As soon as the door had closed behind Aaron, Jade turned towards Genie, an angry expression on her face, even as Genie turned to shake Gui Gui again.

'Enough! That's enough, Genie!' Jade shouted, grabbing Genie's arm so that she faced her with such force that Genie's entire body jerked. Anger sparked in Genie's heart and even as she looked at Jade's accusing face, she let her temper get the better of her. 

'What? What are you talking about?' she shouted, her lips set in a nasty line. She flung Jade's hand off her arm, looking at her with disgust and annoyance.
'I'm talking about you, Genie!' Jade shouted, her eyes wild with fury. 'What happened to you? You were not like this before. Before all this started, you were such a nice girl, caring and loving towards everyone.You always smiled and brought joy wherever you went. Even when all this started, you did not change as drastically as you have now. You still smiled occasionally. But one day, suddenly, you became this..this monster! You not only never smile anymore, you have also become mean and nasty beyond measure. You have changed soo much...You...you are not the Genie I know!'

'So what?' Genie shouted back in retaliation. 'I like the me I am now better! The person I am now IS better! The person I was in the past was weak!'
'The person you were in the past would never have treated Gui Gui like you just did!' 
The room fell silent. A look of pure shock was present on Genie's face as she realized the truth of Jade's words. Shock turned to genuine remorse and regret as Genie looked at her still dazed sister. Before she realized it, moisture had gathered in her eyes and tears were rolling down her cheeks, each crystal drop leaving a clear trail in its wake on her flawless skin. Slowly, Genie knelt down beside Gui Gui , no longer caring about face nor whether such actions would make her seem weak. Her pride left her as she stared lovingly at her sister. Her eyes were heavy with deep regret and grave remorse as she reflected how she had treated Gui Gui after that day. All the times that she had snided Gui Gui, abandoned her to train on her own, distanced herself from her...all those times now flooded over her. Guilt filled her. Gui Gui had been such a good sister and yet she had treated her like nothing. More tears came, spilling from Genie's eyes like water from a waterfall. Her tears rolled down her cheek before falling on Gui Gui's face. As the tears came into contact with her skin, they seemed to awake her and suddenly Gui Gui seemed to be aware of her surroundings, of her sister's pain. Gui Gui looked up into her beautiful sister's face and, smiling kindly, pulled her into a hug. Genie buried her face into her sister's hair, allowing herself to be enveloped by her sister's warmth. 

' I'm sorry, Gui Gui. Sorry,' she choked. Hearing that, Gui Gui's eyes sparkled with moisture as she hugged her sister harder than she had ever had before.

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It was late into the night, so late that time had slipped to the next morning. At 5 a.m. in the morning, the room was in almost absolute darkness. Light from the moon was little as it had gone behind the clouds that day. Genie could not help but to feel relieved. This way, Chun will be safer, she thought. Silently, she crept out of bed, making sure that she treaded with her toes first. She had always been light as a result of her extensive training but today, she needed to be lighter and more silent still. Afterall, she was creeping about in a place full of ninjas who were equipped with the sharpest hearing and sight. At least the darkness would hopefully help shield Chun and she from any prying eyes, but then again, there was no guarantee. As silent as a cat, she exited the room where all 50 elite ninjas lay asleep.Entering the Great Hall, she made her way quietly into the corridor leading out of it. Speed walking through the narrow corridor, genie's eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement and worry. ' It's so dangerous now, with the samurais and ninjas at war.Why then does Wu Chun want to meet me?' she thought, worry for his safety etched in her heart. She clenched the letter that she held in her right hand as she broke into a run. She had received that letter earlier that day.  From the way it had been presented, there was nothing unusual about it. However, the minute her eyes fell upon its contents, she knew that there was only one person it could have been from. The letter was encrypted, the codes and symbols written on it only known to her and one other person. This person was her best friend, closer to her then most. Only a few others were closer to her heart than he, including her parents and Gui Gui. He was so close that he was almost family to her and now that he, Wu Chun, wanted to meet her, she could not say no. She worried for his safety but at the same time, she missed hium dearly. In fact, she missed him so much that she wanted to run and not care about who would see or hear them. But she could not. She knew the risks involved and knew she could not afford the consequences. Afterall, he was samurai and she was ninja. They were supposed to be at war. They were supposed to be enemies. 

 Ever since the enemity had broken out, they had not seen each other and could not see each other due to the constant danger. However, if he wanted to meet her now, surely it concerned something of utmost importance? She ran on, still taking care not to make any noise as she reached the end of the corridor and entered the open space that it led to.She was on the second floor of the palace building, the rest of the building looming over her. The outside of the palace was faintly lit by lanterns and would have been considered dark by normal standards. However, as compared to the dark that had been present in the corridor and the room, the place was blindingly bright and Genie shrunk back, flinching at the sudden brightness. She blinked and as her eyes adjusted , she saw a dark muscular figure at the far end of the land. She walked forward, step by step until she could finally make out the figures face. An enormous  grin broke out on her face and her eyes sparkled with delight. 

'Wu Chun!' she breathed, that emotions in her heart so overwhelming that tears almost sprang into her eyes. Her best friend, whom she had not met in three years, was standing right before her eyes!

'Genie,' Wu Chun greeted. A grin appeared on his face as he reached forward to ruffle her hair. 'I missed you, kiddo.' 

'Hey! Who's the kiddo here? You are the one that is so much more immature than me!' Genie rebutted. Wu Chun kept quiet, simply shaking his head as his grin widened. Genie looked down in embarrassment. When would she ever grow up in front of Wu Chun? She did not understand. She  had matured so much over the last few years, even more so recently. She thought that she would be able to face Wu Chun like an adult the next time she saw him, but who knew that she would still act like a kid when she finally met him again? A smile played on her lips as she thought, 'Some things just never change.' Smiling, she looked up, expecting to be greeted by Wu Chun's jovial face. Instead, Wu Chun was looking at her with a serious expression on his face. There was not a hint of happiness left, even his eyes did not sparkle anymore. Instead, they were dead serious.Feelings of dread entered her heart as he started speaking.

'Genie, I came here today to warn you of someone. Yesterday, my friends and I went to our favourite samurai haunt. We saw a ninja there,' Wu Chun started. 'We fought and he even injured me. But that's not important. What's important is that I recognize the ninja. It's Aaron! he's actually a samurai, the king's best friend.'  Genie's eyes widened in shock. Aaron was a samurai? He was Calvin's best friend? 

'Why are you telling me this? ' Genie asked. 'You are part of the samurai kingdom. If Aaron has been sent here as a spy, then you are betraying your own kind.'

' I'm only sayig this to warn you Genie, to be careful of him. I won't be betraying the samurai kingdom because I know that I can trust you not to speak a word of this. I don't know what's going on but I want to warn you all the same. Please be careful,' Wu Chun pleaded, turning to go.

'Wait!' Genie shouted. When Wu Chun turned to face her, she asked 'Do you think it has anything to do with your king's recent death?' Now it was Wu Chun's turn to be shocked. 

'How did you know about...?' he asked.

'Nevermind how I know. you should go Chun. Its too dangerous here for you. Go!' Genie exclaimed, waving him away. Wu Chun turned and as soon as Genie saw him disappear into the night, she too left. 

     But little did she know that she was being watched.

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AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooooo glad to finally being able to write this again!!!!!!!! I'm sooo sorry for not having been able to update earlier. sorry