Lucien and the pearl earrings
Can we talk about Lucien’s genius being reflected in his gift choice in ACOSF? His gifting pearl earrings to Elain instead of a pearl necklace or a pearl bracelet is brilliant for more than one reason.
1. Earrings are lightweight and discrete
Elain’s taste in jewellery is the complete opposite of Amren’s.
Amren, our favourite treasure-hoarding firedrake, has a “diamonds-are-a-girl’s-best-friend” approach when it comes to opulent, eye-catching jewellery. The more bigger, the better. The shinier, the better. Chicken egg-sized ruby brooch? Check. A ruby necklace that could give Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money? Check.
Elain’s tastes are far more delicate and demure. If Amren is Catherine the Great in terms of taste, then Elain is Princess Diana.
Lucien doesn’t get enough credit for being perhaps the most observant character in the ACOTAR series. Given that his interactions with Elain were scarce and brief, he must have milked them for all their worth, studying every inch of Elain, taking in her every habit, her very speech pattern, her most minimal trademarks that others can easily overlook. Except for Lucien.
I think this is also why Elain was extra flustered when she opened her Winter Solstice gift. It took her a split second to realise that Lucien must have surveyed her like a hawk to take notice of her pearl love. It surprised her as much as it terrified her. It was another wake-up call, another instance in which the full scope of his devotion to Elain became apparent.
2. Earrings (if lightweight) do not restrict movement, do not press down nor suffocate. Simply put, the wearer can forget they’re wearing them
Lucien is dead clever. He suspects that Elain feels the pressure of the mating bond whenever he’s around. The last thing he wants is that pressure to be transmitted through his gifts. He wants his gifts to remind her of him in a way that does not suffocate (e.g. necklace) and does not shackle her (e.g. bracelet). With earrings, they just dangle and quiver with movement.
Earrings could never overwhelm Elain nor leave her feeling constricted in any way.
3. Lucien is trying to get Elain to embrace her new Fae identity by beautifying her least favourite Fae trait (e.g. pointed ears)
In ACOWAR, Elain is glamoured to appear human in front of Graysen and his father, while pleading for human refuge and protection during the war.
“Elain silently surveyed the tent, head tipping back. Her mass of heavy brown-gold hair shifted with the movement, the faelight dancing among the silken strands. She’d left it half-up, the style arranged to hide her ears should the glamours fail at Graysen’s estate.” (Chapter 51)
Appearance-wise, I believe that Elain’s new pointed ears are her most dreaded change ever since she became immortal. In the books, she often styles her hair down, billowing and masking the sharpness of her ears.
Lucien doesn’t miss any hints. He knows about it. He knows it all.
I don’t think that his choice for earrings was random or on a whim.
He took all of these things into account.