Festival

Val took a couple of days after her job to look for some juicy tid bits here and there. She found some promising leads about a few jobs in the capital. Of course, the capital is a great place to find lucrative work. It has one of the highest concentration of rich people. Who wouldn't want to be around the power of the royals?

With her new course set, Val readied herself for the festival. She promised Celeste that they would go together. She brought a simple dress in her pack. Never know when something like that might be useful. But she needed to get a couple of handkerchiefs for herself and Celeste. She got a red one for herself, and a blue one for Celeste.

She had told them to meet near the water fountain near the city center. She made sure to wait a bit early, since the bother, sister pair were early risers. She sat on a bench, hoping it was visible enough. Today would involve quite a bit of walking. It was best to not tire oneself too early.

While she was admiring the water fountain, she noticed a change in the flow. It seemed to gush just a bit faster than before. She cocked her head in amusement. Then a delicate voice caught her attention.

"Val! I am so happy to see you again!" Celeste shouted out. Her enthusiasm was apparent as she nearly leaped into Val's embrace.

"Woah there!" Val patted the girl's back. "You make it seem like we haven't seen each other in ages. It's only been a few days."

"Yes, you should reign in your emotions." Cosmo warned from behind.

Val nearly rolled her eyes at him. Then she noticed that it was only the two of them. When Cosmo noticed her peering behind him, he asked, "Who are you expecting?"

Val shook her head as she giggled. "I just expected your shadow, Orion, to tag along."

Cosmo nodded in understanding. "I sent him with Terran to transport our acquisition."

"And Corvus and Pyxis decided not to come. They said the festival would be a waste of time." Celeste interjected.

"Well, it'll be easier to move with only the three of us." Val smiled at Celeste. "Also, I got this for you."

Val wrapped the blue handkerchief around Celeste's wrist. She then showed her own wrist with the red handkerchief. Celeste became giddy at the gift, even though it was such a simple thing. Val's eyes became soft at the sight.

"What is that for?" Cosmo inquired, breaking the sweet moment.

"Ah, this," Val held up the girl's wrist, "is to signify our maiden status. Everyone knows that the best part of a festival is to receive as many gifts as possible." She winked at Celeste.

"How do we get gifts with these?" Celeste furrowed her brows, trying to understand Val's logic.

"It's really rather simple." Val smirked as she explained. "Usually, a maiden's handkerchief is given to the young man she is fond of as a symbol of courtship. Of course, it's not as grand as the nobles' traditions. But it serves as a nice reminder. And the best time to exchange them is during a festival! So, all we need to do is bat our pretty little eyes, and perhaps a use a bit of flowery language. Then we have them fight to impress us to give them our handkerchiefs."

"Absolutely not." Cosmo pulled Celeste closer to him.

"Look, I'm not going to let any of these hooligans touch her. We will just flirt, try to get some free pastries, and be on our merry way." Val tried to placate the over protective brother.

"I cannot allow it." Cosmo stood firm.

"Oh, come on!" Val yelled at him. "You will be right here, watching us. Not to mention, she will be under my guidance."

"Please, Brother." Celeste looked up with her beautiful, doe eyes. Cosmo's face showed his conflicted thoughts. He did want her to enjoy her time with Val, but he also can't stand the fact that these young boys would be eyeing her.

"Alright." He finally relented. Both Val and Celeste squealed for joy.

Before long, they made their way through the makeshift market place. Because of the festival, there were many more food stalls and stands selling trinkets. Cosmo followed behind Val and Celeste with a stern face. It kept most of the younger boys at bay, which Val felt was a bit overkill. Celeste didn't seem to mind, as she was so engrossed in her surroundings.

Every shiny trinket caught her eye. The music made her giddy. The hustle and bustle filled her with energy. Celeste was truly enjoying herself.

Since Cosmo foiled Val's plan of teaching Celeste the finer points of using one's beauty, she instead ran around with Celeste, hand in hand. There were some street magicians and puppet shows. They were so engrossed that they nearly forgot to eat.

Once they're stomachs growled, they settled on grabbing some food. Cosmo and Celeste found a pleasant spot to sit, while Val got the food. She wanted to be sure that Celeste could try as much as possible, so she went to work haggling with the vendors. As soon as she was satisfied with the variety of options, she made her way to her other companions.

But suddenly, Val came to an abrupt halt, and dropped some of the food that was wrapped in her handkerchief. This of course put her in very sour mood. She just spent good money on that! She whipped her head around to see who caused such a travesty to those poor morsels.

"Hey!" Val saw a very large man gripping her wrist. "What's your problem!?!"

"There's no problem here, sweetheart." The man said as he moved closer to her. "It would be a shame to just let a beauty like you pass without making an introduction."

Val was still mad about the food, but now she was disgusted with him in general. He wasn't an unattractive man, but one could tell that he believed himself to be the most dashing fellow a girl had ever seen. He expected her to swoon because of his domineering aura and "charm".

"Well, I'm not interested." Val sneered. "I think it's time you let me go."

Sizing up this barbarian, she knew that all she could do was possibly wriggle out of his grasp and make a run for it. She didn't have her usual fare with her, so she wasn't equipped for a fight. She thought about kneeing him between the legs, but that would probably make him mad, and alert others who were with him.

As Val was working out a plan in her head, a sweet voice rang out. "Val! Are you alright?" Celeste came bounding towards her before embracing her tightly. "Let her go!"

The man just laughed at the young girl. She obviously didn't look very intimidating, despite the scowl she was giving him. "What do we have here? A little pipsqueak?"

A couple of his companions walked over, and some people took curious looks. Val instinctually did what she could to shield Celeste. But instead of the goons making a move, a blood cuddling scream came out of the barbarian's mouth.

"I believe she had asked you to remove your hand." Cosmo said in a low and commanding tone. His grip on the other man's wrist caused obvious damage without him putting in much effort.

"Ahhh!" The barbarian cried out in pain. "Fine! I'm letting go. I'm letting go!"

Val was free from his grasp. She picked up her dirtied handkerchief and dusted it off. Celeste inspected her wrist for any damage, and saw a tinge of red and some irritation. She scowled even more to see that her friend was hurt.

The trio took their leave, as no one had the courage to face Cosmo. This time, they got food together, and decided that it would be better to just walk and eat. They felt more refreshed after eating, so they continued to enjoy all that the festival could offer them.