Katherine heard the festival before she saw it, and the sounds of revelry and celebration bounced off the cobblestones. The glow of torchlight and the faraway bonfire reached the adjoining alleys that opened up into the town green, and Katherine could've followed the music and the crackle of fire instead of the golden dust. Either way, the alley spit her out into the crowd, immediately putting her elbow to elbow with others in the crowd.

The men, women, and children closest to her all had red cheeks and sparkling eyes as they sang and jostled to the fiddles in the festival center. A glimmer of twinkling lights caught Katherine's eye and a smile went to her lips, unbidden. Dancing by the fire, several girls had delicate flowers, birds, and vines of glass wrapped in their elaborate hair styling and plaits. Every single strand of glass, delicately crafted and balancing gently had been created with her own two hands. The glass radiated yellow and orange hues as the bonfire reflected their smooth surfaces.

In front of her, they created a tapestry of lights, mirroring the night sky above them and the stars surrounding the full moons. Unbidden, Katherine wondered if this was what the fae looked like while they danced. Maybe she could craft some magic into her glass, maybe her father hadn't been far off.

She shook her head, even as she continued to watch the dips and jigs of the dancers. No, nothing good would come of such thinking. Her glasswork may look like magic, but that's all it was. It just looked like something it wasn't. 

 The glass struck a stark contrast to their living, breathing, whirling owners. The dancers didn't stop, not for a moment. Katherine had never seen something so vividly alive. Had all of the festivals looked quite so heated? She must not have noticed.

Searching the ground and the mob for some sign of the gold trail she'd followed earlier, Katherine held her head high, eyeing everything from the trodden grass to the flower garlands strewn from tree to tree. Beyond the flickers and sparks from the fire, nothing caught her eye, and Katherine squinted.

Had she been wrong?

She let the crush jostle her, going along with the movements of the townsfolk. Her gaze traveled the length of the park, looking for familiar faces. Neither of her parents was anywhere to be found, but she had no doubt they were present. Not that they expected her to attend— that would surprise them. It wasn't that she didn't like celebrations; it was more that they'd never bothered to ask if she was going at all. Her mother would be with the society ladies she grew up with. Her father would either be in the barrel or back at the tavern she'd rescued him from the night before.

Neither had checked on her throughout the day and for the thousandth time in her life, Katherine wondered what it would be like to have parents that weren't so self-absorbed. If her daughter accidentally summoned a fae-ish being, she'd want to know immediately, but Katherine had no daughters, and she hoped she got the chance to instill in them the good sense to not look for trouble.

Not that such notions did her any good.

Katherine found herself pushed towards the crowd edge, closer to the dancing couples, and not for the first time, she wondered if the fae were truly among them. The dancers now pranced a galliard, keeping time with the music. The dainty feet of the women fluttered quickly through the steps, each jump over before it truly began, but matching their partners beat for beat. They circled each other, and Katherine's eyes widened as the swishing of one woman's skirts revealed what she'd been looking for.

There, sparkling and lying in wait, the trail of gold continued, but it disappeared from her line of sight before she got a chance to see where it led. There was no way through without breaking up the dance, and she would draw attention to herself immediately if she ran out into the dance without a partner.

As if answering her thoughts by instinct, the dance in the makeshift pavilion turned to a variation of the galliard, with long lines forming between the partners. Men and women linked arms with each other and incorporated higher swings of their feet, moving in a snake-like line. Just as she was about to step forward, Katherine was pulled into the fray, the smiling face of one of Mrs. Moore's daughters greeting her.

Within instants, the dancers swept Katherine away, and she hurried to keep up. It had been so long since she'd danced, but her feet knew the steps better than her mind did. They came to her like second nature, and her kicks swung higher than many of the other girls, and her step changes were swift and pointed. Mrs. Moore's daughter kept pace with her, on her other side her soon-to-be fiance, and all three moved with precision.

Katherine let herself get lost in the moment, the glowing torch lights, the fluttering blossoms, and the heady smell of sweat, booze, and burnt sugar enchanted her with a sense of familiarity. She drank it in, feeling more alive than she had in months. Her eyes fell to half-lids, her head thrumming with the fiddles and the chattering of the onlookers. She became one with the dance in a way she'd never allowed herself before.

Had she always been this close to snapping from her careful plans of wiling her life away to a dream not hers, or was it just the music?

Her eyelids drifted closed for a beat, reopening when the scent of lilies and citrus spread through the air. Katherine faltered, missing a step. Her vision spun, and across from her, her sister grinned from ear to ear, her hair down in plaits dotted with miniature lilies. Katherine shook her head, her pulse quickening and her throat contracting as she fought for the breath she had seconds ago. She closed her eyes again and opened them to see it was just another girl from town, wearing crystalline lilies in her hair that Katherine had made the month prior.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Moore's daughter yelled over the din, and both she and her almost fiance looked at Katherine with concern. "Do you need to step away?"

Katherine shook her head, regaining the rhythm of the steps and pushing a smile to her lips. "I'm fine, it's just been a while!"

She must've been convincing enough because the pair grinned back and went back to the dance and whooping with the music. The dual full moons above them went behind a set of clouds, throwing the festival into darker shadows, and Katherine's vision once again blurred. What was wrong with her?

When it cleared, shimmering lights, blue-ish white hung near the branches of the trees, as if they were lanterns. Katherine tried to get a closer look, but the moons came back, and the lights disappeared. She was seeing things, she was sure of it.

It could be hunger, it could be a delusion, it could be that she did indeed smack her head at her sister's graveside and this was the result. But it did not seem like a delusion.

On the edges of the dancers, Katherine spied a new group of people joining the fray, but these were all masked. Delicate masks covered half of their faces, and some wore masks that mimicked the season or tapered up into elegant antlers. Something settled into the pit of her stomach, going stiff and cold with unease, wrenching her from the headiness and heat of the moment that had captured her before. 

These dancers moved more gracefully than even the most seasoned of the town, ribbons, and silk on their clothing mimicking the flow of a spring breeze or the ripples of water on a still lake.

Every one of them belonged to a dream, and Katherine stepped out of the group of townsfolk still dancing, backing away from them. Other dancers shot her confused glances, some even throwing their hands up at her for breaking the pattern, but soon they too noticed the newest additions to their number. Little by little, the townsfolk stopped dancing. Little by little, the dull roar of the crowd settled instead to a murmuring, barely louder than the buzz of a bee.

Then it fell quiet, more silent than a tomb. Even the fiddles fell away, their players stopping to watch the spectacle with open mouths and concerned faces.

The new dancers danced alone, watched by the citizens of Lakesedge, and Katherine realized with a jolt that the golden dust trails were left by their feet. With each step, each whirl, each twirl of a couple, more gold planted itself into the ground until the entire area was covered in gilded dirt. When a dancer kicked up dirt with a leap, the dust resettled with a glint, reflecting the moonlight and the fires.

They circled the bonfire, they whirled beneath the trees. Katherine's veins thrummed with a heartbeat not her own, reminiscent of the fluttering from the glass girl's magic and wings. The feeling traveled, starting at her own feet and climbing up her legs and spreading to her chest, her fingertips, and her face, until she felt abuzz with foreign life. Clouds covered the stars and the moons once again, but this time, the light remained, captured in the skin of the dancers.

Each was luminescent, and somewhere in the chaos, the familiar fiddles gave way to the sounds of flutes and drumbeats. The flutes twilled ethereally, as delicate and haunting as their absent players. The drums marked the beats, increasing as the never-ending song played on. The dancers turned faster, their feet leaving the ground, but as they did, one dancer remained on the dirt, dressed in resplendent silver and icy blue. He turned from his partner, leaving her to join another duo, and Katherine froze as his head tilted to survey the crowd at the festival.

Power emanated from him, the faint glow of the others replaced with a strong surge that fell from even his clothes. His silks were so reflective that Katherine was certain if she stepped close enough, she would see her own visage looking back at her. The murmurs of the crowd disappeared entirely as he took a step away from the dance, and the tingling in Katherine's blood increased as that step brought him closer to her side of the clearing.

Directly beneath the just-blossoming apple tree, Katherine stood with her back to the trunk but apart from the others, who pivoted to look at her as he drew closer. He got nearer and nearer, his steps languid but sure. Katherine forgot how to breathe.

He brought himself to a stop mere feet from her and Katherine's heart beat a wild frenzy, becoming one with the drumbeats that beckoned her to the floor. Long blonde hair, as icy as his silken dublet, spilled out from either side of his mask, and he tilted his chin down to make direct eye contact with her.

Brown met pure forest green, and a smirk formed at the edges of his smooth lips. His hand came up, removing his mask and revealing high cheekbones and a proud nose.

Gasps rang out around her as the antlers of his mask transformed into an oaken crown, made from twigs and vines in a clinging ornament that melded to his brow and temples. Pointed ears, sharp as his gaze breached his hair.

"I assume I have the pleasure of speaking to the glass maker able to make glass into gems?"

Katherine opened her mouth to respond but found she had little air to speak with as he stepped closer, closing the distance between them. He was so close she could smell him. Elderberries cloying and out of season, and woody musk met her nose. He spoke coyly, as if making a jest of her.

"Or perhaps, the glass maker who would make jewels for a king?" He came closer still, and Katherine found herself locked into place. She couldn't back away even if she tried. The same thrumming in her temple kept her in check, reminding her of who she was dealing with. Or whom she assumed she was dealing with. There was no doubt, this must be the king of the fae. The king of the beings known for stealing children, cursing farmers, and spiriting away young men and women to dance in their fetes until they died on their feet. 

"Well, girl?"

"I can't make jewels," she blurted, the words tumbling out. "Nor would I know where to start."

"Ah, but that is not what I've heard." He bent down, grasping her chin in his cold hand with an iron finger and a thumb. "I have a good eye, hard to trick, and I see before me a lie. But which is it? Are you a glass maker who boasted too highly or are you a magic user who claims to know nothing at all?"

"I—"

"Or perhaps, are you a woman praying for a sister who will never return? Yes, I've seen you in your woodland grove, wishing for something you won't ever receive." He crooned this last part so quietly that Katherine was certain it was only for her ears, his eyes bore into her. "Or at least she won't with your feeble human ways." 

Katherine's skin crawled, at the idea of being watched, at this horror of it all. Although he was no child's story, no wives' tale. His alabaster skin stretched across features apt to cut her. 

"What do you want from me?"

He chuckled. "No dear, what do you want from me? You're the one who summoned me. You're the one who claims she can make jewels, and kingdoms, and tell the future."

"I didn't. My father—"

"Hush. Dance with me glass maker, and tell me of the kingdom you will build for me in return for your sister's soul."

He held out a hand, smooth and shining and Katherine swallowed, her mouth dry. She glanced away from him, searching the crowd for both of her parents, but only found the stricken face of her mother nestled among those of the ladies of the town. She'd long stopped begging her mother for guidance, but she would do anything for someone to tell her what to do. What should she do? Would she give her soul away? Is that what was at stake?

She didn't even know the stakes. She'd dealt into dealings, into a game of cards, that she didn't understand the rules of, that much was clear. 

She had not realized that the fae could steal such things, but she knew very little about them at all.

Unbidden, her eyes moved on, widening as they caught on the man from the cemetery, Samuel. He too was dressed in silvers and blue, but he stood apart from the rest, having not once joined the dance. They stared at each other, Samuel's gray eyes unblinking and stony even at a distance. His countenance slipped, his mouth turning ever so slightly down. The fae king cleared his throat, and Katherine dragged her focus back to him, but not before Samuel gave her a nod.

She took the king's hand.

-o-0-0-

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to give it a vote or comment on what part you loved best if you did! What has Katherine gotten herself into? What do you think of the festival scene? First impressions of the king?

Anyway, the next chapter is coming Friday! Also, I'm entering this in JustWriteIt's 30 Day Challenge and 's Journey of Legends contest/challenge in an attempt to get a tonnn of words on paper, so you'll be seeing more updates soon!