Shaking his head, he says, “No thank you. Someone needs to stay here and look after things. Besides, I’m not really in the mood for fun.”
“Miko?” she asks.
He just nods his head yes.
“I’m sorry,” she says and then giggles as Tinok takes her by the hand as they head over to the festival. Over her shoulder she says, “Goodbye!”
“Have fun!” James hollers after them.
The four guards remaining see them walk over toward the festival and say, “When do we get to go?”
“I’ll need four of you here at any one time to discourage any thieves,” he replies. “When Scar and Potbelly get back with Delia, you can draw lots and then two at a time can go.”
“Alright,” Yorn says.
An hour later, they see Delia trundling her way back to their camp with Scar and Potbelly riding along beside.
“Everything okay?’ he asks as she pulls up.
“Everything’s fine,” she assures him. “Got the five golds and another thirty for the packages I delivered.”
“Great,” he says.
Looking around, she says, “Just where is everyone?”
James indicates the festival and replies, “They left shortly after you did.”
From the group of guards, he hears several curses and a cry for joy as they draw lots to see who gets to go. Stig and Shorty walk over to James with happy expressions on their faces, “So you guys get to go first?”
“That’s right,” Shorty says.
“Could we perhaps have a few coins to spend?” Stig asks.
“Sure,” James says as he gets up and goes over to the money box. He takes out four silvers for each of the guards and hands them over.
“Can I come with you two?” Delia asks when she learns they are going over to the festival.
“Sure, milady,” Stig says as he offers her his arm. His shield is slung across his back and his mace hangs at his hip.
Taking his arm, she says to James, “I’ll be back later.”
“Just send your escorts back in a couple of hours so the others can have their turn,” he tells her.
“Okay,” she replies. Then she turns to her escorts and says “You heard that, right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Shorty affirms.
They quickly make their way over to the festival. She feels bad about leaving James back at the wagons, but understands how he feels.
Many minstrels roam the grounds providing music and atmosphere to the festival. There are tents and booths set up throughout the area where festival goers can purchase a multitude of various items. She pauses in front of one that is selling small, wooden carvings of horses and admires the intricate workmanship that went into them. When the merchant asks if she would want to purchase one, he’s disappointed when she shakes her head no and moves on.
They make their way further into the sea of tents and come across Roland and his family. Arkie is holding one of the wooden horses from the display she examined earlier, happily sucking on its head.
“Where are Tinok and Cassie?” she asks him.
“Don’t know,” he replies. “They went off with Jiron and Tersa shortly after we arrived.”
“If you should run into them, tell ‘em I’m here,” she says.
“Sure, no problem,” he replies. “James didn’t come?”
Shaking her head, she says, “He didn’t feel like it, still worried about his friend Miko.”
Roland nods his head in understanding. “Want to stay with us?” he asks.
“Thanks, but I want to find Tinok and Cassie,” she says as she glances around at the crowd of people, “somehow.”
“Good luck,” he says as they move further on, stopping at another booth selling colored bottles.
Delia and her escorts wind their way through the people, occasionally stopping at booths to browse the items on display.
They come to an open area where a man is trying to entice passersby to test their skill. He has a target set up over a hundred feet away and in front of him are several throwing knives. It looks like you throw one of the knives and try to hit the bull’s eye in the center of the target.
Intrigued, Shorty comes up and takes one of the knives testing it for balanced. The man starts speaking to him but no one understands him. “Do you understand the common tongue?” Shorty asks him as he continues examining the knives before him.
“Yes sir,” the man replies. “For just two coppers, you may try your skill and if you hit the bull’s eye, you get one of these.” He indicates a selection of jewelry and bracers.
“Alright,” he says as he hands over one of the silvers James had given him. The man takes it and gives him his change. By this time a few onlookers have stopped to see how he’ll do.
He selects the first knife he examined and then stands with his feet a foot apart so he’s well balanced. Taking careful aim at the target, he takes a couple deep breaths and then throws the knife. It sails through the air and to the amazement of the crowd, strikes the target dead center. The onlookers cheer and the man says, “We have a winner, see how easy it is.” To Shorty he says, “Please take your choice.”
Selecting a necklace, he turns and offers it to Delia, saying, “I would be honored if you would accept this from me.”
When she hesitates, he says, “You needn’t feel it’s a commitment, I would just like you to have it.”
Taking the necklace, she puts it around her neck saying, “Thank you Shorty.”
He smiles and blushes slightly.
As they move on, another person tries their luck but the knife flies wide, missing the target.
“Only one of the knives is balanced properly,” he tells them. “If you were to use the others, you’d be in danger of hitting yourself,” he continues, laughing.
They move along and eventually find the others sitting at a table enjoying a meal as they listen to a group of musicians. There’s an open area in front of where the musicians play where people can go and dance if they like, a few couples are already out there.
As Delia approaches them, she catches Tinok’s eye and asks, “Why aren’t you out there dancing?”
Blushing slightly, he says, “I don’t know any of the dances they’re doing.”
Taking a seat next to Cassie, she asks, “Need any help getting him out there?”
“Yes I do!” she says, acting as if she’s put out. A smile on her lips tells her that she’s not really.
The musicians finish their song to a smattering of applause and then begin another one, this time a fast paced song.
“Okay,” Delia says to Tinok, “now’s your chance, get moving.”
Cassie gets up and practically drags him over to the dancing area.
“I never thought she would get him out there,” Jiron says as he watches Tinok doing his best.
“For someone who’s graceful in battle, he’s sure clumsy out there,” Tersa adds.
When Tinok looks over to them, with an expression bordering on fear, they all give him encouragement. After a few minutes he begins to get the hang of it and begins to flow with the music.
“Your turn dear brother,” Tersa says as she drags him out there as well.
Delia sits and watches as Jiron and Tinok both fumble and misstep as they dance. Shaking her head and silently amused, she just sits back and enjoys herself.
Long after the sun has gone down, James finally sees them returning. “Have a good time?” he asks them.
Cassie comes straight to him and says, “Tinok and I are to be married!”
“What?” he exclaims, looking over to Tinok who’s looking both happy and scared out of his mind.
“He proposed to me while we were dancing,” she tells him.
“Congratulations,” he says to them both, shaking Tinok’s hand. “When will you be getting married?”
“We want to wait until we’re back home or maybe in Cardri,” Tinok says with his arm around her waist.
“That’s right,” adds Cassie. “We didn’t want to be married in the Empire.”
