8. Chapter 8 #4
It wasn’t Ashmedai’s normal style, since he tended toward high-collared garments that covered his ridges.
This tunic dropped into a deeper V, where ties held it closed.
With the black undershirt and trousers Ashmedai had already been wearing, the matching attire to Levi’s would leave no imagination anymore as to their relationship should anyone not yet have guessed.
Ashmedai didn’t mind, and before leaving his bedchamber, while he hadn’t intended to don his sword belt today, given how well it would also match Levi, he secured it with his longsword about his waist.
“Shall we?” Ashmedai called as he descended the central staircase to the foyer, where Levi was waiting by the doors and spun toward him.
Ashmedai would swear he heard Levi gasp .
Then Ashmedai nearly gasped, because Aurora was there, and Levi was holding a small squishy red ball.
“Where did you get that?”
The wonder and adoration on Levi’s face fell to amusement. “Oh, Aurora brought it for me. We’ve been playing fetch. There’s more around here somewhere. It seems she has quite the collection. She keeps bringing me more. Is… that all right?”
Ashmedai’s expression must have been utterly dumbfounded, but he eased Levi’s trepidation by laughing.
“Quite all right. Just don’t ever tell Dreya.
You little rascal,” he added to Aurora, scratching the top of her head.
Since she wasn’t fully solid, she adored his clawlike nails and pushed up into the firm scritches.
“So?” Ashmedai spread his arms, facing Levi.
“I think Daedlys outdid himself. What say you?”
“You are breathtaking, my king.” Levi reached for Ashmedai’s hand, and Ashmedai marveled at the grand gesture when Levi kissed it like a true courtier. “To call you beautiful is never a strong enough word.”
“You know you needn’t ever call me your king,” Ashmedai reminded him.
“I know. But I would call you mine,” Levi said with his sweet smile.
The scene was far too much like a fairy tale to be marred by all the painful memories of this day swirling in the back of Ashmedai’s mind, so he kept those thoughts quiet. “That you can,” he said and leaned forward to kiss Levi properly.
“Prrp!”
Aurora’s chirp was heard so near their heads that they lurched apart, only to both begin laughing. She darted between them, prancing through the air.
“I believe Rora approves of our attire as well,” Ashmedai said and took Levi’s arm, “or she’s upset she’s losing her playmate for the day. Shall we?”
Together, they began the short trek into town.
The festival lights were always a joy to witness, still made up of crystals, like most lighting in the Dark Kingdom, but smaller ones and so many more of them, all strung together and covering every square inch of the stalls and larger buildings.
Ashmedai had seen it all many times before, but he had been looking forward to watching the experience unfold across Levi’s face.
Levi looked entirely entranced as they drew closer, but then Ashmedai had to wonder.
“You already saw most of it, didn’t you? On your way to the castle?”
“I tried not to look too closely, and then Yentriss was kind enough to enchant me to see it as it was before,” Levi said without tearing his eyes from the sight. “I wanted to experience this for the first time with you.”
Ashmedai held onto Levi’s arm a little tighter, since he feared his companion might trip, focused as he was on everything but the path they walked.
Most of the buildings, whether residential or businesses, had the Shadow Lands shimmer sanded from their wood, like the carriages to Emerald, but not for the festival.
All the added stalls and new construction sparkled, accentuating the vibrancy of the lights.
The only unique item was the addition of Braxton’s black dousing crystals littered amongst the rest.
Moreover, sounds that had seemed muted and distant from even only a few paces away were suddenly amplified the moment Ashmedai and Levi crossed onto the grounds—a spell to ensure that anyone who eventually returned home to sleep wouldn’t be kept awake at all hours.
Levi must not have noticed before, or honestly hadn’t heard the difference after Yentriss enchanted him, for as the new noises erupted he clung to Ashmedai in surprise at how loud it suddenly was.
“Chicken skewers!” a vendor cried.
Items had a cost during Festival Day, but food and activities were free from bartering. Ashmedai nodded to the vendor and snagged two skewers, handing one to Levi, who marveled at it with the same level of fascination as he was everything else.
The hunt had provided a good amount of the food being consumed today, and plenty more had been saved and prepared to keep everyone’s bellies full of unique fare.
“Go on,” Ashmedai said when Levi continued to stare at his skewer.
“Did he say chicken?”
“Yes. There’s a live one back there.” Ashmedai pointed behind the stall, where one—no, three live chickens, actually—attempted to fly away in fear of being the next offering, but tethers around their necks prevented them from getting far.
They didn’t used to have the ability to fly, Ashmedai recalled, though they also didn’t used to have scales.
“Aren’t chickens what they were called before and outside the Shadow Lands? Why didn’t their name change like so many others?”
Ashmedai shrugged, taking an easy, tearing bite with his teeth. “They still taste the same.”
“Ash! Levi!” A familiar voice found them just as Levi took his own eager bite, and through the crowd appeared Dreya.
A somewhat tipsy Dreya, Ashmedai thought, given she was without her customary hat and the leaves of her hair looked especially ruffled, as if a storm had blown through and she was the lone casualty.
Dreya latched onto Levi’s arm while he was attempting to finish his bite, causing him to end up with a rather large mouthful of chicken.
“Best day of the year!” Dreya tittered, dragging Levi forward so that Ashmedai couldn’t quite latch back onto his arm.
“Months of hard work finally pays off, and we can enjoy ourselves. I hope the festival meets all your expectations, Levi. You’re one of the reasons these stalls are standing, after all. ”
“Oh, Grillo did the difficult work,” Levi dismissed with a duck of his head. “I merely handed him planks of wood and the right tools as needed.”
“Pfft,” Dreya huffed her own dismissal. “Every contribution, no matter how small it may seem, leads to the glorious celebration you see before you. Enjoy it! And accept your praises. You’re practically a celebrity now.
” The scrunch of her face with a conspiratorial glance at Ashmedai—though that may have still been the drink shining through—made him wonder if she meant Levi’s celebrity as savior of Grillo or romantic gossip.
Dreya tripped just then, as a performer pranced past them, kept on her feet only by Levi’s quick reflexes. Various entertainers were about, leaving only a narrow walking path. Ashmedai could tell Levi was surprised by some of them.
Myrra, for example, being large and made of stone, was a striking figure to be playing a lyre, though Jedic, a Gegenees with six arms, made perfect sense as a juggler.
“Urg.” Dreya swooned slightly. “I’ve been conjuring last-minute requests all morning. I need a snack.” She eyed Levi’s half-eaten skewer.
Ashmedai plucked a popover from another passing vendor and handed it to Dreya before she could divest Levi of his first festival fare.
She bit into it ravenously. She must have celebrated her hard work with more drinks than food, though he did recall that using up too much of her magic at once made her more susceptible to inebriation. Either way, she’d earned it.
The first opening of the festival grounds after the initial corridor of vendors and performers was an area for dancing, with a band playing off to the side. On the other side of the dance floor, Ashmedai spotted Luccite.
He caught Levi’s eye and nodded toward the catlike woman, who hadn’t noticed them but was watching the dancers with what Ashmedai took for longing, hopping on both feet to get a better look whenever someone taller shifted in front of her.
Dreya hadn’t released Levi yet, and they did owe these women some friendly scheming.
“Miss Dreya.” Levi turned to her, having finished his skewer and not missing a beat of what Ashmedai had in mind. “Would you care to dance?”
Dreya had likewise devoured her popover and answered teasingly, “Won’t the king be jealous?”
“I’ll steal him away in time,” Ashmedai said, nudging them out onto the floor.
The dance was a lively one, with several pairs rocking and spinning and twirling each other about in well-known choreography. Ashmedai was surprised, however, when Levi expertly led Dreya through the same steps, holding her close to prevent her tipsiness from causing any jumble of feet.
With a widening grin, Ashmedai ducked behind a stall and jumped from the shadow there to one behind another stall across the way. He snuck up behind Luccite in two short strides.
“Would you grant your king a dance?”
Luccite spun with what might have been a startled hiss. “ Ash . Where…?” Her slitted eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.
“Come now.” Ashmedai held out his hand. “It seems all you’re missing is a partner.”
Luccite’s lips curled, but rather than argue, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her onto the dance floor, grasp her waist, and lead them into the same rhythmic spins and timed weaving to the music.
By now enough of the citizens had recognized their king had joined them and were spurred to join the dancers as well, always quick to follow his example. Hermit though Ashmedai had been of late, he never missed Festival Day, for he knew how much it meant to his people.