Maiden Wreath

Part 19

"I fail to see, how this has anything to do with us, especially that I was acquainted why this was done and thus..."

The door flung open, drawing all our attention, cutting my answer short.

"I just received the news you're relocating my future wife!" Dalek burst in, eyes huge.

We were quite unprepared for that I must say. We stared at him for a while, before he lost his nerve and pulled back a little, not really knowing what to do next.

"Young man, can you wait outside?" Frode asked politely after regaining his power and knocked his staff on the wooden floor. "This session is closed."

"But I'm here to..." He tried, but was mercilessly pushed back outside and closed behind the massive oak door.

Wow! Was all I could think at that moment. Truthfully, I wasn't quite in need for his help right now - I was doing well until he arrived, shocked the council and me and interrupted thus the comfy chat we had developed.

Now they were irritated again and as far as I was concerned - back in the beginning.

They turned their attention back on me and Frode rose his knotted finger and I was sure he thought I had something to do with him marching in here, but he gasped instead and turned to the man on his left.

"Did he just say his future wife?" he asked, astonished. The man on his left blinked twice and then, after his eyes widened too, nodded.

"I believe he did!"

"Then why are we having this council again?"

"Because maiden Laurien declined young master's hand?"

A poof would be heard if you could see the tension that evaporated from the room and their both eyes turned on me.

"What, what?" the man on the right asked and soon I saw the weirdest site before me - seven old men gladded in their best buzzing with each other as if women on the spring.

I watched them for a while before coughing lightly to remind them they weren't alone. I think they had no idea what to do with me anymore - they couldn't punish me, but they couldn't let me go without making me an example for the rest of the girls either. The last one was understandable as no family would wish a daughter, who thinks herself better than her family.

I coughed again, but I was ignored this time too, managing only to get Ole glance at me once, but that was all. I folded my arms across my chest and waited and waited... I soon grew tired of waiting and let my eyes wondering.

A pair of tits had made their nest on one of the ceiling joints and I gladly watched them instead, counting the times the birds flew out of their nest and returned to feed the chicks. I knew that pair well - the lady had sampled with the milk pail again! Her tiny bill was still half way covered with it when she brought the next punch of waggling worms to her chicks. We always covered the pail with some cloth to keep them away, but when we returned to it, it was always tenderly removed and sometimes tiny feathers were lying around, indicating some of the snakes must have tasted the thief's tale feathers. Eye for an eye I'd say. Or in this case a bad example of co-operation as we all knew the snakes gladly continued what the tits started.

A woodpecker pecking drew my attention. I had seen a pair of them not far from home, where the firs were gathered in small group. They had picked the cavity on the biggest fir and though usually you couldn't hear them inside the house, those two were close enough to make such noise. The pecking stopped and I turned my attention back at the cock flock before me.

They hadn't finished yet, so I left them to it, amusing myself with the tits for some time more.

I turned my eyes back just to avoid Frode barking at my lack of attention, giving him only reason to poof instead.