FSE

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Ah, mornings…the bane of your daily existence. It didn't matter when you went to bed or when you woke up; there was always this blanket of drowsiness that would entice you to stay tucked in with the rest of the sheets far longer than was prudent to do so. Truthfully, achieving a peaceful slumber was a much more difficult task as of late, but you had been at war with these sleep-related demons of yours well beyond the past few weeks.

Prying open the curtain closest to you and the headboard, you encountered a seriously strong glare coming from across the room, causing you to recoil. Lord, it was way too bright already. But that also meant you were way past due to get the day started, which was an egregious error with all the commotion going on. After all, there were now twenty-something hours left before the wedding, and you would have been incredibly remiss to leave Ambrose to fulfill the remaining pre-ceremony tasking by himself.

Gritting your teeth, you rolled over, sat up, and pushed through the yielding fabric in one fluid motion…only to be met with another heavy dose of sunlight. Sheesh…did the world really want you to go blind? You rubbed your temples, letting enough time pass to get the stars out of your eyes, before making your next move. Now was probably a good time to change from your undergarments into more appropriate attire, lest you appear indecent in front of the wrong people.

You had set out your preferred tunic the night before, so you felt fortunate that you were able to slip it on without having the elements encumbering you any further. Perhaps you could continue on the journey to reconciling this early start with some breakfast—

A thunderous knocking disrupted your train of thought before it had a chance to fully formulate. “Onoma! Come on, sleepyhead! There's no more lollygagging for you, all right?" Oh, Ambrose. That early bird possessed an entirely antithetical attitude to yours about getting up and getting things done as soon as dawn broke. While you lauded his productivity, you were a little less amenable to his shenanigans to coax you from your room before you were entirely ready.

“Just…give me a moment! Getting changed and all that!" you hollered back, smoothing your clothes with one hand and tidying your hair with the other.

“Need any assistance with that? I can come in there if you want…"

“…what? No, I'm not a child, Ambrose. I can dress myself perfectly well and good, thank you very much." There were no reservations about seeing one another in the buff, but you knew he was aiming at something else to rush you like this…although you hardly had a clue as to what.

“Then why don't you come out here and assist me with wrapping up my latest accomplishment! On the double, if you may!" Boy, did he sound excited. Must be something good to get him bouncing off the walls as shamelessly as this.

“Okay, I give, I give. Leave me a little space…" You started to crack the door, but the raven decided it would be most effective to yank it wide open instead, nearly head-butting you in the process.

“Ah, sorry! Wouldn't want to bruise your precious face…" Ambrose leaned back on his heels, sporting an awfully contagious smile.

“So...?" You furrowed your brow.

“This way!" He headed off in a saunter down the hallway to your left. Although you had made yourself a guest at this castle dozens of times, it wasn't particularly a place where you wanted to be all alone. Its labyrinthine qualities gave you the chills, even. Would anyone find you if you were to wander around and get lost in some godforsaken chamber in the most distant corner of the property? Logically, the answer should have been affirmative, but you didn't have any inclination to test that hypothesis.

With Ambrose as a guide, however, what presented itself as scary to you became no more than completely ordinary. It wasn't like the role was his by trade, yet there was ultimately something soothing about how he could wax eloquent on every nook and cranny in your immediate view. It spoke to not only his intimate familiarity with the castle, as one would expect, but also his ability to calm and captivate at the same time.

You hurried to catch up behind the raven, prodding his shoulder to suss out some information. “What's with all the hubbub? Normally, I can read you like a book, but I feel like I'm flipping through a bunch of empty pages instead," you professed, genuinely curious.

“You'll have to wait and see! My beak is sealed until I escort you to the desired destination." He sure knew how to build up the tension and keep it brimming, huh…

Keeping a close distance to your husband-to-be, you reviewed a mental checklist of the most important preparations. Ambrose had been the one responsible for coordinating the clothes for the both of you, as you judged from the get-go that he had a far superior eye for color and design. You had had the opportunity to try on the resulting product, and needless to say, you came away very impressed. The raven, meanwhile, preferred to debut his side of the stitchwork on the morning of the ceremony, although he insisted that it was entirely complimentary to your own.

Between the two of you, Ambrose had picked out the flowers used for décor and mood-setting, and you, possessing the more acute sense of smell, had control over the herbs used as incense. You also took on the initiative to coordinate the cooking, well aware of the need to compromise between the two distinct palates of bird and man. Obviously, invitations had been extended months ago. So, given all that, what did Ambrose have up his sleeve?

“We're here!" he announced in a singsong voice. Snapping you back to reality, you found yourself in front of the very oratory where the two of you would be center stage in short order.

“I think I'm missing something, Ambrose."

“Less thinking, more looking." He waved you on to accompany him through the primary entry. As you followed, you squinted at the myriad stained glass windows along the ceiling and the retaining walls that illuminated your course. Albeit colorful, nothing seemed out of the ordinary here. Granted, it had been a while since you last entered from the front, so maybe your memory was simply failing you on this occasion.

“Right idea, wrong coordinates."

So if not here, then maybe the end of the corridor? You knew it split into two distinct passageways to facilitate a large audience, sort of like a T shape…oh, yeah…less thinking, right?

Swiveling your head straight again, that's when you finally saw it. For what it was worth, it had been hidden in plain sight the whole time, but you were unable to recognize it due to your inferior visual acuity compared to that of your partner. Was…did Ambrose do this?

“Well, what do you think? If you ask me, I believe it perfectly accentuates the existing ambiance." The raven clenched his fists in anticipation, and even his tail feathers were trembling from the excitement.

“Holy hell, Ambrose. It's…it's incredible!" There was no mistaking it—this expansive mural was painted by the bird's hand, and the sense of detail took longer than an initial glance to properly appreciate.

The depiction of your likeness was apparent and relatively realistic, and so was his. On top of that, the blend of blue, black, and gold cohered very strongly, leaving a very powerful impression. What amazed you most though was the symbolism: two hands, one avian and one human, joined at the center, with the ones on the sides gesturing outward, implying how to file by species when entering the room. A powerful combination of unity and direction, to be sure.

“How long did it take you to do this? And you were willing to keep it under wraps for all this time? Were you always this good of an artist?" you asked in rapid succession, unable to contain your giddiness.

Ambrose could only beam. “Whoa, slow down, Onoma," he replied. While he was trying to stay unruffled, you could tell from the shine in his eyes that he was absolutely ecstatic, and perhaps a little relieved, with your reaction. “You know I've always had something of an artistic bent, but this is the first time I've been able to truly make use of it in such an impactful manner."

“Sure, but…" It would have sufficed to merely stop yourself short, but you felt obligated to keep speaking. “Ambrose, you're the weaver of words between the two of us, so forgive me if I don't articulate myself as accurately as I could."

You gave yourself a moment to collect your thoughts, but frankly, there weren't too many of them that would have done your emotions justice. “I honestly cannot describe to you how significant this is to me. To invest so much of your time in a piece like this…my jaw would be on the floor if it possessed such extensibility. All I want you to know is that I'm really proud of what you've done here and what it means, not just for us, but for everyone else who is blessed to witness it."

With little else to say, you pulled out the last stop in your outpouring of thanks by taking his right hand with your left. Gesturing toward the mural, you posed the theoretical question: “Does life imitate art, or does art imitate life?"

“Well, it's clearly the former, not the latter in this case," Ambrose smirked. “But of course, the mural's underpinnings are deeply steeped in mimesis, so why not both?"

“Both is good." Nodding in assent, the raven led you back in the direction whence you came. Interestingly enough, the cascading light from the glass overhead seemed all the more unspectacular on the return trip in spite of its unchanged complexion.

Back outside, you carefully shut the wooden church doors behind you, a dull groan accompanying their rotation along the hinges. As you let go of the handle, you began to take a step, but paused, staring momentarily into deep space. Were you hallucinating? Double vision? …no, wait, that's just—

“Good afternoon, mother!" chirped Ambrose, channeling his own surprise through a far more proper medium. “What brings you here? I had expected you to be tending to matters elsewhere in the castle."

Meekly, you bowed in deference to the presence of the avian queen, but she merely chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh, Onoma, how you humor me…there's no need to be so formal. I can't say I'm as acquainted with you as well as my dear Ambrose is, but rest assured, you're as close to family as you can be in my mind."

Exhaling, you straightened yourself out. Genevieve's stature was imposing, given that she stood a head above your own, but she didn't have a single malevolent bone in her body. Still, you preferred to be on your best behavior around royals from other countries. It would be a tremendous scar upon the relationship you had forged with the kingdom to upend it with something trivial in your estimation, but grand in scale in theirs.

“I wanted to bestow my best wishes upon the both of you before the ceremony," the queen offered. “Believe me when I say that I have full confidence in your abilities and sensibilities, for that matter." She stroked the top of her beak, buying herself some time to word her next sentence. “I'll be blunt: as you may suspect, there will be naysayers, critics, and what have you trying to drag you two into the mud."

You and Ambrose looked at each other, acknowledging that this had been realized rather recently. Genevieve continued, narrowing her eyes. “Although most are neutral or in favor, there is tangible aversion to this marriage among the elites. It will most definitely break the surface tomorrow by way of a few members of the attendance. You must be exacting with your language and interactions; otherwise, things may unravel in a hurry."

She was focusing on Ambrose specifically with her cautionary speech; while he didn't outwardly display any apprehension, you sensed his stomach was in knots. The notion of the wedding being disrupted had absolutely crossed your mind and his, but it really wasn't something either of you had wanted to broach.

Watching Genevieve speak in such an animated fashion, you also observed how she possessed plenty of white and gray feathers in her plumage. Her heritage as a pied raven was the true explanation behind her streaked appearance, but in this instance, it was indicative of her age and experience that came with it. As far as you were concerned, you were more than willing to receive any wisdom she was willing to impart.

Ambrose, meanwhile, was starting to look a little deflated, but the queen's motherly instincts recognized the demeanor shift in a snap. “Now, Ambrose, I don't want you to worry. If anything, consider any outburst from the crowd as…an unexpected source of entertainment. Trust me, I've listened to many a person run their mouth in my time, and more often than not, the garbage they spew trends toward amusing rather than infuriating."

“Thank you, mother, I'll keep in that in mind." And just like that, the younger raven's spirits were lifted once more. Familial bonds working their magic in real time, you supposed.

“Thank you for your encouragement, Genevieve. I promise not to make a mockery of your people or your subjects," you swore in earnest.

“I'm sure you won't, Onoma. I look forward to seeing you two walking the aisle." As did you, obviously. With a couple of gusty flaps to get airborne, she then took off, mixing in a spin here and there as she glided away.

“She's still so graceful after all this time, huh?" admired Ambrose, watching the aerial acrobatics with intent until the queen became a miniscule blip in the sky. “But…even if I'm destined to roam purely by foot, I'm glad I have the privilege of doing it alongside you."

“Likewise." And amidst the bouts of strife and contention, you were confident that the path that lay before the two of you was the superlative one.