After I had successfully knocked my tooth out, I began wailing.
Millie tried to comfort me, "It's alright! It's just a tooth!"
"It's not just a tooth Millie!!! There's no dentists here that will give me a real looking tooth! I'm a disfigured monster!"
I burst into a new set of tears unable to fathom a life where I no longer had a front tooth. Ah! I was planning on making Seri a beauty when she was older. How could I do that when she lacked a front tooth.
William began to grow very irritated at my sobbing, "Stop crying! It's a baby tooth! Another one will grow in!"
I forgot that children lost teeth. I sniffed, "Really?"
"Yes. So calm down already."
"But when will it come back in?"
He shrugged, "I don't know. It usually depends."
Millie spoke, "My older sister had lost her tooth and it came back really quickly."
I wiped my tears, "Alright. I didn't know you had a sister."
She smiled, "I have four."
My mouth dropped, "Four?!"
She nodded, "And two brothers. I'm the youngest."
I blinked in surprise, "God d*mn! What is in the water there?!"
She turned her head in confusion. I didn't feel like explaining it. "I had no idea you had siblings."
"Yup. Do you have any?"
"Nope. I'm an only child."
William spoke, "I have two half-brothers and a half-sister."
I looked at him in confusion. I don't think the book ever mentioned that many. "Half-siblings? How?"
He looked away and blushed. He was too embarrassed by his family situation to explain it.
Dante spoke for him, "His father, the King, has concubines."
I wrinkled my nose, "Gross. Why do Kings love harems so much?"
William covered his face, "Can we stop talking about this?"
I chuckled at him, "William. You have the heart of a pure maiden."
He glared at me, "I do not!"
As I laughed I noticed a teacher run over. "I heard crying! What happened??"
As the situation was explained to the teacher, he grabbed my jaw and inspected my tooth. Too afraid that my parents would throw a fit, he decided that I would no longer be allowed to ski.
I sat in the lodge with the teacher enjoying the hot chocolate as I waited for everyone to get finished. That night, me and Millie returned to the hot springs.
I sat into the water and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ahh~ The water feels so nice on my aching body."
"Oh my! Seri! Your body is covered in bruises!"
I looked at the bruises on my arms, "Ah. It is, isn't it? I think I may have hit the snowbank a bit harder than I thought."
"Good thing you wore a helmet. It could have been a lot worse."
This just proves my point that you shouldn't take young children to a place like this. It's just too dangerous.
The next day, the teacher rounded us all up in order to go into the market. Since it was much too far to walk, we had to once again get in to the carriages in order to get there. It was a bit harder this time to find two people to ride with us.
It was a short trip, and I found that snow makes for a smoother ride. My face stuck out the window enthralled with the landscape. There are so many snowcapped mountains in the distance which glistened in the sun. There was also a frozen lake with some people on it fishing. The landscape looked a lot like something you would see on a postcard.
I tried to stick my body out further in order to see everything.
Millie looked at me, concerned, "Seri. Perhaps you should put your head back inside before a-"
*SMACK*
She sighed, "Before a tree limb hits you."
I sat back inside and spit out pine needles and twigs.
William sighed, "Why are you such an idiot."
I grinned, "I think I lost another tooth."
The carriage shared a collective groan. Now, I had two missing front teeth. My father is going to pass out when he see's me.
My luck couldn't get any worse on this trip.
Once we arrived, we got out of our carriages. I looked at everything in amazement. It was such a bustling place despite it being covered in snow.
The teacher spoke, "Find your cabin buddy and stick with them. You are free to explore the market but you need to stay with your buddy and stay on the main road."
Another teacher handed us each a small coin purse, "Here. You can buy something with this."
I jumped up and down in excitement, "Let's go Millie!"
William looked at me critically, "We should also go with you."
I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Ask your two front teeth."
I stuck my tongue out at him through the hole from my missing teeth.
As we walked together I kept running down the road looking at everything quickly. The other three rushed after me.
William shouted after me, "Would you slow down? We have enough time to calmly walk and see everything."
"Ah. Sorry. I just got so excited. Everything is so unique here."
I attempted to slow down, but quickly sped up again. This time, Dante grabbed me by the collar and refused to let go. We all began to look at some trinkets.
Millie showed me a hair piece, "Look! It's like a crystal. You can see through it!"
I smiled, "It looks really cute! It suites you."
She smiled, "Then I will buy this."
I looked at all the trinkets uninterested.
Dante noticed this, "Don't you want to buy anything?"
"I'm not really into trinkets and things like this."
He raised an eyebrow, "Really? I thought most girls liked these things."
"I only like them if I can sell them at a pawn shop."
He chuckled, "That's a peculiar reason."
I smiled, "Besides, I'm saving my money for food."
"Of course you are."
We continued to look at everything and came to a book store. Since we are a group of nerds, we stopped in to look at everything. I found a romance section that held some interesting material. Although the cover seemed like a normal romance novel, it had steamy material in it. I looked at it closer giggling excitedly.
Fufu. Ahh. I want it but I want food more.
I quickly put it back. The other three found something to buy and I waited for them to check out. When we stepped out of the store, we started walking down the road.
I felt someone tug on my coat. I turned and saw Dante staring at me with a serious expression. Ugh. I hate when he's like this. I never know what he's thinking.
I smiled, "Yes?"
When the other two were far enough away, he pulled out a book from his bag and handed it to me. I took it and looked at it. It was one of the romance novels I was looking at in the store.
He mumbled, "A gift."
He quickly walked away without revealing any expression. I didn't know whether to be embarrassed that he noticed I was so interested in this genre, or happy that he got me something. I shoved it into my bag and jogged after him.
I smiled, "Thank you!"
He just nodded. We walked in awkward silence for a moment. I was going to say something to break the silence, but he spoke, "Why do you even like that garbage?"
"It's not garbage. It's beautiful."
"Hmm."
"Don't judge me."
"I'm not."
"Yes you are. I hear the criticism in your voice."
An amazing smell wafted over. My mouth watered. We finally made it to the food district. Many venders lined the road shouting. I bought anything I could get my hands on.
William looked at me in disgust, "How can you eat so much? Where does it go?"
"Hey. I thought we went over this. It isn't nice to make fun of a girl's weight."
I noticed a shabby looking store with the word dessert in the window. I pointed, "Let's go there!"
William looked at it uncertain, "It's a bit... Old looking."
I smiled, "Those are always the best kind. If it's old, it must have been here a while. So it must be good if it lasted that long."
"If it was so good, then why couldn't they afford to repair it?"
"Oh shut up. Let's go."
I grabbed him and dragged him inside. We walked inside and a bell chimed. An old woman poked her head out.
I smiled and waved at her, "Auntie! Four people please!"
She nodded, "Yah yah. Sit."
I sat at an empty table and she brought us out a menu. I didn't recognize any names. I smiled at her, "I will take anything tasty."
The other three nodded in agreement. The old woman shrugged and went into the kitchen. William sat shifting in his chair awkwardly.
The woman came back out with bowls of strange liquid. She gave us each a spoon. I grabbed one first and took a scoop. The rest of the group waited to see my reaction. A sweet taste filled my mouth. It had a jelly like substance hidden in the warm liquid.
I grinned, "It's good!"
The old lady gave a toothless grin, "You like? Eat!"
The other three tried it. Millie smiled, "It's not bad!"
William grimaced, "It's very sweet."
Dante spoke, "Try this one. It's bitter."
I looked at the old lady, "Auntie, do you also do snow cones?"
She looked at me in confusion, "I never heard of this."
"Wait right here."
I ran outside with a bowl and collected some fresh snow. I came back in and dumped a bowl of liquid on it. I offered it out to everyone. They all hesitantly took a bite.
The old woman's eyes raised, "Good."
I smiled, "Isn't it? You can dump any syrup on it too."
William looked concerned, "But is snow safe to eat?"
"If it's fresh then it's good."
I looked at the old woman, "Ah! Auntie can you tell me about your town?"
She smiled, "We are simple people. If not for Kingdom, our village would have perished. At first, we hated change. But we started getting good when visitors came."
I smiled, "Happy to hear that. Are there any nice sight seeing spots?"
"Yes. Behind the lodge where you stay, there is a hot springs in the trees. Many legends say there was a couple who could never wed and would meet there. The man was caught and killed in front of his lover. She would go to the spot and cry every day. Her tears formed the hot springs that is there today. They say if a couple takes a dip in that hot spring then they will have a long and happy life together."
I smiled, "Aww. How romantic. Auntie, have you been there?"
She gave another toothless grin, "With my husband. We shared a long and happy life."
After we finished chatting we said goodbye to the old woman and left to go meet up with our group.
William shrugged, "I guess it wasn't that bad."
I smiled, "I told you. You need to have more faith in me."