When she started singing and playing the pipa lute, only Ye was there to listen. Well, the Fairy Emperor was there too, she supposed, somewhere. But as the years passed, the other fairies began to take an interest.

They hid in the shadows, so at first Mei Hua wasn’t even aware they were listening. But Ye saw them, and sneered, making sure to tell his MeiMei they were there.

Ye did not like the other fairies. Mei Hua found his antagonism surprising, as they were of the same kind. Shouldn’t they get along?

When she mentioned this to him, he gave a great scornful laugh.

“Don’t put me on the same level as THOSE idiots. They’re nothing like me. I’ve got a brain, and what have they? The honor of their Master, the fools.”

Mei Hua did not understand exactly what he was complaining about. She knew he meant the Emperor when he said “Master”. But Ye talked as though the other fairies were servants, stupid ones, to the Emperor while he was not. He was a free agent.

But she knew this was not quite true either.

For instance, the person who owned their home originally, he would not talk about them by name. When she discovered the owner’s name, Xuiying, Ye had absolutely forbidden her to say the name aloud. When she asked why, he scowled deeply and explained the Fairy Emperor outlawed her name.

He acted as though he was free, but he never disobeyed a direct order from the Emperor. Was he really so much better than the other fairies then?

Well, she admitted she’d never talked to the other fairies directly so she didn’t know. Ye always let her know what they were doing (out of spite, since they were clearly trying to hide), so she knew every year they increased in number. By the time she was 14, Ye claimed that every fairy on the mountain came to hear her sing and play the pipa lute.

But not a single one ever appeared in front of her.

Did Ye’s venomous tongue scare them away? When she suggested it, he rolled his eyes.

“No, they’re just cowards.” He explained, looking annoyed. “They’ll never make HIM unhappy.”

“But you never disobey either.” Mei Hua pointed out.

Ye glared at her angrily, disliking her for pointing that out. “Even the mighty tree has to bend when the wind blows.”

“But a leaf is tossed in that same wind, isn’t it?”

That observation threw him into a temper, and he chased her around pulling her hair until she apologized.

Basically, she knew not to bring up his obedience unless she specifically wanted to irritate him. Which she did sometimes want to do.

It couldn’t be helped. There was only Ye to keep her company. They were very good friends, and that never changed. But the more comfortable they got with each other, the more likely they were to find little ways to annoy each other for entertainment.

Mei Hua got very good at living on the mountain. “Teacher Ye” was very thorough. Besides reading, writing, math, and basic survival, he also taught her something called Blue Flower Mountain Arts.

This was a mystic art that combined martial arts and special meditation. The meditation portion of it revolved around circulation of one’s inner energy (qi) and strengthening energy pathways (meridians). The martial arts part helped her make use of the strengthened meridians and refined qi.

The major benefit of the Blue Flower Mountain Arts, and why Ye taught her despite her poor aptitude for it, was because it could make a human body almost indestructible. That was an extremely important quality for her to have, seeing as there were no Doctors on the mountain should she seriously injure herself.

While Mei Hua got strong from her practice of the mystic arts, even Ye admitted she’d never be an expert. That being said, he assured her that no normal human, male or female, would ever be able to bully her. Even at such a young age, she could easily wallop a man twice her size.

Ye brought up, from time to time, the world outside the mountains. Mei Hua didn’t like it when he did, for it was always with the assumption that someday she’d leave. She could not convince the fairy that she wouldn’t leave, no matter what she said.

Mei Hua never got bored of her life, despite only having Ye as her companion. The scrolls in their home were never ending, and seemed to cover every subject imaginable. Anything she could think of to ask, Ye would hop up the storage holes and find an answer for in a scroll.

Except for what happened to the original owner of Traveler’s Cave. This, she did not know. She did try to find out, but Ye told her there was nothing in the scrolls about it. The owner left in such a hurry they never got the chance to write anything down. And Ye himself refused to answer any questions on the matter.

There were many stories passed down in her family about the fairies on the mountain. As she grew older, she realized there was a mixture of truth and fable in what she’d learned.

For instance, fairies can’t lie. This was only partially true. Fairies can only speak what is, not what isn’t. This doesn’t mean they can’t lie. Ye was a perfect example. If he didn’t want to answer a question, he would simply divert the topic or state a truth that sounded related but wasn’t.

The part about fairies being pranksters was at least accurate. That they can’t get lost was also true, though it didn’t mean they knew everything about the mountains per se.

Most of what she knew came from observing Ye and reading. It was odd to her how different the fairies in the scroll were from the ones that hid from her. Ye was the only one similar to what she read about.

Xuiying, author of the scrolls, was quite detailed in her observations. From the life cycle of a butterfly, to the mating rituals of a yak, and even some rather horrifyingly descriptions of human birth, it was all in her scrolls. Mei Hua did not realize it, being divorced from human civilization, but she ended up being highly educated by the time she reached her teens.

What she never could find was the personal diaries of Xuiying. She knew they existed, for when she asked about them Ye evaded the topic like it was fire. It must have been an order from the Emperor, for Ye looked extremely mad every time he refused giving her information.

What she wouldn’t give to see those diaries! She was sure they held all kinds of hidden truths about the Emperor, Ye, the other fairies… but without Ye’s help, she would never be able to find them.