Not that you'd have guessed that from the way he's behaved today. Vex, like a proper Baroness, is showing up fashionably late tomorrow morning, so it's only him and Keyleth tonight. They are being shown ever aspect of the midsummer festival up close and personal, and he, who grew up with the basics of all this already, has appeared interested and asked questions the entire time, always thinking up ones when Keyleth has struggled to. This isn't the first time she's thought he's becoming a good diplomat faster than she is. She's starting to feel a little bit proud of him.
And this part? Where he's agreed to compete in the beauty contest, because Joli, the woman holding it, begged him to? When Keyleth's heard him talk about how he could never like the beauty contests, for multiple reasons, possibly including that his mother lost one when she was young to a member of a more prosperous family whose hands had been unroughened by work? These townspeople don't even seem to realize how much that is from him.
But here he is, up on the rickety wooden platform someone hammered up only two hours ago, standing alongside Joli, three dazzling young women named Ressa, Milla, and Jann, an older, even more beautiful one (in Keyleth's opinion, anyway) named Maiana, a dashingly handsome young man named Dodos, and an even handsomer white tiefling named Jig. He's in his armor, nicely cleaned and polished these days, mostly in black as he's always preferred, but his boots are far shinier than she's ever seen them be.
Keyleth only knows so much about what a beauty contest even includes. It seems to include a bit more than them showing their looks, which probably would've been pretty boring anyway.
It starts with them all declaring what Byroden means to them. Keyleth really likes Maiana's answer. She's the only one of them who was there as an adult when Thordak attacked. Vax has spoken about how devastated and broken the remains of both the town and the people had looked to him and Vex the short time they'd been there, and she refers to that. But she talks more about she and the other survivors did everything they could to take care of each other as they worked rebuilding a town everyone dismissed as lost. "We worked to keep everything and everyone living," she says.
"To me," she finishes, "Bydroden is a place and a people who will never go away, no matter how much we are burned. We are always there with each other, for each other. You know, this town is nothing like it was before Thordak came, and I've seen changes come in recent years that make me think in ten years, it'll be nothing like it is now-except for what I have just said. May that never change. May we, those that live in this little location, always be Byroden." By this time Milla, Jann, and Jig are crying, and Keyleth can tell Vax is close to it.
And he's up next. Keyleth tries to smile up at him as he's asked the same question, though she doesn't know how he's going to answer it without drawing attention to the fact he hasn't lived here since since he was ten.
Indeed, he's silent for a moment, eyes deep in thought. Then he says, "For most of my life, I'm afraid Byroden was the place my sister and I lost. It was the place we hadn't had the choice about leaving, and wished we were back in the entire time we lived with our father in Syngorn, but by the time we finally had to courage to leave him and come back, well, it felt like it was too late. We felt like we couldn't stay then; it's...hard to explain." Or maybe he just doesn't want to. Keyleth certainly would never ask him to.
"We were told when we were young," Vax continues, "that people don't leave Byroden. Except, perhaps, for the few people who do, and when we were younger, Vex and I assumed we were just unlucky enough to be among those. But the more I've thought about it, especially since I've found other places I have to call home, the more I think it's true in a way we didn't even think of. I still feel like I've got the rocks and the fields and the Gladepools with me, and even more than that, I have all the feelings of love and fellowship and belonging that I took for granted for the first ten years of my life, and have learned to value since.
It gives me strength, now, to see Byroden doing so well. My home is now a place called Zepyrah, my sister's a place called Whitestone. But a part of me will always belong to this town, and Byroden is the foundation of who I am, something I am always thankful for."
It's the second answer in a row to get tears out of people, including the young blonde dwarven woman sitting next to Keyleth, who introduced herself as Cinna. "Such a big heart," she hears her sigh. All around her, she's sure, there are people falling in love with Vax the same way she did-still does, in moments like now.
The other contestants give nice, pretty answers to the question, too, but none that could really compare to Vax's or Maiana's. The younger contestants look relieved when Joli announced, "And now the contest really begins!" One by one, each of the contestants is paraded around the stage, with opportunities to preen or flex muscles or swish hair as they liked. Dodos whips his shirt off and gets an enthusiastic reaction from much of the audience, Cinna very much included.
None of them can do anything for Keyleth, not even Maiana-except, of course, for Vax. He keeps his clothes on, but lets his hair flop a little, and surely Keyleth isn't the only person in the audience who's feeling a bit swooney when he smiles. He gets a "Nice," out of Cinna, and some indignant part of her thinks that silly girl should have given him more appreciation than that.
There's a talent part, too. Milla and Jann both sing. Jig lives up to his probably chosen name. Maiana breaks out a fiddle. Vax is one of the two contestants who ends up showing off his skill with daggers. Ressa, a short, compact girl, is almost as impressive with them as him. Dodos is equally good with a crossbow.
The next and last part of this Keyleth does know about, because here Vax asked for her help. So as soon as Dodos leaves the stage, she rises to her feet. "Trying to be a last minute entry, m'am?" Cinna cheerfully asks her.
"No, of course not," Keyleth says hastily. "I just need to help Vax with his fancy stuff."
"Oh, but you should," the dwarf tells her. "I think you're prettier than any of them-except maybe Milla." She's looking at Keyleth with enough admiration to make the druid blush.
"I think you're pretty, too," Keyleth tells her, and she kind of does think so, the way her hair and beard curl about her round head and strong jaw. Her earrings help; Keyleth has no idea if the emeralds are real or not, but they sure do sparkle.
"You think so?" It's a little scary, how much she perks up at that. It makes her look almost shiny-and prettier.
"Yes, I do. I really have to run, excuse me, please." She keeps from stammering this time, at least, as she flees.
The backstage area is mostly just an empty space surrounded by curtains. When Keyleth pushes her way in, two of the women changing into their fancy dresses whirl around in alarm, and Ressa yells, but Vax hurries over. "It's fine, it's fine, she's with me," he says, ignoring the glares for both Ressa and Jig. He's already changed into the deep green silken tunic and silken pants Korrin had insisted he pack, even though neither he nor Keyleth thought there was going to be any occasion for his wearing them. They may be the most elegant, expensive things he's worn in his life. It even makes his armor look far finer when he straps it on over the tunic.
But it looks paltry next to what everyone else is donning. All four women have grand, flouncy dresses that put Keyleth's grandest mantle to shame. Milla is wearing stones Keyleth suspects are real that gleam like stars in her dark hair, Ressa is framed with a small cloak of deep blue feathers, and Maiana has put her long hair into elegant braids and entwined them with the nicer-looking of the the Gladepools flora-her dress isn't as fancy as the other three, but it might not need to be. Dodos is in perfectly polished armor and a rich cloak and boots, and Jig is in a bronze-colored jacket, undertunic, and knee-high boots that make him gleam from the neck downward.
Vax must see the doubt in Keyleth's eyes as she looks around. His hands are extra gentle as they take hers and raise them to his head. "I said just now I was still of Byroden," he says, "and I am, but I'm of Zepyrah too. I'll go out there clad in the armor of the Raven Queen but everything else of my new home, and anything from you I'll bear with pride. I don't know if I'll even break out the wings for this; I am giving you that flight over the town tonight and that's my priority there. Let them judge me however the hells they want."
Once again he could make anyone fall in love with him, just for the heart with which he speaks. Only this moment, safely ignored by even those around them, is for Keyleth alone.
She sets to work. Vax lets her put his hair as she likes, keeping it mostly loose but dividing it into three sections, each of which she topped with leaves. His armor she adorns with lilies, such as the ones she spotted growing in the Gladepools earlier that day, and she tucks a snowdrop into the tunic's high collar. The tunic's bottom has room for a few more flowering vines-just little white blossoms that almost look like they're sprouting straight from the piece of clothing.
A little prestidigitation especially helps clear the dust from his boots. By this time the contestants are starting to go on stage, and they can hear Jig getting oohs and ahhs from the audience. Ressa follows him out, yelling her praise of everyone in Byroden. Then it's Vax's turn. He turns to give Keyleth a kiss, whispering, "Get back to your seat if you can. I'll pick you up from there," and heads out.
Keyleth doesn't have too much trouble getting back to her seat, but it takes long enough that Vax is finishing up his final promenade and joining the others where they're lined up at the back of the stage. Scarcely has she sat down when Cinna's asking her, "Did you put the flowers on him? You're a druid, aren't you?" When Keyleth nods, she grins, looking between them, and says, "If he wins this year, will you compete next year? I'm considering competing myself one of these years, but you could be quite the competition."
She seriously considers if for a moment. She supposes there's a good chance they'll ask her, if they return here next year. "I don't think this would ever be my thing, but maybe I could do it once, if they asked me."
Last out is Maiana. If asked who she thinks will win this thing, Keyleth would say her. Especially when she kind of floats across the stage, and when she pulls one flower out of her braids and tosses it into the audience, half the crowd goes nuts trying to catch it, and the other half is nearly as loud in their cheering. "Thank you, Byroden!" She can barely be heard over the crowd. "Bless you all!"
"And now," Joli says, when Maiana has joined the others, "it's time for our judges to decide which of these beautiful, talented individuals will be deemed the finest in Byroden!" More cheers, and despite herself, Keyleth finds her heart quickening in anticipation.
The five judges have been sat off to one side, and now all eyes turn to where they've gone into a huddle. Within a couple of minutes, it appears that two of them, a human and a halfling, have gotten into some sort of dispute. As the two judges visibly get into each other's faces and grow loud enough Keyleth can almost make out their words, Joli starts anxiously looking between them and the contestants. The low-cut top of Milla's dress is starting to slump slightly, and she's awkwardly scrunching herself up to try to keep it up, while Jann has a hand clamped to her shoulder to try to help.
Keyleth turns to Cinna and softly asks, "How long does the judging usually take?"
"It can vary a bit," Cinna replies, her eyes fixed on the judges, "but this is a little unusual."
After several more very long minutes, Joli finally hops off the stage and goes over to the judges. There's maybe another minute or so, where the two arguing judges just glare and her, but at least she can talk with the other three, and then one of them appears to talk to her at length. "Hey," Keyleth hears Cinna say, "I think that's Angus Beckfort. Why is he on that panel when Milla's wearing his stones?"
Then she turns back around and announces, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce that the winner of my little contest will get an extra title. They will officially be a announced crowned as the Gem of Byroden at the artisanal presentation right here in an hour's time!"
The audience's reaction probably isn't what she was hoping for. There aren't just boos, there are angry shouts. Cinna exclamation of, "Are they really just going to give it to Milla?!" is probably what a lot of people are thinking. Including both Dodos and Maiana up on the stage, of the dirty looks they're giving her are anything to go by.
Vax is the only one on stage who is still smiling. He even throws Milla a reassuring look, before stepping foward, and being the first contestant to speak. "Then I am sure it will be a crowning worth seeing, whichever of us wins it. See you all in an hour."
Out his wings spring, and a moment later he's got Keyleth scooped up and they're soaring together up in the air. One look at his almost laughing face, and she just has to kiss him. It's only when she hears the roar of the audience that she even thinks of the show they're putting on.
When they part, she looks down. Some look delighted, some irritated, and some amused, but they're rising too fast for her to really tell more than that. Though she does get a good look at Cinna, who's jumping up and down a little as she claps. The other contestants are all clapping too, although Jig is laughing almost too hard to do so. One of the lilies falls off them, and multiple people fight to catch it, just as they had Maiana's flower.
"Do you think you just won the contest?" she whispers as they rise even higher. The city is starting to spread before them, now, though it's getting dark enough that the colors are fading outside the lit torches.
"Maybe," he chuckles. "But that doesn't matter. The rest of this day we've been theirs, and we're probably going to be again once we go back there. But this hour is for us." And they turn, and start flying towards the Gladepools, which Keyleth knows he's wanted to take her around for longer than they've had time for.
She lights up one of her hands as they approach the city walls, taking another look down in delight. "Don't suppose we have time to look for that boggle?" she asks playfully.
"Unfortunately not," says Vax, "but we'll see my and Vex's favorite pool, the one we even went swimming in, and we can probably even reach the top of those rocks I always wanted to go climbing on-though I suppose they'll turn out to not be as high as they've been in my memory. And we should also have at least a few minutes more to float and stargaze right before we go back; the stars should be out by then, right?"