Prince Yushir strolled through the arch of Fanshe Hall and sauntered up the stone path toward the house. A whistle lay on his lips and his hands were clasped behind him. Something peeked out from his fingers which he fiddled with as much as his ring.

  He reached the low porch and saw that the front door was closed. “Lady Arian?”

  Hurried footsteps were his first reply. A shadow appeared on the other side of the silken screen doors and the pair were pulled apart a fraction of an inch. An eye peeked out at him, followed quickly by a squeak. Yushir started back when the doors were slammed shut and more frantic footsteps were heard.

  He took a tentative step closer to the porch. “Lady Arian? Is something the matter?”

  There was silence for a few moments before soft footsteps padded against the wooden floorboards. The doors were opened wide and with a flourish, and Arian stood in the doorway with a smile on her face.

  “Good morning, Prince Yushir!” she greeted with all the enthusiasm of someone hyped up on a pot of coffee. “What brings you to Fanshe Hall?”

  “I merely wished to give you something as a going away gift,” he explained as he leaned to one side to peek past her. He didn’t see anyone seated at the main table. “But I appear to have interrupted something important. Do you have a visitor?”

  A barely audible squeak came from Arian’s pressed lips. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat and hurriedly stepped out. “Of course not!” she assured him as she carefully closed the doors behind her. She spun around and clasped her hands behind her where they grasped the sunken door handles. “Why would you say such a thing?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “You seem to be hiding something in there.”

  “H-hiding something?” Arian squeaked as she pressed her back against the doors. “O-of course not! Nobody visits me except the children on occasion and they are not here today!”

  Yushir cast one last curious look at the doors before he returned his full attention to her. “Then I have excellent timing.”

  He drew out one of his clutching hands and opened the fingers to reveal a small lotus flower. However, the blossom wasn’t real but was made of glistening red gemstones with green emeralds for the stem and receptacle.

  “I wish to give you this as a going-away present,” he told her.

  Arian’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “F-for me?” She unconsciously stepped away from her guard position and to the end of the porch where she studied the glistening gem flower. “But why?”

  “A beautiful rose for a most beautiful woman,” Yushir cooed as he held it out to her. “Will you not accept this token of my love for you?”

  Arian’s cheeks brightened like a ripe tomato. “L-love, Your Highness? Surely you jest.”

  He brushed the fingers of his other hand over the sparkling ruby petals. “Do you believe I jest when I offer you such a gift? This is the Gift of Alian, after all, and not something to trifle about.”

  Arian’s hand flew to her agape mouth. “T-the Gift of Alian? But I could not possibly accept such a gift! What would His Majesty say?”

  “His Majesty’s branch of the family was not the one given the Gift,” Yushir assured her as he grasped her other hand. He turned her palm over and set the lotus on her palm before he enclosed her fingers around the precious jewel. His shimmering bright eyes looked up at her with a faint mischievous twinkle. “But if you truly do not wish to keep such a gift then you may return it upon your return to this realm.”

  “But such a precious item!” she persisted as she looked in terror at her enclosed hand. “What if I was to lose it?”

  Yushir chuckled. “I very much doubt someone as careful as you would lose such a thing but should that come to pass then you will still need to return to this realm. Do you understand my meaning?”

  Arian’s hand shook. “I-I cannot accept this gift, Your Highness. I just cannot.”

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  The prince wrapped both his hands around her enclosed one and steadied her trembling fingers. He looked up into her eyes and the look in his own orbs softened. “I will not accept any other reply than ‘thank you.’”

  Arian met his gaze and the tension in her body was released. She reluctantly drew her hands out of his hold and pressed them against her chest. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

  He puffed out his chest a little and grinned. “No need to thank me. Merely return to the jewel with yourself. Now that is all my business so I will bid you a good day and a good trip, Arian.” He bowed his head and slipped out before she could muster a reply.

  Arian was left standing there in a stupor. She drew her hands away from her and stared blankly down at the only evidence of their conversation. The gemstones glistened as if to say ‘hello’ to her.

  Arian pressed the precious gift against her chest and the corners of her lips twitched upward. The young woman turned and mechanically opened the door before stepping inside. She closed the entrance behind her and shuffled through the main room to the closed bedroom doors which she opened.

  Anna sat on the bed with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. “I think he really likes you.” Arian dragged her feet over to the side of the bed where she stood there staring blankly ahead. Anna’s smile curved downward into a frown, and she reached out and used a finger and thumb to tug on her friend’s sleeve. “Are you alright?”

  The slight nudge shook Arian from her shock and she blinked several times. “Did. . .did that truly just happen?”

  Anna laughed and nodded at the item clutched in her friend’s hand. “I think it did. Do you mind if I see it?” Arian stretched out her arms toward Anna and eased open her hands. The treasure shone in her hand and Anna’s eyes widened. “Now I see why you came in acting like a zombie. That is one impressive gift from your boyfriend.”

  “B-boyfriend?” Arian repeated as the color drained from her face.

  Anna had to suppress the urge to laugh again at her friend’s discomfort. “I think you need to sit down and take a deep breath.”

  “Sit down? Sit down?” Arian repeated, each word more frantic than the rest. She began to pace the floor beside the bed and each rotation was faster than the last. “You tell me to sit down when Prince Yushir has given me one of his family’s most treasured items!”

  Anna tried to catch her friend’s sleeve but Arian’s turn made her just out of reach. “You’re going to dig a hole in the floor if you keep that up.”

  “What shall I do? Oh, what shall I do?” Arian bemoaned. “How can I return this precious item without insulting His Highness? What if his family were to discover it missing and disapprove of his giving it to me?” She froze in place and her eyes widened. Her words came out in a choked whisper. “I would disgrace my own family. They would disown me.”

  Arian’s hands fidgeted in front of her. Her nervous habit meant the precious gift slipped out of her hold. She yelped and juggled the flower before finally getting a firm grip on it in both hands. The frightened woman pressed the gemstone flower against her chest and felt the vibrations of her quick beating heart murmur against the walls of the perfect gems.

  She was now close enough that Anna clapped her hand over Arian’s wrist. “How about you sit down and tell me why this pretty little flower is so important to his family. Is it because it’s worth so much?”

  Arian turned around and dropped her butt onto the edge of the bed. She continued to clutch the jewels as she told her tale. “The Gift of Alian was gifted to the family of His Highness many millions of years ago by the queen of the frog tribe. She offered the Gift as a way of proposing marriage to one of the princes of the heavens.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Was she that ugly that she had to offer a gift this valuable?”

  Arian dropped her gaze to the item against her chest and shook her head. “On the contrary, she was rumored to be quite beautiful but the prince had politely refused every other offer she had made. You see, she insisted on his living in her land after the marriage. As a prince of the lesser branch, he was certainly not needed in the heaven realm but he desired to remain there.”

  Both my eyebrows shot up. “So did he do it?”

  A faint smile touched her lips and she cupped her hands in her lap. She opened her fingers and the glittering jewel of Yushir’s family smiled up at us. “Yes. Though they shared many hardships that separated them, they eventually came to love one another and married. The family cared for the jewel for many years in the land realm but the wars between the clans forced them to send their children to the heaven realm. One of them was Prince Yushir.”

  I blinked at her. “Prince Yushir? So he wasn’t born here?”

  “No, but he was sent here at a very young age along with his older brother and when their parents were killed in the great battle many years ago they remained.” She sighed and her shoulders slumped. “It is rather a sad but wonderful tale, is it not?”

  I had to suppress a grin as I scooted closer to her. “So if this was a proposal gift to the prince, then what does that mean for you and Yushir?”

  Arian blushed and shrank from the question. “I-I am sure I do not know what you mean.”

  I set a hand on her shoulder and let loose my evil grin. “I think you and I know exactly what I mean.”

  Arian stood and clutched the jewel against her chest. “I-I will put this away and we shall see if your strength has returned enough for you to walk without my help.” She scurried out of the room.

  I dropped my arms into my lap and smiled after her. It was a sweet story and I was somewhat envious of the pair of lovers, even if they did have such a tragic ending.

  “It would be nice to have such a gift,” I enviously murmured.

  I bowed my head and bit my lower lip. Not much chance of that now that Dadan thought I was either dead or a traitor.