Chapter 237

237 Summer Games: Food And Fair Games

Skye’s ire blazed as she trudged back to her husband. ‘How stupid can a person be?! I know that the mages maintain the arena, but the fair grounds are almost twice as big! And it’s muddy every year! Tis part of the fun! Oh! How that woman irritates me! ...That puddle hittin’ her was freakin’ hilarious! Serves her right!’

Tidas instantly knew his wife was now in a foul mood as she walked back over. He’d heard the entire conversation, courtesy of his Tank trait. Considering how Karena had been acting towards Skye lately, they’d had a relatively docile meeting for once; minus the strategic puddle placement.

The rumors about Marco and Skye hadn’t dissipated at all.. In fact, they’d become much more outrageous as time went. According to one rumor, Skye was forced to marry Tidas because the king didn’t approve of Marco marrying a commoner. Another rumor said that Skye was pregnant with Marco’s child, and another said the all the brothers shared the willing princess.

Tidas was beyond sick of them, but he’d been happily surprised to hear his soldiers and servants talking about how “cute and in love the prince and princess are”.

They’d started comparing them to the crowned couple. Which made him smile even more when everyone had blatantly agreed that he and Skye were the better couple. It was a bit egotistical to be so happy about it, but Tidas was sick of everyone falling for their clearly fake personalities and relationship.

It was clear when they first married that Marco actually cared for her then. Karena was a shy and gentle person back then, albeit a bit spoiled. She’d bonded with Skye the few times that she’d visited the palace, but it’d turned superficial the last couple times before Tidas has supposedly died.

It was painfully obvious that Karena was jealous of Skye. The admiration she received was genuine and full of emotion. Everyone from nobles to commoners, at the least, admired her determination. Even her enemies had to admit she was a truly good person.

It infuriated Karena because she never Had to do anything to earn people’s love until Skye had showed up. She was so sure that the crass country bumpkin was going to fall in line, but she’d actually become a rival to her! ‘Skye of all people! Even Marco is starting to take an interest! Were those rumors really true?! No. There’s no way; she’s a dirty commoner! He would never sink so low..’

Karena tried to reassure herself, but the rumors were only getting worse. ‘Is there any truth to them? Why would there be so many if there was Nothing to support them? No, no, no.. Marco knows better than to humiliate me. My brother would retaliate on my behalf, and he’d never risk one of his precious alliances.. It Has to be that bitch!’

.....

Karena’s face twisted into a dark smile as her carriage driver turned about to take her back to the palace to change. ‘If all goes as planned, she won’t be a problem much longer...’

As Karena’s carriage rattled along, she imagined what Tidas’ response will be to the death of his wife. ‘I’ve always found him attractive.. Maybe I’ll make him a pet until Marco finds out. Then he can join his dead wife in the afterlife.’ Her dark grin widened at the prospect..

*********

Skye and Tidas walked around the fair grounds, sampling foods and playing the games that were already present. All of the contests were started up in a few hours, so Tidas had to be back in two. It wasn’t much time together, but it was still time.

The first game they did was a dart game. You had to hit pouches of water with the darts. The more you popped, the better the prize. Skye won herself an overgrown teddy bear that she gave to a child that was practically drooling over it.

It was about twenty-eight inches in length, so carrying it around would’ve been a hassle anyway. Tidas had popped the same amount as her, but had opted for a tiny stuffed black dragon instead of the oversized bear. When he handed it to his wife, Skye beamed ear to ear as she kissed her husband’s cheek. He would definitely get his prize from her later...

The first foods that they tried were beef and pork sausages dipped in cornmeal batter, then deep fried. A special kind of beer mustard was paired with it, as well as deep fried potato wedges smothered in melted cheese. Tidas loved the ‘corn dog’, but Skye preferred the ‘cheese fries’.

They had also had some Colcannon, a few Lefse wrapped around some cream cheese and honey smoked ham, and a two chocolate, sweet cream, and fruit filled crepes each. They were both nearing their limits when Tidas spotted a special treat that always ran out early on the first day.

They managed to get a piece of Saskatoon Berry pie. The berries themselves were akin to blueberries, but had an almost almond undertone/aftertaste to them. Skye had never had it before, but vowed to figure out a way to get more. It was delicious with a small amount whipped sweet cream on top. She could only imagine how fantastic it would be with some ice cream..

Right as they finished their pie; Lawrence, Shasta, and the twins came running up behind them. They jumped on their aunt and uncle, then immediately began going off about the games they’d played already. Skye squatted down to their level, but Tidas stayed standing next to his brother.

Victor puffed out his chest as he held up an intricately carved wooden sword, and spoke with pride; “I got this at the hoop game! They weren’t even open yet, but the lady knew daddy and let us play! I also got Anna the tiara she’s wearing!”

Tidas started cracking up when Shasta reflexively bent her ears back when Victor mentioned the woman. Lawrence had also cleared his throat nervously, which made his brother laugh even more. Skye looked up at her husband in confusion, but lost the thought when Anna started talking about the duck game they’d just gotten done with.

“I got this cute little doll at there, see?! Isn’t she pretty! She looks just like you Aunt Skye!” Anna thrust the tiny doll into the air to show everyone.

Skye smiled at the wee doll, but there really wasn’t too much of a likeness to it. It’s hair and eyes were the same golden color as hers, but other than that.. It didn’t exactly have much shape to it. There was only a stitched smile, a white dress, and the hair and eye color to the tiny thing, but Skye still smiled brightly at the wee lass.

“Aye, she does!” Skye held out her little stuffed dragon; “Maybe yer princess can play with me wee dragon?”

Victor scoffed; “Dragons and princesses can’t be friends! Dragons kidnap princesses! Then brave knights have to always save her..”

All the adults started laughing heartily as the twins shared confused expression with each other. After their laughter died down, Tidas looked to his older brother with surprise; “So you haven’t told them yet?!”

After Lawrence cleared his throat, he replied; “I was saving her as a surprise.. With everything going on, it slipped my mind.”

Simultaneously exhaling in exacerbation, the twins spoke together; “Surprise?! What Surprise?!”

Skye held her finger up to her lips as she leaned forward; “Shhh... If ye two can be patient, yer Da and Shasta can meet me tonight at Zazzy’s Place to find out. Shasta knows where ’tis.”

The twins turned their wee faces to their father with unnecessary puppy dog eyes. He looked to Shasta with a smirk, prompting his children to turn to her. She beamed at them as she nodded, letting them know it was ok.

Skye stood up and grinned knowingly at Shasta. Seeing his wife’s look, Tidas offered to buy their “little family” a slice of pie while there was still some left. The children jumped up and down, splattering the men with mud as Lawrence smiled cockily at his little brother.

Skye frowned as droplets sprayed along the hem of her dress. It was then she realized that every person around them was muddy. The grounds were far wetter than the previous times Skye had come to the games. Not wanting to see others dealing with the mess, Skye made a quick decision.

“Shasta? Will you accompany me to the announcement area? Ima gonna do somethin’ about all of this mess, but I’ll need everyone to remain still while I do it. We can catch up on the way while the men get the children some pie?”

Quickly agreeing, the two took off for the announcement area near the competition grounds. Skye had just been there the previous day, so she knew where it was. She’d gone through the entire layout with Tidas as he plotted out his security details.

Once clear of the men’s general earshot, Skye began to rapid-fire questions at Shasta about the previous night. She’d hesitated at first, but Skye’s enthusiasm was contagious. After very little prodding, Shasta practically exploded with her happiness. Giving Skye every detail she could think of.

By the time they’d reached the announcement area, Shasta was nearly finished with her story. The equipment was attached to the emergency network, so Skye had to disconnect a bunch of things to make the announcement. Once finished, she hopped in the microphone and tapped it a couple times. She’d read about it in a bunch of books, and had always wanted to do it.

“Testing, testing.. Can you hear me out there? Good! This is Princess Skye Moonstone, wife of Prince Tidas MacArthur... I don’t know about you folks, but I’m quite tired of the mud. If you can stand still for five minutes, I can have it all taken care of. If you move around, I’m not responsible for the mess. I request that anyone near the entrances to the fair grounds stop everyone else from entering, or at the least warn them.”

“I know you all still have work to do, but how much faster would your work go if you weren’t dealing with the mud? Five minutes! Give me five minutes, and I’ll have this place nice and dry! Can ye help me?!”

Random voices erupted all over the fairgrounds as people both thanked her, and agreed to stay still. Using there Tank traits, Skye and Shasta listened for any refusals, but everyone stopped moving. As they stepped out of the tented area, Skye stated; “If you hear people moving, tell me where, and I’ll stop.”

After nodding her head in the positive, Shasta felt goosebumps creeping up her back as Skye began to build her Earth and Water traits. The speed in which she could build her powers now was astonishing. Even amongst Fae, she didn’t know many faster than her.

Their training at Zazzy’s Place had been far more beneficial than how they were doing it in the arena. The ring was a very small space compared to half an acre. Skye was quite proficient using her Tank trait now, except for the stopping part. She still couldn’t sometimes, which was hilarious to Shasta.

Skye could easily use two traits at once now as well. Using her Earth trait to maintain walls as they trained with her Tank one increased her abilities across the board. It put Shasta in awe every time.. ‘Anyone within the capital that can sense magic can probably feel Skye’s power right now..’

With glowing eyes and a cocky grin on her lips, Skye called out; “Alright! Let’s get started!”