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ferris wheels and fair maidens

"So..." said Colton, " I was thinking maybe we could ride the Ferris wheel next...." Before Colton could finish his sentence, Sally quickly shook her head." Maybe we can go on it later. We could just...." She looked around trying to look for a distraction, until her eyes landed on the hay ride. "Why don't we go on the hay ride instead? We don't have to worry about falling off or worse." Colton then looked at her with a puzzled look and then his eyes widened.

"Wait, are you scared of the Ferris Wheel?"

"Pshhhh, no, why would I be scared, no....."

"So, you are scared of the Ferris Wheel. But, why? It's a classic ride."

"An invention of pure terror, the Ferris Wheel is."

"But, the view is so beautiful, seeing everything from up high.."

"Don't even mention the extreme heights, or I will puke."

"What if I help you get over your fear?"

"If you can do that, you must be a really powerful being or a stupid idiot."

"I'd prefer a powerful being, and I will help you get you over your fear. You've given me the Custerville's Fair experience. In return, I shall give you the experience that can only be delivered by the magnificent Ferris Wheel." He smiled and then started pushing her towards the so-called magnificent ride. She squirmed and tried to move out of his grip, but failed. Before she knew it, she was in the line. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and she was sure her lunch would escape from her mouth. Then, she felt someone gently squeeze her hand. "Don't worry. I will be here, and if you want, you can hold on to me while we are riding."

His smile caused her to calm down. As the ride slowly stopped, she took a deep breath and smiled back at Colton. He glanced back at her with a worried look and said," If you want, we really don't have to go. We could just ride it later and just ride the hay ride like you wanted to." She just shook her head, and replied," Nah, I might as well get this over with. I mean, we are already in the line. Besides, I want to be a part of the magnificent Ferris Wheel experience." They then climbed in the small capsule.

Seeing the capsule's windows caused Sally to note in her head to not look down. Due to the size of the seats, Colton and Sally ended up sitting next to each other. As he promised, Colton held on to her hand as the ride moved upwards. As the capsule slowly moved, Sally noted the small space, and steadily increasing heights. But, overall, the ride didn't seem so bad. Then, suddenly the ride stopped at the top. Sally tried not to look outside and focused on a fraying thread in the seats. She felt the space closing in on her and tried to focus on breathing. Colton's gently squeezing her hand helped slightly, but not that much. She looked at Colton's face and wondered if the hand squeezing, the worried looks,and smiles thrown her way meant he might like her back. Distracting herself and Colton might be a good idea to prevent her looking down.

She then turned towards the boy, who at the moment, was busy looking out the windows."Um, Colton?" He then turned away from the windows and replied "Yeah?" "This may sound weird and crazy, but I was wondering if....."she rambled. He looked at her with a confused face. "Wondering if what?" "Could you tell me a story?", she quickly said. Sally felt like smacking her head. This was her big moment to spill her feelings and she ruined it. Colton slowly smiled, and then cleared his throat.

"Once upon a time, there was a young prince who was going yonder to find a new kingdom to rule. Eventually, he found the land of Custard. It was a beautiful kingdom fit for a fair king like himself. Or at least he like to think of himself as a fair king. But, a king needs a queen by his side to rule the land. Someone to help him to make decisions, to support him in times of danger, and so on. He then saw a fair maiden at the royal ball. She seemed different than the others. Her laughter was infectious, her smile a beam of light, and her eyes, gosh, her eyes...." He paused as the ride stopped at the ground.

Sally was surprised the ride was already over. As they walked out the ride and onto the fairgrounds, she smiled gratefully at Colton. "Thanks for the story. It really helped me.", she said as she looked at his face. He shrugged and then replied,"No problem. Want to go over to the hay ride?" As they walked to the cart filled to the brim with soft hay, Sally couldn't help but wonder. "Hey, Colton? Did the king ever tell the girl his feelings?" She asked. He looked at her and smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out."