The pyre at the center of the square erupted in a blazing flame, it was prepared with careful measure to ensure that the entire thing would explode with light from the second a spark hit it.
The ember glow of the bonfire left all the smaller flames seemingly dull in comparison, and with its birth, the people put Sean's speech aside as they made room for the girls who had come of age.
At the doors of 'The Thirsty Tooth Inn' the first of the girls came out wearing a lovely dress and her hair was tied into a braid, her lips were curled into an embarrassed smile as she walked through the crowd and came to a stop before the bonfire.
Then with succession, the girls who had come of age started to pour out of the various homes that stood on the square.
"Oh, Millie and Cassandra are together," Alec whistled as they came out of the homes and shot both Kai and Uriel a grin.
Alec had the face of a troublemaker so even at times when he was innocent he always looked like he was guilty, but whenever he was planning something mischievous his face's natural disposition would get an instant elevation.
"Would ya cut it out?" Kai complained and gave him a look, "If ya go anywhere near my sister me' mother has promised to crush your 'thing' on my father's anvil," he said.
Kai was one of three children, with him being the youngest and Millie being in the middle, his father was Jack the blacksmith, and due to Alec's frequent attempts of trying to steal kisses from the village girls he was in hot water with every mother in Old Meadow.
"And stop teasing Uriel, ya know that he's going to marry Cassandra next year," said Kai as he gave Uriel a reassuring glance.
Uriel couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as he looked at the towering Kai, he took after his father when it came to size, there was almost no doubt in anyone's mind that he would be just as big as Jack, and he had the bulging muscles that could only be forged through hammering iron day and night.
But despite his size, Kai was very soft in words and had a kindly smile.
"Fine, Fine," Alec chuckled as he hung his arms around the necks of Kai and Uriel, "I'll leave Cassandra alone," he sighed as if it was a big effort on his part and gave Uriel a wink.
"So, in exchange why don't the two of ya do me a favor?" he asked flashing them a grin.
Uriel had a bad feeling but since Alec agreed to forget about Cassandra he nodded.
"I need ya to keep Kai's mom distracted when I go to make Millie mine," he said giving them a wink.
"Did you not hear what Kai just said?" Uriel asked and glanced around, the scariest woman in the village was without a doubt Kia's mom, some would argue that she was even scarier than Jack.
"Are you trying to get us killed along with you?" Kai muttered in a hushed whisper, his eyes darting around to make sure that his mother wasn't anywhere close.
"Come on me young lads, it's me wedding night and it's just got to be Millie," he said glancing over to the girls.
About twenty girls in all were gathered around the bonfire all wearing their most beautiful dresses, as their shadows extended away from the bonfire they raised their bare feet and stamped down on the ground then they started to dance in synchrony, becoming the absolute centre of attention.
Their dresses were like water moving gracefully with every delicate motion of the girls, as the minutes passed by they started to sing one of the songs of Cair-Andriel.
... 🎶
We gather 'round fires high
For the hour of Cair-Andriel is nigh
We sing and dance
Under the starry light
We sing to the fates
That brought us to this night
We give thanks for their blessings
And guiding light
We share our stories and our dreams
Through the depths of the night
We laugh and rejoice
To see our families grow
We honor our ways
Of ancestors old who came before
We cherish our bonds
And our hopes forevermore
We gather 'round the fires high
For the hour of Cair-Andriel is nigh
We sing and dance
Under the starry light
Till the fires burn naught bright
... 🎶
The sound of the girl's voices parted the night, bringing a beautiful melody that added to the beauty of their graceful dance.
The light of the flames danced upon their dresses and their glistening skin only made them appear ever more enticing.
None stood more transfixed than the boys who would be taking one of the girls as their wives.
Uriel could feel his blood rushing in his head as he watched the joyous smile on Cassandra's face as she moved her body in a tandem dance with her shadow, and each time she glanced at him with those emerald green eyes he felt like his heart would burst out of his chest.
And a pang of jealousy coursed through him when he noticed that there were other boys staring at her as well.
As the girls danced they repeated the song, this time the villagers started to sing along.
"Alright lads so here's the plan," said Alec pulling Kai and Uriel close and started to whisper to them.
Uriel's eyes widened for a second and he looked at Alec with a look of incredulity, "Can you even sing?" he asked doubtfully after hearing Alec's plan.
"Relax I've been practicing," Alec replied in a tone that wasn't all too convincing.
"Ghastly nudgers, me' mom is gonna whip me' ass," Kai murmured as he put on his game face.
"You're not really going to help him with this?" Uriel asked it was sure to end up with the three of them getting their butts beaten blue.
Kai shrugged with a saddened look and whispered in his ear, "I promised me' sister that I'd get her some time with Alec,"
Uriel looked at Alec with exasperation, "Why is it that every time you want to do something, you make us part of your act?" he asked.
It was the case all the time, Alec would have some grand plan and he would always call them to help enact it, and it pretty much always ended up with them getting into trouble.
"Come on Uriel, I'm a friend in need, ya can't seriously be thinking of turning me down can ya?" Alec asked with large sad eyes.
Uriel found himself fighting an internal battle as it was impossible for him to turn down a person in need, even more so if it was a friend.
"I promised your dad that I'd keep you out of trouble," Uriel muttered through gritted teeth.
Oddly his refusal made Alec smile at him, "And how can helping ye dear friend get a lovely bride be anything close to trouble, it's such a noble deed?" he said in a cunning voice.
Uriel froze as he made a silent apology to Mr. Marsh and prayed that his mother would be lenient on his rear end the next day.
The party of three pushed to the front of the crowd wearing nervous expressions as they came to the very front of the ring.
Alec looked around with a nervous expression and grabbed a tankard of juice before jumping up until he was just a few feet away from the girls.
His appearance immediately caught the attention of pretty much everyone since no one was supposed to approach the girls until they were done with their performance.
"Crap we are so dead after tonight," Uriel muttered as he dragged his feet with his hands, the nervousness of the situation made his legs feel like jelly.
"Beautiful singing and dancing girls," Alec applauded giving the girls a nervous wink and snapping around to face the villagers with his mischievous smile.
"Ya'all the most stunning women to have ever come from our little village, which is why me and the lads have put together a little song, so ya'all can take a short breather," he chuckled and his mischievous smile was clear for all to see.
Uriel paused and looked at Kai in confusion, "That wasn't part of the plan," he muttered with widened eyes.
They were purely on lookout and distraction duty, there was no mention of them singing as well, heck they didn't even know the words, and since it was something that Alec came up with he was sure that it was going to sound terrible.
"ALEC BLOODY MARSH!" a cold shout cut across the crackling flame of the bonfire, "If you so much as step one foot in the direction of my daughter…" a pudgy looking middle aged woman started to shout.
Uriel gulped on his saliva as he looked at Mrs. Perry, "Tag you go first," he patted Kai on the shoulder and pushed him in the direction of his mother.
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