-Tao’s POV-

The Oracle Minister arrived in the morning and called the nobles once more for another discussion. Lady Jiao Liang intentionally took Jinhae to the hospice before anyone else could tell her about the coming conference. I was guessing that it was the minister’s order, but what could it be about that the prophesied maiden, the center of our quest, couldn’t hear about it. Too many thoughts played themselves in my head and Lu Han, who was standing by the window, would answer each idea with a smart retort.

One of the possibilities I’ve conjured was that fact that the Lake Guardian, Jinhae’s father, was involved in it somehow and she’d get hurt if she knew about it. Another idea was having to sacrifice one of us to retrieve a vital key to whatever was waiting for us in the end.

“It’s not likely,” Lu Han told me, making the thoughts invalid.

I shot him a glare. “Why don’t you just tell me what you’ve read in the minister’s mind then?” I snapped at him.

He just chuckled, wistfully looking out. “I can’t.”

“And why is that?”

“Tao,” Kris murmured in a low tone.

I scoffed. “Aren’t you curious?”

He looked up from the book he got from Jinhae. “I am, but not enough to be making a ruckus.”

“Ruckus?” I was really losing my temper. “Why can’t Jinhae listen to us speak? Isn’t this like betraying the very core of this mission?”

“I’m sure the minister has his purpose.” Kris snapped the book close. “Calm yourself and get your act together. The minister is a rational man. He wouldn’t do anything without reason.”

“That’s getting hard for me to believe,” I snapped. For some reason, they all seem to be impressed with the Oracle Minister. I wasn’t. Not in the least, but I don’t hate the man either. He was just doing his duty, but still, it was sending me to the edge, knowing that we had to keep something from a dear friend and the maiden at that. “Just know that I still do not agree to this.”

Lu Han turned to face us with a warm smile that would deceive even the wisest wizards. “Now, now, you two. Let’s not get heated about the matter.”

“It’s easy for you to say. You know what it’s all about,” I retorted.

“Huang Zi Tao.”

The Telepathy Noble merely brushed me off by chuckling. “Yes, I do, but it’s for the minister to tell, not mine. That would be rude.”

Chen suddenly came into the room flanked by Lay and Xiu Min. “Quit smiling that way, Lu Han,” he said kindly. “You’re scaring Tao.”

“I’m sorry,” he answered.

I threw daggers at the Lightning Noble., but I gave it a rest. Nobody listens to the youngest noble anyway.

“That’s not true,” Lu Han said with a reassuring smile.

I shrugged and sat down. “Get out of my head.” As if he didn’t feel anything for Jinhae. I shook my head. He should be backing me up.

The minister came in, holding a bundle of scrolls with both of his hands. He then laid them on the table and closed the door then sat down. “Good morning,” he greeted.

“Good morning,” everyone else said. I just nodded.

“You must be wondering why I called you all here.”

What’s new about that? I sighed and just watched the scrolls, six of them, file up in two lines and slowly roll towards us, stopping when they’ve reached one person each. I was about to touch it when the minister spoke.

“Those scrolls bear ancient words as to where you would find what you seek,” he declared.

Xiu Min arched a brow. “We are looking for something?”

The minister nodded with a smile. “That is right. All of you have to find it.” He waved his hand across the table and scrolls began undoing themselves. “Only the owner of the scroll can read its contents. It’s an individual task for each of you nobles, given by your ancestors. It’s a test that would result to your worth as the heir of the elements.”

“What exactly are we looking for, minister?” Lay asked.

“Power in the form of heirlooms. Each of you would have to find it as stated in the scroll. These items would bear greater power as it is the abilities of all the former heirs, values and all, that you would inherit and pass in the future, but only if you have them.”

Kris seemed puzzled. “Why did it have to be hidden? We’re in crisis. We do not have time to look for them.”

That’s logical enough. We had to keep moving in that case.

The minister nodded. “That’s noted, young Arian, but not everyone is worthy of the power it holds. You were chosen, thus you must fulfill your destiny and retrieve each item. As for the time, it is the purpose of the visits.”

“What?” Lay stood up. “Why are we only learning about this now? We are to proceed to Aria on the next new moon.”

“Calm down, Yi Xing. You’ve found yours.”

He looked confused. “I have?”

“He has?” I repeated.

“I won’t make it hard for you. Your father had entrusted me with the vial and I’ve given it to you. It was fortunate. You will be moving on according to plan without delay.”

“It’s the blood?” he asked.

The minister nodded. “Your father chose an easier means for you. He believed in you from the beginning.” He looked at the rest of us then. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”

No one understood what they were talking about, well, maybe with the exception of Lu Han.  

“No offense taken,” Kris answered.

“As I was saying, you’d have to retrieve those, but the maiden couldn’t know about it. None of you would want to hurt her more than the situation is already inflicting. You would have to do matters alone.”

We all nodded and the scrolls rolled back. “I will be seeing you in Electrius,” he said and disappeared into a specter once more.

I picked up my scroll and bowed slightly to Kris. “I’m sorry.” I jumped off the nearest window I passed by and walked by the gardens, feeling frustrated when suddenly, someone spoke from behind me.

“Wound up?”

I turned around and saw Jinhae. She smiled at me as she approached.

I smiled back. “I’m fine.” I frowned in confusion. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the hospice?”

She laughed. “Yeah, but work finished early so I decided to get back here.”

“Whatever for? There are a lot of fun things at the hospice. You shouldn’t bore yourself by just staying here. Besides, Lady Jiao Liang is really fun to be with.”

Jinhae nodded. “Well, I wanted to go back.” She looked at me from under her lashes as she shifted her gaze from the ground, kicking pebbles with her strange-looking shoes. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

I was utterly delighted with that idea. “Really?”

She nodded sheepishly. “Yeah…well…uh…”

Why do I get the feeling that I wouldn’t like what she was going to talk to me about? “What is it?” I asked anyway.

She pulled me by the hand and led me to the back of the manor. “Well, I know you can go back to the past.”

“I can go to the future, too.” I grinned at her.

She chuckled. “I know that, but can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure…”

“You see, I’ve always wanted to see my mother. I just want to see how she looks like, how she is…uh…Can you show me?”

I chuckled and shook my head. I was being silly and so was she. “Of course!”

“Really?”

“Yes. Do you want to go now?”

She nodded and I took her back…eighteen years ago.

-Jinhae’s POV-

I held onto Tao as a sudden force concentrated on my navel seemed to have pulled us somewhere, making me feel a bit dizzy. In that same instant, I was standing in the middle of a dirt road, quite dried with stray pebbles here and there. Wide grasslands were on either side of the road. I looked around me, shielding my eyes from the bright sunlight. It was shining, but it was a bit chilly. Autumn, I was guessing. The colors of the leaves on the trees suggested it.

I looked behind me and saw Tao doing the same thing. “We’re here.”

“Yes.”

I frowned a bit. “What is this place?”

He looked to the west and thought for a while. “I think this is Elatus.”

My eyes widened in excitement. “Elatus? Really?”

He nodded.

“Lu Han’s home?”

“Yes.”

I was overwhelmed. I was born in Elatus? That’s a big revelation for me. Lu Han and I had the same home and it was a beautiful place, too. “So…what are we going to do now?”

He took my hand and smiled. “We’ll find your parents.” He looked around again. “There’s a village there. Let’s go.”

Tao led me towards the village. As we were walking down the road, several carriages would pass by. Sometimes, we would meet people and they’d always bow as we pass by. People were always smiling. If I wasn’t mistaken, the war between the oracles and the guardians were at hand and they just weren’t aware of it. It was a sad situation.

We continued to walk for about a mile until we’ve reached a small village that had small stone cottages around. A few stalls were up, selling food and other goods. It was a small town, but I suddenly realized how big it was when I thought of finding my mother.

I saw a man on the street, performing with his magic. I tugged on Tao’s sleeve. “Look at that!”

He didn’t react immediately. He seemed to be preoccupied with something as he stared at a hooded wanderer across the street. He looked tense, too.

“Is something wrong?” I asked him, feeling jittery as panic surged in.

He stared hard at me and shook his head. “No. I just thought I recognized that man.” He broke into that easy-going smile again. “Don’t worry.”

I pouted. “How do we find her? We don’t even know how she looks like.”

“Maybe she looks like you,” he offered, keeping his optimistic air.

I chuckled. He always knows what to say. “Okay.”

We spent some time scouring the village, looking for a familiar face, but we didn’t find anyone. Soon, we were lured to eat the food that the peddlers were selling. It was good and we were too stuffed to walk.

“Why don’t we ask around?” he asked after a while.

“Ask what?” I sighed. “We don’t even have any information about her. Maybe we could say, ‘Hello. Do you happen to know where her mother lives?’ or ‘Do you know the woman who is married to the Lake Guardian?’ or something like that.” I shrugged.

To my surprise, he laughed, clutching at his stomach.

“What?”

“Nothing. You were just talking too fast.”

I shrugged. “Well, yeah. I guess bringing you all the way here was useless.”

“Not really. It’s fun. You just have to breathe when you talk.”

I pouted at him. “I’m like that when I’m hyped up.” I sighed. “This is pointless.”

He shook his head. “You’re losing hope this early in the day? We haven’t even been here for a whole day.”

I sat down on one of the benches I saw. “But we’ve been going about the town and we still haven’t found her.”

“What do you know about her?”

I thought about that for a while and tried to remember something I’ve heard. I stood up and accidentally hit my head on the bamboo that was supporting the tent. “Ow!”

Tao held me close and began rubbing the tender part of my head gently. “Careful now, Jinhae. You’re too clumsy.”

I winced. “You can say that again.”

He looked at me at arm’s length and pretended to pout. “What did you stand up so abruptly for anyway?”

“I thought of something.” I took his hand and led him off to the stalls.

“What is it?”

“Lu Han told me something about my family history and if I remember correctly, they called her the ‘Rose Lady’,” I told him, feeling the excitement on my toes again.

We started asking the people, but they just gave us vague answers. I motioned to a stall of dumplings and asked the ahjusshi behind it. “Excuse me, sir. Do you know anyone called Rose Lady?” I asked.

He thought about it. “I think I’ve heard about it, young lady, but would care for some dumplings?”

My temper rose and I had to prevent myself from tipping off his whole stall. I narrowed my eyes at him. “The future of your business is dark,” I told him ominously.

His eyes widened. “Do you speak the truth?”

I scoffed. “Yeah. If you continue being a jerk!”

He flinched.

Tao held my hand. “Cool it, Jinhae.”

I sneered at the man and turned away with a huff as I took Tao’s hand and pulled him to the next stalls. I continued walking, examining the vendors. “No…no…ugh! Hell no!...no…YES!” I saw an old lady who was selling hair ornaments and approached her. I bowed slightly and when I