Judith had slept very blissfully throughout the night. To a degree she was even drooling. By the time she had finally woken up, the Phoenix had already peaked the sky.
Rising with a yawn, Judith cleaned out her eyes before smacking her lips as she looked in every direction with drowsy eyes.
'So it wasn't a dream.' Judith said, then yawned once more before finally feeling herself become lucid. When her vision had fully corrected itself, Judith discovered something was amiss.
Turning from left to right, Judith discovered that the room was very tidy. Then, when she turned around, she saw the pot which was suspended above the fireplace was now gone. Looking down, Judith found a plate on a tray — two plates to be exact. They were bowl-like, with one being placed on top the other.
Beside the plates, was a spoon and a glass of water, which was covered by a handkerchief.
Judith realized that Tsai had woken up early and already cleaned the house. Thinking back on her conversation the night before, while they were eating. Tsai had thanked Judith for her kindness, and swore to repay her back one day. Though Judith refused, she had still insisted, and with an unmovable stance, she said she was going to be Judith's maid until further notice.
Unable to convince Tsai otherwise, she had just let her be.
A good thing either ways. It was nice to see Tsai wasn't someone who took advantage of others. Once Judith had made it up in the world, she would let Tsai go, after giving her enough funds to start her own life. But right now, they needed to stick together.
After smacking her lips for a few seconds, she had fixated on the meal in front of her. Looking at it, her stomach began to growl, which had caused her to pick up the plate at once, remove the cover and then picked the spoon besides it. After which she began to munch away.
With one spoonful, Judith felt the flavors melt into her tongue. It couldn't be overstated just how much of a good cook Tsai was. This fact was made obvious the first time Judith had a taste of her food, back at the outpost.
A part of Judith felt a great elation, by everything that had happened to her. This world was no doubt a blessing. Before this, Judith couldn't even remember the last time she had something fresh to eat, something...healthy.
With a solemn feeling coursing through her, Judith decided not to think on it any longer, then she fixated her gaze on the meal and ate thoughtlessly. Or at least she tried to eat thoughtlessly, but with a slight pull of her mind, she wondered to herself where Tsai could possibly be.
For a moment, she had forgotten that this was not Tsai's place of work, instead it was...hers.
All of a sudden, Judith's eyes widened. She remembered that she was supposed to be at Qui Lin's side by six in the morning. And now, the time would probably be around twelve noon. Upon coming to this realization, the blood had drained from Judith's face. With a gulp, she rushed out the room, forgetting to take a shower or even brush her teeth. But just then, she halted in her steps, went back to her room, picked up the plate of food along with the spoon and rushed out the room.
After a few strides and a mini Way-Point or two, Judith finally arrived at the hallway where one of its many doors hid Qui Lin's room on the other side.
Making her way past several overly and unnecessarily ornate doors, Judith finally came to a door she knew for a fact belonged to Qui Lin. Actually, the door couldn't be mistaken for anyone else's, because — as though the doors in this hallway weren't already excessive enough — Qui Lin's door was decorated with rubies.
Seeing this door for the first time, Judith wondered to herself if someone would be mad enough to break into this castle and rip this door from its hinges. Of course basically everything in this castle was worth a lot, but this door alone could buy a small village.
Taking in a deep breath, Judith decided to steel her nerves and head inside. Not wanting to prolong her inevitable punishment any longer. Bitting her lips, she placed a hand on the door's handle, and pushed it open.
The inside of the room — just like last time — left Judith in awe. Forgetting her punishment for a moment, Judith spent a few moments to take in the grandeur of the room.
The room was very wide and filled to the brim with one thing or the other. From paintings of several old men and women hanging on the walls, to pedestals with small but very detailed statues on top each, which lined the corners of the room, to a low glass rectangular table with silver coating on its rim, to soft silk pillows that rounded the low glass table.
Banners with Qui Lin's family crest were draped across the ceiling, and a mighty chandelier with carved up and designed Light Crystals hung in the middle of the room. There were no widows present, so the only means of ventilation, were small holes that liked the top of the walls.
Pulling Judith out of her head, was a sudden burst that seemed to shake the foundation of the room. It didn't take long for Judith to realize where the origin of the burst had come from. Turning to her right, Judith saw a door, which stood slightly ajar.
She had gone through every of Qui Lin's rooms, so she knew what was waiting on the other side of the door.
Gently walking to it, she stood in front of the door, and with a deep breath, she pushed it open. What was revealed on the other side of the door, was a Qui Lin, upside down in midair, surrounded by several stone warriors, that likewise were all in midair with their swords pointed at her, ready to impale her from all sides.
/Author note/
This scene is heavily inspired by Avatar the last Airbender XD.