The street was abuzz with activity and chatter, crowds gathered, and couples leisurely strode. Local vendors busy serving customers in the early morning amidst the heavy traffic of people. Traveling merchants arrived to take advantage of the festival, quickly setting up shops at free corners.

Assorted, bright and colorful flowers decorated the buildings and homes, on the walls, columns, and windows. Stream of ropes tied from rooftops to another, with countless colorful lanterns of cloth and fabric hanging from them, enclosing the cityscape and giving shade to the busy streets.

People smiling and chatting. Music loudly played at small stages set up where people cheered and danced. Restaurants filled to the brim with tourists to taste the local delicacies. Groups of children rushing wherever they went, playing and laughing.

Truly the city was full of life for the biggest day of every year had come. The First Blooming Festival.

Amidst the crowd of common folk where the wealthy and poor mixed, fancy carriages passed through. Luxurious carriages where the most expensive of metals like gold and silver were used to craft such transports.

Horses loudly traversed the pavement as the wheels of carriages clanked and bounced, coachmen driving slowly so as to not hit anyone in their way. But seeing how fancy each carriage was, every time they saw one, the common folk would immediately step aside and let them pass.

This was a normal occurrence as nobles from all over the kingdom comes to the capital city for the festival. However, the carriages would all arrive firstly at the grand cathedral. Carriages stopped in front of the entrance, then nobles stepped out adorned in expensive clothes and fancy pieces of jewelry.

The common folk standing outside of the cathedral gasped and were in awe every time a noble came out. In this city, commoners have respect for nobles as they were the leaders of the kingdom. Neither were they cruel or needlessly prejudice against the common folk. They were only leading the nation to prosperity.

That being said, it should be the same for remote regions. But there were always unusual cases where nobles grew too arrogant and instead of improving their domains, they degrade it. As strict as the crown was, once discovered they would be met with swift penance. Going against the kingdom’s progress was essentially a crime against the king.

After several expensive carriages later, the knights with spears on guard to the door made sure that none of the commoners could still enter, for there were still ones that should be the last to arrive. The citizens waited until a few minutes later a group of carriages came into sight, coming from the direction of the palace.

Four luxurious carriages brandishing the Wisterian flag rode into the clear road, where knights on horses laid guard, and beside each coachman were knights as well. The first carriage stopped in front of the entrance.

The knight on the front jumped down and announced.

“Presenting our monarchs! His Majesty Leodoule Erestro Wisteria and Her Majesty Meliya Helvinia Wisteria!”

The knights on guard of the church entrance rapped the bottom of their spears to the floor, and they kept rapping them while the announcer opened the door of the carriage where the couple emerged.

The king’s hair was combed backward and wore a fabulous version of white formal outfit, where golden chains hung on each side of his torso. Meanwhile the queen wore an extravagant gown of white with streaks of purple, and long white gloves covered her hands. Her hair freely flowed down. Jewelry hanging on her skirt, gem earrings, and golden necklaces.

“Long live the king and queen!”

“Hail!”

The civilians clapped their hands loudly and cheered with their hands high, watching the couple with wide and bright smiles.

“Lady Meliya! Looking beautiful as ever!” a woman’s voice shouted.

Meliya turned her head in the direction of the voice and smiled with a wave of her hand.

“Lord Leodoule you look so cool!”

“Thank you, thank you!”

Leodoule waved and nodded his head at the man’s praise. The couple felt fulfilled that they received such a warm welcome. Truly being loved by the people was the best option in ruling.

When the couple arrived right before the door, the knights stopped rapping their spears. Then the king and queen entered inside.

The carriage they rode in left and came in the next one.

The knight beside the coachman got down and announced the person inside this carriage.

“Announcing the arrival of the second prince of the kingdom, his highness Estevan Verziniel Wisteria.”

The door quickly opened before the knight could open it. Estevan emerged from the carriage with a wide smile. He wore a white and gold coat, white pants, and white and gold colored boots. His hair was combed to the side.

With a refreshing face, he waved his hands to the crowd.

“Hello, everyone!”

The people cheered and applauded enthusiastically at Estevan’s friendly greetings to them.

“Notice me, your highness!”

Estevan immediately shifted his eyes towards that woman’s call.

“Hey there.”

“Kyaa!”

The group of young women almost collapsed at how the handsome prince actually turned to look at them with his charming face. Estevan kept waving until he reached the entrance.

The next carriage came in, but this time there was another knight in dark armor with a beautiful face. The two knights got down and the Wisterian knight announced.

“Presenting his royal highness, the first prince, Eleden Venzura Wisteria! With him our special guest from the kingdom of Myra, the second princess, Lillie Eanthia Lionheart!”

The citizens began to murmur amongst the crowd, surprised that there was a princess from another nation, and was with the first prince. They had indeed heard that important guests came to the kingdom, and they believed that it was just an envoy. However, there were rumors that it was a princess from another nation, but it was not officially announced by the palace.

But now the people have realized why the princes were in different carriages when in the past they would be together in one.

The door of the carriage opened from the inside and went out the first prince with his mostly white formal coat, and purple at the seams. And matching colors on the rest of his outfit. On his wrist was a golden bracelet. His hair combed back.

He stood in front of the carriage door before extending his palm forward, on where a fair-skinned hand received it. A blue and white heel stepped out. Followed by a beautiful young woman with golden blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes. Her blue and white gown was so glamorous that people gave an audible gasp upon seeing her.

Her earrings had hanging diamonds and a silver necklace hanging on her neck.

Of course seeing this, everyone had formed a suspicion, which would be likely true, that these two were in a romantic relationship.

The crowd clapped and waved their purple cloths high up in the air. For those who didn’t have any purple fabric in hand, they used their handkerchiefs. Loud cheers along with it.

The foreign princess looked curiously at the waving of fabrics.

“Why are they waving with those fabrics?” she asked the prince.

“Um, well. It means…” he seemed to hesitate, shy to say the meaning. “It means good wishes for the new couple. May their love last until the sun dies.”

“Oh…” she smiled and tightly grasped Eleden’s hand. “I hope so.”

The two smiled at each other fondly before going into the church entrance holding hands. The knight in dark armor followed far behind.

Now there should be no other royalty that should arrive. However, curiously, there was still another carriage that came. The citizens murmured and whispered, speculating who would come out of there.

The knight beside the coachman came down and grinned widely as he scanned the crowd. He stood before the door and stood appropriately, legs together and back straight, his hands on his back.

“Announcing the arrival of the princess of the Wisteria!”

The commoners looked at each other in surprise along with whispers. The knight’s smile grew when he saw the crowd’s reaction and continued.

“Make way for her highness Princess Estelia Vernisia Wisteria!”

The knights on guard rapped their spears loudly while the knight opened the door of the carriage. He extended his hand forward.

Then came a pale and smooth hand to receive it.

A glistening heeled shoe stepped out into the carriage steps. Then the gown’s skirt revealed reaching about her ankle. When the princess emerged, those who laid witness, their eyes widened in shock.

The princess wore a glamorous, extravagant, and grand gown. The purple of her gown came from her torso and connecting down to the edges of her skirt, the purple divided into shapes akin to a triangle, then the rest were in the color of white. The purple of her torso, chest to the waist was emblazoned with golden patterns as if they were sewn using golden threads.

The patterns were a mixture of triangles and flower petals, where a parallel of each pattern was right next to each other. The thin forms of the patterns went all the way down to the edges of her skirt where it was decorated with golden flower petals.

Her shoulders and neck were covered, her sleeves reached to her fit wrists, gold at the seams. White fabrics hung on the back of her arms, frilly. Her dress completely showed her slenderness, her hourglass figure shown to all.

She was pristine and pure.

Two fingers on each of her hands wore rings made up of gold, and silver, with a design that would require fine precision from the craftsman. Then her ears wore cuff earrings of gold and gems, each going from the lobule to the helix.

Her hair was something that everyone had not seen before. Her extraordinarily long hair was in the color of platinum. It was tied into a long braid that reached past her waist. The top side of her hair was decorated by strings of golden jewelry.

And the most incredible part of her was her beautiful pair of eyes, red as blood, which scanned the surroundings with a gentle and pure gaze. Her skin was surprisingly so pale as if she had never been under the sun, not even once. She was as white as snow.

The commoners were hard-pressed to process what they were seeing.

A beauty so great. An appearance so innocent that it softened the heart. Her movements so graceful, elegant, and gentle.

The moment both her feet were on the ground, the rapping of the spears came to a halt.

The princess with a straight posture looked around with a small smile. A smile so charming that stole the hearts of both men and women, even those who were married.

She was an overwhelming presence, a presence so out of place yet so welcomed. As if a goddess had graced the unworthy mortals, and those mortals were uncertain on how to react. She was a perfect existence, an existence so great that the common mind was having difficulty processing what they were perceiving.

That was why, instead of the loud cheers that came before, there was utter silence.

“...”

Indeed, there was only silence.

Never did they expect that the ever so mysterious princess they have heard about, but barely, would have this kind of beautiful presence — the princess who has finally shown herself after so many years.

The citizens could only watch in complete utter silence, staring at an existence way greater than them.