Chapter Two
The coach finally arrived at the silver palace that took the form of a half moon and stylishly decorated in three colors—silver, white, and jade green. It was not very big, nor as spectacular as the royal golden palaces, but the whole place exuded artful fineness and transcendent sublimity.
The Goddess, Ivory, was sitting at the round table in her exquisite garden, her black hair draping around her shoulders, a stunning smile hanging on her lips, and her favorite pet—a jade rabbit—snuggling in her arms.
Joe kissed Ivory’s hand with unreserved reverence and took the opposite seat across the table.
“Joe dear, long time no see,” she greeted. “You’ve been busy?”
“No, not really busy, only troubled. I have a big favor to ask of you.”
“Go on.” She stroked the rabbit’s soft ears with casual hands.
“My sister—the eldest one, Jasmine—eloped down to Earth about 2 weeks ago.”
“Really?” Her hands paused. “With whom?”
“Bruce—her tutor and guard.”
The rabbit suddenly slipped down and hopped toward the gate at the far end of the garden where Doodle was standing.
“Spoiled beast!” yelped the Goddess who seemed to be startled and annoyed by her pet. Then she looked back at Joe with resumed serenity. “I appreciate your trust in me. What can I do for you?”
“Jasmine and Bruce will attend my father’s birthday party the day after tomorrow. I know you are invited there, too. Can you talk with her then and convince her to come back for good?” pleaded Joe. “She doesn’t want to listen to me. In fact, they’ve already had two kids—two little girls—who would need to be looked after when their parents are gone.”
“I guess your sister has asked you to take care of her kids?”
“Exactly. What should I do? I really don’t want to babysit two human kids for a whole year. Do I look like a babysitter?”
Ivory stood up, paced back and forth for a spell, then sat down again and stared Joe intensely in the eye. “I think you should go to help your sister. You need to show her that you love her and are as trustworthy as she wants you to be. If you don’t, what reason does she have to stay here on Magic Moon? You know how much she cares about you.”
“I know.” Joe did appreciate Jasmine’s affection for him. While there wasn’t much love shared among the dragons, she apparently regarded Joe, Joe alone, as a true family member. She’d told him that he had a big heart despite his obsession with looks, although Joe wasn’t sure about that, nor did he care—it wasn’t worth a tinker’s dam since it didn’t help to improve his life at all. “But I know nothing about kids, especially girls.”
“How old are they?”
“Elena, the big one, is turning 13; Wendy, the little one, almost 6.”
“Hmm, so you have a teenager to deal with,” mused Ivory. “Indeed, it’s not going to be easy—you yourself are only a few years older than Elena. But you don’t have a choice, Joe. You have to take the task with courage. That’ll increase the chance of Jasmine giving up her life on Earth. However, if she wants to come back with the kids, she will have to tell the truth to King Aldrich. Maybe he wouldn’t allow her to stay in marriage with Bruce anymore, but I’m sure he will at least grant her the right to live with her kids.” She regarded Joe with motherly fondness and added, “Just like you. Although you are not a legitimate kid of the Dragon King, you have always been well supplied in life, haven’t you?”
“Have I?” Joe pondered in doubt. “I haven’t even been invited to my father’s birthday! What do you think that means? No one gives a fig about me in my family, except Jasmine.”
“All the more reason to cherish her love for you. I know better than anyone that real love is hard to come by—not just for you but for everyone. You are lucky that you have your sister who treasures you. You think she really doesn’t have anyone better suited for the job of babysitting her kids? She asked you only because she thinks of you as family.” Ivory reached out to hold Joe’s hands and fixed him with the brightest, most penetrating eyes that left him with no choice but to listen and nod. “I know you have a deep affection for Jasmine, too. And you don’t want her to squander her life on Earth.”
“Indeed! If she stays on Earth, she will die there real soon here! That’s my biggest concern.” Jasmine now looked older by more than a dozen years, since once passing the border from the Moon to Earth, even a dragon became a normal being—losing all magical power and aging as fast as a human. But she seemed not bothered at all by that and determined to live on Earth until dying from old age. By the time she did die there—even if she could live to 100—at most seventy days on Magic Moon would have passed. How horrible it would be!—Joe would lose his sister in about two months! It was the main reason why he wanted to see Ivory. Despite the fact that the Goddess held no power over any dragon, it was no secret that all the princesses admired her and more than a few took her into their confidence. He believed that she was the only one who was able to change Jasmine’s mind.
“I know, I know, my dear.” Ivory patted Joe’s hands. “That’s why I will do my best to bring her around.”
She seemed to have more to tell but was distracted by a sudden commotion out of the garden made by a luxurious wagon pulling over at the door.
A handsome man a bit older than Joe in a silky orange robe came out of the wagon. He strode up to Ivory and saluted her with a deep bow. “Goddess, it’s always such a great pleasure to see you.” He gazed at her with unconcealed pining. “Your beauty is growing more irresistible every day!”
“I’m flattered,” replied Ivory a bit icily. “What brought you here today, Master Taylor?”
“I made a full-length portrait for you, as a gift.” Taylor gave a sideway glimpse at Joe who was standing quietly beside the table, as if only then did he notice the presence of the younger man. When Joe greeted him with a courteous nod, he only ignored him and continued talking to the Goddess, “It’s a bit daring, but a perfect exhibition of your unequalled charm. Enjoy it.” With that, he produced a long roll of parchment out of his sleeve and opened it on the table.
Joe’s cheeks flushed at what he saw: elaborately depicted in the painting was the Goddess who just emerged out of her bathtub, her shapely body covered in a clingy white robe with a thigh-high slit; her lustrous hair hanging over her slender shoulders was still dripping at places, soaking through the silk fabric to unveil just the right amount of her outline. Although not much skin was revealed, every detail suggested seduction and tempted desire.
Ivory herself was expressionless, with no way for others to tell how she thought of the gift. She simply raised the corners of her mouth to give half a smile, and said to Taylor without inflection, “Thank you. It’s a nice one. But now I’m a bit occupied, as you can see that Prince Joe is here. Maybe we can find another time to catch up.”
After a disdainful glare at Joe, Taylor grinned at Ivory. “Just give me five more minutes, my goddess, and then I will be out of your hair.” He clapped his hands twice toward the driver at the door before two boys in blue tatters were dragged out of the wagon and brought into the garden.
“These are two little thieves who tried to trick money out of me on my way here. They need a good lesson from our Goddess of Justice,” explained Taylor while forcing the boys to kneel down on the floor.
“I saw them both on my way here too,” blurted Joe. “The little boy was robbed of his food by the big—oh, so they were actually working together ...” He trailed off when he came to the realization that he’d been a victim of the two tricksters, but the moment he looked at them—both with their mouths gagged by rubber tape and their hands bound with rope—he pitied them more than he blamed them.
Doodle was also staring at the boys with a worried frown, especially the small one whose thin body was shaking nonstop. He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it because Joe darted him a look that said “You know better—a servant was in no position to talk under such circumstances.”
The Goddess walked gracefully to the boys and bent down to study them in the face. “What are your names and how old are you?” At the same time, she removed the tape on their mouths with a gentle hand.
“L-Liam, m-my name is Liam,” answered the little one with trembling lips. “A-and he’s my b-brother, Jack. I’m 7, and he’s 14.”
Jack scowled at his younger brother and kept his mouth shut, refusing to make any eye contact with the Goddess.
“Is it true that you two played tricks on these two gentlemen on the road to get money from them?” Ivory talked in such an amiable way as if she was in a tea party with her friends.
“Yes. B-but we are really hungry,” confessed Liam.
Ivory stood up and riveted her gaze on Joe, a spark of inspiration kindling behind her iridescent eyes. “Joe, what do you think we should do with Jack and Liam, seeing that Master Taylor is telling the truth?”
Without hesitation, Joe replied, “I think they are only kids, and we should give them a chance and let them go, as long as they promise not to do it again.”
Doodle flashed an approving smile at Joe.
“We won’t do it again! We won’t! We promise!” avowed Liam.
“No way!” cut in Master Taylor whose face gave away his disgruntlement at not being consulted and his anger at Joe’s cheap clemency. “These filthy low-borns, they will repeat the same crime again and again if we let them go so easily.”
Ivory’s lips curved into a smirk. “Thank you for your opinion, Master Taylor, as unsolicited as it is.”
Taylor’s expression turned sour, but Ivory ignored him and turned toward Joe. “However, when it comes to justice, I have to stick to the law. What the boys did is certainly against the law—it’s a crime. Whether they will commit it again or not in the future, they will have to accept due punishment for what they have already done. So, I have no choice but to turn them both into statues—”
“What?” gasped both Joe and Doodle.
“Let me finish my sentence,” chastised the Goddess with a tender voice. “For two weeks—I will turn them into statues for only two weeks, by the end of which they will be freed and let go.”
Joe breathed a long sigh of relief. Jack cast a relaxed gaze at his little brother and Liam’s tensed up shoulders now hung loose, so did Doodle’s.
“Isn’t it too easy for them?” Taylor challenged the verdict.
“Master Taylor, thank you for having kindly caught the offenders and sent them here. But it is my job to render fair judgement. You and I, we are done today.” Before her last words were finished, Ivory had already turned her back to the man.
Taylor’s mouth made a thin line before half a smile registered at one corner. “Sure. I’ve just remembered that I have something important to deal with this afternoon. See you soon, Goddess.” Before he left, he didn’t forget to shoot a dirty look at Joe.