Veronstone Senior Society Stories

The Christmas Market

The Christmas Market

"Meh..."

"What are you complaining about?" Erin chuckled, looking up at the sorcerer beside her. "You're literally dragging your boots."

"I've just seen and been to, well—better." Sigmund shrugged. "This is boring."

The couple were currently trailing behind their large group of friends through Veronstone's holiday market in The Square. It was an annual event, but one they hadn't been to as a group before. Hearing there was a holiday market in town, Sigmund had been the most thrilled of everyone. He personally had never visited a holiday market in Veronstone, but he'd had his own experiences in the past during his upbringing in Germany. For weeks since they decided to visit The Square, he'd been on and on about his childhood and all the joy the holiday season bought him.

"I used to save my birthday money just so I could spend it at the Christkindelsmarkt in the months to follow!" He'd told Erin over a crystal call one evening. "It was some of my favorite memories as a child!"

"What was it like?" The witch smiled.

Pulling himself away from his homework, Sigmund sighed dreamily as he leaned back in his chair. Reminiscing over the memories, the sorcerer couldn't help but grin.

"My family made a big trip out of it." Sigmund spoke. "We had to go from the village to the city center in Baden-Baden! We'd wait for the first snow of the season, pack up for the weekend and get going!"

"What if it didn't snow?"

"Oh, it always snowed." Sigmund scoffed. "German winters are very cold, but I looked forward to the first snow because I knew it meant we were going! And we visited so many markets in my childhood, so many different towns and villages. They all had their own markets."

"That sounds really fun!"

"It was! This is my favorite time of the year, but I haven't been to a market in so long! I'm excited for this one!"

The excitement had drained completely when he finally came face to face with what Veronstone called a holiday market. It wasn't one, at all in Sigmund's eyes. It was a poor excuse for one.

"Where's all the stalls?" He complained, catching the attention of his peers. "There's hardly any stalls! There's supposed to be a bunch with food and drinks and trinkets for your home and your Christmas tree! A-and where's the games? And the rides? Not even a ferris wheel?!"

"Is that what the Christmas market is like in Germany?" Ivan questioned, pushing his frozen hands into his coat pocket. "Because it's always been pretty dull here in Veronstone."

Dull was an understatement. There were only a few stalls selling normal vials of potions and occult items. Nothing seasonal or spectacular. The same could be said about the food, nothing seasonal or exciting. Run of the mill popcorn and cotton candy. There was a small petting zoo with occult creatures, but that was a regular occurrence during festival season in the realm. Sigmund was disappointed.

"There's supposed to be live music and singing and lights everywhere." Sigmund told the group, gesturing wildly towards all the vacant space. He shook his head towards the empty display around him. It just wasn't cutting it.

"No, I don't like this at all."

"Maybe next year, we can take a trip out of the realm to see a real market?" Erin suggested. "How's that sound? We can do it over the next winter holiday!"

The Halfmoon witches and Milkweed boys nodded in agreement, but Sigmund still seemed to pout. He folded his arms in frustration and shook his head.

"I don't want to wait till next year..." He muttered.