Welcome back, good Reader. Then again, maybe you didn't leave at all, and I would be flattered if that was the case. Well, always a pleasure to have you here, and I hope you like festivals because the story will continue in a time for celebration. However, we're missing a certain pair, the ones with the power to lead the nation. Let us continue with the story, good Reader.

On one of the many streets in the city, there's a wonderful carriage with the most beautiful design. Starting with the rim and spokes made of gold, showing the wealth of its owner. The wheel is built from steel because it could endure rough terrain, even though they're on a paved road. The actual carriage was built from the strongest and finest wood that the kingdom of man could offer. If it was made of metal, it would be so heavy that it would require more than two horses to pull. It was colored in red and blue, but it was also decorated with valuable metals on the edges. For occasions when night falls, it also had lanterns in front and back, which serve as nothing more than an ornament at the moment. The inside is just as luxurious as the outside, with upholstered seats for better comfort, curtains on the windows in case they need privacy, and beautiful embroidery on the interior. It would be obvious to any citizen, that the carriage belongs to the royal family, the king and princess of Stormbridge.

They're headed to the festival, and the young girl's eagerness is hard to miss. Her entire body is letting everyone know that she's ready to have fun at their destination.

“I can't wait for the festival! I've read that they have jesters, games, food, and all sorts of great things to experience,” says Dorothy with tremendous excitement. The king is worried that his daughter might run out of the carriage the moment they get there, but it does bring a smile on his face to her this happy.

“I know you're eager, but remember that you promised to follow my instructions and remain close at all times,” Frederick reminds his little girl, and it seems to calm her just a bit.

“Don't worry, I remember,” that managed to calm down the princess. “I'm just thrilled to be out of the castle.”

“If you think this is thrilling, then you haven't seen anything yet.”

Moving away from the royal family, we go back to Ava's group, who are walking around to see what to do next. They've seen acrobatics, laughed at the jokester, and played many games, like a little game of archery. Quite surprising that little Wendy had amazing skills with a bow, and David's time at the forge gave him enough strength to throw hammers very far. While looking around, they were enjoying a bit of food, from chicken legs, to simple apples. Ava stops walking and hears a ruckus behind them, which causes our hero to look back.

“What's going on?” asks Ava. Not waiting for a response, she finds some crates nearby, climbs them to the top, and looks over the crowds of people. A carriage was visible in the distance, and the reason people knew that it belonged to someone important, was because the sunlight would reflect on the golden ornaments.

“Hey, what do you see?” someone asks behind Ava. She turns around, looks down, and sees the rest of her group. They noticed that she walked away, so the rest of the group followed her out of curiosity.

“I think the royal family is paying a visit.” Ava gets down from the crates by jumping and landing next to the group.

“I wonder if they came for the festival,” says David while rubbing his chin in thought.

“I don't see why not, even they deserve some fun every once in a while,” responds Wendy.

“They're royalty, they don't need to come all the way here just for that,” argues Ava.

“Maybe they ran out of stuff to do in the castle,” says David.

“Probably,” agrees Wendy.

“Why don't we ask them?” asks Harold, while he continues to eat a chicken's leg. The older children fall silent and stare at the youngest for a moment before they look at each other. Harold looks at them in confusion, not knowing that they're wondering how to break the news to him. Wendy puts a hand on his little brother's shoulder, gives him a sad smile, and looks at him in the eye.

“I'm afraid that it won't be possible,” answers Wendy.

“We're peasants, they're more likely to ignore us than giving us a single moment of their time,” says Ava out of experiences and observations.

“Then again, this might be our only chance to finally see them,” argues David and it makes Ava think about it. None of them have ever seen the royal family, and didn't care much about it, but their curiosity is getting to them.

“It would be nice to finally put a face on whoever is ruling the kingdom.” Ava shrugs both shoulders while coming to the decision.

With all said and done, they all start walking through the crowds of people who have come to the same choice as the children. The youngest of the group follow the oldest because Ava and David know their way through this kind of multitude. They manage to reach the center of the square, where a wooden platform was lifted, and the children start to wonder how they missed that. It had a blue tent with red curtains, banners of the royal family were hanging on the posts, and two thrones standing in the middle. Both the king and princess were already on their seats, looking over the festival, and waiting to see what sort of entertainment they're going to enjoy. Some of their subjects are thrilled, others are charmed, but all are delighted to see their beloved king and the precious princess. It shouldn't come as a surprise, but the same cannot be said about Ava's group. To say that they were disappointed would be an overstatement, but disillusioned is more accurate.

“I'll be honest, I was ready to see a blob of pure fat and its ugly spawn, but this is not what I expected,” says Ava.

“I have to say that the king is pretty handsome,” adds Wendy.

“And the princess is quite cute,” says David as he pays close attention to the young lady.

“Looks can be deceiving,” argues Ava. It would take more than a pretty face for her to trust a noble.

“Well, Wendy is also cute, and she's nice,” argues Harold and hugs his older sister around the waist.

“I totally agree with you on that.” David puts an arm around Wendy's shoulders.

“Not arguing against that,” says Ava while patting Wendy's head.

“You're gonna make me blush,” says Wendy as her face turns a shade of red and puts a hand on her cheek in a poor attempt to hide it.

I'll stop it here, I don't want to ruin the adorable moment between this little group of children. However, I should warn you that this kind of moments are going to be very rare for a while. Then again, you might be the kind who gets quickly bored of this situations and would prefer something more thrilling. Well, it is unfortunate that you'll have to wait for the next part of our story, but take I suggest you take it as an opportunity to rest, or maybe do an important errand.

Until next time, good Reader.