The Lilac Macaw was perched in his cage with the degree of finesse a peacock might display while trying to attract a mate. His chest swelled with a pronounced self-assurance, and his plumage was the most excellent shade of pink. At first glance, the bird appeared to be a flamboyant exhibit of a taxidermist’s masterful aptitude, as the bird seemed not to have made a single movement nor sound since Agatha had first began to vigorously study it. But Agatha was certain to have heard him speak. She had just been striding through Queen Vera’s corridor in search for a place to hide, discovering each door along the way to be locked, when Behemoth, all-a-blaze, bolted down the hall and to a door where he entered through the keyhole. Agatha hastily followed and peaked through. It seemed an empty room. She put an ear to the door and …show more content…
CLACK! The sound of the locks unfastening startled Agatha and she hastened back from the door. A thin ray of light flickered out from the keyhole, and after a moments pause, Agatha started forward, steadily edging along. She raised a hand and turned the doorknob allowing the door to gradually swing open. She faltered, only for a brief instance, and then entered into a lavishly furnished room, the interior of which was impeccable in design and adequate to have fit the exigencies of Marie Antoinette. As she gazed around in splendor, a peculiar voice alerted her. She had recognized it to be that of a parrot, a Macaw to be precise, and it had spoken in proficient legato French. This seized Agatha’s attention so far to an extent that she wholly disregarded her urgent need to escape. She glimpsed about the room in search, when—there! Sitting lifelessly in his cage was the Lilac Macaw. Her Aunt Ophelia had kept one before. Not a Lilac Macaw, but a Macaw nonetheless. She had a strong fascination with birds, particularly in the Lilac Macaw, whom she had read about once in a souvenir book she received at the New York