Gale walked into the room as Mopsa sighed heavily as she looked out the window, seeing at the couples smiling and laughing.
"Mopsa, you wanted to see me?" Gale asked her as she turned to look at him.
"Yes, I need you and Zephyr to head to the fair and acquire an item," Mopsa pouted.
Gale narrowed his eyes as he felt something off about Mopsa. "What is this item, and why can't you go get it?"
Mopsa's eyes widened into teary, puppy eyes. "Because I am banned, and only couples can enter the festival grounds."
Gale gaged as he listened to, "So, you need to use us—Zephyr and I—to get you an item. That I have no idea how to get or what it is? Just for your pleasure?"
Mopsa pouted her lips, "Yes, its called a Caron. It is a teal coloured stone with swirling green and purple lines inside it. It is a rare stone around here, and it will help me in more than one way. So, please, please. Can you get it for me?" Mopsa put in her best puppy dog eyes towards Gale.
Gale sighed as he turned to get Zephyr, "Fine, but no funny business. If I find this is a sick joke. I will tear you a new one."
Mopsa smiled at him in joy. "Oh, thank you! Please hurry, though, who knows when it will be taken."
Gale sighed once more before getting Zephyr and heading to the festival. Zephyr turned red as she looked at all of the other coupes huddling together and playing the games. Gale could see her uneasiness as they moved closer to one of the stands.
"Hey…umm," Gale cleared his throat at the man. "Do you know where I can find a Coran stone?"
The man smiled as Zephyr moved in closer to Gale. "Yes, I do. You just need to sign up for the couples contest where judges will judge you for interactions with your lovely lady partner. The grand prize is the stone itself." The man answered, pulling the entry form out. "You just need to put your name and your partners and just play three games. You don't have to win them, but they will be watching as your names will appear on their list, and you two will have a contested mark on the back of your jackets."
Gale stared at the paper, realizing that Mopsa knew this little detail. He looked at Zephyr as she nodded at him, and Gale took the document signing their names. THE man smiled at the walked off. Zephyr noticed their mark was blue and purple as glanced over to see an old shoot the toy stand. She stopped staring at a little white wolf cub in a cage, off to the side.
Gale stopped to see Zephyr staring at something and looked to where she was starting to see the wolf pup. Gale sighed as he walked up to her. "I am, going to guess you want to free that pup?"
Zephyr nodded, "Yes, how many coins did Mopsa give us for the whole day?"
Gale grabbed the bag and opened it, "Enough for eight rounds at each game, and six sittings of food from each stand. So, plenty." Gale moved up to the man and saw the wooden plack to win the pup. "I am here to play five rounds with my partner."
The man at the stand looked over at Gale and smiled, "Very well then, in just need the coin, and I will get you your gun."
Gale raises his brow at the man knowing something was a miss as he handed the coins over. The man pulled out the gun, and Gale could feel the weight was off as he loaded it. The man smiled like he won against Gale. While Gale lined up his first shot. Gale raises the barrel slightly as he fired off. Gale hit a small piece of the toy, but it never fell. Gale acted like he never knew what happened as he loaded the next round. The man smiled while he turned to see the wall. Gale quickly loaded two more bullets and aimed for the plack. The man grinned even more as he felt he had won out of cheating them of their time and money.
Zephyr smiled as Gale got her to hold the gun with her. Aiming once more but lower as to compensate toe guns rigged set up. They pulled the trigger and knock the plack down. The man started to laugh at them but fell short when he realized that they knock something down. He turned to see the plack was knocked down.
"I-I must have hit the stand l-let me fix that?" He stutters but was cut off when a judge walked over.
"Hold it, they won this fair and square. Now you have to owe up to your end of the practice. Or you will be terminated for the rest of your years in any event." The Judge scowled at the con-man.
The man went pale as he stared at the Judge. He caved as he grabbed the wolf pup, he noticed a decorative egg had fallen as well and handed them both to Gale and Zephyr. The Judge smiled as she walked off, writing down the events. Gale looked at the pup as it snuggled close to Zephyr.
"It seems to like you a lot, despite you are a fox, and it is a wolf?" Gale commented.
Zephyr smiled as it wiggled into her hood. "Yes, but that egg? It looked like a sizement dragon egg, possibly mixed with a storm surge dragon telling by the patterns." Zephyr pointed at the details on the egg.
Gale stared at the egg, seeing what she was saying as he placed it in his bag. "Yeah, it might be best if we return them to their natural homes. Once we can. I think the con artist thought nothing about the egg and thought it was a decorative one. Not a real dragon egg."
Zephyr nodded as they walked around, seeing what other game they could play. Gale noticed a Marie-go-round off in the distance and remembered how his mother talked about them when she was young. To where there was a special magic about them. Especially the ones using magic technology. Zephyr glanced on Gale's direction as she noticed the ride.
"Gale, let us go on that! I have never seen anything like it before!?" Her excitement growing as Zephyr stared at it.
Gale smiled as he started to walk over with Zephyr. He helped her get on as he got up behind her, riding the ride as they began to enjoy themselves. Unaware of another judge smiling at them as they enjoyed the experience together. Gale could see and feel the magic as he stared at Zephyr as she began to laugh as they went around. He knew that she was happy as they enjoyed the ride. Zephyr smiled so hard that her cheeks were hurting.
They then went from one side to another, trying everything as they seemed to connect more and more. As Gale and Zephyr left their worries of the war behind themselves as the day dragged on. The judges watched the other contestants and found that they argued lots but could see Gale and Zephyr genuinely enjoying one another company. All the judges smiled as the announcement for the judges to make their decision. Gale noticed that the people were heading over to somewhere. As the announcer asks for all the contestants to head over to the stage. Gale turns to Zephyr as they remember they were apart of the contest.
They walked over and stood next to the others as they smiled happily as if nothing wrong was going on. The contest manager walked up the stage and began saying how the festival was another success and that the winners were to be announced soon. While the ones that lost were to be picked off one by one as they said what they did wrong and that they did not hold the compassion of two lovers. One by one, the couples were picked off. Gale grew nervous as Zephyr gripped his arm.
The Judge came down to the last two couples, one being Gale and Zephyr, and the announce the previous pair to leave as Gale sighed as he was ready to go when the Judge said the other couple's name. The couple started to argue with the ruling as while the manager called the guards to take them away.
"And now our winners for the Festival of Love! Goes to Gale and Zephyr! CONGRATULATIONS! You two might have had a rocky start and are newcomers to this year's event. Yet your love for one another is truly genuine! I am happy to give you the grand prize as our Ulmara Couple!" The manager announced at the crowd applauded for them.
Gale turned to Zephyr as they stood in shock. The manager walked up to them and places snow flower crowns on their heads. The manager smiled as he walked them off the Lovers maze. Gale stared at the maze as the manager stopped in front of them.
"Now the real test is to find your way deep inside to the end to where you will find a rare stone. Once you have it, you may leave the maze. But be warned? If the two of you argue, the maze will kick you out, and the prize will be lost inside until the next year."
Gale took a deep breath as Zephyr, and he walked into the maze. They found the deeper they got, the darker it became. Zephyr clenched Gale's arm as he felt his way through the dark. Gale noticed a faint teal glow coming from one of the paths. He looked at Zephyr as she shivered in the darkness. Taking no chances, he walked to the light seeing the stone at the end. Zephyr smiled as she saw the Coran. Gale reached for the stone as Zephyr could not stop smiling as they got the jewel.
Zephyr turned to Gale as he smiled at her. Unaware that as they leaned in to kiss. The stone glowed more as they embrace each other for a moment before realizing what they were doing.
Gale turned away and coughed. "We…We should get out of here."
Zephyr nodded as they exited the maze. Once they got out, they headed home as Mopsa waited for them on her front steps. "So, how what the festival?"
Gale watched at Zephyr hastily walked to past Mopsa. "Well, it was great, and we got the stone plus a wolf pup that is in Zephyrs hood and this dragon egg." Gale coughed as he tried to not think about their kiss in the maze. "Anyway, do you think you could help us find where they came from and how we could return them back to where they belong."
Mopsa watched as Gale pulled out the egg, "That egg was sent to the dragon riders to the east. It was stolen thirty years ago." Her eyes lit up as she glanced over the egg. "Back when I was to become a rider. The egg went missing with the Gold Heart Artic Riders Wolf. Also, know as the Winter Dire Wolf!"
Gale raised his brow as he began to calm. "Wait, what does a Winter Dire wolf look like?"
Mopsa motioned him to followed her as she pulled out a large book containing lost species of the Gold Heart Empire. She opened the book to a page showing a giant wolf, about the size of a horse with pups that relatively normal-sized. Gale noticed the puppies were wall white while the mother wolf had markings in its fur.
Gale turned to Mopsa, "Why does the mother look different than the pups?"
Mopsa closed the book, "Winter Dire wolves are born white and stay that colour until they find their rider. Gold Heart was famous for them as they were used instead of horses in the more northern parts of the country and around here. Yet thirty years ago, a plague that the Faremin set losing our country killed all but one farm that was raising twenty wolfs disappeared. It was said that the owners took the wolfs out of the country because a man stole five prized pups, and after the attack, they feared for the others."
Gale turned to MOpsa as she seemed upset. "What's the culprit ever found?"
Mopsa shook her head. "No, and to this day, it is said that the remaining wolves will never return until the Faremin kingdom is dealt with. We lost a piece of our culture. And now we might never gain that back."
Gale sighed as Zephyr walked into the room with the pup, dangling from her arms. Yipping happily. Mopsa looked back as her eyes widened at the sight of the wolf pup. "Mopsa, something is wrong with this pup? Came you look over him?"
Mopsa slowly stood up then turned to Gale, "Gale, where did you two get the egg and Pup?" Gale told her about the man as her eyes filled with rage. "Zephyr, that pup is bonded to you, but I have to get going now if I am going to catch that man."
Mopsa rushed out the door after the man as he was grumbling outside her door. Mopsa yelled at the man as she grabbed him by the collar, asking where he was hiding the rest of the Gold Heart Rider Wolves. The people heard as they walked out the door with Zephyr rushed to stop her. The people saw the pup and rage-filled the area as the man knew what he had done. As he spilled his information to the people, as some of the folks took off with him to find the other wolf pups.
Zephyr stood in shock, while Gale looked at her, figuring out what was going on as Mopsa's expression said more about the situation.