The Festival

Yvonne dressed in one of her older business outfits for her delivery - the new ones from her date would have to be saved for future outings with Lirena.

Much of the festival’s metalwork had already been delivered, and what was left was odds and ends for various stalls down to spare nails for the temporary stands. Even if they didn’t get used during the festival, she’d surely find a buyer in need of them before it was over.

She loaded up her pushcart and set out for the town square. It was early morning, and shops normally opening remained shuttered, their owners off setting up at the festival. Some were still on their way, sharing carts with a neighbor to get the last of their own wares to the event, but Yvonne had no such luxury - not least of all because pushing the cart loaded with metal was not an ordeal she wished to foist upon others, regardless of any personal difficulty.

So it was that she lagged behind the others heading the same way, moving the cart at a slower but steady rate down the street, until a voice called from behind her.

“What’s a lovely lady like you doing pushing that all by herself?”

Yvonne turned to see Lirena beaming at the cheesy line she had just delivered. Her clothes were far less pristine than normal, both in style and condition. She honestly looked more like she fit into the Low ward now.

“Just get back in town?” Yvonne asked, trying to keep the conversation neutral to focus on her task, but unable to hide her smile from seeing the noblewoman again.

“Crack of dawn this morning. We were a little delayed, but the commanders wanted to get us back in a more timely manner, so we took the roads at night. Some Firetouched helped keep the torches burning the whole way.”

“Aye, they’re good at that,” Yvonne said and nodded in the direction she was going previously. “Walk and talk?”

Lirena instead slipped under the arm of the cart and gently pushed Yvonne aside to make room. “Allow me to assist, I’d feel terrible just walking along while you struggle with this.”

Lirena pushed against the cart a bit to test it, leaning in and only moving the cart a few inches on her own. “You continue to impress me with your strength,” she chuckled.

“Not my hammer alone that makes these,” Yvonne flexed one arm at Lirena before returning to the cart. She gave a short countdown and the two of them pushed together. The cart moved a bit faster than before, but Yvonne couldn’t care less about the change in speed with Lirena next to her.

“So what’s the occasion?” Lirena asked, trying not to grunt as she did her best to keep up with Yvonne.

“Harvest festival. More a market, really. Delivering some supplies and decorations for the folk here, and then enjoying the events of the day,” Yvonne said, speaking quite clearly and not showing the same amount of exertion.

“Oh! I hope I’m not intruding on any plans then,” Lirena said.

“Nonsense, if I had known you’d be back for it, I’d have invited you sooner.”

“Guess it was meant to be,” Lirena said with a grin. “How were things while I was away? Mostly working on this?”

“That, mostly…” Yvonne said, thinking back to the encounter with Nicholai. How do I politely tell her that her father’s a brash old bigot?

Lirena studied Yvonne’s trouble expressed. “What happened?” She asked.

“Your uh… father visited me,” Yvonne admitted with a sigh. “Wasn’t particularly kind about it. Wanted me to stay away from you.”

Lirena let out a small laugh. “Not unless he locks me away, and then I guess I’ll just have to learn how to become an escape artist on top of my other escapades.” Yvonne could only smile at that as her words failed to form a response to the sentiment. “Please tell me he was… measured in the language he used.”

Yvonne gave her a weak smile. “Might have been a few targeted insults and insinuations sprinkled in.”

Lirena groaned.

“Also threatened to use your family fortune to shut me down if we kept meeting,” Yvonne said, trying to keep the tone jovial. To her, the situation did seem quite absurd, considering the disparity between their positions.

At that, Lirena stopped moving and stood agape at that. “He what.”

Yvonne released the pushcart handle. “Yeah. I… sort of told him off after that, probably didn’t help matters much.”

Yvonne felt an arm around her and was and her face ended up pressed to Lirena’s shoulder. It took her a second to figure out what was happening, but she realized that the taller woman had pulled her into a hug.

Yvonne kept her arms stiffly by her side, not used to this manner of reaction upon telling of an issue she faced. She may have wanted such contact to be for a different reason than consolation, but she couldn’t bring herself to complain. The feeling was… calming.

“I am sorry on behalf of my family. I will take responsibility for my father’s actions and make sure he cannot act on his threat,” Lirena said softly, keeping her arms wrapped around Yvonne’s broad shoulders.

“I… can’t ask you to do that,” Yvonne said, her voice somewhat muffled from her locked position.

“Then it’s a good thing I offered without you asking,” Lirena said, pulling back some.

As they separated, Yvonne knew her face was flushed, but didn’t care. Lirena was just flashing her usual grin that came with her good-natured teasing.

“I um… thank you,” Yvonne said. “I didn’t find Lord Barton’s terms agreeable, but didn’t know what I could actually do about not obeying them.”

“His conditions of never meeting with me again?” Lirena smirked and readied herself to push the cart again. “I suppose I should continue coming around to bother you then.”

“If you’d be so kind,” Yvonne said softly as they continued their trip.

Lirena filled her in with all of the details of the Zone. Despite growing up in an Earth Zone, Yvonne’s own experience was limited to just that, and it was quite a serene area as far as things went. The tempest that Lirena visited was a far cry from all of that, so Yvonne was a rapt listener to her whole adventure.

She was also glad to hear of Gaz - the closest person she could really call a friend in her daily life for most of her time in the capital - was getting along well with Lirena.

They arrived with crowds already wandering the square, though most stalls were still setting up. Some of the harvest had already made its way to those stalls, and various places were either trading or beginning to work the crops into food to sell. Music filled the air, as various performers sought the attention and coin of passerby.

“Alright, just a few things to drop off, and then we can explore a bit,” Yvonne said as they parked the cart in a designated drop-off point. “Ever been to one of these before?”

Lirena shook her head, her eyes widened in awe. “We have market days in the Upperside, but nothing this lively. It’s usually just a business affair, not a celebration.”

“Festivals are good for business, certainly,” Yvonne said, hoisting a crate up as workers for the festival came up to take them off her hands. “But more than that, it’s a chance for people to let go of their worries for a bit.” She thanked the men that took the crates, and accepted the coin they brought them with, storing it in her satchel.

“Well, the rest of what I have with me is for after whatever shenanigans befall the festival. Shall I show you around?” Yvonne asked, holding a hand out to Lirena.

“Why thank you, my lady,” Lirena said with a bow and a smile, taking her hand.

There were simple games aplenty around the square, such as a tossing metal discs onto a spike. Lirena grasped it easily enough, but was handily beaten by Yvonne, who had been playing such games since childhood.

The seasonal crops were already being turned into all manner of foods, mostly whatever could be prepared at the stalls. Some Firetouched got around this by keeping small flames lit to heat cast-iron pans to make more options available, and the pair were able to help themselves to food between stops. Booths with art were the biggest draw for them. While fanciful paintings were more reserved for the Upperside, the detailed carvings and handicrafts available were no less impressive to Lirena, from what Yvonne could judge by her reactions.

The day wore on, and as the sun began to set, a bonfire was lit in the square as the musicians gathered together.

“Some finale to things, I presume?” Lirena asked.

“A dance,” Yvonne explained. “Pretty easy to learn, probably not something they’d welcome in a ballroom.”

“Excellent, those were always a bore,” Lirena said, rolling her eyes. “But I’d be glad to learn this, if you can teach me.”

Yvonne fidgeted for a moment. “I’m not the most graceful, but I can give you a rundown, I suppose.”

Lirena held her own hand out to Yvonne now. “It doesn’t have to be graceful, it just has to be with you.”

Yvonne’s mind seemed to blank of any witty reply she could muster at that. She could only take the noblewoman’s hand to lead her in the dance.

The music began to swell, and Yvonne started off, slowly going through the motions of the folk dance. Lirena was a quick study, but it didn’t matter if she wasn’t - Yvonne’s heart fluttered as the two danced around the fire in the setting sun.