"This dress will look darling with your hair, Umi!"
Myne snickered behind her doll. "I don't think any noble says darling , Tuuli." "Well, this is our world, so I say they do," Tuuli defended. Well, couldn't beat that logic. Myne twirled "Umi" around so her scalloped skirt flared out like flower petals. They
were celebrating Umi's promotion as Supervising Blacksmith, and Tulip had put her improved seamstress skills to use by sewing her and her sister new dresses to celebrate. Tuuli—er, Tulip , that is—embellished them with scalloped skirts and slightly puffed sleeves, not unlike Myne's Baptismal dress. But the flower-embroidery Tuuli had sewn on was all her—that is, Tulip's —idea.
Tulip was prancing around in her new dress. Umi wasn't prancing, but that's okay. She just liked seeing her sister show off her skills. "The color matches my hair stunningly well," Umi said, flipping back her straw locks.
"You're exceedingly wel—"
"WATCH IT!"
A loud crash made the girls jump. Their dad rushed over to the window, poking his head outside as he looked below. "You alright down there?" he shouted. The girls quickly squeezed beside him and looked down. Two men were rushing to pick up a barrel. Some white liquid was already forming a puddle beneath it.
"Could you lend a hand?" one of the men shouted back.
"Sure!" Dad ruffled his daughters' heads before rushing out the door. "Be good, you two!"
But Myne's eyes stayed locked on the scene below. The noise hadn't bothered her earlier; the town may be small, but people were always chattering and hawking their wares. But now that she was looking, she realized that today was a ruckus. People were hurrying like ants around a nest, carrying and straightening and shouting at one another.
"Is something happening today?" Myne asked.
Tuuli blinked. "Duh. It's the Spring Festival."
"Wait, there's a festival? I don't remember any festivals last spring!"
"It only happens every other year," Mom explained from where she sat at the table, crocheting flowers to adorn a client's dress. Apparently they're popular around this time. "You were too sick and little to remember the last time we had it. Once a year, the ranchers milk their cows three times in a day and offer the extra milk as a tithe to the nobles. In exchange, the nobles return some of that milk for free so the people can celebrate. It's extra-special when the honeybugs come, because then the vendors mix a little honey into the milk."
Myne cringed at the mention of those bugs. "But if the ranchers milk three times every year, then why do we only celebrate it every other year?" she asked.
Mom paused mid-stitch. "Hmm. I haven't really thought about it before. I suppose it's because we always save up the off-year's milk for cheese and soap and whatnot. That's probably why."
Myne frowned. Not the best explanation, but it'll do. It's not like she could explain why February has 28 (and sometimes 29) days instead of 30 or 31 like every other month other than saying s omething something 'earth's orbit,' something something 'It's just the way it is.' She really should've read more astronomy books...
Her concentration was broken when Tuuli took her hand and beamed. "You'll actually get to see it this year, Myne! We have to go together!"
She smiled. "Only if Tulip and Umi come, too."
l*l*l*l*l*l
The rest of the day was spent in eager anticipation—and not just from their household. Usually the nights were quiet in the narrow streets. Most preferred a simple meal with their families after a hard day at work. But tonight, they could hear the chatter and laughter all the way from their window.
Tuuli was practically bouncing as they got ready to leave. Guess kids in any world love festivals. The frosty chills of spring nights had melted away, and they needed no more than their regular clothes and a scarf to keep warm. Myne's and Lutz's families met up outside to celebrate the festival together. Mom and Lutz's mother chatted with each other, while Dad talked to—well, at —Lutz's dad. Not that Deid seemed to mind. While he didn't smile, he'd grunt when Dad said something particularly interesting, so that was...something.
Lutz pushed through his already squabbling tangle of brothers to find her and Tuuli. "Hey," he said. Then glanced Myne up and down; his eyes caught on Umi hooked around her elbow. "Aren't you a little old for that?"
"No," Tuuli huffed before Myne could say anything.
Lutz bit the inside of his cheek. Probably to keep from grinning. "Right. So, how're you feeling?"
"Ready to go!" Myne said. "Tuuli would be mad if I weren't."
"Very," Tuuli happily agreed. "We're going to get some warm milk. Coming?"
"Sure."
"Are any of your brothers coming?" Tuuli said nonchalantly. Myne gave her a sideways look, smirking to herself.
"Maybe later. Zasha and Zeke have to get into trouble first, and then Ralph has to get them out of it."
"Ah, okay." Tuuli did an admirable job of not sounding disappointed.
The three of them went to a stall and each got a mugful of warm milk, sweetened with honey. Myne hummed in satisfaction. Now if only she could find some chocolate to stir in… The trio walked around for a bit, chatting and enjoying themselves.
Every stand seemed to be serving the same things: honeybugs. Honeybugs smashed into kafkas, honeybugs fried, and honeybugs with, of course, honey. Lutz and Tuuli insisted on buying some. These ones were fried but without any batter, so all of their bugginess was as visible as the disgust on her face.
"You do the weirdest of things all day, but you can't handle a little bug?" Tuuli teased her.
"THAT IS NOT LITTLE! THAT IS A VERY BIG—MMPHF!"
Myne was assaulted by cloying sweetness, and when she bit down reflexively, her teeth cracked into a crispy shell. Lutz gave her a look, sucking the honey off his fingers. When was the last time he'd washed them?
Myne paled, trying to keep her tongue away from the foreign object in her mouth. What were the societal repercussions of barfing in public? ...Or hitting a certain boy? But she managed to bite down. And keep chewing.
The taste... reminded her of caramel popcorn.
If popcorn had wings.
She swallowed, expecting the bolus to scratch her throat on the way down, but the honey smoothed it.
"There. Now was that so bad?" Tuuli chided.
"It wasn't...the worst."
Tuuli rolled her eyes. "You should listen to me once in a while."
"How do you deal with her all day?" asked Lutz.
"I really don't know. Sometimes she's a handful. What about your brothers?" "They are, too, but Ralph and Mom usually keep them in check. And I can headbutt Zeke."
"Lucky. I can't do that to Myne."
"Maybe pinch her?"
Myne frowned, trapped between them. "Guys, I'm right here."
"We know," they chimed together.
Lutz leaned back on the patch of empty grass they found, a bit aways from the festivities, but still near enough that they could hear the din of laughter. The girls followed suit—but as soon as Myne's back touched the grass, she bolted back up.
"What's wrong with the moon?" she screeched.
Tuuli and Lutz gave each other confused looks. Lutz lifted a brow, in a "what now?" gesture. "Nothing…?" Tuuli said.
"But...it's red! " Oh god, was this becoming an apocalypse story?! She never got to Revelations!
"Um...Myne? It's always red in the springtime," Lutz said, as matter-of-factly as saying the moon was, you know, white . "It's bright red at the start of spring, but then pales near the end."
"But... why? "
"Er… something to do with the gods and goddesses, I think. The red moon's supposed to show Flutrane, the Goddess of Water, melting the snow or something."
"But...wouldn't a water goddess have a...blue moon, or something?"
"No…. Why would you think that?"
Because… people usually painted water blue. Back in her world…
Clearly this world was different. Not that she could say that, at least in front of Tuuli. "I don't know," she said, letting her answer trail off. Understanding flashed across Lutz's expression, and he quickly glanced away.
"I remember the Church had these pretty, colored windows showing pictures of the gods. I thought the woman in yellow was the prettiest."
"I think that's the goddess of wind. Schutz...something," Lutz said.
"Schutzaria!" blurted Myne. "She's one of the three sister-goddesses!"
"Yeah… I think her moon is purple or something…" murmured Tuuli. Then she peered at her sister. "How do you know that, Myne?"
"The priest told us at the Baptismal. Didn't he tell you, too?"
"I think so… but I wasn't really listening."
"Why do you think we were staring at the windows?" grumbled Lutz.
"Not you, too!" Myne gaped at him, wondering if this was how Julius Caesar felt right before getting a knife in the ribs.
"What? The man wouldn't stop talking."
She groaned. "Neither of you appreciate good literature… So if the water goddess is red, then what's the god of fire's color?"
"Blue. Something about the warmth of the sky."
She racked her memories for the rest of the story the priest had told them. "And the other gods, they're Wind, Earth, and…"
"Life, I think," added Lutz.
That fits four of the five classical Wuxing elements. Water, fire, earth, and wind—or air—were represented, with wind sometimes substituting metal. She supposed that metal was too uncommon here to have its own element when the average person couldn't afford something as simple as nails . But they were still missing wood… Maybe wood was replaced by life, showing how everything grows and blah blah blah, insert fictional superpowers here.
Well. At least this world wasn't boring. Myne nodded mechanically, slowly laying back down. She grabbed a fried honeybug and gingerly ate it—and tried not to make a face at the stickiness of her fingers; should've asked Lutz to make her a pair of chopsticks.
She paused mid-bite. She hadn't noticed it when they were in the torchlight of the festival, but now she saw that her hand was shaded by the subtle red glow of the moon. It looked like she was seeing the world through special filters. She glanced at Lutz and Tuuli, who were cast in the same glow.
"Hey, look at this!" She stretched her hand out and gestured for the others to do the same. Then waited for the sounds of amazement.
Lutz cocked his head. "Geez, Myne, I forget how pale you are."
"Of course she is," Tuuli interjected. "She spends all her time inside."
"That's...not what I meant," Myne grumbled, letting her hand fall back on her stomach. Although now that they mentioned it, she was paler. Even Tuuli had a darker tan than she did. She laid back down with a huff. In Japan, her pale skin would've been admired…
"Hey, Lutz," Tuuli said, glancing over. "How did you know all that about the gods and goddesses?"
Lutz shrugged. "Fey's mom talks about this stuff a lot. She puts a blue string around the fireplace so Leidenschaft can keep it burning longer and hotter."
"Huh. Our mom doesn't do that."
"Neither does mine. She says it's a waste of good string." Lutz gazed up at the sky. The stars also glowed with a faint red hue. Like the glimmers of rubies. "Parents are weird," he decided.
Tuuli hummed in agreement, while Myne tried not to snort. No matter the universe, children will always think that parents are weird. And the inverse was likely true, too, come to think of it… Although, all things considered, her family could've been a lot more weird. It wasn't surprising that this world's occupants were more superstitious—myths and religion were always the precursor to science—but outside of the cultural rituals like the Baptismals, her family didn't seem very religious. They didn't pray or say the same customary blessings that even Benno-san habitually exchanged.
Her sister flipped over to her side and pinched Myne's arm. "How did you not know about the moon?" she said, giving her a look. "It's the moon ."
Myne swatted her fingers away. "Hey, you said it yourself, it's not like I go outside a lot. I was sick. I'm still sick, in fact!"
Tuuli's face fell.
Oops. Maybe that was a little too honest. "I'm sorry, Myne…" Tuuli said softly, drawing her hand back. "I'll teach you whatever I can, okay? What do you want to know?"
"It's okay, Tuuli. Thanks." She took her sister's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Besides," she added, lifting up her doll with a grin. "Umi doesn't know much about the world, either."
Tuuli smiled. "It's a good thing that Tulip knows a lot, then."
"I have no idea what you two are talking about," said Lutz.
The girls giggled. "That's alright, we can teach you, too," Myne said.
They spent the rest of the night talking, until finally their families called them back. Lutz and Tuuli didn't know much about the religious traditions, or why the moon changed colors, but they told her as much as they could. And looking up into a sky filled with unpolluted lights and a moon that wasn't so bad now after all, she decided it would've been a nice spring night wherever she was.