Read The Seedbearing Prince: Part I for Free Online Page B

Dayn an appraising look,
only to burst into laughter at his blush. “Oh come now, child. My
hair has more gray than both of your parents put together.”
    “Happy Evensong,” Dayn said. Gray hair or
not, Dayn knew better than to mention her age. Evensong celebrated
Shard's women, and one poorly thought remark could be cause for
grave offense during the festival. Men did all of the preparations
while their wives and sisters took their ease, although the women
ended up prodding them until the decorations and such were to their
liking. Which was much like every other festival, now that Dayn
thought about it.
    “Sister, are there really offworlders here?”
he asked.
    “There most certainly are.” Her smile faded
as she took in Dayn's clothes, and he found himself blushing all
over again. “You can find yourself a nice new shirt, before the
dancing starts. And some trousers, like the ones that fit your tall
friend here so well.”
    “I think his mother made those. Right, Joam?
Joam?”
    Joam ignored the goodwife at his own peril.
While he looked eagerly into the bustling crowd, she contented
herself with a firm pinch. Joam yelped in surprise as she swayed
off, looking for new quarry to adorn with dayroses.
    “Not one word from you,” Joam warned. He
stood there for an embarrassed moment, furiously rubbing his
backside.
    “Not one word,” Dayn agreed, fighting to hold
in his amusement. Teasing Joam with the festival barely begun would
be bad luck. The night might hold many more such encounters, and
Dayn wanted the final laugh. “I think women invent festivals like
this just to give men fits. Even the Sweetwater King.”
    Joam grinned and set his blue garland just
right. “Maybe so, but it sure beats wearing white.” White dayroses
were for the married, or children still more interested in playing
on tangletoys than stealing kisses. “See what I mean?”
    A group of girls strolled near, casting
glances between Joam and Dayn. Joam grinned so fiercely his face
threatened to split in two. His first ever blue Evensong garland
came just last year at Southforte, while Dayn had received his a
year before that at Kohr Springs. Dayn patted his hair in spite of
himself.
    “Happy Evensong!” Joam called out. “Where are
you from?”
    The girls stopped short of the Dawnbreak Inn,
making halfhearted attempts at indifference as the two approached.
Not one wore white. Competition for the most dances and kisses from
the maidens was an unspoken Wia Wells tradition, same as Evensong
in any other Mistland village.
    “Greenshadow,” and “Misthaven, of course,”
were among the replies. Dayn hid his surprise with a thoughtful
nod. Word must have spread among distant kin about their village
being chosen to host. The northern journey to Greenshadow took
three weeks, much further than Misthaven.
    “We've only just now arrived,” Dayn said,
letting a touch of helplessness enter his voice. “My poor friend
here wouldn't know maidenvine if it grew in his hair. Do the
blossoms have five petals, or six?”
    Two of the girls sniffed loudly and whisked
into the inn, but the rest still lingered.
    “Six,” one replied, batting her eyes at
Joam.
    “And the flowers are violet with blue
spots?”
    “No, you have it backwards,” another answered
with a coy smile for Dayn.
    “But they must be violet, picked so early.”
Dayn put on a confused frown. “Can you show me where some are?”
    “I would,” said another, wearing a flowing
green dress that matched her eyes. She stepped closer to Dayn and
looked to be a fine dancer. Her hand reached up to his face. “But
only if you find a clean shirt!”
    She tugged at Dayn’s collar, and a puff of
dirt shot into the air. Her friends erupted into a fit of giggles,
leaving Dayn to stand sheepishly as they vanished into the
Dawnbreak.
    “You'll find yourself a mayor's daughter if
you keep on like that,” Joam said in genuine approval. “Now we know
who to dance with!”
    “We all know who