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The mayor’s house— or mansion— was located in the center of the residential district, one of the four districts in Redwood. The other three districts were the farming district, the town square, and the sports district.
The residential district was where the majority of Redwood’s residents lived, but that didn't mean it was exclusively made of houses as there were also shops, stalls and parks around. It was just the primary place for people to live.
The same could also be said for the farming district and the town square. The farming district was home to six families including the Bluegold’s and the Frier's— Jane’s new place was also in the farming district. While in the town square, any business owner with their own building, lived in their own shop since it just made things easier and cheaper for them.
The town square was easy to understand, it was just where the majority of commercial business occurred. It was the second smallest district but also the busiest and was chalk full of things to do.
The farmer district was… where the farms were of course. It was the largest district but mostly consisted of farmland or grassy fields for animals to graze and walk around. There were three families that grew fruits and vegetables and four families that dealt in livestock. Out of all the plant farmers, the Frier’s were the largest out of the bunch, while all the livestock farmers were of similar size to one another.
All of the families here made sure not to step on each other's toes by selling the same thing as another family. Jane wasn't exactly sure of the full situation with the plant farmer, but as for the livestock farmers, the Bluegold’s sold cattle and chickens, another dealt with sheep's, goats and pigs, while the third family was a supplier of horses and donkeys.
She knew the Frier’s grew a bunch of varying plants, but she didn't know what the other plant farmers grew. Maybe they did grow the same things as one another.
The last district was the sports district. It was the smallest district and it sat partially sandwiched between the residential district and the farmer district. Unlike the name suggested, this district wasn't just meant for sports, but also included other forms of exercising or outdoor enjoyment like paths for walking.
Most of the district was a large natural park made of large trimmed fields, lots of walking paths, colorful gardens made of flowers, and man made structures where children could play.
You could walk or run along the winding paths and see the beauty of the natural landscape while getting some exercise in, or spend some time leisurely smelling the flowers of the garden. There was a lot of fun to be found in the sports district.
One of the most popular spots in the sports district was a large river that ran from outside of the town and cut through most of the district. Families would spend days swimming in the slow and gentle river to cool off— and don't worry there were two bridges at both ends of the area where you could swim, to prevent children from being swept away.
The park structures were another place children loved to play with each other if they didn't want to get wet for whatever reason. There were a few of these structures in close proximity to one another, all with their own design, allowing for kids to have a lot of variety in where they wanted to play.
Obviously it wouldn't be called the sports district if there weren't any sports buildings whatsoever. Around the district were different types of fields meant for lots of different sports that anyone could use. The most popular sport in Redwood— and all of the Purple Plains— was a sport called pillar ball, which had the most areas designated for it.
In all of the district there were five pillar ball fields while there was one special field off limits for recreational use since it was the official pillar ball field of Redwood. What does that mean? Well every town in the purple plains had their own pillar ball team and they would meet twice a year for a tournament. The location of the tournaments rotated between towns each time to give every team an equal chance at having a home advantage— and give the town in question a lively event to attend and make some money during.
Those four districts made up the entirety of Redwood.
Right now, only one district mattered to Jane as she and Eric approached the mayor's mansion walking side by side. The mansion was sitting in a giant circular grass property that had roads curling around all sides of it, while on the other side of the road were other more normal sized houses and a few smaller shops.
The mayor's mansion was by far the most luxurious place in all of Redwood, calling it a house was an insult to the size of this place. Now there was a reason the mayor lived in such a mansion and it wasn't because he was a greedy man who cared more about money than his own people— in fact the mayor probably loved this town more than most folk.
If we want to understand why, we have to understand how he got such a role and what his job as mayor entails.
The mayor is not a position chosen by the people— not entirely at least— it was a role given to someone by the kingdom itself. The person chosen would become mayor, and their family would inherit their position. Danielle, as the oldest child of Peter Petal, and to Jane’s knowledge the only child, would replace her father whenever he retired.
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Now that Jane was thinking about this, she realized that if Eric continued his relationship with her, he’d eventually become the future mayor's husband.
Of course the kingdom wasn’t unfair, if enough people complained that the mayor was abusing his power or actively harming the town directly or indirectly, the kingdom would interfere. The mayor would be at best fired and at worst sentenced to death. Then a new mayor would be chosen by an election, but the kingdom always had the final say if someone actually got the position or not.
Having the mansion itself was a way to show others not working for the kingdom that by doing so, gives them luxuries they wouldn't normally ever have. It was the same for Angeline Evergreen’s place, she wasn't as important as mayor and her place reflected that, but it was still the second best place in all of Redwood.
It was a demonstration of their power over others and a form of making sure their reputation was upheld by people working for them. They gave them major benefits and expected quality work in return.
Then the mayor's actual job was important as well, he was the bridge between Redwood and the kingdom and dealt with any paperwork needed. This could include taxes, contracts with businesses, etc.
Lastly, a big reason why a mayor would have a mansion was because they would host any nobles that visited Redwood. Nobles expected a certain quality of living for having such an important role, and staying in a mansion was to be expected. Now don't go thinking nobles were snobs for this, it was more so for reputation and representation of how the nobles of the kingdom were treated.
Jane had met a few noble children at the academy, while some were in fact snobs, some were just like herself. There was a certain level of respect needed for the nobles and hosting them in a mansion was par for the course.
Jane and Eric finally arrived at the front gates of the Petal’s property. A rock-tiled path led from the edge of their property all the way to the front door, which Eric guided Jane along— he had walked this path many times.
The mayor's front yard was pretty dull for someone with a large property, only a few trees were scattered around and a tiny garden wrapped around the edge of the mansion. The rest of the front yard was just more purplish grass. Jane could see a fence wrap around their backyard but she wasn't sure what was behind the fence, maybe she’d get to see it later today though.
Off to the side there were a few people out and about through the street, some were driving carriages full of cargo along the road while others were walking to some destination. Jane could spot a few married couples tending to their lawns or sitting on their porches enjoying something to drink. It was a very lively community.
The mansion itself wasn't as fancy as Jane would have thought, it had more of a rustic vibe as it was mainly made of wood with a bit of stone here and there. It also wasn’t three stories tall like Jane’s or the Evergreen’s place, but instead most of its size came from its width. The mansion was L shaped and had many rectangular windows with little gardens hanging from the outside of them.
Arriving at the front door, Eric casually rang the doorbell and waited with his arms crossed for someone to answer. It didn't take long before a familiar face opened the door for them, her smile was the first thing they saw.
“Eric! Jane!” Danielle hugged and pecked Eric on the mouth, then hugged Jane as well before she ushered them inside.
The inside was a little more lavish looking then the outside, with fancy decorations hanging on the walls or weird sculptures resting on pillars, even the furniture looked less comfy and more stylish looking. Jane could even spot a giant fancy glass chandelier hanging down from what appeared to be the dining room.
“I'm so glad you came, Jane! I was thinking of visiting you to hang out but I've been so busy lately and I thought it would be great if you joined our monthly friend get-together!” Danielle explained happily to Jane. “Once the celebration is over I’ll have more free time if you wanna do something with just you and me. I know we hadn't really hung out in school before, but I really want to get to know you better— and it's not because you're now a classholder or anything— except that’s also pretty cool… but it's more because you're Eric’s best friend!” She rambled on to Jane.
“That sounds like a plan to me.” Jane nodded casually and then said, “I gotta apologize for my younger self, I really didn't care to meet anyone else beside Eric back then.”
“No, don't apologize, there's no need!” Danielle waved her hands trying to get the point across. “I think what you and Eric had was amazing… I wish I had a close friend like that back then. I was friends with everyone, but not really close friends with anyone— except now I do have close friends, I even have a boyfriend!” Danielle beamed saying the last part.
“And I'm hoping…” Danielle fidgeted her fingers, “That me and you can become close friends eventually. Everything I've heard about you from Eric is so fascinating!”
“Oh, now I'm curious. What exactly has Eric been telling you about me?” Jane grinned and wrapped her arm around Danielle's shoulder, turning her away from Eric so he couldn't hear.
She whispered to Danielle, “I’d love to become close friends… but first, you gotta tell me what Eric’s said— and since Eric’s told you about me, you gotta tell me about him.”
Danielle put on a fake evil smirk— that looked adorable— and replied with, “Where do we start?”
“Hey now!” Eric yelled jokingly and tried to break up their whispered huddle.
The girls looked at him before Danielle yelled to Jane, “Follow me!” Then she ran off with Jane in tow. They took the first door to their right and worked their way down a set of wooden stairs down into the basement below.
Jane found herself running through a large basement filled with a comfortable atmosphere unlike the main floor. They ran until they reached the basement's living room where Danielle flopped onto one of the couches while laughing, Jane promptly joined her and plopped down next to her.
Eric scampered after them and caught up to them just as they found their seats on the couch, he then slowed down and joined them by sitting across from them on another couch.
“Welcome to my domain!” Danielle proclaimed with her arms raised to the side. “The basement is all mine, and my parents aren't home, so don't worry about making a mess or causing a ruckus tonight!”