I saunter into the Royal Chamber with my frizzy furball hair to greet the Crown Prince and my master. They are sitting down, sipping tea.
I guess they must have sorted out their "private conversation".
The Crown Prince glances at me, nearly dropping his jade teacup as he bursts out laughing. Long Fei just pauses and shakes his head.
His Highness points to my furball hair.
"Ling Yue, we didn't leave you out there for long. How'd you end up like that?"
Long Fei sighs, sipping his tea again.
"It appears that she and Long Yan had a light spar."
"Oh, I see. That makes perfect sense. Only he would have the audacity to challenge this naughty kid. None of my guards will go near her."
"Your Highness, I believe my brother wanted to talk to you about Zhen Hua but I guess Ling Yue kept him preoccupied."
How did he find out without leaving the room? I wonder if the air whispers to him like the Ocean whispers to the Queen of Merfolk. He is one scary immortal that has eyes everywhere.
The Crown Prince walks over to the jewel-encrusted belt and runs a hand over it. It glows, lights up, and displays a vivid image of Mirror Lake's future, with the currently glacial mountain transformed into a lush landscape, teeming with flora. He turns to me with his usual jolly grin.
"Ling Yue, since you failed to read properly. The Quest List clearly said: 'Break the Mirror Lake to pick up my belt'. You didn't 'break' it, you melted it. You didn't 'pick up' the belt either; you got your water tendril to do it for you. So, as punishment, you are to go back there and bring it to life like this image."
"What? That's not fair."
"Or would you prefer me to add, 'destruction of Mirror Lake's ecosystem' to your ledger?"
I look pleadingly to my master, but he seems to agree with his royal friend. He gives me the look that makes me want to bury myself in the sand. He slowly stands up and clears his throat.
Yes, my salvation.
"Your Highness, I suggest my brother should help her with this one."
Wait, what?
His Highness looks up to the ceiling.
"Long Yan, I know you're there. You can come out now."
A flicker of flames appears beside him, heating up the chamber. Then the flames flare up and transform into Long Yan.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
I run a hand down my face. I've just been palmed off to the brother, just great.
The Crown Prince tilts his head towards me.
"You're assigned to help the furball to restore Mirror Lake."
Long Yan presses his lips together, stifling laughter as his eyes shift to me.
"Understood."
Then he turns to Long Fei.
"Don't worry Elder Brother, I will make sure Ling Yue doesn't get into too much trouble."
"I hope you will be a good influence on her. Make sure she doesn't get too injured. A scorched hair is fine. I do prefer her to be back in one piece if possible. If not, I guess that's her fate."
"Hey! I'm still in the room. If you wanted to get rid of me you could have just asked."
I fold my arms, blowing my frizzy locks off my face.
"Your Highness, I'm off to unbreak Mirror Lake. I'll be back before you know it."
"Oh Ling Yue, there's one item you forgot to give me."
My eyes widen. He's right. I pluck out the extract from the Venus Flower.
"Yes, that's it. You will need that to fix this problem."
I tuck it back into my mystical satchel. That gives me a brilliant idea.
I shoot Long Fei a suspicious look. He continues sipping his tea. I lift my nose, strut past him, and head for the door. I can't believe he palmed me off to his brother.
"Catch me if you can."
I run out the door and fly off, not to Mirror Lake though. I look over my shoulder, and the searing red beam is tailing me. Oh great, I won't be able to shake off my assigned supervisor after all. I veer to the mountain where the Flora Fairy lives.
As I land on the lush mountain, Long Yan shifts to his human guise. I give him a sideward glance.
"Aren't you curious why we're here?"
He shrugs, grinning wryly.
"My task is to guardian-sit. That alone is peculiar. Nothing surprises me when it comes to you."
Okay, he's a lot more easygoing than my master. I'm surprised they're brothers.
I scan the area for the flora fairy. I sniff the air, sneezing with all the pollen. Don't tell me I have hay fever.
That's strange, where could she be? I close my eyes, to see if I can sense her. A breeze carries the sound of someone sniffling. Someone's crying... I follow the sound, my ears twitching.
I find the source. The flora fairy has her head buried in her arms, crying.
"Miss Flora Fairy, what's the matter?"
She looks up, surprised to see me. Her eyes shift to my supervisor and she looks afraid. I shoot him a glance, wave my hand at him, and shoo him away. He puts up his hands in a calming motion and backs away, giving us space.
She turns back to me, teary-eyed. She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. She taps her throat.
I'm going to guess that I may be the reason why she's in this predicament. I pluck the vial containing the essence of the Venus Flower from my bag and hand it to her. She graciously accepts, opens the cork, and drinks it. An ethereal light engulfs her.
"Thank you, I can speak again."
"Why did you give me your voice?"
"You asked for it, and you said you wouldn't hurt me if I did. So, partly out of fear and partly out of gratitude for the pretty floral robe you made for me, I agreed."
This fairy needs to get her priorities straight. I would have preferred if she had fought me to death.
"It was the least I could do since you broke my curse. Someone needed to show me an act of kindness in my horrid form."
"Oh... you're welcome."
It's a good thing I didn't kill her back then...
"Wait, why were you afraid of that immortal? Did he curse you?"
She shakes her head.
"He's too dangerous to be around. I'm highly flammable."
I glance at my frizzy, scorched hair. I can totally relate to her. She notices the state of my hair and sprinkles Fairy Dust on it. It regenerates back into my shiny silver-blue locks. She's my favorite fairy in the world.
"No pressure, but I thought I might ask, are you on this mountain all alone?"
She nods.
"Do you want to leave this mountain?"
She looks at me, brows furrowing.
"Where can I go?"
"Well, there is this mountain nearby that needs your help, and if you revitalize it, you'll have many friends to join you later. I thought you might want a change of scenery since you were cursed here. Maybe move to a nicer place, where you can make it your own home?"
She looks around, gives a sigh, and then nods.
"I guess that's the least I can do for you. And you're right, I do need a change of mountain. I've been stuck here for as long as I can remember. It is time to make new and better memories. I didn't know how to escape this place. I'm glad you came back."
"No problem. Thanks for fixing my hair. Can you fly far?"
She shakes her head.
"Do you mind jumping on my back? I can give you a piggyback ride."
She grins from ear to ear.
I crouch down, and she wraps her arms around my neck. I loop my arm around her waist.
"Hold on tight!"
I fly off to the glacial mountain, with a red beam following closely behind. We land at Mirror Lake, and I gently place her on the floor. Her eyes widen at the sight. Honestly, I think she's just excited for something new because the mountain looks barren compared to her previous lush mountain.
She twirls and dances around the lake, sprinkling fairy dust everywhere. Grass, flowers, trees, and vines start growing. Gradually, it looks like what the gem-encrusted belt showed earlier.
I brush my hands off. I think I've completed my job. I wave to her, and she waves back as she continues her art; making things grow.
I rush back into the Royal Chamber, alone. Where did Long Yan go? He probably doesn't want to be around for this.
The Crown Prince and Long Fei are playing a game of 'Go'. They both pause and look at me.
His Highness grins at me knowingly.
"Ling Yue, you're back earlier than I expected. I see you've changed your hairstyle."
"I did say I'll be back before you know it."
Long Fei stands up and hands me a parchment. He pats me on the head, then returns to his seat, continuing his game of 'Go'.
It reads:
"Courage: Level 57
Elemental Power: Level 55
Physical Power: Level 52
Strategy: Level 57
Agility: Level 53
Speed: Level 53."
"Hey! I actually improved across the board! How come my Physical Power only went up by 1?"
"Although you tried to break the Mirror Lake by brute force, hurting yourself isn't considered a good use of Physical Power. Also, I believe you didn't even use your martial arts on my brother. His first move is always a fireball."
I don't know which is scarier... his predictions or his deductions.
"Does that mean that Agility, Speed, and everything else went up because I evaded the Phoenix Princess?"
They both look at each other and remain silent. Looks like she's a sensitive topic. Guess I'll keep quiet from now on.
I yank out my quest list and notice a couple more quests lighting up.
My eyes light up, and I glance at the Crown Prince.
He winks at me.