Rosenheim was especially busy tonight, and for that, Gilda was grateful. It was the third day of Sommersfest, and the crowds had reached its peak. She had spent the first two days of Sommersfest slowly making her way over to this side of the city, taking care to hide herself in the shadows and avoiding the crowds slowly trickling in for the festival. But tonight? Visitors from across the entire world were in attendance, hoping to partake in the many excitements to be had in the city of roses. And Zeitloss Plaza was the center of it all. No one would pay attention to her tonight. The plaza was packed from side to side with people, shoulder to shoulder. Vendors were shouting, trying to get Gilda’s attention, but she continued on, entranced by the lights and the sounds. She had snagged a cookie from a stall a few steps behind, her first meal all day. Her father once told her that anything could be bought and sold in Zeitloss Plaza during the festival. Anything. She didn’t believe him at the time, of course, who would want a one footed monkey? but after experiencing it for herself tonight, she didn’t dare doubt her father’s tale. No matter what someone was searching for, they could find it in Zeitloss Plaza during Sommersfest.
Despite the noise that surrounded her, the flashing lights, and the bodies of strangers bumping into her frail body from every direction, Gilda couldn’t help but find herself gazing up at the moon. It was beautiful tonight. The fullest she’s ever seen. She wasn’t quite sure why, but she was unable to tear her gaze away. The moon, in its glory, had garnered her full attention.The cookie in her hand, forgotten, and the crumbs of it, hanging around her mouth. And as she stared at it intently, she could have sworn she saw something pass in front of the moon. She couldn’t be sure, but she felt instinctively that whatever she was seeing was actually very far away, and for it to be so far away and still be visible, she knew it must have been massive. It was there for just the briefest of seconds, and then it was gone.
All at once, an overwhelming scent of roses washed over her senses. She felt the flutter of rose petals against her cheek as the wind carried them past, flowing in the air. Suddenly, she became aware that the press of strangers against her had ceased, and finally her gaze was torn down from the moon, and she found herself face-to-face with three other people. Alone. The crowd was gone, as were the vendors. She was still standing in Zeitloss Plaza, she’d seen it enough times to know that much, but she couldn’t be sure whether she was actually even standing in the same place as she was before. The noises had all faded away, save for a faint, single strain of violin music from a nearby hall. She stood together with these three people, and Gilda felt, in her heart, that these three were the answer to her problem.
The first person she noticed was a young woman to her left, with long and curly dark black hair, pulled back and tied. Some strands of her hair came down, framing her soft face as the rest of her hair cascaded down her left side, a little past her shoulders. She had a worn brown hat on, with a matching shade jacket and a black skirt that billowed outwards, and a belt that framed her waist nicely. She looked like a lady, Gilda thought to herself, but the state of her clothing said otherwise. Even in the moonlight, she could tell that the jacket the young woman was wearing looked worn, and the hat showed signs of age. There was a look of suspicion mixed with surprise on her face, and yet Gilda felt nothing but warmth emanating from her. Before she could help herself, the words had already been spoken, “Wh-who are you?”
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“Intriguing… most intriguing indeed!” Out of the corner of Gilda’s eyes, she saw the old man to her right bend forward, dragging his pointer finger across the dirt in the ground, using a cane for support. He looked as if he was almost bald except for some strands of hair on the top of his head sticking up like blades of fresh winter grass, and a long brown beard - probably the length of Gilda’s forearm - that curled inwards at the ends. He straightened up afterwards, bringing his finger close to eye level. A frail, bony arm with long fingernails tugged the spectacles strapped to his head down over his eyes as he studied the soil before sticking out his long tongue and licking the dirt off his finger slowly, as if savouring the taste.
“Oh, my gosh! That is disgusting.” Again, Gilda’s vision whirled to find the source of the voice dripping with contempt. It was the man standing directly in front of her, a few steps away. He had a look of disdain on his handsome face. Dressed like a noble with a high collared, black piped jacket and slacks, giving off a pompous air, yet reeking of danger. Her senses were going haywire looking at him, something about him didn’t quite seem to belong. She wasn’t sure he was someone who could be trusted, despite the earlier feeling she had in her heart.
“Are you okay?” The voice sounded as if it came right next to her ears, and Gilda startled immediately, eyes sweeping around her once more. “Are you lost, little girl?” The plaza was barren, no sign of the festival. It was still just the four of them.
“Be quiet, you!” The voice of the pompous man in front of Gilda seemed to rub the young woman to Gilda’s left the wrong way, because her eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion at him. He rolled his eyes at her dramatically with an “ugh”, left hand brushing through his jet black hair. The woman turned her attention back to Gilda, eyes full of concern, just about to say something -- but just as quickly as it happened, it all faded away. The young woman’s eyes widened with shock as everything snapped back to reality. Two pairs of hands suddenly grabbed Gilda’s arms, and she was yanked backwards, screaming. The party-goers from earlier, the bright lights, the sound of music playing and people chattering, the smell of tobacco, alcohol, and food from vendors, all of it, returned.
Gilda’s heart was racing, “Help me! Please! Help!” Gilda begged the three other strangers from earlier. She couldn’t see them, but each man had an arm wrapped under her armpits, their big, strong bones crushing against her delicate shoulders. Her eyes, stinging with tears from the pain, were still darting through the throng of people to try and make contact with the trio from before. She barely caught a glimpse of the young woman again, being shoved against the crowd, before she lost sight of her in the sea of people at the plaza, quickly filling up her line of sight.