Vow Of Silence

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

3rd PERSON: - - -

The day progressed and Pelomina was holding herself back from being carried away, she’s been to festivals before of course, and there have been cases when the town they’ve stopped over coincidentally also celebrated festivals during the course of their stay. It was sad to say, but the four years he spent with Klaus's team were the most thrilling and fulfilling she’d ever felt.

A high that she would have only felt if she was performing in front of a crowd, she somehow still couldn't forget her roots completely, even as everything also crumbled to dust, music still had a special place in her heart which was filled by the music the town sang and played, it was so uplifting, so cheery, the kind of tune that would make you want to dance in the middle of the streets, the kind of tune that pulls your lips up to wide smile for everyone to see.

And that it did, everyone, the whole town, be it man or woman, child or adult, everyone was being with such wide grin as they looked at each other with such warm expressions, it also felt great that the weather was being amicable and the colorful decorations glistened as they flicked with the direction of the wind, simply flowing for everyone to see.

“Right… focus, focus,” Pelomina chanted to herself as she peeled her eyes away from the band of men equipped with instruments making such amazing choruses that had to force her gaze away from the scene, and walk along, there’s has to be the main plaza here that Lykus would visit one way or another, she put it in good fai8th.

‘He’s the lord of the land, he’ll have to make an appearance,’ She thought, convincing herself rather than assuring.

She walked a few more but realized that aimlessly wandering a city as it celebrates a very crowd-involved festival was not the way to go, and thought that with the volume of the people just in the street she’s in, her presence would be the least of their concern. She doubted people would recognize her too, so she jumped the gun and approached a woman, loading garments on the back of her wagon, in front of her home, Pelomina guessed.

“E-Excuse me, ma’am?” she approached and as expected the woman raised her eyebrows at her with a smile,

“Year, dear?” she asked, with a tone so soft and voice so high-pitched it felt like it was an angel that spoke, the plump woman had golden blonde hair in tight twin braid bunned down, her olive skin speckled with freckles, and her bright green eyes startling Pelomina, she looked otherworldly and so kind. She’s the walking essence of cottagecore.

“Yes, uh—I-I was wondering where the main plaza might be,” Pelomina asked and the woman snapped her finger with a swing of her arm,

“My, why don’t you tag along? I’m just about to head there!” she exclaimed,

Pelomina beamed, seeing a one-way ticket to her goal and touched by the kind gesture, “Thank you so much,” she thanked and the woman chuckled as she shook her head, waving Pelomina off and strapped the wagon to a donkey Pelomina didn’t notice until it honked,

The woman patted the donkey’s head and wiped her hand on her apron as she sat on the driver’s seat, flicking the rope lightly and that by itself was another wonderful experience, to ride the wagon as it slowly throttled along, she could see more than she had under the guise of her cloak. Houses and stores were filled alike.

“Are you a traveler, dear?” the woman asked,

“Yes, I just happen to pass by, I can’t believe I’ll experience Lita-ah so suddenly,” Pelomina with a deep breath, trying to savor in the feeling of joy prickling her skin, making her feel jittery,

The woman hummed, “So you heard of Lita-ah?” she asked,

Pelomina shook her head, “No, I’ve just been recently told by a man I met in an inn,” she answered, still looking as the young ladies exchanged baskets of flowers, some braiding it in the children’s hair to form a blooming flower crown, even young boys were giving follower to the other girls, it was simply everything good in the world, coming to enter to grace Temog with its warm fuzzy feeling.

She could hear the women yelling and exchanging pleasantries with the other townspeople. The townspeople shared a kindled feeling of solidarity against the lord of their land, who became a tyrant. It tightened bonds and forced them to know each other well.

“Uhm… I just realized, we haven’t exchanged names, I’m Mina,” Pelomina stated. The woman looked at her over her shoulder,

“We’re glad to have you here, Mina, dear, I’m Felasi,” she replied, nodding at Pelomina.

“The pleasure is mine—also, Miss Felasi, I’ve heard of the lord of this land,” Pelomina trailed off, unaware of the frozen and grim expression that crossed Felasi’s face since her back was turned to Pelomina, “Will he be making an appearance?” she finished,

Felasi sucked in a deep breath and forced a smile, “I’m not certain, although seeing as he gave us permission to do a proper celebration of the festival, I suppose he would be,” she answered, to Pelomina’s relief.

‘Great, I don’t have to get too close to the castle to get a glimpse of him,’ she thought with a nod. That’s less effort on her part.

For Felasi, however, it was unbecoming. Her opinions of the baron had quite a drastic change over the years. She's learned to hate the man, yet she’s somewhat grateful for this day that he lent the town. She could only guess that by the time this day is over, things will go back to normal.

The day didn’t even start well; they were supposed to be up and going at daybreak, but the townspeople were too apprehensive to act after being used to years of living within the enclosure of their own homes, never leaving their houses unless they were needed to.

This day is both heartwarming and heartbreaking for her.

Still, for this traveling woman to casually bring him into their conversation caught Felasi off guard. She wondered what sort of stories and tales had spread about lord Lykus enough to be expected at events he so brutally mitigated the past few years.

Pelomina’s jaw dropped once they arrived at the main plaza. She didn't need Felasi to tell her that this is indeed the main plaza, she could tell. Frankly, she felt regret for not seeing this before, back when Temog wasn’t at its lowest point. It was an extremely wide hexagonal area, surrounded by uniformed brick buildings, which were rectangular in shape with pointed tops and an additional spire that held the flag of Temog.

The place was noticeably more well made than the rest of the city’s architecture, and accented with gold. At the center was a fountain, which had its own spire, or that’s what it looked like to Pelomina. Felasi pulled the wagon to a stop and gathered the garment in her arms.

Pelomina didn’t shy away from help. “Please tell me what I can do to help,” she declared, Felasi smiled,

“How kind of you, but… hm, let's see, for now, help me bring this over there,” Felasi replied, gesturing to a group of women at one corner, seemingly mending garments together. Once they brought it over there, Pelomina could more or less see the vision they wanted to execute to decorate the plaza and from there she found herself distracted from her main goal, putting all her effort into helping the people of Temog fulfill their dreams in celebrating this festival.

Whenever they needed someone to scale walls, climb posts, and secure ties and decorations, Pelomina was quick to jump in and offer her help. She even offered some entertainment by juggling small bouquets while hanging upside down. Needless to say that the kids were thoroughly amused by this. Being a semi-thief had given her enough leverage to do things she would’ve only dreamt of doing as her old self and as the Pelomina in her earlier years.

Soon after that, she found herself to be quite the talk of the town, a woman as nimble as a cat, yet called for spring like a bird. Being a passing traveler no less, she couldn't restrain herself and also participated in playing instruments, watching as people hop on their feet with the melodies she produced along with the serotonin that drowned her reason and pulled her further away from reality.

Breaking rules she established for herself as times went on, about simply blending in and not standing out, about not spending a long time in the city, about steering avoiding the festival altogether… it seems that the odds were faced against her, it was as the city itself was begging her to stay.

Calling her back. Back to the home that was never hers.

Even the people seemed to start welcoming her with open arms, laughing with them even after deciding to not interact with anyone from the start. She slowly loses the walls she put up. Years might have passed, she might've grown and changed, but nothing changes nature, and this was hers.

The free and warm atmosphere from the city also reached beyond the wall of Vaustero castle, the servants were chipper knowing they were allowed to join in on the fun as long as they return at a certain time to attend to their responsibilities in the caste, to them, it was nothing short of luck that Lykus was moved by this year's Lita-ah.

What could’ve changed they wondered, and they continued too until it was time for him to leave the castle and take a stroll around the city. He’s expected to do this with his son. Marianne was smart to simply send the boy to the castle without her. She knew simply going there cost her life if she ever met Lykus’s gaze.

Lykus prepared a carriage for the boy as he chose to merely ride on Lily’s back, accompanied by the other knights, signaling the start of the parade around the city, saving the plaza for last. He would be naturally leading if under better circumstances, but in the light of the situation, it brought dispute.

“Open the gates,” he ordered in a stern voice, and alas, cued the parade. Unaware that his wife was already flourishing with the spirit of Lita-ah better than he ever could in his state.