Under LiFen, I had studied various books on various diverse subjects. And for the most part, I was a delight to teach, not my words, I swear. 

 Of all the topics that I had studied, the only one I was terrible at was maps and directions, more specifically, directions. In fact, I was so bad that LiFen used to call me Directionally Challenged!

I can't blame her, though. I know she had tried her very best. 

Now, running towards my new life that lay in the south, I really am cursing my lack of aptitude for understanding directions. 

 I kept looking at the pointer and ran. I ran towards the north; of course, I was not aware of it at the time.

After running for what felt like hours but was more like twenty or thirty minutes, I was already out of breath and hungry.

I decide to take a break and look for a place to rest for a few minutes. 

 So imagine my surprise when I stumble upon what looks like a massive cave just a few meters ahead of where I was standing, like magic.

As it is, I am a curious person by nature, but I am sure anyone in my position would have done what I do next.

I enter the cave and start looking around; I find strange carvings on the cave walls and hear loud gushing sounds coming from a short distance away. I could have sworn that it was not there a second ago. As I walk towards the sound, I hear someone screaming; I run towards the source of the screams and realize that they were cries for help.

On reaching the water source: a waterfall with a pool at its base, I scan it. I find a small girl struggling to get out of the water. Why is a small girl alone in a cave? And why and how had she fallen in the very middle of it were logical questions that I should have asked myself before I jump into the cold water to save the child.

I reach the small girl, who looks to be about five, and drag her out of the cold water. I empty my bag and drape the only bedsheet LiFen had sent with me over the shivering child's shoulder.

The child abruptly stops shivering and looks up at me, "Do you have any food?" She asks in a small melodious voice. 

 I take out a loaf of bread and hand it over to her, "This is all I have right now."

The child nods, taking a bite of the bread.

"You see, I am running away from home. And this is all that I was given. So eat it well for the both of us." I tell her, stroking her soft-looking but rather coarse hair.

The child nods.

I shut up and look around. I belatedly realize that now that I had generously yet stupidly given away the food that was supposed to help me survive, I had just added some more points to my growing list of worries. I feel tired, wet, and hungry. Great going, YiJuan!

The little girl finishes the bread in silence. "Thank you, lad." She says in a voice that sends shivers down my spine. It's like a growl, heavy and rough.

 Maybe I am just imagining it, I tell myself before asking, "What did you say, sweetie?"

"I said, thank you, lad. You have made me very happy." It's the same heavy growly voice as before.

My heart starts thumping, and blood starts pumping; I nod and slowly try to shift away from the child's vicinity.

The child takes notice, "Is my current form not pleasing to your eyes, lad?" she asks, catching my eyes.

I nod and force a smile on my face, "You are beautiful, dear one, very pleasant looking."

The child tilts her head to a side and asks in the same scary voice, "Then why are you acting like you have seen my true form?"

I laugh. It sounds fake. It sounds like I am in pain, "True form?" I ask, hoping that I had heard wrong.

The child looks at her hands and legs before standing up and blinking. 

 A blue smoke covers her from head to toe. The girl's form disappears within the thick smoke.

Slowly the smoke clears and where the girl stood just moments ago, now stands a....a... I don't know what I am looking at, to be honest. It looks nothing like anything that I have ever read or heard about. The thing... creature, it stands in front of me, taking what I think is supposed to be an intimidating pose. Over seven feet tall, its head looks like it belonged to a dragon once. It has white wings sprouting out of its shoulder blades. At least, that's what it looks like from where I am standing. The wings look majestic, yet on the creature, they look odd. My eyes slowly travel lower, taking in its muscled abdomen, clawed fingers, rounded muscular thighs, and a fluffy tail swishing behind it.

 The only thing I am sure of at this point is that I am safe, at least for the time being.

How you may ask, was I so sure? 

 Simple, more than anything, this creature looked awkward, and it felt like the form it had taken previously was just for my convenience. If it had wanted me dead, it would have killed me when I had set foot here.

I was sure that the creature did not get out much. For, why else would it call me, a beautiful girl, a lad?

I bow to the creature, and without making eye contact, ask, "My apologies if I am trespassing in your territory."

"Mn?"

I think its vocabulary isn't evolved either. Keeping my eyes on it, I put my hands up to show that I meant it no harm; I start backing away slowly.

"Stop!" It growls again and sits down on the rock. It looks much less majestic and much more awkward now that it's sitting on the rock near the waterfall.

I do as I am told.

"Sit down, lad."

Once again, I do as I am told.

It stares at me for a few seconds as if contemplating its next move before standing up and disappearing in the thick blue cloud again.

I think it has sensed my unease and wants to take the previous form to make me feel more comfortable. 

 I wait as the smoke disappears again, leaving behind the small girl.

She sits down next to me and holds out her hand. A few official-looking pages magically appear on the child's palm. 

 Without saying a word, she hands it to me. 

 Right on top of the page, in bold letters, are the words:

 "Rules and Regulations"

You shall never mention that you have seen a Weredragel. (Me) 

 You shall never disclose the location of my home. (this place)

 You shall never attempt to draw my portrait. (I am insecure about my looks) 

 You get two wishes. (choose wisely)

 If you break any of the above rules, there will be consequences. (I won't tell you what they are, so don't ask) 

 And before you ask, yes, I am a female. 

 (it's not my fault that I look like this!) 

I go through the list two times, "Are you telling me that you can grant me anything I want?"

The girl nods and lifts up two fingers. 

'This is bloody brilliant!', Maybe someone is actually looking out for me. "Where do I sign?" I ask the child. 

"Aren't you going to read the fine print?" She asks. 

"Is it important?" 

"No, not really. It's just a bunch of routine things." She says, shaking her head like I do when unimportant things are being mentioned. 

"It's fine then." I take the quill that the child produces out of thin air and proceed to sign the document. 

"May I make my wishes now?" I ask excitedly. 

The child nods. 

"I want to help those who can't help themselves without exposing my true identity."

The child flicks my forehead hard. 

"Ouch! What was that for!?" I ask, rubbing the throbbing area. 

"It's my unique way of granting wishes. Next?"

"I want to find true love." 

Once again, the child flicks my forehead. 

Once again I wince, but keep quiet. I wait for the pain to subside and ask, "Is it done?" 

"Yes. You may leave now but don't forget about the consequences. It was nice doing business with you." She says, handing over my copy of the contract. 

With that, the blue smoke once again surrounds the girl, and she disappears. Her disappearance doesn't surprise me. After all, nothing about what had happened was normal.

I walk out of the cave feeling like I finally had caught a break. Making myself comfortable under a tree, I start reading the document. 

It doesn't take me more than a few seconds to realize that I had fucked up; I shouldn't have believed her. I should have read it. 

The fine print! Damn it!

{Word count: 1526}