Princess Ai's Love Story

Nixxi was hall with Eon Jung and Kim. She didn't like to deal with the witches especially this witch. She always felt something off about this witch.

"You didn't tell me why are you here? Though I love to meet Vampire princess but still I don't think princess is here because she missed me" Daiyu said with fake smile.

Nixxi matched her fake smile "Don't get me wrong. It's my pleasure to meet our friends but unfortunately you are right. That's not the only reason I am here".

"It's okay. Witches will always help their friends and Vampires are our friends" she smirked "Yet".

Nixxi didn't like this witch's tone but she ignored it "I am here to talk about werewolves".

"Of course, Vampires 's worst enemy" Daiyu said with blank expression.

"Well, they are your enemy too. That's why you helped us in the war" Nixxi corrected.

"Of course. They are our mutual enemy" Daiyu said with a fake smile.

"Anyway, what about them? You both rule your territory and no one attack another. That is the rule. So why are we still talking about them?" Daiyu said with confused face.

Looking at her confused face Nixxi said "Because one of them came to our territory".

Daiyu's eyes were wide "What? When? And did he tell you why was he there?"

Nixxi sighed "Before some days. Well, we felt him but didn't find him. It's look like He disappeared suddenly. We tried but can't find him".

Daiyu laughed "You mean your brother who called himself the most powerful vampire can't find a werewolf who came to his territory".

Nixxi narrowed her eyes "That's why I am here for your help. We think he disappeared by magic otherwise we can find him".

Daiyu raised her eyes "Did princess think witches are involved in this ?"

"It's look like that. Maybe someone from your coven helped him without your permission" Nixxi reasoned.

"That's impossible. My all sisters are loyal to me" Daiyu said confidently.

"We are here for your help for sake of our friendship. I hope you understand" Nixxi said.

"We love to help you guys" Daiyu said with big fake smile.

"Well, Then I think we should leave now. Call us if you find anything" Nixxi stood from the couch and turned to leave. Eon Jung and Kim followed her. But Daiyu's voice stop them "I heard about Lu Han. I am so sorry Nixxi. I wanted to come and share your grief but I can't come".

Nixxi looked at the witch blankly. She didn't like to talk about her late brother maybe because it was very painful late her brother but she nodded and accept her condolence. Then she turned and left.

.......................

Yanmei didn't know when she slept. But when she opened her eyes, she opened one of her window and saw Lijun. It was early Saturday morning when he unexpectedly showed up at her building gate, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. His back was to her, head tipped back as he stared up at the cloudless blue sky.

Surprised to see him, she walked outside. His head whipped down so fast she thought he would pull a muscle. "What are you doing?" she asked.

His brows slanted low. Several seconds passed and then his lip tipped up at one corner.

He cleared his throat. "I like staring at the sky.

There's something about it. His gaze returned to the sky. "It's endless, you know." he almost sounded deep.

" Busy?"

"Other than read the half book"

"Which book?"

"None of your business," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Interesting name." He returned her smile with a half grin. "So what was that about?

Let me guess it's about a kitten who was always Puzzles and lonely?"

"Ha. Ha, smartass." she sighed.

"Ghosts and aliens?"

"Ghost stories are cool, but I don't know about aliens. ET really doesn't do it for me and a lot of readers."

One single eyebrow arched. "What does it for you?"

"Not slimy green space creatures," she replied.

"Anyway, for your question I read graphic novels "

"You read graphic novels?" Disbelief colored his tone.

"Seriously?" she nodded. "Yeah, so what? Are girls not supposed to like graphic novels and comics?" He stared at her a long moment, then jerked his chin toward the woods. "Want to go on a hike?"

"Uh, you know I'm not good with the whole hiking thing," she reminded him.

A grin appeared. There was an edge to it. Rough. Sexy. "I'm not taking you up on the Rocks. Just a harmless little trail. I'm sure you can handle it."

"Did Nixxi not tell you where your keys were?" she asked, suspicious.

"She isn't back yet but you'll know when she'll come"

She raised one brow "Are you sure? Because I didn't know when she left"

Lijun sighed. "I told you she gone because our Aunt was ill and now she is fine. And I thought I would just stop over, but if you're going to question everything, then you can forget it."

She watched him go down the steps as she chewed on her lip. This was crazy. She'd been dying of boredom for days. Rolling her eyes, she called out, "All right, let's do this."

"Are you sure?"

She agreed, with a hefty amount of trepidation.

"Why are we going behind the building?" she asked when it was evident where he was leading her "And How far off the beaten track are we talking?"

He chuckled. "Not that far."

"All right, lead the way."

They stopped off at Lijun's car to grab a couple of water bottles and then took off. They walked on in silence for a few minutes and then he said, "You're very trusting, Kitten."

"Stop calling me that." It was a little difficult to keep up with his long-legged pace, so she trailed a few steps behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder without a misstep. "No one has ever called you that before?"

She picked her way around a large, prickly bush. "Yeah, people call me Kitten all the time. But you make it sound so..."

His brows shot up. "Sound so what?"

"I don't know, like it's an insult." He'd slowed, and now she was walking beside him. "Or something sexually deviant."

He turned his head away, laughing. The sound had her muscles tensing.

"Why are you always laughing at me?" Shaking his head, he grinned down at her. "I don't know, you just kind of make me laugh." she kicked a small rock. "Whatever btw, why are you call me by different names"

"So, you want me to call you only beautiful other than names" he didn't looked at her.

She tripped over an exposed root.

Lijun caught her easily, setting her back on her feet the minute she was steady. The brief contact had her skin tingling through her clothes.

His hands lingered on her waist only a few seconds before he dropped them. "You're joking, right?"

"Which part?" he asked.

"Any of that!"

"Come on. Please don't tell me you don't think you're pretty." He considered her silence.

"No guy has ever said you're pretty?" Well, she was a pariah in her pack and after rejecting by Ming Rusheng she didn't think of herself beautiful until now.

But she would not confess this to him. Looking away, she shrugged. "Of course."

"Or...maybe you're not aware of it?" she shrugged again as she focused on the trunks of old trees, about to change the subject and deny the other part of his statement. She most definitely did not has the hots for this arrogant guy.

"You know what I've always believed?" he said softly.

They were still standing in the path, only the sounds of a few birds echoed around them. Her voice drifted away on a light breeze. "No."

"I've always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who are quietly unaware of their effect." His eyes searched her intently, and for a moment they stood there toe to toe. "The ones who throw their beauty around, waste what they have? Their beauty is only passing. It's just a shell hiding nothing but shadows and emptiness." she did the most inappropriate thing possible. she laughed. "I'm sorry, but that was the most thoughtful thing I've ever heard you say.

"What alien ship took my boss I know away, and can I ask them to keep him?" she still laughed.

He scowled. "I was being honest."

"I know, but it's just that was really...wow." And here she was, ruining probably the nicest thing he would ever say to her.

He shrugged and began leading her down the trail again. "We won't go too far," he said after a few minutes. "So you're interested in history?"

"Yeah, I know that makes me a nerd." she was also grateful for the change in subject.

His lips twitched at that. "Did you know this land was once traveled by the ancient tribal?"

He had that weird look again and shook his head. "Okay, I'll tell you the story and I'll leave some of the more creepy but natural facts out." A long branch stretched across the path, and Lijun held it up for her to duck under, her shoulder brushing against his chest as she passed before he dropped the branch and took the lead again. "What story?"

"You'll see. Now pay attention...A long time ago, this land was forest and hills, which isn't too different than today with the exception of a few small towns." His finger drifted over the lower hanging branches as they walked, pushing the lower ones aside for her. "But imagine this place so sparsely populated that it could take days, even weeks, before you reached your nearest neighbor." She shivered. "That seems so lonely."

"But you have to understand that was the way of life hundreds of years ago. Farmers and mountain men lived a few miles away from one another, but the distance was all traveled by foot or horse. It wasn't usually the safest way to travel."

"I can imagine," she responded faintly.

"It is if you're not afraid of slipping." He laughed at her expression. "Anyway, the Bei Rocks are made out of quartzite, which is part sandstone. That's why it sometimes has a pinkish tint to it. Quartzite is considered a beta quartz. People who believe in...abnormal powers or powers in...nature the tribal people did at one time, believe that any form of beta quartz allows energy to be stored and transformed, even manipulated by it."

"Ooo-kay." He shot her a stern look, so she decided not to interrupt anymore.

"Possibly the beta quartz drew the some tribes to this area" He paused for a few moments, scanning the terrain as if he could see them there, shadows of the past. "But they do have a very romantic legend."

"Romantic?" she asked as he led her around a small stream. She couldn't imagine anything romantic about something thrusting nine hundred feet in the sky.

"See, there was this beautiful princess called Ai, who had asked seven of the tribe's strongest warriors to prove their love by doing something only she had been able to do. Many men wanted to be with her for her beauty and her rank. But she wanted an equal. When the day arrived for her to choose her husband, she set forth a challenge so only the bravest and most dedicated warrior would win her hand. She asked her suitors to climb the highest rock with her," he continued softly, slowing down so they were walking side by side on the narrow path now. "They all started, but as it became more difficult, three turned back. A fourth became weary and a fifth crumpled in exhaustion. Only two remained, and the beautiful Ai stayed in the lead. Finally, she reached the highest point and turned to see who was the bravest and strongest of all warriors. Only one remained a few feet behind her and as she watched, he began to slip." Yanmei was quickly caught up in the legend. The idea of making seven men fight and face possible death to win her hand was unimaginable to her.

"Ai paused only for a second, thinking that this brave warrior obviously was the strongest, but he was not her equal. She could save him or she could let him slip. He was brave, but he had yet to reach the highest point like she had."

"But he was right behind her? How could she just let him fall?" Yanmei decided that this story sucked if Ai let the guy fall.

"What would you do?" he asked curiously.

"Not that I would ever ask a group of men to prove their love by doing something incredibly dangerous and stupid like that, but if I ever found myself in that situation, as unlikely - "

"Yanmei?" he said impatiently.

"I would reach out and save him, of course. I couldn't let him fall to his death."

"But he didn't prove himself."

"That doesn't matter," she argued. "He was right behind her and how beautiful could you truly be if you let a man fall to his death just because he slipped? How could you even be capable of love or worthy of it, for that matter, if you let that happen?"

He nodded. "Well, Ai thought like you."

Relieved, Yanmei smiled. If Ai hadn't, this would've been a pretty crappy romance story.

"Good."

"Ai decided that the warrior was her equal and with that, her decision had been made. She grabbed the man before he could fall. The chief met them and was very pleased with his daughter's choice in mate. He granted their marriage and made the warrior his successor."

"So is that why the rocks are called Bei Rocks? After the tribal and Princess Ai?" He nodded. "That's what the legend says."

"It's a beautiful story, but I think the whole climbing several hundred feet in the air to prove your love is a little excessive."

He chuckled. "I'd have to agree with you on that."

"I'd hope so or you'd find yourself playing with cars on an interstate to prove your love nowadays." She wanted to bite her tongue the minute the words were out of her mouth. she hope he didn't think she meant for her.

He gave her a hard look. "I don't think that's happening."

"Can you get to where they climbed from here?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head. "Not something I would suggest you doing by yourself."

she laughed at the thought. "Yeah, I don't think you have to worry about that. I wonder why they came here. Were they looking for something?" she stepped around a large boulder. "It's hard to believe that a bunch of rocks brought them here."

"You never know." His lips pursed and he was quiet for a moment before speaking again "People tend to look on the beliefs of the past as being primitive and unintelligent, yet we are seeing more truth in the past every day."

She peered up at him, trying to gauge if he was being serious. He sounded much more mature than any boy their age. "What was it that made the rocks important again?"