We scooted over to the stall where sugary decorations had been created on a stick. The merchant had used a syrupy sugar concoction to draw stick figures on the slim bits of wood. The sugary arts shimmered in the bright light and reflected my face as I bent down to study them.

  “These are so neat,” I complimented as I examined a variety of creatures. There were foxes, bears, eagles, and even a dog.

  The merchant pushed out his ample chest and nodded. “Thank you, Your Ladyship! Your praise is a thousand times more sweet coming from someone so beautiful!”

  I laughed and shook my head. “I don’t think so but thanks for the compliment.”

  The man looked aghast at me. “Does Your Ladyship not own a mirror?” He stretched out his arms and looked about us at the other lords and ladies. “You are like the moon among stars.”

  The temperature went up in my cheeks and I waved away his sweet words. “Not so loud,” I hissed.

  He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “I say only what I believe, Your Ladyship, and as proof of my words I give you this.” He grasped one of his delights and held it out to me. “This is my most prized creation but I will give it to you for free.”

  The creation was a large twirling dragon with two pairs of wings on its back. The serpentine creature seemed to glide up the stick and had its mouth open in a great silent roar. I was captured by the still scene, but I shook my head and dug into my coin purse.

  “I can’t let you give that to me,” I insisted as I pulled out a few coins.

  The man grasped my empty hand and shoved the stick into it before he backed away. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “I will not accept it back nor will I accept your coins. That is my word and I will keep to it.”

  My shoulders fell as I found myself holding the bag. Er, dragon. “You have to let me give you something.” I turned to my companion who smiled at our interaction. “You want one of them, right?”

  Arian shook herself from her humor and nodded. “Very much so.”

  “Then I’ll buy one for you,” I insisted as I nodded at the assortment. “Take whichever one you want. Take the whole lot if that means I can pay him back.”

  The man chuckled. “You are very kind, Your Ladyship, but some of my sweets are very precious. I sold one only a moment ago for a single gold coin.”

  I looked down at the silver coins in my hand and bit my lip. “That’s a lot, right?”

  He curtly bowed his head. “Very much so.”

  Arian pointed at a bear with one claw outstretched as a warning. “I will take that one.”

  A knowing smile graced my lips as I paid the man the silver coin. “It suits you.”

  She blushed as she accepted the stick from the merchant. “I thought perhaps I might give it to Jin if we find him.”

  I stretched my neck and viewed the crowd, but a great many of the people were taller than me so I couldn’t see very far. “I don’t see him. Would he be somewhere special?”

  Arian scoured the stalls and nodded. “He may be at the-”

  “I’ll take on any comers! Anybody can try their hand at besting me!”

  The crowing came from the center aisle between the middle two rows of stalls. That corridor was twice the width of the other two and featured games like ring tossing, mallet smashing, and other more physical contests. I wasn’t surprised there wasn’t a balloon-popping event but the games that were there were anything but ordinary. The ducks in the pond came alive when the thrower tossed the ring. Sometimes that was to the advantage of the tosser as the quackers crashed into each other to escape the ring. The mallet smashing allowed elemental magic, and a contestant stepped up to the plate as Arian and I scooted between two stalls.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  The man was Kang and he had a broad grin on his face. The merchant pointed at a wheel behind him that featured pictures of the different elements. I noticed that fire wasn’t present.

  “Which one are ya?” the man asked him.

  “Lightning,” Kang replied.

  The man scoffed. “You sure you want to do this one? You guys don’t have much force in you.”

  Kang cracked his fingers together in front of him and focused his eyes on the button at the bottom of the tall tower. “Really? Then you have never seen me in action.”

  The vendor beckoned to him. “I’ll see you in action after you’ve paid your fare.”

  Kang reached into his pocket and tossed a coin to the man. He stepped up to the push mechanism and rolled up his sleeves. The tamer flexed his arm muscles and a faint static charge emanated from his arms. The air came alive with his energy and the ends of my hair stood on end. The crowd laughed at each other as their hair and cotton clothing did the same.

  Kang stretched one arm high into the air and a dark cloud gathered in the sunny sky above him. He gave a great cry and swung his hand downward. A huge bolt of lightning shot out of the cloud and slammed into the push button. The metallic bell was ringing before the wooden block on the tower shot up and crashed into it.

  Everyone cheered and clapped. Kang turned in a slow circle and waved at the crowd. A great big grin stretched his face as the vendor lurked in the background with a dark shadow on his brow.

  “Alright, alright! You’ve made your point!” the stall master snapped as he dug into his pocket and drew out some coins. “Here’s your winnings!”

  Kang took the coins and bowed his head. “Thank you, sir. I look forward to next year’s bout.”

  “Not if I can help it. . .” I heard the man mutter.

  Kang strolled a few steps before he noticed Arian and me. He puffed out his chest and sauntered over to us. “Good afternoon! Did you see my bout with the bell?”

  I hid my bemused smile behind a more impassive expression and nodded. “It was really spectacular. Can every lightning user do that?”

  He stretched himself a little higher and broader in the chest. “I and I only have the lightning hammer. Hardly anyone has survived its blow, much less a bell.”

  “Then I’m glad I got to see it,” I commented as I looked about us at the various games.

  “How are you enjoying the fair?” Kang wondered as he deflated his ego long enough to remember I wasn’t from these parts. “Do you like it?”

  I nodded. “Very much. I went to these in my old world but there wasn’t any magic to make it as memorable.”

  He swept into a low bow. “Then I am glad to have shown you the wonder of our fair festival.” He straightened and tossed the coins in the air before catching them in one hand. “Now if you will excuse me, I have some meat to buy.” He bowed his head and strolled away.

  I grinned and turned to my friend. “Now what’s next?”

  Arian licked her sucker and smiled. “Whatever you wish. The coins Prince Yushir has given us are enough to buy almost anything in the fair.”

  He mimicked Kang’s move by tossing the coin purse into the air and catching it. Well, sort of. I juggled it a few times before I got a good grip on it. “Well then, let’s see what we can buy.”

  There was so much to see and do that the hours flew past without a moment’s thought to the time. The only thing that marred the wondrous event was the occasional judging pair of eyeballs on me as people recognized me as ‘that new goddess.’

  I didn’t notice the thinning of the crowds until a family passed us. The young daughter clung to her dad’s hand and tugged on it. “Can’t we sit on the grass?”

  He shook his head. “We have a blanket that will keep us clean from the night dew.”

  I turned and watched them stroll through the stalls toward the pond. The grass in front of the pool was already crowded with picnickers, many who munched on food purchased from the stalls and chatted with their neighbors. A steady stream of people now made their way toward the grass and even some of the stalls shuttered shop to join them.

  “So what exactly does happen during this twilight ceremony?” I inquired of my more knowledgeable friend as I turned to her.

  “Oh my gosh!” Arian yelped as she grabbed my hand. “We must hurry before all the best spots are taken!”

  Arian dragged me into the flow and we hurried toward the expansive lawn. The crowds whispered among themselves and many among them cast their eyes to the bright heavens.

  “What’s going on?” I asked her as she found us an empty spot on the grass only thirty feet from the edge of the pond.

  “His Highness is about to perform the spell of Twilight,” she told me as we took our seats. “We mustn’t miss it!”