Nora landed in the street and took a quick look around. No one had noticed a girl leaping from the castle walls into the street. Nora grinned and made her way to the packed road next to her and looked out into the parade.
The kingdom had spared no expense. The floats were beautiful, some depicting the castle itself, some were of the king himself, while others were of famous Hunters and Huntresses. Nora saw one float completely comprised of flowers intertwined together to form a gigantic pink rose, the symbol of the kingdom. Some floats had performers on them, using Dust to send out multi-colored sparks into the crowd. Nora struggled to get to the front of the crowd.
"Are you lost little girl?" someone asked.
Nora looked up into the face of an old man smiling down at her. He had gray hair, slightly balding, and wearing a shopkeeper's apron.
"No sir," said Nora.
"Your first time at the celebration?"
"Yes sir," said Nora, thinking quickly. "My family let me look around town, as long as I'm home tonight."
The old man smiled down at her with kind eyes. "Well, it must be hard to see everything down there. Here, let me help."
With that, he picked up Nora and put her on his shoulders. Now, Nora could see the entire line of floats coming down the lane. Nora gripped the top of the old man's head and marveled at the decorations. After a few more floats went by, several people in armor walked by, smiling and waving to the crowd.
"Do you know much about this celebration and Hunters?" asked the old man. Nora hesitated.
"I know it's the Princess's birthday," she said. "And I know Hunters defend us from Grimm."
"That's right," said the old man. "But that's not all. Our royal family has very important place among the Hunter family." He nodded to the next float. Nora looked up, and gasped.
Rolling down the street was a float of her mother.
She was dressed in heavy, pure-white armor, standing with one hand on her hip, the other gripping her war hammer Magnhild over her shoulder. Her face was beautiful, with an adventurous smile on her face. Nora noticed she wore a pair of pink gloves. Her float was bare of performers, but as Nora watched, small explosions of Dust blasted out of the end of her hammer, glowing red, pink, and gold sparks. Nora knew her mother had been a Huntress, but had never seen her in full armor.
"Our Queen passed away several years ago," said the old man sadly. "But she traveled the world fighting Grimm and fighting during the Faunus War. She was well loved by the kingdom, but she was killed in action while saving a group of refugee Faunus. Now, the King and his daughter never leave the castle, but every year we celebrate their birthday, both for her and her mother."
Nora wiped away a tear. She had known her mother was a Huntress, but her father never talked about her, simply saying her died during the war. The few pictures she had of her were of her in her royal attire. She had no idea how the rest of the kingdom felt about her, or that they shared the same birthday.
The last of the floats rolled away and the old man put her down. Nora looked up at him, smiled, and awkwardly hugged him.
"Thank you for the view," she said.
"No trouble young lady," said the man. "I always love to watch the parade. Shame I won't see it next year in Vale, but I'll visit when I can. Are you sure you're going to be all right on your own?"
"Yes sir, I'll be fine," said Nora. "In fact, can you recommend any activities that I should visit?"
The old man grinned. "Just watch."
As if they had waited for an unseen cue, dozens of people converged on the street and in seconds had set up concession stands, game booths, and shops full of Schnee Dust products. Everyone flooded the road and soon everyone was exploring the shops, eating food, talking and laughing.
"Most of the stands and games are free," said the old man, nodding toward a shop called From Dawn Till Dust. "Shops like mine are heavily discounted. I recommend looking at everything. If you got any questions, don't hesitate to ask. It was nice to meet you long lady." He patted her head and walked to the shop, pausing at the door.
"Hmm…maybe I should change the name when I get to Vale," he said absentmindedly, then walked inside as a crowd gathered outside the door.
Nora ran out into the street, looking in every direction trying to see everything at once. She gathered around a group of children around a pole with a bell at the top of it.
"Step right up!" shouted a man. "Are you strong enough to reach the bell?"
One by one, several teenagers walked up to the pole with a heavy mallet. With a cry, they slammed the mallet on a lever, launching a metal block up the pole to the bell. However, none reached it.
"Can I try?" asked Nora.
A few kids laughed. The man at the game hesitated, then smiled.
"This might be a little tough for you young lady," he said. "The mallet is really heavy. Why don't you try the other bell?"
Nora looked over at some children attempting to play on a much smaller version of the bell game. Even the younger kids were able to reach the bell with one try.
"It looks too easy," Nora said. "Please?"
"I'll tell you what," smiled the man. "Reach the bell in one try, and I'll give you any prize you want."
Nora stepped up to the lever, while one of the teenagers bowed mockingly and offered her the mallet. Nora seethed inside, but curtsied back and accepted the hammer. She swung easily, testing its weight with a smile. The mallet was barely half the weight of Magnhild. The man's smile faded a little.
Nora wound up and with a yell, slammed the mallet into the lever so hard the metal block smacked into the bell and knocked it clean off.
A minute later, Nora walked into the street holding a gigantic pink Ursa doll, feeling pleased with herself. She was just about to head off to a concession stand to see what this "cotton candy" was when a hand landed on her shoulder. Nora looked back and squeaked.
Lie Ren appeared directly behind her.