A Second Tyranny

Jubilation

WISTY

When the witches and wizards had fully recovered, they spent the next couple of days in the realm doing whatever they wanted. For me, that meant playing games with Emmet, Ross, Byron, and the rest of my friends, exercising, going up to the clock tower or lighthouse to sing and dance, and hours of reading. Anna and Kristoff hung out together a lot in the garden, usually accompanied by Olaf and Sven. Whit filled up most of his time by working out in the training room and exploring the sea in a canoe with Janine.

My favourite activity was archery. I was pleased to discover Arendelle had a special space for it. When I practiced, I would stand on one of the four pillars positioned at intervals along the centre and aim at the coloured rings plastered on floor-to-ceiling columns dispersed throughout the room. Whether it was the outer ring or the bull's eye, my arrows struck exactly where I wanted them to no matter how far away the targets were. Sometimes Janine and the other City archers also came here. I didn't mind the company. The battle may be over and I didn't know when I'd be needing my bow and quiver of arrows again, but that didn't mean I had to stop practicing. The main reason I kept myself busy was because I wanted to avoid being consumed by grief. There were too many faces I knew among the corpses of the magicians, and if I reflected on the times I spent with them, the undeniable sorrow I'd feel would be too overwhelming. Exercising and archery practice were the best forms of distraction. They made me feel good afterwards too.

During the periods when I was bored, I would head out onto the ramparts to watch Byron and Emmet duel in their war hammers in the courtyard, or Kristoff and Ross coming to blows with their axes.

I had swum in the sea twice already in the week following the battle. On the morning of Anna's birthday, I opted to go again. Garbed in my swimsuit and wrapped in a towel, I padded through the hallways in my flip-flops.

The castle was a bustle of activity. Servants hobbled back and forth carrying trestle tables, chairs, or vases of flowers, stacks of tablecloth draped over one shoulder. Butlers carried pitchers of wine or rolled it in casks. Conveying them all to the courtyard, no doubt, since I was told that was where the celebration would take place. Lords and ladies mooched about in pairs or groups chatting and laughing while squires and knights, all of whom were off duty, helped Kristoff and Elsa set up the decorations. Guards stood at their posts to keep an eye on security as usual, occasionally assisting with preparations of the party. Cooks were hard at work making food for the banquet, and the wonderful smell drifting out of the kitchen was enough to make my mouth water.

Elsa and Kristoff oversaw the entire preparation. Anna had wanted to help, but because this was her birthday, Elsa insisted that she be exempt from the organizations and told her to just relax. And since the witches and wizards from the City were guests, our assistance was not required. The party wouldn't start until 5:30pm, so I got all the hours before then to myself. People eyed me funny and gave me weird looks as I passed. Not that I minded much. I got them in the City all the time owing to my notoriety, I had long since gotten used to it. I simply acknowledged them with a raise of my eyebrows and a smile. I was in my swimwear, after all.

The day was bright, hot, and sunny. Oh, how I loved summer...

"Wisty!"

I stopped my cheerful skip on the outermost rampart of the castle and whirled to see Anna jogging towards me.

"Wait up!"

I noticed the swimsuit she had on concealed beneath the folds of her towel, and grinned. "Are you swimming too?"

"Yeeeep!" Anna hollered.

"Come on then!"

I skipped to the lighthouse marking the end of the rampart and sprinted up the winding steps.