The Last Snow

Chapter 54: The Harvest Festival part 1, Prayers and Offerings

After an exhausting three days, the seventh day of the seventh month finally arrived.

Even before sunrise, the city was already bustling with activity. Roadblocks were established all around Almiana, as wagons and carriages rerouted to the outer roads. Merchants were already setting up their booths. Performers were practicing on makeshift stages built within the city parks.

All the local inns were full of visitors from other towns. And more kept arriving both by ship and through the castle gates. It was the busiest time of the year for Almiana.

The castle guards were already hard at work, checking for passes issued by the prince. They had a list of the merchants who had permission to set up inside the castle grounds. But even so, they still had to check their wagons and carts to ensure that there was nothing dangerous or harmful inside.

"Good morning, your highness."

"Happy Harvest, Prince Lee."

"Your highness, please try our food later!"

Everyone greeted Lisa as she passed. She had a basket containing fresh fruits, cheese, and wine in one hand. She used her other hand to wave to the merchants along the castle grounds.

"Good morning, everyone. Your beautiful smiles are the perfect start to my day.", said Lisa as she looked at all the intriguing booths around her. 

She went to the castle gates and saw that the guards were busy with their tasks.

"Should I just leave by myself, or do I go back and ask Kai to go with me?", thought Lisa when she saw that there was no available guard to escort her.

"Would you like me to accompany you, your highness?", asked a man's voice from behind her.

Lisa turned around and saw Jinu coming out of one of the booths.

"Sir Jinu. A wonderful morning to you. Would you mind-- wait. You are not in uniform.", said Lisa after noticing that Jinu was wearing civilian clothes. 

"I requested to be off-duty today, your highness. I am helping my grandparents prepare their booth since it is the first day of the festival. I have almost finished setting up. I could escort you right after.", explained Jinu as he gestured to the elderly couple behind him.

"Your highness. Please take this as a sign of our gratitude. We couldn't thank you enough for taking care of our Jinu.", said Jinu's grandpa. He handed Lisa a tall paper cup containing a cold pinkish liquid.

"It is made of fresh strawberries, mangoes, and dragon fruit, crushed together with honey and a little bit of frozen water. We call them fruit blizzards.", explained Jinu proudly as he lifted the last few boxes of fruits.

The drink itself looked super refreshing, and once Lisa gave it a try, she couldn't control herself.

*gulp* *gulp* *gulp*

"Prince Lee. Don't drink it too fast. It causes your brain to freeze."

"Too late... Awwww!!! It is super delicious, though. Wow. I'm glad your booth got chosen. I would love to drink this every chance I get."

Jinu felt super proud of his family's fruit blizzards. He quickly finished all the heavy lifting and escorted the prince in his walk towards the Temple of Renewal.

"Is my sister still mad at me?", asked Lisa once they had a little privacy.

"Lady Inna was crying for a while after your visit a few days ago, your highness. But after eating dinner and drinking some ale, she was back to her normal self. Or at least that's what she wanted everyone to think.", answered Jinu.