Chapter Twenty-One

The main course was a rack of lamb and Evan had eaten more than three quarters of it already. It was delicious indeed, it was served with a traditional Avevian spicy bittersweet sauce and accompanied with mashed sweet potatoes and honey glazed slices of pumpkin. A dish that certainly no one could resist for sure.

Taking note of what Michel had told him, and noticing his surreptitious constant eyeing, he decided it was a good time to make the move.

He undid the handkerchief on his shirt's collar and pronounced:

"Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, excuse me, please, I need to leave you for a brief moment to visit the restroom."

He looked at Michel out of the corner of his citrine eyes and he could have sworn that the prince had flashed an elated, mischievous smile for a split second.

That was when Michel made his entrance in the act.

"Father, Uncle, and the rest of my pleasant guests, I'll excuse myself, too. I'm afraid my childhood friend Evan will get lost in the many hallways of the palace. I'll accompany him this time if you let me." He pronounced, solemnly and perfectly well-mannered, a request only a prince could ask for in that way.

"Of course, son of mine, you shall guide your friend to the restroom." King Antoine replied, his voice sounding great and worthy of a monarch.

And with this, both youths sat up out of their chairs and left the room.

When Michel closed the door behind them, both of them let out a relieved sigh.

"I was about to think your dad wouldn't let you go and I'd have to get lost in the hallways or something." Evan said, between elated giggles full of adrenaline.

"He's usually not that strict, but I'd have found a way to locate you and take you to the aviary anyway." Was Michel's response, who was also giggling with excitement and a glimpse of eagerness.

Evan suddenly felt his hand being held by Michel. The prince's hand was warm and sore, and it felt smooth to the touch. He couldn't help blushing and looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Follow me, let's rush to the aviary." Said Michel, smiling widely and overflowing with charm as he squeezed his friend's hand, so full of determination.

Evan smiled, mesmerized by Michel and his heavenly teal eyes, how they could convey such a silent yet electric feeling simultaneously. Michel himself was a masterpiece who conveyed multiple emotions at the same time, and being only friends with him broke Evan's heart into bits.

But when he glanced at him like that, when he smiled at him like that, so charmingly and conspiratorially, he understood he was his confidant, his favorite boy, his best friend, his equal…

He understood those loving feelings they used to share back in the summer camp never ceased being, and he was thankful like never before for having someone like Michel in his life…

He was in love with Michel, and being friends, lovers, soul brothers, didn't matter to Evan as long as he had him in his life.

Without noticing it, they had started running through the hallways of the palace. At this rate, a flip-flop would be more fit than Evan to run such a short-lived marathon like the one that was being held right then by just the two of them.

They went through many stone arches with various ornaments and beautifully carpeted stone floors that matched the walls' colors. There were many wooden doors they passed through as well, as well as windows that revealed amazingly landscaped gardens or offered outstanding views to the majestic private beach of the palace.

"Over here." Michel exclaimed, tugging on Evan's arm and leading him to an exit arch.

They took a short break once out of the palace and seemingly at the entrance of one of the gardens.

They laughed energetically and huffed and puffed full of adrenaline. They let their torsos' weight rest on their thighs, using their hands as their support.

"What if a guard catches us sneaking out?" Evan inquired, still smiling at Michel, and his cheeks had gone fully red like two ripe tomatoes.

"They're not gonna say anything to me or my father if I lie about him giving me permission to leave the party all of a sudden." He replied, squeezing the paler hand in his hand.

Evan's hands were sweaty and warm, they had a rough texture but it was somehow still pleasant to the touch. Michel loved the feeling of it. Something he really loved about Evan was his hands: medium-sized and pale, with knuckles and cartilages fading into a reddish shade of coral pink.

He imagined the moment he'd play the cello for him at the aviary and he wasn't able to suppress a small grin. He'd look even more stunning, with no doubt.

Evan seemed to notice this small, goofy gesture, apparently, it didn't go as unnoticed as Michel would have liked to… Still, Evan sketched a curious smile and raised his eyebrows.

"What's so funny?" He asked, feeling amused for some reason.

"Your cheeks, they're beet red." Michel lied as he chuckled.

He then squeezed Evan's cheeks gently and tenderly, trying not to hurt or embarrass him.

"Come on, the aviary is not so far away, and I'm excited that you'll meet my best friends." He added.

"Your best friends?" Evan asked, looking astonished about this phrase.

Were birds Michel's best friends…? Evan thought it was him… In any case, Michel was certainly an odd one, a very, very charming odd one, though, that was for sure…

Michel simply chuckled a bit.

"My birds wouldn't ever replace you, but they're very good confidants when you need someone to listen to you." He said, turning around. "Are you coming?" He invited Evan to follow him into the garden.

Still hand-on-hand, he led him into a gorgeous small garden of Romantic style. It featured stone paving, a wishing well, marble statues that spat crystalline water, some other statues made in ceramic or granite maybe, of renaissance people holding vases or simply posing. There was also a sort of small gazebo made of stone and featuring an ornamented glass dome.

From afar, Evan could make out a sort of absurdly huge greenhouse, a path of sand and dirt surrounded by hibiscus and gardenia bushes could lead them to it. He wondered if that was the aviary Michel had talked about.

"Um, Michel, is that the aviary by any chance?" Evan inquired, pointing out at the enormous building made of glass.

"Yes, that's my aviary." Was Michel's response. "Mind if we just walk quickly-paced from here? My birds don't like seeing me agitated, they get scared when seeing me panting for some reason." He asked and explained with an earnest expression.

"Sure, let's go, then, at your pace." Evan gave his friend a small, amiable chuckle.

Michel mimicked this gesture and both youths proceeded to make their way to the gigantic aviary. When Evan turned his gaze to the left, he saw a cliff with a marvelous view of the vast ocean that surrounded the archipelago of Avevia.

He assumed beneath that cliff there must have been the Royal Family's private beach, but that was going to be a topic to talk about with Michel some other time in the future. Right now he wanted to see the aviary and its peculiar, most likely colorful inhabitants: the birds that Michel owned.

With a few steps more, they reached the entrance gates of the grand aviary. Wild ivy and purplish wisteria grew wild all around the glass walls and even up to the dome, an apricot tree welcomed you in front of the entrance double glass door.

Michel and Evan took some deep breaths before opening the door and getting in there.

"Are you ready?" Michel asked, sketching a wide confident smile.

Evan looked up and through the shimmering walls of the building: he could see a couple of exotic birds sitting on some branches already, nuzzling the inner side of their wings and tilting their heads.

"Yes, let's go." Evan replied with a cheerful voice tone.

Michel then proceeded to open the giant double doors with a key that was tucked up inside of his pocket.

Evan didn't have enough time to check on Michel's attire until now: he was dressed in formal jet black trousers and a pristine white formal shirt with a funny Victorian-style white folded scarf, his shoulders adorned with a deep blue blazer of a single button that was buttoned up. For footwear, formal polished black moccasins.

His cherub curls were now messy due to the brief race they had run back on the hallways of the inside of the palace, wild curly locks fell in front of his forehead and accentuated in a way his celestial teal eyes, making him look indeed like a true native Micronesian beauty, with a handsome Mediterranean nose and sun-kissed skin…

Evan was indeed so enamored with him... Prince Michel Beaumont of the Kingdom of Avevia.

Leaving the thought of being completely smitten with him aside, Evan followed Michel into the interior of the grand aviary.

The sound of numerous birds twittering, chirping, and flapping their feathery wings became audible and resounded through the entire greenhouse.

The building could be also called a greenhouse for sure since it grew many types of flowers, bushes, and trees.

The birds sat on the trees' branches and stared silently at the newcomers, some ate a bit of the ripe fruit on the trees and some others flew from branch to branch, like warning the rest of the avian beings of the arrival of Evan, someone completely unknown to them…

A parrot emitted a shrieking sound and came flying from above directly where both of them were standing right then.

Michel spread out his forearm really nimbly in a sort of inert reflex. He must have been used to dealing with birds. After all, he had said they were like his best friends, hadn't he?

The parrot was blue on the back and wings, and its bosom, part of his head and stomach were of an almost golden yellow, a few feathers were longer on its back and hung low and long from its body, it had a white face and a black beak, and Evan noticed some feathers on his head were colored with a bluish shade of green.

What a wonderful, breathtaking creature…

Michel petted its head with his index finger and chuckled.

"Evan, this is Aristotle, my friendliest bird. He's a blue Macaw parrot." The prince explained. "You can pet him, he really likes it. You can even try and say "Hello" to him, and wait and listen to what he responds."

"Really?" Evan asked in clear disbelief, but nonetheless, he looked at the parrot and said something to him. "Hello, Aristotle!"

"'llo!" The parrot responded, exclaiming.

Evan was startled and gasped, nearly dropping his jaw off straight to the paved floor.

Michel let out some amused and husky guffaws, leading his free hand to his mouth.

"I told you he was friendly! He's also really smart. Come on, don't be afraid, pet him." Michel encouraged Evan.

Evan took a solid minute to regain his composure, but when he had fully recovered from the deadly scare, he leaned in and eyed Aristotle.

The parrot looked indeed harmless and was staring at him with a hint of curiosity, like silently saying "Hey, stranger, you seem nice, let's be friends." to him. It was probably all inside of Evan's anxious brain, but what was the worst thing you could get for petting a parrot?

Evan led his index finger to Aristotle's head and carefully rubbed it. The bird closed his eyes and chirped, seemingly enjoying the gesture from Evan.

Evan smiled and snorted in joy, drawing his hand away from the parrot's bluish head.

"See? I told you he likes being petted!" Michel exclaimed, looking excessively happy about Evan's feat. "Let's feed the birds. Don't worry, there aren't a lot of them, only twelve."

"Twelve exotic birds? Wow, you almost sound like a collector." Evan added, trying to make a joke…

But, apparently, Michel wasn't happy with that "joke"...

"I'm not a collector, I just rescue them from shelters when they migrate here from southern areas of Micronesia." He explained. "Some of them arrive hurt, with broken claws or wings. I see birds as really noble animals that need the freedom to fly any place they consider their home. That's why, when they're healed, I give them the chance to fly away from the palace. I open the cage at our private beach and see as they fly away, some of them choose to stay here, though." He finished telling Evan the birds' healing process and their return to those places they called 'home'.

Evan nodded in understanding and slightly opened his mouth, amazed by what he had just heard from Michel. The prince was a lover of freedom, after all, it seemed…

Evan wondered if Michel had ever felt like one of the birds he rescued, hurt and needing someone who could heal him properly, and eventually, craving to fly back home, being thankful for the moments spent with his caretaker, spreading his wings open, and flying away…

He followed Michel to a corner of the aviary, where there was a pantry stocked with selected food and various items to heal avian wounds. He grabbed a large-sized bag of food and, suddenly, the aviary was flooding with different types of loud birds shrieking.

Evan was frightened by such scary sounds and the many birds approaching them, flying to the nearest branches to Michel and shrieking, opening their beaks widely when making these sounds.

Michel simply chuckled, locking his arm with Evan's in a protective gesture.

Great, now Evan felt utterly scared and flustered…

"Don't worry, Evie, they're completely harmless, I'm their owner, after all, they love and respect me just as I love and respect them." He reassured.

"O-Okay… I-If you s-say so…" Evan stuttered and tripped on his words, clearly scared and not believing a word that Michel had said at all.

They arrived at the other extreme of the aviary, where two large ceramic fountains on pedestals could be found. Michel deposited a generous amount of the food there, his arm still locked with Evan's. Then, he dragged his friend with him to the other fountain and did the same thing as with the previous one.

The flock of hungry exotic birds flew quickly to both of the fountains, gobbling up all of the food that the prince had given them. Evan counted a total of six birds on each fountain. Apparently, Michel had even taught them how to eat neatly.

"Well, now that I've fed the winged beasts, we can proceed to hear you playing the piece you had composed for my birthday, right, Evie?"

Evan rolled his eyes and sketched a wry smile. Although he didn't like being called 'Evie' at all, he had to admit he was taking a liking to Michel calling him by the dumb yet cute pet name he gave him back in the summer camp when they were children.

"Sure, do you have a cello in here? And I need a music stand as well." Evan ordered in a joking tone, although he actually needed those items to play the piece properly, in fact.

"Do I need to remind you that I use my aviary as a conservatory as well?" Michel replied in almost the same tone, except he wasn't joking this time. "Come here, we're going to the center of the aviary." He pronounced, unlocking his and Evan's arm and beginning to move.

Evan took a last glance at the feathery beings, gobbling up a generous pile of seeds or corn or whatever the food was. He thought they looked indeed scary when hungry, but actually cute when they were eating, chirping happily as they stuffed their beaks with what must have been a real delicacy for them.

He turned around and followed Michel's steps once for all.

They were now in the center of the aviary, a white grand piano with golden ornaments stood in the middle of it. By its right, a freshly polished Eastman Strings cello, its bow laying still inside of its case. A music stand in front of the latter instrument, its metal sparkling with the daylight that seeped through the glass walls.

"Michel… How did you get an Eastman Strings cello for advanced players?" Evan asked as he frowned in curiosity, still completely unable to avert his gaze from the majestic instrument.

An Eastman Strings cello! For advanced players! When he got promoted as an advanced player, he had to keep playing with his old runner-up D'Luca MC-100 for a couple of years more. Even just a couple of weeks ago when he was still in Derby studying music at university, he played with a D Z Strad 101 for intermediate players…

This was… This was truly a lot… Michel was now spoiling him rotten, and he couldn't accept so much generosity.

"I'm sorry Michel. I can't play with so much luxury around me... Do you even realize how valuable this brand and model of cello is?" He said as he approached the string instrument, longing to touch him and staring at it with teary citrine eyes.

"Evan, please, I just want the best for you. I wanted you to use the best instrument ever to play like you have never before." Michel replied, making it look like it wasn't such a big deal. "Come on, it's my birthday, play that piece for me, play whatever you want, I just want to listen to you." He added. "I want to listen to my best friend's gift and tell him how proud of him I feel right now."

Evan's eyes opened wide and he blushed up to his ears. Michel really wanted to hear him…

He could do it, he was going to impress his beloved Michel and make him say he felt proud of him.

Finally, someone was going to feel proud of Evan for what he loved to do the most…

He sat on the chair and tuned up the cello for a couple of seconds; then, placed his now folded music sheets on the stand and tried straightening them up. Finally, he picked the bow and, after testing the strings' sound for a short while, the magic that his fingers unbound with the instrument began.