Chapter 37

"your highness!" the servant yelled, barely managed to steer the cart away. "watch out!"

Crash! Clank!

"your highness, are you alright?" The servant asked out of breath.

"are you alright, your highness?" another asked.

"your highness!" Luan pushed her way through the crowd.

Now, not everyone was worried about the spoiled princess as much as they were horrified about their punishment if she gets the smallest scratch. Their salary might be deducted, or worse, they might get fired. Luan, however, didn't care in the slightest for any punishments, her eyes saw only the princess. And according to her, the princess was now in shock and she must comfort her.

Everyone prepared themselves for the oncoming sobbing and drama, and in all honesty, they weren't too pleased. They all knew how this went; they get in trouble for something they didn't do just because of their lower status. Servants had dignity too, and getting yelled at by someone decades younger than them would undoubtedly hurt their pride.

That's why they weren't big fans of royalty, they keep interfering with their job all day long! At least the late empress dowager appreciated them. Contrary to their expectations, the water works never came, much to their surprise and relief !

"I'm alright." she put her hand to her beating heart. She only wanted to stir up a little mess, but that didn't mean she wanted anyone to get hurt. Luckily, only a few plates slipped off the cart. "sorry for getting in the way of your work, I'll help clean up."

Everyone gawked in shock, including Luan. 'I knew it, she's in shock. Poor thing must have been so frightened! She even offered to help because she's scared she might get hurt by these incompetent servants! My poor poor lady! '

" your highness... Are you truly alright? "Luan asked concerned." your highness! No! Don't touch the glass with your hands! You might get hurt! "

Amourora, who crouched down to gather the shards of glass jumped out at Luan's sudden warnings, falling back on her rear end.

" your highness...you frightened me." Luan calmed down when Amourora stayed away from the sharp glass shards.

"!!! "everyone was thinking, 'she frightened you!?'

" Luan! "

" yes, your highness? "

'you almost gave me a heart attack!' She wanted to yell. Amourora sighed at her slow-witted maid." bring me the broom and dust pan. "

" but your highness, it's dangerous!" Luan argued. "how a—"

"Fire!" a cook pointed at the oven.

"quick, everyone out of the kitchen!"

Just as everyone scrambled out amidst screams—

Pop!

*****

Only in the span of two hours, Amourora had successfully managed to cover the entire kitchen with flour, almost shatter an entire plate set, make a stove explode, and nearly burn down the kitchen.

Oops.

As an 'unfortunate accident' had occurred, cooking had to be temporarily put on hold as royal guards rushed in to put out the small fire.

Well, whatever Luan threw into the mix, it made the cake mixture explode across the kitchen and start to harden. No matter how bad she felt for the maids who had to clean it, Amourora had to secretly applaud for Luan's handy work that got them kicked out of the kitchen, thus finishing work early!

"where to next?" asked Luan. Her sisters' mouths hung open, exchanging glances as if communicating telepathically with their eyes.

Lena: is she serious? this girl has the audacity to ask that after what she did?

Luna: Is she planning on flipping the entire palace upside down or something?'

Luan : What? Did I say something wrong ?

"Didn't you learn anything, anything at all, from what just happened in the kitchen?" Luna reprimanded. "Have some remorse at the very least!"

"but I didn't do anything wrong!" Luan pouted.

Luna rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I wouldn't want know what it would be like if you did!"

"so... where do we go next?" Amourora repeated Luan's question.

"your highness, you have went through a stressful situation, why not rest for now?" Lena tried to convince her politely.

"I suppose you're right." Amourora walked back to her chambers with the triplets in tow. "thanks, you are dismissed."

"but, your highness..."the three felt reluctant to leave because of yesterday's event, speaking of which, they are to report to the hall of discipline in a little while to accep their punishment from the department of internal affairs.

" I will be just fine. "

After they finally left her, she looked through the stuff she bought at the antique store; hourglass, jade jewelry, book, and the porcelain doll. She hadn't went on a shopping trip for fun for a long time, so she wanted to spoil herself, but now she's back, her mind started thinking about the kids.

Wouldn't this green jade with silver accessories look good on Avyanna?

This jade flute will go well with Edgar's calm scholarly aura....

And Edmund can have the dagger...but it's not here...

She decided to hold on to her gifts until she had enough for everyone, even though she purposefully bought the swords for her father and uncle, the dress for her aunt, and the jade pendants for her mother. As for Edward, she didn't know what he would like...does he still like carving?

She flipped through the pages of the book, she didn't understand the words as they were teeny tiny scribbles of a foreign language, but the drawings were enough. She could be considered a polyglot as she learned many languages for political purposes in the Cloud kingdom and more at the care homes visited by people from all over.

Some pictures looked like tasty dishes, some were of mythical creatures, some even had the pictures of some of the products from the antique store, like the hourglass. At the very end of the book, a small sentence written in cursive,

'letter by letter, paper or stone. oh the things you could have known.

But you couldn't, and you wouldn't let a treasure of intelligence go. '

Huh?

She picked up the hourglass, and noticed it had the same cursive writings in the bottom, except it said,

'minute, by minute, year after year, oh the time you wish you had.

Except it slips through your fingers like the swift grains of sand.'

What...does it mean?

She flipped through the pages until she stopped by a picture of two matching imperial jade pendants.

' hearts come together, oh you wish to reunite with whom?

Hearts grow apart, but unite after the gold-vine roses bloom.

Another page had a silver hairpin, delicate and detailed, in the shape of a butterfly, with fine dangling chains and clear azure beads like droplets of water.

'graceful like a butterfly, oh what to think and say.

For every information, there's a certain price to pay.'

After reading, she felt even more puzzled. It didn't make sense! She even found her mother's heirloom, the colorful chrysanthemum, but felt even more confused.

'petal after petal, they grow and wither together. Oh, the memories you held dear.

For the happier times you missed, thoughts you dismissed, and the past you lost to fear.'

She didn't understand a thing!

She finally packed everything and decided to take a nap to rest her eyes and brain. Never did she expect, to find the answers with a fairy in her dreams.

"Hello, your highness," a small figured popped on her face. "I will be your guardian fairy !"