The sun rose, it's luminosity intense as it battled the night sky back, a fight it won with a constant virility.
Soft footfalls. Two sets.
I scratch my beard as I sit up with a huff and turn to the noise, a giggling sounds out as they find out they had been noticed.
I grin, "Trying to sneak up on me, are you?"
They laugh as they run over, one of the small beasts barrelling into my chest.
"Oof!" I grunt, then place a hand on his back as he squeezes me and chuckle, "Did you bring it?" I ask the pair.
The boy gets off me and grins at me, revealing a set of teeth that wasn't complete, "Yes, Papa."
The girl, slightly shorter than her twin, reveals the ukulele she had been hiding behind her back.
I laugh, "You two are full of surprises today, aren't you?" I take the ukulele from her gently, "What do you want me to play?"
They think on it for a second, then the girl says, "Play Call From A Lover!"
"Call From A Lover? All right, I can do that." I settle the ukulele into my lap, gripping it with both hands, then strum it softly.
I play the ukulele expertly, the children enjoying it immensely. As I'm playing, I see the front door to our house open at the base of the hill, and a beautiful figure with flowing blonde hair steps out, smiling up at me.
She shouts, "Breakfast is ready!"
Between notes, I hold up a finger to indicate that we would be just a second, and I finish the song, the final note sounding out.
I look to my children, "Come on Damian, Isabel." I hold out both hands, and their tiny hands find mine as I guide them back down the hill, once we're at the base they release from my grasp and race into the house.
"No running indoors!" I shout, but it's useless.
I head into the house with a chuckle, crouching slightly to avoid hitting my head on the doorframe. I walk into the kitchen, where Alice is finishing up preparing the breakfast.
As she is focusing, I walk up behind her and snake an arm around her waist, kissing her cheek softly. "Morning love."
"Morning," She leans into me, "Now let me go, otherwise you'll ruin the breakfast."
I chuckle as she pushes away from me and hold my hands up in surrender, "Whatever the lady wants."
She looks up at me, a playful glint in her eyes, "Good."
I'm still chuckling as I find my seat at the dining table, the twins sitting in their chairs and babbling with each other.
"What are you two talking about?" I ask them.
"The Flower Festival! It's going to be so fun!" Damian says.
I chuckle, there was a smaller Flower Festival for the kids before the main one later in the day, "It will be great, I'm sure."
****
"Thanks, mother. I hope we won't be too long."
My mother waves a hand, her wrinkled face creasing into a smile, "Nonsense, take as much time as you'd like. Taking care of my grandkids is a joy."
I nod, a small smile on my face as she closes the door, the kids racing deeper into the house.
I turn away from the house and head back to ours, which was perhaps two minutes' walk away.
Walking into my bedroom, I see Alice still preparing, she had put on a lovely dress that hugged her form well.
"You look beautiful." I tell her.
She turns and smiles at me, but her smile turns to a frown almost suddenly as she regards me, "Why are you not dressed yet?!" She exclaims.
I chuckle, "It'll take a few minutes." I say as I pull of my shirt.
She shakes her head, "You always seem to wait until the last minute."
I change into my clothes, I had outgrown my father's clothes some years ago and had bought my own festival clothes, since that fated Flower Festival, I had attended every subsequent festival, taking my mother's words to heart.
So much so I had asked Alice to marry me mere months after that festival. She had said yes readily.
She walks over to me, placing a hand on my chest and a soft kiss on my lips, "You look stunning, Dorian." She looks up at me, a smile curling onto her face.
She couldn't help using that magic. It was irresistible.
****
Time presses pause, the world fading as I feel just the two of us, her in my arms, my hands resting gently at her waist and hers wrapped around my neck, holding my hand. Our bodies sway together in a quiet rhythm, a soft melody in the background, but it might as well have been quiet; all I could hear was the soft beat of our heart's.
Her head rests against my chest, like it had always belonged there. We share a silent conversation through every step, every breath. It wasn't about the dance – it was about the closeness, the warmth. The way she smiled up at me with eyes that say everything that word's cant. It's peace. It's home. It's content.
The music slows and comes to an end. It felt like separating, but truthfully, we were still standing right next to each other, her hand in mine.
Someone shouts outs, "We'll be staring the flower ceremony!"
Everyone crowds around the fountain and pulls out a flower. I pull two out of my breast pocket, a soft, white tulip – which I pass to Alice - and a velvet camellia.
I think back to that fated Flower Festival, had Arthur carried her tulip that time? An irrational spike of anger rises in me, which I quickly squash. It was a stupid anger, Arthur and Alice had done nothing wrong, and we were very happily married for years now.
I bend down and place my flower into the fountain, watching it disturbs the water slightly and ripple out, meeting the ripples of Alice's tulip, and causing an interference.
I look up at her as we both straighten up again, I place a hand on her cheek, and caress her softly, then kiss her warmly.
Our lips touch, soft, warm and full of everything good in this world. Her fingers are tangled gently in my hair, my hands resting at the small of her back. It's a moment suspended in time, like so many moments with her before. Quiet and golden, and an untouchable moment.
But then-
A flicker.
It's subtle, the air feels different. Thicker. Heavier. Like the world was holding its breath. The silence stretches, and it had been a warm silence, a comfortable one. But it stretches too far, and it stretches to a point where it's so thin, that it could be burst at any moment.
My skin prickles as I break away from Alice.
She looks up at me quizzically, blissfully unaware, "Dorian?" But I don't reply, my gaze searching, looking around.
I know something is off. I don't know what, but I know.
And suddenly, it becomes all too easy to know. Screams sound out as the villagers have their gazes fixed on the sky in terror.
I look up, and my breath is stolen from me. Horror washes through my body, every atom in my body vibrating and tell me to run like hell. If I wanted the slightest chance.
God, if you can hear me now, save us from this catastrophe.
A dragon, it was dark, and yet its silhouette was prominent in the moonlight.
The sky darkens, a terrible ancient force causing the deepening in shade. A deep, guttural roar rolls across the land like thunder, shaking windows, rattling bones. People drop to the ground around me, covering their heads like it might help.
A massive shadow unfurls above, wings like torn sails blot out the moon as the dragon passes overhead, its scales glinting with a sickly, molten sheen. Its eyes, even from a distance, are alive with cold, cruel and ancient intelligence.
My eyes flicker away from the dragon momentarily as my mother and my children rush over to me, they were crying as they slammed into my legs and hugged me tightly.
I barely register it, my eyes flicking back up to the monstrosity above. The wind from its wings slam into the earth with violent force, ripping up rooftops and sending carts tumbling, flinging debris everywhere. Grown men clutch each other, trembling.
It doesn't even attack. It doesn't have to. Its presence alone is a promise. A warning. It flies on – slow, deliberate, terrifying in its indifference – leaving silence in its wake.
Just as I start to calm down, electricity sparks, and lightning arcs between us. And the dragon stops.
I didn't mean stops moving, I mean its movements stilled completely, the wings still arcing mid-way through its flight as it drops suddenly.
But then it regains its composure and catches itself on air, another roar sounds out, but this one is much more violent.
And then it does perhaps the worst thing I could think of in this moment. If I had been scared before, it didn't compare to now.
It turns, heading back to the village. Its height slowly dropping as it neared us.
Villagers run around us like headless chickens, and Alice is shaking me.
But my eyes are locked onto the dragon, I couldn't tear my gaze away from it.
And I was sure, it was starting back at me too.