“By the decree of the Royal Highness, Lady Persimmon of the House of Silvertree is hereby banished from the Capital of Carrotton for her insulting words directed towards the beautiful and merciful Princess Pomodora. She is commanded to immediately depart to the border land of Strawberry Field, where she shall remain until further notice. Any failure to comply with this order shall result in severe consequences. Let it be known throughout the kingdom that disrespect towards the royal family will not be tolerated.”

“By order of the King, you are commanded to accept the scroll presented by The Royal Messenger without delay."

Well, well, well, it seemed that I had been royally screwed. Banished to Strawberry Field. Just what I always wanted. I hope it wasn't too crowded there - I do like my personal space. Maybe I'll start a new life as a hermit or just become best friends with a tumbleweed. Ah, I can hardly contain my excitement.

As I faced the pompous Royal Messenger, I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes. But as soon as my mother shot me a warning glare, I knew I was in trouble.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched the little messenger guy attempt to mount his carriage. His little legs flailed about as he tried in vain to hoist himself up. Finally, after a few failed attempts and some creative use of his hat as a stepping stool, he managed to scramble aboard. I waved goodbye with a grin, wondering if all royal messengers were this comical or if we just lucked out with this one.

“Oh my daughter, my poor, poor daughter!”

As soon as the Royal Messenger left, my mother started wailing like a banshee. I mean, I get it, she was worried about my safety or something. But come on, mother, chill! Either way, I'm sure I'll survive this. And if not, well, at least I'll have a killer story to tell in the afterlife.

“Shall we lead a rebellion?”

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Lead a rebellion? I barely had enough energy to rebel against the maids in the morning. My brother and father looked so determined like they were ready to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, the only thing I was ready for was a nap.

"I know I messed up. Please don't make things worse for us. Just let me handle the consequences of my mistake."

“Oh, my poor daughter! How are you going to survive out there alone? You can’t even beat a beetle!”

Oh my, here we go again.

“But mother, that was a giant beetle the size of a carriage!”

“Exactly!”

As my mother continued to lament my lack of elemental powers, I couldn't help but rolled my eyes. Sure, I couldn't shoot flames out of my hands or summon lightning from the sky, but I was pretty proficient in the art of running away.

“The departure cannot be delayed any longer. I will have to leave now.”

With heavy reluctance, I bid my family farewell and mounted my horse. Time had run out, and I had to leave without delay. I embraced my mother, father, and brother, feeling the crushing weight of homesickness already seeping in.

As I clambered onto the horse, the weight of my backpack weighed me down like a ton of bricks. I signaled the horse to move forward, and I swear it looked at me like I was nuts. He must be thinking, "Are you sure you packed enough underwear, buddy?"

I took one last look at my house, and all I could think about was… did I remember to pack enough underwear?

Lady Persimmon of the House of Silvertree

16 Years Old

Elemental Power - None

“You must have a hard life.”

The City Guard sighed as he passed me my identity card.

I looked at the guard and shrugged. "Eh, it's not that bad. At least I don't have to worry about accidentally setting my hair on fire when I blow out my birthday candles."

The guard chuckled, but I could see the concern in his eyes.

"Don't worry, I've got a lot of other talents," I added with a wink. "Like being able to summon my maid by a single bell."

The guard laughed and handed me back my identity card.

"Well, that's certainly impressive," he said. "But I think I'll stick with my fireball."

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Ha! The city gate was finally within my grasp. I could practically taste the sweet, sweet freedom. It was almost like escaping from a giant, oppressive bird's talons.

Sorry, Mum, but your overprotectiveness was choking me like a tight-fitting corset. And when I saw that open city gate, it was like a sign from heaven!

So, of course, I screamed "Freedom!" like a maniac. Who knew insulting the princess would be my one-way ticket out of here?

Well, I can't believe I actually insulted the princess. But seriously, who wears a hat that big? It was like she was trying to hide a bird or something.

I couldn't help it. The moment I saw her walking towards me with that enormous hat, my inner critic couldn't resist making a snarky comment. I mean, I knew she was a princess and all, but come on, who wears a hat big enough to fit a small village underneath? Maybe she was hiding a flock of exotic birds up there, or perhaps she was preparing for a sudden rainstorm. Either way, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as my foot found its way into my mouth.

“Run, Edward, run!”

I urged my trusty steed, Edward, to run faster as we raced toward Caulifloria Town. With every stride, the wind whipped through my hair, and exhilaration coursed through my veins. I checked my pocket watch, determined to reach our destination in record time. The fields flew by in a blur of green and gold, and soon enough the familiar rooftops of the town came into view. I grinned triumphantly, feeling the rush of adventure and freedom in my every fiber. With Edward by my side, nothing seemed impossible.

“2 hours! That’s a new record!”

I couldn't believe it. Two whole hours on a horse and I still had feeling in my butt! Maybe it was because I was sitting on my silver horse, or maybe it was because I was secretly a saddle-sitting champion. I patted the horse's back as if to say "We did it buddy!" and galloped towards the town's gate. I couldn't wait to tell my brother that I beat my personal record of staying on a horse without falling off, and setting a new one too!

As I sauntered past the town's guard, I shot them a cheeky wink and they reciprocated with a thumbs up.

"Hey, is Edward showing off his racing skills tonight?" he asked.

I broke into a sheepish grin and answered, "No, sorry mate. My horse is still in the process of perfecting his strut, you know, getting his hooves in sync with his confidence."

“Well, darn it all! I was just about to put my life savings on that freaking horse!”

The guard chuckled and let me pass.

Ah, Caulifloria Town, my old stomping grounds. First things first, I had to find a place to rest my weary bones and fill my stomach. And what do you know? I have the perfect spot in mind –

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Persimmon, the runaway daughter! You've got guts showing your face around here. Aren't you afraid your mother's gonna snatch you up and drag you back home like last time?"

“No Lis, not this time.” I laughed and gave Lis a warm hug.

“So one room for Persimmon?” She asked.

“One room for Persimmon, and one room for Edward.”

“Are you here for the horse race tonight?”

“Horse race? Ha! No way. I'm a reformed gambler now. I can resist the allure of those majestic, muscular thoroughbreds thundering down the track, taunting me with their speed and grace, daring me to place a bet. Nope, not me!”

“Are you sure? I heard that the first price will be the 10 000 Gold..”

“10 000 Gold,” I repeated. The tomato-head princess only allowed me to bring 20 Gold coins before I left home.

“And The Amulet of the Eternal Sun…”

“Amulet… of the Eternal Sun…” I hesitated, my fingers tapping on the wooden counter.

“And…. The Crystal of Enchantment.”

“Is the registration still open?” I slapped the counter, my heart was pounding with excitement.

As soon as I got the key to my room, I dropped off my bag and bolted to the horse track like a prized stallion. I was determined not to miss the registration or else I'd end up galloping around like a lost pony.

REGISTRATION CLOSED

Oh dear lord, my heart nearly stopped when I saw that the registration for tonight's race had shut. I was just a teeny bit late, but clearly, that was enough for the racing gods to close the gates on me.

“Psstt... Persimmon! Oy, come here!”

I heard a sneaky whisper and turned around to face Ekon the Troll, my old buddy from way back. "Oy, Persimmon! Over here, you fruit!" he called out with a grin on his face. I shrugged and sauntered over to him, following his footstep as we sidled into the back room.

“Teehee, looks like someone's gonna miss the horsie race tonight! Oh wait, that's you! Hahahaha!”

“Tsk…Did you call me just to mock me?” I smacked his head.

“Hehehehe, calm down there, buttercup! I was just messin' with ya! Ain't no need t' get yer panties in a bunch and clobber my teeny tiny noggin'. You see, I've already gone ahead and completed the ol' registration form for you. Trust me, you won't be missin' out on this race.!”

Ah, Ekon, my dear friend. Although your brain may be small, your heart is undoubtedly large.

"Troll says you gotta cough up 10 shiny pieces o' gold for registerin'. No gold, no talkie-talkie.”

10 Gold. I only had 19 Gold left after I paid for the inn. Nevertheless, I paid him 10 Gold for the registration. It was just a small number compared to the probability of winning 10 000 Gold. And if I cannot win 10 000 Gold, I was sure I can at least score a consolation prize of 100 Gold.

“Teehee! And how much you gonna bet on tonight’s horse race?” Ekon sneered with a toothy grin. His beady eyes gleamed with mischief as he poked me with his knobby fingers.

“8 Gold, that’s all I got. I’m going to bet all on Edward!”

Done with the registration, I headed back to the inn. As I approached Edward at the stable, he greeted me with a disapproving neigh. I could tell he was less than impressed with my sudden disappearance in the middle of the day.

"Sorry, buddy," I said with a guilty grin, "duty calls."

Giving him a reassuring pat, I continued, "But don't worry, we're gonna find some gold to feed our bellies tonight. Now, how about we have some pre-race dinner, horsie?"

I glanced over my shoulder and saw no one in sight. Time to perform some summoning magic.

I stared at the empty space in front of me, closing my eyes to focus. With a deep breath, I let my imagination roam free, picturing the object I wished to summon. I visualized every detail, every curve, and color until it was as clear as day in my mind. And then, with a strong conviction, I called out to it.

"The best hay and oats and apple and carrot from the land of nowhere, just enough for Edward to eat."

With a simple thought, the perfect meal for Edward materialized in front of me. A pile of high-quality hay, sweet-smelling oats, crisp carrots, and juicy apples appeared in a flash of light.

Perfect!

“Neighhhhhhhh!"

“Eat up, buddy. It's gonna be a fierce race tonight.” I patted Edward’s head as he munched on his apple.