Lucette sighed with a small smile as she laid back in her personal bathing chambers, letting the warm, mineral-rich waters soothe her body and soul. She frowned briefly. 'Though from what V's told me, my soul's in jeopardy every day...' She sighed. 'Should've known being Undead would throw a wrench into being a Guardian. Damn nature makes it eat my Light and soul. Can't even regain Light without killing something first and eating it's own soul.' She shook her head. 'Enough, brain. Time for relaxation, not dour moods.' She sighed again, thinking about better things, like new ideas for her country, and slowly returned to a relaxed and happy mood. She looked to the ceiling with her glowing golden eyes and settled herself in for a comfortable rest.

"Ahhh..." she breathed, the steam-filled air further soothing her. "Ya know, V, much as I dislike the pressure of being a ruler, it really has it's perks."

"You mean the huge, spacious indoor baths and walk-in closets?" Ventus supplied, floating a few feet above her Guardian.

"That, and the personal tavern," Lucette added. Ventus rolled her optic.

"You and alcohol," she said with a sigh, shaking herself as if she were shaking her own head.

"Hey, it's good shit girl. You'd love it too if you were able to try it," Lucette shot back.

"I doubt that, L," Ventus retorted. Lucette simply sighed again, sinking further into the bath. Then, out of nowhere, a tiny doll dropped on Ventus, earning an "Ow!" from her, before she looked down at the offending object. It had a dark blue dress, simple black shoes, long blonde hair and blue eyes. "Weird... Where did this come from?"

"You say something, V?" Lucette asked, turning her head slightly.

"No, nothing, just some weird doll that hit me out of nowhere," Ventus answered. Lucette, intrigued, turned around in the bath.

"Yeah? Can I see it?" she asked. Ventus did her version of a nod and grabbed it with her telekinetic beam, handing it over to Lucette, who immediately heard a young girl's voice from it.

“If you are in need of help, don't hesitate to call for me. However, understand that under no circumstances will I ever kill anything. If I can be of assistance, just speak the words 'Daughter of Gensokyo' and I will be there to help in any way I can.”

"A Token, huh...?" Lucette muttered to herself, turning it over in her hands. Her brow furrowed a little. 'Hmm... This kid might be a good candidate for a Champion... If my experiences with Displaced are any indication, she's gotta be at least stronger than most of the contestants who'll be coming...' Her mouth curved slightly into a frown. 'Then again, even if I have received the documents of all the contestants from the other nations, I still don't have a guarantee that this girl is stronger than them... I'll have to-' Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knocking from the door to the bathing room. She sighed and called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me, mommy!" came the familiar chirpy tones of Suki. Lucette sighed again before she gained a bit of a relaxed smile.

"Well, come in then, muffin top!" Lucette called. Suki opened the door and practically ran to her mother, who chuckled and caught her mid-pounce. "Wanted to see me, huh?"

Suki nodded and nuzzled into her mother's bosom. "Mmhm! I haven't seen you all that much since you started the prep for the Festival!"

Lucette's smile turned a little sad. "Sorry about that, muffin top. You know how it is, though. Mommy does run an entire country."

Suki nodded again and looked up to her mother, giving her her signature grin. "Yeah, but I'm here now, and we can play some games while you're washing up!" Her grin faded and made way for a hopeful smile. "...Right?"

Lucette made a show of thinking about it, putting one hand on her chin. "Hmmm... I don't know..."

"Pleeease?" Suki begged, giving her mother puppy dog eyes, complete with a wobbling lip.

Lucette grinned. "Ah what the heck, sure!" She then raised one of her hands and wiggled her fingers. "Better watch out, sweetie, my hand's moving on it's own!" She then started to tickle her daughter, eliciting delighted and joyful giggles and laughter from Suki.

Ventus watched on, and if she could she would have smiled. Instead, she started snapping pictures. "Heheh... This is too cute...!"

The next hour passed with much fun and laughter in the bathing chamber, a mother and daughter strengthening their bond with innocent playtime.

After Lucette and Suki had finished playing and cleaning themselves in the bathing chamber, Lucette was walking around the stadium which was still being built, looking over everything with a critical eye. Up above, some Skili construction workers were working on the roof of the stadium, primitive versions of electrician tools in their hands as they worked on screens on the roof that would be used later in the Festival.

Lucette watched them for a time, making sure they got it all correct, before walking into a dark tunnel opposite the main tunnel that would serve as the main entrance to the stadium. She walked to the very end, made a right, and came upon a room where several more Skili were at primitive consoles, a few electricians working on some of the newer ones while other Skili were typing code into the ones that worked. A number of images flashed on the console monitors, and after overseeing them for a while, Lucette moved on.

She turned back to where she came and went straight ahead from the right exit of the dark tunnel, leading to a set of stairs that went far, far down, and were quite obviously made for something with much, much larger feet. A set of smaller stairs made for people her and her people's size lay next to the more massive stairs, and she trodded down them, Ventus floating above her.

Eventually, they came upon a spacious room with an absolutely gigantic figure surrounded by cat walks and various steel walkways. Lucette walked around to the back of the figure, where a few Skili were carving something into an opened portion of the giant figure's back, which bore a humongous ruby engraved with runes. The Skili were currently carving more runes onto the ruby.

"How's it coming, Jeil?" Lucette called. A female Skili lifted her visor up and stepped away from the ruby and towards the railing of the catwalk, looking down at her queen.

"Vala tyri, Man Quey!" she replied back.

Lucette smiled widely. "Good to hear!" she turned to Ventus, her smile turning feral and vaguely evil. "Oh, I just know this Festival is going to be a blast!" She giggled evilly to herself.

EDIT: Added a new, better intro, complete with a new, more fitting song.

EDIT: Added an intro, complete with a song.

This chapter is here to further explain and build things for the Festival chapters, as my good friend FTR2017 pointed out that a good portion of the Festival had parts that just weren't explained or built upon enough. So, here you all are!

I hope you all enjoyed the brief family moment between Lucette and Suki as well, I put a good amount of thought behind it. Also, in case any of you were wondering what Jeil said, here you go.

"Quite well, My Queen!"

Thank you all so much for reading!

-Timeless Celestial