The Dawn of Spring

The festival was like nothing I had ever seen before. Sensory overload might be a good way to describe it. A cacophony of happy citizens, the scents of delicious snacks, every color under the rainbow and then some, and the cool midmorning air all swirled together in a loud, vibrant mix that was simultaneously stressful and exhilarating.

They had no funnel cakes, unfortunately, but just about every other kind of food imaginable tempted me from every angle. Stalls of fresh-baked goods tantalized me to the left, and a whole alley of vendors selling ripe fruit drew me to the right. Further down, I saw a series of lit fires roasting huge hunks of meat. Tons of people were lined up over there. Other vendors walked around with small candies, handing them out to adults and children alike.

Good thing we didn’t eat breakfast, I thought, salivating.

“The food stalls are always by the entrance. Would you like to get something before we head further in?” Finley offered. YES DUDE OF COURSE I DO!

I composed myself. “Yes, I would like that very much.”

Next to me, Marie was also completely awestruck by the sheer scale of it all. To see her so entranced made me happy. She deserves to have some fun. She works too hard for my sake.

Even Margot seemed interested. She tried to hide her curiosity, masking it with the characteristic disgust I’d come to expect from her regarding anything from the Andraste Empire, but a loud growl from her stomach betrayed her.

I giggled. Before they could protest, I grabbed both Marie and Margot’s hands and happily declared my intent to get some delicious food.

The knights helped us push through to one of the baked goods stalls, which Marie had been eyeing like mad. As we approached, I saw they were proudly selling a bunch of small, doughy circles — donuts! Or, a fantasy version of them, I guess. When we got there, Marie began practically interrogating the poor vendor, asking exactly how they made the ‘funny little circles.’ After buying a huge basket of them, we convinced the man selling them (with the help of our twin popstars) to write down a basic recipe, which Marie giddily clutched in both hands as we walked away. “I’ll try my hand at these when we get home, Your Highness!” she proclaimed.

Donuts consumed, the group of us stood in a circle to decide on the next course of action. Right as I was about to suggest grabbing some fruit, Diana cleared her throat. “Ahem. Brother dear, I think it’s time.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Alright, ugh, fine. You get day one.”

I was lost. “Excuse me, but what are you talking about?”

Diana turned to me with a grin. “I’m gonna show ya around the festival first, without this troublesome brother of mine.”

“Sorry, we dueled for the right, and, well…” He shrugged and pointed at her sword.

I expected Marie to make some objection, but it was Margot who stepped forward in defense of my autonomy. “Her Highness is not an object to be traded amongst you as you please,” she huffed, arms crossed. Oh, that’s rich, coming from you and my dad. Though I appreciate the sentiment.

“It’s alright, Margot. I’d love to get shown around.”

“Hmph. Fine, but Marie and I shall follow you some steps behind.”

Diana clasped her hands together. “Great! Then, my lady, allow me,” she offered her arm.

What am I supposed to do with that?

I tentatively put my hand out, touching her forearm.

Diana laughed. “What, you feeling shy? Come on now, I won’t bite!” With an unexpectedly graceful motion, she swept my arm and threaded it through hers, interlocking our arms together. O-Oh! That’s what it was.

With equal parts chivalry and bravado, Diana led me away from our little group, ordering the knights to move forward to help us get through. As we walked away, I heard Finley’s voice slowly fade. “While they’re exploring, Sir Robert, I can’t help but feel that we got off on the wrong foot. Would you like to go get some…”

Our first stop was a fruit stall close to the entrance. “You’ve gotta try these. Nothing beats fresh subhlair on the first day of spring!” Diana declared.

The stall we had arrived at was noticeably smaller and, to be frank, less well-crafted than the ones around it. A hand-painted sign at the top read, in messy handwriting: “fresh subhlair (straw berys)!!!!” Two stick figures with massive smiles were crudely painted next to it, as well as a bunch of small, red dots. I looked down.

A tiny girl in a bright red dress, no older than six or seven, peered up and me in wonder from behind a counter full of plump strawberries.

“Cap’pin Diana! Who’s that!”

Omigod, adorable.

“Heh, this lovely lady here is my date for the morning!” Diana proclaimed.

Hold on, ‘date’? I twitched.

“Whoaaaa…” The girl stared at me. “She’s so pretty…” And no reaction from her?

Diana looked me up and down with a smile. “Ain’t she?”

“Miss pretty lady, would you like some subhlairs? I picked them myself.” She beamed at me.

I had never been good with kids. Nor had I really ever thought they were cute. But greeted with that adorable, toothy smile, what I wanted to do most was rub this girl’s cheeks and cuddle her to death.

I knelt down. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Princess Elisabeth Iris Lumineuse, of the Lumineuse Kingdom. I’d love a… ‘sue-lare,’ you called them?” I tried my kindest smile.

The girl squealed. “You’re a princess?!” I nodded. “Did you know Cap’pin Diana is one, too? She’s the bestest.”

Diana winked at me. “Heard it here first.” Then she got on her knees beside me. “So what have you got for us today, Aileen?”

The girl excitedly pulled out a small woven box from behind her. “This is the best harvest we’ve ever had!” She offered the box to me, and as she handed it to me, she looked around as if checking for spies. As quiet as a seven-year-old can be, she told me, “The yummiest ones are at the back!”

I solemnly nodded, and Diana and I began to fill our box with strawberries from the back of the display. A few times, I went to grab one that looked good, only for Aileen to violently shake her head before pointing at a different one instead. Adorable. With her expert help, we created a box of only the juiciest fruits there.
As we selected them, Diana made conversation with the small girl. “So, Aileen, you training hard? Making sure to eat your veggies?”

“Mm-hm! Momma said if I wanna join your unit, I’ve gotta be super strong. My big brother has been teaching me some sword stuff, but sometimes it hurts.”

Diana ruffled her hair. “With determination like that, I have no doubt you’ll be an incredible cadet one day.” This girl? A soldier? Compared to how my father treated women, the thought was strange. But even a part of me subconsciously agreed. With her rosy cheeks and even rosier dress, it was hard to imagine her slicing through hordes of monsters like Diana.

“Thanks, Cap’pin Diana!” She turned to me. “Miss princess, for the fruit, um… your box is gonna be… um…” Aileen concentrated. I could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears as she thought hard about the total. “...five airgid!”

Habitually, carrying over from my old life, I reached down to my pocket for my wallet. Unfortunately, as a fantasy princess, I had neither a wallet nor a pocket to stash it in. As I was about to start stumbling through an excuse, Marie appeared behind me with a small coin purse, holding out five silver coins.

“Thank you, Marie.” I grabbed the money before having a thought. “Actually, could you get one more?”

Aileen stood awestruck as Marie fished another from the pouch. “You have a maid, too!?”

“Mhm! And she’s the bestest on earth.” I puffed out my chest a bit.

I then handed the six coins to the young girl, whose wide eyes regarded me with reverence. “Six?! You don’t have to-”

“Please, consider it a little extra for being such a great shopkeep.” I smiled at her.

She clutched the sixth coin in her tiny hands. “Thank you so much!”

With a box of fragrant strawberries in hand, I followed Diana away from the fruit stalls as Aileen waved us goodbye with a darling smile.

Soldier, huh?

Diana led me (well, I guess the knights did, too) deeper into the festival, and I completely lost my bearings. At one point, I looked around in a bit of a panic, trying to find a landmark. Behind me, Marie, next to Margot, subtly put her hand out in a whoa, calm gesture, then a thumbs up. Of course she’s got a handle on it.

After some time, we arrived at her destination: a large, circular, fenced-in enclosure with temporary benches set up along the perimeter.

“Now this is my favorite part of tighinn an latha.” Diana rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

“What… is it?”

“Oh, just you wait. The festival fights are some of the best combat you’ll get to see.”