Swords & Spells (Book One):The Magic of Emrys

The Dyad Festival (Morgana)

Morgana slid her arm through a crook in Emrys' and pulled the serving girl closer to her as they walked. She couldn't help but be amused as she watched Emrys' head turn this way and that, taking in all of the activities as if the two hadn't just spent hours together exploring the fairgrounds. "I can't believe you've really never come here for the Dyad Festival before."

She felt the hum of Emrys' giggle in her ribcage before she saw her bright smile. "My mother never wanted to go. She hated the idea of it, actually. I always assumed the Festival just wasn't all that great."

"And now," Morgana asked, an inquisitive smile on her lips.

"I can't imagine why she never brought us here as kids."

Morgana gave Emrys' arm a gentle squeeze as she continued to guide the girl through the marketplace. She glanced over her shoulder at their chaperones, eyeing the distance that separated her and Emrys from Reuben and Guinevere. She'd tried several times to lose the unwanted pair, but none of her attempts had proven to be worthwhile.

Unfortunately, when Emrys had caught on to her brother's presence, she'd been all too happy to spend the day with him, and Morgana hadn't been able to say no to the girl. She had, however, managed to convince Guinevere to allow her and Emrys to have some space to themselves. Still, Morgana wished they were further away.

Morgana's attention snapped back to Emrys when the serving girl suddenly broke apart to investigate a stand full of dresses. As she drifted over to where Emrys stood, Morgana thought she heard Reuben make a comment about the predictability of his sister's fascination with the dresses.

Morgana smiled as she peered at Emrys, who was mesmerized by a particular purple dress. The dress wasn't quite as fancy as one that Morgana would wear, but Morgana could see how its more intricate design would catch the eye of a girl whose wardrobe was probably full of plain dresses. "I take it you like it, then," she asked.

Emrys held the top of the dress to her shoulders and gave a quick twirl as if to imagine what it'd be like to wear it. "It's beautiful."

"Then you should have it." Morgana raised her hand and snapped the merchant to attention. She froze only for a moment when she felt Emrys' hand on her wrist, but lost her nerve almost entirely when she turned to face Emrys' honey-golden eyes.

"I couldn't possibly afford it," Emrys explained with a sad smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Guinevere cross her arms. "Morgana," she said in a cautionary, but firm voice. She must've already seen the solution Morgana would come to.

Morgana gave Emrys' hand a squeeze and nodded at the merchant. "We'll take this, please. My father will take care of it." She raised another hand when Emrys started to protest again and said, "It's really the least our family can do for you after all you've done for us."

Emrys looked down at her feet and shuffled her weight to either side. "Your family doesn't owe me anything, especially not after today."

Morgana accepted the box from the merchant and held it out to Emrys. She tried not to let the thought of Arthur's actions affect her, but still she found the corners of her smile tightening. "Let's try to put Arthur out of our minds from now on, shall we? No need to let Arthur spoil all of our fun. These next few days can be about you and me."

"Morgana," Guinevere hissed again, this time in a sharper tone. She nudged Reuben and gave him a pointed nod toward his sister.

He avoided Morgana's gaze as he cleared his throat. "We should probably get going, Emrys. Silas will be expecting us for dinner."