"Hear ye! Hear ye!" Castele's town crier called from the streets. "King Erik has requested the ear of any who will listen! Gather in front of Castele Castle, and await His Majesty's address!"

A young man approached the crier. "What's this about?"

The crier shrugged. "Not the slightest clue; I'm just supposed to tell people to go to the castle."

"Must be an easy Life."

"Yeah, but I have to drink lots of water afterward. Anyhow, the king's waiting."

The two of them, along with a sea of other villagers, flocked to the front of the looming fortress. True to form, King Erik awaited on a high balcony, invisibly elevated behind the guard rail by a tall stool to gaze on the masses below him. At his side stood Olivia, the queen, and on the other was their daughter, Princess Laura. He cleared his throat, ceasing the crowd's inquisitive chatter. "Good morning!" he greeted. "It has come to my attention that you, my subjects, have grown afraid, restless, and generally unhappy. In light of this, I propose a festival to do away with these feelings and restore happiness to the people."

"Come on, Daddy," Laura said, "you know this was my idea."

Erik smiled at his daughter. "You're absolutely right."

Several days prior, King Erik had sat rubbing his temples, the court finally clear of complaining commoners, when his wife and daugther approached him asking what was the matter. With a sigh, he'd answered that he was tired of the distress his people were suffering through and, thus, the distress he was being made to suffer through. It was then that Laura devised a celebration to keep spirits up. When asked what they would be celebrating, she simply said, "Each other."

Celebrating each other. A novel idea if King Erik had ever heard one. So, for the next few days, the two of them planned the whole thing out: a three-day-long festival of food, fun, and togetherness. But then the name... They couldn't think of a name! Four hours they spent brainstorming until they looked at the cluster of bright green and vivid red outside Laura's window. As good a name as any, they supposed.

"Citizens of Castele," Erik called in the present, "I hereby declare the Holly Days celebration begun!" Laura handed him the list of activities, even though he'd taken the time to memorize them. "For the next three days, we will celebrate the joys of being together with friends, loved ones, and the like, starting with..." he glanced at the list to confirm his thought, "...Spread the Love Day!" When he saw only the confused scratching of heads, he decided to elaborate, "It's very simple. On this first Holly Day, simply be with the person you love most. Then, at the end of today, give them a Castele Bloom as a sign of affection. The day ends at sundown. That is all."

He stepped down from his stool as the crowd departed. "Phew!" he breathed, wiping his brow. "I didn't think they'd go for it, to be honest."

"You're the king," Olivia reminded him. "Your word is law. And besides, I think this is a wonderful idea."

"Oh, I couldn't take credit for Laura's idea, could I?" He turned to look at the princess in question, only to find she was gone. "Wh-Wha?!" Erik sputtered. "She's already gone?"

"I think that's a new record for her."

"There's no stopping that girl. Honestly!" He sighed. Straightening his crown, he turned back to his queen. "Well, what are we to do?"

/-/

Shortly after her father's announcement, Laura had speedily changed out of her dress and into her disguise/adventure clothes and was out the secret exit in no time. She had insisted that Spread the Love Day come first, of course, in order to wander the streets. If she happened to run into her favorite jack-of-all-trades artisan in doing so, that was a well-thought-out bonus. And, at this particular time of day, she knew he'd be in this area of the kingdom gathering supplies - ores, wood, cotton, and such. The familiar creak of a falling tree nearby confirmed this.

She closed on the sound of an axe at work, hacking the fresh oak into usable logs. "If a tree falls in the forest, and no-one's around to hear it," Laura asked, catching her adventuring friend's attention, "wood it make a sound?"

Hiro snickered. Good, that meant he wasn't completely out of it today. "I guess you missed my father's big declaration?"

He raised an eyebrow, bringing his finger up and crooking the digit twice. 'Huh?'

"Since the people are afraid of what's been going on, Father and I have come up with a festival to celebrate being with one another. We call it 'Holly Days,' and it lasts for three days."

'When does it start?'

Laura looked up at the sky. "Oh... Two minutes ago now."

The mute chuckled, digging his handmade pine axe into the log. 'Okay, how do we do this?'

"Well today is Spread the Love Day, where everyone spends the day with the person they love the most."

His cheeks flushed. 'That's supposed to be me?' He asked, trying to play it off.

"I don't know. Is it?"

The young man's hands couldn't articulate his thoughts, so he just crouched down with his hat over his eyes. Laura laughed. "Here, get up." She offered her hand. "It's not like it's a date, you little stud."

With shaky hands, Hiro looked up at her. 'I-I don't know h-how to t-talk to you!'

"Look," she said, pulling him up, "just pretend this is any normal day. We're two friends hanging out, maybe going to the East Grassy Plains for a picnic."

'That...' He took a breath. 'That actually sounds nice.'

/-some time later-/

'So does work just get cancelled for this festival, or is it going to be complete chaos?'

Laura scratched her cheek. "We're working out the kinks on that. For now, work is cancelled at the discretion of the shops."

'Ah.'

"Anyhow, at sundown today, which is..." she looked at the horizon, "...now, apparently, we're supposed to give the person we chose a Castele Bloom - sort of a sign that we care about them."

'...One second.' Hiro began to root through his unbelievably spacious travel pack, pulling out a bundle of the four-petaled yellow flowers. 'I find these all over the place. Flamel says they're for Alchemy, but I haven't used them for anything yet.' He pulled one from the bouquet, returning the rest to the sack. He handed the flower over. 'This was probably supposed to mean more, huh?'

"I guess it was," she grinned. "It's nice anyway, though. Thank you." She gingerly placed the Castele Bloom on the blanket and removed her hat, taking the identical flower out of the headpiece. "And for you."

'Thank you kindly.' Reaching for it, his fingers brushed hers. Both their faces took subtle red hues as they actively avoided eye contact. After placing it in the bag, he drummed his fingers on the covering. 'It's getting kind of late,' he noted.

She nodded. "It is."

They both stood, cleaning up their things. 'I left my axe in the woods,' he said sheepishly. 'If you're going to use the secret ladder, I'm heading that way anyway.'

Laura waved the thought aside. "Total coincidence." She finished tying the mantle onto her friend's luggage. "Shall we?"

'Let's.'

/-/

Heyho, Flamel, and Vulcan stood dressed in their best clothes before the king. None of them could decide who they'd spend the day with, save Heyho having spent it with his daughter, so they decided to treat the day as any other. But, obviously, it was shaping up to be anything but. "Gentlemen," King Erik addressed them, "Do you know why you're here?" The three of them looked at each other before shaking their heads. "You're here because I have a very important task regarding the Holly Days, if you're up to it."