"I want a gem."
"A gem?" the two replied.
"Not just any gem. I want one the size of my head. Ruby red and clear, so that every time I look at it my reflection stares back at me," the emperor declared, delighting in his own fantasy.
Zora and Aidan thought for a moment.
"Well, it seems like a fair price. And after that we can use the beach?" Zora asked.
"Of course!" he said abruptly. "I am a man of my word. You can ask anyone in the continent and they will tell you the same."
Aidan sighed. "Do you have an idea where we can find such a thing?"
The next morning, in Viniria's garden, the little boy was tapped by the tiniest vine. He opened his eyes, ready to start babbling, but she stopped him with a gentle touch.
"Hush! We are going on an adventure," she said, urging him to come out of the tent. Eli was fast asleep rolled up in her covers. Viniria got the child out quietly and looked at the tent. Then, using her powers, she wrapped it up in thick vines, adorned with large flowers. The goal was to block out the sun, so that the nanny would sleep longer.
Luka clapped his hands, impressed.
"Oh, you think that's good. Just wait to see what else I have planned for us," she smiled, lifting her godchild. Then, seagull wings grew from her back and the two flew to the skies.
"Oh, woooooow!" the boy uttered, looking at the scenery from very high up. After a while, his godmother smiled, seeing the place she wanted to visit.
"Ready, little one. Here we go!" she sang, as they descended into a valley filled with small green hills. The boy giggled and ran around the soft grass.
"Now child, do you know why they are called the Leaping Hills?" she said, leaning toward him. The boy shook his head. She took one hair and secured it tightly to his body. "I will show you. But first, you need to do something for me."
Not long after, the creature was running towards the top of a hill. Transformed into a horse, Viniria yelled: "Do as I do!"
With all her might, she leaped from the top and into the valley underneath. Her animal body hit the ground with all its strength, and bounced high up. It seemed that, the surface of this special place had an elastic structure, which allowed for such shenanigans.
Luka followed. Transformed into a bear cub, he ran as fast as he could and jumped in the same spot. The bounce made him joyfully giggle. The two bounced around, from one hill to the next, with ease. Viniria, would often change her animal body, depending on her desires and the effectiveness of the bounce. When Luka seemed to be struggling, she would grab him and drop him from a bigger height. But most of the time, she would let him roll around in the cub body, knowing that, this way, he could not get hurt. After what seemed hours of fun, the godmother took the baby bear.
"Did you had fun?" she asked.
The boy rambled on, jumping in place. "Move! move!"
"No, no, dear. We have to go back. Your grumpy nanny may wake at any moment. But when we see your mom again, you tell her all about the fun place Vi-vi took you to."
The cub shook his head. Hearing, the word mother, he subconsciously turned back into a boy.
"Good. Now don't forget. We went to Leaping Hills, the Unicorn Lands," she said.
"Vepin ills, Yuncorn vands," the boy repeated.
"Excellent. You are talking better already," the forest guarding smiled. Hearing something in the distance, her mood changed drastically. She gasped frightened and turned to the boy.
"Luka, listen. We are going to play a game now. I need you to turn back into a cub. Do you understand? And I need you to go and hide. I will count to 100 and look for you. But, listen. This is important. Whatever you do, do not turn back. Understand?"
The boy nodded, doing exactly like she said. As she started to count, he quickly hid in the bushes. Viniria peeked through her fingers and looked up at the sky. There was no use running. They were already here. If they found the child here, it would be a disaster...
Meanwhile, his parents were busy from early morning.
"Hmmm... I do have such a ruby, but I will not give it up easily," a queen of a distant kingdom spoke. She was sitting on a throne, covered with colorful feathers. Her man servants help feather-filled fans, and their only other items of clothing were feather head-pieces and loin cloths.
"What do you want in exchange?" Aidan asked, dreading the answer.
"I want a feather. But not just any boring thing. I want a feather of a fiery phoenix. I want it to burn in my hand," the queen explained, clenching her fist.
Zora sighed and wrote it down. "How can we know if that even exists. Do you know where it can be found?"
"Oh course," the queen calmly declared. "I'll even draw you a map."
Reaching that location, the king of that land declared: "So you must be the famous magical royals. I must say I am impressed how fast you can travel."
"Not fast enough, apparently," Aidan mumbled to himself.
"I know what you want. The feather lady keeps nagging me about it. If you want it, you must convince the water dragon to come over once a year to water my crops. I'll even tell you where he lives."
It turned out, someone was keeping it as a pet. It was a demon king, who lived high in the mountain.
"Hmm, yes. The dragon is with me. But I will not fulfill that request for nothing. I want a special weapon that returns on its own. I heard it was made on an isolated place," the demon king told the couple.
Reaching such a place, they found a dessert land with only a few bushes. An old man was using such a weapon. They quickly approached, asking to buy it. The man turned, took out a sort of instrument and started to play it out of tune. "Broken, needs fixing. Get me special wood from that area."
The next place was no better, with the locals thinking hard about their request. "We'll give you the wood. But first, you have to do something for us."
Aidan grabbed his tired head. The wolf inside him was howling from frustration.