Seraphim and Ariana giggle as Setheron and Harriette meld into the group both pink in embarrassment and mutual admiration.
Ariana sighs "If only that were me and my true love, but Kiran has two left feet, I wish he didn't have to tend the wall!" Leander glances at Ariana and Seraphim, He locks eyes with Sera and then takes Ariana's hand. "C'mon Ari, let's show them how to spin here, I know Kiran wanted to be here too but we can dance in his absence."
Ariana stepped back but Seraphim's arms blocked her departure. Sera gave an encouraging nod to Leander and he pulled on Ariana's arm and Seraphim pushed her off the step onto the square that the other dancers were occupying. Soon Ariana and Leander were flying about with the rest of them.
Seraphim watched as Harriette and Setheron gained their footing and their administration of the steps became more precise. Ariana and Leander laughed and smiled at them both and at Seraphim when they came about as the dancers bobbed and wove like the tapestry behind Seraphim. Leon had taken a break and had grabbed Leander's youngest sister Tovalyn, she was a happy child of three, spinning with Daddy in the merriment. He swooped her up and placed her on his shoulders. Her little ponytail bounced as he moved about with the beat of the music, her smiling broadly atop his shoulders.
Seraphim saw an older couple, both octogenarians, moving to the music, a little slower and cautious but you could see the brightest joy in them as they reminisced about Luminalis' past. Seraphim knew the couple as Leanders' great grandparents, Terran and Sophia. They had been married under a firebird ceremony sixty-five years earlier. So this was an especially joyful festival night for them both.
As they stopped weaving and bobbing together the older couple asked all the littlest members to come to them, soon a swath of fifteen to thirty children were making their way to them. Terran asked the musicians to take a break and he looked lovingly at Sophia.
"Children this is my true love, Sophia, she is kind and loving and brave, and her precious presence has always brought me great joy. We are celebrating our sixty-fifth year this year together. And I want you to each know what a joy it is to find love and keep it for a lifetime. May you each find your own deep true love and may you each have long life and health!" With that the musicians started to play with the appreciation of the crowd as the older couple walked on into the square holding hands.
Seraphim went back to watching the dancing as Leander and Ariana came back to rest. Searching the throng of people Sera at once realized that Setheron and Harriette had disappeared.
"I will see you later, Rie-Rie is gone, and I need to find her." Seraphim starts making her way through the crowd of dancers and comes into the throng of others at the square, she catches glimpses of the colors that Harriette is wearing but it is not enough teal and purple to be her. As she continued she noticed an alleyway and darted down it and came out between two stalls. She then spies Harriette, but as soon as she makes her way to her, Harriette is bound away with Setheron in tow.
Harriette and Setheron darted and wove through the bustling square, both now engaged in a spirited game of tag. Harriette's laughter rang out as she sprinted between stalls, her agility allowing her to slip through narrow gaps. Setheron followed close behind, his determination clear despite the apparent obstacles.
"I've got you!" Setheron called out triumphantly, reaching Harriette, but as he went to place a hand on her shoulder, she dodged just like when she was at training. She had anticipated his hand and ducked immediately out of the way. " Not quite! " She smiled and a snicker issued from her lips. And she darted ahead of several more festival goers and pushed through a set of low hanging pennants.
Seraphim stood still at the edge of the square, sweeping the crowd with her gaze, her face awash with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. Harriette and she were being presented at the festival. And there wasn't much time to waste before the presentation. She scanned the crowd again and was finally rewarded, her sister's auburn hair bobbing through the throng, and the tail of her scarf flying behind her, and Seraphim sighed to herself. " That girl! Is going to give me grey hair!"
Sera called out to Harriette, "Rie! We need to get to the stage and get ready!"
Harriette, oblivious to her plaintive call, sprang away with a leap and a bound, as Setheron also continued after her. Seraphim also hurried after her, her quickened pace helped as she wove through the crowd with determination. Abruptly she had the realization that if they kept going she might be able to corner her and they would both be at center stage momentarily. But she wanted to walk with her, and not with Setheron.
"Rie!!" Slow down and wait for me!" Seraphim called out, trying to keep her voice steady and not shrieking at the top of her lungs. Setheron had finally reached Harriette and was pulling her into an embrace.
Seraphim averted her eyes not wanting to disturb them as it was likely Harriette's true first kiss.
Seraphim's pulse quickened, her breath catching in her throat as she desperately scanned the street. Harriette and Setheron were just ahead, their figures barely visible in the dimming light. Panic surged through her as they seemed to vanish into thin air. No, not now.
She raced toward where they had been, her heart pounding with each step. The alleyway loomed ahead, the same one Harriette had disappeared down earlier. Rumors of the Fallen being captured had plagued her thoughts for weeks—stories of rebels taken in the night, of those who tried to escape but never made it past the Garden walls. Her fear clung to her, heavy and suffocating. She couldn't let Harriette be one of them. Not her.
Setheron's shadowy figure slipped through the alley like smoke, moving too fast for Seraphim to keep up. She set herself into a full sprint, her legs burning as she forced herself forward, her chest tight with desperation. The walls of the alley seemed to close in around her, and every echo of her footsteps felt like a reminder that she was too far behind.
I have to catch her. I have to stop this.
At the end of the alley, a stall selling scarves and banners flapped softly in the evening breeze, colors swirling in the fading light. Seraphim's mind barely registered it as she rounded the corner, pushing herself harder than she had in years. And then—she collided with something solid, a wall of muscle and strength that knocked the breath from her lungs.