Vivid | Lee Minho

•Scene 6•

The city of Adorance was like a bride on her wedding day.

You saw blue and gold everywhere you looked, lining the streets, draping from the buildings, fluttering in the sky. The sounds of joy filled the air. Music, and the laughter of the young and the old melded into one beautiful song. The voices of vendors and the softer tones of passersby a harmonious background.

You happened upon a different form of entertainment at every corner. Singers and dancers, who brought life to the festivities. Illusionists and contortionists, who left awed the crowds surrounding them. Jesters and animal trainers, who elected laughs and applause from their audience. A play was unfolding on a small stage in the midst of town, its actors portraying the victory of Valorieve's knights in the Northern States War.

A group of children ran past you, weaving their way through the throngs of people as they chased one another in a game of tag. Their little faces were hidden behind masks that carried the likeness of leopards. Snarling snouts and spotted yellow fur.

Since it was customary for the Count's family to attend the first day of festivities, you accompanied Minho as he wandered around the city, greeting citizens and sharing in their joy. His reputation among them seemed to be impeccable, for they reciprocated his greetings with wide grins and well wishes of their own.

You were surprised at the number of people that approached you too, thanking you for your work on the new register scheme. They handed you little gifts of freshly baked treats and handcrafted trinkets, which you could not accept without pressing coin into their laboring palms.

Occasionally, you would spot some nobility within the fray. Members from the families of Valorieve's viscounts and barons invited Minho and you to watch certain intriguing performances or try unique foods.

You were standing at the back of the audience of a comedic play, a steamy sugar roll in hand, when a pair of little girls approached Minho cautiously. They carried between them a handwoven basket piled with flowers the shade of a depthless ocean.

"Milord!" one of them shouted over the noise, her speech adorably clumsy.

Minho motioned for the retinue of guards surrounding you to let them in, and you watched as the man who was nearly unapproachable in court knelt before the two girls. He answered them with a warm, lighthearted smile. "Yes, little ladies?"

The girl that spoke first plunged a free hand into the basket and pulled out a beautiful flower crown. Her question was earnest as she held it out to him. "Would you like a Warrior's Halo, milord?"

"Thank you very much. I would." he received the crown with emphasized gratitude, to which the girl squared her shoulders. "You're welcome kindly, milord!"

You could not help the small smile that quirked your lips at her darling antics.

As the two girls scampered away to hand out more flower crowns, Minho rose to his feet and turned to face you. "Lady Y/n."

You regarded him curiously as he stepped closer, and before you could process his actions, he was reaching up and placing the flower crown delicately over your head.

"This is called a Warrior's Halo," he said softly, brushing back a stray strand of hair to secure the crown in place.

His proximity made your stomach flip, suddenly swarmed by what felt like a kaleidoscope of restless butterflies. He was close enough that all you could see without turning your head was him, and it was almost as though he were taunting you.

You had not forgotten what happened during the tea party. The fact that he had heard you say something so utterly silly made you want nothing more than to lose yourself in a forest and never be found again.