After the Festival
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WREN WOKE TO SUNLIGHT streaming through the window and the smell of fresh bread from the bakery next door. Sara was already up, dressed in a simple work dress, humming as she tidied.
"Morning! I didn't want to wake you, but I have to open the shop soon." Sara smiled. "Sleep well?"
"Very well. Thank you for letting me stay."
"Anytime. Seriously, it was fun having company." Sara paused. "And the entertainment value of watching half the town try to figure out the Jin, Viktor and Wren situation was worth it alone."
Wren groaned but couldn't help smiling. She got up and changed back into her cotton dress, folding the beautiful green velvet carefully.
"Before I go," she said, reaching into her purse. "I wanted to give you something as a thank you." She pulled out a small cloth bag she'd prepared with soapberries, cosmetics and a delicate strand of the pearl-like beads from her string of pearls plant.
Sara opened it and gasped. "Wren, this is too much!"
"It's not. You gave me a place to stay, helped me get ready, introduced me to people. You've been a real friend." Wren smiled. "And I was hoping... maybe you'd come visit the farm sometime? For tea? I'd love to show you around."
"Really?" Sara's face lit up. "I'd love that! Oh, but I'm working the next few days—my uncle's going out of town and I'm covering the shop alone. Would later this week work? Maybe in a few days?"
"Whenever you have time. Just send word through Walter, my squirrel, or stop by." She grinned. “The tea is always ready.”
"A tea party at the magic pun farm with the girl everyone's talking about?" Sara hugged her impulsively. "I'm so excited! Thank you!"
They said their goodbyes, and Wren headed to the gate on her wooden horse, where her dandelions waited patiently.
They’d been allowed inside the gates at night, and the guards had made friends with them.
Now the guards smugly told their friends that they had lion helpers at the door, making their buddies envious.
The ride home was peaceful. Morning sun, clear roads, her property coming into view with its thriving trees and sparkling stream.
Home.
She dismounted and the dandelions pressed close, checking her over like concerned parents.
"I'm fine," she assured them. "Just tired. It was a long night."
Walter appeared immediately. "Welcome back, madam! How was the festival?"
"Complicated. But good, I think." She started unloading. "Sara's coming for tea in a few days. I should prepare."
"Excellent! I'll make sure the house is spotless."
Wren spent the rest of the morning settling back in, replanting a few things that needed attention, checking her trade goods inventory.
But her mind kept drifting back to the festival. To Mei-Lin's easy friendship, Viktor's smooth charm and clear interest and Lyra's fury.
To Jin, standing in the lantern light, saying not just the town.
She touched her lips, remembering the moment when she'd thought—
No. Too early for that. Way too early.
But maybe...
She smiled to herself and went back to work, already planning what she'd serve Sara for their tea party.
***
LYRA STARED AT HER reflection in the mirror, hands shaking.
The puffiness around her eyes was worse this morning. The redness and fine lines shouldn't be there yet; she was only twenty-six.
She reached for the small crystal vial on her vanity. The makeup inside shimmered with the iridescent sheen of crushed pearls mixed with basilisk venom, expensive and exclusive. A merchant from the coast had sold it to her six months ago.
"Just a touch," he'd said. "Makes skin luminous. Flawless. But use sparingly, because it's potent."
She'd been careful at first. A dab here and there for special occasions.
But the results were incredible. Her skin glowed. Fine lines vanished. She looked radiant, ageless, perfect...so she'd used more. And more.
Now she needed it just to look normal. Without it, she looked haggard. Tired and old.
With trembling fingers, she applied it under her eyes, across her cheekbones, along her jawline. The transformation was immediate. The puffiness faded. The lines smoothed. She looked beautiful again.
But it was wearing off faster now. She'd have to find more. The merchant had stopped coming to town, and her last two letters had gone unanswered.
There was another supplier, supposedly, in the lower market. Sketchier source, less refined product.
She'd go tomorrow. She had to. Her hands were still shaking as she set down the vial.
On her desk were scattered papers, with bills, letters from creditors, and a final notice from the landlord. Her family's money was gone. Her father had gambled away their fortune years ago, but they'd kept up appearances through careful debt management and her mother's social connections.
Viktor had been her way out. Two years of courtship, of expensive gifts she'd accepted, dinners at his estate, promises of a future together.
She'd been so sure. Everyone had been sure.
Then the pun farm girl appeared, and suddenly Viktor was "exploring other options."
Lyra's reflection smiled back at her, beautiful and perfect and completely fake. She hated that girl. Hated her for existing. Hated her for having land and magic and luck and everything Lyra had worked for and lost.
The weather magic hummed under her skin, responding to her anger. Clouds gathered outside her window, darkening unnaturally. She could make things difficult for Wren.
Small things at first. Rumors, social sabotage. A convenient storm to damage crops at the wrong time. Nothing traceable. Nothing the Marshall could prove. And if that didn't work...
Well. Accidents happened all the time on cursed farms. Monster attacks, shield failures... So many tragic possibilities.
Lyra picked up the vial again, staring at the shimmering contents. Just a little more. To last through the day. She applied another layer, watching herself become beautiful again.
Perfect.
Everything would be perfect once the pun farm girl was gone.