There isn't any snow, which is a good thing for an outdoor fayre, but there is a cold snap in the air that makes me glad that I have a warm cloak on for the day. Gerda is similarly wrapped up with a fur trim to hers. I may need to look at getting some to add to mine for next winter.
"Shall we go find the mead stall?" Gerda asks.
I chuckle. "Are you that cold?" Most of the times I've heard people say that before it's because they want a drink to warm them up.
"Or maybe I just like mead. Have you ever had it?"
"I don't think so." In reality, I know I haven't. Until Gerda, I haven't had a human friend to go to things like this, so there's a lot of things I've never had the ability to try as a result.
I'm looking forward to changing that.
"Come on." She takes hold of my hand and pulls me towards one of the stalls with lots of bottles lined up along the front of it.
My eyes widen. Are they all the same thing? Or are there this many different flavours of mead?
"Would you like a sample?" the girl manning the stand asks.
"Yes. Two please," Gerda replies.
"Original or one of our other flavours?"
"Original is good," she assures the girl. "Mati has never tried it before."
"Oh. In that case, you have to try this one. It's our best." The girl picks up a bottle and pours two small cups of the stuff, handing the first to Gerda and the second to me.
I sniff it, surprised by how sweet it smells. It almost reminds me of the fruit wines the academy serves at balls.
"To our good health," Gerda says, holding it up.
I tap my cup against hers then take a sip.
It's nothing like I expect it to be. It's sweet with a tang to it that I expect.
"That's delicious."
"Isn't it?" Gerda says with a grin. "Can I reserve a bottle to pick up later?" she asks the girl.
"Of course."
Gerda digs a few coins out of her pocket and hands them to the girl.
"I'll take some too," I say, getting my own money out. While Mother isn't too happy about me being at the academy, my parents are still sending me an allowance and paying my tuition. Thankfully. I don't know what I'll do if that changes. I suppose I can do without the allowance money if I have to. I have enough clothes and the academy provides all the meals and housing for us while we're studying, so it's only the fun things like this that I'll have to miss out on.
I hand the coins over.
"We can have the bottles delivered to your rooms for you, if you'd like?" the girl asks as she slides our money into the pouch she's wearing.
"That's even better than reserving them. Thank you," Gerda says.
"Just write your information down here and I'll get it sorted." She pushes a sheet of parchment towards my friend, who picks up the quill and starts to write it down for both of us.
I turn my attention away from the stall in front of us and scan the others for where we should head next. There's everything from lace to sweetmeats and even a stall selling small daggers and other basic weaponry. I imagine they're more on the decorative side than the functional one. Even I know to go to a blacksmith if I want something sturdy and it's not something we have under the sea. Most of our weapons are made from rock and bond, otherwise, they'd rust too quickly. My whalebone knife is one of my prized possessions.
A flutter of ribbons catches my eye as they dance in the wind. I'm not sure if that's what the stall is selling, but it's where I want to go next.
"Ready?" Gerda asks me.
I nod. "Do I need to..."
"No. I wrote down your room too."
"Thank you."
She hooks her arm through mine. "No need to thank me. You'd do the same."
That's true. I'm glad to have a friend on land who isn't mer. A sentiment I'm sure she shares. Well, kind of. As far as I know, Gerda is nothing more than a human unlucky enough to have had a prophecy about her. But she kept herself from making friends so it wouldn't come true. I'd like to think she's glad that the two of us have bonded since that.
"I thought we'd head over to the ribbons," I say, pointing at the stall in question.
"Oh, good choice."
"Do you know what they're selling?" I ask as the two of us start to walk over.
She shrugs. "No idea. But isn't that the fun of a fayre like this? And the samples. I do like trying things."
I laugh softly. "You're not wrong there." I still feel the fuzzy warmth inside from the mead the two of us drunk, and it wasn't even very much of it.
"I hope there are lots more..." Her words fade to background noise as a group of young men turn the corner.
I stall and come to a stop, dragging Gerda along with me.
"Mati, what..." She trails off as she sees the people I'm staring at. "Is he there?"
I bite my bottom lip as I scan the various faces of the officers-in-training, looking for the one I recognise. None of them spend enough time at the academy for me to know them through classes, and I've never danced with any of them at the balls which happen frequently.
The only one I'm going to be able to recognise is the officer I saved from drowning.
"Mati?" Concern comes through her voice.
Two of the officers-in-training move off to the side revealing the one face I'm looking for.
Unsurprisingly, he looks much better without nearly having drowned, with curly dark hair cropped close to his head and his uniform the normal navy blue of the officers-in-training. It's a dashing uniform, even if I don't understand what the training program is for. There hasn't been a war in the kingdoms for a long time, and even if there was, sending all of the trainee army leaders to the same place to train seems like it would be counterproductive.
Perhaps it's a deterrent from the possibility of a future war.
I push the thoughts of that aside. It doesn't matter what the reasons for the program are. It exists, and the participants go from academy to academy, never spending too long in one place, meaning we never get much of a chance to get to know them properly.
"Is that him?" Gerda asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I nod, unable to say the words out loud.
"He's handsome. Why don't you go over and talk to him?"
"And say what? Hi, I'm Matilda, you may remember me from the time you nearly drowned..."
"There are worse things you could say," she points out. "I'd be glad to meet someone who saved my life."
"Hmm. He probably thinks I'm a figment of his imagination."
A knowing look crosses Gerda's face. "That's all right. We can save that for another day." She turns us around and starts to pull me towards the other side of the fayre.
I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed or relieved that I don't have to go and talk to the person I saved. Maybe I'll be able to pluck up the courage to do so the next time I see him instead.