Fabulous Feliciano

Feliciano's Fix

"Not so fast, Miss!"

Drying her eyes from the tears she had just cried, Gloria looked over at Feliciano and almost fell off her chair, but she quickly kept her balance.

"Dear me! Oh, I'm sorry about that, Sir. I...I wasn't expecting to have a visitor!"

"Oh, not to worry, Ma'm. Your reaction is perfectly reasonable since we've never met before, but I hope you'll allow me to be both a visitor and a possible helper. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, my father boasted...more like 'lied'...to the King that I could make a dress overnight, and the King wants me to make the best wedding dress he's ever seen before sunrise, or else I'll be seriously punished. Even though I've been given more cloth and fabric than thread, I've been trying my hardest to make a perfect dress before it started looking awful!"

As Gloria picked her dress off the table to exhibit what she was talking about, Feliciano could understand why she viewed her dress as awful, but he was also heartbroken by the predicament that she was in. The king had wrongfully tasked this poor woman with a ridiculous task all because her father lied to him, and while he thought of this as an opportunity to show off his skill, he focused more on it being a way to help Gloria with her assignment.

"Don't worry, Miss. I'll gladly help you with this, no questions asked!" Feliciano chirped as he hopped off the windowsill before hobbling his way over to the table, where the woman backed away before asking if she could help him onto the chair. Letting out a little laugh, Feliciano shook his head before twirling around on his foot, during which he changed from his teeny-tiny form to his giant shape. It had been a while since he had used his height trick, but he could tell by the wide-eyed expression on her face that the trick was worth it for both himself and the young lady, especially since it would save him the hassle of climbing onto the chair.

The next few minutes passed in a blur of silk and satin as Feliciano created the most stunning wedding dress known to mankind, and after he held it up for Gloria to see it, she held the dress in her arms as gently as she could before touching the fabric in amazement. Even though the gown was enough to leave her speechless, she thanked Feliciano for his help before placing the dress on the mannequin, after which she ran back to Feliciano with childlike awe in her eyes. When asked how he was so talented, Feliciano brushed it off as something he had been working on for years before adding that he had wanted to show off that trick for quite some time. It was at that moment when Gloria realized that the two of them hadn't introduced themselves yet, so even though Feliciano had heard the older man say her name outside, he smiled as she formally extended her hand out and introduced herself.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Gloria. My name is Felix, and, if it's okay with you, I'd like to be your friend." He smiled a little at the fact he gave her his nickname instead of his full name, and his smile grew when he saw the caring gleam in Gloria's eyes. Gloria then told Feliciano that she never had a friend before that night, since she spent most of her time working at her family's cider mill, and he couldn't believe that such a sweet woman like her was left without a friend until he came along.