Unforseen Surprises

Chapter two

Chapter Two

            Jesse and Lindsey rented a hotel room for the night that was close to the fair. They woke up early and found their way to the line to get into the festival. They couldn't see anything from where they were in the line other then the large stone wall that blocked off the town from the rest of the world. They both had their outfits on and had their cell phones hidden. Lindsey wore a long sleeved dark purple dress. It fitted her body well but with the design of the dress, she could not wear it anywhere other than the fair without gaining strange stares. Jesses outfit was much simpler. She wore a purple peasant top with a dark skirt. In place of a belt a red scarf was found.

            As they moved closer towards the entrance, they began to smell the food and hear the excitement behind the walls. They exchanged smiles until they got up to the entrance booth.

"Two people are twenty dollars." The unhappy worker sighed. Jesse handed him the money before he had a chance to continue. "Your money is no good inside. Would you like to exchange your money now?"

            Jesse handed him thirty dollars while Lindsey gave him fifty. They each received their coins and they were inside of this new culture. The first thing that caught their eyes was the giant castle that laid a ways away. The next thing was all of the booths that were selling items.

"Look at those stands! I should have exchanged more money; I didn't think I could make this an old timey shopping spree!" Lindsey exclaimed

"How about we start with the archery tournament?" Right after she said this, Jesse saw a little boy, probably about four years old that looked lost and scared. She was always good with children and her instincts picked up when she saw the sad face that rested on the child.

"Did you lose your parents? Jesse asked with a soft voice. The child responded with a soft nod. "Do you remember what your mom was wearing?"

"Her blue dress." He replied in a whisper.

            Jesse looked around and in an instant she saw a worried woman wearing a worn out navy blue dress.

"Is that your mother?" Jesse asked. The boy just nodded and Lindsey took that as a sign to run and get the mom while Jesse stayed a comforted the boy. After Lindsey's message was delivered, she came back with the now relieved mom. Jesse smiled as the family was reunited.

"That was a good deed you did." A mysterious deep voice from behind Jesse said.

            Jesse turned around to see a guy, maybe a few years older than her. He had dark hair and a small smirk on his face that had mystery hidden in it. His face was pale, but he was defiantly the muscular type. His eyes were a shade of bright green that reminded Jesse of the woods she used to play in when she was younger.

"Thanks." Jesse managed to choke out. Before she could say anything else to this stranger, somebody else got his attention and he was gone as fast as he came.

"That was strange." Lindsey said

"I wonder if we could ask somebody what the times for all of the events are." Jesse replied trying to change the topic. She looked around until she saw an old woman at a stand that looked like she lived here. After she asked she learned that there was no specific time for anything, just an order. When one thing stopped the other thing started a few minutes later. The thing that gained Lindsey's attention was the last thing the woman said.

"A dance? Like where we get to dress up and dance?" Lindsey asked

"Tis better then that younglings. Thou prince may choose his bride tonight."

"A prince and a ball? This is starting to sound like a fairy tale." Lindsey squealed before looking at what she was wearing in disappointment. "Where's my fairy godmother when I need her?

"Can't we not worry about the dance until it comes?" Jesse whined before Lindsey saw a table selling beautiful dresses. Lindsey ignored Jesse and walked straight up to it.

"These are all lovely." Lindsey said as soon as she got there. "Would these dresses be appropriate for tonight?" She asked before she heard laughing beside her.

"What else would you expect to wear?" The girl who laughed asked in a rather rude voice.

"This is my first dance so I wouldn't know." Lindsey snapped back just as Jesse came beside her with a what is going on look on her face.

"Well I hope you don't expect the prince to like you. Just because he has to dance with every available women doesn't mean he likes it. Besides, he's choosing me as his bride tonight and the wedding tomorrow will be the conclusion to the festival and outsiders will be forced to leave." She said with an evil look on her face before turning around and buying a bright red dress.

"She sounds worse then she actually is." The saleswoman said after the girl left. "She is just upset because the prince hasn't chosen her yet." She saw something around the corner that made her unhappy. "I will be back in a few minutes. You are welcome to look until I return."

"No wonder that girls bitter." Jesse said thinking she had figured it out. "The prince has a fake wedding every year for the festival and she has yet to be picked."

Lindsey nodded in agreement.

"I wonder how many weddings he's already gone through." She said smiling.

"Not enough for her to be picked." Jesse replied laughing.

            The saleswoman came scrambling back, looking happier than she did when she left. Jesse and Lindsey picked out what they felt were the perfect dresses. Jesses was a deep blue with an eloquent design on it that twisted and curved. Lindsey chose a light pink dress that showed layers. Both dresses were rather inexpensive.

            The rest of the day went by quickly. Jesse loved the archery tournament and the juggler. Lindsey enjoyed the giant turkey leg she ate at the feast and the music. Right now they were finishing up the last event before the dance, the jousting tournament. The royal family was watching it, but unfortunately, they were too far away and it was too crowded to get a good look at them. This especially disappointed them because they wanted to know what the prince looked like. When it was finished the announcer said something the girls didn't hear.

"What did he say?" Jesse asked, mad she couldn't hear.  

"Translated, all he said was the dance is in an hour and inside of the castle. I'm Kathryn by the way. Is this your first fair?

"Yep, is it that obvious?" Jesse replied

"Don't feel bad, it's only my third. You guys should have seen me on my first fair, I was completely lost." Kathryn said with a smile before continuing, "We should probably start getting ready. After all we have to impress that prince." She said with a wink.