The festival was in full swing with two of the three suns high in the sky. Stalls of bright coloured table cloths went in all directions. Anelle gazed in wonder at all the different items as she passed. She marveled at the ancient art of ceramics from Eteric as a woman spun a ball of clay into a tall vase. A grizzled man with teal stained fingers dunked knitted garments into a barrel of blue dye. He raised the cloak, now teal, out of the barrel and explained the heritage of the teal elre flowers that only grew in the bitter cold north of Eldir.
Joy sparked through Anelle as she admired each new table. In Garlon her life had been so small. But Athon was filled with glimpses into the wider world. She was surrounded by pockets of different countries and the people that inhabited them.
Anelle's gaze jumped from stalls to people. Her stepmother's warning that it was rude to stare went ignored. The crowd was filled with its own wondrous colours. People with caramel and brown skin tones that she had never seen before. Hair as black as night and pops of bright orange bobbed in the crowd.
Anelle gasped as a woman with bright blue hair shimmied past. Flashes of a ten foot tall army with pointed ears, bronzed skin spiraled with greens and blues crashed through her vision. She grabbed the nearest building and leaned her head against the hard stone. She was back in Garlon, staring out the second story window at an army of beasts. The blue haired archer raised his bow and aimed at her from two hundred feet away. Her heart beat a war chant in her ears. The arrow flew. A cascade of glass sliced her flesh.
Anelle jumped as a hand grasped her arm.
Emera looked at her with concern. "Are you alright, child?"
Anelle nodded, unable to find the words. She looked back at the crowd. No pointed ears or green skin. I'm safe here. She reminded herself.
Emera smiled encouragingly and dragged her into the tide of people. The sweet scent of fried foods and spices wafted over them as they passed an intersection.
The masses parted as they walked, many people taking long looks at Emera. She wore a fitted gown with flared ribbons creating a waterfall of fabric down her left leg. The dress was a striking crimson, matching her lip paint. She held her head high and smirked at the onlookers as they gawked.
Music slowly grew louder. The streets opened up into a square. Tables and stools lined the edges, vendors and patrons talked and haggled over price. The centre of the square was filled with couples and families dancing to the music. Across the square on a small platform were four musicians. Standing centre stage playing the violin was Klin, his eyes closed; the whole world had disappeared except for his violin and her sweet song.
A small crowd had formed on either side of the platform, listening to the music. As Emera got closer people moved aside and whispered to those around them. Emera's smile widened, watching her husband do the one thing he may love slightly more than her. Klin opened his eyes and scanned the crowd. The next note ran high, he recovered quickly. The other musicians looked between each other for a moment. Klin kept sneaking glimpses of her throughout the rest of the song. Emera laughed behind her hand.
Emera leaned across to Anelle, "It is nice to know, even after all these years, I can still surprise him."
"Anelle."
She turned to the familiar voice. Kae stood behind her, his mouth slightly open as his inky gaze took her in. Heat rose to her cheeks and her eyes darted to the floor and back at him.
"Are you going to stare at her all afternoon?" Emera chimed in, breaking the silence.
"Er, no," he cleared his voice, "would you allow me the honour of guiding you through the festival?" He said, offering his arm.
"I would enjoy that very much." She responded and tentatively placed her hand on his arm.
They began with the stalls around the edge of the square. The tables had brightly coloured cloths covering them with different items laid out. A young woman was selling stones of different colours and sizes. Anelle brushed her fingers over a stone, the bright colours of the surrounding festival reflected off its surface. It reminded her of Kae's ink black eyes that she could stare into for hours; mysterious and slightly unnerving not knowing what lay beneath the surface.
A few stalls down stood an older gentleman wearing a brown coat with hundreds of ribbons sewn into it. Reams of ribbons were spread across his stall. As they passed he picked up a red ribbon and held it out to Kae.
"Tha look good'o ya." He said. Kae humoured the man and looked at the ribbon. After a few seconds he shook his head and pointed to the ribbon holding his hair together.
"I'm all set."
"Thn how bou th lady?" The gentleman said, turning to Anelle. He began picking up different shades of blue to match her dress.
"No, thank you." She responded as they walked off.
"If you see anything you like, we can come back later to buy it." Kae said, gesturing to the stalls around them.
"But I couldn't ask you to spend your hard earned money on trivial trinkets." She responded.
"Well then think of it as compensation for all the work you do. Not only have you halved mother's work around the house, you also spend many hours over winter furnishing the instrument boxes. I think you should be able to enjoy a trinket or two as a memento of your first spring festival."
What would she buy? Anelle thought. She had no idea. Everything had always been chosen for her. Her dresses were determined by the current styles and picked by her step mother. Her jewelry was determined on what the merchant brought to the estate. Anelle was surrounded by hundreds of choices but she had no idea what she wanted.
The crowd began to thin as they continued to walk. A blue and yellow canopy covered the street above. The low afternoon sun cast long colourful shadows across the cobbles. Two boys ran past in a hurry, weaving through the people.
Anelle was drawn to a bright red table. The woman manning the stall wore a dark red dress. Her brown hair tied into a messy bun and covered with a decorated net, laced with tiny rubies dangling down her back. Next to her sat a burly man with his arms folded across his chest, he kept his eyes glued to Kae and Anelle's hands. Ruby and gold jewellery laid across plump velvet pillows covered the table. Anelle kept her hands on Kae's arm, not daring to even point at something so expensive. Along the far edge of the table was a line of single earrings.
"What are these for?" She asked.
The woman raised an eyebrow and looked between them.
"You're not local, are you?" She responded with a thick accent that stressed the last letter of each word. Anelle shook her head. The woman turned to Kae. "What about you, sir?"
"It's a single earring. They are quite popular these days." Kae explained.
"But why only one?" Anelle enquired.
"Ha, I think this lass needs to read more of the holy scripture." The woman chimed in.
Anelle looked between the woman and Kae, her eyebrows creased in thought.
"I told you about the old gods. The mother of light, Eabra, and the father of night, Khylfe. They were the fish circling the pearl in the church roof. Eabra gave birth to twins and sent them down to the mortal realm to learn about the mortals they would one day rule. She made a decree that the first of her sons to bring new life into the world would rule over Paeneya and guide new souls into the world. The first son to experience death would rule over Ibaris and guide new souls into the next life.
"The eldest son, Arnir, married a beautiful princess and gave birth to a daughter. When Arnir ascended to godhood he was allowed to bring his wife to rule beside him but their daughter was left behind. The princess gave the child one of her earrings as a symbol of her love and a way to always find her.
"It's become a tradition to give a bride a single earring on her wedding day to remember the family she left behind. But it's also become popular for lovers to split a pair of regular earrings." Kae explained.
The woman pulled back a loose strand of hair, revealing her right ear. A chandelier of gold and rubies hung heavy from her earlobe, the metal softly chimed together as she moved.
"Some people just like how it looks." She said with a sly smile.
Anelle turned the information over in her mind and watched the people as she walked by. She noticed lots of people wore a single earring.
Another aspect of the story stuck with her. The old gods. Only two to rule over everything just like in Garlon. The ruler of day Galrencia and the ruler of night Poutua.
Kae guided her down a wide side alley. A long table was in the shade between the houses, with boxes of trinkets and oddities. A woman was rummaging through them picking out small metal shapes. The man behind the table walked over to the woman and tipped his cap.
"That box is a copper each or a sliver for ten. Take any you want." He said.
The woman responded quietly. Anelle started picking through the boxes in front of her. Broken metal pipes filled one box, another was filled with metal buttons and broken pins. She stopped at a box with broken glass and carefully sifted through them. At the bottom was a small blue teardrop with a thin metal layer protecting the edges. She lifted it to the light and smiled as it cast blue and green shadows.
"How much?" Kae asked.
Anelle looked over to see both men looking at the teardrop she was holding.
The vendor shook his head. "I can't let it go for less than a gold."
Kae laughed. "You expect me to believe that's real crystal encased in sterling? No. I'll give you a silver and two coppers for it and that's more than it's worth." Kae proposed.
The man rubbed his chin.
"Make it three coppers and it's a deal."
"Now that's a bargain. Only three coppers." Kae said smiling.
"And the silver." The vendor added.
Kae handed over the money as he asked, "Do you have a loop for it?"
"Ay, but it will cost a copper and a second if you want me to attach it."
Kae handed over two more copper coins and turned to Anelle.
The vendor gestured to the teardrop. "May I?" He asked.
She handed it over. The man grabbed a tool out of his pocket with one hand and rummaged in his packets with the other. He squinted his eyes, bringing the tear drop right in front of his face as he worked. He handed back the tear drop to Anelle. It had a metal ring attached to the top with an opening at the bottom.
"Would you like to wear it?" Kae asked.
She nodded. He took the earring from her and brushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. His touch sent shivers down her spine; she stood stiff hoping he wouldn't notice. The metal slipped easily into her ear, the teardrop dangling below.
"Beautiful." He whispered.
Her cheeks rose red and she turned away. Kae chuckled at her reaction.
They exited the alley into another square filled with music and dancers. A band in the centre was playing music as people swirled around them. The music was unlike anything Anelle had ever heard; the instruments were nothing like what Klin and Tiione made. An older gentleman was sitting on a chair holding an instrument that looked like folded concertinaed pieces of card between two wooden boards. Anelle recognised the woman standing in the middle from that morning, who came to the shop looking for a bow, playing a violin with a long neck and four strings.
The song came to an end and the musicians stood and bowed. The dancers and onlookers clapped, throwing coins at a box in front of the performers.
"NEXT IS 'MARION WALTS'." Shouted the musicians over the crowd.
"Would you care to dance?" Kae asked.
"I don't know it." Anelle said.
"I'll teach you. It's an easy one."
Kae pulled her into the empty dance floor. He turned towards her and placed his right hand on her waist and held out his left hand. She placed her left hand on his shoulder and clasped the right in his outstretched hand. She took a breath and steadied her posture.
"You seem at home with this position." He remarked.
"I have spent countless hours learning to dance." She responded, unable to retain her smile.
"Well then this should be easy. First I step back and you step forward into the space my foot left." Anelle looked down at their feet following his instructions. "Then same again on the other foot." The space around them started to clear as people noticed. "Then we do the same back the way we came." They moved back to where they started. "Ok that's most of the dance except when we move back and forth it's at an angle so we gradually move round in a circle." Anelle nodded. "We do two sets of this." Kae guided her back slowly and added the angle so they moved right from where they started. The square had emptied out now and the musicians were sitting ready to play. The entire crowd was watching them as they practised. "Now it's a turn in the waltz." Anelle nodded, confident in her dancing skills even if she didn't know the translation for the word waltz. Kae moved slowly, he stepped back drawing her forward, she stepped between his legs and back on to her other foot as they finished the spin. The musicians clapped and took up position, the closest turned to Anelle.
"We will start off slow for you." Said the lady with the long violin.
The square filled with other pairs. A sea of people swirling in circles. Anelle looked up at Kae and noticed his shoulders tight in concentration, his eyes watching the couple next to them. The first turn was upon them. Kae moved back and she followed, turning a perfect circle. As Anelle took the last step her foot hit the uneven cobbles. She fell forward into Kae and he held her up. She looked up at him and laughed. He helped her to the edge of the circle.
"Is your foot all right?" He asked.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Do you want to continue?" He gestured to the dancers flying past them.
She nodded.
They waited till the next set and jumped back into the frey. All the tension was gone. Anelle smiled at Kae. She let the music move her feet as she followed his lead. Round and round they went. Enjoying every turn and laughing at each fumble. They kept at it, not letting anyone stop them from enjoying the moment together.