Books for St. George’s Day

By Amanda Pizzolatto

Porter Pink the anthousai (flower nymph) flew high above the trees and took in a deep, satisfied breath. The cherries and lilacs were in full bloom, their delicate scents rising to the skies. The wildflowers dancing in the breeze beneath their boughs had softer scents, but his nose could pick up on them. He let out a cheery laugh as he did a few somersaults in the air. Spring was great! He never could get enough of it!

“Colin, Ben, wait for me!” Porter glanced down – the two boys were racing with a wagon full of books. A girl older than them was falling behind as she was pulling another wagon full of books behind her. 

“Hey, Mary!” The girl paused to watch Porter land next to her. “Need some help?” 

Mary grunted. “Didn’t you have a task to do?” 

Porter grinned. “I’m done!” 

Mary blinked. “Already?” 

He nodded. “Yup, all done! Flying really helps with gathering flowers.” 

“Oh, oh yeah, lucky you,” she mumbled before walking away. 

“So, would you like some help?” 

“Not really.” She shot him a smile. “But I would like the company.” 

Porter gave her a bow. “Happy to oblige.” He got into step with her. 

“And now you can answer my questions.” 

He gave a playful gasp. “What? Did I just step into another of your interrogations?” 

She laughed. “No, I just want to understand the traditions of Pomladow.” 

“So, it is another interrogation!” 

She scoffed. “Not one of those kinds, I just …” 

Porter chuckled. “I know, I know, I’m just teasing. It’s good to be curious about the traditions of a holiday you’ll be celebrating with us. But first, do you celebrate the feast of St. George on Alixandria?” 

Mary shrugged. “Not really, it’s certainly nowhere near as big of a deal as you make it here, or likely on Earth. Which leads to my first question. Why is that?” 

He shrugged. “It’s Pomladow; every spring holiday is celebrated ten-fold here since we don’t celebrate any of the holidays in the other seasons.” 

“And why don’t you celebrate the other holidays?” 

Porter shrugged. “Multiple reasons, I guess. Pomladow is spring all the time, technically, there is never any winter, fall, or summer here. Plus, the portals to the other worlds like yours are only open during their springs, so, more of a reason to celebrate, I suppose.” 

She shrugged. “I guess that works.” 

“You guess that works? That’s all I got!” 

She laughed. “I’m sorry, but I guess I was expecting some elaborate answer, but it’s so simple that I should have figured that out.” 

“Eh, maybe after some time of thinking about it. But you have been learning a lot in the past month since you first arrived.” 

“Yes, which brings me to the next question.” She waved at the wagon of books. “When is anyone going to be able to read on St. George’s Day?” 

Porter laughed. “Oh, we just give the books on St. George’s Day, we don’t start reading until we’ve finished cleaning the next day. It’s why we get that day off.” 

“Lucky,” she mumbled. 

Porter held up a finger. “Day off from work – school’s out for the spring.” 

Mary gasped. “Super lucky!” 

“But don’t you get the summer off?” 

“Well, yeah, but there are no big holidays in the summer.” 

He blinked. “Wait, really? But I was sure Vastuary has as many holidays as we do!” 

“Porter, we don’t celebrate St. George’s Day either.” 

“Oh, oh right.” 

“Besides, I guess it’s because we treat it like one long holiday.” 

“So do we with spring, but we still have individual days like Easter and St. George’s Day.” 

Mary shrugged. “Ah well, it’s a part of our culture, I suppose, just like this is yours.” 

“Yeah, I guess so, makes sense.” There was a brief moment where the sound of wagon wheels was all that was heard. 

“Porter?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Which books do you want to read?” 

Porter chuckled. “Oh, there aren’t many I want to read.  Besides, when it comes to St. George’s Day, it almost seems incomplete without Queen of the Dragons. I mean, sure, it’s an overall spring epic, but because of the knights and dragons, it always seems fitting to read it, or at least some of it, on St. George’s Day.” 

“Is that the one where a knight and a handmaiden have to save a prince and a princess from the snow dragons?” 

He grinned. “Oh yeah, great stuff!” He leaned towards her. “I could let you borrow my copy.” 

She sighed. “Thanks, but, with everything going on here and school, well, the Linda Kidd and the Cotton Boy books are easier to read.” 

He pouted, but replied with, “Yeah, that’s true.” He glanced at the wagon, then glanced back at Mary with the beginnings of a smirk. “But, isn’t summer break right around the corner?” 

She sighed. “Yes, and with it the closing of the portal to Pomladow.” 

“Wait, when does your summer break start?” 

“End of May.” 

“Oh, perfect! The portals don’t close until mid June!” 

She glanced at him in shock. “But you said it closes on the first day of summer!” 

“Yeah, isn’t that June twenty-first?” 

Her mouth dropped before breaking out into a grin. “That’s right!” Then she blinked in confusion. “So then, why did you say that the portals opened on February 1st?” 

He shrugged. “Because in some parts of the world, that is the beginning of spring, just like spring starts in September for parts of the Southern Hemisphere.” 

“Oh, yes, that’s right! How silly of me! How could I have forgotten such a thing?” 

Porter tapped the wagon. “Maybe this and school has something to do with it?” 

She chuckled. “Yes, maybe.” 

“Mary, Porter, hurry it up! Mrs. Hanson wants the books set up in her booth before supper!” Colin shouted. 

“Coming!” Mary and Porter called out. They rushed towards the booth without upsetting the wagon and its load. Under Mrs. Hanson’s direction, the children helped her unpack and set up all the books they had brought. There were hundreds of them, at least, and as Porter and Mrs. Hanson explained, books were the top seller on St. George’s Day. 

As Mary was picking up a stack of books, one in particular caught her eye. It was a special edition of Queen of the Dragons. The cover was a lovely shade of sky blue with the letters in sparkling gold. The title was at the top while the author’s name, A. R. H. Craven, was at the bottom, and in between was an ice dragon encircling a golden lily on a spot of green. She thought it one of the most beautiful covers she had seen, and that alone made her want it on her shelf. She glanced at the price and sucked in her breath sharply. Twenty petals? She was barely going to have enough for everything else she wanted to get at the St. George festival! Well, if Porter was right about the portal closing near the end of June, she might be able to save up enough petals to get this before the portal closed. She let out a soft sigh and finished putting up the books, unaware that someone else had noticed and made a note of the book. 

St. George’s Day dawned bright and beautiful, with clear blue skies and the air filled with birdsong. The Gardners rushed about in a typical school morning routine, but as soon as they got to school the countdown began. However, time seemed to drag as Mary, her brothers Ben and Colin, and their friends, watched the clock with eager impatience. Lunch finally came and the group huddled together around a table. 

“Man, I wish this day would go a little faster!” grumbled Patty Dowd, one of Mary’s close friends. “I swear these clocks are going slow on us on purpose!” 

“Maybe it’s like with boiling water, it doesn’t seem to happen any faster if we watch it,” quipped Marcie Hale, another close friend. 

“And like boiling water, if you turn your back on it, it will go by way too soon,” remarked Martha Harrow, one of the oldest in the friend group. 

“Ugh, I just wish time would do the opposite, speed up when we watch the clocks and slow down when we don’t,” quipped Patty. 

“Well, I just wish I had more petals,” remarked Don Hale, Marcie’s older brother. “Andy was telling me there were going to be several jousting, archery, and fencing tournaments throughout the day. That’s not including all the games, souvenirs, and candy they’ll be selling either!” 

“Mm, candy!” chorused Ben and his best friend Robin, Martha’s little brother, as they licked their lips. 

“And mom won’t let you have any if you don’t eat your lunch,” remarked Martha, nodding at their half-eaten plates. The two went to work finishing up the food. 

Colin groaned. “If only today hadn’t been a school day, we could have been over there, enjoying every minute!” 

Hal Jones scoffed. “If skipping school was an option, I would have taken it.” 

“Of course you would,” quipped his older brother, Harv. “But there’s no skipping; we’ll just have to enjoy what’s left of the festival.” 

“That’s if there are any jousting tournaments left by the time we get there,” mumbled Johnny Simmons. 

“I’m sure there’ll at least be one, maybe two,” remarked Don. “They really don’t take too long. Andy said the last one would take place right before dinner.” 

“Well, Mom said we’re meeting at the portal around five-thirty,” stated Bonnie, Johnny’s twin. 

“I think dinner is served at eight,” said Colin, rubbing his chin. “So there should be plenty of time to see most of everything.” 

“I sure hope so,” mumbled Hal, “but I doubt since we’ll only be there for, what, four hours? At most?” 

“We’ll make the most of it,” remarked Martha. 

Hal groaned and put his head on the table. “If only today wasn’t a school day!” 

The bell rang, causing everyone to jump. 

“Aw dang, lunch is already over!” quipped Patty. 

“You see? We’ll be in Valley Springs before you know it!” said Martha as she tossed her trash in the can. The others followed suit and dashed off to their classrooms to finish out the school day. 

The rest of the day still seemed to drag, but it was eventually over, and the Gardner siblings nearly broke down the front door in their excitement as they raced to drop off their backpacks in their rooms. 

“Hold on!” called out their mother. They paused at the top of the stairs and turned to look at her. “Do you have any homework?” 

“Yes, but Mom,” began Colin, only to be interrupted by his mother, shaking her head. 

“No buts, Colin, I expect all three of you to have your homework done and your clothes changed by five sharp or you are not going, understand?” 

“Yes ma’am,” mumbled the three. They slowly, dejectedly walked into their rooms, and did as they were told. Yet, with each passing minute, their excitement rose and they went faster at their tasks. At five sharp, the whole family had gathered at the front door, with Mrs. Gardner going over the checklist, making sure they had everything. When she gave the word of approval, they practically shot out the door. At five-thirty, all the families were gathered in the grove of cherry trees where the portal was hidden. The children created quite the clamor in their excitement, but Mr. Jones and Mr. Harrow calmed everyone down enough to lay out the instructions. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Andrews and I will go through first, then everyone else will follow. We are going to wait until everyone has gone through before we take off to the festival, understand?” shouted Mr. Harrow. 

“Yes sir!” chorused the children. 

“Good. Now remember, if we cooperate, the faster this will go. If any of you start fighting, we will start over and that will make us late. You do want to get to the festival on time, don’t you?” 

“Yes!” 

“Alright, let’s go!” He went through the portal, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. The children very willingly cooperated and they made it through the portal in good time. When Mr. Jones came through, being the last, they gave the go ahead and the children took off like a shot. Before long, they were all immersed in the festival. The younger ones went off in search of games and goodies, the adults meandered through the festival at their pace, looking at whatever caught their fancy, and the older kids went off in search of the tournaments. They soon found it – Porter was standing outside a make-shift stadium, waving them over. 

“You’re just in time! It’s the last three rounds of the jousting tournament, and then the crowning of the Flower Queen!” 

 “Wait, you crown a Flower Queen after the tournament? Why not during your new year’s feast?” Mary asked as they followed him into the stands. 

“Oh, because by April, most of the chill is gone and the flowers can really come out! Plus, no one wants to joust when it’s cooler, so, you know, St. George’s Day it is.” 

“What does jousting have to do with crowning the Flower Queen?” asked Colin. 

“Oh, the winner of the tournament gets to pick the next Flower Queen, who is usually his girlfriend,” replied Porter with a grin. 

“Have you ever tried out for the tournament?” asked Patty, getting closer to Porter. 

“Can’t, too young. Also, too small, just like the gardbos and the pookas.” He nodded at the gardbos, garden gnome-like beings, and the pookas, anthropomorphic rabbits, running around on the outskirts of the field. Both barely came up to his waist, and Porter was just under five feet. 

“But if you did, and you won, who would you pick?” asked Patty, batting her eyelashes at him. 

“Mary,” he stated matter-of-factly as he sat down. Patty let out a gasp as Mary slid past her with a smirk and sat next to Porter. 

“Ugh,” muttered Patty as she moved on to another seat, followed by Marcie. 

Colin promptly sat on the other side of Porter. “Well then, guess I ought to start keeping an eye on you then.” 

Porter blinked. “Huh?” 

“You like my sister.” 

Porter chuckled. “Whatever.” The group’s attention was diverted to the field as trumpets resounded over the arena. The group leaned forward ever so slightly as the jousting knights rode on to the field atop glistening fleurcorns, gazelle-hooved, elegant unicorn-like horses with a single flower instead of a horn. It was a group of eight, four against four. Pairs of gardbos and pookas ran up to stand next to each knight – one to hold the banner with the knight’s colors while the other held a flat-head lance. Across from the stands was an enclosed stand where an alseide (grove nymph) sat, draped in an elegant dress and a crown of jeweled flowers on her head. The trumpeters sat just outside the box. A pooka stepped up to the podium next to it and lifted a bullhorn to his lips. 

“It’s been quite the tournament so far, these knights sure have been competitive this year! But we’re not done yet! Only three rounds to go! Who’s ready to start the next round?” The crowd cheered and whooped. “I was talking to the knights!” The crowd laughed. “But good to know you’re ready to see some action!” The crowd cheered. 

“Well yeah, Albus!” Porter shouted, but the pooka didn’t hear him and kept talking.

“Knights, your lances!” Each knight grabbed their lance. “Head to start!” They rode their fleurcorns to the starting lines. “Ready, set, go!” The crowd cheered as the knights spurred their fleurcorns forward. Two knights went down.  The others went back to the starting line and waited until the two and their fleurcorns got off the field. Then they charged again, but this time, only one went down. The winner of that duo rode back to his banner while the other four went for another charge. Two went down. The other two charged each other, and one went down. The one knight waiting patiently on the side nudged his fleurcorn towards the box and reached at the same time as the other. Both lowered their lances and their heads. The Flower Queen raised her scepter and pointed it at them. 

“The winners for this round, Knight of the Glistening Dew and Knight of the Dandelion Wishes!” They raised their lances and bowed their heads again. 

“Return to your tents, knights, and rest. The last round is a doozy!” stated Albus. The knights nodded and rode off. The trumpets blasted again and eight other knights rode out. “This is it folks, the final round before the last round, the round that determines the winner, and the next Flower Queen!” The crowd erupted into thunderous applause. Albus held up his hands for quiet. After a couple minutes, the crowds finally settled. “I am so glad for the enthusiasm! But we must continue! Not much time until the sun sets, and we must have time to give out those books and eat before everyone leaves! So, without further ado, knights, begin!” 

As with the previous round, they charged each other, until they were down to two knights. Albus called for a break to allow them to rest. The spectators rose and stretched their legs, but didn’t stray far from the stands. Albus called everyone back after a few minutes, and the excitement began to grow, filling the air with what seemed like an electric charge. Mary wondered if that had anything to do with the hyades (stars) in the crowd, but her attention was called back to the field when Albus told the knights to go. As with the last two rounds, eight knights started the charge, and one by one were eliminated until only two were standing. The cheers were loud and boisterous as the last two faced each other for the very last joust. 

“This is it, ladies and gentlemen, this is it! Who shall decide our next Flower Queen, the Knight of the Glistening Dew, or the Knight of the Lavender Dreams? Now, joust!” THe crowd went dead silent as they watched with bated breath the final charge. The fleurcorns raced towards each other. The lances lowered. The distance between the two shortened with each thundering hoofbeat. Crack! Lance met shield. One went down. The other tilted a little in his saddle, but soon righted himself as the crowd burst into thunderous applause. “He did it! He won! The Knight of Lavender Dreams won!” The Knight of the Lavender Dreams slid off his fleurcorn and went to help the Knight of the Glistening Dew up. They shook hands, the Knight of the Glistening Dew congratulating the champion. 

“Choose the Queen! Choose the Queen!” the crowd chanted as the Knight of the Lavender Dreams got back on his fleurcorn and rode to the box where the current Flower Queen sat. He held out his lance, and she placed a tiara on it. He held the lance level as he rode in front of the stands twice. He finally stopped in front of an anthousai (flower nymph). With a smile, she plucked the tiara off the lance. 

Mary gasped. “Why, it’s Alice!” Porter jumped up, pumped the air with his fists, and let out several whoops as the crowd cheered. Alice Pink joined the Knight on his fleurcorn and they rode to the Flower Queen’s box. He escorted her into the box where the tiara was replaced with the full crown and she was handed the scepter. The crowd roared for several minutes before Albus calmed them down. 

“What a tournament! Congratulations to the Knight of the Lavender Dreams and his Flower Queen!” The crowd cheered some more, but Albus was able to calm them. “And now, if you have not gotten those books yet, now’s the time to do so. I hear they are selling out fast! Thank you all for making this a wonderful St. George’s Day festival! See you all next year! Well, as knights, I’ll be seeing some of you tomorrow.” The crowd laughed. “Thank you all, and have a good night!” The crowd let out one final cheer as the Knight and the new Flower Queen exited the box, followed by Albus and the others sitting there. The trumpeters blew a few notes on their horns, signaling the end. The crowd began to disperse and the children chatted away as they left the stands, going over those last three rounds. They continued chatting about it while they searched for their parents. They eventually found them browsing Mrs. Hanson’s books and had the youngest ones with them. While the others told them about the jousting, Mary searched for the Queen of the Dragons book. 

“Mrs. Hanson?” 

“Yes, Mary?” 

“Where’s that Queen of the Dragons book? You know, the one with the golden letters?” 

Mrs. Hanson turned from checking out a customer to look through the shelves. “Hmm, I must have sold it already, dear. It was the last one I had.” 

“Oh,” said Mary, glancing down and letting out a sigh. 

“Oh, I should be getting more in June.” 

“But the portal might close before then!” 

Mrs. Hanson patted her hand. “Don’t worry, dear, I’m sure you’ll get it before then.” She left to help another customer, and Mary walked away, feeling rather dejected. 

“Hey, Mary, you alright?” Porter asked. 

Mary crossed her arms. “Not really. I really wanted that copy of Queen of the Dragons, it looked really nice.” 

“Well, maybe this will cheer you up.” He handed her a gift bag. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock. “Besides, today we’re supposed to be getting books to give as gifts. That’s the tradition.” 

Mary sighed. “Yeah, I suppose, but … I don’t know what to get you.” 

He waved his hand dismissively. “Ah, don’t worry about it. I already have all the books I want.” 

“But still …” 

“Nah, seriously, don’t worry about it. Giving books as gifts is the tradition today, yes, but so is giving flowers, and not everyone gets a gift, nor does everyone have to give or receive gifts. But since I did get you a gift, you are obligated to open it right now.” 

She laughed. “Alright.” She reached in and pulled out a book in the Linda Kidd series, The Secret in the Secluded Garden. “Oh, thank you Porter!” 

“There’s more.” 

Mary blinked and reached back into the bag. There was just one more book. She pulled it from beneath the tissue paper and gasped. It was the copy of Queen of the Dragons she had wanted! “Oh, Porter!” 

“Hey, I had to make sure you had a copy to start reading and, well, you liked this one, so, here you go. Happy St. George’s Day, Mary!” 

Mary kissed his cheek. “Happy St. George’s Day, Porter! Thank you!” 

“You’re welcome.” Porter put his arm around her shoulder. “Now, I expect to know who your favorite character is before the portal closes.” 

“I can’t read that fast!” 

“You can still pick a favorite before you finish!” 

“Mary! Porter! Come on, let’s go get dinner!” Mary’s father waved them over. 

“We’ll finish this conversation later,” remarked Mary. 

“Oh you bet we will,” quipped Porter as they walked towards Mr. Gardner. The group went off in search of food and enjoyed the rest of the St. George’s Day festival.