I turned around, and a beautiful woman stood behind me. She was beautiful, with strands of hair flowing down her hair like vines on a tree, she had four long winged ears and a small petite face with moderate breasts and a dainty figure, she wore clothes that stuck to her body well, exuding her figure and I saw that her eyes only held softness and gentleness for me. Her skin was more clearer than the marble that sculpted her, her hair whiter than the leaves that surrounded her, her hazel eyes more compassionate than a mothers.

It was Grandmaster Fiel.

“Shocked are we?” She whispered softly, like the wind of the trees. “Don’t worry, Grandmaster Nova told me all about you”

She followed up with a mischievous giggle, like she was my childhood friend telling me an embarrassing secret.

“I’m sure you know that if he can bend space, he can also bend time in his dimension” she winked at me, revealing a key piece of information I forgot to account for.

The only thought going through my head was, ‘oh shit’.

“You don’t need to worry” she reassured me, “Grandmaster Nova was quite impressed at your handiwork. Come, we can discuss things over some tea. Lady to Lady.”

She snapped her fingers and a carriage appeared. It looked like it came from a fairytale with pegasus’ leading the carriage and a mightily handsome guy handling the carriage. The carriage door coloured in gold and white opened with the scent of pumpkin pie tempting our noses.

“Come” She offered me a hand, “I don’t bite” she teased with an affectionate giggle.

“I want to Grandmaster Fiel, but how do I know I’m going to live?”

“That..is a good question” Grandmaster Fiel stopped for a moment, “Consider you not dying right now as my guarantee that I still want you alive”

“So...you could’ve killed me?” I feigned shock

“Any Grandmaster has full control in their dimension. Grandmaster Nova was kind enough to let you go.”

I acted surprised again, “Can we go back and thank Grandmaster Nova?”

“That’s very thoughtful of you child. Soon, but I still have a few questions. I hope you can help answer for me. I’ll give you a pleasant treat for every question you answer” she acted while doing a grabbing motion into the air, and in her hand it revealed a little cake. Decorated with pink sprinkles on top of gold coating. There was white coating on the sides of the cake, and she handed that cake to me.

I reluctantly accepted it and when I ate it it felt like a winter wonderland of sweets bursted in my mouth. Even I didn’t need to act this time as I nodded incessantly showing my glee with the sweets. I held her hand and she led me to the carriage, which began to speed up before flying into the sky.

Inside the carriage there was a little table filled with sweets on top. Cakes, eclairs, small lile treats and snacks. Savoury, sweet, spicy, it was all there, like the little paradise of snacks.

“So Azalea, can you help me understand what happened in Grandmaster Nova’s castle?”

“I was eating an eclair with sweet savoury cream filled inside. I nodded, “So there was this talking robin” I began while eating my sweets, “and then it told me to follow it.” Munch. Munch. “And then all of a sudden I saw a battlefield filled with dead bodies in front of me and I thought I was going to die.” Sniffle. Sniffle. Munch. “I-I stabbed someone who I thought was Grandmaster Nova and told him to get me out. I thought it was the only way for me to live” Sniffle. Wipe. Wipe. Fiel wiped my tears with her handkerchief. “Thank you” I muttered underneath my weeping breath. “And then I found myself in a room all alone, and I thought the big bad Nova was trying to kill me so I made a plan” I sniffled again. “I learnt a bit of illusionary magic in the libraries and I devised a plan to distract Grandmaster Nova while I snuck out as his assistant” I cried a bit more. Sniffle. Sniffle. Sniffle. “And I thought I was free, I could go back to mama, but now I’m eating sweets with you”

Fiel smiled a gentle smile. A relieved smile you would see from a parent who lost their child and found them again.”That sounded like it was a really scary thing you went through”

I nodded as hard as I could amidst the tears.

“You’re safe now, and I’m sorry something that sad happened to you. You didn’t deserve any of it, and it was an accident on our part. We’re really sorry about this”

I looked up, and smiled a pure smile. I kind of let Azalea’s natural response take over. It was more surprising to find someone in such a position of power to apologize for something like this. “Is everyone as kind as you are Grandmaster Fiel?”

She laughed like an auntie who was complimented that she still looked young, or her dress looked fabulous or she wore a beautiful smile.

She leaned in, like a childhood friend about to tell you a secret, a rebellious glint flickered in her eyes, “There are Grandmasters kinder than me out there, but I like to consider myself as top 10 kindest” Fiel chuckled mischievously like she told me her crush, “That’s our secret okay, promise not to tell anyone” she extended her pinky finger.

“I promise” I wrapped my pinky around her finger as well securing the legendary inky promise.

“But there are still people that are smarter, stronger, ambitious, more cunning, and braver than I can ever be and a handful that are much kinder than I can ever be as well. But I’m honored to see that you consider me to be extremely kind”

“You’re the kindest Grandmaster I’ve ever met!”

“You’ve only met two Grandmasters silly” she giggled like a girl laughing at my jokes.

I smiled gleefully.

“So tell me, How did you devise that plan?”

I was drinking a juice now, Fiel wiped my tears and snot away with her handkerchief.

“I just thought of it.” I told her with child-like innocence.

“You just thought about it?”

I nodded again.

“Then how did you manage to fool Grandmaster Nova?”

I tilted my head in confusion. “I don’t know? I just did” I stared blankly into Fiel’s eyes as she stared back into mine with a bit of surprise.

“I must say then, you have a talent for the illusionary skills”

I smiled gleefully, it was a genuine smile like that of a pupil getting praised by his master.

“What is your talent Grandmaster Fiel?” I asked innocently

She looked a bit startled, and then went into a thinking pose, “I guess..I give warmth to those who needed it the most”

I tilted my head again like a curious little child, "So you provide heat?"

"A kind of heat yes, I guess you can call it that. I think we're going to land soon at one of my mansions"

The howling breeze of the chilliest sky howled outside leaving snowflakes markings on the glass window. The blizzard outside the glass window began to turn into a slow misty fog before we dove down and the sea of white ocean mist parted revealing a mansion fit for a queen. It stood in the middle of a hoard of trees with glass windows, servants cleaning the white leaves and branches and guards stationed at the edge of the mansion.

“Woah~, It’s like a fairytale!” I exclaimed to Fiel

She chuckled a bit, like she’s being shy because of my compliment, “Thank you dear, What’s your favorite fairytale?” She asked back.

“My favorite...” I paused and thought, I had to remember whether the fairytale I was thinking of came from this universe or the one I came from. “The fox and the hen!”

“The fox and the hen?” she asked a bi puzzled, “Can you tell me the story about the fox and the hen?”

I nodded like a child eager to show something in show and tell. “It began with a fox trying to catch a hen. The fox said to the hen, come out of the coop, I have a game to play with you. The hen said to the fox, you sly fox, I know you will only bait me out to eat me. The sly fox clicked his tongue and went away. The next day, the fox comes back dressed as a sheep. Come out hen and play with me. The hen walked out of the coop, but saw the saliva from the fox and said, “I see your sharp teeth and saliva, you cannot fool me, you conniving fox go away and never come back” . The fox was furious! He ran off with his sheep costume and came back the next day with an entirely new strategy. He took a rock that looked like an egg and then painted it yellow to resemble an egg. At the crack of dawn he went to the hen’s coop and shouted for the mother hen, exclaiming about how delicious this egg was. The mother hen was furious and went straight out of the coop to peck at the fox, but with one fell swoop the fox’s sharp teeth sank into the hen’s neck, marking the end of the hen’s life.”

“That sounds like a fairytale that matches your style of work very well” Fiel complimented me

I smiled and gave her a polite, “Thank you!”

The carriage landed with a low thump, like we went on a slight bump and then I felt the hooves of the pegasus carrying the carriage a bit further forward. We finally came to a full stop, and then the door of the carriage was opened with a servant bowing down, one hand behind his back and another hand opening the door. A butler stood in front of us, well-dressed with the colour of black, snow hite and gold etched into his blck suit and white gloves. It seems that the motifs of this territory are snow white, black and gold. They were a beautiful assortment of colours.

The butler served out a hand also bowing down his face, not meeting Fiel’s face directly. His back was straight, and his white hair groomed eloquently.

Even the knights, servants and butlers in the background also had their head lowered not meeting Grandmaster Fiel’s face.

“Rise” Grandmaster Fiel commanded in a low and gentle tone.

The servants, butler and knights all raised their heads, some went back to working, while others waited for Fiel’s orders.

“Get our guest a room, and give her a delightful treat. I’m also famished, prepare me dinner.”

“Yes Ma’am”

“I’m going to do some work now, Butler Avir, Good work on keeping the mansion tidy. I can see that not a single leaf goes out of your sight, Also tell Head of Knights Rosellia good work on protecting the mansion, I see that all of our workers are safe and tell all the servants here that I’m impressed by their courtmanship”

“Yes Madam, I’ll inform everyone of your magnanimous words”

Fiel giggled, amused by Avir’s cordial manner. “Well I’m off now, Azalea, I’ll meet you at dinner okay? I have some work to attend to”

I nodded my head and then Fiel spun around leaving a storm of white petals in her place, she disappeared and vanished just like that. The only sign that showed that she was even here was the cordial butler, the carriage and the storm of white petals still gently falling down like a handful of feathers. Swaying, side to side as it falls down.

“Lady Azalea I presume” The butler gave me a hand as he went down to one nee, compensating for my short height.

“Butler Avir!” I giggled, “Hai!”

A gentlemanly smile showed on his face like a grandfather seeing their grandchildren, a shred of humanity thawed his cold demeanor letting his face show a slight taste of emotion.

“Hello Lady Azalea, What can I do for you?”

“Snacks!” I yelped gleefully.

“I’ll be sure to tell the head chef to bring out the best desserts in this dimension. In the meantime, may I show you your room?”

I nodded but was a little cautious about going out. I peeked my head out of the carriage, seeing the gardeners working on the shed, the servants gossiping together by a corner, the knights sitting on the seat playing cards together, and the other knights that were standing guard with spears in their hands. It felt like a more relaxed atmosphere here, the butler with his hand out still waiting for me, without any pressure, just waiting for my cue.

Incredibly professional if I say so myself. I took the gloved hand with golden embroidering and saw the difference in size between my hand and the butler’s hand. It felt like I was touching a bear’s hand. I shifted my weight and safely got out of the carriage.

I felt the wind of the door close behind me, and the pegasus flew into the sky before turning into a storm of white petals that flew and disappeared in the wind, like they never existed in the first place. The lavender scented breeze swept the petals into the air, before carrying them out to a place beyond the horizon.

Is this the power of the grandmasters? Control over matter and space-time? It sounds like Fiel can’t control the spacetime in her dimension, but has some control to bend matter. It seems that Grandmasters are masters of their own dimensions, able to bend fundamental principles to their own liking.

The butler stood up and paced himself behind me, respectfully waiting for my beck and call. I walked into the house which felt like a runway for me. As I approached the large white mansion a servant which was walking behind us walked forward and pulled the door open. I walked through and saw that the insides were vastly different to the outside motifs of white, gold and black. With the adamantium steel black lining the metal of the building, the snow fallen white decorating the walls with golden lining the key pieces, it gave an acute taste for refinement and royalty which felt like I was in a wonderland.

The inside though was lined with a carpet lined with marine blue, the ceiling and the walls took a shade of white that felt more unclean, like snow shifting from winter to spring, the art pieces and the furniture was made from a dark brown shade of oak, the place well lit with few windows and two sets of spiraling stairs that spiraled outwars, resembling a T from the entrance. The railings were golden but it held no glint or shininess. It felt like dull gold, unrefined, but beautiful in it's own way. The walls held a concordium of interesting paintings, paintings which didn’t look like normal paintings. They resembled 3D paintings, with the animals inside the painting moving and shifting, the shades of the trees shifting like there was a sun inside those paintings.

They seemed to be the portals to other worlds, and these paintings were more like windows to those worlds, it almost felt like you could jump into these paintings and be transported to another world. It felt like they were windows with another world outside.

The butler walked a bit faster, a soft and unnoticable pace and then he quietly said, “This way Lady Azalea” and then ket walking upstairs.

He walked up the curving stairs and then went to the left which was line with more paintings and status which were animated and in real life. Statues of stone birds which moved around, ruffled its feathers, but never moved off their pedestal, pictures of people’s heads that blinked and yawned, it was a bit creepy, but there were also statues of hearts that were pumping.

It reminded me of medusa’s garden of petrified creatures from Azalea’s myths and legends. It was quite interesting though, to see all of these specimens and animals on these pedestals, some that I haven’t seen before in this life. Baby lizards with 5 legs and a pair of wings which helped it hover with its sharp teeth hanging from its jaws.

Birds with spiky backs instead of feathers, the uncommon littered these halls and were animated with life; it was a peculiar kind of art.

Butler Avir kept walking until he stopped at a double doored room which seemed a bit too big for me. As he opened it holding the door open for me, I peeked inside and as I turned my head I saw a great bed, large enough for a hippo, aquamarine walls and windows that gave me a peek to the outside garden, treats by the bedside which was stacked like a little mountain. On one side of the bedroom was a little opening which led to an empty walk-in closet, while a door was next to the walk-in closet. It seemed to be leading to the bathroom which I presumed would be just as grand as this room. There was a little couch as I walked deeper into the room directly to my left, and on the right was a little place where you could set up make-up filled and fitted with mirrors and shelves. On the side of the bed were shelves stacked with books. Two female maids were waiting for my beck and call by the bathroom door standing in wait.

The butler moved out of the room and then bowed, “If you need anything please inform the maids that are waiting by the door and I will answer promptly. Please treat this as if it were your own home.”

The butler left the door open and the two female maids walked out too, closing the door on the way out, leaving me with this grand room all for myself. I jumped straight on the bed and closed my eyes, tired from everything that happened today. I just wanted to sleep, I’ll let Azalea deal with the rest- this was supposed to be my retirement, why am I working so much.

“Gwahhh” I let out an exhausted gasp before letting my mind drift off to sleep.