"Ten blue feathers?!" From the group of gathered men, Luke speaks above the rest. "That's awesome! Aren't they rare? You must be super lucky, Molly!"
Chase scowls at his enthusiasm. "Come on, even someone like you should realize what this is about."
A blue feather is the equivalent of an engagement ring. The difference is, said feather cannot be bought. Only those blessed by the bird of happiness can propose to their beloved.
Someone collecting ten is unheard of.
The woman at the front of the gathering rubs the back of her head, a habit of hers when situations get tense. She speaks slowly and carefully, an inverse of her spry nature.
"Yes, the reason I've invited you here today has to do with these feathers. You see, through my years of living here I've become close to all of you. I'm really happy that we're such good friends."
She takes in a deep breath, then exhales. A sad smile adorns her face. "Perhaps it's natural as time passed, a deeper emotion grew; love. It's today that I publicly acknowledge your affections. Without a doubt, each and every one of you share a trait, and that trait is your love for me."
Gill scoffs, wordlessly expressing his doubt. She glances at him, but continues her speech.
"Therefore, I have come to a decision. With these feathers, I propose my hand in marriage to every bachelor in Castanet."
They wait for her to continue, some thinking she's pulling an elaborate joke. But her expression is neutral with no hints of laughter. Their silence turns to panic.
Calvin is the first to voice his protests. "In my travels I've seen cultures handle marriage differently, but never like this. Please don't toy with an old man's heart..."
Luke, not offended by the prospect but noticing the air of disagreement tries to roll with it. "You shouldn't because it's bad?"
"I would like to say whatever makes you happy makes me happy as well, but the thought of you taking a vow with all of us is painful." Toby's words are tinged with grief.
"Really, isn't there a better way?" Owen frowns.
"I can't say I'm on board with this." Jin says bluntly.
"Oh please! How can you expect us to share you? I'm jealous enough as it is!" Julius fumes.
Chase's face burns red as he struggles to speak. " I knew you were nice to everyone, but to this extent... I can't believe it..."
Gill quietly thinks to himself.
The Harvest King and Wizard aren't at the meeting, yet both react to the declaration. The Wizard unknowingly jolts in his sleep, his clairvoyant mind already predicting the situation. Meanwhile the Harvest King has been watching the scene from the mountain above, simmering with an icy rage. Neither have the opportunity to express their thoughts, but the consensus remains negative.
Molly frowns. "So, there's no way you'll all agree to marry me? I can only choose one? But there must be a reason why I found so many blue feathers." She smiles, waving away her idea to make way for the one she preferred from the start. "Oh well, I'm lucky that I talked to Witch before calling you all here. I have another idea. Ready? I'll marry whoever has the best sex with me."
The bachelors, the sea breeze, even the cawing birds pause in response to her insanely bold proposition. The only one making noise is Witch, hidden away in the swampy depths of Fugue Forest. While using her magic to view the scene taking place, she howls in laughter. She can't wait to visit Wizard personally to see his heartbroken expression, but seeing pale faces of the current men is fun too. Putting that thought in Molly's head concluded in the most entertaining outcome she could have wished for. But it isn't over yet, she thinks. There's still the matter if they choose to agree to it or not. Witch assumes they won't, but she once assumed that Molly would refuse her radical idea, and look where that led.
Molly speaks casually, as if she were talking about the weather. "Okay then, since there are no objections, decide among yourselves who will be first. Don't worry, I'll try you all out before coming to a decision."
Just because they were too shocked to speak didn't mean they were without objection. Before they could voice their displeasure as a group, Gill calls attention to himself by raising his hand and stepping forward.
"Marriage on this island is sacred. To suggest not only a group marriage, but to suggest illicit relations before a vow is extremely disrespectful." He puts his hand down. "But despite our customs, I suspect you're too stubborn to back down, am I wrong?"
Molly shakes her head. "You're not wrong. I want to experience everyone's love in some form, even if it's considered taboo."
Gill sighs, her mindset too unusual for him to rationalize. "Tomorrow, I'll clear my schedule to teach you why monogamous relationships are important. Does that sound fair to everyone?"
The stir of voices seem in agreement with Gill's proposal.
Molly exaggeratedly puffs her cheeks out in annoyance. "You can do whatever you want, Gilly, but I'm going to get my way. You'll be first."
"D-Don't call me nicknames when we're not even dating! And I'm not going to play this game with you, I'll put an end to it before it starts."
"We'll see about that. This meeting is adjourned! I'll see you tomorrow, Gill."
And just like that, Molly leaves the beach, as if she hadn't just upturned her friends lives. She heads to Fugue Forest to report what happened to Witch. Witch humors her, acting like it's new information despite already knowing.
"...So, do you think this will work? Gill seems set on convincing me that this is wrong."
Molly looks to the ground, purposely crunching a few leaves to get her mind away from the serious repercussions of her odd morals.
Witch laughs jovially. "Come on now, don't get discouraged! You have a witch on your side, after all. I won't let a mere human interfere with something so interesting."
Perhaps having no one but a witch support her, a creature of endless, horrific fairy-tales, would seem ominous to her goals. However, Molly perks up, because not only was Witch a witch, she was also her best friend.
"Thanks, you're right. I shouldn't feel down. This is what my heart is telling me to do, and it hasn't led me astray before."
"That's the spirit! Now tell me, doesn't tomorrow have you excited? I bet you're too excited to sleep, aren't you?" Witch bounces around like a teenage girl gossiping with her friend. It's hard to believe she's as old as the Harvest Goddess with her youthful personality. "Hey, I know what we can do. Let's have a slumber party! It'll just be the two of us, but it's for the best, I say. You're one of the rare humans who's on my wavelength."
Molly looks at her with a mix of surprise and joy. "Really? You'd let me have a sleepover with you?"
"Duh! I don't extend my invitations to just anyone. Come on, let's go inside and share some blackberry pie. Tell me your feelings about those guys who've fallen for you so I can share my wisdom."
Molly nods excitedly. The bombshell she dropped was already beginning to fade from her thoughts. Maybe some pie and girl time was just what she needed to take on Gill tomorrow.
"Okay! Let's go!"
Author's Note: This isn't the type of story I'd normally act on, but it's been bugging me a lot with all sorts of ideas. It feels really silly to me, but maybe it's likable? I don't know if I have the guts to post more than this opening chapter.