Two weeks dragged by with the same routine. Eating, training, sleeping, and all within the confines of those high walls. Another morning came and I peeked out the door at the gardens. All was peaceful and calm. Birds chirped their merry tune as they had all the mornings before.

Arian came up behind me with an encouraging smile. “You needn’t go out and practice today. Prince Yushir said he would not come until tomorrow.”

I shrugged. “I don’t really have anything else to do.”

Arian stepped up to my side with my half-finished breakfast plate in her hands and studied my face. “You look pale this morning. Perhaps you should rest.”

I offered her a smile. “I’m fine, just a little tired. Maybe some fresh air would help.”

“Perhaps you have been trying too hard to use your magic?” she suggested.

I snorted. “I don’t think there’s any harm in that. I don’t seem to have any.” I paused and looked her over. “You have magic, don’t you?”

She nodded. “Oh, yes. All immortals-” She stopped herself and dropped her gaze to the ground as she fidgeted with her fingers. “That is, many of us have magic.”

I set a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ve lived my whole life without magic so I won’t notice if I don’t have it now.”

Arian bit her lower lip. “There. . .there may be a way to reveal your magic.”

Her words piqued my interest. “How?”

She furrowed her brow. “One of my uncles was slow in learning his magic. My grandfather decided he needed only motivation and threw him into a huge snake pit.” My face drooped so far that Arian paled. She held up her hands in front of her and shook her head. “That is, I would never suggest that you place yourself in harm’s way, only that perhaps you, um, lack motivation.”

A snort escaped me and I slid my hand off her shoulder. “You might be right. I don’t exactly feel that motivated to do magic. I mean, what would I use it for?”

“Perhaps you have creation magic,” she suggested.

My eyebrows shot up. “What’s that?”

“The ability to craft items out of nothing with only your thoughts,” she explained as she held up the plate in her hands. “This food is crafted from the thoughts of the cooks in the kitchen.”

“All of it?” I asked her.

She smiled and shook her head. “No. That is, it can be, but the best-tasting food comes from real gardens and meat. A meal as simple as breakfast, though, can be easily made with creation magic. The vegetables and such are created by magic and the rest is fresh.”

I stared at the bits of food with new admiration. “And I might be able to do that?”

“Many of those in the heavens can,” she revealed as she looked me up and down. “And you have all the beauty of those among the clouds.”

I laughed and clapped a hand on her shoulder. “And you’re just as beautiful, and we can stop there at exchanging compliments before we both get embarrassed. Anyway-” I turned my head to face the gardens and sighed, “-I should try to get some magic going or I won’t ever be able to make even an omelet.”

We parted ways with Arian tending to the chores and me practicing my magic gestures. I sat cross-legged in the same spot as I had dozens of times before but even with the incentive of practical magic my heart wasn’t into the motions. Finally, I dropped my arms into my lap and sighed.

“Is something the matter?” Arian wondered as she came up to me with a tea platter in her hands.

I gave her a sheepish smile. “I. . .I guess I was hoping the life of a goddess would be a little more glamorous, or at least a little more exciting.” Who knew I’d start to miss all those invites for a Friday night get-together?

“There are many ways the other goddesses amuse themselves that you haven’t seen,” she assured me as she knelt and set the platter on the grass beside me.

I leaned toward her. “Like what?”

She paused and furrowed her brow. “There are the magic competitions once a year. Oh, and the parties. They very much enjoy inviting one another to their palaces for a small gathering to enjoy a special tea or a new food.”

I drew my legs up against my chest and set my chin on my knees. “A party sounds like a fun idea.” Arian froze and a strange expression lit up her face. I cocked my head to one side. “What is it?”

She bit her lip. “There is a party scheduled for today and not too far from here.”

My head shot up. “Really? Could we see it from here?”

“I’m afraid not.”

My whole body drooped and I dropped my chin back onto my knees. “Oh. . .”

There was some reluctance in her voice and she spoke slowly. “However, we may be able to view it in person.”

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I lifted an eyebrow. “How?”

“You might leave here with me.”

“But I can’t leave. Yushir would feel it and find me, and then we’d both be in trouble,” I pointed out.

Arian bit her lower lip. “There. . .there may be a way out of the hall grounds.”

My ears perked up at her words. “Really? How?”

My maidservant nodded at the sky. “His Highness has cast a net over the whole of the hall but he may not have cast his magic deep into the ground. We might dig our way under the wall and escape through there.”

I looked around us at the high walls. “That doesn’t sound easy to do. I mean, aren’t these walls thick at the base?”

Arian nodded. “They are but I believe I can dig through under them without issue. I have dug many tree holes near the walls and have found that their foundations only sink a foot or two.”

“I’m not going to let you dig alone,” I insisted as I climbed to my feet and looked about us. “I just need a shovel.”

She smiled and shook her head. “There is no need for that. However, I would ask that you hold my clothes while I dig.”

I froze and blinked at her. “Hold. . .your clothes?”

“Yes. They will be damaged if I transform in them and my clan being from the earth, we do not have creation magic to conjure up a new set.”

I studied her thin physique. “Are you sure about this? I don’t want to get you into trouble just because I have cabin fever.” She blinked at me. “Just because I want to see something other than these four walls.”

She bowed her head to me. “It would be my pleasure to show you around and perhaps a little exploration will darken the paleness on your cheeks.”

I reached up and brushed my fingers against my cheek. “It’s that bad?”

She lifted her gaze to me and pursed her lips. “Your color does make me worry.”

I dropped my hand to my side and sighed. “Alright, but we run at the first sign of trouble, alright?”

She bobbed her head. “Oh yes, now we had better hurry. The party is set to begin at noon at the Gonglu Palace.”

I followed her to the rear of the compound near the wrap-around porch. The corner of the area was decorated with flowerbeds and gravel lining. Arian stopped in front of the wall and began removing her clothes.

My mouth dropped open. “You’re really going to undress?”

“Of course,” she replied as she turned to me holding her outer clothing. “Did you still wish to leave?”

I pursed my lips and swept my eyes over the garden. The beauty was stale. “More than ever.”

She held out her clothes. “Then please hold these.”

I took her garments and she removed the rest of them. A slight blush accented my cheeks as modesty demanded I look away. Still, I couldn’t help but cast a furtive look out of the corner of my eyes as my naked maidservant stepped up to the wall.

She stretched out her arms on either side of her and a soft brown glow surrounded her. My eyes widened as brown fur sprouted from her body and her muscles began to expand. She grew a foot and dropped onto all fours. Her hands and feet transformed into huge paws that ended in sharp claws.

Arian shook her whole body and a few bits of loose fur flew before she went to work. I stepped back and gaped at my companion as she buried her thick long claws into the earth. The dirt didn’t stand a chance as she dug away at the soil two feet down. She soon found the foundation of the wall and dug a little deeper to create a sizeable hole beneath the stone.

After about ten minutes, she wiggled her way into her hole and continued digging. I wondered if she was part gopher, so skillfully did she claw through the soil. Her short stubby tail soon disappeared and a moment later her human head popped out the other side.

“Hurry!” she whispered to me.

I handed Arian her clothes and slipped into the hole. The tunnel was plenty big enough for me and I soon crawled out and stood. Arian nearly had her clothes back on and hurried to brush off the bits of dirt that clung to me.

I had my first good look at the heavenly kingdom since my kind imprisonment. We stood in front of the long wall that surrounded my compound and another wall joined it and stretched another fifty yards down a plain narrow road. A portico stood on the opposite side of the stone path but there was no access on our side to the building it surrounded. Thick stone columns held up the heavy angled roof which provided shade to the weary walker.

Arian swept an arm toward the row of columns that supported the portico. “It is this-”

“What are you doing there?”