“Your unusual visitor is quite handsome, is she not?”

The speaker was Prince Yushir and his partner in the conversation was the stoic owner of the gardens in which Anna had fallen. The pair sat in those same gardens under the cover of a small pavilion. A round table sat between them and they were seated on rounded stools. A creek gurgled just behind them and slipped past the foundation of the stone pavilion to settle itself into a small pool. Fishes dashed about looking in search of food while the sun glistened overhead.

The master of the gardens held a nearly-finished wooden flute in his hand. The work pouch with the carving tools lay open on the table in front of him. He didn’t look up from his inspection to reply.

“I hadn’t noticed.”

The prince tapped a finger against the table. “Come come, my dear Dadan. Surely you noticed her radiant beauty. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, though I’ve crossed the five realms and ventured into the mortal world more than my fair share of times.” His companion didn’t reply, but Yushir wasn’t deterred. He tapped the tip of his finger against the table. “And the more I speak with her the more I believe her tale. She is as incompetent in magic as a newborn.” He threw up his arms. “She couldn’t even send out a spark!”

“I doubt she holds such an element,” Dadan countered.

Yushir folded his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow. “Yes, I had thought of that. She does have the ethereal quality of we heavenly immortals but there is something-” He paused and furrowed his brow a moment before he shook his head. “No, I cannot describe it. Perhaps when her element appears I will have my answer.” The prince leaned back and sighed. “But she has certainly come at an ill time. A messenger arrived only this morning to inform my uncle that another village in the land’s immortal realm has been attacked.”

Dadan paused in his perusal and looked up with a sharp expression in his eyes. “Where?”

“The realm of the rabbits, I believe,” Yushir mused as he tapped his finger against his other folded arm. “The village was the same as the others. The immortals were dead, drained of their elements, and without a single sign of struggle. I wonder if they even noticed their death before it came.” He shook his head. “But perhaps death is so foreign to so many of us that we would not recognize it even if we did see it. How long has it been since we last went into battle, old friend?”

Dadan returned to carving his flute. “Fifty thousand years.”

Yushir nodded. “Ah, yes. When the wolf and the bear clans last fought. What a terrible war that was. Who knew they hated each other so viciously?” He sighed and stood. “But I must be going. I promised our new friend that I would find her a maid. She is in desperate need of someone to show her the way.” He half-turned away but paused and looked over his shoulder. “By the way, do you wish for her to return your robe?”

“She may do with it as she pleases,” was the offhand reply.

Yushir coyly smiled. “There are many maidens here and below who would give some of their beauty for a mere touch of your mantle. Perhaps she will sell it to one of those desperate maidens.”

“Perhaps.”

Yushir sighed and shook his head. “Someday, old friend, I will see you surprised and it will be a most joyous occasion for me.”

“That will be a day indeed,” Dadan answered without looking up from his craft.

Yushir’s gaze fell on the instrument. “You have been toiling away with that thing for the better part of ten years. Will you never finish?”

Dadan dug out a hair of a sliver from the inside of one of the holes. “It is nearly done.”

The prince’s eyes widened. “Then you will finally play it for me?”

“When I have tested it.”

Yushir grinned and bowed his head. “I look forward to that day. If you will excuse me.” Dadan almost imperceptibly inclined his head.

The prince hurried away from the pavilion and out into the main thoroughfares of the vast kingdom of heaven. His eyes studied the many female servants who hurried hither and thither to obey the words of their mistresses.

“Now where might I find a maid to help Lady Roberts,” he mused as he passed by a pair. One of them whispered to the other and they both giggled. He shook his head. “No. I cannot imagine her being so childish.” Another maid passed by with her nose perpetually stuck in the air. He wrinkled his nose. “I doubt they would be agreeable to one another.”

Many paths fell behind him and Yushir had just about given up when a lonely maid caught his attention. The woman was hardly more than twenty with long brown hair and a brown streak of skin on her cheeks. Her attire was the plain tan clothes of the help but a simple beaded bracelet hung on one wrist.

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She sat on her knees in front of one of the more lavish palaces with a soapy brush in her hands and a bucket beside her. A sign hung over the pair of wide wooden doors that read ‘Gonglu Palace.’ She had tears in her eyes as she scrubbed the ground.

Yushir sauntered over to the maiden and stopped at her side where he leaned over to catch her eye. “What worries you, my child?” She started back and whipped her head around. Her eyes were a startlingly bright brown that was familiar to him. “Are you not of the bear clan?”

Her eyes widened with recognition and she scrambled to her feet where she bowed low. “Y-your Highness! My sincerest apologies! I didn’t know you were-”

“No need for any of that,” he assured her as he looked her wet self over. He nodded at the bucket. “What were you doing just now?”

She blushed and twined her fingers together in front of her. “I. . .I was commanded by Lady Shian to wash the floor outside the palace.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “That sounds like quite the task. And you were charged with doing this alone?”

She hung her head. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Why would she give you such a task?” he inquired.

The young woman stiffened. “I. . .I accidentally dropped her favorite perfume jar. It shattered and as punishment, I was to wash the floor.”

“But surely that was just an accident,” the prince mused.

She nodded. “It was, Your Highness, but I was commanded by my mistress and I must do as she says.”

He studied the thin shaking frame in front of him and a crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “What is your name?”

She fidgeted with her fingers. “It’s Arian Beran, Your Highness.”

“From your markings, I guess you are from the bear clan?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Have you been in the heavens long?”

“About two years, Your Highness.” She risked a tentative look up at him. “Might I. . .may I ask why Your Highness asks such questions?”

“I merely wish to inform your mistress that I have found a place better suited for you.”

Arian’s eyes lit up. “Truly?”

He nodded and swept an arm toward the archway. “Shall we tell her now or do you wish to finish the floor?”

Arian lifted her chin and tossed the brush into the bucket with a hard spelunk. The prince led the way through the arch and into the elegant gardens of the Gonglu Palace. Trees lined both sides of the path and flowers bloomed under the care of a half dozen maidens. They stopped their work and bowed low to the prince as he passed, but they cast curious and sometimes sharp looks at Arian who followed on his heels.

They arrived at the grand structure that housed the mistress of the impressive palace. Transparent purple curtains covered much of the main portico in front of the doors from the ever-present sun. A few reclining cushions sat behind that protective covering and Lady Shian lounged in the center of the chattering hens.

They stood at the arrival of His Highness and bowed. Lady Shian smiled mischievously at the prince “Your Highness, you are very early to my party. It is not for a few weeks yet.”

“And I look forward to your plentiful table, but other matters have brought me here,” he revealed as he used an arm to gesture to Arian. “I wish to assign your maid here to another goddess.”

Shian looked over the young girl and frowned. “Another goddess? I fear you have been deceived. This maid is not fit for the heavens as her actions have shown.”

The prince smiled. “Still, I wish for your leave to reassign her.”

Shian laughed. “You do not need my permission, Your Highness. Do as you wish with her and I wish her future mistress good luck.”

Yushir inclined his head to the party. “Thank you and good day.”

He turned and caught Arian’s eye. The maid eagerly followed him out of the palace and onto the main thoroughfare. The prince was all smiles but the young maid had trepidation written all across her face.

“I do not mean to sound ungrateful, Your Highness, but to whom have I been assigned?”

“You have no doubt heard we have a new goddess among us,” he commented.

She jerked to a stop and her eyes widened. “The one found in Lord Eastwei’s garden?

He half-turned to her with a questioning eyebrow. “Yes. Is that a problem?”

Arian bit her lower lip. “I. . .I do not think Lady Shian will be pleased to hear I have been given to her.”

“And why not?” the prince persisted.

“She. . .she was not pleased to hear the circumstances of her arrival and thinks she is unfit to be among the heavenly gods.”

Yushir smiled. “Then I think this is the perfect post for you. Lady Shian will be certain to keep her distance from our new acquaintance and so you will rarely meet.”

Arian didn’t look completely convinced but she bowed her head. “If you believe so then it must be true, Your Highness.”

“Now let us see you to your new mistress.”