Vain - Chapter 13 Light Festival

With a quick wink from her mother, Aileene was off on her way escaping from the tedious play. A maid tailing her steps, the both of them shuffle behind people and cut through corridors until they stumble upon the theater’s side door. Pushing the door open, she stepped outside to be greeted by the night’s cold crisp air. Taking in a deep breath, she turns towards the opening of the alley, which was flooded with colorful lights from the street.

Her feet stepping before her mind could command it to, Aileene found herself in the bustling street, cobblestones laying beneath her feet. Her eyes dance around the stalls and people commuting, the atmosphere was cheery and refreshing, just as the air was. It was a nice change from the stuffy theater with too many people to count.

Aileene began her journey, walking from stalls to stalls admiring jewelry, food, candles, and so much more. Her eyes were filled with joy and she had a happy smile on her face, as she walked among the common people. Lights hang everywhere along the streets and it made all shops and building glow faintly. The dark night above only added to the brightest of the lights.

Aileene was definitely amazed, she hadn’t been to any major festivals or holiday out in the streets before. And the natural enjoyment, she had gotten from the lights and people were new and exciting for her. Most of her life had been spent in her home and having the chance to explore freely for once, she felt independent.

“Young miss! Young miss!!” A stall vendor shouted from his shop, Aileene turned her attention to the stall when she saw the man waving to her. She approaches him curiously, her maid doing the same. “You haven’t gotten a candle, yet. How are you going to set out lights on the river?”

“Candles?” Aileene asked a bit puzzled by what the shop vendor meant. She didn’t have much, or rather any knowledge on Kinlar’s Light Festival, so she didn’t know of any candle tradition.

“Yes, you mustn’t be from around here. Every year on the day of the Light Festival, at the clock of midnight, people will gather at the Xario River placing floating candles into the water for them to set off down the stream. It’s tradition and meant to represent the ability to let go, placing whatever emotion you want into the candle and letting it float away willfully.” The vendor explains, taking one of his candle on display, he shows it to her, pointing out the small platform that lets the candle floats.

“Then can I get one of those?” Aileene asked politely, pointing to a small candle on a simple platform that was hanging from the stall.

“Let me get it down for you.” The vendor answered as Aileene traded her money for the burning candle. Holding it gently in one hand, she covered the candle with her other hand to keep it safe from the wind.

“The river is straight down that way, just walk a bit further and you’ll be there. It’s already close to midnight, so there should be a crowd.” The vendor answered the questions in her mind, and Aileene nodded in appreciation.

Turning away from the stall, she started walking her way to the river. Still protectively holding her candle. After a few minutes of walking, she could start seeing the shape of a crowd. And when she did finally arrive, you could see people rushing about all with candles in hand. Children, adults, elders, everyone was participating.

Moving away from the crowd, she tried going to a less crowded area. Aileene decided to head to the right, the more she walked the fewer people there were near the river. Upon a spot she found spacious and uncrowded, she started to near the river. She watched as others stood near the river also, waiting for the clock to hit midnight. Feeling a strong breeze of wind blow past her, her candle was in danger of going out, but her hand wasn’t enough to protect.

“No!” Aileene cried, seeing her candle flicker in the wind, seeming to breathe its last breath. But before it could, another hand caught her and held in the correct position to stop the wind.

“You’re holding it incorrectly.” A voice spoke from beside her, causing her to immediately turn to the person. And the minute she saw who was beside her, Aileene’s eyes widen in shock, was this not Lucian? The Crown Prince of Kinlar and one of Vain’s captured targets. Though he was still young, she could easily recognize his features. Violent eyes weren’t exactly common for just anyone.

“Thank you,” Aileene spoke shifting her eyes away, chastising herself for being too careless. He definitely noticed her shocked expression, he knows she knows who he is. She felt stupid, she was supposed to be mentally older, but just now she felt like a blushing school girl. And it wasn’t helping that he was still holding her hand.

“Um, it’s a nice night, right?” Aileene awkwardly asked, trying to relieve the tensions. Since the silence was suffocating and she didn’t want it to continue.

“The play was boring, wasn’t it? It’s nicer out here.” Lucian spoke, a smile plaster on his face, as he watched the girl beside him trying to not make any eye contact. Earlier when his father had told him about the play, he had already planned his escape during it, but surprisingly someone else had the same idea. And just like that, he felt like following the girl along, afterall she piqued his interest. The girl seemed to be of nobility, but he hadn’t seen her before. So he could only guess that she was from a different country, though the girl seemed to be able to recognize him immediately. Strange.

“You’ve caught me, the play was rather tedious and I didn’t have the energy to sit through it.” Aileene laughed regaining her confidence, so what if she messed up a bit. After this meeting, they probably wouldn’t meet again until her days at the academy started. And by that point, he would have already forgotten her.

“I didn’t either, do you know where the Light Festival originated from?” Lucian asked, releasing the girl’s hand and turning his gaze out to the flowing river. Watching the water trickle downstream.

“I don’t actually, would you mind telling me?” Aileene replied a small smile touching her lips, as she also turns her gaze to the river. It seemed that the prince didn’t have any bad intentions towards her, so she would just play along for now. It was nicer to have someone to talk to, afterall.

“It came from an old legend about a Light Goddess.”

❅

11.) If you were to write a novel, what genre would you write it in?

Answer:

I guess since I already wrote Vain, I’ll talk about the next novel I’m writing. Which is a eastern fantasy, Xianxia novel called Eternal. I’ve always wanted to write one and even though it seemed difficult, and it is difficult. I wanted to write one for the enjoyment of it, afterall I like reading them so much. Writing them couldn’t be so different.

12.) If you were able to travel to any world possible, fictional or whatever, what world would you travel to?

Chapter end