Page 75 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
At the bottom of the stairs was a figure in a green dress, hair flowing down her back like flame. She turned when he approached, wearing a bottle-blue mask with wings and antennae with bells on the ends. It shone iridescently, all glitter and glamour.
Dimitri paused, his chest tight. “I like your mask,” he managed eventually.
“Do you?” She tugged at the ribbon securing it. “Mrs Minton found it for me. I was worried it made me look a bit like a bug.”
“A very pretty little bug. You look good in green.”You look good in everything.
Thomas appeared behind them. “I’ve been told I’m to escort you down to the village, but I may conveniently lose you once I’m there. Also I’ll be walking very far behind you.”
Dimitri didn’t know if he wanted to thank him or throttle him, but he bit back any venom and forced himself to smile.
They slipped out of the house together, Thomas hanging by the gate to give them a chance to walk on. It was dark on the road, but already he could see the glowing light of the gathering down in the village, like a swollen pumpkin in the lamplight.
Adeline slipped her arm into his, beaming.
“You’re excited for this,” Dimitri commented.
“Terribly! I love the Autumn Festival, and we’re going late enough that Elliott hasprobablytaken my siblings back.”
“Don’t want to run into them?”
“No, Dimitri, I want a night off!”
He was sure she probablydidwant to see them, she just likely didn’t want to spend the entire night with them, wanted to be free to let loose and dance and—
Dance. There was going to be dancing.
He used to love to dance, but that was before… before. He hadn’t danced in years. What if he’d forgotten how, and he stepped on Adeline’s foot?
She tripped on the path, steadying herself against his arm, and he consoled himself with the notion that she was far more likely to step on his.
The music reached them first, hot and piping, followed by the smell of roasting meat. Fire crackled in pits and sconces, lanterns strung from tents and stalls. Children ran about with toffee apples and sparklers, and bonfires burned in the distance.
Everyone was masked. Not a face was seen that couldn’t have crawled out of the forests. Foxes, squirrels, owls, wolves, hedgehogs, insects, deer, mice. Dancers fluttered about with moth-like wings, ribbons trailing in the breeze. Performers stood on stilts, belching out fire or juggling with torches. Magicians made cards dance and fly. Dimitri’s eyes widened, searching out forrealmagic, like he’d done once as a child.
Adeline let out a squeal, running into the crowd, gleefully pointing out various games: displays of strength and agility, apple bobbing, shooting.
She plucked a penny from her purse to go for that immediately, but Dimitri paid instead. She did not argue, snatching up the pistol and hitting every target in what Dimitri could only assume was record time.
She earned a huge bag of sweets for her trouble, but stowed them away in her bag. Doubtless she intended to share them with her siblings on her day off tomorrow.
Next she dragged him to the roasted hog, and made him purchase buns for them.
“Did you bring me along for my money?” he asked her, mostly joking.
Adeline flashed him a grin. “Your presence has its perks.”
“Charming woman.”
“The best things in life remain free, Dimitri, but it’s easier to be happier when your stomach is full…” She eyed the buns greedily. “Veryfull.”
He laughed, and her fingers skimmed past his as she moved from his side, eyes catching his own. Dimitri’s heart thumped, and he found himself agreeing with her wholeheartedly; the best things could not be bought.
They took their food to a space filled with hay bales, pumpkin lanterns, and displays of leaves and branches. A woman in the corner was making crowns of bracken, while two plump children ate bowls of blackberries and cream.
“Oh my word, these buns are sogood,” Adeline moaned, licking her fingers. “I’m getting another!”
“You like food a lot for a skinny person…”
