Amber kept a close eye on Nova while they were in the forest picking herbs. She had decided that after they went home, she would have a look at her throat and see what she could do for her. As things were, Amber couldn't let the girl out of her sight, because she was harassed even while they were holding hands! It's not like the girl could yell for help.
Amber tugged on Nova's hand and pointed to a nearby tree, letting her know that she was going to climb up it. She motioned for Nova to stay at the base of the tree and wait for her.
Nova shook her head yes and waited. Amber took the bottom of her wrap dress and hiked it up between her legs, tucking it into the front. Nova had never seen such a thing before. Her face turned beet red and she quickly looked away. Amber laughed as she started to climb up the tall tree.
Above the tree line was stunning. She could see the tops of the trees for miles and the sun started to set in the distance. This was when she saw what she was really looking for. The top of one of the trees was covered in purple blossoms and it covered a large area.
In Duchess Dash, the heroine had attached herself to Duke Dreyfus's hunting party and had gotten separated while following the trail of a white fox. She wanted to give the fox to the First Prince for his upcoming birthday. He liked unusual things and three tailed, pure white foxes were almost unheard of.
Cray wasn't paying a lot of attention to her surroundings while chasing the fox, until she came upon an Empress Tree. It was a massive tree covered in big purple blossoms that hung heavy on all of the branches. It was one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen. It was also impossible for most spirit beasts to approach this tree because it let off an impressive ancient barrier due to its age. The tree trunk was ten feet wide and she could not easily see the top of it from the ground. There were willowy branches covered in large purple blossoms that nearly swept the ground.
When she got closer to the tree, she noticed that part of it was hollow. Being a weak and clumsy female lead, she tripped and fell into the tree and landed into a condensed pool of pure mana. The pool of mana was just under the surface of the ground and nestled in its roots. It had been slowly dripping down the massive tree and condensing underground for years.
Cray hadn't been able to catch the fox, and so decided to collect a bottle of the condensed pure mana for the prince as a birthday present. When he asked her where she'd gotten it, she readily showed him. In the end, the First Prince took it all for himself and didn't even thank her. After that, the prince said that this town was poorly managed and used that as an excuse to take it from Amber's family.
In the story, the First Prince had cut down the tree to get to the pool more easily. He had taken the condensed mana from the pool, but had destroyed the source of the pure mana in the process. He was a short sighted fool. He ended up destroying the forest in his search for another source of condensed mana. The female lead was just happy that he enjoyed his birthday present.
Amber climbed down the tree and took Nova's hand, leading her toward the Empress Tree. As they walked a little further into the forest, she started to recognize the path that the heroine took in 'Duchess Dash'.
She reached to pull out her knife, but realized that it wasn't there. She frowned while patting herself down and signed. "I must have dropped my knife somewhere, how annoying."
She searched around on the ground to see if she could find a somewhat sharp rock. Once she did, she hit the edge with another rock until a chip of it broke off. She used the sharp edge to make a little cut in the bottom of a tree to mark her way back. She didn't make it overly noticeable, because she didn't want others seeing it too.
As they continued on, Nova started to shake from fear. She didn't understand what they were doing there, but also didn't want to disobey her new master.
Amber patted her hand. "I know exactly what I'm planning to do here. I just have a quick errand and then we'll head back home."
Amber planned to come back for the night market after dropping Nova off. The night market was no place for a little mute girl. Amber however, had some business to conduct.
They continued on in silence for a while, when they came upon a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was the Empress Tree. She motioned for Nova to sit there and wait for her as she continued on by herself. It was best to not have any extra witnesses just yet. She also needed to come up with a plan so that the female lead will never find this place.
She walked around the tree and found a small hole in the other side of the base. Amber slipped into the tiny opening that was barely big enough for her frame. She wiggled into the hole past her hips and then boobs.
She pressed her foot on a root under the tree and lowered herself down into the hole. Her foot slipped and she landed into a deep pool up to her chin. She gasped in shock since she hadn't expected it to be so deep.
She pulled out the wooden vase from her backpack and filled it with the pure mana. She stuffed the herbs in the vase too. As she was standing in the mana, she felt a burning and tingling sensation all over her body.
"Yah!!!" She repeatedly tried to climb out of the hole, but kept on slipping. She slipped under the surface several times. While slipping, she accidentally swallowed big mouthfuls of the pure mana, and breathed it in. The burning intensified after a few minutes while her feet continued to ship. She was finally able to get a good hold and managed to climb out of the hole.
She climbed out as quickly as she could, grabbed Nova's arm and they headed back to the village. It was best to not linger in a place like this, so that she wouldn't draw unwanted attention.
Walking past the clearing and through the forest, an incredibly alluring scent lightly drifted off of her body. It was as if her natural pheromones intensified. She stopped and smelled the deep sultry and exotic floral scent lightly drift off of her arm. Amber blushed and continued walking with Nova.
A moment later, a little pure white fox with three tails came running towards Amber and jumped on her shoulder. "Yah! What are you doing?" She tried to fling it off, but it jumped on her head. When she tried to fling it off of her head, it jumped onto her other shoulder.
Nova pointed at the little fox and made a hand motion of holding it.
"You want to keep it?" Amber said.
Nova shook her head yes excitedly.
Amber sighed, "It seems that I can't get rid of it even if I want to."
The little fox stood up straighter in a victorious pose with its nose stuck up in the air. It was as if the fox had announced that it had won a great battle. It walked around in circles on top of her shoulder until it contentedly laid down and rested its head on her.
Before leaving the forest, Amber managed to get the fox to climb into her backpack. She felt stupid for talking to the fox, but strangely it understood her and actually obeyed. She pulled her hood down again and they exited as inconspicuously as possible.
She didn't notice the orange haired man following her or the brothel manager leer at them from the stalls.