DISCLAIMER: The author's imagination and passion are the only sources of inspiration for this novel, which is a work of dedication. Parallels between these pages and the past or present may be apparent to some readers, but they are completely coincidental. You are free to interpret this art anyway you see fit, and it is meant for your enjoyment.
Reinn was at her breaking point. Following the "Battle of the Bread Basket" in the dining room, she came to the conclusion that she would lose her mind if she couldn't get away from the oppressive Hylde mansion walls.
Whispering, "Beth, I need a dress," Reinn dragged her maid into the closet. "Something that doesn't scream 'I own three provinces.' Something... cute. Something a normal girl would wear to the Harvest Fair."
Beth gasped, but the challenge was too much for her to resist. Reinn snuck out the servant's door an hour later. She donned a modest white apron and a delicate, cornflower-blue dress with ruffled sleeves. Her face was cleansed of heavy court pigments, and her golden hair was braided with wildflowers rather than jewelry.
She had the appearance of a springtime dream—bright, friendly, and completely radiant.
The event was a riot of color, and the aroma of sweet ale and roasted nuts filled the air. Samantha was able to breathe for the first time since her transmigration.
She didn't walk with her lion ducal family's stiff back. She giggled at the puppet shows, hopped over puddles, and paused to assist an old woman with a bulky apple basket.
"Oh, thank you, dearie!" the woman exclaimed with a smile. "You've got the hands of a lady but the heart of a saint."
Reinn chuckled and said, "I just have two working arms, ma'am," her eyes wrinkling.
She didn't see the trail of turned heads behind her as she made her way through the crowd. As she went by, young farmers stopped working, and village boys stumbled over their own feet. She was no longer the "frightening Lioness"; instead, she was a girl who returned people's smiles.
She was not alone, though, as she believed.
A group of adolescents was chatting about Reinn's ankles, and ten steps behind her, a very tall man with a lowered hood and a rough brown cloak was glaring at them.
Despite Dyierrean's best efforts to appear like a typical mercenary, his military stance and the way he held his wooden staff gave him the appearance of a king in disguise. Every time a guy approached Reinn too closely, Dyierrean would growl and "accidentally" shoulder them aside.
"She's too bright," Dyierrean whispered to himself as his heart began to sting strangely and painfully once more. "Why is she smiling at everyone? She never smiled at me like that."
"Maybe because you look like you're about to arrest the entire village, cousin."
When Dyierrean turned around, he saw a man standing behind him wearing a floppy hat and an ostentatious green cloak. The naughty blue eyes were clearly visible despite the smudge of grime on his face.
"Giywon?" muttered Dyierrean. "What are you doing here? You have a border council meeting!"
Giywon muttered, "I had a sudden illness," while fixing his absurd hat. "And look at her, Dyierrean. She's helping that child find his lost marble. My heart can't take it. She's being kind. It's the most scandalous thing she's ever done."
They both saw a young, attractive apprentice blacksmith come up to Reinn and offer her a carved wooden flower. "Thank you, it's beautiful!" Reinn said, blushing.
As their competitive instincts flared, Giywon and Dyierrean advanced simultaneously.
Dyierrean snarled, "I'm going to buy that entire stall of wooden flowers and burn it."
"I'm going to buy the blacksmith's shop and move it to the Southern Isles," replied Giywon.
They went to a folk-dance circle after her. A group of giggling girls drew Reinn in, and as she caught the beat of the fiddles, her blue skirt whirled. Her face was flushed with true joy, and she looked radiant.
Reinn was almost knocked off her feet as a group of boisterous partygoers suddenly rushed through the crowd.
Two shadows moved faster than the eye could follow.
With a strength that was like iron wrapped in velvet, one man grabbed Reinn by the waist and steadied her. The other moved ahead of her, his aura so icy that the music halted, his palm resting on the hilt of a hidden blade.
Reinn blinked and glanced up at her "savior." Those blue eyes and black hair were clearly visible even beneath the hood. "Dyierrean?"
She then turned to face the "guard" wearing the green hat. "Giywon? Is that... is that a feather in your cap?"
"It's a festive disguise!" Giywon said as he threw away the hat. "Reinn, you can't just wander around looking like... like that! You're attracting every male within ten miles!"
Reinn yelled, "I was having fun!" in frustration. "I was a normal person for exactly twenty minutes!"
Dyierrean held onto her waist tightly. He really drew her a little closer as his voice lowered to that intimate, perilous rumbling. "You are not a normal person, Reinn. You are a Hylde. And apparently, you are a woman who thinks blacksmiths are charming."
"He was nice!" Reinn huffed.
Giywon said, "I can be nice," approaching her and holding her hand. "I can be the nicest man in the empire. I'll build you a cathedral of wooden flowers if you stop looking at other men like they're interesting."
Reinn's gaze shifted from the Prince to the Duke. They were both dusty, badly masked, and staring at her with a mixture of blooming affection and desperation that they obviously didn't know how to deal with.
The crowd around them had gone silent, realizing that these "commoners" had the presence of gods.
Reinn said, "You both are impossible," yet a tiny, betraying smile tugged at her lips. "If you want to stay, you have to play the game. No titles. No swords. And Dyierrean... you have to buy me a candied apple. Giywon... you have to win me that stuffed bear at the archery range."
Dyierrean and the Crown Prince exchanged glances. The rivalry had resumed.
"I'll win ten bears," Giywon declared.
"I'll buy the entire apple orchard," Dyierrean countered.
Reinn shook her head and laughed. She thought, "I wanted a quiet life, but I guess a loud one with these two isn't so bad."