Her hands tightly gripped the enveloped letter once she had seen it. The waxed crest seal on it - that of the Morley Ducal House, no Archducal House now thanks to the current Head of the house efforts. The brunette's hands trembled, recalling the scene of what she had been greeted with once she had returned home almost seven years ago.

Cold sweat trickled down her spine. They had found them. 'What if they want to kill Ash since they couldn't get the job properly done last time?' She didn't dare to imagine what her daughter's corpse would look like.

Ellen instantly stood, gazing at door. Ashnah was outside with Ray, her magical beast protector. As long as Ray was by her side then no harm would come to her.

The mother's first thought after this was, 'we have to move. But with his current power, I'm sure he'll be able to locate us even in another kingdom.' She walked over to the fire place, not bothering to read the letter and threw it into the crackling red and yellow flames of the fire place.

••••

"It seems like the Magical Beast Festival will be more jovial this year." Ashnah commented as she watched the villagers prepare the food and game stalls along the street.

"Indeed." Ray agreed, looking at the cotton filled magical beast toys that was aligned on a shelf as prizes for one game stall.

The Magical Beast Festival within the village was a celebration when people would play games, have fun, eat delicious seasonal food until it was midnight where they would be able to observe the flocks of magical beasts as they flew past the human lands to their home. And some used this day to honor magical beasts.

Holding her empty herb basket in her hand, Ashnah glanced down to Ray deep in her thoughts.

Seeing that something was on her mind, the beast protector inquired. "Is something the matter, Princess?"

"Ray, you do know how some humans honor magical beasts on this day, right?" Ashnah stopped in place.

"I do." He replied.

"Will it be okay if I built an empty grave for the First Magical Beast King, burn incense and pray for him to give him honor?" The tone of her voice was sincere. Ashnah was extremely happy to be alive due to her untimely death. Because of the First Magical Beast King, even though she had been reincarnated as the villainess, he had saved by giving her life when she had been in her mother's womb.

Ray's tailed quickly wagged side to side. "I am sure he would love that, especially coming from his daughter."

Ashnah clapped her hands once in agreement. "Okay! It's decided. Ray, what's the First Magical Beast King name?" She commenced her trek once again and Ray followed along.

"...His name." Ray whispered to himself. "Princess, none except maybe the Queen of the Fairies know of His Majesty's name."

"That's sort of depressing... that only one person knows his name." The brown haired child noted.

The wolf magical beast explained why. "It's because there is power in his name. But I am certain if Princess asks his blood that flows within your veins, the blood would tell you."

The child's right eyebrow quirked up. "How exactly am I suppose to do that?"

"It's like meditation. Where one clears one's their mind and control their breathing." He responded. "I'll show you once we have arrived to the herb field."

••••

"Princess, your body is too tense and you're breathing too slowly." Ray pointed out.

Ashnah was sitting with her back against the tree as she tried to follow her protector's instructions so she could find out the First Magical Beast's King name. This was the fourth time she had gotten this technique to communicate with the magical beast's blood wrong.

"We'll try once more." He instructed. "Gently close your eyes. Release all stress in your body. Slightly part your lips, slowly take one breath in, then breath out. Picture the image of his blood pulse through your veins and the sound of his voice. Tone everything out but that." Ray's voice was soft enough but loud enough to calm her and slow enough but fast enough to guide. It was perfect.

Doing as she was told, Ashnah could have only see darkness due to her closed eyes. She could no longer hear the wind as it swayed the leaves, the chirping of the birds and clashing of water against the rocks from the stream nearby. All she could have hear and felt was the thumping of her heart in her chest.

Then she heard a voice from afar. Ashnah could have tell the voice was getter closer and closer because of how louder it was becoming. She was lured into a trance.

Then within her the darkness of her mind it suddenly got bright.

Her surroundings, everything... all she could have see was white.

She no longer heard the voice.

She looked down at herself to see that she was in the same dress her mother had picked out for her today to wear. "Is this how I am suppose to communicate with the First Magical Beast King's blood?" She questioned herself.

"You are greatly mistaken child."

Due to the unexpected appearance of the voice, Ashnah got startled.

An extremely handsome man with long flowing pearl black hair and piercing black eyes that seemed to stare straight straight into one's soul appeared.

'Damn The Beloved One!, why wasn't he an option?!'

"The Beloved One!? ... Option? Child you speak of strange things."

Ashnah felt heat flood her cheeks as they turned red. 'He heard!!!' She twirled a lock of her brown hair. "Um, I am sorry! I meant nothing by that! I was just surprised at how handsome you are! But... moving on from that." She looked around once more, "where exactly are we?"

"Humans were always such visual creatures. I will pay no heed to it. And right now we are in your psyche."

"So, I didn't get the whole communication with blood right, going by what you said in the beginning?"

"You have summoned my spirit from my blood within your psyche. A step beyond what you have spoken of. So why have you summoned me, child?"

'Well, didn't I go overboard? Seems like too much just to summon him as he said, to simply ask for his name.'

"You want my name?"

Ashnah nodded. "I wanted to make a grave for you to honor you for Magical Beast Day ... but I didn't know your name. I wanted to thank you for giving me life. But seeing as you're here." She did a forty-five degree bow , "thank you for saving me when I was within my mother's womb." A part of Ashnah's hair stood at attention of the top of her head. '....Stupid hair!!!'

The First Magical Beast King chuckled at action of the child's hair. He unknowingly reached out and ruffled her hair. "My name is Akbar, little one." He said with a smile before he slowly turned into small black sparkling particles, vanishing within her mind.

"Princess!" The concerned voice of Ray finally reached her.

Ashnah's eyelids slowly lifted.

"Princess are you okay?!"

"Akbar." She mumbled, causing her lavender hued eyes to glow a bright red hue.

••••

A wall with ancient language of the magical beasts glowed crimson.

The glass filled with wine shattered onto the ground. {"That stoic beast, Akbar! He was actually hiding a daughter!!!"}