The Festival (2)

Papa stopped as he heard me shout. It was a relief that Max was safe but why do I feel weird? Something strange. When I turned to glance around, I noticed that a few people were staring at me.

"Mother, did she call the wolf Papa?''

"What a poor child."

"Hahaha Father that girl is weird!"

I could see their reactions about me- others were confused, took pity, and even made fun of me. Their stares were uncomfortable. Suddenly, Papa licked my hand. It was comforting.

"Are you all right, Brielle?'' Max asked with a worried face. He seemed more concerned with me rather than the fact that I called the wolf 'Papa'.

"Yes, I'm okay," I answered.

"Come with me. I'll take you to the prettiest part of the festival," he said, taking my hands in his and leading me to the location.

***

"Here we are!" Seeing this place made my heart skip. The surroundings were full of flowers and smelled like spring. White, pink, yellow, orange... Wow! It's so colorful. It was my first time seeing a place like this.

"See, I told you it's the prettiest place in town."

"Yes, it's pretty. I like it." I smiled brightly.

Max flustered and continued to say, "Cough…The flowers that you see are called Daffodil. It represents the rebirth and new beginning of the Ronian Empire. It was when Emperor Ian Callis ascended the throne." Emperor Ian Callis? What a pretty name. He must be a kind person because the people were celebrating him.

"Brielle, let's play games there."

When we were about to proceed to play, all of the sudden a loud voice announced, "Your Majesty, Ian Caspian Callis, is coming." People began to make way for the horses and elegant carriages passing by. Humans riding the horses had shiny armor and wielded gleaming swords.

"Brielle, get up," Papa whispered as the place became crowded. I watched the procession while sitting on Papa's back.

"Look! His Majesty is coming," Max said in an excited tone.

They were throwing flowers into the air and waving their flags when the golden carriage approached. Everyone was bursting with joy.

" Long live the emperor."

"All hail Your Majesty."

"Live long and Prosper, Your Majesty."

I tried to glimpse at the face of the emperor but there were too many humans crowding before me. At that moment, I just waited for the procession to end. When the golden carriage was about to get past, I saw the emperor glanced in my direction. Too bad, I didn't see his face clearly.

***

"Are you going home?"

"Yes. I need to go home now."

"Then, goodbye. Please visit again." Max wore a sad expression that made me feel bad. Sadly, my day in the town comes to an end. Wait I forgot something, I need to thank Max for accompanying me today. I take half of the grilled meat in the bag that Papa's holding.

"Thank you, Max, for today. Here, don't be sad."

He dazed for a moment and began to laugh. "Why meat? Hahahaha...You are funny," he got the meat that I'm holding and patted my head. "Thank you, Brielle. I will eat it all."

"No! Share it with your father and mother."

"Hahaha...Okay, okay, I'll say that my friend gave us a gift." The moment he said the word friend, my eyes went round. "Friend?"

"Yes! You are my friend." I have a friend? Is this really true? I'm so happy. It was the first time someone wanted to be friends with me. Right now, my heart is full.

I waved my hand to Max as we parted away. It was a great day- I enjoyed the festival, ate delicious foods, and I made a friend. My heart tingled as I recalled the moments we had at the festival. Papa and I walked side by side as we left the capital. On our way out, I bumped into a lady. I'm about to fall on the ground, luckily a man in a hood caught me.

"Are you okay?" the man asked.

"Yes, Mister. Thank you." Papa hurriedly checked if I got hurt.

"Is that wolf yours?" the man noticed.

"Yes, he is my family." Mister seemed to be confused about what I said. His eyes looked sad. Is he worried about me? "Kind Mister, here take this." I handed him the last piece of meat that Papa's holding. We can hunt animals in the forest so it's not a big deal if I gave him the meat.

"...."

"You eat that, Kind Mister. My Papa said that eating will make you happy,'' I said, persuading.

"Is that so? Then I will gladly eat it," he said while he chuckled.

"I will go now, Mister. Thank you again." I bowed my head as I thanked him. Following that, Papa and I walked back to our home.

***

"Your Majesty, don't wander around without notifying us. You are the sun of the Empire. It will be bad if something happens to you. Your Majesty?" said the Commander of the Knights.

"... I met a child. He called the wolf his family," he replied.

"Oh, maybe it's her pet. Hmm, that child gave you that?" Commander of the Knights asked.

"Yeah, she is adorable…Let's return to the palace," he commanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty Ian Caspian Callis," the knights said in chorus, kneeling in front of the emperor.