Chapter 22 Amateur Model "I want to touch you".
Ashlin could only hold one pose for five minutes before she became impatient, her whole body itching as if a swarm of fleas had suddenly invaded her skin. She couldn't fathom how the models in those famous paintings managed to do it; nothing in this world was worth remaining motionless for her.
Aidan, on the other hand, adapted much better. Clearly, this wasn't his first time modeling for Laurel. His arms were naturally outstretched, his expression relaxed, as if he were at home.
In contrast, Ashlin felt like a failed statue, stiff, numb, and about to collapse.
“What a golden opportunity! I’ve recently been commissioned by His Majesty to complete a work about the moon goddess and the forest god,” Laurel exclaimed. “I’ve been behind on the manuscript for seven months.”
“That doesn’t seem like it can be considered ‘recent’,” Ashlin pointed out.
“Shh, don’t talk. It’s because inspiration is slow to arrive,” Laurel said. “Many artists are lacking inspiration lately… To be honest, Ilovia is giving us less and less material.”
“You can go out and find some material,” Ashlin suggested. “For example, come to Dias or go on a trip to the Orc Forest.”
Laurel laughed heartily, as if Ashlin had said something particularly humorous. Aidan chuckled softly as well.
Aidan shrugged, indicating that he didn't care.
"However, now, look at the two of you, you are simply the moon goddess and the forest goddess themselves! You are my muses."
Ashlin frowned.
“Don’t worry,” Aidan reassured him, “Laurel has been using me as a substitute for the moon goddess for a long time.”
Ashlin doesn't want to be a "meal substitute" for anything, not even a god.
“Every race thinks the relationship between the sun god and the moon god is more interesting, but that’s not the case.” Laurel closed one eye, observing their movements. “The moon and the forest are what’s truly fascinating… The harmony between the night and the dark woods is perfectly natural. Rumor has it that there’s a hint of something between them.”
Ashlyn felt Aidan staring at her.
They lay face to face, half-reclined. At Laurel's insistence, Aidan had to stare "very intently" at Ashlyn. Those purple eyes were unbearable for her; every second was excruciating, and she had to keep her eyes fixed on the direction of the garbage heap.
If someone had asked her a few days ago if she would like to be a model with the world's greatest elf musician, she would have agreed without hesitation.
But that's not the case.
She had a premonition that the elven musician was hiding something from her. She wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin.
"Hmm, is that so?"
"Of course, it's just a legend. I've also heard that the moon goddess gives forest children some mysterious guidance, but I don't know if it's true or not."
That's true, Ashlin thought. Her blood had indeed revealed the riddle of the moon goddess. She wondered if she should bring it up; what did it prove?
The elves had long since retreated into seclusion, their tranquility undisturbed for centuries by neither the flames of the Dragon Wars nor the dark reign of the witch Cynthia. Ilovena was their haven, a secluded paradise untouched by the hustle and bustle of the world.
Ashlin heard the elf's words echoing in her ears: "Isolation is perhaps our race's greatest weakness..."
Queen Melia forbids them from leaving. The elven artists are gradually losing their inspiration. The Divine Oak is withering. The Magic Flute of Nokari, representing life, is missing. Princess Sheeta's portrait is lost. Paintings done before the age of seventy can affect the soul.
She felt that the fragments in front of her should have been pieced together to form a complete puzzle, but they were chaotic and lacked connection.
A storm is coming, but what is she doing?
She should go find Lucas.
Laurel promised that she would only sketch out their movements to see if her inspiration matched, so it wouldn't take too long.
Twenty minutes later, she finally allowed them to rest for a bit.
Ashlin paced impatiently around the room, while Aidan sneezed.
Then, he sneezed repeatedly and sneezed hard.
Ashlin should have felt sorry for him, but her heart couldn't help but leap with joy.
This can only mean one thing...
She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw that the door was indeed ajar, revealing a few whiskers. A pair of blue eyes were peeking at her through the crack.
How did Lucas find this place?
The scent. Perhaps she underestimated the cat's sense of smell.
“I’m going out for some fresh air,” Ashlin said immediately, relieved that she finally had a reason to leave.
Laurel ignored her, but Aidan stood up, casually stretched his stiff body from sitting for so long, and strolled over to the easel.
“Let’s see how it goes, Laurel. I hope you don’t paint me too badly.” He smiled and bent down to examine the canvas, which conveniently blocked Laurel’s view of Ashlin.
Laurel slammed her pen down hard. "You have so little faith in me, Master Musician?"
In an instant, Ashley felt something gently touch her palm. A cardboard piece, cleverly folded into the shape of a violet, had fallen into her hand.
Aidan didn't even turn his body towards her; his gaze remained fixed on the canvas, as if he had simply passed by her unintentionally.
“It’s so lifelike,” he commented. “You’re right, Ashlin really does have the feel of a forest goddess.”
She gripped the paper flower tightly with her fingers, feeling it as if it were a piece of burning charcoal.
Aidan then seemed to have just noticed Ashline, who was about to leave, and gave her a farewell smile.
"See you later." His tone was casual, but his purple eyes clearly conveyed another message.
Ashlin, as if burned, ran out of the underpass.
What does he mean?
She should have looked at the note immediately, but Lucas the black cat was crouching behind a rock, its tail slapping impatiently. She didn't want Lucas to know.
Seeing him made Ashlind feel completely relaxed. She had never missed that annoying little cat so much. Being with the black cat was much more fun than modeling with elves.
As expected, the old fairy tales are all true, she thought to herself; the witch and the black cat are the most interesting duo.
When will she finally get to properly touch it?
Luckily, she's not allergic to cat fur, otherwise she would have missed out on so much fun in her life.
She genuinely doesn't mind any animals shedding fur on her.
While in Foxtail Bay, she didn't have any pets because Sanova was too lazy to care for them. Sometimes, she would go to her best friend Mia's place to pet Mia's beagle and play fetch with it.
"Did you get it?" Lucas's voice pulled him back to reality.
“Of course.” Ashlind decided to put Aidan’s note aside for now, proudly holding up the painting. “But Aidan is here too, and he’s having an allergic reaction now.”
"I can smell it. What are you doing sneaking around under the bridge?"
"It's a long story... A painter wanted us to be his models."
"You and Aidan? As models?" Lucas raised his voice slightly. "You didn't ask Aidan for his autograph, did you?"
"I didn't want it because I was afraid you'd be jealous."
"That's a real shame, I could have bought one from you."
Why would I sell it to you?
Lucas looked at her strangely, his gaze lingering on her hair. Most of the illusion had faded, revealing her as herself, except for her smooth hair.
"No way," he scoffed, "you even dressed up specially just to see him?"
"Say what you will. It's okay, I understand," Lucas said understandingly. "If it were me, I would also comb my hair."
"And you, have you found any clues about the Magic Flute?"
Lucas shook his head.
"Being a cat in Elf Valley is really tough... I think I'll stick to nighttime activities from now on. All I can say is, I have a suspect now. Remember Setir?"
Ashley had no recollection of it.
For reasons Ashlyn herself didn't know, she didn't tell Lucas about Aidan's note. To prevent a repeat of Sheeta's tragedy, they returned to Ashlyn's room in the palace as quickly as possible.
Inside the room, the black cat pondered the sketch of Princess Sheeta.
"You're saying this painting is against the rules?"
Ashlin nodded. "This painting gives me a strange feeling. But I don't know what specific impact illegal artwork has on the soul."
Lucas's blue eyes lit up. "Meow, this is perfect! Have you heard the legend, the soul sealed in the painting?"
"Uh, no."
“It’s alright. But I have an idea,” the black cat circled the painting, “If I’m not mistaken, Princess Sheeta’s soul is in this painting. We can use that to activate her soul and integrate it into the gift we present!”
"Great. Oh, by the way, just a reminder, what is the gift we're supposed to present? You haven't told me yet."
“A statue,” Lucas said. “A statue of Princess Sheeta made of vines.”
Ashlin blinked. "You expect me to make a statue out of vines? Is this your grand plan?"
"yes."
"Are you out of your mind?"
"It shouldn't have been there during the last checkup."
Ashlin was about to get angry, but the black cat tilted its head and looked at her, leaving her helpless.
“I know a spell that can awaken a sleeping ghost,” Lucas said, picking up a pen.
“How do you know?” Ashlin asked suspiciously. Lucas
He didn't answer, but painstakingly drew an hourglass-shaped rune on the paper and patted it with his paw.
“Use your staff to draw this on Sheeta’s sketch.”
Ashlin did as she was told. Green runes appeared on the painting as she moved, but there were no other signs.
“Alright, maybe we should wait a bit,” Lucas said. “How about we train your plant control first? Ashlin, what level are you at right now?”
Ashlyn's mind was in turmoil. Half of her thoughts were on Aidan's note, the other half on how Lucas knew so much magic, and the remaining half was already imagining herself messing everything up at the Star and Moon Party.
She waved absentmindedly at the small potted green vine in the room.
In an instant, the green vines exploded like green paint.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ashlind covered her mouth and restored the poor green vine. "I'm so sorry, sir or madam."
“There’s still a lot of room for improvement,” Lucas said after a moment of silence, displaying remarkable emotional intelligence.
The sunlight shifted from platinum to orange-red. Lucas, with his back to the window, was silhouetted against the setting sun, which cast a fuzzy ring of light around him, making him a silhouette.
“Before you turn back into human form,” Ashlin said, “I have a small request.”
By this time, she had practiced the plan with a bit of magic. Under Ashlin's power, a small green vine grew bigger and bigger, its branches and leaves covering the room, twisting and turning, but it still did not achieve the effect they wanted.
Several hours passed, and she still hadn't learned to control their growth direction and speed; the results were even worse than the day before at the tavern. At least back then, she was focused on saving Lucas and furious at the patrons' kidnapping. Those intense feelings drove her plants to grow unchecked.
But now, reason takes over, and she must learn to interact with plants in a different way.
For her, maintaining strict control is even more difficult than remaining completely still.
She's already messed up once; she can't afford to mess up a second time.
However, Ashlin now feels that she has already done so much, and it is not unreasonable to make a small request.
"What is it?" Lucas continued to study her practiced work, trying to find the problem.
Ashlin adopted her most relaxed and natural tone.
I want to touch you.
"...Say it again?"
“I want to touch you,” Ashlin said, enunciating each word clearly.
The black cat shivered.
"I refuse, thank you."
"Please put yourself in their shoes: If there was a cute, furry little animal around you every day, could you resist touching it? I mean, just once?"
Lucas narrowed his eyes. It was quite possible that even he wouldn't be able to resist such temptation.
“In that case… I also have a request.”
“I’ll do anything to pet a cat,” Ashlin quickly said.
"Don't laugh when I tell you."
"You know I'm always very serious."
Lucas glared at Ashlin, and only then did she realize that she had been laughing as she said that.
She quickly put on a poker face.
"Go ahead and say it, I swear to the sun god I will not laugh."
What followed seemed more like a needle prick than a sentence to Lucas.
"Let me play with your vines for a while."
Ashlin really wanted to burst into laughter.
She took a deep breath and tried to think of terrible things (such as Sanova's disappearance or the boy who bullied her when she was a child) to keep her solemn vow.
She suppressed a laugh, waved at the plants in the room, and made the shape of a cat toy.
"Oscilla," she whispered a spell, and the vines began to sway happily on their own.
Lucas braced himself, squatted down like a big rat, stared intently at the vines, and pounced fiercely after preparing, only to miss.
But this did not dampen his spirits in the slightest. He sat up, his eyes following the swaying of the vines, reminiscent of a pendulum.
Ashlinn let him play for a while, encouraging him from the sidelines. Every time he succeeded, she cheered loudly, praising the cat's hunting skills to the skies.
“That’s about enough,” Ashlin said. “Want a tickle now, kitty?”
Just then, flames burst into flames in her pocket.
She frantically reached inside and cried out; her fingertips recoiled as they were burned.
"What's wrong?" Lucas, having defeated the vine, tilted his head to look at her, holding one of its leaves in his mouth.
Before Lucas could respond, she rushed out of the room to a secluded corner of the palace, where she trembled as she opened the scalding hot note.
With a tremor of his hand, the note fell to the ground and actually caught fire.
Before it burned to ashes, Ashlin made out the words on it:
Seven o'clock, Crystal Tower.
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