At the Gate of Amaravati, Kemira and two of her older sisters, Goraga and Mondea, along with other celestial maidens came to send me off to earth. I didn't expect the goddesses to come since they were not supposed to show such courtesy towards a mortal. They bade me goodbye with gracious words but I felt their pity underneath.

"What blessing have you given to the girl, Kemira?" Goraga spoke to her younger sister. "She is now brighter even than the glorious moon!"

The other goddess giggled, causing my cheeks to burn hotly.

"I did nothing but to protect her delicate skin from reducing to dust and her body from crumbling to bones," Kemira replied.

"Some blessing, I must try some day, perhaps," Mondea said. "What kind of a goddess who wouldn't want to mark a warrior's heart for life?"

Kemira smiled but didn't say anything. They turned to me.

"I believe it's time you must return to your world. It is my year as the goddess of the zodiac to go to your realm, but I can only be around until the brink of war. Before you leave Amaravati, I would like you to have what you deserve for such a courageous warrior."

"What I deserve?" I frowned.

The goddess pointed to a far distance. I didn't see anything at first, but then I saw several enormous birds soaring through the vast field of the celestial gardens. Their feathers flickered like a rainbow.

They landed a few feet away, and one of the birds looked at me with intelligent eyes. I soon recognized it as the one I had saved from Issarak. The Mayura craned its flexible neck back under its wing. It nipped off a long sparkling tail with its beak.

Then the Phoenix stretched its neck forward, holding the tail to me.

I looked at the goddess in confusion.

"Go on, Nikita," she said. "The Mayura is offering you his gift."

"But...I didn't do anything," I said.

"My dear, winning over the heart is the greatest victory of all," Kemira said.

I bit my lower lip. After a moment, I decided to accept the gift. With my hands held out, the bird placed its beautiful sparkling tail on my open palms. It was light and stiff, resembling a peacock tail with the eye pattern, but it had so many different flicks of colors on each strand that it seemed to glitter like tiny diamonds.

"Thank you...er...good bird," I said. The Mayura then spread its large wings again and with a sharp squeak, it took off and joined its flock in the sky.

Clutching the tail in my hand, I felt the pride engulfing me for the first time. I had won it, my first prize.

"You must hurry now, or you might be late to present the tail," Kemira said then she took me away from the others. She gazed at me with her gold-flecked eyes. "The thing that happened between us shall remain in heaven; therefore, let no worries weaken you, young one."

"Yes, my lady," I said and felt the blush on my cheeks.

I was already nervous to go back home, to face Amarisa, the sweet source of happiness in my undeserving heart. The goddess just smiled as if she understood. She brushed my hair back before giving me a kiss on my forehead.

"You can take my celestial mount," she said. "Whenever you need a ride, you can summon it with an offering."

After she said that, I heard another piercing cry from the horizon. Then I saw a ball of light coming fast. I thought it was a meteor or a shooting star. The light flickered in red and purple flames. It turned out to be another gigantic bird. It landed behind the goddess. The bird's red flaming wings hissed and sizzled, flicking endlessly. I gaped in total awe.

"This is Mayuri, a female phoenix of fire," Kemira told me. "She will take you back to your realm in safety. Now, go and complete your quests."

"Thank you, my lady," I said bowed to her and everyone else.

Then I approached the dazzling ride. The blazing fiery bird hissed, and I recoiled. The bird was neighing out flames like one of Atith's sun horses, but the fire was a pleasant warmth.

"It is alright, she won't harm you," the goddess said in encouragement.

Glancing back at Kemira, I waved the tail at her. The beautiful Devi smiled back. I could almost hear the whisper of her musical voice speaking softly in my mind.

Take care, my sweet earthling.

It felt like a goodbye, and I didn't know why it made me sad.

I mounted the fire bird then flew off through the Gate of Heaven and down into the emptiness of the sky below us.

I didn't know how I could travel from one realm to the next in just a few blinks of an eye. A moment later, the sky felt familiar again. It was the same afternoon I had left. Below me, I could see the body of the stretching river. Further ahead was the green forest and land.

The firebird was faster than my Ashva. It seemed to have the ability to bend the distance. One moment, we were above the forest, the next we found ourselves at the edge of the Walled City.

Although everything was the same as the time I left, I felt like I had just woken up from a long deep sleep.

The last bit of the sun flared brightly behind the mountains. I passed over the encampment, but I saw no one waiting there at the Main Pavilions.

"They must be back at the palace," I said.

The phoenix already knew.

Once we flew passed the boundary stones that marked the palace grounds, I prepared for our landing. After we descended on the stone causeway of the main square, I heard the rushing sounds of royal guards. They came out from all sides.

"Senas! Take arms!" they cried to each other. "Prepare for the attack!"

"Wait! It's me!" I yelled out, putting my hands in the air.

When they saw me, their action halted. Their eyes never left the heavenly bird and me. I got off the phoenix. Everyone was so mesmerized by the giant flaming bird that they stood, frozen. Others quickly dropped to their knees and bowed.

"Bless the gods of Meru!" they said.

Kemira's mount burst into tiny bright sparks as it flew away before it disappeared.

"Show me the way to your King and Queens," I said to the men. The royal guards did as they were told.

The trumpets were sounded.

The moment I stepped through the threshold of the throne room, I heard a chorus of surprised gasps.

Then it was silent. The only sound in the room was the snapping and cracking of scented wood in the burning brazier.

I found my avatar friends sitting grimly at their places. The King and Queens were on their high thrones, looking back at me.

The Guru stopped half-way from shoving a big slice of a watermelon to his mouth.

Also in the hall were Issarak and his avatars. They looked at me in surprise. They seemed to be in the middle of presenting something. Then I saw the daughter of Vayu holding another tail of the sacred bird. The end seemed to be cut clean by a knife or an airblade. It appeared that she was the only one who could retrieve the required item.

As every pair of eyes turned towards me, the only face I wished to see was Amarisa's. She was sitting beside her birth mother, Queen Indradevi.

Her gaze found mine. The grim look on her face earlier quickly disappeared, replaced by a delightful smile.

I wanted so badly to run into her arms, I couldn't shake the guilty feeling that gnawing at my inside. The hall was in a tomb-like state before my friends called out to me in amazement.

"Nikita?" Tusita's voice said.

"I...er...I have the tail," I said.

My friends came to me, and they looked relieved to see me again. They walked me into the hall.

The King and Queens rose from their thrones with a look of shock. My mother was obviously relieved. Her eyes seemed to well up with tears.

"Where have you been?" Tepi said. "We looked and looked, but we could not find you anywhere. Then we found your Ashva coming to us in a state of panic and riderless. We were so worried and thought that some misfortune had befallen you."

"Yes, I was badly injured," I told them.

The murmurs erupted around the throne room. Issarak's face flushed. He seemed to avoid my eyes and stood like a stiff log.

"Are you alright now?" Atith asked. "What happened?"

"Just a little accident, don't worry, I'm fine," I said. "But I have the tail of the Mayura with me."

I pulled it out from my satchel for all to see.

My avatar friends burst into screaming joy and hugged each other.

"Nikita, you did it!" Atith yelled.

Issarak and his friends looked on in disdain.

The King and Queens seemed pleased to see that the one they had placed their hope upon hadn't failed them yet.

Sambo talked with the Hora, whispering and nodding something to each other.

"You look different," Vorac noticed, eyeing me up and down.

"And smell different, too, something nice and unearthly," Tusita agreed. "What did you do to your person, Nikita?"

"Now, now, stop asking and let her rest," Tepi said.

Then my eyes drifted over to Amarisa again, and our gazes entwined. She seemed equally proud and happy, and I wished everything was the way it used to be.