As the next showcasing was being made, Bean, Elfo, and Luci left the bleachers and headed to one of the food stands. Annable had decided to drag Tavish off somewhere, but nobody knew particularly where. Zog had fallen asleep, and his snoring was loud enough for almost everyone on the festival ground to hear. Oona glared at her husband and elbowed him. "W-What? Is it starting?!" He asked, his eyes snapping open, and he quickly looked around.
"Well, well, it seems like you had a pleasant dream, King Zog,"
Zog looked up to the right. His eyes traveled up the outfit of a tall man wearing a long, fluffy white robe. Underneath that was a royal blue uniform, and he wore white shoes. The chest of the blue uniform looked like a six, along with nine combined. His hair was short, blond, and neatly kept. He had a long beard and wore a beautiful-looking crown covered in jewels.
"King Ewan!" Zog gasped.
"Greeting, King Zog," said Ewan. "May I have a seat?"
"Of course!" Zog nodded, and Ewan took a seat. "So eh, King Ewan, are you enjoying the festival?"
"Oh, most certainly," said King Ewan, stroking his beard. "So many twists and turns. It was quite the surprise you knighted Koga the Wanderer."
"Oh yeah, haha. What a great guy he is. He reminds me of myself when I was younger and didn't have a gut."
Ewan laughed. "Ah yes, the days of our youth," He smiled. "King Zog, I came over here to have a moment of your time to discuss your son, Tavish."
"Huh?" Zog placed his eyes on King Ewan. "Oh no, he didn't say anything rude, did he?"
"I haven't had the chance to talk to him. I thought he was over here with Annable,"
"I guess they went off to get something to eat." Zog shrugged.
"The two of them get along well, don't they?" said Ewan. "My daughter is always talking about him back home. Annable seems to love him. Tavish is the ideal husband for Annable."
Zog's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Of course! I don't think I've ever seen a bright child like Tavish. He's going to make a good king in the future, Zog. You've raised him well."
"Well, you know," Zog laughed a bit. But Zog decided to cut straight to the chase. He knew where Ewan was taking this. "So, King Ewan, are you saying that Tavish is the perfect husband for your daughter?"
"Indeed he is. If I can before the festival, I'd love to have a conversation with him!" said King Ewan as he got to his feet. "Well, I should be getting back to my wife now. Till then, King Zog." He bowed to him before he walked off.
King Zog waved at him as he left. He chuckled. "Oh, we're in the jackpot now!" He grinned.
Elsewhere, Bean, Elfo, and Luci grabbed a bite at the snack stands. Bean headed to the potato stand while Elfo and Luci ate their food. "Sup boys! I'll take one baked potato!" said Bean. While Rupert opened the boiling pot where the potato was, Bean noticed she didn't see Hilda anywhere. "Hey, where's Hilda?"
Rupert and Tuppence gestured their heads behind them. Bean looked behind the two to see Hilda sitting on a wooden stool, not looking happy. Bean walked over to Hilda and greeted her. "Hey, Hilda, are you ok?" Bean asked her.
Hilda looks up at Bean and her expression changes. "O-Oh, Bean! Hey, how are you doing?" she replies.
Bean walks over to Hilda and leans on the wall next to her. "I'm fine. I thought I'd stop by and see how the stand was doing."
"We're doing fine. Potatoes are being sold well," said Hilda, her eyes on the ground.
"Hilda, you seem down. What's wrong? You know you can talk to me,"
"It's..." Hilda paused. She then lets out a sigh. She smiles up at Bean. "It's nothing, Bean, I promise."
Bean knew Hilda lied but didn't want to pry when she said this. She tried to think of something to say that would probably get her mind off of whatever bothered her, but her thought was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Ugh, how do you leave your castle and walk in this mess?" said Annable, her arm wrapped tightly around Tavish's.
"It's not too bad at all..." Tavish replied. "Besides, if you wanted to get something to eat, I could've had a servant bring us something...."
"I just needed to move around," said Annable, squeezing Tavish's arm more. "And I wanted to see if we could go somewhere private." She whispered in his ear.
"Annable, please..." said Taivsh tiredly.
Bean rolls her eyes at them. She looks over at Hilda, who gets up from where she is sitting and begins walking off. "Hilda?" said Bean.
"I'll see you later, Bean...." Hilda said as she hurried off.
"Uhh..." Tuppence looked at Rupert.
"Well, I think we're done for today," said Rupert as he placed the closed sign on the stand. "We'll see you later, Bean." The two hurried after Hilda to check on her.
Bean turned over to where Tavish and Annable were. Bean cast a glare at the two. Elfo and Luci returned to Bean with food and looked at the stand where Rupert and Tuppence were. "Well, that's too bad. I wanted a potato," said Elfo. Bean sighed and looked down at her two companions. "Come on guys, let's head back to the bleachers..." She said in an upset tone.
Elfo noticed Bean's tone, looked at her worriedly, and asked, "Are you ok, Bean?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get back to the show..."
When Bean, Elfo, and Luci returned to the festival, they were surprised to see a large, makeshift castle in the middle of the field. It looked poorly put together, worn out, and like it would fall apart at any moment. "What the heck is with this half-ass-looking castle?" asked Bean.
"This is the princess saving showcase love!" said Bunty.
Bean turned to Bunty. Bunty was wearing a ragged pink dress and had a makeshift crown on her head. "I'm the princess I am!" said Bunty as she did a little twirl.
"Princess saving showcase? Well, this is new," said Bean.
"Indeed, Princess!" said Pendergast, walking over to them. In this showcase, I will show you how I would save you if you were ever in danger! I, Pendergast Knight of Dreamland, will make the king, and it's a lovely princess proud." He held Bean's hand gently.
"Uhh...ok? You go, Pendergast," said Bean awkwardly.
"Bunty, it's almost time," said A knight.
Bunty followed the knight as she entered the poorly put-together castle. Elfo looked at the poorly made castle and felt uneasy in his gut. "Guys...I got a bad feeling about this..." said Elfo quietly to Bean and Luci.
"Elfo, it's fine. I'm sure it'll hold up," Bean reassured him.
"Yeah, Elfo, the worst that'll happen is that it starts to break apart, and Bunty falls on her head," Luci stated. "Which would be more entertaining, hehe!"
"Luci, what the heck?" Elfo glared at him. After Luci said this, Bunty let out a scream. The crowd that had returned to the bleachers looked over at the makeshift castle and said that Bunty was hanging from the broken balcony. Everyone gasped as Bunty screamed, hanging on for dear life.
"BUNTY!" gasped Pendergast. "HOLD ON, BUNTY, I'M COMING!" Pendergast sprints over to the field and runs past the fake bandits. Bunty loses her grip, and she screams as she begins falling. People gasp as they watch Bunty plummet. Pendergast stands under Bunty, holds out his arms, and Bunty crashes on top of him. Everyone lets out an "OOOHHH!" of shock.
Bean, Elfo, and Luci all hurried over to Pendergast and Bunty. "Holy crap, bunty, are you ok?!" Bean said worriedly.
Bunty would lie up and rub her head gently. "Oh my goodness! I thought I was a goner!" She said, staring up at Bean.
"You might not be, but I think Pendergast is," said Luci.
Bunty looked down at Pendergast. His face was blue, and his one eye was bulging out. "Oh dear!" said Bunty as she got off Pendergast. Pendergast lets out a loud gasp and begins breathing quickly. Koga walks over to the group, stares down at Pendergast, grabs him by his arms, and pulls him up. Pendergast was standing crookedly. Koga straightened out his body, resulting in many loud popping noises coming from his back and arms. Bean, Elfo, and Luci all cringed as they watched Koga straighten Pendergast body.
Pendergast coughs, "T-Thanks, Koga...although I think you pulled a muscle in my shoulder...."
"Walk it off," said Koga, patting Pendergast on the back and causing Pendergast to groan.
All of those who were watching from the bleachers began to applaud. One of the judges walked over to Pendergast, praising all the same but cautiously avoiding standing next to Koga. "That was excellent! The most genuine display of a brave knight!" The Judge said. "A round of applause for Pendergast of Dreamland!"
The crowd gave another round of applause for Pendergast. Tibalt and the unnamed knight all looked around in shock. "B-But we didn't even get to compete!" He protested.
"Oh, no worries, Sir Tibalt. For the next showcase, everyone will be competing! It will be a showcase of swordsmanship!" said The Judge.
Koga's eyes widened, and a big grin formed on his face. He placed his eyes on Timothy. Timothy looks over at Koga. The two of them exchanged heated glares of detest.
The final showcase of the festival was now underway. The festival team quickly made a ring out of the remaining debris from the makeshift castle to represent a ring. This was the showcase that everyone was waiting for. The showcase of swordsmanship was always the finale of knight festivals. The judges all brought out wooden swords for each knight to use.
"What the heck?" said Luci, shocked.
"You didn't expect them to use real swords, did you?" said Elfo.
"Well, yeah? Where's the fun in using fake swords? Booooring!"
"That cat has a point, dear," said Annable.
Tavish groans. "Annable, please don't call me that,"
The first two knights to go first were Tibalt and Pendergast. Tibalt walked into the ring with a smug, confident grin.
"You got this Pendergast!" said Mertz.
"Go for the ankles!" said Turbish.
Turbish and Mertz looked over at Koga. Koga was lying on the ground, his right elbow to the ground with his chin resting in the palm of his hand. Koga looks up at the two and then looks at Pendergast. "Kick his ass," He said bluntly.
Pendergast would step into the ring, and he and Tibalt locked eyes."The two of us face off again, Sir Pendergast," He said as he took off his cape and handed it to his followers. "May the best man win."
Pendergast held up his wooden sword, and so did Tibalt. Tibalt's stance was the stance of a fencer. Tibalt made the first move and thrust his wooden sword at Pendergast. Pendergast blocks, and Tibalt continues to thrust and slash at Pendergast. People in the bleachers were cheering as the fight raged on. Tibalt got a few good hits on Pendergast and some close to his one good eye. Tibalt's swordplay was not only swift, but he made sure to stay within Pendergast's blind spot. But that would be Tibalt's fatal mistake. If you continue with the same strategy repeatedly, your advisory will adapt. And that's what Pendergast did.
Once Tibalt stepped into Pendergast's blind spot again, he dodged Tibalt's thrust, grasped his arm, and flipped him straight onto his back. There was a loud thud as Tibalt hit the solid ground below him. Everyone gasped as they saw this. Tibalt's opened his eyes, and Pendergast's wooden sword was at Tibalt's neck.
"W-What just happened?" said Tibalt, confused.
"Well, Sir Tibalt, I believe you have just lost!" said Pendergast, smirking from ear to ear.
The Dreamland knights all erupted in a roar of victory. Bean sprung from her seat, cheering loudly and jumping up and down.
Once Pendergast rejoined with the Dreamland knights, they all rushed to him, congratulating Pendergast on his victory. "Nice moves back there," said Koga. "You sure took him off guard,"
"Practice makes perfect!" Pendergast replied, nodding to his advice.
Turbish gasped. "Oh, that's why you kept flipping me on my back whenever you told me to attack you! It all makes sense now!"
Tibalt not only looked confused but embarrassed as well. This loss damaged his ego significantly.
The final showcase of the festival continues.