Festivities

Varen peers outside the castle, watching Emelda and Raiden planting fruit trees around the yard. He found it interesting that Raiden chose to live in this castle even though everything was so different from the original story. Tyran also allied with the demon, though this alliance felt more concrete than before.

He leans on the window seal quietly. Not only that, but Rainer was in their care now. Rainer had an important role in his original too, becoming a strong ally to the demon. "Things are happening a bit faster but it feels the outcome will be the same..."

"Varen? Are you watching Emelda again?" Jinx approaches with a teasing smile.

"I was just getting fresh air." He responds looking to the side away from the maid.

"Sure sure." Jinx chuckles looking out at her master. "Wouldn't blame you. Though she's far from your reach." The maid sends him a cat smile.

"That's fine. I'm not interested." He scoffs.

"To be honest though. Sometimes it feels like those two are on a different plain than the rest of us." Jinx murmurs.

"So you're saying they couldn't find love?" He tilts his head.

"Probably not. They're like the perfect pair yet there's no longing between them." She fluffy her hair. "But I'm sure there's someone that can catch their eye." She muses. "For Emee maybe she likes strong handsome types?"

"They were speaking of gathering knights." He breathes.

"Ooh, a knight and noble lady relationship! Sounds so cute." Jinx gushes. "Oh, I need to go get water from the tubs we brought!" She gasps, suddenly rushing off.

"A knight huh... I might know just the one..." Varen mumbles putting a knuckle to his chin.

"The window cover broke," Rainer calls from the castle. Emelda and Raiden pause their digging to look a the boy as he points down at the window shutters that had fallen to the ground.

"It's okay they were rotting," Emelda assures.

"Should be easy to replace. I hear Emerson is good at the woodcraft." Raiden comments before continuing.

"The servants Tyran sent are already at work on the top floor. " Emelda peers towards the top floor, seeing dust leaving the windows.

"They seemed quite happy about the challenge." He agrees as he finishes and she adds a fruit tree.

"That's the sign of a great worker." She breathes.

"Jinx is great too. Cleared out the rooms as soon as we got here." He smiles a bit.

"Yeah. She's the best." Emelda says proudly.

"Emee, I think we found it!" Bane calls from behind the castle.

"There's no way he found water with twigs." Raiden huffs.

"It worked in my world." She nudges him.

"It sounds weird." He chuckles as they turn the corner to where Bane was.

"They only cross here." He shows them, going back and forth with the sticks.

"Hold on. I hear something there." Raiden tells Bane, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Bane pauses dropping his foot back down. Raiden kneels and gives a hard knock. It sounded hollow. He digs and finds wood. He looks back at Emelda who smirks a bit.

"Is that a well?" Bane asks. Raiden scowls, stabbing his arm through the wood before ripping it out of the ground. Sure enough, it was a well.

"How!? It doesn't even make sense!?" Raiden bursts.

"I don't know either. Just that it works." She responds simply in amusement.

"That's pretty fantastic, now we just need to build the rest of it." Bane grins. "I'll head to town with Jinx to get what we need."

"Be safe," Emelda tells him.

"Will do." Bane nods rushing off.

"So we still need more stones for the border as well...." Emelda looks about. "Although I don't mind the wild guests we..." She trails off as a tree shudders near the back wall. A moment later, a reptilian face peers over the intact part of the wall at them before yawning and disappearing behind it again before the ground shudders slightly.

"What's that?" Raiden whispers and they cross the yard briskly to peer out over the crumbled wall at the large sleeping dinosaur-looking creature, only the hide seemed fuzzy and soft like velvet.

"..... I'm gonna pet it," Emelda whispers.

"I was about to say that." Raiden breathes.

"Don't you two go near that!" Varen calls from the castle. They look at him, giving a thumbs up as they go over the fallen wall and toward the giant beast. They stop at the shoulder peering at its face.

"It's kinda cute." Emelda gushes petting its shoulder.

"Scary cutie." Raiden nods petting it as well. The creature peeks an eye at them before falling back to sleep with a slight snore.

"Such a big beast!"

"Hey! You two! Get away from that! It's very dangerous!" Varen hisses from the fallen part of the wall.

"He's just a sleepy baby." Emelda gushes to him.

"Very sleepy." Raiden breathes.

"That's a Megraptor! It's not going to be cuddly once it wakes!" He warns.

"Then we'll just enjoy this while we can." Emelda muses.

"Agreed." Raiden gushes. Varen groans at their carelessness.

"Oh. Lady Emelda." Rainer leans out of the wall. "Lord Tyran is here." He calls quietly so as to not wake the creature.

"Aw. Guess we'll go." Emelda starts away.

"Sleep well, little guy," Raiden whispers to it as they return to the other side of the wall.

"You realize once that wakes up it's going to try to eat everyone." Varen deadpans.

"Not if we eat it first." Emelda smiles.

"Bet it'll be juicy." Raiden agrees as they go past. Rainer giggles while Varen facepalms.

"Hey, Tyran. What brings you over here?" She asks as the man approaches, Silence breaks away from him to catch a large bug flying near a fruit tree.

"Came to see how things were going. And to remind you both that the winter solstice festival is starting tonight." Tyran rumbles.

"Tonight? We had no idea." Raiden huffs as Emelda starts to hop.

"I haven't been to one! Let's give everyone their raises now!" She gasps to Raiden excitedly.

"But Bane and Jinx just left," Raiden says.

"Actually we ran into Tyran, he said most of the normal shops are already starting to close for the festival," Bane says as he and the maid join them.

"Are we going?" Jinx asks excitedly.

"Of course. Let's head home and change out of our clothes." Emelda grins scooping up Rainer.

"This'll be the first time I can play at one." The boy grins.

"Better get your mini cleaning army so they can come along, there's a Megraptor on the other side of the wall," Emelda tells them. Tyran pauses at that.

"And you... Let it live?" He murmurs.

"He's napping. I'm not gonna be rude." She huffs.

"Same." Raiden agrees. Tyran looks between them while Varen let's out another annoyed groan.

"I think Varen needs to use the bathroom," Rainer whispers to Emelda loudly.

"I do not!" Varen gasps.

"No, we just hurt his head." She assures as she starts for the carriage. Varen sighs as Raiden chuckles at him before following after Emelda with Jinx and Bane. Tyran pats Varen's shoulder as he passes by. Varen sighs covering his face for a moment.

They reach the manor, hurrying in to change clothes and get ready to join in on the festivities. Then they head out into the evening air. The town is now lit with blue lanterns with snowflake patterns.

"They always have cute outfits for sale at festivals. Let's go find you one." Jinx gushes to Emelda.

"Okay, but I'm more interested in dressing up this guy." Emelda holds up Rainer.

"Why me?" He blinks in surprise.

"Because you're gonna be a little gentleman." She gushes hugging him.

"You're weird." The boy giggles.

"You two have fun, Rainer stay with them," Raiden says. "I'm going to try some snacks."

"These festivals always have eating contests." Bane rumbles.

"What about you Varen?" Emelda asks. He looks over at her before humming in thought.

"I'll probably wander. Take care." He nods decidedly.

With that, the group separates onto the festive streets, packed with people. Jinx guides the way, having a unique sense of where clothes were being sold. Emelda has her try on the festive clothes before the maid turns it on her. Then they find outfits for Rainer.

"Oh, I like this one. I feel like a royal knight." He gasps after one of the outfits.

"You look like one. If only we could do more with your hair." Jinx frowns slightly.

"He could use a trim." Emelda runs fingers through the boy's nearly shoulder-length hair.

"But..." He touches over his scarred eye.

"Rainer. That's a part of you now. Just because the weak can't accept it, doesn't mean you shouldn't." Emelda touches his cheek. "And only the best will see past it."

"... Is there a way to cut it now? I don't really like my hair like this, it's always in the way." He admits looking down.

"We'll see. Let's keep looking around." Emelda tells him as she goes to pay for the clothes.

"Mm let's try something sweet on the way to find the next shop." Jinx decides cheerfully.

"Sounds good. I keep hearing a little rumble from Rainer's stomach when we pass by the stalls anyway." Emelda jokes, making the boy blush.

"Everything just smells so good." He gasps as the women giggle at him. They stop at a snack stand to eat, peering about curiously.

"Is that you Emelda?" A voice asks. Emelda suddenly loses her appetite, turning to Jack, his arm in a sling.

"What do you want?" She inquires cooly. He blinks in surprise and offers a tight smile.

"I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the ball." He tells her.

"Okay." She responds before turning away.

"Will you forgive me?" He presses. Emelda blinks before turning on him.

"Forgive you? Do you really think you're that charming? Or are you really out of your mind?" She questions in disgust. "You almost killed me in more ways than one! You want my forgiveness? Get on your knees and beg for it, filth." She snaps.

His eye twitches and he suddenly raises his hand but then an impact against his groin makes him squeak and double over.

"How dare you raise your hand to Lady Emelda Night! You useless tool!" Jinx shouts. Emelda and Rainer blink at her in shock, Emelda claps after a moment with a nod.

"Get her-" Jack stops mid-order, glaring up at Emelda and Jinx. His glare changes to a look of horror as Emelda catches his guard by the face with a monstrous hand and arm.

"What? Don't you know? Those who join the demon become a lot more powerful than the ones meant to protect wretches like you." Emelda chuckles darkly before tossing the guard above their heads and onto a nearby roof. She then leans down close to Jack's face. "So go ahead and raise your hand to me again. I dare you." She smirks.

"You made him wet himself." Rainer points.

"Gross. Come on Rainer, get away from that nasty man." Emelda scoops up the boy to start away.

"Here. Get you some fresh pants." Jinx flicks a gold coin at Jack's head before sauntering after Emelda.

"Jinx. I love having you around." Emelda giggles as the maid joins her side.

"Nothing more humiliating than having a maid give you a coin out of sympathy." She smirks.

"Oh? Is that how it is?" Emelda raises an eyebrow.

"Of course. You're my priority though, so don't ever feel humiliated when I do it for you." Jinx pokes her nose.

"Thanks, Jinx." She smiles in return.

"Miss Jinx is brave," Rainer comments.

"Aw. Thank you for saying so." Jinx giggles grinning to herself.

"Look, it's Lord Tyran." Rainer points ahead. Emelda blinks following his points. Tyran was dressed in a pastel blue suit with white and gold designs that flowed like a snowy gust.

"He looks really handsome in that suit." Emelda comments.

"It's very different from the dark tones he wears." Jinx agrees as the man spots them.

"Good evening. Has something happened?" Tyran tilts his head looking between them.

"Not really, just stepped in a bit of garbage." Emelda shrugs making the other two snicker. Tyran tilts his head in confusion at that. "How's your night going? You enjoying yourself?"

"It's going alright. I've been to these many times so... Nothing really feels new." He admits peering about.

"So you're bored," Emelda concludes in amusement.

"Oh Rainer, let's go play this game over here!" Jinx gasps suddenly taking the boy away. Emelda pauses, already understanding what Jinx was doing.

"So... Where's a good drink around here?" Emelda asks Tyran with a smile.

"Right this way M'lady." He offers an arm. Emelda chuckles and takes it. "So may I inquire about that boy?"

"Raiden and I had a job to catch market thieves in the South district and... We kinda quit it to help him. He is still very underweight..." She frowns softly.

"Am I to assume that wasn't long ago?" He hums.

"Yes. About under a week." She nods.

"Ah... That market has changed considerably. Almost overnight." He comments.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"The merchants and street children have begun working together and seems like they're all getting along so well that there's been a rise in customers." He tells her.

"Thats... Incredible." She blinks in shock, almost not believing him.

"It's true." He assures, seeing doubt flash across her face. He turns to a vendor to order them a drink as she tries to accept it.

"We'll have to go there sometime." She smiles thoughtfully.

"You should," He passes her a drink. Emelda sips it and hums, relaxing as her eyes wander.

"You know. I'm enjoying life right now more than I was before the ball. Even if we struggle or have to do hard work... I'm always looking forward to seeing tomorrow." She breathes in thought. Tyran stills, watching her as if she had changed into someone else for a moment. When she meets his gaze, he looks away with a smile that just seemed too sad suddenly.

"I believe you." He responds lightly looking ahead. "Sometimes when you have someone beside you during hard times, you feel like miracles are possible... And that's when you feel that life is good." He sends her a much warmer smile now.

"That's how I feel now. Strange how it all happened too." She comments.

"You can say that again." He laughs lightly. "But I could tell you were different back at the ball. I rarely hear someone being polite to servants."

"I'm aware... Father used to get so angry at me for that... But you know. Servants pamper us, and they honestly don't get paid enough to be treated like garbage. It's embarrassing when people treat them that way. Like giant spoiled children." She scoffs.

"They really are embarrassing." He agrees with a chuckle. "And sometimes, Servants snap. I was once invited to a party. The host- former Count Joseph Dallas, threw a fit in the middle of it because he had to get his own glass from a table and somehow ripped open the side of his pants." He smiles as Emelda gasps in surprise.

"How?" She whispers.

"Count Dallas was a big man." Tyran lowers his voice a bit as he says this, making Emelda smile in amusement. "And so he's throwing this fit, cursing his head butler, telling him he's the most useless creature that couldn't even dress his master in better pants... And that's when the head butler. Snaps. In the calmest, and most spiteful way I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing..." He trails off to build suspense as her eyes shine with anticipation.

"The head butler raises his chin and says- 'I'm sorry your lordship, but if not for you shitting yourself when you sat up in the original attire for tonight, then perhaps this wouldn't have happened. My abilities have limits when my lump of a master is too fat to properly contain his bowel movements.'."

Emelda stares at him in shock before covering her mouth and giggling. "Oh no! And then what happened?"

"Dead silence. I met the butler on his way out the door and hired him on the spot." He grins.

"You did?! How is he?" She gasps.

"Well, he goes by Count now, so he's doing great." He winks.

"That's amazing! I want to meet him now." She chuckles.

"I'm sure you will." He assures in amusement. "Anyone else would be appalled by that story."

"Really? But that was amazing!" She laughs lightly. "You got any more of those stories?"

"Oh, you bet I do. There's another time when-" He's drowned out by the sound crashing and the crackling of electricity, followed by the crowds screaming and running in a panic. They both look over in confused surprise.

"What's going on now?"