The Princess And The Lord

The two girls sat facing each other in front of the white and purple tree. Both girls glared at each other as they knelt on the ground with their hands crossed. 

"Tell me, what is this place?" Lory asked the haughty child who sat opposite her.

"It is a dream…" The little girl replied smugly.

"I know that brat! Whose dream is this…?" Lory rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"You are so rude!" The little girl pouted and her cheeks puffed cutely.

"Says the stupid brat who dragged me here without my consent," Lory was sarcastic.

"Yikes…and you are mean too…" The little girl was on the verge of crying.

Lory didn't pity her. In her view, naughty kids needed to be disciplined, "Answer me or I'll spank your butt!"

The little girl flinched and covered her butt out of reflex. She pointed at the tree, "It's not my dream. It belongs to him!"

Lory frowned and looked at the tree. There was something familiar about the tree but she was sure she had never seen it before. She looked at the little girl and asked, "How do you know this?"

"The woman told me…" The little girl was relieved Lory wasn't after her butt anymore.

"What woman?" Lory's mouth twitched.

"Uh-huh, the woman who helped me drag you here," The little girl smiled sweetly.

"The woman you know nothing about?" Lory sighed.

"Uh-huh," The little girl nodded like a woodpecker.

"Hey, brat! Didn't anyone teach you about stranger danger?"

"Huh?" The little girl tilted her head and gave her a blank look.

Lory massaged her forehead. It was going was a long day. However, she had a wild guess on the mysterious woman's identity but she also couldn't help but worry if what she thought was right. She was in deep thought when her body turned cold. Lory rubbed her arms out of reflex and murmured, "Why do I feel cold?"

"Oh!" The little girl heard Lory and answered her with a proud look, "It's because your soul had been away from your body for a while now. Your body is deteriorating…"

This stunned Lory 'That didn't sound good'.

"And what if I don't return immediately?" Lory asked calmly.

"You'll be dead!" The girl gave a cheerful answer.

"Can you send me home?" Lory's smile became scary.

"I CAN'T!" The girl raised her hands with excitement.

Lory lost it. She grabbed the little girl's collar and shook her profusely. The girl's face distorted at the fast movement. "You DAMN BRAT! What the hell do you think you are doing? How dare you kill me like this? I don't fear death but I refuse to die from too much sleep. Do you want to humiliate me? HUH…?"

"Stop…stop it...bad aunty! You're a bad aunty!" The little girl's eyes had turned white from being shaken. 

"Who told you I'm an aunty?" Lory stopped shaking her.

The little girl was pale but she couldn't resist mocking her, "The woman told me you died at thirty years and when you were sent here you became young again. So if we calculated all this, your real age turns you into an aunt."

Lory grabbed the little girl's collar and shook her again, "I died when I was twenty-seven. How dare you call me AUNTY?"

"Aaahhh… Help…help! I'm being attacked by the crazy aunty!" The little girl's head resembled a bobblehead.

"I dare you to call me AUNTY one more time, you brat!"

"Hueeeee...!"

____ A few minutes later_____

They were back to their previous positions. The only difference was Lory was panting from too much anger while the little girl held her head to stop the dizziness after being shaken for long. Lory tried to calm herself. She couldn't believe she was about to die because of the stupid brat, "Okay! First things first. What's your name?"

The little girl was still upset but decided to answer her, "Jiao Zi."

"Dumpling…now you are making me hungry…" Lory rubbed her stomach unconsciously.

(Jiaozi means dumpling in Chinese)

"Aunty, what's your name?"

"-___-"

"Luo Ri Yi…" Lory was too tired to correct her.

The little girl scoffed in disbelief, "But she said your name is Lory!"

"Then why the HELL did you ask, brat?" Lory lost her cool once more.

"I Just…wanted to make sure," she quickly said but couldn't resist muttering, "Geezzz... what a grumpy old lady…" 

"-___-"

Lory scratched her head and reminded herself not to be too angry with a minor. She took a deep breath and said, "Why are you here? This is not your dream meaning you are also a visitor, am I right?"

Jiao Zi looked down pitifully, "Yes..."

"Why are you here…?" Lory needed to sort this first if she wanted to leave the place.

"I'm... I'm hiding," The little girl looked sad and embarrassed.

Lory took a deep breath. A soul that had willingly run from her own body must have done it because she was facing something she couldn't handle. It meant the girl was running away from reality. Lory patted Jiao Zi's head gently, "Tell me what happened."

Jiao Zi couldn't remember the last time someone genuinely cared for her. Everyone close to her had ulterior motives. It was either they wanted to take advantage of her, hurt her or use her. This was so normal to her that she got used to it, but the woman before her seemed different. The woman said and acted what she felt. The woman showed her anger when angry but also seemed caring. Jiao Zi wondered if she had always been wrong and there were kind people out there.

"He… He lied to me," Jiao Zi said nervously as tears filled her eyes. "Everyone looked at me like an eyesore. I didn't care because I had him. He was kind and gentle. He dotted on me a lot. I thought he really loved me but…but it was all a lie. He just wanted to use and control me. He...he… He even said he is the one who killed my family."

Jiao Zi burst out in tears. She had held her feelings for a long time and now all her pain and sorrow came out like a broken dam.

"Why? Why was he so mean? My father trusted him. My father loved him but why..." Lory embraced Jiao Zi and let her vent out her anger. Jiao Zi cried as she cursed at her enemy. "I always did everything he asked of me. I hurt many people, I lied and killed for him. I did it all because I thought he was my family. I thought he loved me but I was wrong. I was so wrong and now my hands are soaked with innocent blood. What should I do...? What should I do…?"

The little girl shivered in Lory's embrace as she cried her heart out. Lory grieved for the little girl. It was not surprising the girl chose to run from reality after facing this. How could she face a loved one's betrayal? What a pitiful princess... She bore a cruel fate. Was this the reason the mysterious woman was protecting her? Is this why you called me, Arthea…?

"When you walk into a dark tunnel, the only way out is through..." Lory whispered in Jiao Zi's ear. The little girl didn't answer but chose to hide her face in Lory's laps as her hands clenched Lory's robes like her life depended on it.

"I'm scared…" Jiao Zi said softly.

"I know and it's alright," Lory rubbed Jiao Zi's head the way her mother used to do. She said calmly, "But nothing can be done if you hide in here…"

Jiao Zi lifted her head and Lory smiled at her, "When you make mistakes, you have to fix it. When you hurt others, you must ask for forgiveness. It won't be easy. It will be hard, painful and perhaps lonely... but you have to do it."

Jiao Zi wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks with her small hands, "But, what if I fail? What if they never forgive me? What if…"

"You could also stay here. You can choose to cry with regret for the rest of your life or you can get out and fight to make things rights. Should you end up dead by doing the right thing, you would have died a fighter and not as a coward. Don't you want to face your family in death and tell them you fought with everything you got?"

Jiao Zi closed her eyes as more tears fell from her eyes. However, these tears were not from anger or desperation. They were for something else. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel for once. She opened her eyes slowly. Her gaze was no longer the same. 

"I don't know how to leave this place."

"I think I know how but I need to get out of here first," Lory looked at the tree beside her with a cunning smile. Lory's body was suddenly engulfed with dimmed purple lights. Lory was stunned for a moment but she chuckled and looked at Jiao Zi who was also stunned. "I think that is my way out. Tell me where this place is."

Jiao Zi leaned over and whispered into Lory's ear. Lory nodded and gave Jiao Zi a playful wink. "Okay, brat, Wait for me. I'm coming to get you!"

The little girl smiled sweetly, "I'll be waiting for you… Aunty."