The next day, the Queen takes over the training. She shakes her head, tsking at me.
"I can't believe you used our guards as target practice."
She taps her finger on her chin.
"It makes me wonder whether we should reevaluate where the guards are stationed in the palace, given you were able to hit so many without getting caught."
"You taught me well," I beam, giving her a wink.
She hushes me.
"Don't you dare tell anyone that I taught you. I have a reputation to uphold. I did not teach you how to spit, that was my husband. I will not be associated with such uncivilized behavior. I'm here for damage control, given the Elder will probably want to see what you've learned."
I lower my head, slumping my shoulders. I thought she would be proud of me. After all, she started pranking me first with the school of squid and the Kraken. Whale see, whale do. True, my master will not be impressed with what they're teaching me. I can't wait to show him, just for thrills. I would love to see his reaction. It's going to be a maelstrom.
The Queen takes a deep breath and clears her throat.
"Let's see how you have improved. Now, close your eyes."
So, I close my eyes. My intuition tells me to stay alert; a water tendril will attack me soon. Honing on the energy; any difference, a push or pull. Strangely, with my eyes shut, it wasn't all dark. There are many hues of color. Oh, this is new — an elongated orb glowing gold with pink sparks where she stands, holding a blue orb.
"Now, can you sense the water bubble?"
I nod enthusiastically, "At long last, I can feel the pull of water magic."
"Good. Let's see if you can sense this." She shoots a water tendril at me.
The blue orb flies toward me, I shift to the side, letting it narrowly pass.
Whack! One cheek. Whack! Then the other. My cheeks are burning.
I snap my eyes open.
"Ow! Why did you do that?"
"To check if you were paying attention. You should have been able to dodge it."
"I did, but you swung it to the side after it passed my head. That's not fair!"
"Oh, don't be a starfish. Your real opponents won't be accommodating to you."
Something in me snaps. I am not a starfish! I am Ling Yue, hear me roar!
I collect all the phlegm at the back of my throat, and water gushes out at the Queen.
Her eyes widen as she commands her water tendril to deflect it.
"Ew! Don't you dare!" Her face reddens.
"Oh, it is on!" I start weaving around her and keep shooting spittle at her, using yesterday's practice.
She spins her water tendril like a whirlpool, and with the flick of her wrist, all my ammo returns to me, bruising me. This infuriates me more. I want to go home now.
My anger boils up and erupts from the blowhole at the top of my head, swinging the water around on a rampage.
"Aargh!" I charge at the Queen, her eyes widen as she gasps, both hands over her mouth, bracing herself.
Guards jump in my way to stop me. I toss them aside, bulldozing them over. Aiming for Her Highness. I'm not going to take another hit.
A strong gust of wind stirs the ocean. The currents start churning. I don't care who gets in my way, she is finally going to have a piece of my mind.
Then suddenly, my master appears in front of her. His hand extends towards me, stopping me in my path. I try to change my trajectory, but am no longer able to move. He has wrapped me in an air bubble. I don't know why I can no longer control myself.
My head snarls, and I snap my jaws like a rabid feral. His eyes widen, then soften, he taps his nose as if apologizing for what he is about to do. Then the grip around me tightens. The world darkens as slumber takes over.
***
The sweet aroma of air-cooked krill resurrects me. A mountain of my favorite food, air-cooked just how I like it, in front of me. I munch away, ravaging it. It's like I haven't eaten for days. Wait, I haven't eaten for days! I missed this so much! It tastes even better than I remembered.
Long Fei is speaking to the monarchs.
"Thank you for training her. I know she must have been a handful."
"Not a worry, she's always welcome here. We didn't realize that we had to feed her. We thought she was able to feed herself. The poor thing didn't say a word about it and she trained so hard too."
"That is my doing, I usually cook for her so she must have thought it was how the world works. I'll take over her training from now on. We appreciate your hospitality. I apologize on her behalf for all the damage she's caused."
My heart aches to hear my master defend me. I do recall charging at the Queen. I had no idea what took over me. I balance the remaining krill on my head and make my way to them, careful not to let a single delicious krill fall.
I hand the krill to the monarchs. As though understanding my gesture, they accept my peace offering. They each taste the air-cooked krill and their eyes light up.
"Oh, my oceans!" The King grabs more krill from me.
The Queen giggles softly, "No wonder she didn't eat anything. Nothing in the palace tastes even remotely this good." She helps herself to the rest of the krill.
My master rubs his temples. "What have I done?"
Once the last bite and every crumb has been devoured, the King licks his fingers and the Queen licks her lips.
"It was a delight having you visit. Do come visit us when you have evolved. We would like to know your progress."
I smile at them graciously.
"Thank you for having me. I'll visit when I'm stronger and in control."
They pat me on my head. They're not so bad after all.
"Farewell Elder. Farewell Ling Yue," the Queen nestles to the King as they wave at us.
I follow my master out of the throne room.
Finally, I get to go home. I think we all learned a valuable lesson: never let me go hungry for days on end. Hangriness brings out the rabid beast in me.