Guangfeng came back to his senses after a while and he smiled as he adjusted his grip on Yuelan’s hand and walked beside her. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked as they made their way toward the koi pond.

“My father wants to meet you,” Yuelan answered. “And...if we’re going to get married, or even if you just become emperor, you should know as much as you can about where I come from.”

The third prince turned his head and studied Yuelan’s profile. Her cheeks were a bit flushed and she looked nervous, but there was a determined glint in her green eyes. “Do you want to sit in the gazebo, or keep walking?” he asked her.

“I thought maybe stand on the bridge and feed the fish for a bit?” Yuelan countered. She turned to look up at him and a pointed tooth nibbling at a corner of her bottom lip.

“Whatever you’d like,” Guangfeng assured her, heading toward the now visible bridge. He gestured for the servants following them to step back out of ear shot. Once they were alone and on the bridge he leaned against it and looked down at her. “So, how much do I not know about Kilin?” he asked. “You’ve spoken a bit about how it’s governed and mentioned that the traditions are very similar…”

Yuelan nodded. “Yes, but the technology is much more advanced,” Yuelan explained. “And it’s not even in this world.”

Guangfeng stiffened and stared at her. “What...do you mean?”

“When the previous dragon priestess separated the two worlds she couldn’t come back to this one, which still has magic,” Yuelan explained quietly. “So she was trapped in the other world. Long He can explain it much better, but he said the library is the connecting point between the two worlds. It’s the only point in my world that still has any magic at all. In Kilin, the library is in the capital city, not on a mountain near it. I was there looking for Long He and ended up accidentally transporting myself from Kilin’s library to the one here in your world.” She stared at the pond for a bit before turning to look up at Guangfeng. “The day I met you, actually.”

“And something similar happened when you ended up at the military camp? You were coming back from Kilin?” Guangfeng guessed.

Yuelan nodded. “I’m not really sure what happened there. My father had just bought some new accessories for me and I was trying them on and then I somehow ended up on that hill with you. I thought I could only go back and forth between the two libraries.” She grimaced. “Long He took the accessories away from me, so I’d guess it has something to do with the combination of stones in them.”

Her green eyes turned back to the pond, staring at the fish as they swam around. She stayed silent and Guangfeng didn’t interrupt her thoughts as he attempted to process what she had already told him. Her coming from a different world entirely explained the odd clothing she’d been in at first as well as some of the odd words she occasionally used or her different mannerisms and not being quite sure of what she should do to maintain proper etiquette and decorum.

After a couple of minutes, Yuelan finally spoke again. “I actually can cook,” she said quietly. “And make tea and all of that. Just...not on a fire. We don’t need fire to do any of that back in Kilin. And there’s no need to draw water from a well because it can come straight to our sinks and toilets. We have candles, but don’t use them for light anymore. Most of the time we don’t need ice or fire to cool or heat rooms, there’s a system that will do it without that. And we don’t need birds or people to send messages to others most of the time. There’s a device that will let us do it instantly. We can talk to someone anywhere in the world, no matter how far apart they are, as if they’re standing right next to us.” She paused for a moment. “And...horses don’t pull carriages anymore. The carriages--or cars, as we call them--move under their own power and they can go much faster than a carriage or a horse.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Guangfeng tried to imagine things as Yuelan explained them and found that he wasn’t able to. He frowned and tried to wrap his mind around what she was saying. Water that could come into the house straight to a sink or bathtub or toilet? It sounded so convenient! And not needing ice to cool a room in the summer could save quite a bit of money! But...how would it even work? And it all sounded so very different from what he knew.

“Is there a way that I could see Kilin for myself?” he asked hopefully after the silence had continued for a few minutes. “Or bring these conveniences to Longuo?”

“Well...there might be a way to get indoor plumbing using aqueducts. It’s different from how it’s done in Kilin now, but it would work with the technological capabilities Longuo currently has,” Yuelan answered. “The rest would take quite some time to manage. We wouldn’t live long enough to see it.”

“Aqueducts?” Guangfeng asked, frowning.

Yuelan nodded. “I don’t really know how to explain them, but I can get a book from the library for you to look through. Unless you’re good at architecture you might need an architect to help you understand it, though.”

“And what about going to Kilin and meeting your father? If the library is the connecting point then it should be something we could do in a day or two, correct?” Guangfeng asked.

“That might take a little time. Long He said something about my reserves not being full enough for me to bring us both back even if I can manage to get you there with me. I don’t really understand what he was talking about, but I’m sure he’ll let me know when it’s possible,” Yuelan explained.

“Could you bring something back from Kilin that I can see? Like that device that will let you talk to people no matter where they are?” Guangfeng looked rather eager.

“I can, but it won’t work here,” Yuelan told him, smiling. “In fact, I had to replace mine when I first went back. It was in my pocket when I came here and something about this place broke it. I can’t even use it to play games or anything.”

“Games?” Guangfeng looked confused. “I thought it was for talking to people?”

“It is, but it does a lot more than just that. It can access information, books, games, almost anything, as well,” Yuelan explained patiently. “Just not here. The whole system gets fried when it comes here.”

“I don’t understand what that means...the system gets cooked in oil?”

“Oh, no. It’s another way of saying that it stops working and breaks,” Yuelan explained.

“The next time you go to the library, would you let me know so I can join you?” Guangfeng asked. “I want to see these books on aqueducts you mentioned.”

“Of course.” Yuelan looked over at Guangfeng and smiled. “Indoor plumbing is something I really miss the most. Everything else I can survive without. I’m still working on cooking over fire, but it’s starting to come. Being able to cool the rooms more effectively would be really nice too, but at least it didn’t get too hot for me to handle this summer with the ice. But being able to fill a tub without carrying buckets of water or have the contents of a chamber pot leave instead of staying until someone empties the pot are things I really miss.”

Guangfeng had to admit that those things sounded very convenient. He lifted a hand from the bridge and stroked her cheek. “I’ll do my best to give you as much of the comforts of Kilin as I can,” he said quietly. “And I’d like to see it, because I will admit that I couldn’t understand most of your explanation.”

Yuelan blushed and nearly pushed his hand away, but remembered what her father had told her when she’d spoken with him and forced herself to lower her hand and let Guangfeng stroke her face.

The third prince smiled and his eyes turned more gentle. He’d expected to get hit for touching her, but she seemed to be making an effort not to do so. She’d also taken his hand of her own free will and let him embrace her earlier. All these things boosted his confidence that her usual reactions were due to embarrassment and not dislike.

Guangfeng’s eyes studied her face and slowly moved to her slightly thin lips before stopping. His thumb moved from her cheek to her lips and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Yuelan...may I kiss you?” he asked quietly.

Yuelan’s cheeks turned red and she immediately shoved the third prince. His defences were down, since she had been unusually calm, and as a result he stumbled back and into the railing along the bridge. The railing broke, causing Guangfeng to fall into the koi pond with a resounding splash.