From Grief to Colour| ✓

XIII- Age Old Tale

"Deidra mon cher, can you pull your side of the garland a little higher?" She surveys a few feet away from me. It's tradition that everyone in their homes decorate for the upcoming Mistletoe Dusking Fest. The last sun of summer will welcome the first night of the coming autumn, reaching out for almost as long during its Solstice, where the lights of the skies will appear in celebration for the successful crops again and again.

For us royals, we will join our fellow ladies and knights in making the palace look much more festive and elegant. Many had questioned the oddity of royalty having to 'work' like a servant of their own but, to unite the entire kingdom for one night is to close the gap between the social statuses for that one night as well. A celebration of unity and harvest.

The occasion will start in three days, when the sun will welcome a velvety twilight and the Aurora of the Moon will shimmer in colours across the sky till dawn breaks and then it's officially fall, where it won't appear again until Winter's Eve. During then everyone will join together in creating garlands of mistletoe crowns to hang around the castle for good spirits and plant a seed for good luck for successful harvests.

Right now Grandma and I are stringing up a few garlands of magically-enhanced golden leaves along the larger walls that are the source of our oaken doors. The golden scheme of the leafs complement the ivory and taupe colours of the palace walls.

"Up here?" I rise it an inch higher.

"Yes that's good!" She says, stepping back to survey the wall. I press it down onto the wall and jump off the ladder and join Grandma.

The entire hall is warm with accents of gold, taupey browns and sunset reds, plump baskets of apples and plums sitting by the dining fireplace.

I puff out air of content, "Now! Anymore for me to do?" I turn to her, who pats down my slightly messed up hair do that is dangling baby haired spider webs across and down my face.

It's important the palace insides looks as good as the outsides, which are also decorated with garlands and festival offerings to the people and the Spirits of Seasons, deities who control the seasons and their part in the might of nature.

Plus the townspeople are coming to the palace's Beta front courtyard - the main part of the courtyard that is reserved for special occasions - on the first day of the Mistletoe Dusking Festival for me to kickoff the celebration with fireworks and commence the dancing and eating of berry pastries, flavourful pies and so on. Chef Gertrude and Grandma is gonna have so much fun doing everything.

Speaking of fireworks-

"I got something in mind for you for that, along with the usual assortment of the pre-delivered fireworks." Grandma assures me. My confusion clearly surfaces on my face-how could she know?- until she gently taps on the side of her temples, and mimicking something forming out of her hands.

Ohhh. Right. Magic- she can read minds like me. Though I'm adequate at that skill, but she has reassured me I'm getting better with every practise we have.

I rise a brow towards her. She waves me to follow her. We tread along the buzzing hallways, heading to the training field. Once soaking in the sun's light, she lifts up her hands in a meditating move.

"I want you to conjure light from your hands."

I cock my head a bit to the side. She pull her lips into a line. "Hold your hands palms up to the sky, and extend your fingers as far as you can."

I do as she instructs. "Now, close your eyes - that is only for first timing practices- and conjure up all the memories that make you feel, and pull it into the very nerves into your arms, like a tingling effect, and push it into the warmth that runs through your hands. Condense it, and imagine pulling a little glowing orb out of your hand, the warmth collecting into a pool and floating up and out and above your hand." She carefully details.