While Ivy and Jason checked in their flights and boarded for Landsfield, Marcel as usual was on standby taking care of business in Manes while being off for the weekend. The plane landed within an hour with dinner served in flight. After a lengthy immigration process, they both headed straight for the hotel.

Ivy had been reading her crime novel since they boarded as she decided to ignore Jason for the rest of the day to avoid any fights. During their taxi ride, they sat in silence as Ivy enjoyed the pretty scenes of the city skylines in the dark. Landsfield was a very different town from Manes. Manes was more of nature by the countryside but Landsfield was all about its skylines. That was the reason Landsfield has the best university for business studies as it is situated in the heart of the business trading hub.

It was nearly close to ten at night when they checked into the hotel. The moment they alighted, Jason had to redirect Ivy many times to avoid her from knocking into things as she was reading and walking at the same time.

"We are checking in." He said over the reception and Ivy overheard it. She continued to read although she was also trying to pay attention to their conversation to ensure there weren't any tricks from Jason.

"One room?" The receptionist asked. He noticed Ivy wasn’t looking as he quickly nodded. Ivy assumed he would have booked two instead as she walked away from the receptionist counter heading to the lift without any doubts.

She was still glued to her novel in the lift as Jason smirked at his surprise awaiting her. He noticed she was finishing a chapter as the lift stopped at their floor.

"Keys please." Ivy finally spoke as she held one palm out while her eyes were still glued to the novel when they walked out of the lift.

He initially wanted to play along to tease her but her rude behavior, which wasn't his first time experiencing it, has agitated him unexpectedly. He ignored her and tapped the room’s card on the lock upon arrival. He held the door open for her to enter.

She was observing his actions and when she realised his point, she accidentally raised her voice in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me. I'm not sharing a room with you!" He instantly pulled her into the room and locked the door.

"You can be quieter as it's late. Yes, we are sharing a room. I have a budget to abide with. What did you expect? You could head to shower first at least.'' He scolded as he left his luggage by the side of the cupboard near the coffee table and opened the sliding door to the balcony. The view of the city skyline was breathtaking as he enjoyed the breeze to calm his nerves.

He heard Ivy obediently go into the washroom to shower while he popped open the wine he included in his booking. He thought to himself that he didn’t intend to provoke her and he knew little about her background. He wondered about things he could do to improve their relationship if he were to work with her and her father on their future business dealings. The thought of meeting her father gave him the determination to mend their relationship as he sipped his wine and waited for her.

Ivy was furious and speechless but was too tired to retaliate with him as she started to feel a shot of sleepiness in her. She yawned many times while showering. She wondered how their sleeping arrangements would be as she decided she could make do sleeping on the couch since she often woke up from her dreams in the middle of the night and it would be easier to study there if she couldn't fall back to sleep.

As she stepped out of shower, dressed in her shorts and t-shirt, she saw him sitting by the balcony enjoying his wine. She wanted the same thing she thought, as it seemed relaxing while grabbing a scarf on the way out to the balcony.

"May I have a glass of wine too?" She asked politely as she took a seat next to his chair and wrapped herself with her scarf.

"Is that your way of saying you wanna join me and end the silent treatment war?" He smirked.

"I can't? Oh, then I shall head in. Just let me know the sleeping arrangements while I unpack." She stood and turned around wanting to enter the room while lamenting on her wasted effort of trying to mend their relationship but she felt an unexpected gesture which stopped her midway.

Jason panicked a little at her, obediently listening to him ever since they got here as he quickly caught her left arm before she could move any further away from his reach.

"Just kidding. Sit." He smiled as she turned around and sat back next to him.

"Wine? My tolerance is really good, don’t worry." She asked as she supported her head on her left arm looking at him.

"Not till you tell me, what's going on?” He put his legs down from the long chair and faced her, who gave him a questioning look.

“Now, I'm sorry about all the mischief I caused. I agreed to your deal. So you could at least fill me in with what's going on at your end?” His sudden counter offer caught Ivy off guard as she sat in silence. “Your parents found out about what I did?" He prompted.

She looked down at her feet when she understood his concerns as she shook her head recalling her exam results. "Your lecturers or deans giving you a hard time?" She shook her head again as she tilted her head lower with a pout.

"Friends giving you a hard time?" He lowered his head following her actions while prompting further.

She twitched her mouth to the side as she sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Not really." She answered after a moment of hesitation.

"If you're not telling, then you're missing the wine." He was trying hard to create a conversation or help her by listening but to no avail. He gave up being nice as he concluded that teasing her was the only way to get her talking while he took a sip of wine.

She took a deep breath to calm her disappointment of her performance in her exams and her raging nerves as she half regretted her request while deciding she probably could tell him the main reason since he was part of the cause.

"I wasn't doing so well in this term's exams." She looked down at her feet.

"How bad was it?" He asked. "Averagely lower than most of my friends. No fails. Credit for science..." She was still looking at her feet.

"How many subjects are you taking?" He interrupted.

"Seven." She said while twitching her mouth and he caught the sight of that.

"That's a lot of pressure there. How're language subjects doing?" He prompted further.

"English and Chinese? High distinction! The same for Math and moral studies." She said proudly as she finally looked up at him and realised he was eagerly listening to her.

"So Science was the only credit?" He asked as she nodded with a pout.

"What about the other two subjects?" He encouraged her to tell more.

"History was just a distinction while accounts was an extra paper I took and it's self-studied. That's the one I'm very worried about. Thanks to you, you screwed up my first attempt and I bailed out of the exam. I don’t even know how confident I am for the next." She sighed as she looked up at the pretty lighted sky.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I've a friendly college debate coming up too and I must win it for my record." She sighed again as he finally poured her a glass of wine.

"You know how much pressure you're putting on yourself?" He asked while swirling the wine glass before he offered it to her.

"Are your parents complaining about your grades?" He asked as she shook her head and quickly took her first sip feeling satisfied.

"Great wine! Thanks." She smiled beaming at him as he smiled unexpectedly in return at how his simple gesture could lighten her mood so much.

"You're actually doing well, do you know?” He took pity on her as he finally patted her on her shoulders which he held back in the afternoon. She was caught off guard again at his gesture as her smile quickly turned to a frown while she tried to hold her sudden tears threatening to flow anytime.

It’s been awhile since she heard someone telling her the same or comforting her. Andrew and Sandra were often asking for advice on their studies and they all had forgotten about how well they each have performed to compliment each other. She envied them for having parents who must have often praised and encouraged them. Ever since her grandma left, there was no one she could openly tell of her worries as she didn’t want Sandra or Andrew or even Aunty Soh to be burdened by her issues. She knew she must have ran away from her emotions for way too long as they were slowly catching her off guard.

“If your parents aren’t putting so much pressure on you, why are you doing so?” Jason asked, knowing he could have found the roots to the cause as he watched her trying hard to hold back her tears while staring up at the sky.

“I wish they did…” She said as she turned to look at him. “Except they left me when I was a toddler to my grandma who passed away a few months ago.” Ivy looked back up at the sky, admiring the little glitters of stars from afar while a few tears flowed down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry Ivy. I…” Jason apologised at her unexpected answers as Ivy interrupted him. “You didn’t know. It’s alright.” Ivy looked back at his direction with a sad understanding smile as she finally let her tears flow and wiped them away.

“If you want, I could teach you on accounts or I could also add that section into your job scope on weekdays. Anyway, what's your debate topic?" He asked while offering her tissues and trying to change the topic to lighten her mood.

"The pros and cons of using technology." She was indeed more relieved after sharing her issues with him as she wiped her tears away.

"That's easy. And you're at the..." He prompted. "Pros" She smiled as she finished his sentence for him as though she was able to read his mind.

“I’m sure you will do well.” Jason comforted as he finished his glass of wine while she wiped her face.

“I will shower first. Enjoy the wine.” He said leaving her for a moment as she appreciated his gesture of letting her have her own personal time.

While she continued to admire the beauty of the bright city skylines, her phone rang and the caller ID was Andrew.

"Ivy!" Andrew cheered. "I'm adding Sandra into this conversation."

Ivy wasn't in the mood to entertain them and decided not to say anything as she waited till she heard both of them.

"Ivy, on Math homework. Question six, how do you get the answer?" Sandra asked instantly when her call was connected.

"I don't have my book with me." Ivy said while rolling her eyes as she sipped her wine and enjoyed the breeze.

"Grab your books. Come on! Where are you?" Andrew asked.

"The balcony." She randomly answered them and they both knew she was fooling them.

"Alright, look I applied the formula exactly what it was but I just don't understand how you derived the answer. It’s such a huge difference.” Sandra explained.

Ivy knew instantly that these two had calculated using the calculator wrongly again.

"Well you just get your formula in place, key in to your calculator. Do it part by part. Bracket first then outer bracket then the outermost bracket. Tadah!" Ivy explained as she had a vague idea of where those two were heading.

Andrew and Sandra would always consult her on math and theoretical related subjects such as languages, history or moral studies while she consulted them on the science subject. She lamented that no one she could consult on her accounts other than her reference books but was glad with Jason’s offer earlier.

"Alright, alright. Let me try." Andrew said.

She put down her phone on the table while switching them to loudspeaker as she plugged her earphones on both sides and played her favorite list of songs from her music player to lighten her mood. She wrapped her head with her scarf to keep the brightness dim.

She closed her eyes and downed her wine as she knew those two would be wise enough to find their answers.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw the violet plains of irises and instantly recalled her grandma’s charming guest, Phoenix. She took a few steps forward and saw Phoenix was surrounded by guards. She quickly hid herself behind a huge tree to eavesdrop as she felt a piercing pain on her right arm. She recalled her last dream where she was close to an arrow shot. She realised she must have been injured.

“My lord, you need to finish your mission and leave for home immediately.” One of the guards echoed.

“But I don’t remember who I am. I have my chosen one to protect here, how can I leave her and her kingdom?” Phoenix echoed as sounds of gasp were heard among the guards. Ivy noticed his guards looked like him in their human form except their skin didn't glow like his. She wondered if it was because he was a king of another kingdom. They all echo when they speak, which was a comfortable humming sound she had grown to love listening to.

“My lord, it is impossible for your enemy to be the chosen one! You are on a mission to assassinate all of them in this kingdom to rule over as one of our allies if they do not submit to your decree!” Another guard echoed as he knelt down. Ivy was caught by surprise when Phoenix's warning turned out to be right when he told her about helping him to find his pieces of memories to initiate the protection shield.

“No! Never will I assassinate my family!” Phoenix raised his voice in anger as the guards prepared to fight.

"Family? The chosen one? What does he mean?" Ivy questioned herself but she knew Phoenix would be in great danger having to fight ten of them. She put her arm out to summon her sword which flew to her as she ambushed all of them. In the midst of her ambush, she recalled the favor she promised him.

“Stop there! If you dare to hurt my fiancé, all of you will perish in my kingdom!” Ivy defended as she went closer to Phoenix who was in his defensive mode. “Ivy, you shouldn’t be here! They will never be able to defeat me…” Phoenix echoed as he got in front of her trying to protect her but she stood still preparing to fight.

“All of you shall be the guests of our kingdom until Phoenix regains his memories. Only then shall we talk about his missions." Ivy finally said after thinking hard of ways to delay the guards.

“Aren't you worried they might injure you?” Ivy whispered to Phoenix while the guards were echoing among themselves on her decision.

“You’re the chosen one, how would they hurt me if you're protecting me?” Phoenix echoed.

“Who ever said I am the confirmed chosen one? What does that even mean?” Ivy mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear as the guards were alerted and positioned themselves ready to launch an attack at her but Phoenix stood in front of the guards, hindering them from making any move.

Ivy ran off to the other side of the plains where Phoenix had replenished them with white irises after the purple ones were charred during a fight with the serpents.

“All of you may take a seat on the ground as we think of ways to solve my memory loss problems with this portion later. We will collect the venom of the serpents whenever they appear. Your help is greatly appreciated my fellow guards." Phoenix instructed in a very stern voice as he kept the portion of memory recovery which was missing several ingredients given by the guards earlier in his pouch. The guards obeyed obediently although hesitantly as they sat on the ground waiting for Phoenix.

Phoenix could see Ivy was walking slowly down an overgrown white iris patch as she plucked one stalk and mumbled to herself while dropping one by one of its’ white petals. Phoenix carefully followed her trail as he turned a bouquet of white irises into yellow ones and caught up with her.

She was upset with herself for making her decisions in a rush. “Stupid Ivy! What if he kills me and destroy the kingdom? What if even grandma is gone, especially when she is so vulnerable now?” Tears sprung her tears at the thought of losing her grandma again as she squatted down in defeat to her fears.

As though knowing she needed comfort, a gentle and soft tune was serenading her chaotic thoughts. She inhaled a denser sweet scent of iris wafting around her and knew it was yellow iris as she kept her eyes closed. She wondered who was playing before abruptly standing to check her surroundings.

She finally saw a familiar figure she had gotten used to, Phoenix from afar was serenading her with his golden harp. Watching his nonchalant charming self again, was easing her worries and captivating her at the same time. She was reminded of the beauty of his glowing skin as she walked closer to him.

He let the harp continue the tune by itself while he stepped forward with his yellow bouquet of irises hidden behind one arm.

“Princess Ivy, I am sorry for the ways my guards have hurt you.” Phoenix echoed as he gently laid his palm over her injury and healed them. Ivy blinked from her embarrassment of him noticing her being too captivated over his beauty.

“It’s fine. How are you going to find your missing pieces of memories?” Ivy asked out of curiosity as she told herself to snap out from being captivated any further.

“My guards have brought me a memory-recalling portion but it seemed to be lacking several important ingredients.” Phoenix looked up at the sky.

“What is it?” Ivy quickly stepped closer to him for fear another portal of serpents appeared again.

Phoenix caught her in his arms as she stepped in, which Ivy blushed. “It’s the venom of the serpents we killed and ...”

“The more they appear, the more destroyed this kingdom would be. But if they don’t appear, we will never harvest enough for your portion.” Ivy figured as Phoenix watched her worrying, which brought him to his next intention and held back on telling her the last two ingredients.

“Princess, the chosen one is my responsibility to protect and so is anything associated with the chosen one.” He explained as he held Ivy closer that she could hear his heartbeat. She hesitated for a moment as she unexpectedly blushed. “But… it was only for a show…” Ivy stuttered.

“With this, would you accept this bouquet in return for my eternal protection and gratitude for your humble help?” Phoenix presented to her the bouquet of glowing yellow irises.

Ivy admired the bouquet in amazement and knew yellow irises meant passion followed by his declaration pledged to her and her kingdom in the white iris plains of purity. She decided if he was this passionate about returning the gratitude and that’s the only way to save her kingdom, she should agree to it.

"When all this is over, I promise to let you go freely from this pledge." Ivy said as she accepted the bouquet.

"You don't have to Princess…" Phoenix frowned.

"I want to… I should… let's settle for it to be this way for now." Ivy smiled as Phoenix sighed in defeat and nodded in agreement. They enjoyed the sunset sky while letting the harp continue resonating the calming tune.

“Princess, to figure out if you're the chosen one, this can only be fulfilled with the dance of the phoenix ember.” Phoenix echoed.

Ivy was enjoying the sight of the sunset sky while sniffing the yellow irises bouquet. “How do we fulfill that?”

“Time will tell when it’s right.” Phoenix smiled as she was mesmerised at his first close-up smile. It only made her long to see his face behind the mask even more but she knew it’s only a matter of time before she could.