It wasn't long before more neighboring kingdoms, royalty, and knights arrived. A group of knights arrived on horses wearing clad and shiny armor. Derek and Elfo were in awe at the knight's fancy-looking armor. Derek was all gitty and excited at seeing them arrive through the gate.
"Oh my gosh, they look so cool!" said Derek, grinning from ear to ear.
"Right?" said Elfo, grinning a well.
Zog was looking at Derek. He placed his hand over his stomach and sighed. He glanced over at Tavish, who had the usual deadpan, unenthused expression as he always had. Zog began thinking back to when Tavish was young and was always excited to see knights gather and compete in various challenges. Zog remembers when Tavish always looked forward to seeing him compete. Those were great times.
Tavish's deadpan expression would leave him as his eyes widened. The next carriage that would come through the gate was the royal carriage that belonged to the White Rose Kingdom.
Bertram claps his hands excitedly. "Oh good, she was able to make it!"
"What?" Tavish snaps his eyes onto Bertram.
"I Invited Queen Dolores and King Lawerence!" Bertram said. "For some reason, she had no idea the festival was being held here at Dreamland. I wanted to surprise you! I know you and Queen Dolores get along so well!"
Tavish's left eye twitched. But as always, he forced a smile and said, "Oh...how thoughtful of you, Bertram..." It was hard for Tavish to lower the dentist in his voice.
"Hey, Bro," Bean whispered to him. "When will you tell your boyfriend that you and Queen Dolores are hooking up?"
"Not another word out of you..." Tavish snarled.
Queen Dolores adored Tavish—a bit too much. Whenever Tavish and the family visited the White Rose Kingdom, Queen Dolores was delighted to see Tavish. She would always go on and on about how handsome he was and how well his body looked.
The carriage door to the white rose opened, and Queen Dolores and King Lawerence stepped out. Dolores was, of course, short and round like the Duke and Zog. She wore a white dress with red heels, red lipstick, and A LOT of makeup. Her hair was white, not naturally white like Bean, Tavish, and their mother, but it was fake white hair with the familiar appearance of an ice cream cone. King Lawerence was a wrinkly, short-haired man with a long, hooked nose who used his scepter as a cane and his crown to hide the ever-growling hair loss. Dolores gasped as she saw Tavish and hurried over to hug him tightly.
"Oh Tavish, my sweetie-pie. It's so good to see you!" She squealed. Tavish looked as though he was going to die of oxygen loss. Bean, Elfo, and Luci all looked like they would burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Tavish pried away from Dolores and looked as though he was going to snap at her. But, of course, he controlled himself and forced a smile. "It's nice to see you too, Dolores...."
Lawrence walked up to Zog and grumbled as he talked. "King Zog,"
"Greeting, King Lawerence! Welcome to Dreamland!" said Zog cheerfully.
"Mhm..." Lawerence mumbled. "Heavens, this place smells...."
"Yeah, we get that a lot..."
Once the remaining knights and royalty had arrived, the festival finally started. Venus around the grounds opened up, music played, food served, costumes, wooden swords for kids, and even a booth to place bets opened up, where Luci hurried over to place his bet. "All my shiny gold Zog on Dreamland," He said, slamming the gold pouch on the counter. The man behind the booth laughed. "Dreamland? You realize this place hasn't won one of these get-togethers, right?" Luci would smirk. "I have a feeling that the tides will be turning this year."
"Bets on a festival?" said Elfo. "That doesn't seem right."
"Eh," Bean shrugged as she chugged her mug of a bear. "As everyone always said, the "friendly competition" statement is a farce. It's nothing more than a dick-measuring contest you can officially compete in."
"Hey, Bean!" said a familiar voice.
Bean turned to see a woman with palish skin and pink hair tied in two buns walk over to Bean. "Oh, hey, Hilda!" She greeted as she hugged Hilda. "I didn't think you were interested in attending this sausage fest!"
Hilda chuckles. "There's no way I wouldn't pass up a bunch of bonehead knights beating each other up for our entertainment!"
"Where are your cronies?" Luci asked.
"They're selling our fresh baked potatoes at a booth!" Hilda replied as she pointed over to their booth. There, a pot full of potatoes was placed under a lit fire.
"FRESH BAKED POTATOES! COME GET OUR FRESH POTATOES OVER HERE!" said Rupert.
"IF YOU BUY TWO, WE'LL ADD IN A BUTTER BLOCK!" said Tuppence.
"ME FLAVORED WATER FIFTEEN CENTS! COME TASTE MY KNEEEEES! FIFTEEN CENTS!" said The Me-Flavored Water Guy. He was a wrinkly older man like King Lawerence, who was balled and had grey hair on the back of his head. He sat inside a barrel full of water, completely naked.
"Hey, you old geezer, this is our spot!" said Rupert.
"Zip it! I was here first!" said The Me-Flavored Water Guy.
"Have you ever sold a cup?!" said Tuppence.
"Looks like you guys have some tough competition this year," said Bean, giggling.
"Hey, what's going on over there?" said Elfo, pointing over to the crowd of people.
Bean and Hilda looked over at the crowd. There were not only townspeople in the group but knights as well. Bean let out a deep sigh. "Oh god. Only three people I know could get a crowd to surround them like that—the fate sisters."
"The Fate Sisters?" said Elfo, raising a brow.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, BACK OFF THE LOT OF YOU!" said a Knight clad in Blue and white Armor. He wore his knight helm with an open window so everyone could see his face. "ENOUGH SURROUNDING THE PRINCESS!"
"Oh, no need to be so aggressive toward these fine-looking men. I mean...they have to look at something that isn't repulsive," said Princess Annable from the Skyeland's kingdom. Like her sisters, her hair was golden, wrapped in a beautiful braided ponytail, and she wore pink lipstick. Her dress was white and had pink drapes around her waist and shoulders.
"You're so mean, Annable, but the truth hurts, so I guess you're right..." said the eldest sister, Davina. Like Annable, her hair was blond and tied in a traditional bun, and she wore the same dress as Annable.
"Ugh...why did Father drag us out here? I could be at the castle eating grapes or something," said Lorna, the youngest of the three. She was the same height as Annable, and her long, shiny, silk hair reached her shoulders.
"Wow...talk about gorgeous..." said Elfo in awe. "I-I mean, they're not as gorgeous as you, Bean! Hehe..."
Annable catches the eye of Bean. "Well, well, look who we have here!" She said as she strolled over to Bean and her friends, and her two sisters followed. Her hips swayed to the left and right slightly. "Tiabeanie Mariabeanie De La Rochambeaux Grunkwitz. It's good to see you again!"
"Jeez, I see why you just want to go by Bean..." said Luci.
Bean scoffed and crossed her arms. "Hi, Annable..." she said bitterly.
"I see you're still ill-mannered as always..."
"I see you're still one-dimensional as always..." Bean shot back.
"Anyway, where's Tavy?" Annable said, looking around the festival grounds.
Hilda frowned at Annable.
"He's busy," said Bean. "You can see him later."
Annable smirked. "No, I think he'll be able to make time for his favorite girl."
Hilda began to cast a glare at Annable.
Bean snickered at Annable's comment about her being Tavish's favorite girl. "Oh wow, I've never seen someone be so delusional,"
Annable's smirk grew more prominent. "Oh, what's wrong, little Tiabeanie? Are you scared you're going to lose another family member?"
"What did you just say?" Bean unfolded her arms and clenched her fist.
Annable was about to reply, but a shadow cast over her and her sisters. Koga stood behind them, staring at the three sisters and towering over them. "Is there a problem here?" He asked. Lorna's eyes widened as he stared at Koga. "Whoa..." She whispered in awe. Annable looked at Koga and then at Bean.
Annable giggled. "No, there's no problem at all. You're such a nice knight checking on your princess."
"I'm not a knight," Koga replied bluntly. "And I don't need to check on Bean. I'm here to ensure she doesn't swing at you."
The knight, clad in blue annnd white armor, would walk up to Koga and glare at him. "You should watch how you speak to our princess..." He said in a tone of, or else.
Koga looked at the knight. "Oh yeah? Or what?"
The knight placed his hands around his sword. Koga did the same.
"Calm down, boys," said Annable. "Come on, sisters, let's go find Father. Come, Timmothy."
Koga and Timmothy had one last stare-down before he escorted the three sisters away from Bean and her friends.
"What a bitch..." said Luci. "I LIKE HER!"
"UGH! I can't stand her!" said Bean.
"I was going to knock her right in her smug face..." Hilda growled.
"I'm pretty sure that would've been bad for the both of you," said Koga.
"SO?" said both Bean and Hilda in unison.
"Oh boy..." said Koga, rubbing between the bridge of his nose.
"Koga, there you are!" said Pendergast, walking over to him. "Come on. We have to get ready! We have to get you in the armor!"
"I'm not wearing that,"
"What? Koga, it's standard!"
"Yeah, no..."
Koga and Pendergast walked off to prepare for the groups. Bean let out a sigh and turned to Hilda. "Well, I better go look for my crazy family so we can take our seats," she said. I'll see you later, Hilda."
"See ya, Bean," said Hilda as she returned to her group.
Bean, Elfo, and Luci went to search for Tavish and Zog. They searched for a good minute until Bean could hear Zog and Tavish yelling. "What the heck are they arguing about?" Bean whispered.
"HAVEN'T I DONE ENOUGH FOR YOU ALREADY?" Tavish screamed.
"THIS ISN'T FOR ME; THIS IS FOR YOU AND YOUR FUTURE! SHE'S THE PERFECT ONE FOR YOU, AND THAT'S THAT!" Zog shouted.
"Why do you keep thinking you'll be in my life that long?" Tavish said coldly.
Bean, Elfo, and Luci stood in front of them. Bean coughed and said, "Uh guys...we gotta go to our seats."
"Yeah, yeah, let's go, you degenerates!" Zog said as he walked past the three.
Tavish rubbed his head before he followed his father. Bean wanted to stop and talk to him, but he did not give her time and ignored her. She sighed as she, Elfo, and Luci followed along.
Once they reached the bleachers, they saw that Oona and Derek were already seated. Below them was The Duke and his son Bertram. Next to them, Bean noticed that there was an extra seat next to Tavish's. "Hey, who's seat is tha-"
"TAVY!" Annable squealed as she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Tavish's neck so tightly that his eyes looked like they'd pop out of his head. "OH, I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
"A-Annalbe? I didn't know you were coming!" said Tavish as he pried her loose.
"I wanted to surprise you!!" said Annable cutely.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me..." said Bean, slapping her hand on her face.
"I made sure to save a seat for you, Princess Annable!" Zog smiled.
"Daww, thank you, King Zog!" said Annable as she pulled Tavish to sit with her. She clung to his arm as if her life depended on it with a big smile. Tavish looked as though he wanted his life to end right there.
Bean, Elfo, Luci, and Zog took their seats. Everyone in the bleachers on every end was seated. Everyone watched as Harold made his way to stand and cleared his throat. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE SEVENTH ANNUAL KNIGHT'S FESTIVAL! HERE WE ARE IN A SHOWCASE OF THE KINGDOM'S BEST KNIGHTS TO COMPETE IN A FRIENDLY COMPETITION TO FORGE BOUNDS!" The crowd cheered. "TO START OUR EVENT! WE WILL HAVE A KNIGHT FROM THE WHITE ROSE KINGDOM, AND ONE FROM DREAMLAND WILL JOUST!"
A knight clad in black and white armor rode his horse into the field. On the other side, a knight from Dreamland trotted onto the field in his armor. His face mask was open.
"Turbish your helmet!" Pendergast called out to him.
"What?" said Turbish, turning to face him. "I have my helmet on!"
"No, your visor window!"
"My face isn't on a window,"
"TURBISH THE VISOR! CLOSE THE VISOR!"
Turbish felt around for his visor and said, "Ooooh, that!" He closed the visor. A few people in the crowd began chuckling at Turbish, which made Pendergast rub his face in frustration.
The two knights stared each other down as they waited for the signal. Once the signal was given, they raised their lances and charged forward. They picked up a little speed before Turbish was knocked off his horse. Everyone cheered as the knight from the White Rose Kingdom held up his fist in victory. Bean was not surprised; Zog looked furious, Luci laughed, and Elfo looked at Turbish worriedly. However, Tavish didn't pay much attention as he tried to get Annable to stop rubbing her hands over his chest.
Pendergast let out a long sigh as Turbish got to his feet and opened his visor.
"Did I win?" He asked, looking at Pendergast.
"I always wonder how you're still alive, Turbish..." said Pendergast.