*GRIN!*

        *GRIN!*

               *GRIN!*

    The third buzz of the alarm triggered the image to suddenly rise up on the wooden bed with lavender scenting pillows.

 The image looked at the ceiling for a while, grumbling. Then fell back.

"Urgh, I'm so tired!", She whispered, in her usual sweet tone.

She sat up again and sighed, "I'm Princess Sisou of Fangyi, the love State... I'm a Shaolin warrior and a hunteress . But I'm not still a perfect lady !Well,good thing I'm not getting married but I need to be perfect like other Princesses...Other Princesses always rise up early before the alarm,but I'm different!"

"Totally different!" Sisou clenched her fists.,"I don't know what's wrong with me..."

She pulled the dual pillows before her and pointed at them, "Hey, sleep buddies...tell me... Don't I need a change?Am I even worthy of being a princess? Is this how I'll rule Fangyi in the nearest future?Tsk!"

The pillows stared motionless at her. She pounced upon them, shrinking them,"Answer me!"

*PHEW!* The pillows mumbled noise under her...

The sun suddenly rised and the sun rays ran into Sisou's room, through the louvred window.

"What a sunny morning! Good for a hunt, tsk!"

 She rolled off the bed and was halfway to the louvred window, before there was sudden knocks on the door.

"Come in," She said,in her sweet tone.

The door pushed open and two ladies in plain pink laces walked into her room. They bowed politely before her, "Good morning, her Royal majesty!"

"Morning, cuties!" Sisou grinned and glanced at the window and, again," The morning seems to be bright, isn't it?" she whispered before them.

They nodded, "It is, Princess Sisou!"

"A good day for hunting!"Nimaj said.

"Absolutely correct!", Sisou smiled at her.

"My princess, the hunt game on a sunny morning like this is so much interesting...you know!" Duri,the other maid said.

Sisou nodded...

"Very much correcto, cuties!"

"Yes, my princess!" They bowed before her.

"What other fun exist if not Hunting?" She pointed at them., dramatically.

"None, my Princess!" They shook their head before her, politely.

"Good...well, I think you guys will accompany me to the forest again... I'll really need your assistance, cuties!" Sisou said, whispering.

"Anything for you, Princess Sisou... but I suggest you need to have breakfast first, so the hunt game can be fun" Duri snapped, lightly.

"Yeah, princess Sisou"Nimaj agreed, smiling.

*૦қคע,८υ੮ɿ૯ς* Sisou nodded at them in a beaming smile.

...****************...

      Dressed in her favorite sari outfit, she walked towards her parents; King Chen and Queen Momo who were both sitted on the throne of Fangyi State.

She bowed elegantly before them, with the quavers of arrow hung at her back.

"Good morning, Father. Good morning, mother."

King Chen smlied at her, "Morning, peanut. How was your night?"

"Fine, Father. How about yours?"

"Cool as ever" King Chen chuckled under his breath.

"My princess, you look so picky...where to?" Queen Momo asked.

"To hunt!"Sisou snapped. She glanced at the rising sun and grinned,"It's a sunny morning...Which fits hunting. The forest wildlife will be less active, which makes the hunt more luring and untiring."

Queen Momo and King Chen glanced at each other,in dismay.

"I'm the greatest hunter of Fangyi State!" She yelled, causing flabbergasting echoes in the palace.

..."I think we've a crazy daughter."Queen Momo whispered before Sisou's father,"She never talks about man or marriage!"...

King Chen looked at her beautiful daughter, "C'mon, Sisou. You're old enough for all these hunt and Shaolin life you live in... Can't you try changing?"

"Changing?"Sisou raised her eyebrow. She grinned, "Well I know you know that the alarm wakes before me all day and I need a change 'bout that,right?"

^^^"No. Not that."Queen Momo said,"Your father was thinking you are about meeting a prince because you dressed up so charming... I was thinking same."^^^

^^^"Meeting a prince? Who does that?Tsk!" Sisou suddenly frowned.^^^

"Sisou you are eighteen... and you are old enough for marriage according to our custom. What are you waiting for? Do someone need to tell you that you are the most beautiful of all princesses and men won't fail falling in love with you?" King Chen drawled.

   "Your perfect type travel past states. Find their soulmate and fall in love, then get married... But you, you keep on hunting lives out of the forest and give up your last energy for Shao.... "Queen Momo said.

"Enough, father! Enough, mother!" She glared at them. Now,she saw them as puppets sitting on rock chairs. She turned her back at them, fuming in wrath," I never wanted to be in a marriage life.."

She looked back at them,"Because it's a futile idea that we can't even see!"

She turned her back at them, again,"... And I dare to crush any masculine figure who comes my way!"

  Sisou walked away, while her parents glanced at each other in surprise like,"Damn, our baby's hot!"

   Sisou bumped into Duri and Nimaj when she tried walking past the royal pavement.

They bowed before her,"My princess..."

"My princess you look worried.Any problem?"Nimaj asked with a careworm look.

Sisou faked a smile,"I'm okay, cuties!' she continued," C'mon, let's fly to the forest!"

     She mounted on her Silver-balded horse which she named 'Gemi . And her maids followed suit after.

"Hyah!"She whipped the horse and it trotted distinctly across the royal gate, running down into the forest path.

  "Gemi seems to be active today.." Duri remarked while the horse jerked speedily.

"Guess he had enough straws for breakfast.' Sisou said.

 They giggled light-heartedly.

...****************...

Sisou and her maids had alighted off the horse and stood silently in the clear coast in 'Mo Zhu' forest of Fangyi.

Their eyes wandered around the shrubby sorrounding with tall trees, birds singing around and insects chirping .

"What a cool aura!"Duri whispered,. in delight.

"But the air seems to be moisty even when it's sunny this morning..." Nimaj said.

Duri nodded.

Sisou said," There's a little humidity here. Mo Zhu forest is a rain forest."

"No wonder!"The maids drawled.

"Let's walk more deeper into the forest...be cautious", Sisou whispered.

They nodded.

Their footsteps rustled upon the dried leaves as they cautiously walked.

Sisou suddenly heard thuds of strange footsteps rustling towards them.

"I think there's a game on the way." Sisou looked back at them,"Shhh!"

Her maids nodded.

She got her arrows active on the string, ready for a hunt, her ears too alert. While Duri and Nimaj followed her lead.

The footsteps was getting closer.

And closer.

And closer.

Then she heard the footsteps halt behind a grassy cache, some steps far from them.

Sisou looked at Duri and Nimaj, " You both have to stay here. I think it's something dangerous over there."

Duri pulled her back."My princess, stay back. You wanna risk your life."

Sisou grinned,"I know, cuties. But you know, I've been risking my life,so you don't to stop an experted hunteress like me... It's only a game."

Duri nodded and leaned backwards, letting go of Sisou. Sisou bravely and lightly walked towards the cache but couldn't find any image,alas!

She suddenly felt like something sped past her.

"It can't be an animal"She whispered in doubt, "Or can it?"

"Show yourself before me!"She gathered some atoms of guts and screamed fearlessly, but moistness in her eyes .

.. But there was only silence.

"I said show yourself. You dare not hide before the greatest hunteress of Fangyi...Show yourself!"

Silence again...

Sisou sighed, "Maybe it was just an imagination." She glanced at Duri and Nimaj, waving her hands, signalling," Hey, there's nothing here."

The maids nodded, in the silence moment.

Sisou suddenly broke the silence,"Tsk, I think it was just my...." Before she could finish up her words, the maids screamed.

"Behind yo!"

She was about turning at her back and ready to give a Shaolin crane punch,when a masked figure pulled her and dragged her, letting her roll on the humus.

"A masked human?"

She tried wriggling off the tight grip of the image but it seems stronger than she had thought.

"Let go of me!"She yelled, but the image seemed to be deaf.

Sisou remembered distinctly the last Shaolin training that her master taught her before she was awarded. Her master, Fun Ye told her that it was the most dangerous and defensive technique and she should never fail to apply it whenever she was trapped.

She relaxed her breath and suddenly jumped with full force, letting go of the grip. Her hands suddenly sped past the image's mask and yanked it off his mask, revealing a good epitome of handsomeness with topaz siren eyes,well pointed nose, attractive jawline and a very pinkish jolie lips, with a long black hair just like hers and then his charming, fierce look.

She hung her Shaolin fist in the air, wondering if this handsomeness was real.

Before she could get to her right senses, the image picked up the mask and magneted it back to his face, then hitted Sisou to a great fall.

The image tried pulling her before the maids scampered towards.

The image suddenly let go of her and flashed off, leaving Sisou a bit unconscious.

"My princess!"They knelt before her.

With her dim eyes, Sisou said,"I'm okay"

"What happened?"Nimaj asked.

"The freak tried taking me away. Good thing you guys came on time...He hitted me all of a sudden. I just feel weak. We need to go back home... cuties"Sisou drawled, hardly.

"Okay,my princess"

"I'll deal with him when next we meet at coincidence.."She coughed as Duri and Nimaj helped her up.

   Two weeks later...

Sisou had been sick for days but finally regained consciousness. In her sick days, she laid on her bed day in- day out, wondering how a common human could hit her down and cause her crazy weakness.

   " He won't escape my hunt for him,soon"She would always mutter, drawling. And Nimaj and Duri would pacify her.

King Chen had ordered the palace's one thousand hefty soldiers to search vigorously for the masked image in Moh Zu forest, but no lively figure was found.

King Chen, then pointed at her daughter,

 " Maybe you can now understand that you are old enough for hunting in wild forest, and you have to act matured. Get married!"

Then,he left her room.

  Sisou sighed, pulling out her quavers of arrow from beneath the bed."Well, I can't afford to stop hunting.. it's part of me, which no one can take away"

   She touched her temple for a while, then sighed softly, " God of Fangyi knows what would happen if any masculine image dares comes my way..." She whispered, then clenched her fists.

   The door slowly pushed open and the maids walked in. They bowed before Sisou politely.

  " My princess, how are you doing?"

Sisou grinned,"Very much fine... I think the ointment and herbs perfectly worked"

" We're glad about that, princess Sisou." They said. And Sisou nodded.

   "But it was all my fault... I couldn't even defend myself from his hit."

"No, my princess. You owe us punishment, for not being able to detect the trespasser." Duri said.

      "No, cuties. If not the intervention of yours, maybe I would be found dead or taken away by the freak... And as for him, I'll definitely try doing everything to find him. Climb the mountains, pass through the oceans, search the forests..." Sisou clenched her fist.

   "My princess, let bygone be bygone. Well, we're all happy that you didn't missed." Nimaj added.

  "It'll be a shame if I tell my Shaolin master about this, that a human could possibly hit me down" Sisou spitted,"Ptoeey!"

   "No,my princess. We all know you did your possible best"

  "Possible best, you say? Tsk!" Sisou looked away, "Well, I didn't knew what happened... I was looking deep into his eyes like they were bottomless pits which one mayn't try getting off, and maybe that's why I was distracted..."

     "Bottomless pits? "Duri whispered.

  "Huh? Distracted?" Nimaj murmured.

 The maids glanced at each other, " Our princess is in love" Their eyes chatted, "A strong warrior who never gets distracted by any means."

   "Well.."Sisou was looking at the ceiling in delight, trying to portrait his look, lost in idea "He's handsome. And charming... can't resist forgetting his fierce, killing look."

  Nimaj and Duri looked at each other, "What's wrong with our Princess? Has she been charmed in the forest by the trespasser?"

"Oh, what a handsome epitome!"

     "My princess, what are you saying? You've been talking to yourself...hope everything is okay?" Duri drawled at Sisou.

   Sisou grinned and looked at them, "Oh, I've been thinking of how to find the forest trespasser.."

She looked suspiciously at them," Or... were the both of you listening to what I was saying?"She chuckled at them,"Well .... I was never interested in him." She looked at them, clenched her fists and frowned," I'll kill him,if I sight him anywhere.And I'll go several miles for that!"

  The maids glanced at each other,"Huh?"

...****************...

  "Father, I want to personally go in search of that trespasser..."Sisou snapped, before King Chen, dressed in black tux and quavers of arrow at her back and a sheated sword hung into the slight cache in her dress.

   Duri drew Nimaj's attention," Pssst!"

Nimaj glanced at her.

   Then, Duri whispered into Nimaj's ear, "It seems like our Princess was never interested in him. Who knows how handsome he may be,well...?"

    "I heard the princess said : fierce, killing look...that means he might be a hot, cute guy, oh."Nimaj said,in a snap.

 Duri rolled her eyes,"Well, I'm not interested yet. He's a trespasser and he needs to be punished!"

    "I never was interested in a trespasser too... just trying to get a clue and imagination of his look." Nimaj murmured.

    They both sighed, watching the dramatic action between Sisou and her father.

   "I have a matchete and lots of arrows with me... can't that do enough for me to hunt him?" Sisou yelled at her father, clenching her fist.

King Chen chuckled, "You are always stubborn. You just recovered from illness some hours earlier and you wanna go looking for someone who you don't even know!"

    "Father..."

 "If our thousands of soldiers couldn't find him,then who are you to look for him ?" King Chen drawled, "C'mon, girl. It's better you go rest. We don't want the villagers to be worried about you getting ill again, over a hit."

       "I'll find him!"Sisou snapped, looking so mean at her father,"It was such a shame and humour that I couldn't even defend myself. Why won't I find him? At least, I'm now more cautious than before."

   "Sisou, no..."

  "I'll find him and kill him and bring his corpse to this palace. After all, I'm a Shaolin expert and I'm strong right from when I was little." Sisou snapped and walked away.

    King Chen glanced at the maids. They bowed politely before him, then left.

 King Chen sighed, "She isn't only strong from birth... She's a stubborn beauty, yet loved by the people of Fangyi State. What a mystery!"

...****************...

 At Mohzu forest...

     Sisou fiercely rode her horse around 50 good times but couldn't perceive any scent of image.

 She sat under a tall acacia tree with beautiful shades, gulping from the water bottle. She sighed, staring at Gemi.

   "Lil bro, do you think we'd find that freak today? I want to kill him. He depleted my fame in Shaolin, I want him to die." Sisou said.

     Gemi neighed.

Sisou rolled her eyes,"So he isn't even in the forest. Or did he ran off when he noticed that I was coming to hunt him?"She whispered, biting her finger,"Won't he be somewhere or some miles away from here? He must be afraid! Afraid of my revenge, and now he's running!"

      "ᕼᗩᕼᗩᕼᗩᕼᗩ!"she guffawed loudly, "I'll find him. C'mon Gemi, let's go find the freak."

Sisou mounted on Gemi and lightly whipped him as always,"Hyah!"

       Gemi ran off Mohzu forest,down into Mohzu's outskirt which got rocky mountains and sloppy hills covered with scanty,dried shrubs all around.

      "He must be few miles away from us. I can feel it,Gemi!"

          Gemi neighed, delightedly.

"Let's keep going further... I'd find him."

They sped past many mountains and hills with clump of thick shrubs and the sun was slowly setting from the west side.

Gemi was getting tired.

"Keep striving,Gemi. He's closer."

Then Sisou suddenly felt the aura of something speed past them with great wind.

"What was that?"Sisou looked around for a while, after she halted the horse."I think it's him"she whispered, pulling out her pairs of arrow on the string.

Her eyes was too active now. She mounted off the horse and watched around. She heard rustles of leaves from afar and thuds of footsteps.

She gripped her arrow tighter,"Get ready, Sisou. And don't get distracted of his damn look. You are only here to prove that you can deal with him, not to fall in love." She said."Infact, why would I fall in love? Isn't that crazy? Tsk!"

The thuds of footsteps seems to be approaching towards her and her spine slowly went chilled.,"Get ready to hunt him, Sisou!"She whispered to herself.

One.

Two.

Three...

And alas, a little rabbit jumped out, even before her eyes!

Damn! Sisou hitted her head.She fell beside Gemi, in anger.

"Why wasn't it him? I want to kill him!' She yelled,"Where is him?" Her voice echoed.

She glanced at Gemi,"Father would laugh at me if I eventually come back alone with you. He'd be expecting a lifeless image ridden by you. Tsk! Now, it's all nonsense. I couldn't even sight him!"

Gemi neighed.

"So where could he be? In the mountains? In the seas? Where on earth would he be?"

Sisou sighed and rolled her eyes,"Well, I'm tired. "She snapped her fingers at Gemi,"Back to home, boy."

 "So my princess, did you find the trespasser?" King Chen asked, while the royal family of three dined,"And hope you tore him apart?

     Sisou really wanted to avoid the question, but she had to reply her father. She hesitated for a while before replying,"He ran away" she munched the mukbang cheese piled up in her mouth.

    "You see? Stubbornness! You couldn't even catch him, you saw him ran away and you freezed!"Her father snapped,"Tsk!'

     Queen Momo had been silently watching her husband and Sisou.

Sisou whispered,"I didn't even saw him...I think the rabbit was actually him! Haha!"

   "And you were lucky he didn't tried killing you!"King Chen pointed at Sisou,"You keep calling yourself a Shaolin warrior but I never saw that in you."

  Sisou glanced at her father in dismay. "What?" She looked at her chopsticks and squeezed them in her hands tightly, fuming in anger. Her stomach was already filled with anger, depression, anxiety and a crave to kill the forest trespasser.

  She whispered,"Only God of Fangyi knows what would eventually happen to that trespasser,if I can find him! I'll kill him and feed his body to the hungry vultures in the forest! Who does he think he's?A Shaolin warrior?Or a Martial art God? Tsk! I'll still try finding him.The game's not over, after all! "

Sisou frowned at the sauteed rice before her,

"He's just made me small before the palace and the people of Fangyi State... I wish I can find him "

     "My dear, you are not eating. You don't like the sauteed rice and soysauce?" Queen Momo asked Sisou.

    Sisou looked up at her mother,"The food's okay."

   "Then eat!" Her father snapped.

  Sisou glanced at her father,"I think I'm done eating, father! I need some rest!"

She said and left to her room hastily, slamming the door loudly. She collapsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

"God of Fangyi why can't I just get that freak and punish him? I need to screw him up. Father thinks I'm weak. I want to make him remember that I once won the Shaolin competition award and no born by a woman can pull me down,as far as I live!' Sisou thought aloud.

   She sighed and slipped from the bed to the window. She outlooked the town of Fangyi filled with people . "Fangyi is just a big place. I need to visit our people..."

...****************...

    Dressed in an amber beautifully silted silky gown, Sisou majestically walked through a pathed way made by the villagers who all got their attentions on her. Silence suddenly grew.

 Children ran towards her in delight,"Princess Sisou! Princess Sisou!"

    The villagers all bowed before her, politely.

 She cleared her throat and smiled before them,"It's a good thing that our town is developing, isn't?"

   "It is, Princess Sisou!"They said in unison.

She grinned,"Good. We all need to be hardworking so Fangyi does not fall into famine."

 "Yes, princess Sisou!"

"And..."

Someone suddenly ran towards her,"My princess,my princess!"

Sisou widened her eyes before the villager,who looked worried,"What's the problem?"

   "My princess,some group of bandits are around. They're not far away from us. "The villager said.

"I want everyone into their houses!" Princess Sisou ordered.

  The villagers all ran into their cottage,in fear.

"My princess don't we need to call on our soldiers?"The villager asked.

 Sisou smiled,"Get into your house. I'm more than a million soldiers!"

The villager obediently left.

      Only Sisou stood amidst the cottages, folding her fists."Good thing I came to the village. Many would have been hurt."

   Looking up, Sisou saw about thirty strangers before her who are all well-armed.

She stood confidently and saw them like little puppets about to dance.

 "Ok puppets, what the hell brought y'all to Fangyi State? " She said.

   "How can a petite figure just confront us? " One of the bandits asked others ironically.

     They guffawed loudly.

"A beautiful lady with a stupid confidence!"One of them pointed at Sisou.

  "I'm Princess Sisou of Fangyi State, and I own this province after my father, King Chen of Fangyi State.And so, no stranger has the right to dare tresspass!"Sisou boldly said.

"What's she spitting out?"One of them asked the others.

They guffawed, again.

"It seems like you have gone bananas, you freaky little thing!" Another snapped at her.

"Well, let's see..."She whispered softly,"If I have really gone bananas!"She said, already in Shaolin stance.

The bandits glanced at each other and laughed,"What's she doing?"

They glanced back at her and scampered towards her for a fight.

She dodged their punches and hit mightily and confronted them again distinctly. Then one by one they ran before her but she knocked them down with the most powerful fist defense. They all laid helplessly and some ran away.

"Now I want the all of you to leave Fangyi State without a plan of coming back!"She pointed at them.

"Okay, Princess Sisou of Fangyi State!"They scampered away, without a lookback.

Sisou sighed,"Stupid folks everywhere!"

With time,most of her people left their cottages and everywhere was soon crowded.

They bowed before her.

A teenager ran and knelt before her, yanking the hem of Sisou's dress"My princess, I wanna be like you!"

Sisou grinned."You'll be"

The little girl smiled,"Thank you, princess Sisou."

"You're welcome, sweetie"

Then the girl left.

Sisou looked up at her people and grinned again.

Shouts of joy hurled into the air.

"There's nothing better than making your own people feel secured and home... but sometimes, it costs a lot to be protective of them. You have to sacrifice and waste energy just to make them happy, because they're possibly the future awaiting Fangyi..."