I scurried back to my little hole and found Arian seated at the table with a hot cup of tea clutched between her hands. My heavy footsteps made her start and she whipped her head up. I removed my hood and dropped onto my knees on a nearby cushion.

  “Is something the matter?” she asked me as she set the cup on the table. “You look as though you ran the whole way.”

  I bobbed my head and managed a few wheezing words. “That. . .that’s pretty much it.”

  Her face drooped. “Then you found trouble?”

  I choked on a laugh. “That would be typical of me, wouldn’t it? I sort of found trouble.” I grasped the front of the cloak and stretched it out in front of me. “Dadan somehow saw me.”

  Arian lost a lot of color in her cheeks. “You removed the cloak?”

  I shook my head. “No, that’s the weird thing. I was just making up a chocolate for him and heard him call out, and when I looked up there he was staring directly at me.” Now Arian really looked unhealthy. So unhealthy that I scooted closer to her and stretched out an arm. “What’s wrong? You look as white as a sheet.”

  She swallowed a huge lump in her throat. “T-this is all my fault.”

  I blinked at her. “How?”

  She bowed her head and her hands fidgeted together on the table. “I. . .I was told by Lord Buhelm that the wearer would be invisible even to Lord Eastwei, but only if they did not use magic.” She bit her lower lip and turned her face away from me. “I forgot to tell you that. This is my fault.”

  The corners of my lips twitched before a smile spread across my face. “Is that all?”

  Arian dared turn her face far enough so one eye fell on me. “Is that not enough? That nearly caused you to be seen.”

  I lifted my chin and scowled at her. “You’re quite right. You should be punished.”

  Her eyes grew as big as saucers. “Punished how?”

  “By this way.” I snatched her tea cup from her and downed the entire contents.

  Bad move. It was still very warm. I ended up choking on the heat and it burned all the way down. The coughing fit made me double over and I hacked all over the table.

  Arian leaped to my rescue and rubbed my back. “Are you alright?”

  I bobbed my head and slowly with the help of my friend regained control of myself. My dignity, however, was now an ex-emotion. I offered her a shaky and sheepish smile. “That was dumb of me, wasn’t it?”

  “Rather reckless, but that is you,” Arian teased as she resumed her seat. “But I do most sincerely apologize for my actions and should you desire to punish me then I will not object.”

  I waved a hand between us. “I think I’ve learned my lesson by teaching you a lesson. I leaned toward her and lowered my voice to a whisper. “But there aren’t any other rules I need to know about this thing, is there?”

  She furiously shook her head. “Oh no! That was the only one!”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and clapped my hand on her shoulder. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. I got out just fine and now we can head off from the hills.” I climbed to my feet and stretched my arms above my head. “I could use a nice long walk after being bedridden for so long.”

  We went over the house one last time before I tucked our knapsacks under each of my arms. Arian slipped the hood over me and all my body was now invisible. She stepped back to take a good look.

  “See anything?” I asked her.

  She shook her head. “No, but you must be very quiet when you walk or the guards at the gate will hear you.”

  I laughed. “I think I already learned that lesson, so let’s go.”

  We set out together down the street but had hardly gone very far when a familiar figure appeared down the road. It was Lady Bidao and she had her sights set on us. She angled her steps so she blocked Arian’s path. I was tempted to play a joke on her by tugging on her hair but that would have meant dropping a knapsack, so I behaved myself.

  “Good morning, Arian,” Bidao greeted my friend.

  Arian was too much of a lady not to smile and bow her head. “Good morning, Lady Bidao. Is there something I can help you with?”

  She bit her lower lip and glanced at our surroundings. Nobody was in sight but she still stepped close and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Have you heard nothing from your mistress?”

  Arian blinked at her before she shook her head. “No, not at all. Why do you ask?”

  Bidao winced at the question as if she’d been slapped. “N-no reason! No reason at all! Good day!” She skirted around Arian and scurried off down the street.

  I scooted close to my friend and whispered to her. “That was really weird.”

  Arian pursed her lips as she watched the retreating Lady Bidao disappear down the street. “Very much so, but we should move even quicker.”

  I nodded and realized how stupid that made me look. Or not look. Or whatever. “Yeah.”

  I followed my friend down the street and to the imperious gate that acted as the first line of defense against invasions from the lands below. The guards made me nervous as we passed them but they didn’t see me any better than Arian or Dadan.

  Dadan. The name bounced around my head in a heavy sigh. I paused just past the threshold of the gate and half-turned back to the arch. The glistening streets of the heaven realm twinkled back at me in a gentle goodbye.

  Bye, Dadan. I hope I see you again.

  I reluctantly hurried after my friend who had no idea I’d paused. Arian was just walking through the portal when I rushed up behind her. Together we slipped through the magical gate and out into the fresh wilds of the land realm.

  I stopped a few steps from the gate and took in a deep breath. “You know, the heaven realm is really nice but I do miss smelling the dirt.”

  Arian turned to me and clasped her hands in front of her. “I do truly hope you will like my homeland. There is much dirt to smell there.”

  I set the bags down and drew off my hood. “I’ll like any place where I don’t have to sneak around.”

  Arian leaned to one side and looked past me at the gate. “We should hurry from here. Anyone may pass through and see us.”

  We each picked up our knapsacks and hurried on our way over the bridge. I couldn’t help but shudder a little at the memories that lingered there. We passed onto the other side and instead of the familiar right-ward path, Arian led me to the left. A large cliff stood some fifty yards away from the bridge and didn’t dip inward for a hundred feet. The road wound its way halfway between the winding river and the stone wall, a compromise with floods and falling rocks. Trees soon surrounded us, blotting out any view of the heavenly gate. Patches of grass grew around the trunks and a sparse smattering of flowers dotted the landscape.

  I trotted along beside my friend and enjoyed the sights, smells, and sounds of it all. Birds flew hither and thither and animals scurried away at our coming. Some of them resembled Earth’s creatures, like the mice and lizards, and others were stranger than anything I’d ever seen. A thing like a badger but with the tail of a beaver sauntered across our path.

  “I think it’s going to take some time for me to get used to things here,” I commented after we’d let the thing pass and continued on our way.

  Arian smiled at me and her eyes twinkled. “There is no need to rush. You will have plenty of time with my people to enjoy the sights.”

  Oh boy. Famous last words.