The town was lively at night. It was one of the benefits of being a small town. A close knit community like this could host more vibrant parties than their urban counterparts. Children ran around carrying toys and screaming in delight while their parents enjoyed a night off from taking care of them. The presence of the circus had sparked a hidden life within this town that was normally never seen except during certain times of the year.

Yuki sat in one of the chairs, watching the bustling and joyous celebration unfolding before her. Just earlier, she had almost been killed but now… she glanced over to her friends. Embla and Cal were arm-wrestling each other while Pandora watched over their competition. Red sat next to her, watching the celebration alongside her.

“I won!”

“NO! Rematch!”

“Admit that you lost, Tarhead!”

“Come on you two.”

Yuki turned around to see Embla with a depressed cloud over her head. Cal crossed his arms triumphantly.

“Hey, Yuki. Are you having fun?” Embla asked, taking a sip of her juice.

The Princess looked down at her drink for a few seconds. Am I having fun? She looked up at her party member’s expectant look. A smile graced her face.

"Yeah I am. I've been to festivals before but never in Alfheim," she said, looking down at her drink.

"Never been to a festival?" Embla looked at her team leader with some confusion on her face. I'm sure Alfheim has festivals too right?

"It's hard for her to get out. As the Princess of Alfheim, going out to a festival was-"

Red coughed when he felt Yuki’s elbow dig into his spleen. She had a red hue on her face as she remembered watching all the servants and palace officials leaving the castle to enjoy the festivities.

A silence fell over the group. Yuki found it hard to continue looking at her teammates and opted to look down at the ground.

“Hey, Cal! Wanna go check out the animal tent?” Embla asked, grabbing Cal by the arm.

“Huh, what?” Cal looked up at her, surprised at her sudden action.

“Pandora! Wanna come with?” Embla asked.

“Yeah, let’s see that cage that Yuki mentioned.” Pandora walked after the two of them, leaving Red and Yuki alone on the table.

Yuki’s ears flattened against her head as she laid it down on the table.

“Red, what do I do? Our team dynamic outside of quests has gone down the drain and it’s all my fault,” she said, lamenting her previous actions over the past few days.

“Well, I keep telling you. You’re lashing out at them because you’re anxious that Lady Mizore is here.” Red took a sip of his drink.

“But you know what that means. Mom and I didn’t leave on good terms last time I checked. And Kaguya following me all the way here but not bringing me back is grating on my nerves,” she said. “And what she said to be about having more reason to beat me. She’s trying to break me in front of Mom of all people.”

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Red remained silent. Kaguya had been a silent thorn in their sides. As one of Yuki’s retainers, she was responsible for the health and welfare of the person she served. He knew how she felt about Yuki coming here. That’s why she was here even though she knew that Yuki was essentially coming here for asylum.

“If the others understand your situation, maybe they can help you out. Not with Lady Mizore. But with Kaguya. Telling them about your situation instead of beating them into the ground during group training will help you more. You can’t just make them fight for something they don’t understand or know,” Red said.

“What if they look at me differently? This party. These people. The years I’ve spent with you guys are some of the best years of my life. I finally got to-”

“They won’t. After all, they’re your friends. They’ll understand what you’re going through and try to help you. But first, you should apologize for being such a bitch to them over the past few days.” Red smiled and patted her back.

“...” Yuki gripped the fabric of her hakama. Her ears perked up as her two tails swished behind her. “Yeah, I have been an alpha bitch these past few days. Thanks.”

“For calling you a bitch?” Red asked.

“No, for always being there for me. Where would I be now if I had left by myself?” she wondered out loud.

“Probably lying dead in some ruin in Alfheim. I doubt you’d make it out of the country with your sheltered ass,” he said, laughing.

“Hey! This sheltered ass saved you multiple times when we were on the road to this country! Need I bring up that incident in Nidavellir!” she prodded his chest with her finger.

“Okay okay! Hahaha!” Red laughed as he felt her prodding at his chest.

Yuki huffed and crossed her arms. He always knows how to get under my skin… she thought with a slight red hue on her cheeks. But she had thought long and hard about what Red had said. This was something she had to share with her team in order for them to understand her current situation and the meaning of Eschamali’s presence for her future. For their future. This was something she could no longer avoid.

"Besides, those sabyr. I feel like I've seen what happened to them before. It looks like..." she trailed off.

Red remained quiet for a bit. His gaze darkened for a few seconds before looking over at Yuki.

“Should we go wait back at the inn for them?” Red asked.

“Yeah. But we have time. Let’s go take a short walk. There could be some things this circus can offer that our Great Rinne Festival can’t,” Yuki said, grabbing his hand.

Red smiled when he saw the excitement on her face. He nodded and followed after her, the two disappearing into the crowd laughing.

----------------------------------------

“Where are they?” Embla asked.

It had been three hours since the festival closed for the night. The three sat in the lobby of the Inn. Cal read one of the books from the shelf while Pandora lazily tossed around a ball of lightning between her hands. Embla tapped her foot impatiently on the stone floor.

“Maybe they’re on a date. Probably in the woods doing a little freaky deaky,” Pandora said, dispersing the ball.

“You’re gross,” Cal said.

“Oh lighten up. The three of us can hear them at night when they’re in the mood. And it’s not like it’s a secret that-”

“Secret that what?”

Pandora’s mouth snapped shut when she heard Red’s voice through the opening of the Inn’s door.

“Nothing really. Just gossiping about other adventurers in the Guild,” Pandora said.

“Okay?” Yuki popped out from behind Red.

“Where were you guys? We couldn’t find you anywhere on the fair grounds,” Cal said.

“We explored the town some more and went for a walk in the woods,” Red said.

“A walk? Just a walk?” he asked with a bit of suspicion in his tone.

“Yeah. Just a walk,” Yuki said, her eyes looking at Cal as if he were garbage for having such thoughts in his head. Her ears perked up as she remembered why she wanted them all here. “Guys, we need to talk.”

“About?” Pandora raised an eyebrow.

Yuki said nothing and gestured for them to take a seat. The three, not knowing what was going on, took a seat on the large sofa in front of them.

The Fox Princess folded her hands and leaned forward.

“If we’re going to participate in the tournament, it’s only right for you to know why I refused to participate in the last one and why I have such an antagonistic relationship with Kaguya,” she said.

“I’m going to tell you about myself. Not about Yuki the Adventurer. But Shirayuki the Princess.”