I traced my fingers along the gold satin of my dress, my gaze on myself through the mirror in front of me. I had become more accustomed to the makeup application and had done it without Ayla's help this time. My eyes were lined with top kohl, with my lips and cheeks tinted a faint red.

The dress, on the other hand, was all Ayla's doing. She had given it to me from her own wardrobe, seeing as I did not have much clothes to work with.

It was now the third day of the festival- the birth of Set and gold clothes were worn to represent his fiery temper. I looked up with a smile when I heard the sound of Ayla at the doorway, her golden dress fluttering as she walked near. Raising an eyebrow, I turned to look at her fully.

"My my, someone looks very beautiful." I praised to which Ayla moved closer, nudging my arm.

"And that someone is you." She finished teasingly and I let out a small laugh before shaking my head and looking to her outfit. She was wearing a gold satin dress, with her hair half pinned back and peach flowers resting in her hair.

"And, I'm sure the flower colour has nothing to do with Abrax saying he likes you in peach?" I teased to which Ayla held to me, a giddy smile on her face.

"Why? Do you think he won't like it? Am I overdoing the colour?" She urged out worriedly and I shook my head with a small frown.

"Ayla, you look absolutely gorgeous in everything you wear, don't be silly and overthink." I reprimanded, nudging her to which she smiled, rolling her eyes. We made our way out of the door as she spoke.

"Well, easy for you to say, Hanna. You're so gorgeous, you could wear rags and still look like a goddess." She said fondly and I blushed at her words.

"That's a bit of a reach." I muttered bashfully as we made our way down the stairs and Ayla giggled, shaking her head.

"You're just too modest. I bet you, the village boys are going to fawn over you." She said dramatically, pretending to swoon and I laughed before turning and stilling as Maya came into sight.

Wearing a gold satin mid-length dress.

Her hair was half pinned back and she wasn't wearing any jewellery, but she was glowing so much so that I couldn't stop the huge smile that made its way to my face. She neared us then, gesturing to Ayla with a hand.

"Are you gonna stand there, looking like a floundering fish or will you take us there?" She said snarkily, but it was drowned out by my squeals.

"You look amazing!" I said in awe to which she rolled her eyes, but a smile made its way to her face.

"As always." She pointed out and I nodded at her words to which Ayla huffed.

"I beg to differ- adorning yourself in satin is a way to accentuate our beauty." She replied and before Maya could open her mouth to argue, I butt in.

"Well, we should be going, the boys probably left ages ago." I voiced out and Ayla nodded enthusiastically, the thought of getting to the celebration, making her giddy yet again.

"Yes, but not for the boys, for the food." Maya chimed in, but Ayla had already grabbed our hands before warping us.

I let my mind come back to the present when I heard jaunty music along with loud cheering and laughter. Smiling as we walked to the centre, I let out a small sound of surprise at the amount of people gathered there. They all looked to us with smiles, some even holding our hands thankfully as we passed. I couldn't understand anything they were saying as we walked through, so I just continued to smile.

My smile widened when the crowd parted and I could see Emut exiting out from one of the small tents set up at the sides. This was the first time I had seen him since the first day of the festival and he was most definitely a sight for sore eyes. He was wearing a gold usekh yet again, but this time with a sheer gold tank top and shorts. His chocolate hair was brushed back as usual, save for a few stray tendrils that touched his forehead. He turned his gaze then to look at me, a smile making way to his face as he regarded me slowly, making his smile widen.

"Hanna! Let's dance!" Ayla called out eagerly from behind me and I snapped my gaze at the sudden voice before turning to look at Emut who was stood at the entrance, his eyes on me.

"Okay." I muttered simply before letting my eyes slip from his intense gaze to Ayla who pulled me through the dancing crowd. It was only when we were well embedded within the crowd that she pulled back and began dancing, her hips moving in intricate patterns. Just like last time, I lost myself in the music again, pulling Maya over with a laugh.

"I can't dance!" Maya grumbled out and I ignored her words before grabbing her hands and twirling her around wildly to which she smiled.

Ayla joined in then, grabbing to both of our hands and twirling us both and I laughed as we spun, waving at Dendi and Jamila as they danced along the outskirts. From here, I could see Saf dancing with a tall male, making me smile. His back was to me but I knew it was none other than Caius and I turned back, revelling in the dancing crowd. The night sky looked nearing dark without the full presence of the moon. It was nearly the phase of the new moon now and I marvelled at the scattered stars in the sky, closing my eyes as we spun, feeling the warm wind caress my skin.

I felt Ayla's hands tense in mine and turned to look at her in question, but she was busy looking to the side so I followed her gaze. My eyes landed on Abrax who was stood wearing a similar outfit to Emut, his chest looking rather broad. His hair lay in fresh twists that touched against his forehead and I smiled as his eyes landed on Ayla to which he smiled, the dimple in his cheek deepening.

Turning to the side, I looked to see that Emut was there with Demir who was wearing the same as the others; his hard torso visible. His midnight hair was as it usually was, tickling against his grey eyes. I felt my cheeks tint slightly at the memory of him yesterday, but he paid no heed to this. Both him and Emut walked away from the dancing crowd towards Negus, leaving Abrax to stare at Ayla with Arun by his side who was wearing an almost yellow-gold tank top, his slender arms waving at us.

"Shut your damn mouth before you catch a fly in it." Maya mocked Ayla who only glared at her before turning her longing gaze back to Abrax and I let out a sigh.

"Guess I'm the only one I can rely on." I muttered jokingly before walking towards Abrax and Arun, ignoring Ayla's calls. They smiled as I neared to which I smiled back.

"Hanna! You look like a beautiful lotus!" Arun said eagerly, a smile on his face and his green cat eyes lit up with adoration. I noticed he had a yellow Zinnia flower crown adorning his head, matching the colour of his tank top.

"You look very beautiful, Hanna." Abrax added politely and I blushed slightly before rolling my eyes and ushering them over.

"I won't take any such compliments if you don't join me in a celebratory dance." I said jokingly to which Arun nodded eagerly. Abrax, however, shook his head.

"You both, go ahead. I'll watch from here." He answered, his brown eyes flitting to Ayla for a brief moment and I shook my head stubbornly.

"Just know, I won't take 'no' for an answer." I replied and Abrax looked hesitant. I took the opportunity to grab both their arms and dragged them through the crowd. Thankfully, both of them put up no protest, allowing me to wade through the dancing individuals with them. I smiled widely as we neared Ayla.

"Maya went to get some drink." She voiced out to me, her eyes gazing to Abrax for a second while Arun huffed.

"Booze, no doubt, despite the many times I told her it would damage her complexion." He commented, placing a golden strand behind his ear and I nudged him with an elbow before turning my gaze to the other two.

"Well, I have been wanting to test Arun's dance skills for a while, so have fun the two of you!" I said hurriedly before grabbing Arun's arm and yanking him away to which he let out a yelp.

I didn't hear any sound of them calling me back and waited until we were at a considerable distance before turning to look at them. I smiled triumphantly when I saw them both laughing and talking.

"Well, let's dance then, Juniya." Arun spoke, clasping to my hand and I giggled as he twirled me.

"What does that mean?" I asked curiously to which his eyes lit up.

"A fairy because you look like one." He answered and I blushed at the praise before nudging him jokingly.

"Oh? I'm in the presence of a gentleman." I remarked to which he laughed softly, playing with the flowers on his hair."

"Well, I hope you always think that, but with Abrax, Demir and Emut setting the bar low, I don't think I have much competition." He joked with a huff and I laughed as we circled, his slender palm against mine.

"I happen to find Abrax to be quite the gentleman." I voiced out to which Arun smiled wistfully, raising an elegant eyebrow.

"Just Abrax?" He questioned and I nodded with a laugh, thinking to the other two males.

Turning my gaze to look back at Ayla and Abrax, I smiled widely when I saw that they were now dancing together, his large hands resting against her back and hers against his upper arms. She seemed to have a permanent blush on her face as they spoke and I made a note to ask her about it later.

"What are you looking at?" Arun's curious voice rung out as he stood on tiptoes and looked around eagerly, making me smile. Shaking my head, I gestured casually to the small tents lining the sides.

"I was just wondering what the tents are for?" I lied with ease, but Arun didn't seem to notice and just smiled, bouncing on the spot slightly.

"Oh, Hanna, you should have a look! They are where we're supposed to eat on the Day of Set so that he is not able to cast any evil eye on our food. The tents are filled with all these delicacies from all around the world, specially imported here." He explained excitedly and my mouth instinctively watered at the mention of food. Looking towards the tent this time, I nodded.

"I think I might take a look." I muttered mindlessly to which Arun smiled yet again, stepping back and splaying his arms out to gesture to the tent.

"Well, who am I to stop you then, Juniya?" He questioned musically and I laughed at his words before turning and making my way to a tent.