Valentines (I)

Countless days and nights passed. The city was in full swing as the largest construction project to date was ready to start.

Silmor had spent days creating various designs and styles. He slept for only 2 hours a day, working away as his excited heart was unable to rest. His house was filled with scrambled paper as it quickly became impossible for him to even open the door. Stacks and stacks of scrapped ideas, messy drawing, unrealistic proportions. With all his excitement, it was impossible for him to try and remain in the realms of reality.

As for this was to be his child.

The city of Fintan was quickly evolving, and soon it would be greeting its first-ever king. But before that, Silmor needed to finish the castle.

Once February started, the construction began. A large area in a field was sectioned off from the rest as the workforce started to prepare the foundations.

Each day in the cold sun, the small group would tirelessly sweat themselves to sleep as they moved mountains of dirt; which they were selling to the druids.

By February 3rd, Fishy had approved Silmor's plans, excited to see the European inspired medieval castle being built.

But as work quickly began, Fishy could see just how big of a task it was.

For starters, the city didn't possess enough stone. The stone they were using was mined directly from below them, but the process was taking time. It could be mined from below but it needed to be refined and converted into bricks before Silmor was happy with it.

Secondly, the workforce was small. The city possessed a mostly young population, with an average age of 26. At that age, most people were interested in magic, history or seeing the world. There were few that wanted to get involved in a tough gruelling business like construction. And the only person with magic powerful enough to make a building was Fishy.

Finally, Silmor and the workforce were refusing to rest. They worked throughout the day and night, using various 24-hour inns to sleep and eat. But that only lasted for 2 days, as Fishy forced them to work only 7 hours a day.

Whilst the workers were being forced to relax, the city was soon to enter a season of relaxation.

As February 14th quickly arrived, Valentine's day.

Fishy had explained to the entire city how Valentine day worked in his old life. He shared his poor lonely experiences whilst informing them that it was a time to spend with the ones you love. Be it friend or partner, Valentine's day was the season for love.

Ever since hearing of such a tradition, the city had secretly been planning what to do for those they cared about. Many planned to confess using Tin's new chocolate from her store, whilst also buying flowers that Tin's triplets had collected on various trips. Fishy wasn't going to let Valentine's day go to waste, as it was one of the greatest holidays of mankind. A time for the economy to get a boost.

Several stories took place on Valentine's day.

The first to occur took place at Tin's household. Instead of waking up early to go to work, she instead surprised her excited triplets with bars of chocolate, hugging them as she expressed her love for them greatly. Tin wasn't expecting anything herself, but once she arrived at work, a little before noon, she saw a strange box resting atop the counter.

"To Tin, Love your secret admirer."

Tin's young face almost blushed with delight as memories of her previous partner flashed in front of her eyes. The two were no longer together, as the triplets scared him away. Ever since then, love had been off her mind. Keeping her twins alive in a dying village was a struggle, but to see she now had someone did cause a little giggle.

And then, a little ringing came from her store's bell.

"Afternoon, Tin," Silmor said as he walked in.

"Afternoon. Are you not working today?"

"Nope, Fishy told us to take today off. For this Valentine's thing."

"I see." Her eyes looked down to the tiny present that was in her hand, along with the nervous-looking man that stood behind her. "Did you get anything for Valentine's day?"

"Me? No, no. No one wants a rough guy like me."

"Wait there just a second." Tin placed the gift back down onto the counter as she entered the back of her shop. It was only a few seconds before she returned, with her own neatly wrapped gift of freshly made chocolate.

"Here you go." She said as Silmor's face erupted red.

"For me?" He stuttered.

"For always looking after my triplets."

"Oh, of course." Silmor did well in hiding his disappointment.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."

"Right. Have a good day."

Silmor walked away with his head down. He cared greatly for Tin and was the one who left the gift on her countertop.

Tin wasn't stupid and knew this. After all, Silmor was the only person with another key to the shop. It was just that she was a bit embarrassed to stay around him for too long, as she couldn't contain herself anymore and was eager to open up the gift from someone she greatly loves.