Chapter 7: First Hurdle, Then Compliments.
Obviously, just because he had gotten a hair cut didn’t mean that Elian had magically turned into a confident young man that was ready to weather all and every storm that was headed his way.
Much to his own dismay, the situation was exactly the opposite.
The closer the time for breakfast approached, the worse his nerves also seemed to become. So much so that, for a moment, Elian thought about pretending to be sick so that he could avoid the public eye for a few days.
But he didn’t. Mostly because Nessa was already gone, and faking a fever convincingly with freshly cut hair sitting on his bedroom floor felt like a plan with too many holes in it.
So he went down to breakfast instead, staff in hand because he still couldn’t manage more than a few minutes without it, walking slower than usual like that would somehow delay the moment someone looked up and noticed.
Roderic saw him first. He was already seated, mid-sip of tea, and he just about choked on it.
"Alright," he said, setting the cup down carefully, and taking a deep, surreptitious breath.
"That’s new."
"Observant," Elian muttered, sliding into his seat and immediately regretting how exposed the back of his neck felt without hair covering it.
"No, I mean..." Roderic was grinning with disbelief now.
"That’s really good, actually. Who did it?"
"Nessa."
"Remind me to give her a raise."
Their father hadn’t looked up yet, still working through the morning correspondence with his usual unbothered focus, and for one brief, cowardly second Elian considered just eating in silence and letting the haircut go unremarked entirely.
Then Lord Edric turned a page, glanced up to reach for his cup, and stopped.
He didn’t say anything at first. Just looked... longer than Elian was comfortable with, long enough that Roderic’s grin faded slightly and the room went quiet in a way that had nothing to do with volume.
"That’s different," his father said finally. Carefully neutral, the same tone he used for guests and seating charts.
"Yes," Elian said, and made himself hold still instead of reaching for his collar.
Another pause. His father’s eyes flicked to the staff propped against Elian’s chair, then back to his face, and something in his expression shifted—not disapproval, not quite, but something Elian couldn’t fully read.
"Well," Edric said eventually, returning to his letters like the matter was closed. "See that it’s tidy for the Attempt anniversary dinner next month."
That was it. No follow-up, no real objection—which should have felt like a win, and mostly did, except Elian couldn’t shake the sense that his father had chosen the safest possible thing to say instead of whatever he’d actually been thinking for those few seconds of silence.
Roderic caught his eye across the table and gave him a small, private thumbs up under the edge of the tablecloth, which was somehow more reassuring than anything their father could have said.
Which in its own right, spoke more about their family than any one of them could have personally put into words.
The compliments followed one after another throughout Elian’s daily activity.
So much so that by the time the sun was setting, Elian had gone from being completely flustered to someone who knew how to properly respond to a compliment.
Truly a commendable amount of character development, he thought to himself.
Spirits were high that evening, Elian feeling lighter than ever as he winded down. For the first time in a long time, going to dinner didn’t feel like a mandatory chore but rather something he was looking forward.
He had finished changing into a lighter set of clothes, a t-shirt, which was a new kind of clothing popular in the capital, and a really oversized pair of pants of all things, when the knock on his door came.
"Young Master?" It was the sound of one of the younger maids, one that Elian wasn’t really familiar with.
He paused to consider why she was here at this hour, then answered.
"Come In."
The door creaked lightly as the girl,named Violet, stepped in, she looked a little older than Elian, with her bright red hair that was common around here. She gave him a deep bow.
"Lord Eldric is asking for you in his office."
Elian blinked.
"Me?" He said, pointing to himself.
The girl hesitated.
"Yes, He said that it would be preferable if you were there as soon as you were available."
"Alright..." He said, still shocked. "You may leave."
The girl left quietly, closing the door behind her.
Elian was still for a long moment, trying to make sense of the fact that he had been summoned to his fathers chambers.
His first thought was that he was in trouble, which, in his defense, he might have been in, considering the amount of times he had accidentally burned their garden while practicing these days.
He took a deep breath, then steeling himself, stepped out of his room, deciding that whatever happened, he’d have to face it one way or another. Knowing that it was his best choice that he dealt with this now.