Saving Summer

Chapter Two: The Bacchus Festival

King Agostino looked up at his wife, “How are you feeling? I know that you did not receive much sleep last night because of that dream. If you are still tired, there is no shame in returning to bed.”

Queen Yesenia shook her head, “I am fine, my love. It was just a dream. I do not know why I let it disturb me so much.”

King Agostino furrowed his brow. His hazel eyes narrowed and he lay a hand on her shoulder, “You look exhausted. You need your rest. The clerics said that it is crucial that you do not over stress yourself.”

Queen Yesenia brushed his hand aside, “I am fine, Tino. That was just a bizarre dream. Nothing more. It was not real and I should not have allowed it to interrupt my sleep.”

King Agostino did not look convinced. The crease in his brow grew deeper but he stood up and let out a sigh, “I do not believe you, Yessie, but I also do not wish to argue with you. Today is a very important day. It is the end of the Bacchus festival. And we are the guests of honor.”

Queen Yesenia smiled. The Bacchus festival was held every year in the Summer Kingdom. Every Kingdom had its own festival and all were held on different days of the year. The Spring Kingdom had Ostara, Autumn had Samhain, and Winter had Skadi. Queen Yesenia had been present at every one of these festivals and believed that Bacchus was the best out of the four. People from all walks of life joined together to enjoy the bounty of the Summer Kingdom’s harvest. The festival only lasted a few days but once you went, you would never forget it. People danced in the streets to music played by musicians dressed in their finest festival attire while eating and drinking to their heart’s content. Vendors from all over Prinaes came to sell their goods to the festival goers. Tournaments where contestants could win enormous amounts of gold brought in large crowds of people to the festival. 

The best part was the very last day of the festival. The honored guests, who were picked for their good deeds or popularity among the people, hosted a talent contest. Anybody could enter but the judging was brutal. Only the best of the best entered and were placed under the highest scrutiny. The panel of five judges, composed of the honored guests and three others, picked the most talented of the lot after seeing each act perform. The winner received the opportunity to perform for the royal family for the following year until the next festival. They also became one of the judges in the next year’s festival to help choose their replacement.

This year, the King and Queen of the Summer Kingdom would be judging the contestants. Last year’s winner, a man by the name of Pierre Chamont, would be joining them along with two others that the King and Queen were unaware of. Queen Yesenia was thrilled when she found out that she had been chosen as the guest of honor along with her husband. Everyone in the Summer Kingdom wanted to be chosen as the guest of honor for the Bacchus festival. No one from the other kingdoms was ever chosen as you had to be a resident of the Summer Kingdom in order to be considered. That rule had been in place since the very first Bacchus festival over five hundred years ago. All of the other kingdoms had the same exact rule for their festivals and this policy worked well. The people of Prinaes felt as though the festivals of each kingdom could not truly be appreciated unless you were a part of that particular kingdom. This instilled a sense of community. Though in recent years, it was not uncommon to see people from other kingdoms attending.

“Come now, we must get dressed for the festival,” Queen Yesenia told her husband. 

“Are you sure that you are alright to attend the festival?” King Agostino asked, looking concerned.

Queen Yesenia sighed in exasperation, “Yes, I am fine, Aggie.”

King Agostino pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed, “I really wish that you would not call me that. I don’t like that nickname.”

Queen Yesenia grinned mischievously. She stood and wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist. Yesenia looked up at her husband, “Oh really because I think that I really like it. I think that I am going to call you that for now on.”

King Agostino looked down at her. At first, he appeared as though he was mad at her but then his face cracked into a huge smile. He laughed and pulled her tighter to himself, “You would like that too much. I know how you enjoy teasing me.”

“Got to keep you on your toes,” Yesenia retorted. 

This caused King Agostino to laugh louder. Queen Yesenia felt the rumble of his broad chest as she rested her head against it. She loved the sound of his laughter. It was big and booming and reminded her of the thunderstorms that she enjoyed listening to so much. The sound made her feel at peace.

KIng Agostino kissed the top of Queen Yesenia’s head. He pulled away from her, reluctantly, “We should get ready. The talent contest is due to start in about an hour. We should do our best to not be late.”

Queen Yesenia nodded in agreement. She walked over to the wardrobe and opened the door. She pulled a fiery orange dress off of one of the hangers and closed the door of the wardrobe. Her clothes fell to the floor as she undressed. She paused as she felt eyes on her. Looking around, she saw Agostino staring at her naked body. The hanger that held his orange tunic with matching pants was loosely grasped in his hands. His hazel eyes slowly roamed every inch of Queen Yesenia’s body. A look that was a mixture of adoration and hunger grew the longer that the king gazed at his wife. When their eyes met, the two exchanged a smile and Agostino started to make his way over to her but Yesenia shook her head.

“There will be time for that later after the festival, my love.”

King Agostino appeared as though he no longer cared about going to the festival. Queen Yesenia could see his arousal showing through his under garments. A part of her wanted to stay in this room and make love to him all day. Ever since becoming pregnant, that seemed to be all she wanted was to be close to him in any way possible. And King Agostino had been more than willing to oblige but Queen Yesenia did not feel that this was one of those times. The people of the Summer Kingdom were looking forward to the talent show and seeing their king and queen. Queen Yesenia did not wish to disappoint. She knew how much the Bacchus festival meant to everyone.

King Agostino saw the look on her face and sighed, “You are right. There is plenty of time after the festival. I can wait until then.”

“Good, now get dressed,” Queen Yesenia ordered. 

Without another word, the king and queen dressed and made themselves presentable. Fifteen minutes later, the king and queen were making their way to their horse drawn carriage parked outside the castle entrance . The driver, a thin young man with brown stubble on his chin, bowed deeply to the king and queen before opening the door to the carriage for them. King Agostino was the first one to climb inside. He held out his hand to his wife to help her into the carriage. Queen Yesenia was quite far along in her pregnancy and it was difficult for her to get in and out of the carriage. With Agostino’s help, Yesenia managed to get into the carriage. She took her seat on the opposite side of Agostino facing him. The driver shut the door behind her the moment that he saw that she was seated. A moment later, the young man scrambled into the front of the carriage. The king and queen heard him shout at the horse to move and the carriage began to roll forward.

The Bacchus festival was being held just outside of the city walls. A large meadow surrounded the barrier of the city and Queen Yesenia could not think of a more perfect place to hold a festival. It was wonderful being around so much natural beauty. Queen Yesenia could already smell the pleasant fragrance of the various flowers in the meadow. She could almost feel the green grass tickling her feet as she walked through  it in her leather sandals. The thought of what awaited her made Queen Yesenia even more eager for the carriage to reach their destination. 

Other than the contest, Queen Yesenia was looking forward to the food that they would be served at the festival. Every day of the festival, a new dish was served to the honored guests. Yesenia allowed her mind to wander as she fantasized about what they would be eating today. Would they be eating steamed dumplings filled with ground meat and vegetables? Maybe they would be eating pork that had been roasted over an open fire pit since the morning? Or perhaps they would be dining on a cold soup and sandwiches? Queen Yesenia smiled at the thought. That would be nice in this heat. It was late morning but the sun was already unbearable. Even through the shade of the carriage, the heat was seeping through and making both the king and queen sweat. But that was part of living in the Summer Kingdom. The days were always hot. The weather was never under seventy-five degrees even during night time. Most people who lived in the Summer Kingdom had lived here their entire lives and were well adapted to the heat. It was not unusual to see minimal clothing on people or loose clothing. That was just the way that the people of this kingdom dressed.

King Agostino peeked out of the carriage window, “It looks like we are almost there. Everyone in the kingdom has gathered for the talent contest. And it looks like the other royals from the other kingdoms are here as well. Even Queen Ingrid showed up and she never leaves the Winter Kingdom for anything.”

At the mention of Queen Ingrid’s name, Queen Yesenia perked up. She pushed back the curtain covering the window and looked outside. Just as her husband claimed, Queen Ingrid had made an appearance at the festival. There was no mistaking her as Queen Ingrid stood out in a crowd. No one dressed quite like Ingrid. She was always the most fashionable person in the room whenever she did show at events. Her custom tailored outfits were second to none and always fit her perfectly. Queen Yesenia was slightly envious of her in that respect though she would never admit to it out loud. She wished that she could pull off the outfits that Queen Ingrid could. Queen Yesenia once confessed to King Agostino how she felt and she could still remember what he told her.

“It is true that Queen Ingrid does have style, but she does not possess your heart and that is what makes a woman truly beautiful.”

Queen Yesenia knew that her husband was right. It was no secret that Queen Ingrid was cold. No one knew exactly why but many had theories. Perhaps it was from living in the Winter Kingdom for too long? Maybe her heart was truly formed from ice? Nobody knew the truth. However, people loved to gossip about her as she was quite reclusive and no one knew much about her. The thing that people loved to gossip about the most when it came to Ingrid was the fact that she was the only ruler of the four kingdoms who was not married. King Hadrian of the Autumn kingdom had married Queen Maeve two years before Queen Yesenia wed King Agostino. And the following year, King Oran took King Marcel’s hand in marriage at their palace in the Spring Kingdom. But to no one’s knowledge, Queen Ingrid had never had a single lover.

Many men had tried to win over Queen Ingrid and failed. She did not seem the slightest bit interested in them. Even a few women had tried but after being shown the same amount of interest as the men, efforts to win her heart had ceased. This had earned Queen Ingrid a nickname but nobody dared to call her this nickname to her face. Behind her back, everyone called her Ice Heart. Even the people of the Winter Kingdom referred to her by this nickname. It baffled everyone in Prinaes that a ruler could be so indifferent towards finding love. Did she not care that she would leave behind no one to inherit her legacy once she was gone?

The carriage stopped and Queen Yesenia shut the curtain quickly. She heard the driver come down the steps of the carriage and walk towards the door. When the door swung open, Queen Yesenia saw a swarm of people surrounding it. They were all happily shouting greetings to her and King Agostino. The King exited first and immediately helped his wife to leave the horse-drawn carriage. As soon as the king and queen were out of the carriage, the driver yelled and the horse moved forward again. King Agostino offered Queen Yesenia his arm and she graciously took it. The crowd cleared a path for them as the pair made their way towards the judges’ table. The king and queen waved merrily to those that they passed. As they approached the judges’ table, Queen Yesenia got a glimpse of the other judges. 

She spotted Pierre Chamont right away. He was dressed in a canary yellow tunic and a pair of black pants. His brown hair was slicked back revealing a rather large forehead and pointed ears. His chartreuse eyes were hidden behind a pair of square-rimmed glasses. He was talking to a woman wearing a monocle that Queen Yesenia recognized as Henrietta Locke, Duchess of the eastern Summer Kingdom. Queen Yesenia had met Henrietta a number of times at various royal events held at the palace and knew her to be a good woman but very strict. Duchess Henrietta Locke had a dry sense of humor that someone could mistake for no sense of humor at all if she did not give herself away with a smile. It was rare that Henrietta made a joke though. She was always so serious that most people were too intimidated by her to be that casual. 

The final judge was already seated. Queen Yesenia did not recognize the man but felt as though she had seen him some place before. Even sitting, Queen Yesenia could tell that he was a powerfully built man. His arms were massive and his chest was broad. His auburn hair ruffled in the slight breeze as he watched the people enjoying the festival. Judging by the look on his face, the man did not appear to be pleased to be here. His bored expression confused Queen Yesenia and made her wonder who he was even more. 

As King Agostino and Queen Yesenia approached the table, Pierre and Henrietta stopped talking. Pierre bowed to them in greeting and Henrietta curtsied. The red haired man did not seem to notice that the king and queen had arrived. He was still too busy watching the crowd. Queen Yesenia thought that it was strange that the man did not greet his queen. But he only seemed fixated on the crowd.