The Spring Festival was here. The city of Stoneway was bustling with activity. Men were hanging up decorations on the light posts with their sons, while the women and daughters were baking sweets and delicious food for the end of the day feast. Lights shone everywhere and it was very festive.
Lorena and Zachary dressed in commoner clothing and were exploring the festival, both with enthusiasm. Lorena, because she had never seen any of this before, being so busy with work, and Zachary, because he wanted to show Lorena everything it had to offer.
Lorena was excited! All of the candies, the pastries, the cool masks and the games! It was just like a carnival, except more victorian and gave less of an "off of the shelves" feel. Zachary looked at her sparkling eyes and smiled contentedly. This was what he was missing. Some normalcy. After this week, he would take Lorena on a trip somewhere, like a honeymoon.
Lorena looked at a maple syrup type candy with interest and before she could say anything, Zachary paid for four of them. The shopkeeper lady smiled and put the candies in a small bag and wishing them a farewell. Lorena was surprised with how fast the transaction was, but quickly popped a candy in her mouth, relishing in the sweet flavor. She saw Zachary staring at her and unwrapped another one, holding it to his mouth.
"Say ahhh~"
"Ah"
He sucked on the candy as well and, although sweet, wasn't as sweet as the little doll standing next to him, pulling on his clothing while pointing at a game. He good-naturedly followed Lorena and saw what kind of game it was. It was a dart-throwing game. One copper for two darts. There were different stuffed animals on shelves behind the man in the booth and Lorena quickly pointed to a white stuffed kitten near the back.
Being looked at with her big blue eyes, how could he say no? Zachary laid down two coppers and received four darts. The balloons were round and floating, any normal person wouldn't be able to hit anything, but Zachary was far from normal. His eyes sharpened and he threw the projectile with deadly force and aim. The dart went straight through two balloons and ended up embedded into the back of the booth.
The man working the booth was quaking in his boots. This young lad was really powerful! Must not offend him! The man backed up a few steps to the side until he was practically hugging the wall. Zachary proceeded to throw the other four darts and all three were embedded into the back, just like the first one. After the man gave them the white kitten and medium-sized golden lion as their prize, he turned around and bit his handkerchief with tears flowing down his face. It would take him a lot of time to pull those darts out of the solid wood wall! What kind of monster did he just encounter?
Said the monster and his girl were walking away happily with their prizes. Lorena looked at the white kitten with big blue eyes and felt like it reminded her of someone, not sure who, she quickly gave up on the thought. Zachary, on the other hand, was watching amused as the white-haired blue-eyed girl looked at the white-haired blue-eyed kitten. Maybe his Lorena wasn't an angel, maybe she was an adorable folded ear kitten? Or maybe... she was an angel folded ear kitten?
Zachary was in a serious dilemma. Lorena, oblivious to said dilemma, was anxious to check out everything she could before they had to start their plan. An older lady with lots of flowers in her stall immediately caught Lorena's attention, she pulled Zachary along behind her as she made her way to the stall. She saw lots of individual flowers, bouquets, and flower accessories. She saw a beautiful yellow daisy crown with baby breath weaved inside. She knew she had to have it. She aimed her big blue eyes at Zachary and he immediately gave in.
He paid two more coppers for the crown and completely missed the extra flower Lorena snuck in. She sneaked the lady an extra copper to pay for it and cut the yellow daisy to fit behind an ear. She put her flower crown on and slipped the daisy behind Zachary's ear and grinned in satisfaction. They were matching and were quite a sight to behold. Zachary stared dumbly at Lorena's breathtaking smile and combined with her flower crown, she looked like a fairy.
This added to Zachary's previous dilemma. Was she a folded ear cat, an angel, or a fairy? Sigh, his Lorena was really too captivating for her own good. Just look at all the bees and butterflies she attracted when she smiled at him? Looking at all of the guys looking at Lorena with a predatory gaze, he quickly glared at each and every one of them and dragged her away. His previous mood gone with the breeze they left behind.
Lorena noticed Zachary's change in mood and the lecherous gazes aimed at her, she put two and two together and was touched that he cared so much. She didn't want him ruining their time together, though, so she quickly stopped him and made him face her. Her delicate fingers smoothed out the wrinkles in between his eyebrows and softly smiled.
"This is only for you, got it? So feel free to stake your claim."
She winked after her last sentence and tucked his arm under her arm. His bad mood, just like that, was gone. Really, this vixen had completely bewitched him. He was wrapped tightly around her finger. And he surprisingly found that he didn't mind at all.