Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tale or it's characters.


-The Enchanter of Fairy Tale-

Chapter 41: Cade's 14th Birthday

Year: X756. 28 years till Canon begins.

Cade POV:

A few days later, I sent the message to Elder Lotho saying that I wanted him to send a Seeker to go and ask Lilly and Cornelia if they wanted to come here for my birthday. I did tell the Seeker just before he left how to get to Magnolia so he wouldn't get lost. I also made sure to tell him to say to Lilly and Cornelia that I was the one that was asking them to come to Lavender Village. This was an invitation not some demand.

It would take the Seeker two and a half days to get there and get back here again, around four to five days in total. That mean they would arrive here on the 4th October which is one day before my birthday. In that time I could give them a nice tour of the village and introduce them to everyone.

I did speak to Elder Lotho about accommodation for them to stay in, but thankfully he said that there was more spare rooms in Master Han's monastery so there could stay there. A quick talk request with Master Han later, and he agreed to take them in as long as they helped around the house every so often.

Over the next few days while I was waiting for them to arrive I had continued to train (or attempt to train up) my sense of sight the best that I could. I had made some decent progress at some more of the training sessions that I did with Master Han. These ones were all inside the mountain, and they involved me having to see a very weak, yet very fast attack, coming from a good distance away and try to dodge it.

I was somewhat decent at this, but the attack really kept skimming my shoulder or side when I was dodging it. Master Han would only deem the session completed if I was able to dodge the entire attack and come out unscathed.

Another exercise that I was asked to do was to try and distinguish certain colours from a distance. Master Han would use his Requip Magic to summon some mannequins with basic clothes on them at a far distance and I was to try and figure out what the colours of the clothes are.

I wasn't just asked to name the colours on each piece of clothing, but I was also required to try and say everything the mannequin was wearing which included accessories like hats and glasses and even monocles! I felt like I was fighting a losing battle here with all these hard training sessions, but the worst thing I could do now was give up.

This rigorous and hard method of training continued for the next few days. I did also spend some time with my mother, in which we both went around the village and visited the library and see the bakery that was here as well just seeing what the rest of the village had to offer us while we were still here.

Speaking of which, my two months here were nearly up. I wasn't exactly sure how many days I still needed to complete the training to access my Etherial State. I suppose after that then me and mother would just leave the village and head back to Magnolia. Perhaps if I finished fast enough, then we could leave with Cornelia and Lilly – if they accepted the invite of course.

Fea did also come round to the monastery every few days to see what I was up to. Ever since I rescued her, she seems much more happy and yet more nervous when she is around me. Fea was always wanting to do something with me. Like the occasional walk around the village; or try to sneak out of the village which was rather fun and dangerous. I mostly found myself occupied with other things that I had on at the time, so I was unable to hang out with her.

When I woke up today I felt quite excited. Not only was my birthday tomorrow, but Lilly and Cornelia was on their way to the village today! If I did the math right in my head then I think they would be arriving at around noon. The clock hanging up on my wall said that the time was 9:37am in the morning, so I had time to kill before they arrived.

I got up out of bed and chapped the shoji sliding door that connected to my mother's room. A few second later the doors slid open revealing my mother dressed in her nightgown. I'm guessing she must have woke up recently and hadn't gotten dressed yet. Her hair thankfully was as smooth as usual, and not like a spiders nest when she forgot to wash/straighten it that one time.

"Good morning Cade!" She greeted me cheerfully when she saw me. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept about as well as you could when it's your birthday tomorrow!" I said with excitement. "And who could forget the fact that my friends are coming over here!"

"Oh, I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing them again. It's been nearly two months since we last saw them after all."

My mother then gave me a curious gaze, as she looked me up and down.

"I think… you grew a bit last night." She muttered. Then she gave me a thin smile. "Won't be long until you grow up and past me."

"You think so?" I said as I looked down at myself. "I honestly can't see a difference with my height."

"That's because you're always at a guild where everyone except Master Makarov is taller than you and many of them are still growing. I'm sure you'll find yourself shooting past them in the future." She assured me with a smile.

"In size or strength?" I asked with a smirk.

Mother smirked back. "Both. Now why don't you get dressed and come with me out for a walk around the village until your friends arrive?" She suggested, as she slid the door shut leaving me alone.

'Still crazy that they will be here in a few hours time. I hope they come through the forest door and not the huge doorway that we came through when we were coming here. I wouldn't want them to be sick and have vomit all over their clothes. That'd be an unfortunate sight to see.' I mussed in my head, before I turned to my dresser to get dressed into some casual clothes for the day.


"Is that them? I think I can see them over the ridge there!" I said with anticipation, as I looked at the pathway that led up and out of the village and into the forest tunnel.

I could see three figures moving along and down the path towards us. They had different heights, and I could see that two of them had brownish hair at varying lengths. I think there a man was in front of them and was leading them down towards us.

To my side, stood Elder Lotho, Fea, mother and Master Han. Each were here for their own reason. Master Han wished to see his new temporary guests that would be staying with him while they were here. Elder Lotho was obviously here to welcome them and see what they were like. Fea came here as I wanted her to be here to meet them. Apart from the kidnappers, I was the only person from the outside world that Fea had met. Her meeting Lilly and Cornelia would be a good opportunity for her meet some girls her age.

As the trio got closer to us, one of them (the shortest one out of them all) turned and saw the five of us and gave us a big wave.

That answered who that was.

I waved back happily. My mother did as well, her also figuring out who it was. Master Han just held up a hand in a greeting manner, Elder Lotho waved awkwardly; him not expecting such a gesture and Fea just gave a look of confusion at the individual.

Not long after the wave, the three figures came down to where we were and I was able to see them a lot more clearly.

I saw a middle aged man who was presumably the Seeker meant to bring them here. But to his left and right I saw the people I was hoping to spend some time with for the next few days.

On his left I saw Cornelia. She didn't seem that different than when I last her before I left to come here. She was holding a suitcase that presumably had all her clothes for the time she planned to spend here. Cornelia wore a nice blue blouse that had some thin pink stripes running close to the edges of it. Her hair was about the same length and came down over her shoulders like usual with it being a bit curled close to the bottom. She wore some nice brown shoes with some short white ankle socks.

On the left of the man I saw Lilly who was also holding a suitcase. She also didn't seem that different except her brown hair now seemed a bit longer than it was before. Unlike Cornelia's brown hair which was curled at the bottom, Lilly's hair was straight and smooth came came down her back. I think I liked it more than her other hair styles. Lilly also wore a plain celadon shirt along with a white skirt that had some black stripes going down vertically. For her footwear, Lilly wore a nice pair of slip on shoes that were coloured pink.

When Lily and Cornelia saw me, they both came up to me and I came up to greet them as well. The three of our faces in a happy smile.

"Hey you guys! It's so good to see you here! I'm glad you were able to make it here." I greeted them with a grin.

"It's good to see you you too!" Cornelia said with a happy expression.

Lilly looked like she was about to speak up to me, but she seemed to falter when she looked at my face. More specifically, the left side of my face.

"Hey Cade? What up with your birthmark?" Lilly questioned.

"Oh yeah… that… I kind of… got slashed by a knife while I was here." I muttered awkwardly.

When I said that both girls seemed to freak out and began to ask me multiple questions at once.

"A-Are you ok?!" "Who did it!? Who slashed you!?" "How did it happen?!" "Does it hurt?" "How did I not notice it before!" "If it makes you feel better, at least it looks cool?"

"H-Hey! Calm down please! I'm fine, I'm fine!" I assured them quickly.

Both girls still seemed a bit shaken by the revelation, but they were able to somewhat relax.

"I'll tell you how it happened later. For now, why don't you meet everyone else?" I suggested as I gestured to everyone else that was behind me.

Both girls then looked at the company that was gathered behind me. Elder Lotho was the first to step forward and introduce himself.

"Welcome to Lavender Village Cornelia and Lilly. I hope that you enjoy your time here to the fullest." He greeted them with a nod. "You shall be staying with Cade and his mother at Han's monastery while you are here."

"I am happy to have you two staying with me. On the condition that you help out around the house every so often." Master Han explained to them.

Both Lilly and Cornelia let out a thanks to Master Han and Elder Lotho for their kindness. They then turned to Fea, curious as to who she was. Fea answered for them.

"My name is Fea. I am the Elder's daughter and then one that was instructed to watch over and assist Cade while he is here at the village." She bowed her head at the both of them.

"Wow, it's so nice to meet you all!" Lilly said with a smile, as she then looked at the village behind them. "Are we free to explore the whole village?"

"You are. While you are staying here you may help yourself to the many delights that our village has to offer. You may borrow a book from our library – as long as you return it. You can also eat at dine at our lovely bakery." Elder Lotho said as he provided some examples.

"We'll be staying here for around a week, so we'll have plenty time to see everything." Cornelia remarked. "For now though, could you show us to the place we will be staying?" She requested politely.

"Of course. Follow me and I'll take you there." Master Han replied.

With all those greetings said done, all of us expect Fea and Elder Lotho (as they had business to do) began to head in the direction to Master Han's monastery.

While we were all walking there I spoke up to Cornelia.

"So tell me, how's Gildarts doing back at Magnolia?" I wondered. My mind had occasionally drifted to imaging what all my friends were up to back home, it was nice to finally get the chance to ask.

"Not even going to ask what I've been up to? How rude." Cornelia gasped sarcastically.

"Haha you are just as funny as ever." I said dryly. "Tell me how he is."

"He's been quite busy recently. Master Makarov would have apparently had his hands full later on in the year, so he held the S-Class trials a bit earlier this year. Gildarts said that everyone in the guild was freaking out when he announced it out of nowhere." Cornelia started. "Obviously Gildarts had to help out Master with the preparations for the trial. All you need to know is that Ivan was selected this year as a candidate. Gildarts said that he seems quite eager to win this year."

"Oh great… Wonder if he will have won by the time I get back... Hey has the trial started yet?" I asked with interest.

"It would have started today actually. By the time we were ready to leave it was almost time for the candidates to assemble for the trial in a few days. Gildarts said that he would have came with me had he not wanted to make a good impression with Master Makarov. When you get back you'll be able to see who won or not." She finished explaining to me.

"Now that's out of the way… How did you get that scar on your face?!" Lilly demanded, as we just turned a corner.

Oh boy… This was going to be a long story.


I spent the rest of the walk back to the monastery telling Lilly and Cornelia about how I got that scar on my face. I talked about the kidnapping of Fea and the attack Master Han took. I then described the chase me and Mato took to rescue Fea. Finally I described the fight I had with the mysterious man called One Step Ahead Jones and how he slashed my face in an attempt to finish me off; of which I blasted him back due to him failing to do so.

Lilly and Cornelia looked a bit disturbed by my story towards the end of me telling it.

"So the horrible hitman got away then? Well you shouldn't blame yourself! There are many things that were out if your control during those moments!" Lilly assured me.

"I'm just glad that the authorities and the Magic Council weren't there to see it. If they were there I would have been slandered and accused of failing to capture him." I muttered with a sigh. "Besides, the way I see this mark is that it could have gone a lot worse." I said as I lightly trailed my finger close to my eye. "Guess I got lucky."

By now we had came to the huge steps that led up to the monastery where we would all be staying.

"Well, I'll catch you guys up at the top!" I smiled, as I casted Soft and Soar to leap up the stairs at great distances.

Upon reaching the top, I had to wait a few minutes for everyone else to come up and reach the top with me. Mother seemed frustrated that I was able to skip the stairs just like that, Lilly and Cornelia looked flabbergasted by my show just there and Master Han seemed not that bothered by it.

"Wow is this the monastery? Looks really nice. Thanks for letting us stay here again." Cornelia thanked Master Han with a smile.

"Ah you are most welcome. You will find some spare rooms on the second floor, feel free to chose any of those rooms for your time here." Master Han said. "Now then, I have something I have to do. Why don't you show your friends around the place young Cade?" Master Han suggested as he then moved away from us and quickly headed into the monastery.

'Wonder what Han has to do?' I thought with mild interest, as I turned to see him head into the monastery before taking a right turn.

"Well let's head in then. We have lots to show you here! There's bedrooms, a lounge, the kitchen, the meditation chamber… so much to see in here!" My mother cheerfully said as she gestured to inside the monastery.

And so, me and mother gave Lilly and Cornelia a quick tour around the monastery showing them where everything is. They both took rooms that connected to each other with some sliding shoji doors like me and mothers. They dumped their luggage there to deal with it later and continued on with the tour.

When they had seen everything, the four of us chose to relax in the lounge, and I took the liberty of telling them what I had gotten up to while I was here in the village. This was of course, my training with Master Han which was meant to get me to travel into the Etherial State successfully to combine my magic together.

Both girls seemed quite curious about the idea and were eager to see me use it when I got round to that point.

Another thing of importance was that I don't think I have all that long left until I successfully strengthen my sense of sight. I was obviously not doing any training today or tomorrow, so it would be the day after my birthday that I would resume. Perhaps I would be leaving Lavender Village with Lilly and Cornelia when the time came.

Despite the simplicity of this place, I was eager to get back to my own bed, our garden, Fairy Tale and everything else I left behind.

As for whether I would come back here one day in the future… it felt like a nice idea. Perhaps the villagers would have exited the mountain and settled outside again.

Anyway, for the rest of the day I took the girls out and down to the village so they could see everything. Mother chose to stay behind as she said that she had something to do. Lilly seemed excited to see the library, watermill and bakery that was in the town, while Cornelia seemed rather interested at the saloon that was in the town.

I could have also swore that I felt like we were being followed while we were walking through the village. Every time I looked back to see if anyone was there I saw no one that I heavily recognised. The only thing I saw one time was a flick of yellowish hair.

As we were heading back to the monastery for the rest of the day, Cornelia stopped me and Lilly and said that she was going to be going to the Saloon for the next few hours. Apparently she was curious about what kind of wine and beer this place had to offer, so she wanted to head there and see. My words were not enough to convince her otherwise, and so it was only me and Lilly that headed back.

Upon getting back, everyone living in the monastery had dinner which as made by mother and Master Han. It was some rather lovely spaghetti with some delicious sauce. Thanks to my training here, I was able to fully grasp the delights of the food which made it even better.

After dinner me, mother and Lilly sat in the lounge to play a few games that we had each bought to entertain ourselves.

After we had finished and we were all about to go to bed for the night, we were interrupted by Cornelia who seemed a bit drunk. What was more surprising was that she was carrying a huge bag that was making a rattling sound when she moved it.

Upon inquiring as to what it is, she revealed that she cleared out everyone at the Saloon with some drinking game and made it rich due to it. A good 200,000 jewels were in her possession.

While she was there she also got quite drunk, as she explained to us in a slurry manner that she found the alcohol and wine better than the stuff in Magnolia! Me and Lilly were lost for words, however mother took action and told the both of us to head up to bed while she would take care of Cornelia.

I tried to put the image of a drunken, rich Cornelia out of my heads, as I headed back upstairs to prepare for bed. Me and Lilly stopped at a break off point to say good night to each other. I told Lilly that I was looking forward tomorrow, and she replied saying that she was hoping that I would have a good day as well.

Of course, talking about what tomorrow would bring when you are potentially half and hour away from tomorrow itself by falling asleep is rather pointless, so I made my way to retire for the night to see what my 14th birthday would bring me.


I awoke from my sleep with a feeling of anticipation and excitement as to what today would bring me.

I did not dream last night, nor did I wake up in an uncomfortable position. Overall I had a pretty decent sleep. Issue was, that made things a bit more annoying to get up and out of bed.

Then again… do I need to get out of bed right now?

'Hmm. Think I'll relax a little bit longer today. No real need to get up.'

I mean I always got up and out of bed due to me being hungry and then my day would just sort of go on from there, or I had something on with someone else which meant I had to get up for them.

Really, none of those things were on my mind right now. As such, I chose to snuggle back in to my bed for a while longer. I was not tired so I didn't fall asleep. Instead I chose to think back on everything that had happened to me since the last four years when I reached double digits.

I thought back on the days in which I met Gildarts, Master Makarov, Porlyusica and so many more people that I've been spending time with for the past few years now.

I reminisced about how I first learned Enchantment Magic and Ice Magic for the first time. The many spells that I've been using to defeat and save others who have needed it.

And of course I thought back on all the wonderful experiences that I've had while being in Fairy Tale. From the constant fights that were started due to mere hiccups, to the stories that were shared around bustling tables. And who could forget the many different jobs that I've been on?

By the time I had finished thinking back on the last few years of my life around an hour had passed, and my stomach was beginning to rubble a bit.

'Guess that's my cue to get up and out of bed.' I realised as I got out of bed and stretched myself a little. 'Wonder if I'm any taller now?'

I moved over to the sliding shoji door that led out of my room and slid it open, before moving out into the corridor and through the monastery.

'I wonder where everyone is?' I thought as I moved down the stairs. Normally I'd wake up and be surprised by my mother who was waiting somewhere I didn't expect; though she seemed to have not shown up yet.

'Maybe everyone is still sleeping.' I concluded, as I headed into the lounge to see if anyone was actually awake or not. I turned the corner that led into the room.

"SURPRISE!"

As I walked into the room I was greeted by the sight of mother, Lilly, Cornelia and Master Han who were all standing with a smile on their faces. There was a banner hanging down that read 'Happy 14th Birthday Cade!' There was also a few balloons hanging up and down on the floor of the room. I could also see a few presents that were wrapped up on the table behind them.

"Y-You guys…!" I said in disbelief and happiness.

"Happy birthday Cade!" My mother smiled at me.

"You've had us waiting here for nearly an hour now!… But still happy birthday!" Cornelia stated annoyance, before switching to a voice with with kindness at the end.

"Sorry about that. I just decided that I should stay in bed for a bit longer as I was quite comfortable in there." I chucked awkwardly. My gaze then drifted off to the presents on the table.

"A-Are they all for me? From all of you? B-But how?! I didn't see you take a present up with you mother." I said as I turned to mother with confusion.

"I hid it in my suitcase on the way up here. I believe Lilly and Cornelia did the same." Mother remarked as she turned to the two girls.

"Yup! I hid mine in my suitcase. Wasn't that hard due to the size." Lilly commented.

"Actually my present for you was something I got here in the village. You'll see what it is when you open it." Cornelia said with a wink.

"I got my present for you mainly as a thank you for being such a good student to work with." Master Han admitted as he gave a nod of approval.

"You really didn't have to go all out for me…" I said, a little taken aback by their kindness.

"Don't be like that Cade!" Cornelia started. "We've known you long enough. Why don't you rip those presents open now!"

"Heh, alright then." I said as I moved over to open the presents.

The first one I picked up was rectangular shaped and had decent breadth. It wrapped in blue wrapping paper snd honestly looked like it was done in the span of less than a few minutes.

"That's mine." Cornelia said. "Didn't have much time to wrap it…" She admitted.

"Ah, it's no problem. Just makes it easier for me." I replied as I then began to tear open the present with not that much effort. When I tore the paper off, I was stunned with what I saw.

The travels of Methuselah Bear. From Magnolia to Iceberg

Written by J.C Bear

"Th-This is…! This is the book I've been wanting for years now!" I exclaimed with happiness. "Where did you get it Cornelia!? Every bookstore I've been in and it's always been sold out!" I pleaded with curiosity.

This was a book that detailed the travels that a man by Methuselah Bear took across the continent. He documented all this in his novel in the last year and everyone was scrambling to get one – myself included.

"Heh, I won it yesterday at the Saloon. Figured it would make a great gift for you. I found a guy reading it and he bet the book and I bet the jewels I had won that night. Course I won and here we are now." Cornelia said smartly.

"Thank you so much!" I said, as I hugged her with joy. Cornelia seemed happy herself by my reaction and hugged me back. When we broke the hug, I turned to the next gift.

The next gift was also in a rectangular shape like the last present. However, this one was a lot bigger than the last one and seemed a lot more thicker. It was wrapped much neater than the last present.

"Oh! That's my gift there. I got it a few days before we came up here." Lilly confirmed for me, as I began to tear away at the paper.

When I tore away at the paper I saw that this was also a book! It was a hardback book and seemed quite fancy based on the markings on the side. I saw the title when I turned it over.

Ice Evolution

Officially published by the University of Sycamore's Magic Department

The title was self explanatory to what this was for.

"Do you like it?" Lilly asked. "I thought that it would help you beef up your Ice Magic – not that I think you're doing poorly or anything." Lilly quickly added on at the end.

"Course I like it! This will help me a lot in the future!" I thanked Lilly with a hug which she returned.

I then turned to the next present. It was in the shape of a box and was of decent size. Silver and gold wrapping paper covered this present.

"This is my present." Came Master Han. "It is something that you have not asked for, yet I think it is something you have always wanted since you first encountered it." He described the gift, making it sound quite mysterious.

'Just what did he get me?' I imagined the many different things that Master Han might have put forward as my present; but sitting here thinking about it would not let me see it for myself. I tore off the paper and saw a brown cardboard box. A quick shake of it did reveal that there was something in it, but it was very light and I could barely hear it.

I opened the lid of the box and saw two sheets of paper at the bottom of the box. With my curiosity at it's peak, I reached into the box and pulled out the sheets of paper and read them.

Was it perhaps a spell that Master Han planned to teach me? Maybe a technique for my magic or meditation?

It was nothing of the sort.

What I saw on the two bits of paper were cooking recipes.

Cooking. Recipes.

I tried to hid my face of confusion, but Master Han saw right through me with little effort on his part.

"I see that you are a bit confused, allow me to elaborate. These are not any regular cooking recipes: They are the recipes to the dishes that you have been eating while you have been living here. I know how much you like the food here, so I thought "why not?". It would be a nice thing to take back with you." Master Han replied with a smile.

My mouth dropped when hearing that nugget of info.

"Y-You mean…! Those recipes!?" I exclaimed in shock and delight. "The spaghetti, the curry, the hash browns, the chicken risotto. They're all on here!?"

"And more along with that." Replied Master Han with a smile and a nod.

A quick look at the sheets confirmed this.

"OH MY GOD!" I shouted in joy at having the opportunity to taste the magnificent food for the rest of my life.

"R-Really?!" Came my mother, her too having tasted the lovely dishes that were here. "We can easily have Pierce and Charles cook this up back home!" She declared with eagerness.

"Is the cooking really that good?" Wondered Cornelia.

"Yes it is!" Me and my mother said in sync.

'This birthdays been great so far! I've got the book I've been wanting to read for a few months now, I got a book that helps me with my magic, and I got the recipes to some of the best food ever. Hell, with this I could just ditch being a wizard and start a restaurant the food is THAT good.' I thought in joy.

My gaze then drifted to the table where the remaining presents were.

'There should only be one left now- wait what?'

When I removed the box to open it it revealed another gift there behind it. Now I had two gifts left to open.

"Hey there's two gifts left there. Who are they from?" I asked to everyone while I looked at them on the table.

"Oh, they're both from me." Came mother from behind me. "Not trying to show everyone up here, but I just couldn't buy one present without paying for the other one." She chuckled after saying that.

"Aw, you didn't have to." I smiled at her kindness before I turned to the gifts.

The first one was a decently wrapped square box. I was wrapped in lovely red and blue wrapping paper. With how common the shape of it is, the present could be anything.

The next one was shaped rather strangely. It seemed to be in a 3-D hexagonal shape and was quite small. About the size of my hand. It was wrapped in some nice red and green paper.

I chose to pick up and open the box first. When I opened it I was stunned to see what my mother got me. This was not something I had ever asked for, yet I was not upset by it.

It was a portable camera. A small one that you could hold in a handbag and could take photos while travelling to places.

"I got you that camera so you would always have a way to remember precious moments like this! Many days like this only ever come around once in your lifetime, so by taking a photo we can make them last a bit longer." Mother explained with a deep smile. "In case you're wondering about the film, it can easily be replaced with some dry paper that can be bought in most general stores.

"This is… This is perfect!" I said with happiness as I put the camera back on the table and hugged my mother tightly. "I've always wanted to have a way to remember key things in my life! When I complete a certain job or just during a certain moment in my life! Thanks so much!" I cried with happiness.

"Your welcome birthday boy. Now why don't you open that last gift? I'll just say this: It works quite well with that camera I got for you." Mother hinted with a grin.

I wasted no time and began to tear away at the paper that was wrapped around the last gift. When I finished tearing it off I saw a shiny new Lacrima.

"What does this Lacrima do?" I asked with curiosity.

"It's a special Lacrima that is able to take in photos and be able to display them by charging it up with magic. Like this." Mother said as she pulled out a small photo that had a dog on it. She then held the photo close to the Lacrima in my hand and the Lacrima glowed a little before stopping. "Now, charge up some magic in it and you can see the photo."

I did as she requested and put a little bit of magic in the Lacrima. Sure enough, the photos of the dog appeared in a holographic image just above the Lacrima.

"Whoa! That's incredible!" I shouted in amazement. "Thanks so much!" I cried with joy. "And thank you everyone else for these amazing gifts!"

Everyone else in the room began to say the usual words one might say at this point like "it was nothing" or "it's your birthday."

"Now that you're up and out of bed, how about you get dressed and then we can have breakfast?" Mother said to me.

"Unfortunately I'll be busy today. I apologise that I will be unable to make time for you today." Master Han frowned. "I will still be present for breakfast so you don't need to worry about making it." He affirmed us.

"Oh, sure!" I said, not expecting him to say that. "Well I'll get dressed upstairs and come back down here. Don't want to keep you guys waiting here any longer for me."

With my presents now opened and me very satisfied with what I got, I took them upstairs with me and went to get washed and dressed. When I was all dressed and cleaned up, I headed back down to get a nice birthday worthy breakfast.

Breakfast was primarily made by Master Han, who was assisted by Cornelia and there was quite a few options on the table for us all.

I could see toast that could have either butter or jam on it. There were some big puffy pancakes as well as some sweet potatoes. I could also see some scrambled eggs and some bacon. There was also sausages and hash browns. For drinking, there was milk, orange and apple juice or water if your stomach felt poor that day.

I tried eating as much as I could, while making sure to try eat more than one thing on the table. Despite me seemingly only being a bit hungry, I was able to scoff quite a lot of food down my throat and into my stomach. I get the feeling that mother wanted to scold me for being so impatient and the way I was eating, but she must have chose to let it slid as it was my birthday after all.

When the table was clear thanks to me and my friends, Master Han bid us farewell for the day. Not sure when he would be back.

Anyway, there was no real schedule that my mother and my friends planned for me today. The day was mine to plan. I decided to spend some time in the monastery where the four of us had some fun together playing some of the games we each brought up. This continued for a few hours, and I was the one what to decide to do for dinner.

Considering that I didn't know when Master Han would be back to make dinner (or if he would ever be back for the day) as he didn't tell us, I decided to take us all down to see what the village had to offer us. We exited the monastery and headed down to the village to see the local restaurants and I would pick one that I fancied. Since I had always ate at Master Han's monastery there was never a need to come here to the local restaurants.


As we were walking we came across a nice restaurant that had a few seats outside with a few of the villagers sitting there eating some food.

"Hmm, this place looks nice. Why don't we try that?" I suggested to everyone behind me.

They all agreed and we headed into the restaurant to get some seats and some (hopefully good) food. When we entered I saw someone at the front desk that you would book tables at. I couldn't see their face, but their height and hair colour gave their identity away.

"Fea?" I said with surprise at seeing the Elder's daughter here.

Upon hearing my voice she quickly turned around and looked quite shocked to see me. Now that I could see her face… she looked a bit different than usual. Her eyelashes looked a bit longer, and her face had this weird sort of texture on it.

"Ah! H-Hello Cade!" She said nervously when seeing me. "F-Fancy seeing you here in this restaurant. W-What brings you here?"

"Oh I was just coming in here with everyone cause it's my birthday. This restaurant looks nice and I thought it'd be a nice to go to. So why are you here?" I asked.

"I was just trying to… book a seat for me and a friend of mine." She replied awkwardly.

"Ah ok." I responded plainly. "Hey I know! Why don't we all eat together! I mean we're all in the same restaurant so why not!" I suggested.

"Oh…" Fea seemed to think about this. "Y-Yes! That works perfectly for me! Oh, er about my friend, it's been a while since I asked them to come here today and they still haven't shown up. Let's just leave them out of this." She shrugged off the worry of her friend without that much issue.

"Great! What do you guys think?" I turned around to see what my friends thought.

Mother seems happy at the idea, as well as Cornelia. Lilly had an eyebrow raised at Fea's direction which confused me. The three of them did agree to the idea which sealed the deal.

Alright then, It'll be a table for five." I remarked, as we headed up to the front desk to book a big table for the lot of us.

The restaurants interior was of decent size, and there were a few tables around that housed a few of the villagers coming in here for some lunch or maybe dinner. It was still hard to grasp time under here. The walls of the shop were a dark maroon red, which contrasted well off the brown wooden floor. I could see the kitchen in the back of the restaurant where most likely the fresh goods from outside trade is brought to be cooked for any hungry customers, as well as a few cooks moving in and out.

We were able to take a window seat that looked out on the lake with the cherry blossom trees. It allowed for a nice view and a nice seating location.

Sitting next to me was Fea. When I sat down first she just sort of slid right in next to me and actually bumped into me. Mother sat across from me, and Cornelia sat next to her while Lilly sat next to Cornelia.

I was still a little full from my very large breakfast, so I ordered not that much while we were here. The others did order some much larger dishes, so if I was hungrier later then I could eat some of their food if they wanted.

While we waited for the food I had Fea and the other girls get to know each other a little better as the didn't have the chance to do so yesterday. When I suggested the idea, Fea seemed a bit surprised at the idea, but she didn't argue back. Lilly and Cornelia didn't seem to mind and they started talking about what life was like for the normal person outside the mountain. For some reason when we were talking Fea would occasionally turn around and talk to me and sort of drift off from the previous conversation topic.

When the food came we started to dig into our food, and while eating Fea spoke up to me. "Excuse me Cade? I was… wondering if you were going to be busy after this. Um, would you be interested in going down to the lake with me later…?" She said in a bit of a shy manner.

Mother leaned forward when she said that, Cornelia gave an interested look and Lilly gave a look of surprise. Why they did that I was not sure, but I had to give an answer to Fea.

"Well I was kind of wanting to head back up to the monastery and play some games with everyone…" I replied nervously. "Oh but you could come up with us! It'd be fun to have you here with us. Some of the games are really fun and I'd think you'd like them!" I suggested as a substitute offer.

Fea seemed surprised by my offer and thought about it. Then she gave me an answer. "That does sound like a good idea. I will not be busy today so… I accept!" Fea decided. "I'll come back with you all to the monastery after this."

"Alright! It'll be fun all night long!" I cheered as I finished my food.

After we finished our food we paid for it and headed back up to the monastery. While we were walking, Fea hanged back a little and was talking in a hushed voice to Lilly and Cornelia. Mother meanwhile walked alongside me.

"Tell me Cade. What do you think of Fea?" She brought up out of nowhere.

"Huh? What do I think of her?" I repeated what she said as if to understand her. Mother nodded at me. "Well she's nice and fun to be around." I answered simply.

"Right…" Mother said slowly. "So you like being around her?" She asked.

"Yes I do… where is all this coming from?" I questioned in befuddlement.

"Nowhere, I'm just curious what you think of her since we may be leaving in a few days time." She explained. The rest of the walk back was in silence for the both of us. Mother seems to be in deep thought during the walk as if she was contemplating something.


Upon arriving back at the monastery we all headed into the lounge to play a few games. We played a few card and board games, Fea enjoying them like I expected. Unfortunately during one of the games a drink spilled on the lovely glass table that we had some cards on.

"Oh no…" Mother muttered as she tried to wipe it off with a cloth, but the liquid was quite sticky. "Hmm, Cade why don't you try to find Master Han and see if he knows how to get it off? Maybe he has a special cleaning liquid in his Requip storage?" She hinted.

"Aw, but it's my birthday." I moaned. "Can't one of you guys go?"

"You know him better than us, so you'll know where he is. I still haven't seen him since this morning but I think I heard him come in while we were all having fun here." Mother said.

"Hmph fine. But I get to go first in the next game." I said as I stood up and left the room, leaving the girls by themselves.

I spent a few minutes going around the monastery to try and find Master Han. I checked outside in the back, the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedrooms, the corridors; and I could not find him. However I did remember one place that he was occasionally from time to time.

His meditation room on the ground floor.

'Ah, of course he'd be there. Why didn't I think of it sooner!' I thought in frustration as I headed there. I did pass by the lounge without stopping.

Later I came to the meditation chamber and knocked on the sliding shoji door the best I could considering it was made out of paper.

"Master Han? You in there?" I called out.

When I didn't get a response I gently slid open the door and entered the room. Han was not there to my dismay, which left me wondering where he was.

I was about to leave the room when I noticed something strange. At the far end of the room the carpet there looked a little out of place like it had been kicked.

With this small detail annoying me, I went over to fix it. Upon reaching the carpet though, I saw that it was not actually out of place. Instead the carpet was on top of something that was causing it to be uneven. A light knock with my foot showed it to be quite hard and solid. I was very interested into what was under the carpet, so I pulled it away with my hand and nearly fainted with what I saw.

It was a wooden trap door.

Yes the ones that you read in books that more often than not led underground.

My jaw dropped and I quickly began to think of what to do now.

Do I open it and see where is in it? Or do I go back and tell this to my mother.

Hold on… If I went back to my mother she would probably just say that it's a hatch that leads to a storeroom just like our basement, and chances are that Master Han would be there in the room and I would never see the hatch again somehow.

I couldn't go back now, I had to see what was down there.

My fingers grabbed the hatch door and I pulled it open, revealing a stone staircase that led down to a lower level of the monastery. Torches lit the way and showed that there was a bottom there, though it was quite far down. I also looked at the underneath of the hatch door and saw that there was a knack for opening the door from the inside. If the door slammed shut somehow, then I'd be ok.

Perhaps this was a bad idea but I headed down the staircase regardless of what my conscious was probably saying to me. Around 30 seconds of walking later and I came to a wooden door that led into a room.

With no keyhole to look through, I took a deep breath and opened the door slowly.

This led into a small circular shaped room with stone bricked walls and torches that lit up the room. There were pillars against the walls of the room which helped make it look even older and better constructed. In the centre of the room there was an alter that had a cloth draped over a circular object.

Knowing it was too late to back now, I slowly walked over to the alter and put my ear to the cloth. I could hear a soft humming from under the cloth, as if whatever was underneath it was pulsing with energy. I grabbed an edge of the cloth and pulled it off the circular object.

I saw a light blue orb that seemed to pulse with energy that caught my attention. It was quite mesmerising to look into and I almost lost myself in it.

'What in the world is this thing?! Why was it wrapped up in this cloth and why is it down here?!' I tried to think of a possible answer.

I did reach out a hand to touch it, but as I began to stretch out my hand something stopped me in my tracks instantly.

"Don't touch it!" Came the sharp and quick voice from behind me. I nearly jumped when I heard it.

"Gah! Master Han!" I said with surprise as I turned around to see him. Master Han looked very nervous about seeing me here and this close to the orb.

"Come! Get back from it!" He hissed quickly and beckoned his hand to me.

I quickly stopped thinking for that moment and rushed over to the man, choosing to follow his instructions. I did still trust him despite him hiding this from me and my mother. But what was this orb?

Han quickly took the cloth from me, and then headed over and put it back over the orb. He let out a sigh of relief when that happened. "Thank goodness. I dread to think what would have happened had you touched it." He said with another sigh.

"I'm sorry for barging in like that Master Han… but could you explain what that is?" I said in a curious manner. "Look, considering how relieved you are that I didn't touch that thing, means it's dangerous in some way. So I'd like to know what it is."

Han gave me a solemn look, before he took a deep breath and snapped his fingers and summoned two seats across from each other. "It'd be unfair for me to hide the truth from you now." He spoke with sympathy.

"Take a seat. It's a long story if you want the truth behind me and that orb." Han stated with a sad expression as he took a seat.

'I have a feeling it'll be a bit longer until I can get that table cleared upstairs.' I reckoned internally, as I went to take a seat.


There we go! That is another chapter done, sorry for the long length but I do hope you enjoyed it.

That's Cade's 14th birthday for you all. I think it was a nice surprise for his mother to get him a camera instead of something for his magic, which I think is a nice change of things. It appears that being a teenager means he is also obvious to female advances. Alas, he will hopefully get better at that as he gets older.

Cade has yet again stumbled into something much bigger than he thought. What does Master Han know about the orb, and what did he mean about the truth behind himself?

Find out the final secrets behind Lavender Village in the next chapter!

Guest - Thank you the review! A happy new year to you as well!