Elysia spent three days in Graymoore moving from one inn to another, she was currently staying in a small inn owned by a young woman. It was the smallest of the three inns she had stayed in, yet the most comfortable, it was away from the noisy town and the young woman who was also the innkeeper was very friendly.
It was currently a few minutes past noon and Elysia had just finished eating a very hearty meal.
"Marion, the yearly festival is starting tomorrow. I would like to visit the market and get a few things." The young woman, Cassidy announced taking a seat beside Elysia.
"That is wonderful." Elysia replied with a smile, her hands resting on her lap.
"I know, but I would have loved for you to stay in Graymoore just for a few days so you would be able to experience the festival of light. It is a beautiful thing, Marion." Cassidy said with a smile, her fingers playing with the loose strands of her hair that escaped her scarf.
"I really wish I could stay, but I cannot. I must leave as soon as possible," Elysia replied, she didn't wait to give much information to the woman. Elysia did plan to leave Graymoore to another town during the festival, in case the palace guards had found out about her stay in the town. A busy day with activities would allow her blend in with the crowd and grant her an easy escape.
Cassidy let out a sigh, "I understand dear, I will not push further, but I want you to come to the market with me, then you can come back to rest and prepare for your journey tomorrow morning."
Elysia opened her mouth to disagree, but the young woman had no plans on giving up on her request, leaving Elysia no choice but to agree to her.
"Thank you, Marion. Just wait here, I will get my purse and we will leave." Cassidy said before walking away in a hurry like an excited child.
Thankfully, Elysia still had her cloak on, the hood securely covering her head. She decided she might as well buy a scarf to wrap around her hair in case the hood accidentally slipped off.
"I am back, let us leave." Cassidy shouted in excitement, the women took the carriage to the market sitting next to each other.
After a few minutes ride, they climbed down the carriage and were greeted with the beauty of the market. All the houses alongside the street were decorated with white flowers and cloths. The market was filled with people, from elderly to young and even children who enjoyed running around playing games.
"Tell me, Cassidy, what is this festival of light about?" Elysia questioned, walking arm in arm with the young woman who was a bit taller than her.
"It is a celebration of the goddess guiding light, for the goddess protection and guidance on us all. For three days, we have a series of activities that will be done by the people, tomorrow candles will be lit everywhere, from the houses to the roads, pretty much around the town. The day after that, everyone will host a dinner at their house which every other person in this town will be invited to. So, I can go to a random person's house and join them for dinner. It is all going to be fun, with lot of foods and bonding."
Cassidy continued, "The last day will be the final day of the festival, everyone will be dressed in white and will be spending the day beside the town's river where before midnight lanterns will be released light up the sky. We would offer prayers for ourselves, family and dead ones."
That was quite a lot of things to do, Elysia thought as she listened to Cassidy talk. This was the first time she was hearing of the festival of light in Valeria, she wondered if the King-- a sigh escaped her lips, she had lost count of the number of times she thought about the King, she needed to stop thinking about him if she wanted to properly move on.
"That is indeed wonderful." Elysia replied, a smile on her face.
"Yes it is, I look forward to it every year, it gets me excited, like I am a child." She giggled at her words. "Hair pins! I need those." Cassidy said suddenly, pulling along Elysia towards to stall which sold hair accessories.
"Good afternoon beautiful ladies, I have the newest designs of hair accessories in Valeria, the best and rarest of its kind." The stall owner called out to them.
"They all say the same thing." Cassidy rolled her eyes, whispering to Elysia who chuckled lightly. "Good afternoon mister, I am looking for a hair pin I can wear for the festival, do you have any you would recommend?"
The stall owner's eyes lit up as his hands began to work, laying out different hair pins in front of the ladies. "You have come to the right place, I have only the best for you."
Cassidy picked up the pins one after the other checking them out and fixing it on her hair to see how it looked on her. "What do you think about this one? Does it look appealing?" She turned to Elysia pointing at the pin in her hair.
It was a light blue pin with white pearls attached to the top of it. "I think it is beautiful." Elysia replied.
"Hmm, I think I will try another one." Cassidy pulled the pin out of her hair and placed it back on the table.
Elysia's eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for anything that would catch her fancy. A lavender colored scarf did catch her attention. "Excuse me Cassidy, I need to look at that beautiful scarf."
Cassidy followed the direction of her eyes to the scarf Elysia was staring at, "Dear goodness, that is one beautiful looking scarf. You should ask if they have two of them, I would like one for myself."