The de Hattes Tourney -- 1352

Marigold woke up and stretched, looking around her family's little hut. The sun wasn't up yet and her parents were sleeping soundly on their hay mattress. Marigold was always an early riser. Even at Hogwarts, she was one of the first ones up.

"Lumos," she said quietly, shielding the light from the direction of her parents. Their hut was small, a little smaller than a normal hut. But, it was homely. She reached her hand out the window and pet their cow, Betsy, who was outside in a little garden. She milked Betsy and then set to work heating the milk for breakfast. Marigold then opened her Hogwarts trunk and pulled out her healing book. She sat and read for a little while, as the sun came up.

"Morning," Marigold said to the other servants, entering through the mansion kitchen two hours later, her father and mother in tow.

"Good, everyone's here. Line up!" the head butler called out. Marigold shuttered as all the servants lined up in the main hall, which was nicely decorated, as lords and ladies would be visiting. The closer lords, like the Montforts, had already been staying with the de Hattes for a week. Lady de Hattes came in the great hall and everyone straightened up. Lady de Hattes was very cruel, but Lord de Hattes made up for her sour attitude.

"As servants of the de Hattes, I expect everyone to be on their best behavior and serve us and our guests to the best of your ability. That being said, a few of you will be assigned to one of our friends, to act as a guide in Norwich and to serve them," Lady de Hattes stated. Marigold sighed.

"Now, let's see...." Lady de Hattes started, looking at her list. She listed off a few servants to go to a different house. "Marigold Belet....you'll be with the Lydales." Marigold had to keep from smiling and nodded to Lady de Hattes. The servants were just dismissed and Marigold moved to find Gavin's tent.

"Hello! My name is Marigold and I'm a servant of the de Hattes. I am here to help," Marigold introduced to the Lydale's main butler. Gavin looked up from his breakfast and shot Marigold a smile, happy to see a friend for the first time this summer.

"Oh good! Young Lord Lydale was just saying how'd he like a tour of Norwich," the butler commented. Gavin nodded and moved towards Marigold. Marigold thanked the butler and exited the tent, Gavin in tow.

"Thank Christ. I couldn't stand my folks anymore," Gavin commented when they were far enough away. Marigold laughed and hugged the fellow Ravenclaw. They caught up a little bit and then looked around the tourney grounds.

"Let's find the Gryffindor's," Gavin said, as they started walking around, looking for Arya and Asher.

Arya was in that state where you were half asleep/half conscious. She could somewhat hear herself snoring, but also was vividly dreaming about a giant mouse chasing her through the fields. Finally, a loud knock on the door woke her with a start.

"Bloody hell, the sun's not even up," she grumbled, turning over on her mat and pulling the scratchy blanket over her face.

Another knock. "Arry, get up!" a familiar voice shouted.

She ripped off the blanket and jumped to her feet. It was Asher, which meant today was the first day of the tourney! Norwich had been preparing for months. In fact, Arya and Asher's farms were two of the main produce output for the nobles in town during the event. Their families had been toiling away from sunrise to sunset every day for weeks. Arya hadn't had a moment to enjoy the summer since she'd been home.

"Just a minute," she called, dressing quickly.

"Your parents took the wagon to the tourney grounds a few minutes ago," he explained, still behind the closed door. "They left us one of the horses."

"Of course," she grumbled. Her mother knew she hated horses.

Arya opened the door and smiled. "Let's ride into that sunrise, pal!"

Ignoring the strange look her friend gave her, Arry shut the door and approached the horse Ash had tied to a post. After about ten minutes of hesitation, she managed to hop on and they made the fifteen minute journey to the grounds, spotting Gavin and Marigold right away. Arry gratefully slid off the horse and ran to the two Ravenclaws, leaving Asher to deal with the animal.

"How's it going, guys?" she grinned, giving them both hugs. "What?"

She received more strange looks. Had her friends never seen her excited before?

Kolby twisted around in his chair, trying to pop his back. It was rough sleeping on the road. But, they made it to Norwich last night, set up the family tent, and had finally had a good night's sleep, although his back was still aching.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Gloria cried out to Kolby, tugging on his arm. Kolby and Thea were going to explore Norwich while their older brothers, Richard and Ulric, prepared for the joust around lunchtime. Gloria had made tremendous process with speaking. Last year, she wouldn't say a peep. Now, she's decided to come out of her shell and won't shut up.

"Now, Gloria, you know you have to stay with mother. You're too little," Thea told Gloria. Gloria was approaching eight years old and she wanted to be with Kolby and Thea all the time now since Kolby and Thea returned from Hogwarts for the summer. She wanted to be one of the big kids.

"No! I want to go with you!" Gloria pouted. Kolby shook his head and smiled. Kolby loved his sisters dearly.

"Gloria, you'll be staying with me and your mother. You're too young to run around this town," Kolby's aunt told her. Gloria pouted to herself, as Kolby finished breakfast and shot a look over to the Thea, mentally telling her to hurry.

Fifteen minutes later, Thea and Kolby were out the door and walking around Norwich. The city was alive with street vendors and street performers. Family tents were set up around the jousting rink, located behind the de Hattes manor. Unlike most nobles, the de Hattes lived in a manor towards the edge of the city, which Kolby found interesting, as most manors and castles were separate from the city entirely. But, it was nice to explore. Thea and Kolby agreed to meet at a particuar shop later, as Thea went to find a friend's tent.

"Kolby!" Jacob said happily, bounding up to Kolby on the street, Peyton in tow. Kolby smiled and the two Slytherins did their secret handshake. Kolby nodded to Peyton and chuckled.

"Exploding Snap later?" Kolby asked. Peyton chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Let's find the others. Marigold said we should meet at the tea shop," Jacob said. Jacob had stayed in Norwich for a week already, as the Montforts and the de Hattes were really close. Maybe a little too close.

Sure enough, their little group met up with Arya, Asher, Marigold and Gavin.

"Hey everyone!" Peyton said excitedly. The gang was all there! Well, almost.

Marigold hugged Peyton and Jacob as they walked up. She was just excited to see everyone.

"Where's Adele?" Seamus pointed out. Marigold looked around, looking for her blonde bestie. She was actually looking forward to seeing Adele at the tourney.

"She might be with the Fendrels," Jacob commented. Everyone took in a deep breath, but nodded and agreed. Symon was still on the rocks with the group, after everything that happened at the last party of the school year. Marigold had talked to Symon earlier the summer and she didn't hold a grudge. But, looking at Asher's face of anger and Jacob's look of betrayal, it was better to avoid Symon for the time being.

"Alright! Welcome ladies and gents to Norwich! My name is Marigold and I will be your guide. Let's go!" Marigold changed the subject happily. Her little comment got a few chuckles and they started to walk down one of the main streets.

"And, to the left, you'll see Eldrich's Butchers, home of the best roast beef in Norwich," Marigold pointed out. Marigold loved Norwich and city life. While Norwich wasn't as big as England, it was still a sizeable city, with a few streets, a catherdral, the de Hattes castle, and a hospital. The Wensum River wrapped around the city like it was giving the city a hug. This made Norwich have a few ships and a small port on the edge of the city if the boats could make it up the river. Marigold continued to point out various buildings, waving to a few people she knew.

"Oi! Marigold! Ar ya reet bor?" an older lady called out to Marigold.

"Oh, I'm good today, Mawther Hunter, just lollopping along. Ar ya reet bor?" Marigold asked back, coming to a stop. Marigold noticed that her Norfolk accent definitely came out more when she was at home, versus than when she was at Hogwarts. She excused herself from the group for a second and went up to the older lady. She was sitting outside her home, in her little rocking chair. Marigold had helped Mrs. Hunter earlier in the summer by giving her some medicine for her grandson. Marigold kneeled down and held her elderly hands in her own.

"Oh, that's great to hear. I fare badly today," Mrs. Hunter admitted. Marigold pulled her glasses out her bag and quickly did a glance over of Mrs. Hunter. "I fell earlier this arternune. But, you don't see me blarin about it." Marigold smiled and nodded. Mrs. Hunter was a strong ole bird. She could see some bruises, but nothing too troubling.

"Bein'as you were being a little fumble-fisted, ya got some bruises, mawther. Nothing to worry about, nothing broken," Marigold said, reaching into her bag. She gave Mrs. Hunter some herbs for her to chew to ease the pain.

"My heart alive! Mawther," Marigold exclaimed, as Mrs. Hunter pressed two Galleons into her palm.

"Stop ya blarin. You deserve it. You helped me and my grandson. Now, mind how you go," Mrs. Hunter told Marigold, with a wink. Marigold gave Mrs. Hunter a hug, thanked her, and went back to the group.

"Alright, let's go!" Marigold said. They didn't have long until it was noon and the nobles had to be back for lunch.

Adelaine pushed the food around on her plate, utterly exhausted. She'd gotten maybe three hours of sleep the night before having been too excited and nervous about seeing all her friends. It was the first day of the tourney and day one of jousting was due to start shortly after lunchtime. Usually, jousts would begin in the morning but plans had to be rearranged when their hosts, the de Hattes, learned that the king's delegate decided to attend last minute. Of course, the event couldn't begin without his lordship the Duke of Sandringham.

"Why don't you have another cup of tea?" Lady Beaumont suggested irritably. "You must look alive during the tournament."

"No one is going to be paying an ounce of attention to me, mother," she argued, quieting quickly at the icy glare her father gave.

Footsteps approached and Adele knew who they belonged to before she even looked. Symon sauntered into the hall and took the seat next to her, nodding politely and muttering greetings to everyone. The Fendrels had been staying with them over the summer and, in return, were offering up their little Norwich fort during the tourney.

"Symon, do you suppose you'll join the tourney next year?" Kenric asked, shifting his gaze from Adele at last. "15 is a good age to start showing the lesser men their place on the field."

"My father has said as such," Symon smirked, grabbing a hunk of bread from a platter. "If I keep sparring with your men this summer, I'll be ready for a joust or two next time."

"Adele, let us take our leave," her mother whispered, standing from the table as Lord Fendrel entered. "Let them talk of war games in peace."

Adelaine nearly made a crack about the irony of that sentence, but thought better of it. She took the cup of tea a maid brought and followed her mother out of the hall. It was almost time for the opening of the joust and Adele wanted to see her friends before she was stuck in a tent for the afternoon. Quiet as a cat, she slipped away from her mother and rushed down the stairs and out the big oak doors. The centre was only a few minutes walking down the road and there wasn't a soul in sight - everyone was already at the grounds. Adele made her way quickly along the dirt path through the glade and almost squealed in excitement when she saw some familiar faces in the distance.

"Bonjour, mes amis," she yelled haughtily, giving her best Emmy impression.

Gavin shuddered and turned. "Adele! Thank Merlin," he laughed. "Never do that again! I had flashbacks."

Adelaine rushed to the group, brushing errant leaves and blades of grass from her skirts as she reached the cobblestone path.

Everyone was excited to see Adele. The group was all together. Kolby had been enjoying the tour of Norwich from Marigold, enjoying the city. Kolby liked his home, Berkeley, but it wasn't as developed as Norwich. Berkeley felt more like a township, with the Berkeley castle, a few shops, and homes. Norwich felt lively and awake. Children were playing, enjoying the street performers that had arrived. Parents were relaxing, having a day off work. The shopkeepers even seemed in a happy mood, getting a little more business than usual. Everyone was just super friendly and hospitable in Norwich.

"Oi! Young Lord Montfort! Ar ya reet bor?" a shopkeeper called out to Jacob. Jacob waved back and told him that he was great today, just walking about. Kolby tilted his head and Jacob smiled.

"I spend a lot of summers here. The Montforts and the de Hattes are good friends. My father and Lord de Hattes attended Hogwart together," Jacob quickly explained to Kolby. Kolby nodded in understanding. Asher seemed a little annoyed that Jacob knew the townspeople better than he did. Then again, the countryside was different from the city.

"Kolby!" Kolby turned when he heard his name and smiled when Thea came up to join the group.

"We got to get back soon. You know mother will be mad if we miss the joust," Thea informed him.

"I know Thea. I know. We were just exploring. I'd say we can make a loop back through the city and towards the grounds," Kolby told her and the group. The nobles of the group nodded. They needed to get back soonish. At least for lunch. The group continued to mill about the city.

As they wrapped up their little tour of Norwich, the group fell back into conversation about the tournament: schedules, bets, favorites, last year's winners, etc. The talk made her think of her siblings, whom she was excited to introduce to her friends later in the day. She thought the boys would really hit it off with her two older brothers, in particular.

Her eldest brother Rob had always wanted to be a knight and spent much of his youth dreaming of joining tourneys and fighting in melees. Knighthood was costly, however, and a poor farmboy could ill afford to waste money on weapons, armor, horse, squires, and travel. Arya was secretly glad that Rob didn’t have the funds to achieve his dreams – she couldn’t bare the thought of anything happening to him or any of her brothers.

"Do any of you ever think of knighthood?" she asked the lads suddenly.

"Not at all," Peyton responded quickly. "Parents always hoped I'd follow my brother's example, but I'm just not interested in fighting for a living."

Arry smiled at him. It was refreshing to meet a peasant with a positive outlook on his position in life.

"Och, I'm jus' the opposite," Seamus obliged. "If I'd the money, I'd do it in a second!"

"If I liked horses better, perhaps I would," she said absently. Her friends looked at her curiously and she rolled her eyes. "And if girls were considered equals on the field, of course."

In the distance, bells began to ring signaling a quarter of an hour until the joust. Purely coincidentally, Arya's stomach rumbled.

"Time to hit the food stands," she announced, already picturing the freshly baked sweet rolls that were sure to be up for grabs.

Marigold smiled as Adele joined in and gave her a hug, excited to see her. But, with the joust starting soon, there wasn't much time to talk about anything. Marigold walked with the others, occasionally nodding to a comment.

"I think I would be a great knight!" Asher answered to Arya's question, confident as always.

"You certainly got the temper for it, mate," Gavin told him, patting him on the shoulder. The groups chuckled. Marigold noticed that Asher kinda flushed pink, but only for a second. He's getting it a little more under control, Marigold thought to herself. Asher's eye met her gaze and Marigold looked away.

Marigold laughed as the food stalls were mentioned, as her stomach rumbled right on cue. They milled about the food stalls, looking at the different assortments. Meat on sticks, veggies on sticks, fruit on sticks......well, a lot of food on sticks.

"Oi! Marigold! Your mawther is lookin for ya," a friendly shopkeeper, who was selling little meat-filled buns, called out to her. Marigold felt her muscles tense up a little bit at the mention of her mother around her friends. But, she relaxed, knowing that everyone knew that her mother was a Muggle and no one would judge her.

"Which way did she go?" Marigold asked. The shopkeeper pointed down the road and handed Marigold a bun, winking at her, as a way of saying that it was on the house. Marigold helped his little boy get over a cold last Christmas. Marigold thanked him and walked a little away from the group, keeping her eyes peeled for her mother.

"Ah, there you are," Marigold's mother, Juliana, said, as they almost ran into each other. Marigold looked almost exactly like her mother, with the red hair and blue eyes combination. The only difference is that Marigold inherited the nose from her father and had bigger cheeks. Juliana was beautiful. Marigold understood why her father fell in love with her, even though she's a Muggle.

"The Duke of Sandringham has arrived and he's being a little difficult," her mother explained. Marigold nodded, although a bit confused. Juliana was a fine maid and servant. "His lordship has requested that the only servants he has are magical." Marigold furrowed her brow and finally saw the pain in her mother's eyes. Juliana always wanted to be magical. "Seeing as you and your father are the only two magical servants in the household, you've been reassigned. I will be with the Lydales instead," Juliana finished. Marigold sighed and nodded. "You're requested immediately," Juliana told her, with a look that said that Marigold better get going back to the joust.

"Oh, oh, oh! Okay. One second," Marigold told her mother quickly. She found her group of friends fast.

"Okay, well, I have to go serve the Duke of Sandringham and my mom will be serving your family, Gavin. She's not magical so be gentle with her. And, I've been requested immediately, so I gotta go. I'll see all of you at the forest clearing tonight for the meteor shower! Byeee!" Marigold said quickly, giving each of her friends a hug before running off for the jousting grounds, trying not to get her servant dress too dirty.

THAT EVENING...

Adele made her way through the village toward the forest, excited to meet her friends for the meteor shower. It was a rather warm night - not terribly uncomfortable, but warm enough that she was itching to get out of her surcote. Her mother thought it was quite unladylike to go without.

"Addy," she heard Seamus call. "Over here!"

To her right, Seamus stood with Gavin and Peyton, all three looking like they'd just rolled down a hill.

"What on earth happened?" she asked, noting the leaf in Gavin's hair.

"We rolled down a hill," Peyton shrugged, the other two grinning and nodding.

So strange, she thought with a smirk. The group carried on, chatting all the while. As soon as they were out of sight from the village, Adele ripped the sleeveless woolen surcote off and left it balled up by a tree. She fixed the belt on her linen dress and jogged to catch up with the boys.

"Have you seen a meteor shower before?" Gavin was asking. "I saw one when I was a kid, it terrified me."

"Terrified you?" Peyton laughed.

"Well I thought they'd hit the town and destroy it," he explained sheepishly.

Adele chuckled and shook her head. "I see them!" she announced, pointing to the distant figures of their friends in the clearing.

Marigold winced as Jacob finished tying the bandages on her hands. It was silent between the pair. It was a long day at the joust, as Marigold attended to the Duke, the de Hattes, and the Montforts all at one tent. In her hurry to serve some tea at tea time, she spilled some tea on the duke's wife's dress, which earned Marigold five good smacks on her hands. Her hands were red and bled a little, but Marigold did her best not to cry or make a sound. Jacob was fuming.

"If she hits you again, I will..." Jacob started.

"You won't do anything, Lord Jacob," Marigold cut him off. Jacob sucked in a deep breath. Jacob was the next to inherit Hertfordshire after his uncle passes away. He had a lot to lose if he stood up for a servant girl in front of a duke that worked for the king.

"It's not right. The way they spoke to you and practically threathened Lord de Hattes, mentioning the servant snatchers," Jacob told her. Marigold shivered at the thought. The duke was a dark wizard and told de Hattes about the magical servant shortage in London. "I'd watch out if I were you, de Hattes. Your little servant girl is quite valuable," the duke told Lord de Hattes. It was clear that the duke knew some shady people and maybe had some shady intentions in Norwich.

"Let's just enjoy the meteor shower, Lord Jacob," Marigold said, pulling out the blanket for them to sit on. Jacob sighed and helped her spread out the blanket. Marigold waved down Kolby and who he brought. Then, Jacob waved to Adele and some others.

"How was everyone's day?" Gavin asked, as they sat on the blanket. Gavin pulled out some snacks and Peyton had some cups with him, although Asher still wasn't here with the drinks.

"Long," Marigold responded, rubbing her eyes.

Arya could barely contain her excitement as she and Asher headed to the clearing for the meteor shower. It was the first she'd ever see and, from stories her parents had told, it was going to be magical...well, a different kind of magic than the magic she actually had. I can't believe that years later I'm still surprised to be a witch, she thought with a smile.

"Slow down, will you?" Ash called out behind her. He was having a hard time keeping up.

"I don't want to miss it!" she shouted back, halting nonetheless.

"It's not due to start for another few minutes," her friend huffed and puffed, catching up at last.

Arry supposed she could have offered to help him carry the case of butterbeer, but he could use the exercise - after all, Quidditch season was just four months away! The two finally reached the clearing and saw that everyone else had already arrived.

"Finally," Seamus greeted them, plucking a bottle from the wooden crate Asher held. "I'm dyin' of thirst, mate!"

"You're welcome," Ash grumbled, setting the rest down on the ground.

"Are we missing anyone?" Arry looked around, counting her friends and munching on a berry tart.

"We're not lost, are we?" Thea asked for the third time since they left the city of Norwich. Kolby sighed. The instructions from Marigold were very clear.

"No, we're just not there yet," Kolby told her again. Thea sighed, but Kolby could sense her mild panic.

"Look, there's the path," Symon pointed out. Kolby didn't intend on Symon to tag along. In fact, Kolby was pretty sure that Symon wasn't invited. But, Symon caught Kolby and Thea sneaking out.

"Oh, so that's where Adele is going," Symon commented, as Kolby explained. Thea shot daggers at Kolby.

"Symon, please don't tell our mother that we left. She'll have a cow," Kolby asked Symon. Symon chuckled and got a small smirk on his face.

"No worries, Kolby. I won't tell a soul," Symon told him. Thea breathed a sigh of relief, but Kolby knew Symon. "I won't tell anyone, if you let me come along,"

Kolby waved to Marigold as they approached the clearing. No one had seen that Symon or Thea was with him yet.

"Kolby! Exploding......Snap?" Peyton said as the trio approached, taking a pause at seeing Symon. The group got quiet. Kolby sensed the automatic anger radiating off Seamus and Asher and the disappointment that seemed to come from Jacob. Everyone seemed confused as well. Kolby gestured to Thea to take a seat and sat down himself.

"Why are you here?" Asher asked Symon, rather brashly. Kolby held his breath. He hated confrontation.

((OOC: I made up a disillusionment charm, it's "hide in plain sight" in Latin ))

The meteor shower was just minutes away when Kolby and Thea arrived....with Symon. Adele rolled her eyes, sensing the rising tension. Sure enough, Asher stepped up first and aggressively questioned the Slytherin's presence. We don't have time for this, she thought, just wanting a peaceful night with friends watching meteors streak through the sky.

"Cool off, Asher," Symon retorted, taking the high road.

"Symon, if you're going to be here we need more cover," Adele said, standing and whipping out her wand. "Gav, help me with this."

The two stood on opposite ends of the group, facing outward and chanting together: "Corium invaderet." A translucent bubble seemed to form around them before disappearing; their little group was now hidden in plain site as the bubble took on the image of their surroundings. The disillusionment charm had been difficult to learn, but the Templar figured it would come in handy.

"Muffliato," Peyton added, casting the muting charm so their voices couldn't be heard. "In case Davy's around..."

"Perfect," Adele smiled, sitting back down. "Look, it's starting!"

Marigold smiled at the concealment charm, happy for some privacy. She snuffed out her little lantern, now that everyone was there and to get a better view. A few meteors started falling and everyone was bubbling with happiness and awe. Marigold smiled brightly.

"Aw, there has to be more!" Peyton exclaimed, as there was a break between the meteors. Marigold was just happy to watch the meteors fall from the sky in a breathtaking blaze of glory.

"I'm sure there will be more. Just give it time," Marigold responded.

"Do you think that's where our magic is from? It just fell from the sky?" Gavin pondered. Marigold smiled. It was an interesting theory.

"At Durmstrang, there's this story that we got our magic from the Alver. They're kinda like fairies. A woman and a man followed an Alver procession into the forest and helped the Alver queen find her lost cloak. As a reward, the Alver queen blessed both of them with the gift of magic," Jacob told.

"Wow. So, our magic is fairy magic?!" Thea said excitedly. The group laughed.

"That makes sense though. Symon, Adele, up around you, in the north, isn't there a story similar to that, but about a woman capturing a will o'wisp?" Peyton asked. Marigold continued to watch the sky, but she was very aware that Asher was keeping his eyes on her. Marigold laid down and put her hands behind her head, moving down the blanket a little bit, her shoes touching the grass.

"It's starting again," she announced, as more meteors fell from the sky, painting the sky in purple, gold, silver, and dark blue stripes.

Arya watched in awe as the meteors streaked through the sky, feeling a sense of calm she hadn't known was possible. She was safe, with friends, in a magical bubble that - for this moment, at least - separated them from the troubles of the real world.

"My dad used to tell us the will-o-wisp story when we were little," Arya said with a smile. "Course, he had no idea he had a real witch in his midst."

"Oh yeah," Gavin nodded, glancing her way. "I keep forgetting you were from Newcastle as well."

She stared at the sky, pushing away the blue feeling she got when she realized how little she'd really opened up to her friends over the last few years. So much for that sense of calm, she thought. After a moment or two, they heard a loud explosion in the distance.

"Blimey!" Peyton jumped. "What was that??"

"Simmer down, mate," Arry laughed, pointing behind them. "It's fireworks, the shower must be over."

Colors lit up the sky and Arya could hear people shouting happily in the distance.

Kolby felt the tensions of Symon being here melt away as the meteors and firework fell from the sky in brilliant and bright colors. Kolby hoped that things would go back to normal. Peyton seemed to offer too, as the two set up a game of Exploding Snap as the fireworks finished. Drinks and snacks were passed out, as the fireworks periodically went off.

"Who is shooting off the fireworks anyways?" Thea asked.

"I think it's just some of the magical community in Norwich. They tend to gather and celebrate things like this. Do some magic and just talk, right Marigold?" Jacob answered. The whole group chuckled as Marigold had fallen asleep on the blanket. "Let her sleep. She's had a long day," Jacob told Asher, as Asher reached over to wake her up. Kolby quickly tapped two Fairies that popped up in the deck and Peyton grumbled under his breath.

The group was all together, breaking off into smaller conversations. Occasionally, the talking would stop to watch a group of fireworks launch into the sky. But, everyone seemed content to share what they did all day and discuss the joust and future tourney plans.

"Kolby, Thea, your brothers are doing pretty well in the joust this year. They were great last year too," Symon commented, as Peyton hit two mermaids that popped up. Kolby sighed and Peyton smiled cheekily.

"Thank you! Ulric and Richard train all year round, if possible. They're hoping to attract some attention for Ulric to marry well. Mama hopes that it will move Ulric up the ladder and he'll have a better--OW!" Thea started to ramble, but Kolby quickly pulled her ponytail to stop her. No one needed to know about the Parry's business, that they were barely nobles to begin with and only got that status thanks to Ulric's and Richard's jousting.

Not that anyone in the group truly cared. It just made Kolby embarrassed, as he felt less than noble compared to Adele or Symon or even Jacob. Sure, Gavin was in the same boat as Kolby and the rest of the group were peasants or merchants, making it an even split. But, it still made Kolby embarrassed to talk about their family's status. Thea seemed to get the point and backed off.

"Well, they are wonderful jousters and I'm sure Ulric will marry well," Symon reassured Thea. Thea nodded in response. A round of fireworks kicked off again and the group went silent.

"Speaking of jousting, anyone want to place any bets on the jousts tomorrow?" Gavin asked.