120 Snow White

"Did you get it?" the bird spoke.

"Oh my goodness," Vy exclaimed in shock. She did not notice there was a bird perched on her shoulder, an owl no less.

"Don't scare me like that, Lycster! I could have swiped you and killed with one hit," Vy explained, still hyperventilating.

Lycster flew away from Vy and perched onto a nearby tree, preening its dark grey feathers beneath the wings.

"I could not help myself, sorry about that, Lycster chuckled.

The boy had given it his all in mastering sky form. His efforts paid off! Even Dotty was impressed, usually it took a lot more concentration and time to master the abilities of an animal form that did not come forward to you.

Then again, the owl did take an interest in Lycster, if not it would not have appeared to him each time he attempted to master his sky form. It was not just a manifestation of his desire for the form, but also it was moved by his persistence.

Vy envied the practicality of Lycster's Sky form. Flying through the sky undetected was a great skill to add to one's arsenal. Great for sneaking around or escaping undetected. Even with her enhanced hearing, Vy sometimes could not hear his movement at all.

"So, did you get it,?" Lycster asked, eager to hear Vy's answer.

Vy grinned, "I think I did, although I don't think I am ready to take the full form yet. But I can do this."

Vy stood up from her seated position and got into a stance. Taking in a deep breath, she allowed the flames that had surrounded her to engulf her. Within a matter of seconds, the flames disappeared. The fire did not burn anything around it.

Vy's physical form had been altered. She had a pair of snow white fox ears on the top of her head while her hair was now platinum blonde. Her nails had grown longer and sharper, they were pale white and iridescent.

On her back, she had nine long fur tails, all matching the colour of her ears. As she let out a breath of air, a puff of air escaped her mouth. From where Lycster had perched, he could feel a wave of cold chilly air. Vy twirled around, admiring the changes to her form.

"What do you think?" Vy asked Lycster.

Lycster leapt off the tree branch and turned back into his human form. He came close to Vy and even touched her tail.

"It's so soft!" he exclaimed.

He shivered, "Cold too!" Being in closer proximity to Vy made him more aware of the cold air that surrounded him.

Vy realised that she could control the temperature in her immediate surroundings.

-I will need to be careful with that, we would not want anyone getting hurt by accident.-

Instantly, the surrounding temperature was back to normal.

"Is that your Mythical Form?"

"Yes!"

"I can't wait to get mine too, although I think I still have a long way to go," Lycster replied with a laugh as he recalled what happened when he was locked up by the Baron.

It was at this moment that it occurred to him. Would they end up meeting the Baron during the Masked Ball? When he voiced his concern to Vy, she too realised she had not thought about it before.

"Well, if we meet him, we shall see how it plays out." Vy replied.

"If it calls for it, we will give him what he deserves," she continued with a smirk.

Vy and Lycster headed back to the Castle. There was a lot to prepare, as the Masked Ball was tonight! Once it was complete, they could return home, to the Prism Sector. They had gained lots of new knowledge on this trip, and it had its ups and downs. It was about time for it to come to an end and return back to where they were familiar with.

When they were back in the room, Hazel and Elisa had already prepared lunch for them laid out on the table. On the bed, they had also laid out the clothing, shoes and accessories they would need to attend the Ball tonight.

"Miss Vyrena, you have a couple of letters that have been sent to you," Hazel informed Vy.

Hazel held a silver tray in her hands, a small stack of letters piled neatly together. Vy took a quick look at the letters and noticed that most of it were just regular mail from her business partners and people she had written to recently before she had left for her trip.

Amongst them was also a letter from Tatiana Springheart. Vy picked up the letter and examined it for a while, the envelope was different from the rest, as it was pastel pink in colour and had smelled of roses. Just as she was about to open it, Elette spilt her bowl of soup onto her dress.

Vy put the letter back on the tray, "I'll read these later." before she went forward to help Elette.

The rest of lunch was uneventful but filled with lots of excitement. Vy had asked Hazel and Elisa if they knew what the Masked Ball was like. Elisa explained that while she had only been working as a maid in the Castle for about six years, she noted that many celebrations were held throughout the year.

The Masked Ball was an annual event that King Olwin personally requested since the beginning of his reign. It was a night for the invited guest to let loose and enjoy themselves for a night of socialising and casual drinking.

King Olwin owned his own vineyard and winery in the south of the Kingdom where it was more suitable for the cultivation of grapes. During the Masked Ball, Moonlit Wine would be served. This wine was specially reserved to be served and drunk during this special event.

"I've heard some of the guests claiming the wine to be the best they had ever tasted! Some of the nobles even fight for an invite just to have a taste of it." Elisa explained.

"It must be really tasty then, I hope we get to try some too!" Lycster exclaimed with glee.

"I'm sorry Lycster, but you won't be allowed to drink it. Wine is for adults only," she replied with a sad smile.

"What? Why," Lycster frowned.

"Because it's alcohol, silly. It's like the beer that we drink back in Timbretune." Vy replied with a chuckle.

For the rest of the afternoon, they decided to spend some quality time together. So Vy was seated on the carpeted ground as she and Lycster played with Elette. Vy had brought with her some books for the trip, so she read some of the stories to Elette as well.

Elette was a bright child. She was playful and shy amongst strangers but she was lit up each time she heard Vy speak. She would sit on Vy's lap while she read her a story from one of the picture books they had.