“There once was a Legendary Sculptor. The greatest Sculptor in all of the Greenstone Kingdom. Nobles, Princes, even the King would beg him to come work for them… But he grew tired of the fame, the glory and the endless pursuit of those gold-digging harlots in the Castle. So one day he decided to disappear in the wilderness for a while. Just a little while…”

 

A handsome young man with black hair, dark-brown eyes and slightly tan skin was smiling at an adorable little girl who shared his features. He was sitting on the side of her bed and a beautiful green-eyed, extremely pale-skinned woman was standing behind his back. Massaging his shoulders. He reached back and gently caressed her right hand with his left.

 

“That Legendary Sculptor was completing his finest masterpiece when he happened to meet the love of his life. Eventually… After a lot of hard work and incredible effort, the two of them worked together to create another masterpiece. A perfect baby girl, just like you!”

“Papa, I’m not a baby anymore! I’m three!”

 

“Ehah ehah ehah~! Yes, my baby girl is growing so fast now, where did the time go?”

 

“The time is nine-thirty-five PM.” The tall woman spoke with a feminine yet gravelly voice, “The time goes forward, Celadon.”

 

“Ehah ehah ehaha eha!” The little girl laughed like her father, causing him to grin his straight and white teeth.

 

“Alright Jade, you should go to sleep now. It’s already past your bedtime.”

 

“But I’m not tired yet…”

 

“It is past your bedtime, Daughter. Sleep now.”

 

The little girl shivered when she saw the stern face of her mother and turned to her father with teary eyes, “Papa…”

“Alright, Marble, don’t scare our precious baby. Now come on. I need you to help me with my work…” Celadon quickly stood up and led the angry woman away, turning back to give his daughter a smirk and a wink.

 

“Goodnight Baby~!”

“Goodnight Papa~! Goodnight Mama~!”

 

“Sleep tight.” Marble glared at her daughter as she was pulled out of the room, “Or the bed bugs will certainly bite.” 

 

***

 

“Doggie~! Doggie~! Kitty-cat~! Dragon~! Woof-woof-meow-meow, roar~!”

 

A five year old girl was dancing around in a large stone room filled with all kinds of statues and sculptures. There were also reliefs on the walls, fancy chandeliers on the ceiling, all kinds of expensive leather furniture and furs. It was practically a small mansion. They were by far the richest family in the village.

 

“Mama~! Ehah-ehah-ehehah~! You look so funny!”

 

“I am not your mother. I am Beryl.”

 

The beautiful woman who entered the living room looked eerily similar to Marble, except that her skin was a shade of light-green, while her irises were brown instead. She wore a short and frilly black dress, a white apron, some similarly white stockings and black high-heels. Every few steps she took, she nearly fell and her cleaning efficiency was negligible.

 

“Ehah-ehahahaha~!”

 

The little girl didn’t really understand, but she still laughed at the silly, clumsy woman. Then she looked over and waved, “Mama! Come play with me!”

 

“I am not your mother. I am Ivory.” 

 

“Nuh-uh! You’re Mama!”

 

“Incorrect.”

 

The woman had the same face, the same green eyes and black hair, the only difference was that she wore a similar outfit to the other woman. She used a mob to wipe the floor, then slipped on it and fell. Splashing soapy water all over the two of them.

 

“Mama! Are you okay?!” The little girl rushed over to try and help her mother, but slipped on the wet floor and fell. Unlike the woman who seemed completely fine, Jade looked down at the weirdly-bent finger on her right hand or a while… Then she finally reacted.

 

“Aaaaaaah~! Papa~! Papa~! Help! Waaaah~!”

 

“What happened?! What’s wrong?!” Celadon rushed into the room so fast that he practically teleported. Then he saw the broken finger on the crying little girl and breathed a sigh of relief, “It’s okay Baby Girl. Everything’s okay. Don’t worry. Daddy will make everything all better soon.”

 

He grabbed her right wrist and said, “Look… I’m going to show you a little magic trick. Don’t tell anyone though. It’s our secret, okay?”

 

“Wow! No! Papa! You made it worse!” Jade looked at her hand in shock as her father directly plucked the whole pinky from her knuckle. Then the finger quickly bent back into the right shape and all the injuries seemed to vanish. A moment later, he reattached the finger onto her hand. There was no blood or gore in the whole process.

 

“It’s fixed!”

 

“Ehahah ehah ehaha~! Of course it is! Your Papa is a really powerful magician after all!”

 

He ‘booped’ her nose and grinned, “If you ever get hurt in the future, let me know and I’ll fix you up right away.”

 

“Papa, can you teach me how to do magic too?”

 

“Of course I can, Baby!”

 

***

 

“Papa, look! I made a potato! Ehah-hah-ehah~!”

 

The eight year old girl showed her father her proudest work thus far. The clay sculpture really did look like a potato. It’s just that her father frowned the moment he saw that ‘masterpiece’.

 

“Jade… Sculpting isn’t all fun and games. You should be better than this. You’re already eight years old. I’ve been teaching you for three years now… At this rate, no matter how much I help I give, you’ll never amount to anything.”

 

“But… Papa, you said Sculpting is about feelings and, and inspiration and creativity! Look! It’s a potato! I felt like making a potato! I was inspired to make a potato! I really want to eat a baked potato!”

 

“Fine.” Celadon rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively, “Go ask one of the Maids to make it for you. I’m afraid you’ll burn the house down if you try to make it yourself.”

 

The little girl lowered the potato and pouted with tears in her eyes. However, the tall and handsome father didn’t even bother to look at her anymore. Just carefully molding the giant yellow crystal in his hands as if it was clay. It only took him a few minutes to create a huge rabbit. Then he shook his head and sighed in disappointment again, “Garbage.”

 

He slapped the crystal against the wall and it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Those pieces clumped together into only a few hundred before solidifying back into their normal state.

 

*Sniffle!*

 

“You’re not garbage…” Jade brought her masterpiece out of the basement with tears in her eyes, “You’re a perfect little potato!”