“I was very surprised to see Lady Shian and Lady Bidao come to see our lights,” Arian mused as she swept the walkway of the countless dirty footprints and streamers.

  I sighed and pushed my broom along the stones along with her. “So was I.”

  “Do you believe she may have come to see if she may copy your design for the next fair?” Arian wondered.

  I stopped and leaned my body against the handle. A faraway expression slipped onto my face as I recalled the last look Shian had given me. There had been a darkness in her eyes that had frightened me a little. “I wonder what that look was for.”

  Arian ceased her sweeping and looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. “What look?”

  I laughed and shook my head as I resumed my cleaning. “It’s nothing. It was probably just my imagination.”

  How wrong I was.

  However, the moment was soon forgotten as life slipped back into its tranquil pace. And back to my lessons.

  Prince Yushir stood over me from where I sat atop the grassy knoll. His arms were folded over his chest and he tapped a finger against one of his limbs. “I cannot understand it.”

  My arms were raised in front of me and had been for quite some time. They started to tremble a little from the effort. “Maybe I don’t have an element?”

  He shook his head. “You must surely have an element, otherwise you would not be able to conjure the magic necessary to create your wondrous things.” The prince paced the ground in front of me tapping away at his arm. He lifted his eyes to the bright sunny sky and furrowed his brow. “There must be some way to bring out your gift.” He paused and stopped his tapping. A dangerous glint slipped into his eyes and he cast a sidelong look at me. “Perhaps a more forceful approach is necessary.”

  My face drooped and my eyes widened. “Um, no?”

  “Have you ever been in mortal danger, Lady Roberts?”

  “Oh no!” I protested as I scampered to my feet. “I’m not going through that again! You almost gave me a heart attack with that beast test!”

  Disappointment showed on the prince’s face. “But it may be the only way to summon your magic.”

  My shoulders sagged and I turned my face to one side. “Maybe I’m just not meant to do anything other than make cookies and balloons, or anything else the children might want. Maybe that’s why I was put here.”

  The prince tucked his hands into his sleeves and a faint smile ghosted across his lips. “Perhaps it is, Lady Roberts. I know of people who have worse roles in life and many who were even less pleased with the element granted them by fate.”

  I cast a suspicious look at him. “Then you won’t be leading me into mortal danger?”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Not at the present. I need to go attend to some duties. We will see each other tomorrow and discuss where we will go from here.” He bowed his head and left me alone with my thoughts.

  I folded my arms over my chest and sighed. Cooking for kids and entertaining others was great, but somewhere deep in my heart, I knew I was supposed to be doing something more. There was a reason I was here, I just knew it.

  “Anna?”

  I started and whipped around to discover Jin on my doorstep. He sauntered over to me with a big grin on his face.

  “Hello, Jin! I didn’t know you were still around.”

  “We had to break down the stalls and store the wood away for the next one, but I’m supposed to leave tomorrow,” he told me. The young lad leaned to one side and cast a hopeful look at the house. “Is Arian here?”

  A sly smile curled onto my lips as I raised my voice. “Arian! Someone’s here to see you!”

  Arian popped her head out of the house. She grasped a damp sponge in her hand and her eyes widened at her friend. “Jin!” She hurried over to us and looked him over. “Why are you still here?”

  Jin laughed. “Is no one happy to see that I am still here?”

  She set a hand atop his and squeezed it. “Of course I am, but what are you still doing in the heavenly realm?”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “I missed you at the fair so I wanted to visit with you for a while before I left tomorrow,” he informed her.

  Arian bit her lower lip. “I am not so sure-”

  I noticed she twisted the sponge in her hands. “You really should go,” I insisted.

  “You. . .it will not be any trouble?” she asked me.

  I grinned. “I think I can manage on my own for a day. You go off and have some fun.”

  “I suppose. . .” Arian murmured.

  “Then it is settled!” Jin chimed in as his twinkling eyes and crooked grin ensured I knew Arian would have a good time. “So let us go immediately!”

  I took Arian’s sponge from her and the last excuse fell away. Jin snatched her hand and pulled her toward the gate.

  “See you later!” I shouted as they disappeared through the arch.

  I tossed the sponge in the air and caught its squishy body in one hand. Cold water dribbled out and down my arm. I yelped and flung my arm about to drain the river.

  Yeah, Anna, just fine on your own.

  I rolled my eyes upward and glared at the sky. “Quiet, you. I have some cleaning up to do.”

  “To whom are you speaking?”

  The voice wasn’t my inner thoughts and the suddenness made me jump out of my skin. I landed on shaky legs and spun around toward the arch, half expecting to find my disobedient servant after abandoning her friend.

  No such luck. Who I discovered was Lady Shian and her friend whose name I had forgotten.

  Lady Shian strolled toward me with a smile on her lips, but there was a coldness in the welcome that almost made me shiver. “Good morning, Lady Roberts. I have come here today to apologize for not admiring your strange decorations with as much joy as I felt.”

  Yeah, joy. That’s the word for it.

  I tamped down my sarcastic inner self and returned her smile with what I hoped was a warmer one. “There’s no need to do that. I’m sure you were just tired from handling everything.”

  “Of course.” I had to resist the urge to step away from this woman. Some dangerous current ran under every word she said. “But I still desire to give a proper apology and I believe I have just the thing.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “You really don’t have to do anything.” Please don’t.

  Shian looped an arm around mine and pulled me toward the arch. “Nonsense. It is the least I can do after that wonderful display you created. Many of the lords and ladies can talk of nothing else.”

  Flattery wasn’t exactly getting her into my good graces but surprise could work the same way. “They said that?”

  She nodded as she guided me out onto the walk. “Oh yes. Some have even asked that their palaces be decorated as yours was for next year’s fair.”

  “I really don’t think you need to do anything for me,” I insisted as I squirmed in her hold.

  She tightened her grip on me and I felt her nails dig into my arms. “Nonsense. This is about more than my honor. My family prides itself on being gracious, as is required of those who manage the palaces.” She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “And I would loathe to have my family dishonored due to my lapse.”

  A sharp warning lurked in every syllable. I shrank down but she kept a tight grip on me.

  She laughed but there was no mirth in the sound. It rang as tinny as an empty tin cup. “You mustn’t look so frightened. You are a guest of His Majesty, after all. No one will come to you in his realm.”

  I almost believed her, but perhaps it was more hope than reality. “Y-yeah, I guess I am. . .”

  We crossed over a large bridge and onto an island that didn’t hold any palaces. The only structure was a huge gate that stretched from one side of the small island to the other. Two guards with spears stood at attention on either side and I noticed a lone figure beyond the gate. It was Bidao and she looked even more nervous than I felt.

  Her breeding and habits forced her to stand straight and bow her head to me. “Good morning, Lady Roberts. I hope you slept well.”

  We passed through the gate and I glanced at the guards with a tinge of hope. He continued to stare ahead without even the slightest hint that he saw me.

  “Where exactly are we going?” I asked my guide as we joined the nervous Bidao.

  “You have yet to venture out of the heaven realm, have you not?” Shian inquired.

  Icy fear wrapped around my heart “Y-yeah, but I really should get back-”

  “Nonsense,” Shian insisted as she tightened her grip on my arm. “I have been such a poor friend to you that I wish to show you the beauty of your former home. You did live in the land of the mortals, did you not?”

  She guided me toward the bright abyss of the edge of the island. My heart pounded in my chest as the precipice loomed.

  “I think I’ll stay here!” I insisted as I dug my heels into the ground.

  Shian laughed. “You are so good at jokes! Now I will show you what you have been requesting of me for quite some time.”

  I didn’t get a chance to ask her what the hell she was talking about before a dazzle of icy-cold glitter flakes surrounded us. I was reminded of when Eastwei made his appearance at the pool, only this time I was seeing it from the inside rather than out.

  We continued walking forward and the dazzling lights lifted to reveal a huge area of solid earth and water. A dirt path led from where we stood and over a bridge that crossed a wide river.

  “Is this not beautiful?” Shian commented as she guided me down the road.

  I twisted my head around and noticed a portal at our backs. The soft glow around its arches vanished, as did the magic vortex in the middle. My way back was gone.

  My guide never stopped her incessant and banal chatter. “Let me show you this wondrous river.”

  We walked up the gentle slope of the curved bridge and stopped at the top. I was loath to approach the sides but Shian didn’t give me any choice. She practically shoved me against the downstream railing and I felt it groan beneath my weight.

  Shian finally released me and stepped back. I spun around to face my two adversaries.

  A cruel smile curled onto Shian’s lips. “Now you will bother me no longer. Lady Bidao, if you would do the pleasure.”

  Bidao shoved both hands out toward me. A powerful wind swept out of her body and slammed into my stomach. The air was knocked out of my lungs and I was sent flying into the water. I crashed into the cold current and water shoved itself into my gaping mouth.

  I bobbed to the surface and gasped for air. My arms flailed about me as my legs flailed beneath me.

  I swallowed another mouthful of river water as the wild current turned me to face the bridge. “I can’t swim!”