Chapter 8.1: The discovery of your identity

"Ivy… Ivy…" Ivy heard an echo as she blinked several times at the bright lights. She could smell the sweet scent of blue peas and irises. She knew it was her paracosm.

She gently opened her eyes as they squinted while she tried sitting up and found grandma next to her. She hugged her instantly like how she always does. It was the refuge she had longed for after a long week in college. The exams were exhausting but she was glad she made it through. Besides, it was not everyday she could dream of her grandma. There were days she woke up to serpents from the portals or a black hole from a beautiful lighted aurora sky which always kept her adrenaline pumping.

A familiar figure stood behind her grandma and she knew it was Phoenix from his glowing skin.

"Oh Ivy, thank goodness you're alright!" Grandma exclaimed, sending Ivy into confusion while she parted from her embrace.

"What happened?" Ivy questioned as she watched both her grandma and Phoenix were hesitating to tell. Ivy was furious as she climbed down from bed and summoned her sword but her grandma halted her.

"Ivy calm down! Haven't I told you, you're on a mission to help Phoenix? He saved your kingdom and yourself from the serpents. Isn't that enough to show you his pledged loyalty in trying to protect your kingdom?" Grandma explained as Ivy slowly withdrew her sword which she was pointing at Phoenix.

She examined herself and saw there were no wounds."My wounds?" Ivy questioned.

"I healed them but the poison has to be extracted fast to avoid the side effects of hallucinations." Phoenix echoed.

"Yes my dear. We have successfully extracted the poison but you blacked out instantly. Now that we are all safe, let me prepare some desserts shall we?" Grandma chirped happily as she walked away into her kitchen.

"Princess…" Phoenix echoed as Ivy tried to step out of the house. "Follow me…" Ivy said in a lower voice as they both left the cottage.

"I'm sorry about the trouble…" Phoenix's apology was cut off by Ivy who held her right hand up to stop him.

"You don't need to apologise. From now on, we will fight your serpents whenever they come. Meanwhile, keep yourself in a pleasant mood as much as you can. To do so, please replant the irises destroyed and mend the damage done from your fights." Ivy instructed as Phoenix nodded in agreement.

Ivy was mesmerised by his poise even when he was scolded. She wondered if anyone

would be looking for him.

"Let's start with the purple irises patch…" She instructed again as they walked out into the long stretch of irises plains. "Who do you think would be searching for you out there?" Ivy casually asked while she squatted to tend to a plot of irises.

Phoenix shrugged as he wondered the same. Perhaps his parents or his army of soldiers. A pounding head was felt as Phoenix recalled bits and pieces of army soldiers led by him out from an aurora lighted sky. The word soldiers rang various voices in Phoenix's head but he couldn't make out anything they said except "kill the princess". He could see bits and pieces of swords and daggers as he held his pounding head and stumbled to the ground in agony. "No! No!", cried Phoenix.

"Phoenix! Phoenix! Are you alright?" Ivy went over and tried to calm him but he was rolling on the ground in agony while the sky turned grey with portals appearing. Ivy quickly drew her sword and waited for the serpents to appear from the portals but instead she was greeted by an aurora lighted sky.

It was the same sky she used to dream seeing her parents and her younger self in. The vibrant auroras were splitting the gray sky as she stood mesmerised by the beauty.

"Ivy, wake up!" An urgent loud voice echoed and broke the silence surrounding her as she held her ears close to her palm and instantly awoke to find herself sleeping on her study table surrounded by her notes and exercise books for accounts.

She checked the time to be seven in the morning on a Saturday. She wanted to head back and sleep but her adrenaline was still pumping hard as she lay down in bed instead while staring at the oscillating fan. She wondered whose voice it was as her mind drifted to remind her that Andrew and Sandra were dropping by in a few hours to finish up their woodwork project together. She should not let them find out about her nightmare as she quickly went to get herself breakfast and started her woodwork first to distract herself.

It was nearly a week since Jason gave the career talk which was a success and wanted to treat Ivy for a meal although he had arranged a handsome amount paid for her previous help. He decided to find her in her house following the address which was on her student information form provided by the Dean during his first proposal.

Jason reached a rooftop unit which had a huge teddy bear head stuck on top of the main house's roof which seemed to be blocking a hole in the roof from leaking during rainy days. The teddy's head looked really scary from the black residues on the old roof. He wondered for a second if he was in the right house as it seemed like an old abandoned haunted house. He began to walk around and noticed a glass house in the middle of a mini garden by the left corner of the main house.

"Ivy!" Jason decided to call out as he could hear sounds from behind.

"Ivy someone's at the door!" Sandra called out to Ivy from the kitchen inside the house. Ivy was standing outside the house in front of the kitchen's window.

She was listening to her music player as her mind wandered into her paracosm and pondered about Phoenix. Her hands were busy scrubbing on the rough wood edges with sandpaper. Andrew stood opposite her doing the same to his wood project. Ivy didn't notice Sandra was calling out till Andrew knocked on her wood to catch her attention.

"Yes, yes?!" Ivy quickly unplugged her ear pieces and made a dramatic action of being startled.

"Someone's at the door!" Andrew and Ivy said in unison while they giggled at her reaction.

"Oh. Oops!" She dropped her sandpaper on the table and comically skipped to the side of the house to peep.

"Oh... What's he doing here?" Ivy asked herself softly but was loud enough for both Andrew and Sandra to hear her. She walked closer to the front of the glass house where Jason was standing.

"Who?" Sandra asked from the side window of the living room. "Someone I need to talk to. Hold on. Stay here, all of you." Ivy instructed as she walked towards Jason who was waving.

"Hello! What brings you here?" Ivy greeted as she unlocked the glass house to let him in.

"Seemed busy in your yard? Someone's home?" Jason asked as he stepped into the glass house.

"Ahh, some woodwork project for living skills lessons. Andrew and Sandra are there. Well, anything I can do for you?" Ivy switched on the fan.

"Hmmm… do you live here?" He looked around and recalled the Teddy bear while she nodded.

"The Teddy…" He said as he pointed to the roof's direction.

"Oh, it was a gift which I didn't need so I used it to block the leakage of the main house…" Ivy explained as Jason raised an eyebrow. Ivy instantly recalled it was from her boy who had a crush on her back then in her early years of high school whom she really wasn't keen on.

"It's an empty hall where sometimes I will play board games with Andrew and Sandra…" She further explained as he nodded while observing the glass house.

"This was my grandma's…" She explained trying to kill his curiosity.

"I see… Parents not home?" Jason asked as he was prepared to make an explanation to them about his visit.

"Nope… How did you get my address anyway?" She asked as she remembered she didn't give him before and it was a surprise.

"The student information form from the Dean. Right, I just wanted to come and treat you for a meal as the previous talk was a success and we wouldn't make it without your help on the questionnaires. Perhaps you would want to take a look at the second questionnaire outcome as well?" Jason smiled.

"Oh, don't worry about that since I have received a hefty payment...It is fine." Ivy finally took a seat on the small chair while he sat opposite of her with a table in between them.

"About my part time job offer… have you considered it?" Jason asked nonchalantly.