Ferry's hand raised higher while his gaze remained on Andrew. The sounds around were dim and muffled, scattering away. Everything around turned foggy. Everything, but Andrew.

A firm voice brought him to his senses, "Hey, leave him alone! What's wrong with you? Get out of here!"

Danny Stevens showed up behind them. His sturdy stature would have impressed anyone. At school, he was the best at fighting. No boy his age, and even older dared to face him. Ferry shivered as after a bad dream, and everything around him went back to normal. At his sight, the boys scattered like flies.

"All right," Billy grinned. "See you later, orphan," he spat the words, stepping away, accompanied by the other boys.

 "Thank you," he said to Danny. The strange sensation in his arm vanished.

"Don't mind them," said Danny placatory. "They've got nothing in their heads. They only pick up on people. Well, see you at the basket bidding. Take care," he said as he walked away.

Ferry watched him leaving. Matilda was right—Danny was a good boy. Maybe too good... And that thought bothered him somehow. He was worried about what happened earlier, though. But now, he didn't have time for that. He had to get to May's tent. When Bella, Ben's sister appeared in front of him.

"Ferry, where have you been? We need your help at the tent," she said. "Hurry!" And without waiting, he took him by the hand, dragging Ferry after her through the crowd. Indeed, in front of the Knight family tent, the crowd was growing larger. The news about Mrs. Knight's goodies circulated fast and now, everyone was eager to try the cookies or the leek and cheese pie. The water for tea was boiling on the small metal stove in which Mr. Knight kept on burning wood.Ben was serving behind the counter with the help of Steph. His mother was making tea and fresh lemonade. His sisters were in charge of the sweets, wondering how quickly they were disappearing from the shelves.

"Ferry, would you take care of the fire until my dad brings some more wood?" Ben shouted from behind the counter.

Ferry barely made his way through the crowd in front of the tent. The teapot was whistling on the stove. He put another log on the fire. Inside the tent, it was warm and smelled like honey and berries.

"What does a girl have to do to get a hot tea?" he suddenly heard Celia's voice. Ferry was surprised to see here there. Celia's family always celebrated at the Prides' tent.

Ben looked just as surprised. He prepared a tea for Celia from dried berries and honey. Through the mug of glass, the tea took the shape of pink and purple, transparent castles.

"My knight in shiny armour," said Celia as she received the mug from Ben's hand. Her blue eyes looked into his brown eyes. Ben cheeks turned red and for a second, their fingers touched, resting together on the hot mug.

But the joy their gentle touch brought was interrupted by Steph who passed by with a tray full of cookies.

"And here's the witch," said Celia, sipping from her tea.

Luckily, Steph didn't hear her, busy with helping every member of Ben's family, whether they asked it or not.

"I brought some more cookies, Benji-Benji," she chirped with excitement. When her eyes laid on Celia, she glanced at her and cringed. "What happened? There are no more fancy teas at the Pride tent?" she asked.

"Well, at least, at the Pride tent it's quiet, there are no hens clucking," Celia replied. "Goodbye, Benji-Benji," she said before leaving, a smile in the corner of her mouth. Ben watched her as she left. After a few seconds, she turned and smiled at him, then carried on. Ben quickly looked away, too fast for Celia to notice that he was actually looking at her; he returned to the counter where Steph had already offered two lemonades and three gingerbread pieces.

"I really don't like this girl," said Steph. "Don't you find her annoying, Benji-Benji?"Ben didn't answer, pretending preoccupied with making tea.

Ferry watched the whole scene amused and slightly confused. Ben's father brought an armful of wood for the fire, and Ferry put some in the stove. Then, he went to the counter to see if he can be of any help. That's when he saw them. His father, dressed in his best clothes, was accompanied by Mrs. Lily Jones. She was wearing the same heavy make-up as always, her eyes barely visible through the charcoal-black fake eyelashes. Peter was talking to her, gently placing his hand on her waist, his head getting closer to hers as he was talking to her. She was laughing, clapping her hands, her head tilted towards him. Ferry felt that warmth again in his arm.

"You don't have to put your heart to it, Ferry," he heard a deep voice behind him. Ben's father had also seen the two. "Sometimes, grown-ups make the stupidest choices. Sometimes, they behave worse than small children. But in the end, even children know when they're wrong. Just give him time," he said reassuringly, "and you'll see that he'll realize he's wrong."

Ferry nodded. He felt Ben's father's heavy hand on his shoulder, and the heat in his arm dissipated little by little.

Soon, the people around began to scatter, preparing for the kite contest held on the top of the hill. Even if he hadn't been participating in a while, Ferry always loved to watch the kite contest. It wasn't about the kites but about the joy in people's eyes, small and big when they watched those coloured objects of cardboard or canvas floating in the endless sky. People were always surprising. They enjoyed the smallest things and endeavored for the most unimportant. Adults sometimes forgot to behave like older people, and children seemed wiser than adults. But at the kite contest, they were all the same—careless children.

But now something was missing. May's presence. She loved the Fires of the Hills and had not missed once. Ferry headed to her tent to check if she had arrived. He even thought he saw the blue bow in her hair and a piece of her sky-coloured cardigan. Ferry followed the blue coat that seemed to slip between his fingers as he approached.

"Ferry, there you were!" he heard a familiar voice behind him. It was Mr. Adams, the biology teacher. "I need some help here. Could you come? The kite contest is about to begin."Ferry followed him, reluctantly. He helped Mr. Adams move a table up the hill. From a cardboard box, the teacher took out a glass bowl. Inside were to be placed the tickets with the names of the judges for the kite contest. Only was to be drawn, and that one was to decide the winner. Mr. Adams carefully placed the bowl on the table, then took out the cup. He wanted to put some sheets of paper on the table, but the wind scattered them.

"Hold this until I find a stone to stop this paper from flying," he said, handing Ferry the cup. Ferry didn't realize he was holding a cup of iron. It was heavy or at least it felt that way because of the iron. And even though he wore the gloves from Lavender, lighter and thinner than air itself, but strong enough to protect him, the iron's force grew with every moment. When he felt the iron burning his skin, Ferry dropped the cup. Mr. Adams lifted the cup with a raised eyebrow.

"Ferry, are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," he lied, taking a few steps back. "Now I have to go," he said and didn't wait for Mr. Adams' reply.

And he ran away towards May's tent. This time, he reached faster, as everyone was already on the top of the hill for the kite contest. He entered May's tent which was adorned with white and pink roses, their perfume intoxicating him. He found May's parents arranging the flowers in large vases placed on white tables, adorned with ivory table cloths embroidered with white lace.

"Mr. Flower," he said catching his breath, "is May here?"

May's father looked at him frowning while her mother came closer. Neither of them smiled, as they usually did.

"May is a little late," said Basil Flower. "Getting ready for the basket bidding... her basket is not ready yet ..."

"I see... Do you mind if I wait here?"

"Actually," her mother said, "May will go straight to the scene where the bid takes place. Why don't you wait for her there?" she suggested, trying to smile.

Ferry looked at both of them, not knowing what to make of their behaviour; he said goodbye and left May's tent. Her parents were acting strange. They had always been kind and welcoming to him wherever they met him. He thought they might have problems with the flower shop, as May had said. The more he walked away from her tent, the more he felt his heart worried. The sun had hidden behind the clouds. Or maybe the clouds had covered it ... Beneath the skies, coloured spots floated, carried away by the wind. One of them was green, rising above all others, in search of the hidden sun. Finn's kite.

Ferry ran to the top of the hill as fast as he could. He wanted to fly, but there were too many people around. It was already too late, anyway. For the first time since going to the festival, he missed the kite competition. He reached the top of the hill when the children were already lowering their kites. Matilda was waiting for him, her hair disheveled and with arrows in her eyes. She was holding the cup.

"Thank you for finally showing up," she spat the words the moment she saw him.

"I'm sorry, Matt," he mumbled, "I wanted to come..."

"But somehow you forgot to arrive," she snapped at him. Ferry could feel the disappointment in her voice.

"I see Finn won the contest," he tried to calm her down. "Where is he?"

"He left. He said he didn't like the cup." Then, she looked him dead in the eyes, "Where have you been all day?"

"Around..." he mumbled.

Matilda shook her head. Her eyes were sad. "I don't have time for this," she said and walked away from him, shoving him in the shoulder as she passed by.

Ferry stood there, watching as she made her way through the crowd of people who were singing, cheering, and clapping. He felt his heart aching. He deserved it.

TO BE CONTINUED

Thank you for reading the second part of this chapter! It is a bigger one, and this time, it's mystery free and shows more the relationships between the characters. What do you think?