KFN A1C6 - King Arthur, the fated meeting
Lin Ling walks towards the candy house under the dim moonlight. The forest is stiller than it was before. The quietness of the night fills Lin Ling with dread. Even more so with the cold wind breezing past the trees. It was a long 10 minute walk to her destination. She kept her chin up, and looked for a source of light, a sure tell-tale of the house in which she saw at last. She pushed aside the branches barring her line of sight, and froze in awe.
In front of her very eyes, there stood a house made of candy of every imaginable colours! The roof, windows, walls, and even the chimney is made of candy. This candy house gives off a fairy tale-like architecture fit for a fantasy world, similar to that of a house made of crystal. The moonlight too, lend to this effect. The lunar light shines down onto the structure, giving it a jewel-like shine, tempting even those who view it from afar.
A beautiful house indeed, she thought. But now is the time of action. She took a deep breath, clenched the candy in her hands tightly, confirming the held contents. She then took the first steps towards the door emblazoned in red.
As soon as she stood close to the door, a waft of sweet smelling strawberry breezed past her nostrils. It was tantalizing, to the point that many would not object to have a bite of the door. Before she lose her senses, she remembered Merlin"s warning. She snapped out of her fantasy, and told herself there is
no way she will be candified.
"Good evening dear visitor... Are you lost in the forest? Come in for a cup of tea."
A gentle voice from the other side of the door greeted Lin Ling, and with it, the door creaked open to welcome her. Lin Ling"s heartbeat rate increased, and she almost forgot to breath. Her very first thought is being greeted by an ugly
witch. She"s come this far. She might as well finish this task.
She stepped into the house and walked into the living room with heavy feet.
Lin Ling half-expected an ugly witch but instead of a witch...
No, a kind and chubby grandmother happily greets our heroine.
"Sweet child, you must be tired. Have a candy, it"ll soothe your tired legs."
Lena, the witch, showed Lin Ling to a stack of candies on the table.
Oh please, who would if you will turn into one.
"Thank you for the offer, grandma. But I only eat the best and special candy there is."
Lin Ling placed the candy in her hand onto the table.
"Oh? A special candy?"
Lena leaned forward, clearly interested at the candy on the table. Her blue eyes now twinkling with greed.
"If you don"t believe me, you can try."
As she says this, Lin Ling"s hand trembled as she slowly opened her pocket. She prayed in her heart,
Calm down, calm down, don"t let that witch see through your act...
Lena happily accepted Lin Ling"s offer, and swallowed Merlin"s conjured candy. She chewed it slowly, revelling in its sweetness.
"Ahhh~ So soft and sweet! It"s melting... Just like cotton candy!"
Lin Ling can"t help but chuckle at the witch"s comment. It IS cotton candy!
"What a delicacy! This is the first I"ve eaten such a candy. Good child, please choose a candy from this room as an exchange for the candy I just ate."
Lin Ling relaxed a little. Her first objective coming here has been achieved.
"Sure. But I wish to choose my own candy. Is that okay?"
Lena hesitated, but quickly nodded to Lin Ling"s request.
"Yes, of course."
Lin Ling stood up, and looked around the room. The walls are filled to the brim with fruit flavoured candies. It"s almost like a simple puzzle game to determine their flavour. From the fruity scent and colours, Lin Ling slowly picked out the flavours. Green is a green apple candy, the blue one is a blueberry flavoured, red for strawberries, orange coloured for oranges and purple for grapes.
Which candy is the prince?
Arthur = Apple flavoured candy = Orange flavoured candy = Strawberry flavoured candy???
Where is this prince?! This formula appeared as she tries to make sense of the candy-prince connection.
"The prince is the witch"s most valuable prize among her candies. You should be able to reach the answer with all the clues given."
Merlin"s words echoed in her thoughts as she desperately cracked her head at the clues.
"Grandma, there"s a lot of flavours here. Which one is your favourite?"
"Me? I like apples the most." Lena blurted out in a heartbeat.
Apple? The colour of that candy is green. As she looked around the room, she noticed that there are less green coloured candies than the rest. When Lin Ling traced the room for green-coloured candies, Lena quickly said,
"Oh no, I made a mistake. I like strawberry flavoured candies the most."
From the corner of Lin Ling"s eyes, Lena seems confused and fl.u.s.tered at her candy choice. Lin Ling thought awhile, and tried moving her hand away from the green candy. Lena then gave a relieved smile.
Looks like the prince is indeed turned into a green apple flavoured candy.
But... which one is it?
"I think I"ll choose a green apple flavoured candy."
Lena"s face changed slightly at Lin Ling"s proclamation. Just like that, Lin Ling found an interesting way to test her theory.
Lin Ling took her sweet time to approach each green candy there is, reaching out her hand and peeking at Lena"s expression every so often. Lena remained calm, and no visible change in her expression as Lin Ling continued her browsing. It was only at the fourth green candy, that Lena showed a slight panicked reaction. As Lin Ling"s hands reached out towards the said candy, her smile twitched slightly, but it is enough for Lin Ling to catch. Lin Ling then moved her hand away slowly from the candy, and voila, Lena return to her relieved smile.
Lin Ling heartbeat rate increased at this revelation. If she is not wrong, then this is it. Jackpot!
"Child, are you done?"
Lena impatiently pushed Lin Ling to hurry it up.
"Yes, I"ll take this one."
Lin Ling quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed the green candy she has previously selected from the wall. Lena"s face paled at her actions, and her sweet, motherly face turned into a revolting one.
"YOU CANNOT TAKE THAT CANDY!"
Lena turned into a terrifying figure fitting for a witch, and rushed towards Lin Ling with a scream.
Lin Ling screamed too, and tries to leave with the green candy at hand. (?) Before the witch reaches Lin Ling, a bag of cotton candy (?) expanded greatly. It wraps itself around Lena, restricting her movements, before it swallows
her whole. A shimmering figure then flew to Lin Ling"s side. (?)
Lin Ling can only stood frozen at the scene. Suddenly, the green candy was s.n.a.t.c.hed from her hands. Stunned at this, Lin Ling raised her head to look at the perpetrator.
It was Merlin!
"You did well."
Merlin casually smiled at Lin Ling, and muttered a spell. The green candy in Merlin"s hand then swirled in a cloud of white mist. The mist expanded, and from within, a silhoutte of a person can be seen.
At a glance, the figure is that of a 7 or 8 year old boy. His blonde hair glisten like that of a sun. The boy"s long eyelashes slowly flickered to reveal a pair of violet eyes. TL: Boyfriend material!
His eyes were fixed on Merlin. He uttered,
"Master..."
TL: He says shifu which YLing translates as Teacher, but Master is so much better.
Huh? Lin Ling tilted her head. Can someone tell her what"s going on?!
The delicate boy standing in front of her, is "THE" famous King Arthur?!
"Um, Merlin? You are his Master, right? So that"s make him King Arthur, correct?"
She needs to confirm her suspicion.
"You must call him Arthur for now. He has yet to be king."
Merlin replied Lin Ling, and looked at Arthur.
"Be thankful to Lin Ling. She is the one who saved you."
"Her?"
Arthur raised his head to look at his saviour, and showed a look of disdain.
"You mean this rascal?"
TL:He called her a mischievous person. But... But... for now it"s rascal.
Excuse me? You are the rascal here! Lin Ling angrily stared back at Arthur.
"Hehe..."
Merlin chuckled at Lin Ling"s action. TL: HE KNOWS!
"Arthur, the one you call rascal now, will be your most invaluable subordinate
in the future."
TL: HE DEFINITELY KNOWS!
"Pffft. What can she help me with?"
He stared down at Lin Ling.
"I do not need this woman"s help."
TL: Original line sounds more s.e.xist. It says I don"t need a woman"s help.
"If it"s not for me, you"ll still be a candy!"
Lin Ling can not help but whisper back her reply.
"What did you say?!"
Arthur scowled back at her.
She blinked in shock. To think that a 7 year old can have such sharp eyes.
"Enough. We will now return to Lord Acre"s castle. The Count must have been worried about you."
Merlin waved his hand, and thus appeared a horse-drawn carriage in front of them.
TL: 林零也扭过了头，不想再理他，正想招呼默林上马车的时候，忽然无意中发现默林和那个被棉花糖缠住的莱娜之间交换了一个眼神。
他们两个是认识的……她的脑中闪过了这样的念头。 No idea what this one says ): Help?
"Hey. Tell me your name!" As they get onboard the carriage, Arthur arrogantly asked the girl.
TL: It sounded arrogant in Chinese lmao. How do you sn.o.bbishly asked someone"s name...?
"Lin Ling." She snapped back.
"Weird name."
"Hmph." Lin Ling jerked her head and refused to look at him.
The carriage travelled slowly on the forest trail. After an eon or so, the trees thinned and the trail soon turned to a road. The sky soon opens up, the forest now no longer within their reach, and the view is replaced with a rustic countryside. The wheat gently swayed to the wind"s embrace. Flowers of all colours line the road side. It is evident that the season is now summer.
From Arthur"s and Merlin"s conversation, Lin Ling can now somewhat form a general idea of Arthur"s recent plight. For unknown reasons, Count Acre"s son fought with Arthur, and Arthur ran away from the castle. He stumbled into the witch"s candy house in the forest. Due to his negligence, he was candified.
This is also the beginning of the game...
It seems that only Merlin knew that this is a fantasy world from a game. What role does he play in this world? Whichever role he takes, it is certain that he is no ordinary NPC.
"Master, why are her clothes so strange?"
Arthur pointed at her.
"Are my clothes that strange?"
Lin Ling then looked down at her clothes at his comment. She almost fainted from what she saw!
She is still wearing her pink pajama with a pig logo!
"This is a first... Seeing someone"s pig coat of arms."
He sneered at the thought.
"This is not my family"s coat of arms, you rascal!"
In front of Arthur, she finds it hard to retreat back to her sh.e.l.l.
"Really? I think it suits you fine."
She bit her sleeves in frustration, pushing back her urge to yell at that rascal.
Is this kid really the famous King Arthur?! TL: Yes he is.
Merlin watched as they bicker back and forth. He smiled lazily at the scene.
However, his blue, enigmatic eyes showed otherwise...