[jules_]

[petrify]

BIGGEST MARK

[deerbroken]

mark uwu

[Tereziisbestgem]

markie!!

[she wolf warrior]

mark

[cloven]

Mark

[whim]

mark <3

[Marsh]

moodboard
outfit


The day he bought his first coat was at the end of his first week apprenticing under Ananias. The week’s work had brought him a weekly wage of two gold coins and Kellan had been determined to spend them on something for himself.

A peaceful ringing had echoed through the dimly lit shop and Kellan shuffled in clutching his two coins tightly so that he would not lose them. A glance around the room at all of the clothing was enough to intimidate him. Kellan had never seen so many clothes that had not been mended several times over and he stared around wide-eyed at all of the mint condition items. That was, until his eyes settled on a grandfather clock in the far corner and Kellan immediately felt his panicked heart rate settle. At least that was familiar to him. Without realising he had moved, Kellan found himself standing just in front of it to listen to the reassuring tick of each beat of the minute.

“Can I help you... sir,” came the well-polished voice of a gentleman standing behind him, traces of a sneer evident in the tone of his voice. Panic once again rising in his throat, he wheeled around to face the owner of the voice as he felt a sweat building on his brow.

“Sir, I-I... I’ve got, um...” he started, stumbling his way over various attempts to form a coherent sentence before he cleared his throat and tried again, “Yes, thank you, sir. I’m looking for a coat? To be more precise, my first coat. Just something plain will do.”

Kellan met the gentleman’s eyes and he saw that they had softened from their original hard stare. Now, Kellan could see a glimmer of amusement upon his face and he relaxed immediately.

“This way, young sir,” he replied graciously, waving him in the direction of a row of coats and Kellan felt a bubble of pride swell up in his chest at the way he was being treated.

“Might I suggest this fine grey one, it will bring out the colour of your eyes?” the gentleman offered, pulling a dark grey overcoat off the railing holding it up against Kellan.

The coat itself was not much, that was for certain, but what it represented so much more to Kellan. As an orphan of his background there were no prospects in life, Kellan was simply one of the lucky few. He had been in the right place at the right time and he had sworn to never lose sight of that. The simple grey coat represented his liberation: the start of a new freedom that he would build for himself with all the hard work that would follow, if his first week was anything to measure by, but Kellan knew he would grow to love his profession. Not only this, but it represented his new beginning. As the first item of clothing he had ever acquired brand new, it was a promise to himself to work his way up the social chain and to never look back.

“I’ll take it!” Kellan responded, trying to contain his excitement as he handed over the two coins and began to pull on the sleeves of his newest, most prized possession.

One of his master Ananias’ more regular engagements involved commissions for the son of the royal family and heir to the throne of the country. It was a prestigious affair and Kellan had been almost giddy with excitement as they had travelled to the royal estate for the first time since he had started his apprenticeship. His job was just to present the toys and hand over tools. “Just watch and learn, boy” he would say. But Kellan didn’t mind. He knew that one day he would be crafting his own toys and building a name for himself.

That first day he had been, Ananias had been called into a private meeting with the King and Kellan was left to his own devices to wander up and down the decorative corridors to his heart’s content until he was called to leave. At every turn there was yet another mesmerising feature which Kellan stopped to admire, taking even longer if it was one of the many grandfather clocks the building boasted. His peaceful stroll was not meant to last long, however.

Before the end of his third corridor, he felt himself pulled in through one of the doorways and into a highly ornate bedroom. In the middle of the room had been a dark wood, engraved four-poster bed and sat on it on top of the bright red satin bedcovers was an enthusiastic-looking boy with white gold hair and eyes the colour of moss.

“Do you want to have a go on my new rocking horse?” the boy had asked with a grin and from the statement combined with the fact he had helped deliver a rocking horse earlier that day, Kellan inferred that this boy must be Prince Louis.

His eyes had grown wide and only once he was certain of the other boy’s sincerity behind the question did he dare to nod slowly.

On this day, however, his and his mentor’s business had been different. The purpose of their visit was to present ambitious plans for a series of toys to the King, but Kellan wasn’t afraid to admit to himself that he was more excited to see his friend, Louis, than anything. When they arrived, however, the story became very different.

It happened while Kellan was unrolling the parchment to show the King and Louis Ananias’ plans for the toys. He proudly held it open for them to read it and as he did so, he caught Louis’ eye and smiled widely at him. In response, though, Louis’ eyes quickly darted away from his and became increasingly interested in the parchment Kellan was displaying instead. Kellan’s smile dropped as Louis avoided eye contact for the rest of the session and by the end, his mood of happiness had diminished.

When the time came for the King and Ananias to have their private meeting, as was customary whenever the pair went to the royal household, Louis removed himself from his throne and waved Kellan towards a side room, still refusing to meet his eyes. Clenching his fists, he followed the ivory hair into the room.

Louis began to anxiously wring his hands together and his discomfort was clear.

“What is it, Louis?” Kellan asked with a hint of impatience coating his voice.

“Prince Louis,” he corrected him before pausing, “We can’t be friends anymore Kellan. My father says it would hurt the family’s reputation to have the heir to the throne associating with people of… your class.”

Kellan didn’t hear the sincerity in Louis’ voice, though, all he heard was the sting of the low blow regarding his status and Louis knew how painful that would be to hear. How had everything turned so sour in the space of mere minutes? Perhaps he would never be able to shake off his low-birth origins, not even when he was the most famous toymaker in the land as he aspired to be. Louis continued to argue his case, pleading that it was his father’s influence that forced him to make this decision among other weak justifications, but Kellan did not want to listen anymore. He fixed his eyes on grandfather clock in the distance and focused on the seconds hand as it steadily made it’s way around the clock, tuning out Louis’ voice. Eventually, he gave up and left, leaving Kellan alone.

In the empty room left behind once Louis had gone, the hollow ticking of the grandfather clock consoled him as a tear rolled down his face and he mourned the loss of his only friend.

Kellan was greeted by the steady ticking clock of the regal grandfather clock as he entered the palace. It towered over the boy just as it had the first time Kellan had seen it and he found himself entranced by its nobility once again. Voices and footsteps that had welcomed him and come in with him respectively disappeared down the highly decorated corridor leaving him alone to admire the intricacies of its design. A glass window revealed the pendulum swinging back and forth. Working upwards, the varnished wood displayed wonderful inlaid patterns of flowers and vines circling their way to the top. Kellan did not allow himself the liberty to dwell too long on the patterns as he knew he could spend hours getting lost in the maze of its design. What drew him towards the grandfather clock the most was the painted clockface with the metal detailing on its edges. The paint was cracked from age but still boasted vibrant colours and roman numerals painted in vivid gold leaf.

How many courtiers had the old grandfather clock seen fall from grace? How many treasonous murmurings had it heard as the swift discussion passed by in secret? How many positions had been gained or lost or fought for within earshot of its chiming? If one could ask the clock all it had seen, how many stories would it be able to tell? All these questions and more filled Kellan's mind as he pondered the history which had occured mere metres from where the grandfather clock still stood.

Approaching footsteps and a firm hand on his arm to guide him in the right direction spoiled the moment, and Kellan forced himself to tear his eyes away from its hypnotising presence and the fond memories that had clouded his mind causing him to forget himself for a moment.

He entered the long gallery lined with the finest portraits of descendants of the family. It had been a while since he had entered the stead of the royal household and it still took his breath away. In his grasp was a gift box for Prince Louis containing a toy crafted by his master, Ananias, who was one of the most talented toy craftsmen in the land. It was not unusual for commissions to be made for the most brilliant toy his master could make on behalf of wealthy families as gifts or favours to the royal family. Kellan had been blessed to have the opportunity to apprentice under Ananias and he hoped that one day he could be as well known for his craft as his master Ananias.

As Kellan had grown older and more reliable, Ananias had begun to entrust the delivery of such gifts to their respective recipients such as today’s presentation to the young prince - a tremendous honour for a boy of his age. He was trusted to present himself gracefully and courteously having been lectured many a time on the correct way to hold himself in front of important families.

Once he had made his way to the end of the long gallery, Kellan bent down on one knee and dipped his head so that he was kneeling before the thrones of the royal family.

"Your highness, I present a gift from the Duke of Mossey crafted by the talented Ananias," he duly announced, allowing his voice to ring clearly. Kellan didn’t move, however, until he felt the weight lifted from his outstretched arms, but he still remained in the appropriate position. Louis’ father, the King, turned his palm over and held it out to the side ever so slightly. Kellan, fairly well-versed in court etiquette, took the silence that followed as his cue to stand up so he did, taking a few steps back to watch Louis’ reaction.

When the King wasn’t paying attention, Prince Louis offered him a small, apologetic smile which Kellan was not prepared to acknowledge. His former friend had made certain to teach Kellan his place in the world and it was a lesson he would never forget nor was it a turn of events he was willing to forgive, so he did not return the smile.

Thank you for reading my form and I hope you enjoyed it! What I have isn’t much which is a shame because I was really excited to explore this concept some more and develop Kellan, but alas life hit me at just the wrong moment. I hope it’s enough to get a taster of my plans for this kal though if I were lucky enough to win. I just wanted to take this moment to thank IlluminatiConfirmed for letting me use their gorgeous kal Louis throughout my writing and also two of my dear friends Snowflakette and sentimental_android for motivating me to finish! Good luck to everyone else who entered!

[薄桜鬼]

maarrk

[khvoxtic]

Username: planiteri || Kit Name: Emyr

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