Work Text:
“Ow!” Lucien winced as the servant doing his hair yanked at the comb tangled in his curls.
“Oh hush.” the woman, a servant, scolded as she pulled at the comb again.
“Stop!” he swatted at her hands ducking his head in an attempt to keep her hands from the comb still stuck in his hair.
He hated getting his hair combed, he hated it so much. It was always a tangled, matted mess and the servants who were in charge of taming it were rarely merciful when it came to making his hair ‘presentable’.
He was still sore from when he'd gone to hide under the bed when it was time to comb it and they dragged him out.
He pulled his stuffed fox closer to his chest.
“Why you-” the woman pulled his head back by his hair and he cried out at the pain shooting through his scalp.
She wrenched back her hand like she was about to smack him and he screwed his eyes shut to brace himself for the slap.
It wouldn't be the first time she’d hit him, it wasn't the first time anyone had tried to hit him especially after father forbade him from seeing mother.
There was no one to protect him now.
Lucien waited, waited for the sting across his cheek, he kept his eyes squeezed shut, felt himself lock up. But the sting never came.
“What is going on here?” a stern voice asked.
Cautiously Lucien opened one eye.
His oldest brother, Eris had the woman's wrist in a punishing grip, his eyes bore into her with such intensity that Lucien was endlessly thankful it wasn't directed at him.
“L-lord Eris-” the woman stampered.
Eris tightened his grip on her wrist and she winced.
“I will ask again,” Eris said again, his tone deadly calm. “What is going on?”
The womans hand slipped from were she had still been griping his hair.
“What could possibly make you feel that striking the highlords son was appropriate?” Eris asked.
“I-” she fumbled. “His hair is a tangled mess- it is impossible to comb-”
“If this is beyond your skill level then go find some one who is capable.” Eris said releasing her wrist that was red a bruise beginning to bloom. “You are released from our service, i wish you a safe return home after you've retrieved your belongings from the servants quarters.”
“I-” she started but quickly bit her tongue and fisted her hands at her sides.
Shuting her mouth was a smart move considering even Lucien at the age of eight knew that upsetting any of his brothers was a dangerously stupid move.
Lucien watched her leave stepping out of his room and shutting the door behind her.
Eris huffed behind him and Lucien griped his fox closer, and twisted one of its stuffed legs between his fingers, a nervous habit hed done for so long he didn't remember when he started. His eyes were misty with unshed tears and he blinked furiously to try and dry them up but of course a few traitorous droplets spilled down his freckled cheeks.
He sniffled and rubbed his face against his fox’s head.
He startled when he felt the comb still firmly stuck in his hair be tugged at.
“Apologies.” Eris said as he began carefully untangling his hair from the combs teeth.
He felt Eris’s hand gently rub his shoulder.
They sat in silence for a few moments before Eris let out a victorious huff as he finally freed Lucien's hair from the comb.
“Now,” Eris said looking at Lucien through the mirror and set it on the vanity Lucien was siting at. “Lets see if i can make you look presentable before we are both late for our days affairs.”
Lucien blinked at his older brother.
Eris was going to do his hair? Did his brother not have other more important things to attend to?
Did Eris even know how to do that?
Eris scanned the vanity, at the various useless brushes, and oils and creams that the servants had tried and failed to use to make his hair easier to work with before. Eris looked a bit out of his depth as he carefully eyed them all and settled on a small jar of oil.
He twisted it open and the oil's pungent scent filled the room, Eris wrinkled his nose but dipped two fingers into the oil anyway and began to wipe it into Lucien's curls.
“Do you know how to do this?” Lucien asked carefully.
Eris shot him a slightly offended look before frowning.
“Yes, believe it or not I have done my own hair before.” Eris said, smearing more of the oil into hair.
Lucien paused a moment before he said. “But my hair isn't like yours.”
“Yes well..” Eris said putting the jar of oil down and grabbing a different comb. “You take after mother.”
That wasn't quite true, no one in the family had hair like his, Eris and his brothers all had loose waves and even mothers loose curls were nothing like his tight curls.
But was one of many things that made him different then his family, his skin was darker than his brothers, his features sharper even at his young age, and despite Eris’s claims that he took after their mother Lucien still found that Eris looked the most like her out of all of them.
Lucien was just different and his brothers never let him forget it.
Eris had abandoned the brush and settled for picking apart tangled with his fingers.
“It might just be easier to cut this-” Eris starts.
“No!” Lucien shouted turning around in his stool to look Eris in the eye.
Eris raised a brow down at him and Lucien shrinks in on himself that sudden bit of confidence ripped from him by Eris's eyes.
“They already cut it this year.” He muttered and looked down to Eris's shiny brown boots. “All of you have long hair… i don't want to be different anymore.”
“Very well, I suppose we’ll just have to find you a capable servant.” Eris said. “But until then turn around, I will try to get you presentable for your lessons.”
Lucien turns back around in his chair and Eris goes back to pulling tangles apart.
It takes a moment before Lucien manages to speak again.
“You dismissed her.” Lucien says as he runs his hands over the fox in his lap.
“Yes i did.” Eris says.
“Why?” Lucien asks, he worked up the courage to tell his second oldest brother Victor about the servants hitting him and he had just laughed at him.
“If she isn't capable of doing a child's hair without frustration then she isn't competent of serving in the Forest house” Eris said loosely combing his fingers loosely through his hair.
“Oh..” Lucien said, hed thought… he shouldn't be surprised…
“And because she had the gal to lay a hand on the highlord's son.” Eris ads.
Lucien looks up in surprise looking at Eris through the mirror.
Eris meets his look and his amber eyes shine like fire flickered in them.
“You are a high lords son, Lucien.” Eris says gathering his hair up in his hands. “Don't forget that.”
Lucien felt his mouth open in awe.
Eris grabbed a ribbon off the vanity and started trying to tie his hair back.
“Don't you… have other thighs you could do…?” Lucien asks, the pep talk was nice but he still wasn't sure why Eris was bothering at all, he barely paid Lucien any mind most of the time. After all, why would the heir to the autumn court bother with the pathetic seventh son?
“What could be more important than spending time with my most delightful of brothers?” Eris asked.
Lucien frowned, Eris was still in a military uniform, his sword sheathed at his hip.
Which brings Lucien back to wondering why Eris was bothering with all this.
“A meeting with the highlord and the council?” Lucien tried.
Eris’s lips turn upwards in a pleased smile. “Yes because father griping at a council of sniviling advisors is equally comparable.”
“Its more important.” Lucien argued.
“But not nearly as enjoyable.” Eris shot back and finally managed to tie Lucien's curls into a low bun. “No lets get you to your tutor.”
Lucien nods, putting his fox on the vanity and sliding off the stool he was sitting on and heads for the door.
He hears Eris hum behind him and turns around to find Eris holding his fox in one hand.
Lucien feels his stomach twist, and he imagines Eris taking the toy away or worse ripping it up into tiny pieces.
But Eris just gently puts the fox on the foot of his bed.
“We should get you to your lessons.” Eris said, resting a hand on Lucien's shoulder and leading him to the heavy oak door.