Today’s the long-awaited Lang Village summer festival!
I feel like I could fly there right now.
But first—chores.
I let Merry and Ben out of the goat pen and give them the herbs I gathered. Then I draw water for them to drink and leave them to graze in the yard.
Merry hardly gives any milk now. It’s been two whole years since she had her kids.
Still, a little is way better than none, and I’m grateful.
I water the vegetable garden, then pour goat milk and the last of the Killer Bee honey over my porridge.
There’s also some herb-roasted Almiraj left from last night.
Even though it’s summer, it’s still fresh—it’s been safely tucked inside my magic Item Box.
“Ah, this is delicious!”
I was enjoying it last night too, but Selina devoured most of it.
“I might be home late tonight,” she’d said. “Reheat this for your meal!”
I thought there’d be more left, but there’s only a little.
“Don’t come back too late after dark,” she warned. “Zoe, you’re still a child, even if you’re participating in the nighttime part of the festival.”
“Huh?” I wondered, what’s that supposed to mean?
“Children don’t need to be thinking about choosing a partner just yet.”
Ughhh… my face turned bright red when she hinted that.
“Well, that’s true, but still…”
The singing and dancing probably get more exciting at night.
Though seven does seem a bit early to be worrying about romance.
Since I want to play my flute later, I pour plenty of magic into my harp and teleport to Lang Village.
“Whoa—maybe that was a little too much mana…”
I barely land properly. My legs wobble a little, but I steady myself with deep breaths, soak up some mana from the air, and dash toward the village.
“Zoe!”
At the general store, Maggie’s waiting, her hair tied with ribbons and her dress a cheerful festival pink.
“You look so cute!” I tell her. She really does.
“You’re…” She tries to return the compliment, but I’m just in my best off-white dress. And no ribbons—still haven’t bought any.
Selina banned me from going to Carlton alone.
“You’ll get kidnapped and sold off!” she warned.
When I told her I’d teleport away, she gave me that look—the one that forbids all magic outside.
Besides, Maggie told me the other day… there are brothels in Carlton too.
“Wanna borrow one of my old ribbons?” Maggie offers sweetly.
But I know how expensive ribbons are, so I shake my head.
“Let’s just hurry to the festival grounds!”
If we hang around too long, her mother will find chores for us.
And worse—we might get stuck watching Maggie’s older sisters’ kids!
“You’re right!” Maggie agrees instantly. She’s clearly had her fill of babysitting since yesterday.
Being a foundling, and with Selina having no relatives, I’m not used to the whole extended family thing. It’s kind of annoying. And maybe a little enviable too.
Still, I don’t wanna babysit today!
Wow! A tall tower’s been built by the riverbank where we practiced dancing.
There’s a big open space around it for dancing, with benches arranged in a circle.
Food stalls line the outer edge—more than I expected for a country festival.
“Incredible!”
I’d heard the Lang Village festival was well-known even in Carlton, and Maggie said there’d be lots of stalls, but I never imagined this many.
“Let’s eat lunch at the stalls!”
We grin at each other. Not that either of us has much money.
“Let’s check them all out first and see what looks good!”
“The real dancing doesn’t start until evening,” Maggie says. “It’s mostly for kids at the start. I have to head home when it gets dark, but until then, I’m free!”
Selina gave me the same rule. Seems like Maggie’s mother did too.
We wander the stalls, peeking at food and drinks, trinkets and accessories.
“You give presents to someone you like,” Maggie teases with a laugh. She’s surprisingly bold!
“We’ll want to drink something at least twice while we’re dancing! We could go home for water, but then we’ll get pulled into helping with dinner.”
With her sister’s family visiting, dinner prep must be a nightmare.
“Since it’s a special day, I want juice instead of water!”
But even the juice is expensive—probably festival pricing.
That means lunch has to be simple.
“I had a big breakfast, so something light is fine!”
“Same here!”
Sure, breakfast was just porridge and leftover meat, but that doesn’t matter.
Festival music floats through the air. Hardly anyone’s dancing yet—the kids are still eating lunch or wandering the stalls, wide-eyed.
“How about this grilled skewer? Two pennies each.”
It won’t fill us up, but I want to save money for juice.
“Mister, we’ll take two, please!”
We nibble as we walk, which might be rude, but other kids are doing it too.
If Maggie’s mom sees us, we’ll probably get scolded.
“Those aren’t Lang Village kids, are they?”
I’ve met almost all the village kids during dance practice. A few of the older ones didn’t come, though.
“Nope! Maybe they’re from Carlton? Or other villages.”
Maggie would know—she was born and raised here, and her family runs the general store.
We browse the accessories and booths, waiting for things to really kick off.
I want to start dancing and singing already! But I can’t very well do it alone.
“I wish it would start soon.”
“It won’t until the village chief arrives.”
Ugh. That’s Matthew’s father. Annoying Matthew…
“I wish he’d just get here and start it already!”
I don’t know anything about the meaning behind summer festivals.
I just want to dance, sing, and have fun.