The guards open the prison door and let a guest holding a basket into my cell. The sweet aroma of air-cooked krill tickles my nose in these forsaken walls. My eyes light up. Master? I glance up. No, it's not him. Although there is quite a resemblance. Just not as handsome. Since I have nothing better to do I may as well see what he wants.
The guest smiles warmly. It's actually quite uplifting in a prison.
"Elder brother has asked me to give this to you."
Surprisingly, he sits on the dirty floor. He plucks out a dish from the basket.
"Oh, you must be Long Yan, my master's younger brother."
"Oh, you've heard about me?"
"Yes. I have a personal quest to ensure you and the Phoenix Princess end up together."
"That sounds like a wonderful quest. Do you need help with that?"
"Sure, help me get out of here first."
He chuckles as he gently places the dish in front of me.
"It took quite some time to convince the guards to let me in. Give me a moment."
Then he extends his hand over the dish. Fire engulfs his hand as it warms up my food.
"There you go. It's better to have nice warm food when you're in prison. For someone your size, you do make quite a commotion."
Ooh, he might just be my third favorite person in the world.
"This is not my last meal before I get executed, right?"
"What? Of course not."
I happily gobble down my nicely warmed, air-cooked krill, forgetting where I was and all the problems of the day.
After devouring all the delicious krill, I let out a resounding burp. My guest wasn't even fazed; he didn't even flinch.
"Oh, I almost forgot: your water."
He plucks a flask of water from the basket and hands it to me.
I happily accept and slurp down the refreshing water. I'm parched.
"How come you're so different from my master?"
"How so?"
"You actually smile."
He bends his head back and laughs with his hand on his stomach.
"I think I smile for the both of us."
"Also, you're not a stickler for manners."
"Oh? You can tell?"
"Yeah, given that I don't have to watch my manners around you."
"We're sitting in a prison, so there's no need for manners."
"You should have seen the look on his face when I tried my spitting technique on him."
"You did what?!"
His eyes widen as he gasps. Everybody gives me that same shocked look whenever I mention it.
"Yeah, he let me live. Barely. I won't try that stunt again."
"I sure hope not. He may let it slide once, but not twice."
"So... Can you break me out of prison yet?"
"I probably can, but I'm going to say no."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll get into more trouble if I do."
"Even if I help you get together with the Phoenix Princess?"
"She will definitely not be impressed with me being an accomplice to a prison break."
"She's no fun, then."
"It's part of her charm."
"Then do you know how long I have to stay in here? When's my master coming back?"
"Well, you did give him a mammoth task of locating Starfall Caverns."
"Did I break the mountain?"
He shrugs nonchalantly.
"No one knows, because it hasn't been located yet. But you weren't supposed to let the Golem's Blade touch any of the stalactites."
"Oh, so that's where I went wrong."
He nods, eyes softening with gentle concern.
"Well, in my defense, they should have put a sign on the cave saying, 'Do not touch the Golem's Blade to the stalactites.' But then I probably wouldn't have read it."
Long Yan chuckles, flicking a loose straw off his hand.
"Well, that is true. Usually, people go in there once and fall into the netherworld, out of greed. Or they don't pass the golem. If they do, they usually use the elemental power that defeated it to extract a shard. Why use the manual way?"
"That's because of all the manual labor I had to do to clean up the palace with no elemental power."
"I see. So it's Elder Brother's fault."
"Finally, someone that sees my point! Please don't tell him that."
He places a finger on his lips, a silent gesture to keep it a secret.
Then he stands up, brushing the straw off his robe.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Ling Yue. I hope to see you in better condition next time."
He glances around and gives a playful wink.
"I'll leave the plate and flask for you. You might find them handy."
The guards close the bars behind him.
In a flash of flames, he disappears.
Those brothers know how to make an entrance and an exit with flair.
If Long Yan is anything like his brother, that last comment should be a hint. I look under the plate. There it is. A spell is inscribed in it. The inscription disappears as I read it out loud. The chains fall off. Even though I'm still stuck in a cell with electrified bars, at least I'm more comfortable.
A devilish grin spreads across my face. This spell might come in handy in the future. I'm going to memorize this.
I'm pretty sure I've memorized the spell by heart. I walk to the bars and whisper the chant in the lock. The door clicks and it creaks open...
It's time to go into stealth mode. I tiptoe to the corner and peek around it. Just as the guard is about to turn, I press my back against the wall.
I crouch and take another peek.
The guard is leaving his post.
Time to make a run for it. Tap. Tap. I flick the annoying thing off my shoulder. It taps again. I freeze. Wait. No one should be behind me. I slowly turn... golden silk robes, the scent of imperial perfume lingering in the air.
Oh, tides! It's the Crown Prince.