Today was a vital day that had to be celebrated properly. One of the greatest holidays in history, celebrated both in the Kingdom of Ometh and in the other two. Each of the omethines had taken it upon themselves to decorate their homes appropriately from the outside, because it was important for them to demonstrate the joy of victory over the common enemy that had instilled so much fear and terror among them.
Other had taken care of the huge square in the center of the kingdom, where thousands of pigeons would be released as they did every year and there would be a magnificent fireworks display once the sun set, to celebrate the anniversary of the bravely won victory over the common enemy of the kingdoms, whose name had become taboo over the years and people refused to even think of it for fear of it appearing in their dreams.
In one of the high parts of the royal castle, standing in front of the window, stood the current king of the kingdom, king Oslo Ometh, who had inherited the throne after the death of his father. A touch of anxiety crept into his deep blue eyes and his gaze kept moving through the passing people and following the emotions written on their faces.
A heavy sign fell from his mouth, momentarily breaking the given silence that reigned in his chambers. He raised his head slightly and looked up at the thickening clouds, which despite their charming appearance, hinted at an unexpected storm that could ruin the preparations for the celebration. The king's face frowned.
"It's been a long time since I last felt this kind of unease." Breaking the silence that reigned in the vast room, the king spoke and turned to the woman watching him, dressed in shining armor and holding a long and finely sharpened sword to her body.
"I'm sure your worries are unfounded, Your Majesty." She said in an even tone, without taking her eyes off his, who was watching her intently.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe it is." He continued to think thoughtfully out loud, without taking his eyes off the clouds that seemed to be approaching them at a very fast pace. "And yet, my inner voice has never deceived me before. Today marks only ninety-three years since our victory in the Bloody War. We owe everything we have and have achieved today to Sakon Ometh." He stopped, pausing slightly to suppress his proud smile and closed his eyes briefly. "Our pride, our savior and my grandfather, whom I hope to reach someday."
"I am convinced that you will reach the level of your late grandfather, my king. After all, the people have more than once demonstrated their admiration for you precisely, because you possess many of his qualities and a large part of his character." The Ace Guardian of the royal family did not fail to remind him and allowed herself a slight smile, when she followed the warmth in his gaze.
"You always know what to say, Beltain and that's why you have my respect. Perhaps, I worry for nothing. After all, King Armel and the Ancients gave their lives to rid us of Ezekiel and his disgusting kind."
At the mention of his name, a chill ran through his body, making him frown in displeasure. Such a creature did not deserve to be mentioned, but here it was, albeit involuntarily, slipping from his mouth.
"Is the menu for dinner ready?" He decided to change the subject, because he did not want his mind to be obsessed with past events.
"Yes, Your Majesty! Everything is prepared and they are waiting for the chosen hour to arrive, so that the serving can begin."
"Excellent, excellent." King Oslo repeated with satisfaction and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Maybe he was really convinced, because of the strong emotions he always felt when that day came. Everything would go smoothly like every year.
***
Ramsdale was one of the many villages that were scattered around the territories of the kingdoms. Today was another hot day and the harvest was only a few days away. The fields were full of people, working and talking to each other with smiles, sharing funny stories to make the time pass easily.
"Kinra Soyu! Once you make a promise, you are expected to keep it!" The stern voice of a short woman in her mid-thirties, who had placed her hands on her hips to look more imposing, spread around, continuing to stare intently at the girl across from her.
"Can't you make an exception this time, mom?" Her daughter continued to complain discontentedly, crossing her arms in front of her chest in turn. "I promised to join the others' afternoon game. What kind of friend would I be if I broke my promise?" She looked at her mother with a gleam in her eye, as if she had bet her life on the game in question.
"Really?" A muscle on Saiya's forehead began to twitch nervously under her skin because of her daughter's childish behavior, trying hard not to explode. "And what kind of daughter will you be, if you once again avoid the household chores that you, yourself, offered to help with, huh?" She decided that she wouldn't let her get away with it, because this would show her that she could continue with her behavior in the future.
"Why do you always use this against me?" Kinra muttered with annoyance and turned her head to look at the street, which seemed like the perfect escape from the situation.
Kinra knew that she was fast enough to escape her mother, but when it got dark, she had to go home and...
"Nope, that's definitely not an option." She muttered thoughtfully under her breath, ignoring her furious mother, who continued to talk to her heatedly.
"You're ignoring your mother, huh?"
Saiya started to roll up the long sleeve of her blouse menacingly, only to be able to slam her little hook into her daughter's hard head in a moment.
"Ouch! What was that for, mom?" She looked at her indignantly, as if she had done nothing to deserve it.
"Maybe you want another one, huh?" Saiya looked at her daughter with a devilish smile and began to prepare her fist for another blow, spinning it in a threatening circle. "After all, your head is so hard. So, a few more won't hurt you!"
"Oi, oi, what are my lovely women doing? Are you fighting again?" A pleasant male voice came from behind them and they stopped for a moment to look at him.
Tenthru Soyu always knew when to show up to prevent the storm between his wife and daughter. He looked first at one, then at the other and when he realized what was happening once again, he sighed inwardly. The quarrels between his two beloved women had certainly increased since their daughter had begun to enter puberty and rebel more than usual against her mother.
"Dad! Save me!" Kinra cried pitifully and hurried to hide behind him in fear, not forgetting to throw a pleased look at her mother, as if she could do nothing to her in his presence now.
"Are you challenging me, little miss?" Her mother growled menacingly and a dangerous flame appeared in her gaze.
Saiya made a furious face and headed towards Kinra with the intention of hitting her on the head to teach her a lesson, but her husband hugged her lovingly with a wide smile, stopping her. The bloodthirsty look his wife gave him definitely managed to burn his smile, but he quickly regained it.
"Let's be good, honey. Let her play with her friends and I'll help you with the household chores." He tried to gloss over the situation somehow, because he could feel the storm brewing inside his small woman, who could be quite intimidating if she wanted to.
Tenthru winked playfully at his daughter and she looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes, knowing that he had once again gotten her out of the situation.
"You're the best, dad!" She squealed happily and threw herself on his neck.
Kinra hugged him tightly and when she looked at her mother's venomous gaze, she smiled awkwardly.
"Mom, you know I love you, but you're too scary to hug you right now." She scratched the back of her neck, even though she knew that what she said would irritate her mother immensely.
"What did you say, little one? Come here, right now!" Her mother ordered in an icy tone and her eagle gaze pierced Kinra fearfully.
Saiya rolled up the sleeves of both arms and walked towards her with big steps, when Tenthru lifted her cheerfully into the air to stop her and glanced at his daughter, who was watching them, to disappear while she still had a chance.
"I love you, see you tonight!" Kinra stuck her tongue out to his mother from afar with a playful intention and started running towards the street with all her might before they could change their minds.
"Have you calmed down yet?" He asked concernedly, carefully examining his wife's beautiful face and as soon as he received a positive nod, he felt relieved.
When he dropped her to the ground, Tenthru received his own hook in the shoulder, widening his eyes in surprise at her action.
"But why me? What did I do wrong?" Tenthru didn't miss playing the victim, but unfortunately for him, these tricks didn't go unnoticed by his wife.
"You and your daughter are two peas in a pod!" Saiya muttered angrily and proudly raised her chin to show him that she was angry with him for his actions.
"She's still a child, Saiya. Let her play while she can, because then priorities will change as she gets older." He tried to calm her anger, but when he met her gaze, he felt guilty. Maybe later he would have a serious talk with Kinra about her attitude.
"Still, it's not nice to always be the bad guy…" Even if she sounded calm, Tenthru knew that his wife was upset by what had happened. "You're the stricter of the two of us, and you know I have a weakness for her big eyes, when they look at me with hope. God, how could I not help my little girl." He began to speak emotionally, remembering what an adorable baby Kinra was and how she would start laughing happily whenever her father did what she wanted. Yep, he couldn't help but have a weakness for her.
"You're too soft and you just don't want to be strict with her, because you won't be her favorite anymore." Saiya didn't miss a chance to bite him and looked at him sullenly.
"She's daddy's little girl! And that's not true at all!" He protested, even though he knew deep down that she was right. He just wasn't going to tell her, because that would be a loss for him.
"Hmm…"
Saiya bent down to pick up the large basket of wet clothes she was supposed to be putting out, when her husband beat her to it, pushing her aside playfully. Tenthru picked it up for her and smiled broadly at her face. Even though she tried to keep her angry expression, Saiya knew she couldn't stay too serious in front of her lover's smile.
"Do I understand that you will really help me with the household chores instead of Kinra?" She teased him in an amused tone, without taking their eyes off each other.
"When haven't I helped? I have little time at my disposal, and nothing is more important than my wife and our child." He flattered her sweetly, and that cheered her up even more.
"Shouldn't all the men be in the fields, because there's too much work to do before the harvest?" She continued to tease him, because she knew very well that he was overwhelmed with work and had no time to waste, but it was amusing to watch how much longer he would deceive himself.
"You're right, but what kind of man will I be, if I don't do the household chores with my wife. After all, we're in everything together, remember?" He scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile, then began to shake out the wet clothes before putting them on the ropes.
At his words, Saiya smiled. Memories of their past flashed through her mind, making her recall the emotions of that time. She gently caressed his face, darkened by the strong sun and he smiled broadly at her once again.
"In that case, I think two of the table legs need replacing, because the bugs have eaten the wood again."
"Already? I replaced them two months ago!" Tenthru began to lament pitifully, because he knew very well that it would take several hours to shape the new legs perfectly to fit. He glanced at his wife surreptitiously and noticed that she was watching him with a wide smile. "Is it me or did you just play a trick on me?"
"Maybe." Saiya blinked innocently and turned her back to him to take a piece of clothing from the basket, feeling his gaze fixed on her.
"Look at you! When did you manage to learn these tricks, huh?" He muttered cheerfully and ran his fingers through his thick black hair, which was stone beautifully in the sunlight.
"You and your daughter won't be the only ones constantly playing tricks on me behind my back, huh." She looked at him smugly, while her dark green eyes were twinkling playfully.
"In that case, I'll do the laundry and put some of the wood inside, and then I'll go join the others in the field. How does that sound, my love?"
"Sounds like a good plan to me. By the way, how's Rindo? Yesterday his wife, Linda, mentioned that the cart wheel came off while he was on his way to the market and made him crash into a tree. Is he okay?"
"Yeah, we talked earlier this morning and I promised him I'd help fix it later. He got away with a bruised ass and a few scratches." Tenthru nodded as he hung the last few clothes from the basket, then looked at her. "What?"
"You're the best carpenter in all of Ramsdale." Her comment made Saiya laugh inwardly, because his face was simply priceless.
"Oi, I don't know whether to take this as a compliment or another attempt to play a trick on me." He pouted like a little child and when he watched her struggle to suppress her smile, a flame flashed in his metallic gray eyes. "Is that so, huh?"
"Who knows, it could be anything." Saiya shrugged innocently and turned her back on him to bring the other basket of laundry, when she heard his heavy footsteps behind her.
"Now you'll see!" He muttered maliciously with shining eyes and a wide smile.
Saiya followed the bucket in his hands, which was full of water with a surprised look and when she realized his intentions, her eyes widened.
"Tenthru, no! Don't you dare!"
Before she had time to react, Saiya felt the warm water from the bucket she had brought from the well early that morning on her. Soaked, she lifted a long, wet strand and looked at him sourly from under it. Tenthru in turn began to laugh contagiously. Saiya could not keep her face serious for too long and burst into laughter with him.