!" He chirped, looking up at the horse with a curious expression. "This horse wasn't here before…" He murmured. "Is it yours?" He asked. "What's its name? Can I pet it?"
Ellis looked over at Nathaniel, blinking and a little startled that the younger prince had sought him out. "Oh! Good morning, your highness." he greeted with a quick smile. "This is Pixie, yes. She was my mother's, and now she is mine. And of course you can pet her; just be careful not to startle her." he kept combing through the horse's mane. Pixie was a horse of average size, dapple grey with a long mane and tail.
Nathaniel pet Pixie gently, humming softly to himself. "You don't have to call me your highness." He murmured. "I'm only eleven, after all, and I've basically been disowned. Lloyd is the oldest, so he's gonna be king. My parents don't like me that much, but I don't think they can officially disown me." He rubbed Pixie's velvety nose.
Pixie snorted softly, mouthing at Nathaniel's hand curiously, her large, dark eyes looking down at him calmly. Ellis glanced over at Nathaniel for a moment, letting out a breath. "I see. I'm sorry." he said quietly, knowing a little bit about how that felt. He kept working out the tangles in Pixie's mane.
Nathaniel smiled softly at the horse. "My wings don't work, so I'm kind of an outcast or something." He glanced back at his crumpled, crooked wings. "I hurt them really bad when I was seven and now I can't fly anymore. That's okay, though… Lloyd still takes me flying sometimes. Our bones are hollow, so we don't weigh very much and we're kinda fragile."
Ellis nodded a little bit, finishing up with Pixie's mane. He trailed a hand along her side so that she could feel where he was as he moved around to begin working on her tail. He knew that horse's eyesight was very limited when it came to behind them, so he made sure she knew it was him before he began. Pixie sniffed curiously at Nathaniel, moving along to his hair and mouthing at it.
Nathaniel giggled a bit and leaned back a bit so she couldn't eat his hair. "Hey! I'm not grass!" He played with her mane a bit, grinning.
Meanwhile, Lloyd was frantically searching the palace for Nathaniel. He called out the boy's name to no reply and was growing increasingly worried. After a bit, he checked outside and found Nathaniel chatting with Ellis again. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief and headed over. "Nathaniel, what did I tell you about going out without telling me?" He asked, crossing his arms and folding his wings. Nathaniel sighed and rolled his eyes.
Pixie let out a soft whuff as he moved away, turning her head to bump it against his side lightly, mouthing at him. Ellis chuckled at her behavior. "Spoiled little thing. She wants a carrot or an apple or a sugar cube." he said to Nathaniel. He looked up when Lloyd arrived, and then ducked his head a little bit, still working on Pixie's tail.
"Unfortunately, I haven't got anything on me… Nathaniel, why did you go out without telling anyone?" Lloyd asked again. "I was looking for Ellis. I didn't expect it to take me very long…" Lloyd sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "How are you, Ellis?" Lloyd asked.
Pixie kept sniffing at Nathaniel, letting out a disappointed huff when it became obvious that he was harboring no treats for her. Ellis looked over at Lloyd for a moment when the question was addressed to him. "Oh. I'm fine, thank you." he replied, finishing up with Pixie's tail and putting the comb away.
Lloyd nodded and looked around. It was a brisk morning, so he was quite cold, having just gotten out of the shower and all. He sighed softly. "So, how's the wedding planning going?" Nathaniel asked Lloyd. "I don't know… they never tell me anything. I just have to go along with it, whether I want to or not."
Pixie bobbed her head slightly, flicking her tail absently and blinking at them with those big, dark eyes. Ellis came around Pixie's side, stroking her mane for a moment as he listened to them speaking.
Lloyd sighed and went over to stroke his own horse, a pure white Pegasus mare. "I'm not even sure I want to get married, but I have no choice…" The horse whinnied softly and nudged his hands. "It's my responsibility. I don't think they'll make you marry, Nathaniel." "I hope not. It sounds awful." "You're so great at making me feel better, Nathaniel." Lloyd replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Alright, alright… I'm sure marriage is great. Right, Ellis?"
Ellis let out a quiet laugh. "I'm sure it is, when it's with the right person." he replied with a little smile. "My parents loved each other quite a lot, and they were married quite happily." Until my father died and then my mother remarried. And then she died too. But he didn't say that out loud.
"Yes… I would like to marry for love, but alas, I cannot. It is my duty to marry whichever suitor has been chosen for me, unfortunately." Lloyd kept petting his horse. "We should probably head in soon. It's cold and we didn't exactly tell anyone where we were going."
Ellis nodded a little bit. He stroked Pixie's nose for a moment. "Of course." he replied simply. "Anton isn't…he isn't that bad. He can be a bit haughty sometimes, but what do I know? I'm just the servant boy." he gave a slightly bitter smile, looking away.
"You're not just a servant, Ellis. You're a person, and that makes you as valuable as anyone else." Lloyd hummed. "Yeah, your organs alone are worth a ton." Nathaniel butt in, grinning. "Nathaniel!"
Ellis made a choking sound at Nathaniel's words, then started to laugh, grinning. "Yup. That's where my worth comes from. The price my organs would sell for." he joked, shaking his head a little bit.
