“Wait—huh?!”
“What?! Ailuna is the World Tree’s Maiden?”
The room burst like a flock of sparrows startled from bamboo. Ailuna stared at Sister Dixue, eyes round as two pale moons.
“World Tree Maiden? Like Breeze? But Zaocun never sensed that aura.”
“Yeah, yeah! We elves are sharp to the World Tree, like deer to thunder. How could a Maiden stand beside us and we not feel it?”
“Sister Dixue, did you mix it up? I’ve heard the World Tree Maiden is incredible. Ailuna’s so useless… there’s no way!”
“Actually…”
The silver-haired girl rolled back Ailuna’s sleeve like dawn peeling fog, revealing the bracelet beneath.
“This is the Cataclysm Chain that seals Ailuna’s power. Xiaobai, take a look. See if it’s not a normal chain.”
“Huh?”
Xiaobai leaned in, gaze a needle threading moonlight along Ailuna’s wrist.
Elves breathe magic the way fish breathe water. Xiaobai was no exception. The little blonde saw the strangeness at a glance.
“The tracking spell… failed?”
She frowned. Pale yellow light spilled from her fingers like sunlight through leaves. It touched the chain and vanished, swallowed like a pebble into a black hole.
“What… is that?”
“This bracelet drinks every ripple of the wearer’s magic. Only because the World Tree Maiden’s power is vast as spring flood. Ailuna let it leak while sleeping. I traced it. The signature mirrors the Maiden’s exactly.”
“Is that… true? President Butterfly Snow, I’ve never seen the World Tree Maiden. I’ve never heard news like that.”
Xiaobai’s lashes fluttered like moth wings. Her look at Ailuna held tide-pulled confusion.
The World Tree Maiden lives hidden, a pearl within the World Tree. Except for the Silverwing Elves who guard the trunk, others never get more than rumors and wind.
“Um… Yue-sis, Sister Dixue! Am I really the World Tree Maiden?”
“Yes, mm-hmm. I don’t mistake this kind of light. The green glow on Ailuna is the Maiden’s twin.”
“Mm…”
Ailuna lowered her head, thoughts drifting like leaves on a quiet lake.
“President Dixue, if Ailuna truly is the Maiden, why hasn’t the Elven Queen, the World Tree’s guardian, released a decree?”
“I wanted to tell you just that, Xiaobai… but it’s sensitive. Let’s step outside to talk.”
“Sensitive? Got it.”
Dixue left with Xiaobai and Ruyi, slipping out like cats at dusk. What comes next touches the crown’s secrets, and Ailuna’s the one at the heart.
After they went, the room held two elves and two cats: Yue Liuyi and Ailuna, Zaocun and Zero Wei.
The catfolk girls stayed calm, like reeds that have bent to many winds. They’d traveled the Lost City. They’d met Breeze. Nothing here cracked their sky.
Ailuna looked lost, though. Her soft pink eyes floated, unfocused, like rain that forgot where to fall.
“Ailuna-sis, it’s okay. The World Tree Maiden isn’t scary. We met one before.”
“Huh? Mm… Zero Wei, you met a maiden?”
“Mm! Me, Zaocun, and Yue-sis did! Her name’s Breeze. She’s really sweet! Yue-sis even bathed with her…”
“Eh—Zero Wei! Don’t say that part!”
“Bathed together? Sounds nice…”
Ailuna snuck a look at Yue Liuyi. A little blush, a little smile. A little envy glinting like dew.
“Um… Yue-sis, how do you see the World Tree Maiden?”
“She’s a great presence. Just a girl, but she carries the duty to save the world. That’s… kind of incredible.”
“Then I can’t be the Maiden! I’m such a useless girl. I mess up everything. I don’t deserve it…”
Her pink eyes welled like a spring behind glass. She looked down at herself… even her silly cowlick drooped like a wilted sprout.
“That’s not true. Ailuna’s done great things. You’re just missing some memories, so you feel adrift. Anyone would.”
“But… what if even with my memories back, I’m still useless?”
“It won’t be like that. Everyone hits valleys. I’ve done loads of useless stuff, too. What matters is the heart to keep climbing.”
“Eh? You too, Liuyi?”
“Mm! At the start I couldn’t do anything right. Even wearing a cute skirt was… um… a disaster. People treated me like a mascot—LittleSnow most of all. But now? I can put on a skirt easy as wind through silk!”
Only Yue Liuyi would raise “wearing a skirt” like a battle won at dawn. Yet Ailuna listened, and her praise rang sincere.
“Wow! Yue-sis, you’re amazing!”
“And not just me. You’ve grown, too.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Mm. Look out there.”
Yue pointed toward the window, finger a brush painting light.
Outside, beauty poured like tea. Elven streets stepped down in gentle layers under broad shade. Fish danced across the blue lake, each splash a silver petal.
“Not just the city. The adventurer camp bloomed because you arranged it. Color everywhere, like spring weaving a quilt. Ailuna brings beauty and healing to this world. You’re not a waste at all.”
“Liuyi…”
She looked at Yue, pink-haired fists curling. In her eyes, a spark gathered like a firefly finding night.
“Mm! I get it! I can’t keep running. If I’m the World Tree Maiden, I’ll fight to remember everything.”
“That’s perfect. I’ll help.”
“Thank you, Liuyi!”
…
Later, Dixue returned.
Xiaobai had tied her hair back into twin ponytails, trailing beside Dixue with chatter and sunshine—like a kindergarten kid led by their teacher toward lunch.
Qiu Ruyi didn’t appear. Maybe she went to set things up.
“Got it. Then for now… Ruyi’s power and mine will both be under Dixue’s command.”
“Thanks for the support, Xiaobai. I’ll keep Ailuna safe.”
“Huh? What happened?! What did LittleSnow and Xiaobai agree on in secret?”
Seeing them suddenly close felt like watching frost and sun shake hands. Yue Liuyi blinked, puzzled.
“It’s not a deal. It’s trust, mutual and firm. In our tribe, the Queen isn’t the highest symbol.”
“Huh?”
“Only the World Tree Maiden is. Prove Ailuna’s identity, and the Elven Parliament will stand with us to protect her. It’s basically… using the sovereign as your banner to command the lords.”
“That sounds awful! Like plotting in shadows.”
“If you don’t outfox the plotters, you can’t keep the World Tree Maiden safe.”
“We’re protecting Ailuna from bullies. Don’t say it like that!”
“Heh-heh~”
Dixue smiled at her beloved little moon, eyes warm as lanterns in early night.
…
