Stellar

Chapter 7

Kai shook his head rapidly. "The Elders? But but they'll throw me in the dungeon for not telling them." Hendry was unfazed by Kai's pleading, the same blank expression was fixed on his face, not a muscle had moved.

"Kai, it'll be worse if they find out first." Hendry paused and took one last look at Kai's pleading eyes. "How about I go and talk to them, hopefully, spare you from Frayda's wrath."

"But-"

"Kai it's for the best. You are messing with things you don't know about. You kids are lucky you haven't gotten hurt yet." Hendry scanned over the wide-eyed kids in front of him and took a deep breath. "Look, go and enjoy the festival and I'll try and get the Elders to let you live." Hendry smirked earning a "Yaaah" from Kai.

"Just don't stay too late, we don't want these girls getting stuck here."

Petra took one last slurp of her tea before placing her cup next to Kai's on the table.

"I'll clean all this up on my own then I guess," Hendry called after the group as Kai led them back towards the town.

"Thanks!" Kai laughed.

The streets were laced with golden lanterns. Their soft glow bounced off the purple-shaded leaves making everything look like they were looking through purple-tinted glasses.

The closer they got to the town, the more people they saw. They all had some sort of gold clothing on them. Some were dressed head to toe in gold, others wore gold jewellery, others just a gold top or a hat. The crowds of golden people became denser and denser as they began to walk along a street Petra recognised. The street was lined with market stalls. The same stalls she saw on her first accidental trip here, although their colourful fabric roofs had been swapped with golden ones.

Kai swiped a few gold scarves from a nearby stall and threw a few green coins at the seller as payment. He handed them out to each of the girls. Petra placed hers around her neck, Three helped Kai tie it around his head, Ruby around her arm and Three wore hers like a sash.

They walked to the next stall, full of freshly baked goods. The sweet cinnamon scent filled the air. Three handed Petra a warm bread roll. She took a bite of the sweet bread, filled with a cinnamon centre that oozed like jam out of a doughnut. Apparently, they were called dimcakes.

The group walked and ate, looking at all the decorations that had been put up. Almost everything looked like it had been dipped in gold. Beaded golden bunting connected the buildings making it look like very expensive telephone wires. Golden banners hung from every pole, wind chimes rattled in the breeze and Petra felt she was in a pirate's treasure chest.

Petra pulled everyone towards a large table which some of the residents were milling around. People came and went, and they managed to sneak in a gap after a family had left. The wooden table was full of paper lanterns, pens and decorations, almost all of them golden.

"We're supposed to write a message to the spirit of Solar." Three explained while handing them a gold pen. "People usually make a wish of something they want"

"Three, how do you spell sword?" Kai asked. Three turned to Kai, clearly spelling out every word he wanted to write. A huff escaping from her mouth when Kai lost concentration and started writing random letters.

Petra paused, pen hovering just above the paper. What did she want? If her mum had asked, she probably would have said a new phone but that didn't seem appropriate here. Then she thought of it. What she really wanted. The power to do things on her own.