Strange Waters

- The feast

New moon festival-

__________

 She wore a blue gown, a colour that matches her Eyes as she puts out her veil and stared at the blurry mirror right before her. She reminisced of her past and the beauty that covered her appearance. She assured herself that she is nothing but a virtuous warrior and a great woman the more she stared at her scars. Ibinabo was never the type to dress up for anything in the Empire unless the occasion called for it. Tonight the kingdom would be celebrating the New Moon and the King Emperor would take this chance to call in strength to his dynasty of warriors. The new moon was an important and a landmark occurrence for the Empire. It's the strength the moon brings for them and it's a new beginning and a start of a new era for them. The Emperor called for a great feast as the Eclipse was near and the safety of the Empire was up to the hands of fate. 

Ibinabo was overly tired of putting clothes in the right places and straightening her hair so she just tied a pony and set out to the Tarven. The edge of her gown sweeps the floor as she walks. Immediately She makes an appearance, the Emperor calls for a toast to her valiant and unending dedication towards the safety of the Empire. The crowd cheered and drank to her presence. She waved and took a sit. The Emperor surely did admire Ibinabo in all her ways but still never treated her as more than a guard. The most valuable the Empire has. The atmosphere was incomplete as the music was yet to come, the wonderful duo of old classical tambourines and the sounds of the strings of harps were in preparation. The dancers were dusting off their skills and waiting for their call to performance. The Rum and wine was almost finished and the occasion was just halfway in course. The Tarven was filled with liveliness and Alcohol. Sandy must have thought the Sailors on the Georgestone marine were such drinkers untill she met this people. Sandy stepped into the Tarven and sat right beside Ibinabo. 

Earlier this morning she was awaken by the sound of a great thunderclap and the vibration steered her out of her simulated dreams back to another dreamy reality. She woke up and sat up to take a look at her environment. Lady Mildred left her a plate of cooked salmon and fresh orange juice and another short glass of healing potion. Sandy had no appetite but must have had alot of thirst as she took the glass of juice and poured it all in her mouth. It tasted really good maybe because she was thirsty or maybe because she hasn't had orange juice for a long time. She took the potion and was about to pour it off on a wall beside where she laid because she couldn't endure another sleep but was cut short by the knock on the door to the room. Ibinabo walked in and checked in on her, assessed her arms and told her to prepare for the feast later tonight as they would be celebrating the new moon and sing tales of warriors to strengthen to their morale for the first Sail out of the Empire to scout the next morning. Sandy was a bit nervous and confused, still trying to process the night before and the hallow dreams she had, she felt like a disconnected teether. Floating, disoriented... She still had no idea what she was doing here and why she is living a dream that seems so real. But she is living it now. "Follow me, I'll take you to the chambers up above the castle where you can change to a suitable dress for the feast. But before then you could use some warm bath. C'mon!". Sandy took to Ibinabo's trail and followed her. She showed her to a place of beauty in the Empire. Sandy never saw this Spring and waterfall as it was almost on the outskirts of the Empire. The Spring was a beautiful place, the first thing noticeable about it was the steam that flares the air and the mist that surrounds it... It was surrounded by green tress and roots. Ibinabo turned to Sandy and threw a hand towards the spring in a way to tell her "here you go. Sandy was excited to finally be where it brings her peace, Underwater. She pulled her top in a hurry and felt comfortable as there was no one around except Ibinabo who clearly wasn't in a position to get wet as she was fully clothed in her guard attire. She walked into the water slowly, it was just the temperature she imagined it would be, a bit warm but very much enough to burn her skin and bring her body together. She let down her hair and delved into the water, she closed her eyes and stayed underwater till she felt she needed to breathe. There was a slight change to position in where Ibinabo stood, as she brought her head up from the water. She noticed Ibinabo standing so close to the water like she was waiting for her to come out underwater. "it's time to go. You can come back here whenever you want as long you know your way to and back." She said.

At the feast, Sandy was accompanied by one of maids in the castle, she dressed Sandy and provided her with the looks she had on for the occasion. As she arrived the Tarven, she remembered her first experience she had here with the Emperor. She saw that the Tarven was a little more spacious now and not too much Locals attended the feast, most of them celebrated the New moon traditionally at their homes as usual burning candles and staying up to harness the Energy of the moon. "The Emperor would only gather you all here because there's an information worth drinking to and a mission that demands a drink to allow it settle in. I heard there was going to be scouting sail out of the Lands border." The maid said as Sandy asked for the reason behind the low attendance as compared to the first event.

As Sandy sat, she fixed her eyes around everyone, they all looked happy and less familiar as most of them were in their veils. The people in veil were the warriors of course and they all seemed a bit drained. Sandy wondered how much she missed from training, she actually wonders how long she was asleep. She turns to look at Ibinabo almost asking her but she didn't want to ruin s moment. This was the first time she and the guard sat together in a formal setting. Her eyes were fixed on the Emperor and Sandy couldn't help but admire her beauty without a veil with such a fierce look. 

The Emperor was about to address the people and as he stood the whole was brought to a quiet down. The Emperor posses the highest authority in the kingdom and at such when he speaks everyone listen even the children as everyone was put to a total halt....