Gift of the Fox

Epilogue: The Dragon Empress

"And so, the fox helped the girl achieve her dreams and accomplish her goals. She became forever happy because she was able to change the course of her life and prove her might with her deeds."

A beautiful lady in a red kimono narrated the story to six children, who listened to her with curiosity and excitement.

"Wow!" they exclaimed after the lady finished her tale.

One of the girls - a maiden with raven black hair and expressive brown almond eyes - asked:

"So, the celestial fox magic really exists, mom?"

"Duh, it's probably just a legend!" A little boy with red hair and hazel eyes chuckled. "Why do you believe in such fairy tales, Lanhua?"

"Hey! They do exist! Right, mom?"

Lanhua looked up at the lady with her eyes full of tears. The latter smiled and caressed the child on the head.

"Of course, they do, my dear ones!" she said. "Otherwise, how would that girl turn into a boy?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I love the story of a girl having such strength and might!" Another girl - a blonde one with blue eyes - smirked and crossed her arms.

"I don't know about you guys either, but who wants to play a game now?" Another boy - a short-haired one with the smallest almond eyes of all the six - cried out with joy.

"You said it, Yu! I'm with you!" The red-haired boy sprang up. His red Bengal tiger cub jumped up too, with a playful purr.

"Me too!" The third boy - one with long dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and a green pet lizard on his shoulder - leapt up.

"A game? I'm in!" The third girl - one with long dark brown hair and hazel eyes just like the lizard guy, seemingly his twin, stood up. She had a green snake coiled around her neck.

Lanhua and the blonde girl stood up too. All of the six children rushed out of the room. The lady watched them until they disappeared behind the door.

"They grow up so fast..." She smiled.

The children rushed through corridors with the desire to access the yard when, out of one of the open doors, they heard deep voices speaking:

"Soon, the council is going to start."

"We have a big problem! We need to resolve it as fast as possible, or those tribal savages will seize all of our territories!"

The children peeped into the open door. A grand table stood in the dark room, with a giant map of Wanglong lying on it. There were a lot of richly dressed old people gathered in the hall. All of their fathers - the elder princes - presented too, along with the blonde girl's mother, the Bear Princess, Astrid.

"Wow!" the red-haired boy whispered. "I bet they're having a secret meeting."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go in!" The blonde girl grinned. "It will be awesome!"

"I agree. After all, there will come a time when we take our fathers' and mothers' places." The lizard boy smiled.

"Well then, let's go!" The snake girl took up.

Lanhua fell into her thoughts:

Papa is always so busy! Maybe, there, I can finally see him.

She nodded to her cousins. The decision was jointly agreed upon. Yu, the young boy in a blue kimono, who was the first one to offer to play, observed the area with great care. When he got assured that no one was looking, he gave a sign to his cousins to follow. The children bent down and sneaked into the room, hiding in shadows behind some pillars and furniture. They contemplated the forbidden process with throbbing hearts. They were excited that they managed to sneak in without anyone's noticing. They considered themselves cool spies and ninjas.