Stephanie arrived in front of the palace of the King of Selona and approached the guards who guarded the palace gates with a long spear in both their hands, "I would like to see your king and have a word with him" she said to them "who are you and what do you want to say to our king?"One of the guards asked "I'm a well wisher" she replied him "that's not enough reason for us to let you go to our king" the other guard said and Stephanie simply smiled before hypnotically told them to leave her way then the hypnotized guards made way for her to pass through and bowed respectfully at her and she entered the palace.
She made her way to the King's bedchamber using an invisibility spell to evade the members of the palace. When she got to the room, she met the king lying on his back facing the ceiling with eyes closed and she lifted the invisibility spell so she could be seen by him then she cleared her throat to get his attention. "Who are you and he did you get in here" the king asked her yelling but she didn't have to worry since she had put up a sound barrier in the bedchamber "you don't have to yell, I'm simply an ally" she said calmly "what do you mean ally" he asked but she just smiled "guards!!!" he yelled and she scoffed "no one can hear you, no need to scream" she said.
"I'm not here to hurt you, I am here to tell you that your neighboring kingdom, Silvia, has allied with a few other kingdoms to attack your kingdom unaware and claim your land" Stephanie explained to him calmly "how sure are you about that?" the king asked her "you can call me a sorceress, I know a lot of things" she replied him "I have no other business here, it's up to you to protect your kingdom" she said and disappeared from the spot leaving only purplish-black smoke and causing the king to stare at the spot she was standing on with shock, with the intention of making him believe her words.
...….
Riley reappeared in the peace garden in the flower realm and was surprised to find himself there; he wanted to just go anywhere so he can digest what he just learnt from his mother, he tried to teleport out of there but he wasn't even moving an inch. He tried a few more times but all to no avail, he closed his eyes and tried again but when he opened it, he still found himself there and he simply gave up trying. While walking around the garden, one half of Riley's mind wished that he finds Maya, and the other half was fighting off the thought.
'Did I truly fall in love with her?' 'But, how is it possible when we've only met once and I've never thought about women' Riley thought to himself and closed his eyes tightly then opened them back before looking straight ahead. His eyes landed on the spot where he found her in her true form the very first time they met and he smiled to himself wishing she could just show up again, he lay on the floor and stared at the pinkish sky which reminded him of the dress she wore on that day.
...….
FLOWER REALM
After seeing Elena back to her room and attending to her other needs, Maya finally got her break and she was allowed to go to the peace garden for her meditation. "Take care of the princess Ava" she said to Ava then turned to Elena "I'll take my leave now your highness, and I'll be back in a short while" she said to Elena, bowing "you may leave" Elena said softly and Maya bowed one last time before teleporting to the peace garden.
When she arrived there, Maya looked around the place then transformed into her true form rooting herself to the ground. After a short while of dancing to the cool breeze, she felt a force pulling her towards a particular direction in the garden, at first, she thought it was just her imagination but when she kept feeling the force, she transformed back to her human form and decided to trace where the force was coming from. She walked slowly until she got to a spot where she saw someone lying a few feet away from her, she took slow steady steps, and with every step she takes, she felt the force become stronger. She finally got to where the person was and realized it was Riley.
'What could Riley be doing here, did he come here to find flowers for his mother again?' she asked herself in her mind a she stared down at him 'but, if he's here for flowers he shouldn't be lying on the floor" she thought and slowly bent down to stare at his face. She admired his beauty silently looking at his long lashes, then at his mole and then, his pale pink lips 'he's really handsome' she thought and smiled widely revealing her dimples, and at the same time, Riley opened his eyes to see her smiling which startled her and she stumbled backward.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here" Riley said and hurriedly got up from the ground then helped her up as well "it's okay, it was me who disturbed you" she said smiling sheepishly which made her look cuter and that made Riley smile. "It's okay, I hope you're not hurt" he asked her "no, I'm okay" she replied "by the way, what are you doing here" she asked him "um, I…, uh I came… here to… look around" he replied her nervously while scratching the back of his head, he was cursing himself deep down for acting that way in front of a woman and her face lit up "oh, I can show you around then" she said happily and took his hands then dragged him along with her so she can start showing him around and he didn't object. Instead, he looked at her small fragile hands which were holding his large strong ones.
Maya was walking really fast while pulling Riley behind her, and all Riley could do was smile while staring at the woman who was pulling him; the woman he had just fallen in love with. He watched as her waist length hair danced to the wind and her voice sounded so angelic when she named the flowers and plants they passed by while she showed him around the garden. "We're done here, do you think I am a good guide" she asked him smiling but all she got as a response was his handsome face smiling sweetly at her and she snapped her fingers in front of his face still holding his hands and that broke him out of his reverie.
"Oh sorry, what did you say" he said blinking a few times, "I said, do you think I'm a good guide?" she asked again "yes, you were. Thank you Maya" he said smiling "you know, I've always wanted to see what the mortal realm was like. I want to see a world where there's no magic" she said with a partially sad expression "I can take you there" Riley volunteered and her smile widened brightening her features "really?" she asked "yes really" he replied her "you look more beautiful when you smile" he said to her "thank you" she said.
"Riley?" she called out to him and his heart melted because his name sounded so good when she says it "yes, any problem" he asked "I am only allowed to be here for about an hour or I'll be punished by the Queen" she said to him "I'll bring you back in a short while and you wouldn't need to be punished, if you trust me" he assured her and held out his hands for her to hold "I trust you Riley" she said smiling and then put her hands in his, Riley looked at both their hands and rubbed his thumb on the back of her hands before pulling her so she could hug him then spoke up "Let's go now, so we can return early" he said and she nodded against his chest then he teleported them both out of there.