The Carnival is Here! [Open]

(Apparently I had an open thread here before. Gonna leave it open, hope that's okay with you.)

It was late in the afternoon; close to supper time, actually. However, no one seemed to be headed home. Not tonight, of all nights. Admittance was free - the carnival had come to town! Fun and festivities for all ages, food to be enjoyed by all!

Truly, it was a big deal, especially for the more common folk of the town. The carnival was drawing in all types this night - they had been doing excellent for months now, and many people that were part of the carnival could call Kriene their original home. Thus, special privileges were being given away at the entrance - coupons to free food and attractions. It would be a special night for many.

It was probably why Rodyn was pacing around the fountain. Worried about not getting coupons? Hardly - he knew some of the folk, and had even practiced with some of them a few years back. He was given pointers by many of them. He had even been helping them out the past few days, setting up and cleaning up. So he was given several coupons by them.

No, Rodyn was just nervous. Now that he thought about it, he had basically asked Brielle out on a date. It's not like he hasn't ever been with a woman before - he had many traveling companions that were female. Just that, he'd never been on a real date before. Sure, some of the women he knew were flirty, but he'd never given them much mind before.

I hope she doesn't think it's a date.. I just wanted to show her around, broaden her horizons a bit.. get her out of that castle. Way too stuffy in that place. I mean, I don't think it's a date. No, not at all. I just asked a girl to accompany me to a social gathering... normal. Very normal. Eh heh..

He shrugged, looking down at himself. He was dressed as always - robes wrapped in cloth. Nothing special.. not like at the ball.

Maybe this is why so many monks have a life of celibacy and solitude. Dates can be worrisome. Oh, I just admitted to myself that I think of this as a date. Huh.. a person like me, on a date with a princess. Well, royalty.. I'm worrying too much about this.

Stopping at the fountain, Rodyn looked down in the water at his reflection. Reaching up, he removed the wrapping around his head, letting his hair fall loose. He had to admit, she was right. His hair looked much better when it could be seen, and not hidden away in his outfit.

Brielle had been getting dressed long before the time indicated that she was late. Her hair had been wrapped messily in curlers as she slipped the dress on. Her eyes were gleaming with anticipation as she awaited for the servant to run out to town and fetch her a pair of shoes that would fit in well with the dress. Though she had possibly dozens or maybe even hundreds of shoes she couldn't find a pair that didn't look tacky or clashed when matched with the beautiful dress. She knew she wouldn't be late and that she still had time, but she wondered what took the girl so long.

She had sent her out early in the morning, along with a piece of material who's color matched the dress. It surely couldn't take hours to find a good pair of shoes, and she knew the shoes didn't cost more than she could afford. The money was given and she expected a receipt, just in case. But the servant wasn't spotted. Brielle wouldn't panic, she didn't want a heart attack. But still...

A knock was heard on her door. She quickly said an "Mmmm..yes?" allowing the female to come in. In her hands was the coin pouch and a pair of gorgeous coal black shoes that allowed Brielle's eyes to sparkle as she looked at them. Brielle smiled, thanking the woman politely and allowing her to keep part of her change. Now it was time to get to business.

She removed the curlers from her hair. Soft milky strands of light blonde hair draped over her shoulders, some strands tinted bronze and gold. No makeup was worn on her face as she wanted to look clean and neutral. She had never been on a date friendly even with two friends in which one asked her to go before. She hoped Rodyn didn't think of it as a date after all, he was going out with a woman who possibly was the most boring female in the world.

Standing in front of the mirror she brushed her hair so that the curls would look as though they were there but not too forced. It gave them a soft wavy curly pattern that made Brielle smile. Indeed, she looked amazing as she was paired off with a ravishing above the knee dress. The dress was comfortable as it was made of soft polyester. A ruche bodice hugged her torso tightly at the back but enabled comfort at her front. A strappy silk waistband hugged her waist as it was wrapped around about five times, letting a large bow be tied onto it with some of the large ribbon draping down. The color was a beautiful Toronto Blue that put all other blues to shame.

The shoes would also put all other shoes to shame. It was a gorgeous pair of three inch heals. The shoes were also strappy and Brielle had a difficult time putting them on. A ribbon was used to tie it around the ankle and an odd styled lock was used to hold it into place. It made a crisscross pattern that almost resembled the tying styles of a gorgeous black corset ribbons. She was ready.

She was nervous by the time she had gotten there. It was late afternoon, just before supper started. She was peering around, searching for Rodyn. She then remembered him telling her to meet her at the fountain. She smiled, telling herself it would be okay. She had never really been out like this before, and to go out on her own. If only father could see her now. Scratch that, if he did, he'd have a fit.

She wiped away all negative thoughts from her mind and made her way towards the fountain. She smiled, resisting the urge to giggle as she found him peering into the water. Deciding to surprise him, she would make her way towards him and poke him slightly in his side.

"See something interesting?" She would ask, her voice as sweet as always.

The poke in his side garnered a smile from him, as he continued to look in the water. It had gotten only slightly darker, but already torches and lights were being lit.

"Yeah, actually. Check this out."

He flicked the water once, sending his reflection into ripples all over the water, making his face look all wobbly. Turning around, he was about to flick some water at her, but stopped, a bit stunned to see her dressed up as such. He shouldn't have been surprised - she was a noble, but..

Whoa.. I feel a bit under dressed. Ah, it'll be okay.

Standing up, he tilted his head and smiled warmly at her.

"You look lovely this evening. Looks like I'm going to have to be extra protective tonight - definitely don't need you getting your clothes all dirty now."

Holding his arm out to her, Rodyn offered it so she could scoop her own arm around it. Once she would, he would lead the way to the carnival, amongst the crowds of people making their way there as well.

The carnival itself wasn't too far from the city limits, but it was in a wide, huge open area. Waving his way past the entrance, Rodyn led them through the thicket of people who were crowding their way in, trying to make sure they were the first in. It seemed the carnival was underway already.

Absolutely nothing was enclosed in this carnival - everything was out in the open. Each and every performance was happening at the same time. Jugglers, acrobats, fire breathers, animal tamers, you named it, and it was probably here. Shrugging for a moment, Rodyn started to lead the way again.

"I've got one thing I want to do first, then we can do anything else you want."

They passed a man who was juggling knives, and then launching them into a target board, always hitting the target he called out. They passed several different kinds of animal acts, as well as people setting up shows for comedy and drama purposes. In short, this place was huge. There was too much to see and do here to do it all in one night.

Where they stopped, though, was a small place. A little stall to the side, that displayed many trinkets. It seemed that the stall had only just finished setting up, and was ran by one person only. Reaching into his pockets, Rodyn fished out a few pieces coin, and dropped it into a box the man had. The man bowed before Rodyn, his eyes closed. "Blessings of Luminous upon ye, kind sir." Rodyn returned the bow, closing his eyes and clasping his hands as well.

"And upon you, brother." The man then handed Rodyn a small woven bracelet, that had seashells entwined within it. Rodyn took it with a nod and a smile, and turned around from the stall. Handing the bracelet to Brielle, he quickly gave her an explanation.

"The order of Luminous actually has the most orphanages I've ever known. They usually send out an envoy like that man who sells trinkets the kids make to help out. I'm not much for jewelry myself, but I think it would look great on you."

Rodyn opened up the bracelet by stretching it out a bit at two ends, waiting for Brielle to pass her hand through.

"You look lovely this evening. Looks like I'm going to have to be extra protective tonight - definitely don't need you getting your clothes all dirty now."

She smiled warmly as she scooped her arm around his, the smile on her face never leaving. They were heading somewhere and she had no clue where. She had been aware of whatever was around her though, nothing was left enclosed. The city was lively, filled with the lights illuminated by these people. The warmth the crowd gave her tonight was a sense of sheer joy and passion.

She had never seen the streets filled like this before. Rodyn was a great person for inviting her to spend a night like this with him. It was going to be lively and memorable. They had been strolling through many stalls, each an addition to the festival on their own. Some had plenty of toys, others were games that people could play. Some just scared her, but the one they were heading towards looked beautiful. It was run by a single man.

It showed multiple trinkets, each different and beautiful in their own way. She awed at the sight and watched as Rodyn spoke to the man. She wondered if they knew each other, perhaps they had been friends? Brielle wouldn't pry and she stood there next to him politely, smiling kindly at the man. It was then Rodyn turned towards her, showing her the ravishing peace of art. It seemed to be a small woven bracelet, obviously made for a woman. Seashells were entwined within it, making it seemed much more delicate than it looked.

Brielle listened to his explanation, and inserted her hand through the bracelet. It fit her perfectly, and she examined her wrist as the trinket seemed to go beautifully with her skin tone and what she was wearing. Her vision focused on Rodyn, her gaze steady. It was a great gift, and she was sad that she hadn't given him anything in return. Perhaps she could find something on the way.

"It is gorgeous, thank you." She told him with a smile. She wasn't sure what to do on dates like this, so she wanted Rodyn to pick out a location. However they did pass by a group of people that seemed to do animal tricks. Her face flushing slightly, she would then begin to speak again.

"Can we please see the animals?"

Rodyn nodded, headed back in the direction they originally came from.

"Animals, hmn? Got any pets of your own?" Rodyn was watching the roads and the people as they passed it all. He knew to have expected a large crowd, but it seemed like the entire city was here, and then some. Yet, as crowded as it was, it seemed there was more than enough space to accomadate every person in here. It was as if space was just being created by the minute.

The very first area they stummbled upon was one with three large cats, each a different shape and color. A lion, a panther, and a cougar. Normally, one would never see these three cats together, but the leader of this act was some sort of famous 'cat whisperer'. The woman seemed to just talk into the cats' ears and they would do anything she commanded.

Apparently they had walked in during the middle of the act. The lion was walking on its front paunches, its back legs high into the air and balancing a ball inbetween them. The panther then suddenly jumped out from the shadows, knocking the ball out of the lion's legs, causing the lion to lose balance and fall back down onto all fours. The lion then turned around, roaring very loudly and angry at the panther. The panther then fell back onto its two back legs, raising his front legs up in a shrug. Just when it seemed that the lion was about to attack the panther, the couger rolled inbetween the two, as if it were preventing itself from falling off the ball by rolling on it from above. The lion and panther then both sped after the cougar. At the ended, all three cats came out with their leader behind them. She bowed as the cats roared proudly.

Rodyn clapped, turning to Brielle with a broad smile on his face.

"Enjoying yourself? There's so much more to come.. whoa, look at that, elephants!" He beemed happily as the giant animals came out, juggling pins between each other - three sets of a pair of elephants, totalling to six of the animals.

"Pets...no... I had a few birds, but nothing special really." If a few meant a greenhouse filled with them, then yes Brielle had a few birds. Each and everyone of them came in pairs or maybe even by trio. They were all unique, some endangered, others were rare to find. Most of them were colorful and beautiful in their own ways, but Brielle never really knew what to do with them. The gal smiled softly as she would watch the wild cats acted out their sceneries.

Once the cats were finished Brielle clapped enthusiastically. She had never had so much fun in all her life. Looking at Rodyn she beamed, a smile flashing on her face. "This is so much fun." She said as she watched the elephants come out. They seemed to be balancing on large balls, those that looked as though they were impossible to hold their wait. Brielle's eyes went wide. How could they juggle, balance, and be elephants all at the same time? They were quite splendid.

"Did you see that?" Brielle asked as they threw the pins higher and higher into the air. She was amazed by the fantasticalness and coordination of the giants. These animals were so talented that they could do more than any human on earth. It would take a real talented figure to master those steps, and these amazing creatures had done just that.

Once that act had finished, Brielle clapped once more as monkeys and a ring leader had entered the scenery.

Rodyn shrugged, nodding when Brielle mentioned that she didn't have any real pets before.

"Never had any of my own, either. Always thought it would've been nice if I had a dog or something with me on my travels. Maybe I'll buy one, for home. Would be nice to come home to someone."

The elephants were agile way beyond their massive frames; it amazed Rodyn to see them perform such feats; and on top of balls, of all the things. He imagined that it took months upon months of training to get the creature to juggle; and now they also performed the act on balls? Not only were the elephants great, but their trainers must've been something else in order to get the animals into the shape they were in.

Once the elephants had gone into the back, a group of monkeys came out, hands waving high into the air. Some were dressed up like clowns, with big red noses, and dragging their feet in their big clumpy shoes. That alone brought laughter from the crowd, including Rodyn.

The act they performed consisted of a lot of pyramids, jumping on top of one another, and swinging each other to higher positions on other monkey's backs. Pairs of monkeys would grab onto each other's hands and feet, rolling around like a wheel along the ground, never crashing into anyone or anything. After the ringmaster blew the whistle, they got together in a line, and stood up straight as soldiers, all of them falling into rank like a regular army. They marched around for a while, some of them collecting solder helmets from a near by prop bin.

The whole thing ended with a bunch of animals coming out and exiting, with their respective trainers and masters. Each animal did their own bows, depending on their body types. It was all truly majestic. Rodyn applauded loudly, yelling out shouts of approval as he did so.

"That was brilliant! Wish we had caught the whole thing, but I guess there's always next year! Alright, then, princess." Rodyn took his and held it out to Brielle, his palm open and facing up. "We've got plays, acrobatics, games. Drag me anywhere, we got some time to burn until something I have to show you comes up!

He smiled, waiting for her to choose some place. He was genuinely having fun with her, something he hadn't really done in a long time.

The act had been superb. Brielle had definitely never seen anything like it. They all were trained and she didn't know monkeys could act so human like. Brielle's mouth would form into an oval shape as she would gasp and applaud with the crowd as each one of the animals would do their own trick. She smiled as the crowd roared with laughter during some of the plays. While other times their eyes would focus on the individuals. Once the act had ended she and Rodyn would make their exit.

"That was amusing~" She told Rodyn with a grin on her face. "Let's go watch a play next. Oh wow! Is that a puppet show?" She would then take his hand and drag him towards the rather large booth. It seemed big for a puppet show and she took a seat in a spacious area. Not many people were here yet which would indicate it had just recently ended and a new show was about to begin.

Once the green curtains had opened, a puppet that looked like a jester had popped out. It was singing a song in a language she had never heard of. She tilted her head curiously as the jester was hopping around and doing tricks as he sang along to the song. 'En de zon schijnt als ze glimlachte.' She picked up that line. It was Dutch, was it not? It did mean "The sun Shines when she smiled." Was it a love song? If it was, then why did the expression on his face change as the tempo did.

She had no time to think as the setting was changed. It seemed to be Romeo and Juliet like. As towers were dropping down onto the scene. She smiled, amused by the setting. So it was Romeo and Juliet. However they seemed to turn it into a comedy when both of the puppets were klutzes. Brielle laughed.

Puppets? They always scared Rodyn a bit. Especially the wooden kind.. dummies, people called them. Lifeless objects, made in the shape of human, animals, and monsters. Occult beliefs always led to believe that such objects craved having a soul in them, and would, as such, do anything to procure a soul for themselves.

Right now, though, he put that aside, as he snicked along with the crowd. His seat taken by Brielle, he grinned as the play went along, and it told a story that seemed famous and popular to everyone else. To him, though, it wasn't something he had heard of before. Brielle seemed interested in it though.

"What do you think the story is about? I'm not that good with dramas.. whether they're acted out by people or puppets."

He thought it was going to be a love story at first, but ridiculous things entailed the entire act. The girl fell over the balcony and onto the man, two people who were supposed to be fighting ended up using food in place of swords.. it was ridiculous, yet funny all the same. His smile broadened wider and wider as the minutes passed by.

"Did they say their names were Romeo and Juliet? I think I've heard of that story before.. a popular play, right? A tragedy, I think it was supposed to be originally. They put quite a twist on it!"

[[Sorry. Thought I posted already]]

"Indeed they did!" Brielle whispered with enthusiasm in her tone. She was quite happy with the puppet show as she watched the girl falling over the balcony and onto a man. They had a food fight and what not. Romeo who killed Juliet's cousin saw him coming back to life as a zombie.

She laughed as the puppeteers started rearranging the lines. It truly something interesting and new to hear. Once a few minutes had passed and Juliet lay inside her tomb waiting for Romeo, the prince from the well known fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" had wondered onto the set and kissed her, enraging a jealous Romeo. Brielle smiled as she watched the drama happen and Romeo accidently got knocked out unconscious.

It was quite a sight to see Juliet wake up to a prince and her lover unconscious in the room. And as the story goes, she killed herself. But her death wasn't the least bit dramatic. Juliet killed herself by laughter as the Prince tried to explain what happened. Juliet ended up choking on her own saliva and died. Brielle knew that it was still a death scene and she shouldn't laugh, but somehow she couldn't help it. Giggling softly, she turned back to Rodyn.

"That was amusing." She said as she applauded with the audience once the play had ended.

It really was an interesting twist. Something meant to be a drama became a full out comedy, and the story very much so stayed the same from beginning to end, even though everything happened in such a nonsensical way. Grinning, he got up, leading the way out from the outdoor theater.

"Good choice, I can leave this play with a good feeling! Let's check out the music, I love folk music."

Leading Brielle to another stage area, they came across a troupe of men who played some percussion instruments, a flute, and a lyre. There was also a story teller, who told a story along with the mood of the music. Everyone was huddle close to a fire that was near the troupe, trying to keep warm. It had gotten dark, and a bit colder as well.

The story was about a young boy who lived on a farm with his parents, a distant way away from any other people. The farm was a nearby cities main producer of dairy products. One day, the farmer went to his barn to find one of his cows missing. This continued to happen each and every night, until her was finally down to only 5 cows.

The brave farmer's son said he would stay up the night to see who was taking away the cows from the farm. The boy, however, knew that this couldn't be done by any normal humans. He had tried staying up before, watching from his room window, but he never saw anything happen. Every morning was the same, he'd wake up, somehow having fallen asleep, and another cow would be missing.

As the story was being told, he looked over to Brielle, seeing how she felt about this story.

As she listened to the story teller speak, Brielle's hair on the back of her neck stood. She was quite scarred of the events the story teller had listed. Was he speaking of ghosts. With the atmosphere in the room, the music almost helped with the creepy atmosphere. What made it worse was that the scenery was dark and everyone was huddled towards a fire. She listened further as he explained.

Five cows. She wondered what was making them disappear. It had to be a ghost of some sort, she was sure with that. She moved closer to Rodyn, linking arms with him again. This time though she pressed herself towards him so that her shoulder would be firmly against his. She was definitely terrified of the story. She hoped it wouldn't give her nightmares later.

Feeling eyes on her she realized that Rodyn looked over at her. She gave him a small scarred pout, her eyes tracing back to the storyteller. She decided to block out just what he was saying and focus on the music in the background. She listened o the flute and lyre players as they chimed in together in harmony. The melody of the song was alluring and interesting.

She laughed nervously and quietly as she focused back on the story teller. She hoped she didn't look too terrified.

Rodyn placed his other hand on top of Brielle's hand that was wrapped around his own. The girl seemed a bit scared of the story, but he kind of wanted to hear it out to the end. He lowered his head to her ear, speaking softly as he whispered into her ear.

"It's just a story.. these tales always end up with a good ending.. I hope.

As he lifted his head back up, the story teller was already getting to the scarier part of the tale. The boy decided to sleep in the barn that night with the cows, figuring it would be best to see up close exactly what was going on. His father had tried it a few nights back, but the farmer said he just fell asleep, and woke up to one less cow.

What the boy had done, however, was place a comb in his hair, and tied a string to the cow that was most likely going to be taken next. The thief had gone down in an age order, from oldest to youngest. The boy had tied the string to the foot of the next oldest cow.

As it grew late into the night, the boy found himself unable to resist going to sleep. Within minutes of feeling tired, he was fast asleep. Not too long after, the comb started pulling through his hair, causing him to wake up with a slight jerk. When he opened his eyes, a short, red creature appeared to be pulling at the cow, trying to get it out of its stable.

The boy quickly jumped up upon seeing this, grabbing a pitchfork, and charged at the creature trying to stab it. As he grew closer, the red creature then pulled out a small bag and blew some dust in the boy's face. The boy began feeling tired again, but he refused to fall asleep, at least not before dropping the pitchfork on top of the red creature.

When morning rolled around, the farmer entered the barn to find his son fast asleep on the floor, with all his cows still around. He tried waking his son up, but he couldn't get him to leave his sleep. The boy wouldn't wake until many days later, but it seemed that the foul creature had been defeated. The boy, however, would never be able to remember the events of that night.

The storyteller bowed as he finished his tale, the musicians playing a tune for him as he exited the limelight.

"That wasn't so bad, you okay there Brielle?"

He noticed a while ago that Brielle had been trying to tune out the story, and that had put a slight smile on his face.

"It's just a story.. these tales always end up with a good ending.. I hope." He hopes. Brielle's face paled a little, not due to sickness but only because she was worried. She had always been terrified of the horrors of the world. She was terrified of things she wasn't exactly familiar with. The girl, since childhood, had always preferred books that were happy from the beginning with a good moral at the end.

Though fearful, the storyteller did not notice and continued to tell his tale. She tried tuning out each and every detail of the story but was slightly unsuccessful. First of all, she listened as the boy had a plan to trap down whatever ghost was devouring the cows. If Brielle had been in his position she probably wouldn't do anything as fear would have taken over her already.

And then she caught the word that made her body cringe. A monster? Biting her lip she looked towards Rodyn, trying to get a reaction from him. After a second of staring she had brought her sight towards the gravel of the ground. She tuned in to some more details of the horrifying story and when the boy was unconscious she was sure he was dead.

Death was a natural process of life. Her mother died due to an illness and was taken away way before her time. Brielle however, oddly enough accepted this process faster than her father ever did. She sighed slightly as she recalled the event. She was close to her parents but for her to mourn... She was too heavily burdened with the shock and grief of her mother's death to cry. Tears flew down eventually but even then they were barely noticeable.

Once the tail had finished and the boy had woken up from his slumber, she was almost relieved to hear that the boy was alive. This story did have a good ending. The cows were saved and so was the boy. She exhaled slowly, her tension moving along with it. She then heard Rodyn say something.

"That wasn't so bad, you okay there Brielle?"

"No, it wasn't that bad at all." She put on the best smile she could manage, her lips giving off a slight quiver from the fear that had passed by. She then realized that she was still linking arms with Rodyn. A small wave of red passed her face and she slowly unlooped herself from the position. "Let's get something to eat, shall we?"

A bit worried about her, he tilted his head to the side after she asked if she was alright, making sure she really was. At one point in the story, she seemed really frightened - but he nodded for the moment, agreeing they should grab something to eat. After she unlooped her arm, he placed his hands in his pockets, turning around to find someplace good to eat.

"All right.. let's find something to eat, then. It's a carnival, so you better be prepared to stuff yourself with junk food!"

Rodyn was not joking around for one moment about junk food. Though there were proper food around the area, he purposefully went for the smaller, sweater treats that were literally scattered all over the carnival grounds. They picked up candied fruits that were dipped in vats of caramel, pieces of bread that you could smother in hot chocolate, fine pieces of nuts that were baked into honey, solid pieces of sugar.. It was all something that they would never do normally in a day.

Finding a place to sit down, Rodyn led Brielle to an open area that, when you looked towards the sky, you would find the castle. Rummaging through the crowd, he located a place for them to sit at that had a table. Placing everything on the table while Brielle sat, he setup everything for them. He sat down, picked up a piece of candied fruit, and popped it in his mouth.

"Makes me feel like I'm five again.. Brother Daniel used to spoil me when I was really young. Heh."

He smiled fondly, remembering life back at the monastery.

"All this candy? I swear Rodyn, our stomachs would explode with all these sweets." She joked around, shaking her head as they sat down on the table. It wasn't proper to eat all these treats in a day. Brielle knew better than to stuff herself with junk food. But still, it did look good. Maybe just one bite. Taking a piece of bread and dipping it in hot chocolate, she scooped it up in her mouth and gulped it down. A small smile on her face showed the delight. It was good.

"Makes me feel like I'm five again.. Brother Daniel used to spoil me when I was really young. Heh."

"You had a brother, Rodyn?" She wasn't aware if this meant another monk or a real brother. She was curious with the life he held back when he was younger. It must've all been so good. It must've been really really great in his youth. She took another bite off of the bread and made sure not to double dip. Though she wanted more chocolate on it, she knew that sharing saliva wasn't proper and was usually considered disgusting and rude.

"Mmmm..." She said with grand approval for the delicacy, "This is good." She smiled softly, eyes looking at Rodyn for a response. She was glad that he had chosen the food to pick. Though it wasn't the proper dinner she would have preferred, it was a new experience. There was enough sugar here to make your sugar level explode. She was sure she would need to maintain her balance for the next few weeks to assure herself she wouldn't gain so much weight.