Serious time was over!

Festival time was a go!

"Dad, look! It's one of those street clowns!" I called out, pointing at a man dressed like a jester from my era, sitting on a weird wheeled device, juggling wooden balls with his hands, at the same time as he held a spoon with a white egg on his mouth, which he was periodically launching in the air, and catching back with the same spoon, using only lip movements.

I was fascinated by the equilibrium and dexterity on display, as he began to move the wheeled device he was standing on back and forth, somehow managing to not move his upper body even as his lower body swung to his right and to his left, as his feet shifted on the iron bar that went through the middle of the wheel, somehow it seemed like the wheel rotated independently of the iron bar!

What a fabulous little design, I couldn't even imagine how any of this went together, much less how a human being could balance like that on top of it! In my day, the most agile and dexterous of jesters would perform pirouettes on horseback, but this is on a whole other level!

This is truly the product of two hundred years of development-

Oh woah!

Dad grabbed me by the armpits and lifted me, putting me on his shoulders, and I quickly grabbed onto his head, swaying a little as I settled. "Daad you scared me!"

Laughing, dad grabbed me by the ankles. "This is better," he said.

The crowd at our little town had grown much more than I imagined it would. We were a growing community, and it seemed like people were gathering from the neighboring villages to come to the festival we were throwing, rather than having a much smaller celebration on their own. The Saint's Birthday was apparently a big event, even though whenever I celebrated it, I did so on my own or with only my direct family.

Crowds were exhausting, let me tell you!

It's a whole lot better to be in a crowd when you're not the focus of their attention! So thank you, clown performing guy, for taking the burden of people's attention onto yourself! If I wasn't poor I'd give you a few coins for your trouble!

As it is I clapped enthusiastically along with the rest of the crowd as the man finished his performance with one final throw of all his wooden balls high up, before he did a backflip that sent his weird wheeled device into the sky after them, and finally the egg as well, only to catch four balls on one hand the wheeled device in the other, and the egg directly on his face, in an obviously practiced way.

With that said and done, dad carried me on his shoulders along the main street, where most of the attractions and stalls were set up. We got to see a lot more street performers as well as many foreigners hawking their wares, selling phony Great Saint themed merchandise to the unsuspecting festival attendees, as well as food stalls from every village and some who were bringing in specialties and delicacies from far away.

Small though we might be, it was obvious that people were recognizing the worth of getting an in early. I ate so much stuff, you wouldn't believe me! Meat on skewers is a staple of these festivals, of course, but it's amazing to see all the new things that people have come up with!

These dough balls fried in vegetable oil and sprinkled with sugar, sugar of all things, are surprisingly crispy on the outside yet soft and delicious on the inside, sweet as all getout, yet the deep fry has given them a savory taste that manages to reduce the overpowering sweetness of the sugar, and it's so tasty, I couldn't help myself!

Dad was even chuckling as he gave me his, citing that he had to watch his weight in order to make sure he never got too fat for mom to like him anymore, but I scolded him. Everything I know about mom suggests that she likes dad for his personality, after all! I'm sure she'd never imagine leaving him just because he got a little chubby! Only villains do that!

"Oh! Dad! What's that?" I asked, using a hand to block out the sun from hitting my eyes so I could get a better look at what I meant, and pointing my hand at a bunch of people that were heading into an alley. They were wearing really conspicuous black hoods as they moved almost in unison, weaving through the somewhat thinner crowd at the edges of the street, going between two buildings and disappearing between the stone and wood structures.

Dad frowned. "Hm... I wouldn't know," he said, "I don't think I've seen cloaks like these, they don't look like a traveler's..." he muttered. "They seem too fine and new and most travel cloaks aren't usually sold in black..."

"Why?" I asked, fascinated by the thought. I wore white almost exclusively as a saint, and browns and pale yellows and other cheap and easy to dye colors now, so I was at a loss here.

"Well, black gets very hot out under the sun, and when you're traveling, you're gonna be under the sun a lot!" dad explained. "You really want something that'll help you stay fresh and cool during summer you see!" he continued. "Okay sweetie this is really suspicious," he said, as he grabbed me by the sides and armpits once more, and put me down from his shoulders. I had to actually readjust to this whole standing thing, my legs were a little numb. "Can you stay here where there's people?" he asked.

"Uh uh!" I replied, nodding. "What's wrong, dad?"

"I'm going to go get a lawman," Dad said. "Best case scenario it's just a bunch of rich travelers who just got a cloak that didn't match the temperature, we have a quick chat and all's cleared," he said, "but it's never a bad idea to warn the lawmen there's a suspicious lot hanging about."

"Really? Just from their unusual cloaks?" I asked.

"Well, these festivals attract all sorts, sweetie! There are those who don't respect the great saint's birthday at all," he explained to me, "and use it as a time to kidnap kids just like you."

"That's terrible!"

I didn't even have to exaggerate that reaction. Who does that?! Kidnapping children!? That's straight up evil! If I still had my authority as a saint I'd send my holy knights after them!

"So just stay here where people can see you, and if anyone you don't know approaches you, scream, alright? Scream really loudly, there's lawmen or deputized old soldiers all over the place during the festival, I'm sure someone'll come to help you if you scream," Dad said, crouching beside me and raising his finger, as if to emphasize the importance of what he was saying.

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"Un!" I nodded in assent. Screaming for people to come and help me is a skill I'd developed through years of getting caught up in my robes like an idiot, dad, don't you worry!

"Alright," Dad said, and got back on his feet, nodding to me before he disappeared into the crowd, walking with purpose and even showing off how skilled he was at traveling between crowds of people.

I still had my sweet and sour deep fried doughball, which I was munching on, but there was a problem that I wasn't aware I would be dealing with when dad left to deal with this. Namely... I quickly began to get bored. Hm. This is an issue. Usually I could sit idly for hours at a time, but I guess I usually had something to read.

Do I even know how to read still? I looked around but the signs of the stalls only had numbers and pictures to them, there was no text anywhere, not even the signs from the stores. I guess even if people are becoming more literate little by little, it's just easier and simpler to use eye catching images in signs. At least I'm glad to see there's plenty of numbers, which suggest that people are at least capable of recognizing them, and basic arithmetic should be the norm too!

Feeling smug, I took a bite out of my doughball and began to look around the people who were walking about, happy families with children as small as me, and as big as the adults they were accompanying, or rather, children just about to have their coming of age and becoming adults in their own right. Most people were smiling, there was the odd crying child, probably after their parents denied them a snack or toy they wanted, but people were mostly really happy, and it was great!

Unfortunately, in the sea of people dressed in mute colors, nothing really stood out, until a small gap formed between the crowd and I caught a glimpse of the alley that was directly opposite the spot dad had left me at... Huh. It's a little bit darker than it should be, the alleys don't get much sun unless it's high noon, and well, it's not right now, so being caught in shadows is normal, especially since it's two tall buildings, stores with storage and living spaces on the upper floors, so three story buildings on both sides.

But that was unusually dark, I squinted my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the dark spot and trying to will my eyes to adjust to the darkness, putting a hand over them to act as a sunshade once again. With the glare of the sun blocked it was a bit easier to peer into the dark alley.

I gasped in horror at the sight. There was a young boy there, and he was laying on the ground, clutching at his stomach. He turned his face to me, and in that brief moment, it felt like time stopped as our eyes met.

He needed help!

My instincts took over as I began making my way through the crowd, though it seemed to intensify and increase in amount of people the instant I tried to walk through it!

Cursing my tiny body and short legs, I managed to push my way through, and finally made it to the alley, only to find that the young boy was nowhere to be found! As I blinked rapidly and my eyes adjusted to the penumbra of the alley, I saw a dark red pool where he had no doubt been laying down.

I crouched and put my fingers to it. The smell and texture of blood was unmistakable. I could feel my face scrunching up as the smell hit me, no longer covered by the overpowering smell of unwashed people and the food stalls. I looked around a little and quickly caught the trail. Obviously the boy was still bleeding, because he had left a trail of blood stains on the hard packed dirt path between the buildings, which I quickly followed, walking as quickly as my tiny legs would allow me, tiring as it was.

The paths between buildings were a bit of a twisty maze, which quickly became a rather dark path as well considering the height of the buildings along the main street. Seems like people had built taller, rather than wider, to maximize the worth of their plot of land, which was quite annoying at this time... but there he was!

In a slightly larger opening between buildings, a place that looked like a coincidental clearing between the maze of walls of the buildings around it due to the shape of the storefront base floors, there he was, laying on the ground, clutching at the bleeding wound on his stomach. I raced to his side, and crouched beside him. "What an awful wound," I muttered, "it must be painful."

"What the- who are you?"

I turned to his face, and for a brief moment, I was captivated. His eyes were like sparkling amethysts, his features were sharp and regal, yet charmingly rugged, and even though he was scowling, I could see that he was more worried than angry. He had the features of someone who wasn't used to scowling, but who could surely strip the paint off a wall when he did! It was hard to tell in the dark, but now that I was close to him, I could tell that his skin was tanned, not just from spending long days working in the sun, but the darker skin tone of the Suradians.

I shook my head rapidly. "I'm- I'm- Anya! My name's Anya!" I stammered out, trying my best to hold it together, even as I pulled his weak hands off of his stomach, which he could hardly fight against. I was starting to get a little nervous, and I had to resist the urge to loudly chastise myself.

I've dealt with wounds dozens, hundreds of times before, I've dealt with far worse than this, and yet my hands are trembling, my mind is racing, and I could feel my breath escaping me as panic sets in, I need to regain control!

Oh come on, me! Get a hold of yourself, you can't be losing your mind just because he looks a little like- a little like-

"Prince Alb-" I caught myself, my hands coming to cover my mouth as the boy's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped but for a second in shock and surprise, before his eyes grew fierce.

This wasn't Albrecht, you idiot! Albrecht'd been dead for more than a hundred years! Besides, this boy doesn't look like he makes lions look tame by comparison, Albrecht was a lot more rugged, this boy, this boy is almost adorable! If I were bigger I'd be pinching his cheeks as he scowled thinking it would make him look less cute but achieving the opposite!

"You're with them..!" he hissed, making as if to move, his face's good looks twisting to a mask of anger and determination, only for him to gasp and hiss out as he collapsed back down, clearly in too much pain to move, groaning out in pain.

"Stay still!" I commanded, "with how much you're bleeding and the position of the wound, they probably got something important. Was this a knife?" I muttered. "It's too wide and ragged for an arrow..."

"Knife," he growled, "who are you?"

If they'd gotten a kidney, then there was no way I could heal him, even though they had titled me a Saint, my healing powers were limited to what a simple spellcaster could do, I couldn't help him, this was eating at me the same as-

Wait!

That's not the case anymore! I forgot for a minute there, but if I- if I pray for him..!

I brought my hands together, I was already on my knees. "Oh lord that dwells in the heavens and watches over us, please see it in your infinite mercy to bestow your blessings upon this wounded child and restore him with your might, I beseech you-"

Between a moment and the next, golden light sprouted from nothingness between us, and covered him and myself, and I felt the divine power wash through me and into him, within moments, his wound was healed, though I felt the impact of calling upon divine powers as well, this wasn't as free as I thought it'd be. Seems like healing him took a lot out of me, because I collapsed like someone had been holding me up and just let go, falling on top of him.

"What the- I'm... healed?!" the boy that looked a little like Albrecht said. I panted and grinned, he caught me with his left arm and with his right he checked at his wound. "How- how!? No, could it be..?"

"There was something over here, I think he's over here!" someone's voice, deep and rough bass, came from one of the alleys.

"Shit..!" the boy growled. "They must've seen that!" he said, rapidly climbing to his feet, helping me up as well, only for me to be unable to hold myself up. "Come on we don't have time for this," he muttered, as he gathered me up in his arms and picked me up. "Your name's Anya, right? I need you to stay awake, we can't stay here," he muttered, "grab onto me, I'll carry you out of here, come on!"

I did my best, but his voice was starting to sound distant. My head was swimming and pounding with a headache at the same time. It was like exhaustion caught up with me all of a sudden. "I... ughh... Albyy~!" I muttered, as I nuzzled into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck, trying to remember the few good times I had with Albrecht, even as I had to content myself with watching him and Tiara be happy with each other while I languished in my loneliness.

He held me firmly, and the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was the people in the black cloaks streaming into the small opening, as Alby picked a direction and took off, I heard the rasping of scabbards as knives and daggers were pulled out, and then, darkness...