12. The First Flame

"Ok, dear. You take some rest. I might have disturbed you. Leia will be coming, so I need to welcome her," Gilda said and started to arrange a welcome for Leia. Gilda made Jessie stay in Jane's room. Jessie was alone in the room. She saw Jane's clothes and the books that Jane read. Jessie wore a dress that looked like a male outfit.

On the other side, Arthur went to the kingdom. He tried to sneak into the palace. The guards were observant, and the kingdom's defenses were strong. They were checking for Arthur's arrival. He disguised himself as an old man. The guards weren't aware it was him.

Arthur entered the palace, heading to where Leia had been imprisoned. When he saw her, his eyes filled with tears. Leia saw him too. "Arthur?" she called in a shaky voice. Her face and lips were pale, and Arthur realized she hadn't eaten for days. "Leia, come home," Arthur called softly. But she refused to leave.

"Ouvrir la porte," he used a magic spell to open the door. He lifted Leia and was about to leave. Suddenly, he heard people shouting for help. "Why have you been imprisoned?" Arthur asked one of them. "We are the people from the 'Khaim tribe.' We are here because we worshipped the FIRE PHOENIX," the man replied. Arthur became furious upon hearing this.

One of the guards saw him and was about to call the other guards, but Arthur used a sleeping potion to make the guard sleep. Arthur, Leia, and the other Khaims escaped by using a spell to make them invisible. Arthur lifted Leia on his back, and they all escaped outside the palace. They went to Gilda's house. "Leia!" Gilda started to cry. "How did she bear this? My poor baby," she said. Jessie came up behind her. "Daisy?" she asked, confused, but realized that it wasn't her. The Khaims stood outside the house, talking about her. Gilda prepared soup for Leia. Leia was silent and didn't eat the soup Gilda gave her. She stubbornly refused to eat. Arthur pleaded with her to eat. Jessie took the soup bowl from Gilda and came in front of Leia. Leia was dumbfounded to see Jessie because she thought she was Jane. "Sorry, Jane! It's my fault!" Leia said and cried harder. Jessie hugged her. Finally, she ate the soup. Her body temperature was high, and she rested after drinking the soup.

The Khaims witnessed this scene. They were surprised that Jane was alive but didn't know it was Jessie. They came inside the house and saw her. "Thank you," they said. "Why?" Jessie asked. "Because of you, we didn't forget our roots," one Khaim said. Jessie was confused. She wanted to tell them it was Jane who helped them. "That's not Jane. She's Jessica Lawrence, and she's not from Nebula. She's from another world," Arthur explained to them. They were confused by what he was saying. Then Gilda came and explained it to them.

The Khaims thanked them and returned to their places safely.

Arthur saw Jessie wearing Jane's dress. He was staring at her. Jessie saw him staring at her and blushed. Arthur started to blush after she saw him. Gilda saw this and smiled at them. They can't take eyes at each other.

In the evening, Gilda was preparing dinner, and Jessie was helping her. Arthur was in his room putting on his clothes after a hot shower. "Tell Arthur to come to the dining room," Gilda said to Jessie. Jessie went to Arthur's room. Arthur was half naked. Jessie blushed, her pulse rate quickening because she had never seen Edward naked. "Gilda is calling you to the dining room," Jessie said. "OK," Arthur replied. "Tomorrow you'll start learning magic tricks from me," he said. "OK," Jessie replied with an awkward smile.