Chapter 10:

And so begins the work of creating the magnificent flying machine.

Kara orders the guards to cut down wood and bring it to them.

At first, they hesitated, but after witnessing her death stare they obliged. After an hour or so they returned with a wagon full of tree barks.

Cyran was delighted. They were like robot workers but manual. He wondered how much work he can give them before they crash. But that is an experiment he's not willing to try right now.

'Now chop the wood into blocks!' she ordered them once again.

The guards faced each other and turned to her again. He could see their mouth twitch for a second.

'Your majesty, I don't think a guard should be doing the job. I will bring in the woodcutters and the other servants-'

But Kara wasn't ready to listen to their excuses. Neither was Cyran.

She rolls her eyes and grabbed a piece of wood.

'How hard can it be? I'll just do it!' she replied which left all of them shaken.

She doesn't even walk the garden!

'Princess...' one of them started but she gestured for them to go away.

Cyran was not very happy with sending them away. Working is not his strong suit and it doesn't look like a teenage girl and a boy plus the monkey can do it alone.

'Did you have to send them away?' he asked looking out of the room if anyone of them are still there.

She pulled him inside aggressively.

'Of course, I'm an expert in these kinds of things.' she replied confidently flicking her hair.

Otherwise, they would hurt your ego, he thought.

They slowly started putting out all the things necessary to cut wood and create a glider.

'We still need animal hide...' he listed all the things he needed to do and needed necessarily on another parchment.

'Must you write down everything?' she frowned.

'Of course, you should. Normally I would record and print the transcript, but...' he sunk his hand into his pockets to search for his watch when he remembered who had it.

He reached out his hand to her.

'Ehem...I need my watch back please.'

'Queen Maguire, what is your final decision?' asked the leader. He's a greasy old man who doesn't like waiting. He's one of the founders and the leader of the peace organization.

They don't take sides and always look on the side of justice.

'Great leader, please, lend us some time, We are in a form of crisis. Our people are weak and unable to fight. They are starved and sick to which some villages are going extinct.' the minister pleaded to the great leader.

The old man hit the table in anger.

'Some more time? Some more time!? We gave you some more time to think through your choices. And now you wasted it!' he yelled.

The queen didn't react to it and remained quiet. 'Disgraceful.' One of the others mumbled. suddenly, the whole room went silent for a minute to hear the queen's comeback.

Too bad, she doesn't have one.

She finally found the right words to speak.

'Humble Peacekeepers, I will never surrender in times when the people need me the most. I am trying my best and I will not rest until I get my kingdom together. Please, give us some time.' she exclaimed.

Her tone was so soft and confident it would've convinced everyone in the room if they weren't the peacekeepers.' Your kingdom is not prospering now. You are just like your mother. Disgraceful and foolish.' he uttered.

She bit her tongue and looked down. Just you wait, she thought.

'However, the peacekeepers are moved by your confidence, so we are willing to offer you another choice.' Her eyes widened.

I would do anything, she thought.

'To prove your worth and the kingdom's worth, you will have to win the annual hunter's competition' he grinned viciously.

Just then Kara realized that she doesn't know how to cut wood. Embarrassed to ask, she just keeps quiet and starts cutting down the wood randomly.

Cyran, who just noticed the princess chopping down good blocks of wood into small, useless chunks ran to her alarmed.

'What the hell are you doing? why in the world are you cutting down good pieces of wood?' he asked angrily.

Kara's face turned red and she didn't reply.

'Hey you told me to cut it!' she argued.

'I told you to cut the raw trunks into blocks not the blocks themselves!' he counterattacked.

Both of them were fighting when he finally gave up.

'You don't need to do anything!' he growled and picked up the cut pieces.

This hurt Kara a bit since she's always been discouraged and always feels like she lets everyone(especially her mother) down.

'I'm sorry.' she whispered. Her eyes looked glazed. Was she seriously going to cry?

'What?' he turned back confused.

The bratty princess who is friends with the feral, screeching animal has a heart?

He didn't know how to react. Does he need to tell her to sit back down because it's not working? Should he console her? Listen to her sob story which he feels like she would start saying.

But he didn't say anything.

He just stood there and stared into her mud-brown eyes.

'It's alright. Here, I'll teach you how to cut it.' he offered. 'Thank you.' she smiled. But this time it was genuine and warm.

'You should smile like that more.' he muttered, but she was too busy learning to cut the wood.

After 2 hours of menial work, they finally got to construct a basic glider with wood and the hide of a tiger.

'Well, this is still a bit rough, I doubt it will fly with a tiger hide.' he scratched his head.

'Well, you'll never know till you try.' she smiled.

'Yeah, you're right.' he replied. It's as if they are best friends now, sharing opinions and working and building together. 'Well, I'll fly it alone.' he snapped.

Kara looked a little shocked but nodded.

'Ok.' she pouted.

'And just so you know, this doesn't make us friends or anything.' he said bitterly.

Her heart sank a little, but she hid it.

'Wouldn't any other way.' she sighed.

He smiled. 'Winning the annual competition?' she asked in utter shock and disbelief. To be honest, Zhang has never won a contest, ever!

The last time they won was way back when the empire was formed by her great-great-great-great-grandmother! But she has no other choice, it's either this or surrendering.

'Alright.' she replied reluctantly. The great leader smiled and nodded.

'Very well then, let's see how you win this.' one of them laughed quietly. 'And what will I get if I win?' she asked.

'Your winner will be awarded great honor and praise and your country will receive all the gold and diamonds we have to offer.' he said.

The room lit up again. Her advisors and ministers chattered about winning.' But it's true, they could use that to buy food and medicine.

'And you will also be awarded an annual harvest from every village in every other country.' The general almost fainted.

That solves all our problems! she smiled lightly.

'But of course, you have to win for that.' he said.

'Of course, you can trust us. We will win this for sure.' one of her advisors spoke confidently.

The great leader smirked.

It wasn't a good one.

'And if you fail...' he started. Maguire felt her stomach churn.

'And if you fail, you have to completely surrender your country and your people without any hesitation.' he replied.

There it is, she thought. The big catch...