As of late, Alistar’s expressions were often characterized by the sort of subtle, saddened looks that hadn’t been a regular sight since he had first come to live in their household.

Was Anice a terrible person for being jealous? She thought this often, always feeling rotten whenever she found herself looking forward to Lessa’s absence, at which point she and Alistar would be free to explore such relations themselves. Just one more week and he would be all hers. Naturally, she should be happy, right?

Anice found no joy in the thought that she wouldn’t see Lessa for many years once the other girl left for the arcannia in Valay. Jealous as she was, her love for her friend far outweighed the envy that she felt towards her. Because of this, Anice had been both confused and depressed in recent weeks, something that she subconsciously blamed on her cousin.

Stupid Alie…

“Hey, hey,” she heard Woods whisper to Jaden and the guys. “Alistar and Lessa both aren’t here yet. Half a copper lucet says it’s not a coincidence.”

The three others took tactful steps back as Anice turned and kicked Woods in the shin as hard as possible, feeling pain in her toes as she did so.

“Ow!” yelped the pudgy young man, who was dressed in a comfortable set of cotton clothes, browns on whites with his holy oval hanging at his neckline like all others in attendance. “Hells, Anne! You would think I was the one bedding your man—”

She slapped him.

“Such a moron,” muttered Jaden.

Zech nodded.

Corrie gave an exasperated sigh, his hand subconsciously gripping the handle of the ratty old dagger that he’d been carrying around in recent months as per the habit that had formed since he’d obtained it.

Streamers connected the rooves on both sides of South Street from end to end, white ribbons billowing in the face of a constant breeze as countless floral arrangements shuddered along with them. Every windowsill had been decorated with pearly flowers that sat snugly in vibrantly-coloured pots, many walls covered in grey tapestries that were centred with the silver bird that stood as her father’s sigil, its wings spread in a noble manner with its long-beaked head turned to the side. Every other tapestry was the same heavenly shade as the streamers, ribbons and flowers. Interspersed between these tapestries were countless oval cut-outs, large sheets of elliptical silk that represented Lord Lucian and his unparalleled purity.

“Where the hell is this damned delegation?” said Jaden in a deep, impatient tone. “If they aren’t here in ten minutes, I’m bringing Lily home and…” Sensing Anice’s annoyance, he coughed into his hand and began to talk about work as a frontiersman. “Speaking of home, did you guys want to check out our new place after the parade? There’re four bedrooms, you know, so you’re all welcome to stay whenever you want.” His broad shoulders were now level with Anice’s head, the tall, well-built man showing a shadow of the brash boy that she’d grown up with. Like many in the group, he had recently turned seventeen.

“Who would have thought collecting herbs would bring in so much money?” said Zech in a playful manner. “I’m not even eighteen yet and I’m better off than any of my brothers.”

The boys like to joke that they were glorified foragers, for they hadn’t hunted an animal for the frontiersmen guild in months. Zech admitted that most of the tasks they took up these days involved fetching rare tea leaves for minor nobles in the surrounding forests, and any creature that they happened to kill on such excursions belonged solely to them.

“It’s nice living in a place with peace and quiet,” said Corrie, the short youth nodding along with rare happiness on his thin, pale face. “I don’t need to go to the collegia to read anymore.”

“Don’t act like you don’t miss everyone.” Zech fiddled with his holy oval in annoyance as if it were an irregular growth on his body. “Even I miss the shining eyes of those little scamps, and I didn’t even live at the orphanage with you. The way they looked at me whenever I dropped by, you’d think I was a hero of the realm, ha!” Like the others, he sent an occasional glance toward the southern end of the road in anticipation of the delegation’s arrival, his bright blue eyes showing slight signs of impatience as he wiped a few clumpy strands of sandy hair from his brow.

Zech, Helen, and Corrie had bought a sizeable home and moved into it a short while back, allowing Woods to join them after their jealous friend had pouted about being the only one from the group that was still living at the orphanage with the exception of Emely, who didn’t want to leave. In exchange for room and board, he cooked all of their meals. Even Jaden and Lily now had their own home, the former having proposed to the latter two weeks back. They were to be wed by the end of the year.

We’ve all grown up, haven’t we?

Anice felt dejected. All of her friends had found their callings in life and were steadily working towards building up a better future for themselves. The triplets were working at their parents’ flower shop, Helen and the boys were always busy with frontiersmen work, and Lessa had achieved the status of a full-fledged mage at the second tier. Emely was set to inherit the position of ‘mother’ at the orphanage, intending to raise any unfortunate children that found themselves in similar circumstances to what she and the others had experienced. And Anice? Only she had yet to pave her own path in life. Only she, the spoiled daughter of the local lord, remained stagnant.

“Oh!” said Woods, who recovered from the kick with his usual quickness. “The flower girls are over there!” He pointed a few dozen paces down the wide street, which was packed on either side with massive, compact crowds of citizens that were all dressed in their Sunday best, mostly in white. “They’re talking with their parents.”

“Speaking of the in-laws,” Jaden laughed, breaking away from the group with a confident smile on his freckled face. Under their watchful eyes, he rushed over and paid his respects to the family before he dragged the sisters away from their parents and escorted them over to the group.

“Hey guys,” the girls said in unison.

Corrie raised an eyebrow. “This is…”

“Weird?” Zech offered as he stared at the sisters, all of whom were dressed in the same white sundresses, only differentiated by the number of ropey braids in their hair. “I can’t tell them apart.”

Woods let out a mischievous laugh. “You better be careful on your wedding night,” he warned Jaden with a face full of smiles. “You wouldn’t want to end up carrying the wrong girl to bed, now would you?” After a moment’s thought, he said, “Actually, just what kind of miraculous situation have you—”

Jaden punched him in the gut, causing Woods to double over with tears in his eyes. After doing so, he patted his friend on the back and said, “Don’t ever change, man.”

“D—don’t worry,” came a spluttered reply. “I won’t.”

They waited around for another ten minutes, during which time Lessa left her family behind to come and stand with her friends. It wasn’t long before Helen and Emely joined up with them as well, the two having just finished speaking with Mr. Herst nearby. At this point, Alistar was the only one missing from the group.

“He wasn’t with you?” asked Emely, staring at Lessa with raised eyebrows as she patted Miss Parsnip on the head in an affectionate manner. Seeming to think that she had misspoken, she corrected, “You know, with you guys?” A bit shorter than Corrie, her body had gained quite a mature allure in recent months, her chest filling out and her backside more pronounced. Even so, with smooth brown hair that brushed against her dainty shoulders and large walnut eyes with long, dark lashes above an eternally sweet smile, she still gave off the same sense of unparalleled innocence that she had always exuded.

After some hesitation, Lessa said, “He mentioned he had something to do this morning. Maybe he’s at the collegia with his master?” Her blonde hair had been combed and tied behind her head in a Cessian braid, a style where the three hair sections were crossed beneath one another to create a large, beautiful extension of hair that trailed down to the small of her back while leaving her face fully exposed. She wore a beautiful blue dress with a modest neckline, the silver trimmings on its hems complimenting her bright eyes.