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[ Somewhere in the Village Already ]

Young Aaron Yan was wandering around the village with a map. Unfortunately, his experiences during his "Prince Time" did not include map reading, so he was basically lost. Aaron let out a sigh. "Great, I'm in my kingdom, and I have no idea where to go," he mumbled to himself. "What kind of prince doesn't know his own kingdom?"

He adjusted the hood of the cloak he was wearing. He couldn't risk any of his guards spotting him.

Once again, he sighed and turned the corner. Unfortunately, his attention was on the map, so he didn't see who was in front of him. The impact sent them both crashing to the floor.

It looked as if the other party had a friend, because there was one person standing while the other wasn't. 

"Oh, sorry!" he heard a feminine voice cried.

Aaron looked forward to see who he had bumped into. Before him was a pretty girl with her hair in a ponytail. 

Aaron quickly got up and lend his hand out to the girl. She took it with hesitation, and the 17 year old pulled her up. His hood had fallen off, so the girls could see his charming face. "Sorry about that," he said. "I wasn't paying attention."

The girl just smiled brightly at him. "It's okay!" she exclaimed happily. "I wasn't looking where I was going either."

The other girl just stood there, watching them with interest. 

"I'm Gui Gui," she said, lending out a hand. Aaron took it. "I'm Aaron." He then turned to Gui's friend. "And who are you?" he asked politely.

"Name's Ah Xing," she said slightly mischievously. By the way she acted, Aaron could tell that she was more of the rebellious, tough one while Gui was the sweet girl. 

Just when Aaron was about to start up a conversation, Ah Xing nudged Gui. "We have to go or else they'll catch up to us," he heard Ah Xing whisper.

Gui nodded before turning to the teenage boy. "Sorry, Aaron, but we have to go. I hope we see each other later!" she said. 

Before Aaron had the chance to respond, the two girls were off. It was as if they were in a rush. 

Or else they'll catch up to us? Aaron recited in his brain. Does that mean that they were being chased?

"Oh well," he said quietly before pulling out his map once more," now where was I?"

.

.

.

.

.

"Ugh, why do maps have to be so complicating?!"

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[ With Gui and Ah Xing ]

Meanwhile, Gui Gui and Ah Xing had managed to go five minutes without suspicion. Ah Xing noticed the dazed look on her friend's face and smirked. "That Aaron... he's cute isn't he?" she teased. She managed to hold in a snicker when Gui's face turned cherry red. 

"Shut up!" she cried like a little kid.

Ah Xing just laughed. "It's okay, Gui. You can't deny it~!"

"Ah Xing!"

She just laughed. "Just kidding, Gui. Just kidding. Besides, we're probably not going to see him again anyways. Remember, we have to get away from this place."

"Yeah, but too bad we don't know where to go. If only we had a source to tell us about who can help us out..."

Somehow, their conversation led them to a back alley.

"How'd we get here?" Gui asked, looking around the place.

Her friend just shrugged. "I don't know. I thought you were leading."

"And I thought YOU were leading."

A creak was suddenly heard. The two girls jerked their necks to the side to see three men. They looked drunk, and somewhat erted.  "Oh great, more idiots," Ah Xing commented. The men ignored her retort, and just got closer. 

"Look what we have here!" the tallest one said. 

"Well, I know that you don't have a brain," Ah Xing said, just to be ignored. 

"We're going to have some fun now!"

Ah Xing twitched. "Are you ignoring me?" she asked, raising her voice.

"Let's see what they're capable of doing!"

That crossed the line. Ah Xing went up to the tallest one and fired a punch at him. "I asked you something, and you didn't answer. Now suffer the consequences!" she said.

"Why you-" but before he could finish his sentence, Ah Xing kicked him in the abdomen and sent him slamming into the wall with a hard punch. But she was caught off guard when the last one standing held her back. "Hey, get your hands off of me!" she yelled and elbowed him in the gut. He groaned, and fell to the floor.

Ah Xing blinked a few times before punching her fist into the air with victory. "Oh yeah, Mama got them good!"

Gui laughed, but it died down once she saw who was at the end of the alley.

Ah Xing turned around to see what was wrong, and her eyes slightly widened at the sight. 

It was Aaron, and he was clapping.

"Aaron!" Gui cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you see everything?" asked Ah Xing.

"Yes, I did see everything. I heard everything you were talking about too," he replied. "I'm pretty sure I can help you two if you let me come along."

The two girls exchanged glances. "Come along?" Ah Xing asked. "Why would you want to go with two thieves?"

"Well...," Aaron shrugged," from the way you two acted, I don't think  you can be thieves. It's possible that you can steal something with less value, but you probably got framed by someone who stole a really important item."

The girls gaped. "You're exactly right," Gui informed.

The secret prince just grinned. "I know people," he said. "I've heard that the King's ring has been stolen. Don't tell me that you two were the ones framed for it."

The girls said nothing, leading Aaron to assumed that it was true.

"Then I'm pretty sure I can help you," he said.

"How?" Gui asked.

"You see.... as long as you follow me."

And with that, the three were off.

[ Twenty minutes later; the Library ]

"Okay... what are we doing at the library?" Ah Xing asked.

Aaron remained silent and led them over to a book shelf. There, he scanned over the titles and finally took one out. "The Wizard of Wisdom?" Gui read the cover, receiving a nod from the boy. He soon led them over to an unoccupied table and opened it up before starting to explain.

"The Wizard of Wisdom is a myth. It's rumored that he lives in the Dark Mountains. He's old, but as wise as King Soloman (someone in the Bible). It's said that he knows everything in the world- all lies and truth. If you really wish to prove yourselves innocent, just seek him and bring him to the king and queen. Everyone believes him, even if he is a myth. It's dangerous, but it'll help you."

The girls skimmed through the book. Finally, Gui made the decision. "We're going."

Ah Xing snapped her head around to look at her best friend. "But the Dark Mountains are more than three hundred miles away from where we live!" she exclaimed. 

Gui didn't react. "Ah Xing, if we want to live here again, then we have to go find him!"

"Why can't we just move somewhere else?"

"I'd rather risk my life, knowing that I died to prove my innocence than live with guilt."

That caught the teenage girl off guard. Her gaze softened and she finally let out a sigh. "Fine... I'll go."

A bright smile appeared on Gui Gui's face. "Yay!" she exclaimed, receiving several looks of annoyance from other people in the library. She just grinned sheepishly. Aaron also smiled. "Then it's official. Let's go." He got up to leave, but Ah Xing caught his wrist. "Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'we'?" she asked slowly.

"I'm going with you."

"Aha, no you're not. I don't want you to be endangered because of us."

'Oh, I'm in enough danger already,' he thought, but pushed the thought aside. "It's okay. Besides, I know how to react in different situations. I'm pretty sure I can help you," he reassured.

Ah Xing thought about it for a moment, before releasing her grip on his wrist. "Fine, but if you get hurt, it's not our fault."

Aaron cracked a smile, causing the rebellious teenager to smile also. "It's fine! I'll be okay!" he reassured once more. "Besides, I'm a tough guy!"

The girls just laughed. 

"Now," Gui said and got up from her seat," let's go find this Wizard of Wisdom."

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OK, that reveals a lot doesn't it? Anyways, I hope you comment and subscribe! It'll help me a lot :)