A/N: Brace yourselves this is the second last chapter :')
Amber smirked at Sofia and Hugo and pulled on Desmond's hand. "Let's go dance."
There was some music playing and couples were dancing and laughing on the streets. James and Vivian were already amongst them, and Amber and Desmond joined in.
Sofia tugged on Hugo's hand. "Take me to the giant wheel!"
Hugo finally shook himself out of his stupor. "Don't you want to explore the games first?" Colorful tents and booths had been set up in the village garden, which were not too far from where they were standing.
Sofia looked at the flashy carnival games in awe. "Sure, I'm fine with anything!"
They went from booth to booth, playing pin the tail on the unicorn, a game of whack-the-Friedrich, and Hugo won her a giant bunny rabbit plush in an enchanted archery game. The targets were red and white concentric circles and they moved around in dizzying patterns.
"Wow King Hugo, you managed to hit the bulls-eye on every single one of them!" The villager running the stand had exclaimed, impressed.
"Of course I did," said Hugo, nonchalantly.
Sofia laughed, squeezing the bunny close to her chest.
They left the booth and something else caught Hugo's eye. "You have to try this," he said, retrieving something from a stand. It was a large ball of pink fluff stuffed into a white paper cone.
"It looks like a cloud!" said Sofia, surprised.
"Wait 'till you taste it, it immediately disintegrates once it reaches your tongue."
Sofia raised an eyebrow, doubtful that something so pretty could be edible. But she listened to him and tried it. She didn't regret it. "This is delicious! Do you want some?"
"No it's alright-"
She stuffed the rest of it in his mouth and he stood there, surprised, letting it melt in his mouth. Sofia giggled when she saw the expression on his face.
After he finished, he said teasingly, "You know I could have just asked for another, right?"
"I know," she said.
They sauntered back to the entrance of the festival where the dancing was going on.
"Oh my, how long have you guys been dancing?" asked Sofia, when they approached Amber and Desmond still going at it.
"Two hours!" Amber trilled.
"My feet hurt," complained Desmond.
"Fine, I suppose we could have a break," said Amber, abruptly stopping and heading towards a table filled with pastries. Desmond followed.
James and Vivian were already seated at a nearby table and James was digging into a giant cake. He looked so at odds with Vivian beside him, who was daintily spooning small bites of cake into her mouth.
Sofia and Hugo looked at each other, trying not to laugh.
Hugo then interlaced his fingers with Sofia's then dragged her into the dancing crowd. They danced and danced, as if they didn't have a care in the world.
Oh my, what a marvelous tune,
It was the best night, never would forget how he moved
The whole place was dressed to nines
And we were dancing, dancing
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
- Starlight by Taylor Swift
Once they had danced so much they almost about to fall over, Hugo exclaimed breathlessly, "Do you want to ride the Ferret Wheel now?"
"Ferret wheel? THAT'S what it's called? What a strange name!"
"Isn't that what it's supposed to be called? Don't pet ferrets run on those wheels?"
"Those are hamster wheels!"
"Hamsters, ferrets, same thing. Do you want to ride it now?"
"But don't you have to announce the start of the fireworks?"
Hugo pondered for a moment. "Oh, I've got it handled, watch this."