Living the Fairy Tale Chronicles I: Through the Fields

The caravans and wagons heavily decorated in all their finery pulled through the charmed gates of IceVale. Red-headed Gina could feel the strength of the symbols that ensured the protection of both the kingdom and the capital. Brown-haired Lorcan walked with a long stride alongside the nearby caravan, and felt the power shudder over him. Attuned to those things as he was, he could pick out the individual symbols and what each did specifically and with the others.
Grandma Elzbieta called to the power on the gates, and it flew down toward her where she sat inside, wrapped in her multi-coloured shawls, welcoming her like an old friend...which she rather was. The baby in the bed beside her opened his eyes wide, feeling the strong Old Magic of IceVale for the first time.
The Gypsies had arrived.

Ruling Queen Eva IceVale looked out over the courtyard of her palace, and saw the wagons and caravans roll into city, headed for the palace. She turned her head to her husband, Ruling King Albion IceVale, quirking an eyebrow in question. He placed a hand over hers where it rested on his forearm, and smiled fondly out the window.
"The Gypsies have arrived. I still wish I'd been born one. They're great people. The roam free through the Four Kingdoms, sometimes further, so we don't get to see them but every so often."
Eva's eyes lit up, and Albion watched in amusement. Eva loved traditional things, and the Gypsies were one of those ever-present peoples in stories and kingdoms. No doubt she couldn't wait to see them now!
"Come on. We have to go greet them, both formally and I want to see my old friends." Albion said, walking on down the hall to the grand front doors to the Palace.

The caravans swept into the courtyard of the Palace, bringing with them the sense of dropping into another fairy tale. The drivers of the vehicles leapt down, and people began to leave their cramped spaces to stretch and enjoy the cooling weather.
Eva saw that many of them wore clothes very similar to the traditional dress of IceVale, something very helpful now that the winter was closing in on them. The first snow of the year had already come and gone, and the clouds were almost permanently in the sky. The Gypsies were here to stay until late Spring when the kingdom would clear of the majority of the snow.
Observing the dress and appearances of the Gypsies was something amazing. Many of the women wore long dresses with fitting vests over the top decorated in gems, glittering stitching, and fine silver and gold coins along the edges. A few women wore dresses that had a thick band along the bottom hem decorated with incredible embroidery of cards, suns, moons, and magical symbols. They wore pointed metal-looking shoes that had swooping engravings on them, and glittered with the light glancing off them.
The men wore similar clothes in that they also wore the vests, with all sorts of pictures on them and gold and silver coins along the hem. Some wore thick cloaks, others heavy jackets to ward off the winter chill. Eva shivered in excitement. This was so amazing!
She and Albion went down the stairs, both smiling in welcome. Several men Albion's age ran right up, bowed, then attacked him with hugs. Eva laughed outright, before releasing Albion's arm and nodding in response to the women's curtsies. Many were hopeful of forging a friendship with the new Queen--unlike with the one from Jedenfall. When she beckoned, a few of the adult women went over to start up a conversation, soon finding her eager to speak with any of them, ready to find out all she could about them.
Needless to say, they were all quite pleased with the new Queen of IceVale.

Night fell on IceVale, and the Gypsies were settled in. A small group was in the market place, tucked away in a back corner, and the rest were in the Palace Courtyard for a little while longer. They would go to find a new place tomorrow.
Eva sighed, looking at the campfires and glowing lights from the Gypsy camp in the courtyard. She'd love if they all stayed where they were just so she could watch, could observe them, but she knew that would be an issue with the guard training, and all the other things that occured in and around the courtyard during the day. Plus the Gypsies would like someplace a little more sheltered than the wide-open courtyard, as the snow and ice would take a harsher toll on them without trees and such.
"Eva, are you just going to stand there all night getting frozen, or will you come to bed?" Albion called playfully from where he sat against the pillows in their massive bed.
"Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Eva said, and Albion muttered something that made her flush bright red. "Oh, shut up you!" she hissed waving a hand at him as she doubled over laughing. She climbed back into bed, and into her husband's welcoming arms.