"Wow!" Janice exclaimed out in surprised the moment we saw what was before us. Including these young ladies who hadn't seen much of the world.
In front of us were a wide spread of beautiful flowers, and high floating mountains. Even the air breath in washes away all the fatigue in our body. The blisters on my foot soon began to heal through what the naked eyes could see, revealing perfectly new skin.
"The immortal realm is so magical." No one knows who said that but everyone agreed with the voice. It was indeed magical, like a paradise on land. It fits in my imagination of the immortal world.
"A beautiful sight to behold." I looked around in admiration. Almost instantly, a bright light covered my eyes, blinding it.
"Close your eyes, everyone! We're now arriving at the immortal city." The instructor shouted and everyone immediately shut their eyes. It was only when she announced that we'd arrived at our destination did we opened our eyes. What greeted us was people walking about, carrying strange equipment beside their waists. Suddenly we witnessed someone fly above our heads on a sword.
"Zanillia, look." Janice pointed excitedly at the flying figure that went past us. "That person can fly. Is that one of the abilities of an immortal? Could it be that all the people around us are also immortals?" Her questions came out one after the other.
Soon, a group of men in an armored dress approached us.
"Greetings, Lady Mo." The head of the guard's cup his hand towards his chest as he greeted the instructor. "The immortal lords have been waiting in the hall for your arrival." He then lifted his head and looked at the crowd of maidens behind the instructor. "Are these..."
"Yes." Lady Mo nodded. "They're the candidates chosen for the lord to pick his bride from."
"Ah..." The captain nodded in understanding. "Follow me." He turned around, leading us into a huge mansion.
We arrived at an open hall. Seated at the front hall were six men who bore an ethereal look that was unlike of this world. Each of the were so handsome, that all the maidens' cheeks couldn't help but be filled with a red blush. Even me inclusive. Heaven, how can one be this good-looking? Even the celebrities shown on the TV pales in comparison to them. The six of them were all young, bearing a youthful look.
"My lords, Lady Mo has arrived from the mortal world. Behind her are the candidates participating to be chosen as the legendary master bride." The captain relayed.
"Wow!" One of the lords exclaimed out loud when he saw the number of maidens in the hall. "What a huge crowd. It seems like Big Brother is going to have a life full of fun as from today." The man clicked his tongue, a hint of playfulness in his tone.
"Don't be silly, Sean. Older brother mustn't hear that you uttered those words." One of the men admonished the latter who had just spoken up.
"Pst. What are you getting all worked up for? It's not like Big Brother is here or something." Sean pouted his lips in dissatisfaction.
"You... Gia, what do you have to say in this?"
"Just let him be." Gia didn't want to interfere in their argument. "Sean is still a kid."
Hearing this, the man could only stop his lecture. "Fine."
"Greetings to you immortal lords." All of us bowed as we greeted the six men seated on the high platform.
"I hope your journey here from the mortal world wasn't stressful?" One of them inquired.
Even though the journey was indeed stressful, we could change our wording.
"Not at all."
"That's great then. Well, the thing is, our eldest brother isn't in his seat at this moment so I'll be the one overseeing the bride's selection test. Given the long journey, you must all have been quite exhausted. Lady Mo would escort you all to your residence. I hope you'll all enjoy your stay here."
"He's so handsome." Janice leaned into my ear and whispered. "He must be the second legendary master, Eason. He's well known for his good looks and gentleness." She blushed. "Do you think he might take an interest in me even if I failed the competition?"
"Humm... I guess so." I said without any certainty.
===
I was inside the room designated to me. The décor in the room was made to match a lady's tastes. Beautiful flower plants, the jumbo bed with tons of pillows, and so on. A knock came on my door.
"Who's it?" I probed.
"It's me, Janice." Janice's voice answered from the outside.
"Come in."
The door opened at the invite and Janice's figure stepped into the room.
"I thought you must have been asleep by now." She gently closed the door behind her. On her hand were two round plates filled with food. "That's great. I brought you something to eat." She put down the plate of food before me and took a seat on the couch. "The food in the immortal world tastes great. I just can't get enough of the delicious taste." When she saw me making no attempt to reach out for the plate, she asked. "You aren't eating?"
"I'm not hungry."
"Then I'll eat it all to myself." Janice poured the content inside the plate onto hers and began to eat ecstatically. Soon, she felt a piercing gaze on her. She looked sideways and was met with my intense glare. Her expression turned guilty. "But you said you weren't eating, that's why I added it to mine. Sorry."
"No. I'm not hungry. You can have it to yourself." I wave my hands.
"Really." She seemed not to believe it but seeing me nod, her guilty feeling vanished away. "I thought I'd done something wrong with how intense you were staring at me. Could it be I've smeared something on my face?" She began to wipe her face.
"No, there's nothing on your face. It's just... Do you think the immortal lord would find me attractive enough?"
"Huh, I thought that you weren't interested in the competition." Janice looked at me with puzzlement.
"Yeah, I wasn't back then but after seeing how handsome other lords are, I bet lord Vagamound's look would be much more astounding."
"Well, I'm not sure about that." She truthfully answered. "I haven't seen him in detail so I won't know what his likes and preferences are."
"I'm not talking about his preference. I mean my appearance. Am I pretty enough to attract his attraction?"
"Err... I think so. You just have to apply some beauty oil on your body and so on. But let me remind you, you can't be as beautiful as the princess." Janice's words hit the hammer on the nail.
Oh yeah, the princess? My expression fell at the thought of this. It looks like I won't be able to meet this lord Vagamound.
"What's the competition all about?" I inquired.
"Don't know either. Everyone is also clueless about it. I just hoped that there wouldn't be a cooking assessment because I'm so bad at cooking." She sighed.
"Do you know where lord Vagamound resides?" I put forward.
"Legend has it that he lives in the emotionless palace. Isn't that quite pitiful?" Janice's expression at the end became full of anguish.
"Do you know where it's located?"
"How am I supposed to know that?" She took a spoonful of food into her mouth. Her movement suddenly halted as she looked at me with shock in her eyes. "Hey, Zanillia. Don't tell me you are trying to go there?"
"What? That's a crazy thing to do." I feign a peal of laughter. "I don't even know my way there."
"Well, that's right." Janice let go of her suspicion and continued eating.