HIS CROWNING GLORY

by JoAnn Baca

Based on NL Knauff’s marvelous plot bunny

AUTHOR’S NOTE: During a discussion on BBTV about Vincent’s hair, Nancy Lynn revealed an idea she had for a story. She told me she doubted she’d have the time to flesh it out
and generously gave me permission to write it myself.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Giggling greeted Catherine’s ears as she approached Vincent’s chamber entrance, but not the answering rumble of Vincent’s low chuckle. Wondering what was going on, she peeked inside.

There sat Vincent in his grand velvet-upholstered chair, surrounded by Tunnel girls of grade-school age. Three, to be precise. Two had their fingers deep in the waves of his long, lustrous hair, while one was engaged in applying something to his sharp claws.

Catherine leaned against the metal framework just inside his chamber, arms crossed in front of her, a smile blossoming on her lips. “Hello, everyone!” she said brightly.

Vincent’s gaze met hers reluctantly, but when he finally looked up into her amused face, he mouthed two words. Help me.

She lingered a moment longer, taking in the scene for posterity, then she straightened and approached the girls who had all cried, “Hi, Catherine!” upon seeing her.

“What’s going on here?” she inquired. When she got closer, she saw that a lop-sided braid graced one side of Vincent’s head, while an attempt to replicate it was failing miserably on the other.

“Beauty parlor!” cried the youngster kneeling at Vincent’s side, a newcomer named Natalie. She brandished a nail polish brush for a moment, then returned to her work. Catherine looked down to see bright pink polish on three of the nails on Vincent’s right hand. The other hand had already been “done” and sported a lurid purple with…were those glitter accents? She pressed her lips together firmly to keep from laughing.

“My, you really are hard at work,” she observed.

“His hair is tougher to handle than I thought,” mumbled Ally, the girl failing to bring order to a braid.

“Yes, his hair is stubborn to comb. I’ve often suggested he use conditioner on it.”

That earned Catherine a glare from Vincent.

The third girl, Julie, shrugged. “I think my braid looks pretty good!”

Catherine judged that, compared to Ally’s failed attempt, Julie’s did look marginally better…but only when graded on a curve. Strictly speaking, nobody’s work would pass a laugh test. But of course, she couldn’t laugh without hurting the girls’ feelings.

“Ladies, I think you have done a…remarkable job here. Why don’t you run to the Dining Chamber now? I brought doughnut holes, but they won’t last long.”

“Doughnut holes?!” Julie looked at Vincent. “Can we go?” she begged.

“Don’t worry, I’ll…finish him up if you want to scoot,” Catherine offered.

Ally, Julie, and Natalie abandoned their work with…abandon and scurried off. “Thanks, Catherine!” Natalie shouted as they streaked out the chamber opening.

Catherine looked at the mess the girls had made of him. “This is something I would have paid a lot to see…but I got it for the price of a few boxes of doughnut holes.” She tried to stifle a chuckle but failed.

Vincent, his eyes closed, said only, “What’s to be done?”

“You mean you don’t think purple is your color?” She sobered up in the face of his obvious distress and added, “Nothing about the nails yet, unless you happen to have polish remover. But I can bring some down later. Until then…perhaps just wear your gloves?”

He nodded, resigned.

“As for the rest…” She moved behind him and loosened the lumpy braid on one side, then picked up a brush and continued to free his locks, using gentle strokes. In a relatively short time, she had his stunning mane back into its usual gloriously long profusion. When she finally put the brush down, she heard him sigh deeply.

“How did this happen?” she asked as she perched on his bed.

“How does anything like this happen? The girls asked to play with my hair. One thing led to another to…what you saw. How could I tell them to stop?” His eyes pleaded for understanding. “They were having so much fun.”

“And you were having none?” she asked, arching her eyebrows.

Slowly, he allowed a smile to appear. “Well…perhaps just a bit. I didn’t count on being caught…in flagrante, however!”

“An image seared into my brain for all eternity.” She laughed outright now that she knew he was no longer embarrassed.

“Perhaps…” His voice grew husky. “I’ve heard of…” He fell silent, but she felt a yearning from him through their Bond. A connection to what the girls had been doing? Ah, yes. The answer popped into her head.

“Perhaps…I could braid a love knot into your hair? Just a tiny one that could remain hidden?”

She knew she had guessed correctly when he nodded. “Could you?”

“Oh, my dear heart, it would be an absolute pleasure.”

Before she began, she reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out something wrapped in napkins. “Here, have a couple of doughnut holes while I work.”