CHAPTER 72 **The Barrier and Bridge**

“Finished?” Steven asked.

Sahara looked back at him and saw that he was awake, cuddling the fox. The fox was happily sitting in his arms, looking at her curiously. It was not trying to run, nor was it clawing at his skin, it was practically completely obedient and willing.

Was it a fox thing, or could this be done to all of them?

It was good to be distracted from her previous thoughts…

She smiled cheekily at him, “You’re not wanting to let it go now, are you? Haha!”

Steven looked down, not saying anything. The fox looked up at him adorably, making him sigh in his heart.

“If you want one, we’ll have to raise another one, I got two for…Some kids…” She wasn’t sure if she could call them friends yet.

“I don’t” Steven said. He already felt weird enough as it was. He was a man…Cuddling a fox…He felt like he was losing against a rush of water or something…It was a predicament that he hadn’t ever thought would happen!

He will not keep a pet on purpose like this, and if he does…It wouldn’t be one that he had to…Cuddle…

Sahara found Naruto then, who was sleeping beside her, “Ah! Well, we’ll share Naruto then!” She said, seeing the little shithead lift his head up sleepily, at hearing his name.

Patting him, Sahara smiled, it was like she started to become a cat owner! They now had three foxes!

She took a deep breath in and said, “Well, it’s probably time to go, I think it might take longer since I have more to teleport now.”

“I could run us all back…If you are tired.”

Sahara looked back at Steven, “Might take you up on that offer when I run out of spiritual essence.”

Steven smiled, really happy that he could be of help. “Then I will become of service for you then.”

She raised her eyebrows, “Oh? You already think so?”

“Of course, you always act out what you say…And quickly. Just like coming here, it happened not long after saying it to the General.”

Sahara nodded, “Ah! True. I guess I just…”

Sahara went silent for a moment, not wanting to talk about her instincts, then shrugged, “I’m spontaneous.”

Steven let out a chuckle.

She looked back at him, frowning, “What? Don’t believe me?”

Letting out another chuckle, Steven nodded his head, but the look of it was like he didn’t believe her.

“I can be spontaneous!”

“I believe you!” Steven loudly said. He was innocent!

Sahara glared at him, as he sort of reminded her of her sister in her previous life…She would say those words, yet look as though she could go both ways…

“Fine!” She huffed.

She picked up the fox in her lap, that was still sleeping, and put him to her neck, then picked up Naruto. Steven got up as well, letting out a sweet smile, and walked towards Sahara. She touched him, and they disappeared.

Having not been as far in the vast land area then she was when she was out here by herself, Sahara found herself able to teleport just inside of Green Haven, right near the edge, seeing a strange type of barrier.

“It’s the anti-beast barrier.” Steven said, watching Sahara’s interest.

Sahara touched the particularly see through, strangeness and felt nothing.

“Because you are able to teleport through it, that is why these beasts are able to enter into Green Haven.”

She nodded her head, “Ah! I see. So, the Haven’s are protected uh?”

Steven nodded, “Yes, it is said, though, when the Golden Emperor is accepted, that a golden bridge is then linked up between each Haven.”

Touching the barrier himself, Steven remembered something that he was told by someone that he hardly knew…

“A link…”

Sahara frowned, not only to hearing ‘Golden Emperor’ but ‘linked’. With having heard the voices in her head talking about this just a few hours ago, Sahara was a little agitated.

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Looking out into the vast, land area, she tried to picture a golden bridge. Actually, it would be good for stuff like trade and people to see different places. “Does that mean people are able to go from one Haven to another?”

Steven looked back at Sahara and nodded again, “Yes, it would not allow any beasts to enter into the bridge.”

Breathing in and then out, she sighed. “Ok.”

She guessed that she got over the subject. What was the point of caring about it? It looked like there probably won’t be another ‘Golden Emperor’ and that if she wanted to go gallivanting off to another Haven, she’d just teleport to it herself!

After that, they were able to hold onto Steven, as he took them towards the capital. It would have been a strange sight to see, seeing a woman on a man’s back with a fox on her shoulder, then the man carrying two other foxes.

They stopped twice, once because they were hungry, thirsty and tired. The second time was because Sahara had no idea where she was going to go…

Should she go back to the General’s? Should she go and see father?

Where do I go?

Having stopped for a good hour, while Sahara pondered on what to do, Steven played with all of the foxes unknowingly looking like he was having fun.

“Master, you need to see them all.”

“Mmm” Sahara said, absently agreeing to the voice.

“Master, go see…”

“Ah! No way, I’m not talking to you! Bugger off!” Sahara said, realizing what she had done! She even raised her hands and tried to ‘shoo’ the invisible ‘bug’ away!

“But, Mas…”

“Nope! Go away!” She said dismissively.

She suddenly looked around, sighing in relief, when Steven and the foxes were further away than she thought. Hopefully he hadn’t heard her…

Bah! Focus!

What happened instead, which Sahara couldn’t help, was following the normal feeling that she had.

Perhaps, they are really my instincts…I just don’t want them to talk…

They wanted her to go to the General, and she herself also wanted to go.

Getting up, finally knowing where she was going, Sahara said, “Come on kids, let’s go!”

Being close enough, for Sahara to just use her own spiritual essence, they all teleported straight there.

***

In the few days that Sahara been gone, the emperor had tried to talk Matthew into taking the ‘Crowned Prince’ title, but he disagreed every time, already stating that he had given up his right.

The emperor also had asked about the relationship between the ‘Divine Healer’ and Sahara, in which Matthew had gone quiet, then had said that he will like to hold this conversation at a later date.

Seeing a weakness in his son, the emperor wanted to threaten him, stating that he’ll wait, only if he becomes the ‘Crowned Prince’, or that he’ll let him marry the Thirteenth young miss. But, as soon as he wanted to say those words, the emperor stopped himself.

He knew he was getting impatient, so he promised himself to just wait a little while. Besides, threatening someone wasn’t really something he liked to do as the emperor who followed the laws…

He also didn’t like the idea of threatening him for another reason, as he was also realizing that his son doesn’t call him father anymore…Having this being thought of, the emperor felt that the distance between he and his son had grown, and threatening him will probably only make it worse…

Having thought about it for some time, his son had stopped calling him father years ago and now he was missing it very much. Did he not dote upon his son enough?

The Right Minister had been able to talk to His Highness, the Second Prince, but the conversation wasn’t very long. He had asked where his daughter was, making the Second Prince look at him blankly.

The Right Minister had just smiled and happily stated that the emperor had told him, and that he was already anticipating the marriage between his daughter and himself.

Matthew, having missed Sahara like the sun at night-time or the stars at daytime, didn’t know how to respond. Having their relationship already public was…

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!

Telling the Right Minister that Sahara had left this area for a while, and that she should return soon, the Second Prince had then walked away...

The prince’s latest order from the emperor, was to subdue the people, so that the affairs with the former Crowned Prince were not to worsen. The people had seemed to calm down at least by half, but obviously, change is something that ripples like that of water. A stone being tossed into a lake makes the whole lake ripple…So, Matthew was calming the people down and even talking to some of them. There was nothing else to do but have them accept that the former Crowned Prince had made mistakes and that there was nothing that they could do as supporters.

Did they really want to continue to follow someone who was like that anyway? Sometimes, with that question, Matthew was able to change the people’s loyalty, especially with the help that the Crowned Prince was now imprisoned anyway…But then there were the few that seemed so loyal that it made one question if their families were being held captive or something! It wasn’t an easy job, as he was an ‘enemy’ to the Crowned Prince’s people but, for the most part, Matthew welcomed this challenge to keep his mind occupied…

The ones making a plan that could be concrete and enough to even get rid of the Thirteenth Young Miss, if they had too, was none other than the Empress herself and Miss Haves.

The Empress became more and more close to Miss Haves and found that she too wanted to make it difficult for this unknown woman as well.

Through waiting for the arrival of this Thirteenth Young Miss, they had already agreed to have the act set out. Seeing that this Young Miss had been away for a very long time, after being poisoned, they would just bring up the fact that she had an illicit affair. They even had an Imperial physician ready and waiting to ‘declare’ a pregnancy…

Coming up with a few ideas to ruin the girl’s reputation, Miss Haves and the Empress were convinced that this would be all that is needed for the Second Prince to give up on her.

Through an ‘investigation’, they also have a man willing to admit his ‘affair’ with the Thirteenth Young Miss, making them all the more certain that nothing could go wrong with their plans.

Of course, they didn’t intend to throw everything that they had on her straight away.

Already picturing a few ideas of their first meeting in different ways, as them being very nice and coming to the stunning realization, after the girl had taken some drug, that she would bleed a large amount and it would start from there. The food would look normal but have the tendency to not be good for those who are pregnant, they would ‘act’ suspiciously afterwards. Or another idea was to threaten her to go along with their plan, saying that is what they’ll do if she does not comply.

To a certain degree, they were somewhat glad that they hadn’t found this Young Miss yet, as they were still finalizing their scheme…

If Sahara had known of this, she would have been quite sickened at finding such schemes against her. Sahara would question why they wanted to treat her like this, when they didn’t even know her, when they hadn’t even met her!

Yet, both the Empress and Miss Haves seem to encourage each other on, finding a familiar setting for both of them to continue with their bad thoughts…Since they had an ally that wanted the same thing, the plans grew because of the second person. And through this, their relationship grew fonder, and the Empress couldn’t wait to gain her as a daughter in law…

***