Chapter 157: Hear those Bells?

“Attention, everyone!” A Bultrong woman on a raised platform nearby cried. “Clear the square! Preparations for the festival are underway! Clear the square! Merchants are to move to the Silver District as decreed in prior notices! Clear the square!”

“Damn, big festival if they’re moving the entire market,” Ann whistled, snagging an apple and flicking a coin to the vendor, who tipped his hat to her. “How much did I get myself into here, Bren?”

“Oh, you know, only the largest festival we have aside from the harvest festival. I would say you chose your reveal incredibly well.”

“Does every city have one of these?”

“Indeed. Indelholm, Thalten, Korvas and even Graven Keep celebrate the Everfrost Festival. A beautiful, if harsh, time of the year where community is more important than ever.”

“Thank the Gods it’s not always frost in ‘ere,” Kat said, stretching. “Freeze the tips o’ me ears off.”

“You weren’t complaining about the cold the other night,” Rosalyn teased.

“Cause I had plenty tae keep me warm. What about yer people, Lucia? How do they celebrate?”

“Large fire. Dancing, singing, food. Usually hunt if game around. If not, competition. Have competition anyway. Targets, strength, agility, arts. Is good time.”

“Wouldn’t have thought they’d go for arts,” Ann said, taking a large bite out of the apple. It still surprised her sometimes how large her mouth was, now that she didn’t have her old weak chin. “I mean, I guess they’ve got the totems, but still.”

“Do. Can’t all hunt. Too noisy. Some stay, do work in tribe. Extra time, idle hands, art.”

“Guessing it’s less divided than early humanity?” Ann asked. Bren gave her a look like she’d punched him, giving out information without his journal at the ready. “What? Dude, I can’t warn you every time something comes to mind. Anyway, old hunter-gatherer tribes used to be mostly divided between men for hunting and women for gathering.”

“No,” Lucia confirmed. “Paths make difference minimal. Strong path? You hunt. Other path taken? Do your best.”

“Fair, I guess,” Ann shrugged.

“I loathe how casually that information was divulged,” Bren groaned.

“Ah get over it, ye bookworm,” Kat laughed. “We’ve got bigger game tae skin today. Think Rowena’s ready fer us?”

“She better be,” Ann grumbled. “Not like I’ve had too much of a hand in all these preparations. Every time I send a runner to check, she just tells me that she has it, along with increasingly… devout language. Maybe she’s getting better?”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Bren sighed. “From what I have picked up, you three have left a serious mark on her. Word is she is more devout than ever, for better or worse.”

“I just really hope I’m not pushing her into blasphemy for venerating me so much when she’s Orenous’.”

“Eh, with a cock like yers, who can blame ‘er?” Kat shrugged. “At least the pet priestess minds her manners in public. Not like I’d let ‘er put a hand on ye.”

“Ever the overprotection,” Ann said, patting her girlfriend’s shoulder. “If she does, we might get to punish her again. I know you enjoyed that.”

“Speaking of punishment, we must quicken our pace lest we be late,” Bren urged. “The missive I received indicated this was the only window she had to meet for the next few days.”

They set off at a jog. Before long, the white marble halls of the Temple of Orenous surrounded them. Beautiful people in white togas bustled to and fro, carrying crates, decorations, all manner of objects. The business had Ann worried that sermons might be neglected, but as they entered and made their way through, she saw congregations were being held as normal.

“So many people,” Rosalyn whimpered.

“Sorry, love,” Kat said, holding the woman’s hand. “All the temples get real busy this time o’ year. Everyone except Nylir decorates their place for the festival.”

“Man, I want to see them when they’re done,” Ann said, feeling giddy. It was like her first Christmas again. New celebrations and fun to be had. “Gotta take a swing through here when we get a chance.”

“Aye. The Temple District is one o’ the bigger hubs fer festivities.”

“In no small part because of their wealth and open doors to all,” Bren affirmed. “Many citizens from the outer towns and cities make their way here to visit, since farms are barren. Truly one of the busiest times for any of our major cities.”

“Well, I miss being stuck in the house with a drift of snow and no one for miles,” Rosalyn said flatly. “Good pot of coffee, a nice book, and quiet. That’s my Everfrost.”

“Not this year, I’m afraid,” Ann said, squeezing Rosalyn’s other hand. “You’ll be fine.”

“Just… don’t leave me alone.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Ah! Your Holiness!” a familiar voice shouted over the din. “Right this way!”

Ann spotted Rowena waving at them over the heads of the bustling clergy. Taking the lead, she followed the woman into a side room, Lucia closing the door behind them. Rowena’s green skin was absolutely glowing as she turned to address them, hands spread wide. The Thrundol was looking tired, but excited at the same time. Ann still saw that hint of desperation she’d gotten used to in those yellow eyes, but disregarded it.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” Rowena said, bowing. “Apologies for the bustle, but preparations for both your announcement and the festival have set us at a furious pace here. The copulation halls have been almost empty for a week now. Not much time for celebrating our bodies, I’m afraid, though I’m sure some of the priestesses assigned to cleaning duty are more than thankful.”

“Didn’t want to think about that,” Ann groaned. “Also, shouldn’t we be thanking you for making time for us? You seem like you’re the busier of all of us.”

“I would make time for you whenever you call,” Rowena said, tusks dipping low as she bowed. “Your word is only below my Lady’s in import. Now, an update on proceedings. The stage and stands are well underway and will be set up within the next two days. We will save heraldry and more sensitive decorations for the day of. Auxiliary arrangements have been organised to provide refreshments at cost for attendees, local vendors, the like. Colours are going to be purple, for our Lady, blue and white, for the Everfrost. As you requested, we have standing room for the common folk laid out in front of the stage, as well as elevated booths skirting the area for nobility. There was some consternation at the lack of priority, but I was able to argue them down. Perks of authority, I must say.”

Ann took a moment, trying to process the sudden deluge of information. It sounded good to her, but she still had to filter everything through a renaissance fair in her head to get a solid picture. “Nice to see you too, are you doing alright? You look exhausted."

“Nothing of the sort. I admittedly haven’t slept much, but with so much to do I haven’t the time.”

“Nap,” Ann said flatly, glaring at the Mother Superior. “Regularly. Sleep if you can.”

Rowena wilted, her energy disappearing in a flash, and she sagged in her robes. “I know, Holiness. I will do as you say.”

“Good,” Ann nodded. The urge to call her good girl at that moment was strong, but she resisted. “So, that all sounds good to me. How’s the whole process going to go?”

“You have your speech prepared, yes?”

“Still working on a few bits, but it’s almost there,” Ann nodded. “Bren’s helping.”

“Wonderful. So, we will begin things with the royal family, specifically Orlana and Kremdol making an announcement of your engagement with Katlyn.”

Everyone in the room started. A chorus of confusion filled the chamber.

“Sorry, lack of sleep is addling my thoughts. Announcing your relationship,” Rowena corrected herself. “While the nobility is well aware, the common folk might not be, and that is something to be announced. It’s mostly to ensure no one confuses your right to claim authority when announcing yourself. Anyway, once that is done, I will take the stage along with the High Priest of Illdall to make announcements, which will lead into your speech. From there, we have the plan of the Queen and King standing beside you to lend credence to this, before we all retreat. Places are fairly easy, but we can go over that.”

“Huh, lots of having people speak for me,” Ann mumbled, thinking. “You sure that’ll get the message across? That Orenous has chosen me, and I’m important to things?”

“Your words, along with the presence and support of the temples and crown, will provide the necessary credibility.”

“What if people have questions?”

“I would advise not to turn this into a public forum. You, with all respect, are not prepared for the volume of questions and what possible sensitive topics may be brought up. You are young, and from what you have told me, inexperienced in statecraft. We will be working on that over time.”

“She speaks fairly well when she tries,” Bren pointed out. “The speech itself is a fine piece of oration, though I have my worries about her sticking to it.”

“I’ll do my best,” Ann sighed. “Still think that the more casual approach would be better for talking to more normal people.”

“But they are not your full audience,” Bren reminded her for the millionth time. “Let us not get into this debate again.”

Lucia grunted, nodding. “Can feel frustration. Every time you write.”

“Not the only one,” Rosalyn said. “She’s definitely been on edge these past few nights.”

“I’m not being that rough,” Ann shot back.

“My back says otherwise. Thanks for the healing, Bren.”

“Anytime,” Bren said with a dismissive wave.

“It warms my heart to see you far more comfortable and open with each other than our last meeting,” Rowena beamed. “I will take Lord Hedera’s word on the speech. Now, for the timing. We intend to have this happen the day after the festival begins. Were we to hold it on opening day, the attention of the people would be split. If it was some time before, people would still be making their way into the city for the celebrations and possibly miss such an auspicious proclamation.”

“Aye. We’ll still ‘ave some competition wit’ the festival, but da’s been workin’ tae have our time be cut out from other events. We were aimin’ fer mornin’, yeah?”

“Correct,” Rowena nodded. “One and a half bells before midday. We will begin filling the area an hour before then, and have everyone settled before the time. This gives everyone time to wake up, get there if interested, and leave before the usual time for luncheons and other events.”

“Smart,” Ann nodded. “Don’t want to have it after lunch, and have everyone be a bit sleepy with food in their bellies.”

“That would not do for your Holiness,” Rowena shook her head. “I would have all eyes on you. So, your speech. How are you planning to address the people?”

“Well, honesty always seems right for me,” Ann started. “I’ll start with introductions. Who I am, what I do. There’s really no good way to segue into the main event, so I’ll just move into saying who I am, that Orenous has chosen me, and that because of certain circumstances I can change how I look. I’ll show my hair changing colour, which should be enough. My eyes are already going to be golden, so no worries about them falling out in front of people. I don’t want to freak people out more than I already will be. After that, if there’s more unrest than we thought, you might need to corroborate that Orenous says things are fine.”

“Of course,” Rowena nodded. “I can see it being needed. Your skills are of the same power that drives the Warped. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to suspect you.”

“So, once that’s done, and I’m going to change it to the purple that I’ll be running around in when I’m doing official stuff. Once I’ve got it changed to that, I’ll address that I want to be left alone when my fur and hair are the normal grey. If they see purple, they’re free to approach and ask questions. I have a mission, yadda yadda, can’t be available all the time.”

“A good way for the people to know when to interact with someone of your peerage,” Rowena agreed.

“Ugh, you make it sound like I’m all above them,” Ann groaned. “Not what I meant, but that’s fine.”

“But you are, above us, I mean,” Rowena stammered. “I couldn’t see myself above you.”

Ann rolled her eyes, catching the very unsubtle meaning. “From there I’ll establish that I’ll be making visits to the Temple as often as I can, and will speak as a representative of Orenous. Can’t promise a schedule since my primary job is hunting Seeds and figuring out the Warp, but I’ll be available when I can.”

“And when ye’re not tied up wit’ other important things.”

“Or people,” Rosalyn joined the teasing.

“Friends important,” Lucia agreed.

“Life in general is important. You, Annita, have much to experience without being overly tied down by a location,” Bren said.

“Definitely. Wondering how long we’re even going to be in Korvas. Might need to relocate sometime to be closer to Seeds that Orenous and Qu’Sella suspect might be good targets.”

“True. At least we have connections in Illdall. Unfortunately, my contacts in Thalten are few, but we are getting sidetracked,” Bren said, gears in his head spinning.

“Right, so once I say that, I promise that my mission is for the people and I will be doing everything I can to help. Assurances that I will use my strength for the good of everyone, all that fun stuff. I figure we wrap it up with this group standing with me and taking a bow or something?”

“That could work, but I would advise a salute,” Rowena said, gently toying with one of her incredibly polished tusks. “It’s more official and shows allegiance to the crown. Yes, you are with the princess, but symbols and gestures matter. We will have you five up front, then Orlana, Kremdol, myself, and Teddy behind you.”

“Teddy?” Rosalyn asked.

“Theodore. Apologies, I… have a fondness for that nickname. Even though our relationship has long since ended, old habits die hard.”

“That’s cute,” Rosalyn sighed. “A big ol’ teddy bear. Kinda fitting for the Mother Superior.”

Rowena had the decency to blush at the teasing, her eyes growing wistful. “It was a long time ago. Such a strong man, and I, so much younger and limber. We made a wonderful pair. Today is not the day for reminiscing, though. Any further notes? Otherwise, I must return to preparations.”

“No, you will get at least an hour of sleep,” Ann corrected.

Rowena shrank at the command, nodding fervently. “Yes, yes. Apologies, Annita. I will rest.”

“And if you can get more than the one hour, you do that,” Ann continued. “Not allowed to run yourself into the ground on my behalf.”

“You’re too kind, Holiness,” Rowena said, bowing again. “It will be done.”

“Anything else?” Ann asked the rest of the room. When silence greeted her fluffy ears, she continued. “Neat, go rest, Rowena. Thanks for all your hard work.”

“Anything for you,” Rowena said, bowing as she backed out of the room.

“What was that about getting better?” Rosalyn asked.

“Starting to think your joke about a pet priestess wasn’t far off the mark, Kat,” Ann groaned.

“No shite. She worries me.”

“I worry as well,” Bren said. “Someone so proper now reduced to that?”

“Wouldn’t really say reduced,” Ann shrugged. “But holy Goddess is she different.”

“Think we should get her a water bowl?”

“Rosalyn!” Kat gasped, then started cackling.