festival

Oneshot

Alina walked through the streets, Nikolai by her side as they traversed through the crowded streets. Today, there was no problem - it was the festival of masks, and a simple temporary hair dye had resolved Alina's issues with being recognized as the Sol Koroleva.

It hadn't been her idea to go out, but Nikolai's; he longed to be anonymous through the streets once more, and the festival was the perfect excuse for that. Not that Alina, honestly, was complaining; she had spent too long cooped up in the palace, and kind of longed for the freedom the sky offered to her. Not that she'd ever tell Nikolai that, of course - she already dealt with his smug, self-assured smiles too much to say she wasn't doing it on purpose, solely to get them out of him, at this point -, but it felt rather nice to feel the wind on her half-masked face, the smell of street food hitting her like a constant wave. Alina couldn't help but smile.

Nikolai, as usual, smiled when he saw her.

"Feels better than being in a dark room all day, right?" He hummed, smiling to her. Alina rolled her eyes. "Do not - "

"It becomes dark when I say it is." They said at the same time, and Alina could feel herself blushing. "Hey, don't copy me!"

"It's your line, you say it a hundred times a day! Oh, look at me, I'm the sun summoner, I make the night!" Nikolai shot back, halfway to amused.

"I make the day come, not the night!" The two of them stopped, sensing how ridiculous it seemed, before breaking out in laughter and continuing their stroll, sharing a kiss for a mere moment, her hands raising his mask just enough.

Or, at least, they would've, hadn't a woman called out to them. Alina turned to her, pulling Nikolai with her. If Alina was honest, she was rather off put that she had been interrupted; opportunities to kiss Nikolai were rare, because he seemingly was never alone.

It was an older woman, maybe in her late fifties, grey starting to streak her dark hair, dressed in colorful silks. In front of her, a crystal ball, and by her side, on the dark stand she had, a dark purple silk handkerchief with several items on top. None of them looked like body parts, so it probably wasn't someone trying to sell Alina her own bones. The last time it had happened it had been difficult to stop herself from making some nice light tricks to make those cursed items disappear...

"Hey there, cute couple, come here, come here!" The woman called, cheerfully, as they approached. When they were close enough, she grinned. "Welcome to my humble stand. I sell here items of enchanted quality to make love last longer."

Alina and Nikolai looked at each other. While they were a couple, they didn't like the label - and it had taken quite a while to convince Nikolai to drop the whole wedding thing -, and, as such, did not enjoy being referred as such by complete strangers.

Nikolai, whoever, huffed. Alina kept staring at the items. She was almost sure one of them was a bone. Was this woman a bone-stealer? Why the hell was stealing bones so common on this country?

"We don't need items to make our love last longer, thank you very much." By his voice, he was offering the woman a strained smile she wouldn't be able to see through the mask. He grabbed Alina's hand with his own, gloved own, and left, almost stomping while taking her away. He passed his free hand on his hair, messing it up more. "How dare she. I'm going to propose to you right now."

"You do that, I blind you permanently." Alina warned, and Nikolai laughed, stopping. She put her hands on his mask, elevating it slightly. "Come on. What does she know?"

"I don't know, really." From his pockets, the emerald ring. Alina could feel a tick forming on her eye. "Would you..."

A quick snap of her wrist and light blinded him, which just made Nikolai laugh as Alina, laughing as well, kissed him.