"Please don't ever stop smiling," she said and moved closer to him. They were still staring at each other. She touched his cheeks and smiled.
"You should take your bath. You look so terrible," he said.
"You too," she said while still holding his cheeks. They were staring at each other eyeball to eyeball.
"I know that," Emperor Raven said calmly and tried to release his face from her palm but she held tightly.
"Your skin is so smooth like that of a girl," she said and he moved back slightly, making her hand drop.
"You should go and have fun with your friends. They may be missing you," he said and went to sit on his chair.
"I don't want to. Being with you is more fun. Let's find something to talk about because I am staying with you," she smiled and sat down beside the emperor when he didn't respond.
"That mark on your forehead, when did you get it?" he asked gently.
"My dad said I was born with it. It makes me so special. It's the mark of heaven. It brings peace to the beholder," she said with a smile.
"Mine is the opposite," he said silently but she heard.
"You have a mark? Where?" she asked and started checking his head. She checked his hand but found nothing.
"The mark is on my back," he said.
"Can I see it?" she asked.
"I have been naked in front of you for some time, so you haven't seen it?" he asked.
"I wasn't looking at your back," she said.
"What were you looking at?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
"It's nothing," she said with a blush.
"You can't see it," he said and she pouted sadly.
"Can I ask you for a favor?" she suddenly asked and the emperor looked at her.
"Madam Sara said there is something off. With the way you stare at my father too, I can be sure something is wrong between both of you and that makes me think you may not listen," she said.
"Don't talk about your father. Just tell me whatever you want," he said. She stood up and smiled nervously before looking at him.
"Please don't be angry. You are making me nervous already," she said.
"Speak," he said. She breathed in and out and then smiled.
"I visited the orphanage yesterday. I saw the way the children are happy. You are really a great emperor," she said.
"So what is the favor?" he asked.
"My kingdom has a lot of homeless kids. They suffer roaming the streets and begging for food. They don't have relatives. A lot of orphans," she said gently.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked.
"I want you to save them all. This orphanage is too big. Please save them," she went on her knees immediately.
"Why do you think I will listen to you?" he asked coldly.
"I know you are angry, but those kids are innocent. Please consider that and save them," she begged.
"So you expect me to go to your kingdom and look for homeless kids?" he asked.
"I know you can do it without even going out of your chamber. Please, your highness," she pleaded.
"I will think about it," he said.
"Thanks," she said and smiled broadly.
"I didn't say I wanted to do it yet, so stop smiling," he said.
"I know you will. I trust you," she said and the emperor scoffed before going to the balcony. She smiled prettily and lay on his bed.
**KING AMANDO'S CHAMBER**
The king walked around his room while admiring everything. He went to touch the tiger statue that was made of pure gold and scoffed angrily. He still couldn't get used to how perfect the kingdom was. He felt a presence behind him and smiled.
"I thought you wouldn't come to me," he said and turned to see Omar looking terrible. His hair looked scattered and his clothes looked tattered.
"What happened to you?" the king chuckled.
"That kid is way more powerful than I thought. Can you believe he protects his kingdom with a shield? Powerful people or demons can't go in. I had to use all my power to be able to come," Omar scoffed.
"I can say Raven really tried. I wasn't expecting less from him. His father is actually going this way if I hadn't put an end to his life," the king said while caressing the golden statue.
"How is your daughter?" Omar asked.
"Surprisingly, Raven took care of her. She was so happy to see me. Can we still do the ritual here? I can call her to my chamber," the king asked.
"We can't. Raven will know and that is troubling, so let's just focus on this plan," Omar said.
"Okay then. I want this kingdom. It's so big and wonderful. I want to rule here and have all this riches to myself," the king said greedily.
"You will after completing the ritual. For now let's focus on getting the stone full," Omar said.
"I will make sure we are done with it. Make guards and find people for the sacrifice," the king said.
"Same thing with my beast. I should go now. I want to look around Raven's palace," Omar said and vanished. The king smiled.
Omar appeared under a tree. He was still smiling but the smile wiped off when the emperor appeared in front of him.
"So you are the demon that has been calling my name?" he asked with a smirk.
"Ra…ven," Omar called shockingly.
"You seem to know me but too bad I don't know you. How did you get into my kingdom and even come to my palace?" Emperor Raven asked while making a fireball in both palms.
"You shouldn't disrespect me. I'm a senior..." Omar was saying but the fireball that the emperor threw met his head and he became bald immediately.
"What were you saying?" the emperor asked while making another fireball. Before he could throw it, Omar vanished. He went out of the kingdom and started shouting angrily because of his bald head.
"Raven!!!!! You will regret this!" he screamed and vomited blood. The fireball was affecting him.
The emperor returned to his room and met Arizona sleeping on his bed. He went to sit down and closed his eyes but the spirits that always disturbed him came immediately. He groaned lightly and they disappeared but they appeared almost immediately and continued talking in his head.
**DAY TWO**
The palace was bustling with fun as everyone moved around. They couldn't stop giggling in excitement because tonight they would make wishes with lanterns. Even the kings were participating. It was only the emperor that wasn't.
Jimmy entered Alicia's room and quickly turned when he saw her getting dressed. She didn't need the maid's assistance.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I am sorry. I didn't know you were dressing," Jimmy said and finally looked up. His breath hitched as he beheld her beautiful appearance.
"What are you looking at?" she scoffed.
"Sorry," he said nervously and looked away.
"Next time, you should always knock before entering a lady's room," she said.
"I didn't see you as one. That's why I didn't," he said.
"What do you want anyway?" she asked with an eye roll.
"I came to tell you my second wish," he smiled sheepishly.
"And what is that?" she asked.
"I want us to light the lantern and make our wish together tonight," he said cutely.
"Just that?" she asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes. So what do you say?" he asked.
"I don't go back on my word, so you got it. I mustn't look for you though," she said.
"Okay," he smiled and left the room.
"Why is he so happy about that?" she scoffed and looked at herself in the mirror. She knew Logan would finally notice her.
The door opened and Jimmy pushed his head into the room.
"What again?" she asked.
"Just wanted to tell you, the dress looks terrible. You should change it. You can dress like a man if you want," he said and closed the door.
"I thought the dress looked good," she pouted while still looking at it.
"Prepare some maids for me. I want to make a lot of wishes today," Samara said with a smile.
"But we are only allowed to make one wish," Pamela said.
"That's why I need some maids. Their wishes are going to be for me. I need a lot of things from the Goddess anyway," she said.
"Okay, my lady. I should get them ready," Pamela said with a bow and left the room. Samara smiled to herself. Her plan was going to work well this time.
Logan was walking through the palace forest. It was also a beautiful place. He had a letter in his hand. He missed his father and couldn't wait to send a letter to him. He was about to bring out the bird whistle when he felt a shadow behind him. He pretended as if he didn't know and walked a few distances before hiding behind a tree. The person that was following him came near the tree while looking around. He suddenly grabbed the person and hit her back on the tree while towering over her. Jade groaned painfully because of the pain she felt.
"Why are you following me?" he asked coldly.
"I wasn't," she scoffed and tried to push him away but he was too strong so she gave up.
"You should stay away from me," he warned coldly before releasing her and walking out of the forest.
"Who does he think he is?" she scoffed and groaned because of her back. She knew she was not going to stay away because she was really suspecting him.
"Excuse me, you dropped this," Gael said and picked up a beautiful hairpin from the floor. The girl looked back and his breath hitched. She was really pretty.
"Thank you so much. This is very special to me," the girl said and collected it from him.
"You are so pretty," Gael blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Thank you. You are handsome too," the girl said and pecked his cheeks. He stood at a spot while watching her with a smile on his face. His cheek was so red already, especially where the girl pecked him.
"I didn't get her name," he thought and started running after her. He almost got to her when someone suddenly dragged him back. It was Logan.
"Why did you do that, Asher?" he groaned.
"Why are you running after a princess? I think you want to lose your head," Logan said.
"But she is so pretty," he pouted.
"And out of your league. Get yourself together," Logan said and left. Gael remembered her face and smiled while touching his cheeks.
The full moon shone brightly and a lot of people moved around with their lanterns and letters. They were all happy. Children ran around the street while playing with their toys. They all went towards the big lake. It was beside the lake that they would be sending the lanterns to the sky.
The princesses arrived with the guards. They were giggling as they moved towards the table where they would write their wishes. It was after the lantern was sent to the sky that people could say what they wished for.
They all tied the paper under the lantern and lit it up before sending it to the sky. The people danced and cheered as they watched thousands of lanterns going to the sky.
Samara was smiling happily while some maids glared secretly at her. She didn't allow them to make their wishes, which meant they were going to wait till next year. She wished to become the queen. She wished to be respected. She wished to give birth to the emperor's first child and a lot more.
"You have to grant all my wishes, Goddess," she smiled.
"What do you wish for?" Logan asked Gael who was beside him.
"I wish to meet that princess again. We may share our first kiss," he grinned.
"You are unbelievable," Logan shook his head.
"What do you wish for?" Gael asked him.
"It's a secret," Logan said and left.
"This isn't fair. I told you mine," Gael yelled and ran after him.
"What do you wish for?" Jimmy asked Alicia.
"I wish for Arizona to become the queen," Alicia said.
"What about you?" Alicia asked.
"I wish to be stronger," he said, though that was a lie.
"That is a lame wish," Alicia scoffed and left. He also followed her.
Amara and Amira wished to become queen though they had different kingdoms in mind.
"Wow I can't see it again," Arizona smiled. She was looking at the sky, maybe to get a glint of the lantern.
"Mine too. What do you wish for?" Jade asked.
"I want the Goddess to touch the emperor's heart so that he can grant my request," she said cutely.
"I know she will," Jade smiled.
"I should see the emperor. He is alone in the palace," Arizona suddenly said, carrying one of the lanterns and started running toward the palace.
"Where is she going again?" Alicia asked finally Jade as she just arrived.
"To the emperor," Jade pouted.
"What do you wish for?" Alicia asked her.
"To see my sister," Jade smiled.
"You have a sister?" Alicia asked in surprise.
"Yes. She will be around eighteen years now. I haven't seen her since five years ago. I don't even know how she is coping," Jade said sadly.
"You are going to see her, so don't worry much," Alicia patted her back.
At the palace everywhere was quiet. The emperor even allowed the guards at his door to go too so he was alone. Arizona arrived and started running toward his room.
The emperor was lying on the bed. His eyes were closed tightly. He was sweating profusely as the voices of the evil spirits troubled his head. He couldn't even send them away because it was a full moon.
"You are cursed."
"The cursed prince."
"You are bad news."
"You should die."
"You deserve to die."
The voices kept saying as he groaned and shook his head.
"Go away," he said but they kept talking and disturbing his head.
Arizona opened the giant door and came in. She started hearing his whimpers and her eyes widened. She hadn't seen the emperor looking this vulnerable before.
"Emperor," she called and ran toward him.
"Go away," she heard him say as he kept groaning, his sweat increasing.
"Your highness," she touched his head worriedly and the mark on her forehead shone brightly though she didn't notice because her focus was on the emperor. All spirits vanished and the emperor groaned tiredly.
"You are going to be okay," she said and joined him on the bed. She hugged him tightly. His head was on her chest, and she started massaging his hair until he finally calmed down.