[Music Recommendation: For Whom The Fire Burns (Winterscape remix) ~ Phildel]
Putting on a casual dress, Oriana and Freya left the palace with Walter and Kai. They had left with just one carriage and no guard. The excitement of leaving the palace gave Oriana a sense of relief.
In the past, she always tried to escape after being forced to marry Adric, but now she saw it as home. Her new home, where she had people she could call family.
"What about Madame Rosalie? I thought she would have loved to go with us," Freya asked, looking out through the window.
Oriana nodded, "I thought so too," she muttered, remembering that she hadn’t seen Madame Rosalie since after the soldiers arrived.
"Auntie, I heard something from one of the maids. They said there’s a fruit that melts on the tongue and it’s very cold," Walter chimed in, excitement evident in the boy’s voice. He was really happy to go out of the palace.
Oriana furrowed her eyebrows. She had never heard of such a fruit. "Tell me the name and I’ll get it for you."
"She said it’s... ice no... fruit," Walter tapped his fingers on his lips, trying to remember it. Then he turned to his brother for help.
Kai, who had been sitting quietly in the carriage, replied, "Iced Crystal cream. The name is Iced Crystal cream."
"Yes!" Walter clapped. "Iced Crystal cream. Will you get it for me?"
Oriana nodded, "Anything for my favorite Walter," she ruffled his hair. "Just make sure you don’t run around or leave my side. The village is always crowded with people. We don’t want to lose anyone in the crowd."
"Okay," Walter nodded, pushing his head out of the window. He smiled happily, the boy couldn’t wait to reach the market. He had already heard a lot of exciting things about it from the maids.
The carriage finally stopped when they reached the marketplace, and since the village was having a fair, carriages had to be parked very far while people trekked into the market.
Oriana was the first to come down. Since she was wearing a simpler dress with no jewelry on, she easily blended in with the commoners. Carefully, she carried Walter down.
The next to come down was Freya. She turned to help Kai, but the boy pushed her hand aside and jumped down by himself. When he almost lost his balance, Freya quickly caught him before he could touch the ground.
Oriana sighed when she saw this. She was really worried about Kai acting like an adult when he was still just a child. But she decided not to scold the boy since they had come out to have fun.
"Let’s go. Everyone, make sure you’re holding hands, okay?" Oriana held Walter closely, then Kai on the other hand while Freya followed them closely behind.
The village market was so big, with a lot of sellers shouting and calling for buyers where some persons haggled that it almost looked like a fight. Since the village was having a fair, so many booths and stands were outside with different things being sold to attract customers.
"Look, that man is spitting fire," Walter shouted, and they all turned to see a very tall man blowing fire from a stick. "I want to try it too," the boy muttered, looking at the man in amazement.
Oriana was also wowed by what she was seeing. She had never seen so many fun things happening in one place. Thinking about it, she thought it was really a good idea to leave the palace.
"Auntie! Look, the cream crystal!" Walter tugged Oriana’s hand, dragging her to the booth where the delicacy was being sold.
It was an old man who was in charge of this particular booth. The line of people who had come to buy from him was few, but from their dressing, they belonged to the elite class.
"A cup of this iced crystal cream is ten gold crowns. Nothing else," the old man shouted, scooping the contents inside something brownish.
Oriana’s eyes widened, "Ten? Why is it so high-priced?" she muttered, but one of the women who was in line heard her and turned.
The high-class woman looked at Oriana from head to toe and scoffed, "It’s because it’s meant for people who have the money. And since you don’t... shoo, go to the buns store and spend your nickels," with a condescending gaze, the woman spoke to Oriana.
"Don’t talk to my auntie like that. She’s the Qu-" Walter opened his mouth to defend Oriana, but his mouth was quickly covered.
Oriana bowed to the woman, "My apologies."
"Peasants, and they can’t even train their offspring. Ew!" the woman spat, walking forward to get her own delicacy.
Oriana turned to Walter, "You don’t tell anyone who you are or what you are. We are outside, and it might not be safe if people find out that..." Oriana paused, looking around. "I’m Queen."
Walter pouted, "But she was talking down to you."
"I know, but it doesn’t matter. Everyone is allowed to say what they want." Oriana rubbed the boy’s hair, "Now let’s go and get the crystal ice!"
Walter’s face brightened up again, and he ran forward, dragging Oriana to the stand.
The old man who was selling was hesitant at first to sell to his new customers—two young girls looking like peasants and the two boys. "I don’t accept haggling in my store. Ten gold crowns and that’s it."
Oriana opened the pouch that was tied around her waist and gave the man pieces of the coins. "Give us eight of that."
The man gasped, packing the entire coins. He quickly rushed inside and prepared the delicacy, putting it in a cone-shaped brown cup. He returned with it and gave it to his customers. The bright smile on his face showed that he was really happy with his sales.
"Enjoy your iced crystal cream. You can eat the cup; it’s also very delicious. And also come back for more!"
Oriana gave the treat to Walter and Kai. The next two were given to Freya before she took hers.
"It’s so tasty!" Walter shouted, "And cold."
Oriana couldn’t agree more. As she ate it, she felt like a mixture of fruits was melting on her tongue, and she couldn’t help but eat more of it.
"Now I know why it’s really pricey," Freya remarked, enjoying her own crystal cream.
Kai couldn’t help but nod, "It has so many fruit flavors, and I can almost eat the crunchy ice," his small voice was heard.
Oriana and Freya were surprised to hear the boy talk. They gave each other a small look and smiled.
As they were enjoying their cream, a young man who looked tattered, especially his dressing, walked up to them. On his neck was a heavy chain with a big blue ball as a pendant.
"Hello, welcome to the village fair."
Out of reflex, Oriana pulled Walter and Kai protectively behind her. "And who are you?"
"Me? My name is Galen, but I’m referred to as the charmer around here. Would you like to see what I can do? Sometimes I help people achieve their dreams or even better if you have a man you’re smitten by, I’ll make him look your way."
Oriana narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "How can you possibly do that?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
The charmer pointed at a tent not far away from there, "If you can step in for a moment, I’ll show you. But first, you have to pay five nickels."
Oriana bit her lip. It wasn’t a bad offer. If she could get something that would make Adric look at her even for a moment and see her heart, then she wanted to try it.
"Let’s go."
Freya held Oriana’s dress and whispered, "Your Majesty, I don’t trust this man. He looks like a thief."
The charmer grinned, "You," he pointed at Freya, "You have the eyes of a dreamer, but it looks like lately someone has been making you angry. Do you want me to help you?"
Freya blinked, "And how do you know that?"
"The blue ball knows it all. Let’s go if you want to know more." The charmer led them to his tent.
Oriana gave the man the coins, making sure Kai and Victor were comfortably seated before she went to sit in front of the charmer.
The young man started, "Let’s do a test first. I want you to keep your eyes on the ball and think about your happiest memory. When I snap my fingers, you’ll fall asleep."
Oriana kept her eyes on the ball, watching it move from side to side. When the man snapped his fingers, her eyes became heavy and she closed them. For a moment, it felt as if she was moved back in time.
There she was, standing at the village fair, but this time she was in the body of a child. And in front of her stood a young boy, who she recognized immediately. It didn’t take Oriana long to realize what memory she had just seen and who the person standing in front of her was.
"Adric," she muttered under her breath before opening her eyes.
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