Chapter 125: Orion, Sophia and The Festival Proper I
The path back to the pack compound shimred faintly beneath the string lights. Shadows of lanterns danced across the cobblestones as Orion and Sophia walked side by side, the hum of laughter and distant drums swelling with every step they took. The night slled of roasted fruit, warm spice, and woodsmoke.
The guards straightened imdiately as they passed. Surprise flickered on their faces, before they snapped into formality.
"Alpha," one murmured, bowing slightly.
Another stamred, "Good evening...happy...sorry...have a good festival."
Orion acknowledged them with a nod, his expression unreadable, but Sophia caught the faintest curve at the corner of his mouth.
"They look as if you just walked out of a legend," she said quietly.
He spared a glance at her. "Doesn’t it feel that way?" He asked her.
"It does actually and it’s all because of right?" She asked him with a smile but he just replied with an eye roll.
The music grew louder as they reached the heart of the square, where torches ringed the stalls in a golden haze. Children darted between the crowds with painted faces; the air shimred with the heat of the festival.
The first stall stood just beyond the square’s entrance...a small wooden table lined with cups and jars that glead under lantern light. An elderly woman stood behind it, her gray hair tied in a loose braid, her face creased but lively. When she turned and saw Orion, the ladle in her hand nearly slipped from her fingers.
"By the Goddess!" she exclaid. "It can’t be....you actually ca to the festival?"
Orion’s brow arched slightly. "Nice to see you, Marta."
The woman blinked, then broke into a laugh that was half disbelief. "Nice to see you, he says! I am not so stranger to you Orion. No need to be so formal."
Sophia watched, intrigued by the conversation between them.
"Right...This is Sophia," Orion said, gesturing beside him. "Sophia, this is Marta. She..."
"...needs no greeting," Marta interrupted, wagging her ladle. "None of that formal talk tonight, Alpha. The Goddess would strike if I let you be polite at my own stall."
Before Orion could protest, she turned, grabbed two small wooden cups, and filled them with a creamy, ivory-colored liquid from a clay jug. The scent of sweet roots and honey rose imdiately.
"On the house," she declared firmly, pressing one cup toward him. "Since it’s your first ti attending the main festival, you’ll have this...on . No arguing."
"Marta," Orion started, but she shoved the cup at his chest before he could finish.
"Don’t you ’Marta’ ," she scolded, eyes narrowing with mock ferocity.
He sighed, clearly torn between annoyance and amusent.
Sophia, who had been watching with a faint smile, stepped forward and accepted both cups before Orion could hand one back. She turned to him, her brows lifting ever so slightly in warning as she placed the cup in his hands.
He gave her a long look. But her steady gaze didn’t waver. Finally, with a quiet exhale, he relented.
"Thank you," he said to Marta, taking one of the cups from Sophia.
"That’s better," Marta said, satisfied. She turned to Sophia, her expression softening. "You’ll want to drink it too, dear. Everyone has to take it before eating anything tonight, it helps keeps the stomach from turning. All these spices and sweets can be trouble for you when you take a lot."
Sophia smiled gratefully. "What’s in it?"
Marta chuckled. "A little milkroot, honey, and fire-blossom seed. It’s an old redy passed down from my mother. It helps settles the stomach. And it’s sweet too. Drink it darling, you’ll thank later for this."
Sophia nodded and lifted the cup to her lips. The drink was thick but smooth, sweet with a faint hint of spice that lingered at the back of her throat. Warmth spread through her chest almost instantly.
"It’s lovely," she said, surprised.
"Of course it is," Marta said proudly. Then, turning back to Orion, "You, drink. I’ll not have you setting a bad example in front of your lady friend."
"Lady friend?" Orion asked her with raised eyebrows.
"Is that not what she is?" Marta asked him.
"More like a pain in my ass." Orion muttered.
Marta laughed heartily. "I’ve heard about you," she said to Sophia. "Well...I’m sure everyone has but I’ve never seen you. It’s nice to see you and welco to the festival."
"Thank you." Sophia said with a smile as she passed her cup back to Marta.
Orion still held his own and Sophia noticed. She gave him a glare and he exhaled deeply like he could not believe he was really here with soone who was half his size who would also murder him if he so much as went back on the deal.
With a sigh, Orion drank from the cup then passed it back to Marta.
"It’s good isn’t it?" Marta asked him.
Orion nodded and gave her a small smile.
Sophia noticed the woman’s hands tremble slightly as she set the jug down.
"Thank you." Orion said to Marta as his eyes zeroed in on the woman’s shaking arms.
She laughed as tears poured out her eyes. "Oh, silly . I shouldn’t be crying." She said as she quickly wiped the tears.
"Is sothing the matter?" Orion asked her worriedly.
Marta turned and laughed again. "There’s a reason why you are alpha alright." She said to him. "And I should be thanking you, not the other way round. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be crying my heart out at my husband’s grave. I wouldn’t even be able to move especially rembering how he died protecting . But you made today different. It’s not like I have forgotten how he died, but you made see that there is hope and that it doesn’t matter, he will always be with . I just finished gossiping with him so minutes before." She said with a laugh.
Sophia turned to Orion. This was what she wanted him to see. That no one held that much pain and guilt against him. Not the way he punished himself with it.
"I..." Orion began but Marta interrupted him.
"I know you are about to say you didn’t do anything, but you did. If not for you, there would be no laughter or even music and rejoicing today. So thank you, Alpha. Thank you very much for this and I hope you continue involving yourself in the festival. I hope you have a good festival like the rest of us too." Marta told him.
Orion’s gaze softened. He had no idea what to tell the woman and perhaps Marta noticed.
"You don’t need to tell anything boy. I’m just glad you are here after all. Now run along, go and enjoy the festival, there’s a lot to do and before you know it, a crowd will be forming. Most people forget to take this before they start eating all the delicacies." She said with a laugh as she showed them away.
"Have a good festival too." Sophia said to the woman as she and Orion turned away.
"You too!" Marta told her with a wide smile.
Imdiately they were at a distance from Marta’s stall, Sophia turned to Orion. "See?" She asked him.
"See what?" He asked her even if he knew what she was talking about.
She gave him an eye roll calling him an oaf as she began walking deeper into the square with Orion following behind her.
The next stall they entered was brighter, its counter lined with small glass jars and tal trays. A sharp, sugary scent filled the air, sweet, but oddly earthy. Behind the counter, a younger vendor was turning sothing over a sizzling pan.
Sophia leaned closer and blinked. The tray was filled with thin, glistening coils, so golden, so dark brown, rolled in syrup that sparkled under the firelight.
"What is that?" she asked, fascinated and slightly horrified.
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