Sebek was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
He had spent all day, all day looking for Cassandra Mikaelson, but he hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of her.
Everytime he got close to finding her, it was like she had moved halfway across campus just to get away from him.
When he looked for her before the start of school, she wasn't in the halls. When he asked the teachers about her classes, they told him that their schedules were completely different. He would look for her after each class in the hopes of catching her, but he had always just missed her. This had happened two times already today, and now he was going on a third.
Currently, he was on the athletics field. He had been given leave by Professor Crewel to go find her and speak with her. He had been confused as to why he was letting him leave half an hour early on the first day, though. The only reason he got for his early release was a barely heard muttering of 'Why do I have a feeling that girl is going to make my life more complicated?'
Strange, but he got what he wanted. He spotted Coach Vargas running some second years through exercise drills. The second years had denser schedules, so it wasn't a surprise to see them having a class alongside the remaining first years. Walking up to him Sebek schooled his face into his usual expression; one of solem neutrality, the expression of a proper knight.
"Excuse me, Sir!", he barked out, shoulders squared and hands behind his back. Coach Vargas turned to face him, an eyebrow raised.
"Hmm? What do ya need, kid?", Sebek ignored his casual tone and continued to speak formally.
"I am looking for Cassandra Mikaelson! My master has requested that I help her with anything she requires! To do so, I must find her, but I have been unable thus far! I was told this was her current class!", Coach Vargas blinked at his overly formal way of speaking and responded.
"Sorry kid, but you just missed her. She and her dorm mates finished their assigned exercises early. They left for an early lunch about ten minutes ago."
Sebek wanted to scream. This was the third time this had occurred. If he didn't find that girl and help her in some way, he would fail his young master and mentor, as well as the young woman who saw past his master's intimidating reputation and gave him the recognition he deserved. That was the last thing he ever wanted to do.
"Do you know where they went to take their lunch?", He asked, hoping to the Seven that he at least knew that much. Coach Vargas gained a contemplative expression.
"Now that you mention it, they did keep talking about the forest behind the botanical gardens. My guess is they're probably there."
Sebek smiled in triumph. Finally, he would find the girl!
"I thank you for your time, sir!", he said with a small bow of his head, and with that, he was off to the main campus. However, he was soon stopped by the call of a slightly familiar voice.
"Hey wait! You're looking for Cassandra, right?", Sebek turned around and saw the person that called out to him was Scarabia dorm head Kalim Al-Asim, who was being tailed by his vice dorm head Jamil Viper.
'What business could these two have with Lady Cassandra?', he thought to himself as the young noble finished running towards him, his servant remaining a few feet behind him. Sebek resisted the urge to scowl. He had heard about the young master of the Asim household and his loyal servant through the grapevine of the upper class before he started attending Night Raven College. He knew about how they had been bound to each other since birth, their roles always known to them. He wished he and his young master had been bound like that. He was more than a bit jealous.
"Yes, I am.", he responded reluctantly, more due to manners than actually wanting to. Kalim smiled.
"I've been looking for her, too! But, I can't seem to find her anywhere, and Jamil says I can't skip class on the first day to go and find her...", he trailed off with a sheepish glance to the man in question.
"If you want to give it to her so bad, go to her dorm and leave it on the doorstep. She'll get it and know it's from you if you write your name on it.", Jamil said in a voice that suggested this wasn't the first time the two had this discussion. Sebek wondered what 'it' was.
"But Jamil~! If I don't give her the gift in person, it ruins the value of it! I want her to know how much effort I put into it for her!", the white haired man said in a slightly whining tone that made Sebek resist the urge to tell him to shut up. He was the young master of the most powerful family in the Land of Hot Sands. If he offended him, it would reflect badly on his master. Jamil cursed under his breath in Arabic, rubbing his temple's as he did so.
"Well, we can't skip class on the first day, Kalim. If you want to give it to her in person so badly, then find her at lunch.", Kalim's face lit up.
"You're right! I'll just look for her then- but, wait, I have help with setting the light music club back up during lunch, and you said you would help, and if we don't have you it's going to take so much longer- but, I really want to get this to her as soon as possible and I just- ACK! I can't decide!"
Kalim seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown now, too. Sebek felt sorry for him, he knew how that felt. Looking to Jamil, he saw the man was both even more annoyed and at a loss for what to do at this point.
He had to resolve this quickly. Every minute he spent with these two was one he could spend trying to find Lady Cassandra.
"Why don't I take your gift to Lady Cassandra? I will say it is from you, with a personal message. I promise you I will recite what you said word for word."
That had Kalim grinning like an idiot again. He hated doing the bidding of anyone except his master, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Really?! You would do that?! Thank you so much~!, then Kalim tackled him into the tightest bear hug Sebek had ever received.
"ACK! Unhand me at once, human!", the half fae said, deciding that if he was going to act like this, manners were going out the window.
"Let him go Kalim!", the young noble's faithful servant called out, grabbing Kalim by the shoulders and prying him off the poor knight.
"Sorry~! I just wanted to show him how grateful I was!", the red eyed second year said, an expression that could only be described as a pout on his face as he was held a ways off the ground.
"Cease trying to tackle me and it will have been expressed!", Sebek bristled as he dusted off his once pristine uniform and Jamil released Kalim. Sighing, he decided to get this over with.
"Where is the gift I need to present to Lady Cassandra when I see her?"
Kalim's pout transformed into his usual smile fast enough to give Sebek whiplash as he turned back to face his servant.
"Jamil! Come and show it to him!", he yelled out excitedly. Jamil nodded and came forward, presenting Sebek with a large wooden box that he had been carrying under his arm the whole time. Sebek wondered how he hadn't noticed that.
The box was around one cubed foot. It was rectangular and had beautiful carving all along the sides. The carvings were of purple lotus flowers outlined by green leafs, floating on an oasis full of bright blue water that was surrounded by palm trees. On the lid was a circle-like symbol that resembled the tattoos on Kalim's arms, gilded with what Sebek knew to be real gold. A blue opal the size of a strawberry decorated the latch. The box itself reeked of luxury and money, and would have been a fine gift on its own. But then Jamil opened it.
Inside was a multitude of luxury items and delicacies native to The Land of Hot Sands. Silk scarves in every color imaginable, covered in intricate designs. A golden hairbrush encrusted with what could only be real rubies. Hair and body oils that, judging by the labels, appeared to be scented by at least half a dozen different flowers. A crystal bottle that also bore lotus designs sat within as well, filled with what appeared to be coconut juice, and kept cold by what was probably an insulating charm with a red and gold striped bow around the neck of it. Small packages of dates, figs, pomegranate seeds and many candies he could not name lined the bottom.
The crown jewel of the gift sat on top of it all, however. A beautiful pair of golden earrings, with rubies the size of a fingernails serving as the studs, and dangling from them were a single red and yellow striped feather on each that belonged to no bird he could recognize.
The gift was extravagant, even for the House of Asim.
And to top it all off, there were parchment paper notes tied to each and every gift with red string, that, from what little Sebek could read from them without picking them up to get a better look, gave an extremely detailed explanation of what each gift was and why it was chosen.
"Aren't they all lovely? I got things mostly in red and gold to match her hair and eyes, and I had the box commissioned by my family's favorite artisan. He said it was supposed to represent me. I hope she likes the coconut juice and snacks, too. Jamil helped me prepare those! Oh, and the earrings and hairbrush were commissioned specially, too! I hope she doesn't freak out like Jamil said she would...", Kalim rambled on, his voice trailing off into uncertainty at the end. Jamil looked at his master sharply.
"You're the one who insisted on still giving her at least one piece of expensive jewelry. If she gets scared off by you being too forward, don't say I didn't warn you.", Kalim pouted again
Scratch that, this gift wasn't just extravagant, it was personal.
At first, Sebek thought the young master of the Asim family was just acting as he had heard he was famous for. Over the top, eager to please, and overly generous. But if he was just being his usual self, then the gift would have likely just consisted of gold and jewels. Each item in this box had been hand picked by the young noble himself by the looks of it, and each item had meaning. Even the box, if the paper label taped on the inside of the lid said what he thought it said. This gift was too detailed to be a simple 'welcome to the school' present or an offering of friendship.
This was a courting gift.
Why would the young master Asim begin courting a girl he barely knew of unknown status on the first day of school? Jamil was right, he would be considered as acting too forward and be rejected, unless of course... Well, that was just an old children's tale.
If his hunch was right, then getting this gift to Lady Cassandra was now his top most priority, aside from helping her as the young master requested. The young master of the Asim family had just asked him, a servant of Prince Malleus and a knight of The Valley of Thorns, to deliver a courting gift to a person of interest for his master. This was something that, if it went awry, could mean hostile relations between the two young men's families, even if the two gentlemen themselves didn't put too much stock in it. Politics were involved in everything a powerful person and their inner circle did, including things like befriending and romancing strange otherworlders and delivering gifts from other aristocratic houses. Putting on a determined face, Sebek took the box from Jamil as he closed it.
"I will deliver this gift post haste! What is it you would like me to say to the Lady?"
Kalim frowned in concentration, before smiling once again.
"You know what, just say that the box and everything inside is "From Kalim, with hope.". That doesn't sound overly forward, right Jamil?"
Jamil shook his head.
"No, it sounds mostly platonic and implies what you're trying to convey. She should pick up on the hint."
After he said that, Sebek checked his phone. The time was 11:48, and lunch would officially start in another twelve minutes. He had wasted nearly half an hour talking to these two. He needed to leave, now.
"I'm afraid I must go! Lady Cassandra shall receive this gift soon human, you have my word!", and before either Scarabia student could say anything, he was sprinting back to the main campus, careful not to rattle the contents of the box too much.
Sebek made it to the well in the courtyard after a few minutes and started looking around in every possible direction, trying to find his way to the botanical gardens that lay somewhere on campus, and then he realized...
He had no idea where the botanical gardens were. Lord Lilia had never given him directions during his explanation of the academy's lay out that morning.
And so, with a twitching eye and rage-shooken body, in the empty courtyard, Sebek did what he had wanted to do all day, but did not due his highly disciplined sense of control.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Well, now you know what the hell Sebek has been doing. Yes, this was partially a comic relief chapter, no I do not regret it. Kalim has made his move, and Jamil is trying to keep him from scaring Cassandra into filing a restraining order, so nothing unusual. Also, last chapter I forgot to address this, but I made Ace's ex evil (or at least a total bitch) and gave him severe self-worth issues and trauma as a result of that, HORRAY! (note the sarcasm) Hey, I had to explain him being an asshole to everyone that isn't Cassandra somehow, and I was not about to give him abusive parents. We're going to have enough of those as it is *COUGH Jamil and Riddle COUGH foreshadowing up the ass COUGH*. Next chapter the Court has lunch, Ace and Deuce get their asses kicked, and Sebek finally fulfills his precious Waka-sama's request.
Also, I'm not the only one who thinks Sebek looks better with his hair down, right?
So long and Good Night, Thackery Binx.