After checking on each farm in the village, they went to a local church to take part in the ceremony. The church was small and simple, the base was only a bit higher than one-story buildings with one bell tower above the entrance. There were three stained glass windows on each side of the church showing miracles from the legends.

Inside there were benches that could fit around a hundred people. In the corners near the entrance, there were two confessionals. The ceremonial part of the building was only decorated by a metal statue of the sun and rays coming out of it.

They prayed there for a short time alongside the villagefolk. Sien understood what kind of place the church was while Kloe did not so much. Constantly looking around for something more fun. She began paying attention once the choir started singing the prayers accompanied by a harp. The mother caught her daughter’s interest in the harp.

The mother asked her daughter after the ceremony had ended. “Would you like to take a closer look?” 

Kloe answered with a joyful smile, “Yes!” 

While the priest left, the musician was still playing on the harp. Silently, practicing the next melody. It was a young woman with long blond hair and clean white clothes. She wasn’t a nun but a peasant. The local priest noticed her talent and got her a harp for the ceremonies. She works on the farm except for the times of the ceremony.

“Beautiful melody.” Said Lady Panma to get the musician’s attention.

The woman stopped playing to take a look at the person that talking to her, she flinched once she noticed who that was. “Lady Panma… Thank you for the praise.” Said the woman as she took a knee to welcome the royalty.

“For how long have you played on harp?” Asked Lady Panma, looking at the harp to not stress the young woman with her gaze.

“On this harp. Only two months. I played on a small lyre before the Priest brought this one to the church. I suspect that I’m the reason he bought it.” The woman said with a short chuckle at the end.

“So you’re a talented musician.” Said Lady Panma, amused by Priest’s recognition of the talent hidden in the young woman.

“You’re flattering me, my lady. I was only able to learn how to play faster than most people but my level can be reached with hard work and time.” Explained the woman as she looked at Kloe who was clearly interested in the harp. “Would you like to try?” The woman asked as she kneeled to Kloe’s level, smiling warmly. The girl hid behind her mother but still peeked her eyes out.

“Don’t be shy. You wanted to try. Didn’t you?” Said the mother trying to push Kloe closer to the harp.

Usually, Kloe would stay behind her mother no matter what but the harp attracted her more than her shyness could push her away. The girl approached the harp with both of her hands tightly gripping the ruffle of her dress.

The woman gently pushed her onto the chair and slowly grabbed her hands to guide them toward the strings of the harp. They played a simple melody together by grabbing single strings. The music was slow but majestic as if the elves themselves were playing it for their feast. After a moment of repeating the same melody, the woman took her hands away. 

Kloe continued the melody quite well but then she pulled one wrong string and the rest of the melody collapsed with her trying to figure out how it was supposed to go. The girl was clearly frustrated by what happened, she ran to hide behind her mother, embarrassed wanting to leave the church. The woman tried to convince her to try one more time but children are impatient when it comes to complicated things like instruments.

Even though she left frustrated, trying to hold back the tears, she later asked her mother “Can we come back one day?”

“Did you like the harp?” Gently asked the mother to which the girl only nodded. “We can go to church every week if you’re interested.”

She hugged her mother tightly and stopped hiding behind her, only holding her hand and following her.

To brighten up the mood they visited the bakery as their last stop in the village. If not for the sign above the door, no one would know that it is a bakery. Built in a small two-story cottage. The bakery was on the ground floor and the owner’s house was on the floor above.

The bakery had only three shelves with displayed goods. The biggest one had many pieces of bread and buns to choose from while the two smaller ones were for sweet stuff like buns with plums or cake.

“Lady Panma. What a pleasure to see you in my small bakery.” Said the middle-aged man with an apron, the owner of the bakery, as he laid his hands against the counter.

“Pleasure is all mine. Can’t miss any baked goods from your shop when I am around the village.” Said the lady, her gaze at the baked goods she was about to buy.

“What will it be for today? I can even do a special order if Lady would like something more specific.” The baker asked, his smile not leaving his face for even a moment, it wasn’t a fake smile.

“There is no need for that. At last for now.” The woman said with a smile on her face. “Dark bread and five buns with plums, please.” She said as she pointed at the bread she wanted.

“Right away.” The man took a willow basket and placed a piece of bread in it, then a piece of cloth, and on it the buns. “Here.” The man said as he placed the basket on the counter.

Lady Panma paid and placed one bottle of milk as a tip for the service. The flattered baker thanked Lady Panma for the generous gift. As they left he said that he would repay her with a good cake.

The journey from the village to their home took only ten minutes with a carriage. First, they were welcomed by a long road with deciduous trees that slowly turned green. Right before the walls of their mansion was a small bridge over a small river. It wasn’t deep, children could swim there without parents worrying that their kids could drown in there. 

Even though there were stone walls surrounding the mansion, the gates were wide open most of the time as the family had nothing to fear in their province. There were two guards with light plate armor and spears standing by the gate. There was a small table and two chairs beside the entrance to the mansion’s grounds. The guards were playing cards to kill time.

Once they saw the carriage they stopped playing to greet the family. One of the guards, an older man with a thick mustache took an opportunity to cheat and he hid one of his cards in the deck.

The younger guard was barely twenty-five years old. He looked skinny but under the armor, he hid well-refined muscles. If not for his not often shaved beard he would look very handsome. Unlike his beard he well kept his golden hair that was cut short, slicked back.

“Good day, my Lady.” Said both guards as they took a knee.

“Good day to you too, Sifrid, Tomal.”

“How was it in the capital?” Asked Sifrid, the younger guard.

“Pleasant for me and the kids. I don’t know about my husband. After all, he wasn’t there to enjoy the city. At least nothing bad happened while we were there.”

“Good to hear. When will the Lord be coming from Waris?” Asked Tomal, the older guard with a mustache, the one who cheated with the cards.

“If nothing stopped him in the capital then he should be in a day or two.” Answered Lady Panma.

Once the carriage entered the front garden the guards continued their game of cards. Sifrid didn’t suspect that Tomal was cheating but this whole time he had a feeling that something was off about the game.

The manor and surrounding grounds were not as large as the royal family might have you believe. There were a few trees in front of the mansion and a small fountain with a statue of a snowflake. The back of the manor was covered by a garden with flowers and a little pond. Under the single tree, there was a table and a bench to enjoy the warm days.

The mansion itself was a three-story building in the shape of a letter “L”. It was mainly built out of stone except for the roof and parts of the second floor. The walls were gray and the roof was made of dark wood.

Besides the mansion, there were two buildings. Stable for the horses made of dark and light wood. And a workshop for the tools for gardening and maintenance of the buildings made with the same materials as the stable, like it was built from the leftovers.