Chapter 4

Very early the next day Luna got up and sneaked out of the castle; she wanted to explore the area herself and also needed to stretch her wings out a bit. She walked towards the field filled with honeysuckle and lavender. The fragrance made it seem even more relaxing being out this early on her own. As soon as she got to the river, she looked all around to make sure no one had followed her. The she pulled a rose pendant out of her pocket; it was crystal and supposedly held a small picture of her parents. She had never figured out how to open it. She stopped to rest on the grass and as the sun began to peek over the trees, the warmth felt so good that she started to doze off.

Before long she left like she was being poked by a walking stick, Luna opened her eye's just to see none other then Silverglade laughing as he kept on poking her with the stick. She laughed to as she got back up and brushed several blades of grass off herself.

"What are you doing out here so early? Shouldn't you be having breakfast by now?" Silverglade looked at Luna in a way that was more caring then concerned. As he tossed the stick into the river, he offered for her to join him for breakfast, and they both walked back to the castle together. The cook had prepared omelets with bacon and toast, and a side dish of fruit for each of them. Luna's table manners were much improved from the last time, and she didn't devour as much either. She sat there for a few minutes, smiling at Silverglade." I'm sorry I rushed out so quickly last night; I wasn't sure what to think." and Luna lowered her eyes and ears at the thought... it was rude of her to run out like that. Silver lifted up her head so she could look directly at him. "Don't worry about it Luna. After everything that has gone on in the last fw days, my showing that picture to you was a bit too much." He started to hug her closer, but let her go so he could see who was behind him giggling. It was Shadow, who had obviously found it funny that he was showing this much affection and concern for Luna.

Silver flashed a toothy grin. "Why don't you two go down and get Luna's dress, did you not say they would be done for the dance today?" Shadow nodded a yes to Silver.

Luna wasn't sure that she wanted to attend to the dance, but, on second thought, it would be nice to have some fun, a chance  from all the unpleasantries that had occurred recently. She turned and waved at Silver as she and Shadow walked down the path to town.

"We will be picking up a few other things for the dance. After we get your dress, we will go to the jewelry store and select a few items to go with it." Luna looked a little confused, but didn't ask Shadow by what she meant by that comment. The two of them finally arrived in town; there was a lot of hustle and bustle, getting the area ready for tonight's festivities. In all her life that she could remember, Luna had never seen so many people excited about a festival...

She and Shadow stopped at the dress shop first to pick up their outfits, then crossed the street to the small jewelry shop. The owner smiled as he handed a tiny box to Shadow. As the two headed back to the castle, Shadow handed the box to Luna. "You will need these for the festival tonight." she giggled. "And don't blame me either, it was Silverglade's idea to get these for you not me."

That remark made Luna blush bright red through her fur. She decided  she would wait till later to see what was inside this surprise gift. They slowly made their way back but none too soon, Shadow was so bouncy and excited she dropped the bags several times before they even reached the garden path.

Silverglade was in the middle of the garden, training with his sword, allowing it to change shape every time he assumed a different fighting position. Luna didn't understand any of this, but she respected whatever he was doing. Shadow tried to explain. "He is keeping up with his training, in case you are wondering, not only to be at the festival but to help defend here if necessary. With everything strange going on, maybe you should train sometime soon, Luna." Shadow laughed at the thought of it as they walked past him. He stopped and waved to the girls, then returned back to training.

The girls raced upstairs to Luna's room to try on their outfits for that evening, they had several hours until the festival, so they had fun trying on each others outfits as well as their own. After an hour of the "fashion show" Shadow picked up the little gift and handed it to Luna. "Go ahead, open it. I myself don't know what's in it." Luna gave her a puzzled look then slowly lift the lid.. her eyes shined as she pulled out a crystal rose pendant and matching earrings. She was surprised that Sliver had gotten her a lovely gift like this; that she knew of, she never told him what dress she intended to wear.

Shadow was glad to assist her in putting on the necklace. The set had matched her dress perfectly; it had also given off a warm glow as soon as the pieces touched her fur. Luna stretched out her wings and a warm white glow formed on her wings as well.

Shadow smiled at the sight. "You look very beautiful, Luna. We have about and hour and  a half before we head down to the festival. SliverGlade already left a half hour ago to help prepare and set up security just in case..." Luna smiled, even though she had hoped he would have gone along with them, but she also understood the situation. "Well, I'd better get a shower before we leave." Shadow nodded and helped Luna out of her dress. Undoing the back was difficult because her wings were so big and very much in the way, but she didn't mind too much. shadow want to her room to get herself ready for the evening.

A nice warm shower would surely wake her up for tonight activities, she thought.

She enjoyed the look of the bathroom; the tub was installed into the floor like a hot  spring instead of being above ground level. The actual shower was all cobblestone and had the look of a modern walk in fixture. The sink one the other hand, looked as if someone had simply set a clear glass bowl on the counter, and strangely enough there was a fish tank in the back of the wall of the shower. Strange she thought.

Stranger yet when Luna glance at herself in the mirror, she was shocked to see the image looking back at her. When she was younger, she had blond hair and it was short.

This person she saw now was different. Over the years her hair had changed, it was now a pinkish red color, and clear down to the middle of her back.

After she got showered and dressed, she realized it was time to be leaving. She hurried down the hall, meeting Shadow who helped her adjust the back of her dress around the wings. Luna put on the jewelry, and Shadow tossed her shawl over her shoulders.

The night sky displayed a beautiful bright blue moon. making it easier to follow the path to town. Luna was nervous; she had never been to a  festival or dance like this, not sense she was very little.

As Luna and Shadow neared the town, they were utterly amazed at the transformation, what a difference from what the had seen earlier when they picked up the gowns.

The townspeople had gone "all out" in their decorating plans; that was once a common village with its usual shops and businesses now resembled a renaissance fair. There were candle filled lanterns placed in every available nook and cranny to provide adequate lighting; every shop was now adorned with drapes and ropes to which colorful pennant flags had been attached. Most storefronts and windows carried some appropriate form of display.

Booths and tables were set up on both side of the narrow streets, offering a myriad of wares, local grown foods, and home made baked pastries. Hawkers wandered through the crowd, extolling the virtues or their products.

A wide verity of music and musicians was readily available also, from wandering minstrels and troubadours with lutes to choral groups in velvet attire, their gowns being richly embellished with heavy braid. Some of the townsfolk chose to wear outfits befitting the occasion. Luna was glad that she had chosen something a bit more fancier; she didn't feel out of place dressed this way... she felt like real royalty in the white and gold gown.

SilverGlade had gone ahead to arrange for security measures to be in place. If Luna looked more closely, she could see dark images of guards hidden in the shadows, awaiting any unfortunate situation, should one arise. The crowd stepped back, revealing an open area in town square, and she saw some couples joining in a lively reel, music provided by several fiddlers. They were quite good at their art, she thought. She wondered if Silver was any sort of a decant dancer. As the question crossed her mind, she looked up only to see him standing in front of her. With an outstretched paw, he motioned for her to accompany him to the clearing and invited her to dance with him, to the surprise of everyone around them, especially Shadow. When that reel finished, he bowed, put her paw up to his muzzle, and took his leave, returning to whatever part he had in providing safety for all the revelers, or so she thought.

Luna and Shadow excused themselves from this site and wandered around the grounds, checking out the refreshment booths. They really were too excited to eat anything before they left the castle, and their stomachs were reminding them of that omission. The pastries looked appetizing and the ladies chose from that booth what looked appealed to them. They each felt a bit adventurous and indulged in a cup of mead, a small cup, mind you. Then it was time for the festivities! The girls were approaching the castle on the way home from the celebrations, Luna noticed dim lights flickers behind the windows of a room that she was unaware had even existed. She had a feeling that Shadow, although the most gracious hostess and friend, had not revealed all the rooms of the building, as if there were some secret areas that, even to her, were "off-limits." Perhaps Shadow was unaware of these places, or was Luna just imagining that there were strange goings-on? After all the trails she had gone through, she wasn't sure who or what to believe any more. But then Silver had rescued her several times, and he was certainly treating her with extreme kindness and generosity, to say the least. Well, she'd just have to accept this reasoning until she found out otherwise.

Little did Luna know that a series of events occurring in the neighboring county would change her life forever........