The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight slipped through the carved window lattice and spilled onto the bed, Yiyi was still hugging her own tail, fast asleep.
She must have been dreaming of something delicious, because her little mouth parted slightly, and following instinct, she bit down on the soft, fluffy thing in front of her.
“Mm!”
A crisp pain shot instantly from the tip of her tail through her whole body.
Yiyi’s eyes flew open wide, and the next moment, she burst out into a loud wail.
“Waaah—!”
Clutching the tip of her tail, tears rolled down her face like beads from a broken string.
The pain made her small body roll around, and she muttered incoherently between sobs: “Bad tail! Why did you bite me! Wuwuwu…”
“Waaah—! It hurts!”
Rolling and tumbling, Yiyi lost her balance, and with a thud, fell off the bed.
She landed on her bottom, and her still-aching tail was pinned under her own little body.
“Waaah—!” Her cries shot up eight octaves higher, even more tragic than before.
“Tail! My tail! I’m crushed! Wuwuwu…”
Lying flat on the cold floor, she wanted to get up but dared not move, afraid she’d squash her tail again.
So she could only stay there, kicking her little legs and crying, her face streaked with tears and snot, even her little ears drooping.
At that moment, Luoli, passing by outside, heard the commotion.
She quickly pushed open the door and entered, seeing the small figure sprawled on the floor, her back heaving with sobs.
That signature little dragon tail stuck out, the tip red and smudged with dust—such a pitiful yet comical sight.
“Your Highness?”
Luoli hurried forward, her voice soft for fear of startling her.
“Why are you on the floor, Your Highness? Where does it hurt?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Yiyi lifted her head, crying, her face a mess and her eyes swollen like walnuts: “Luoli… wuwuwu… my tail… my tail hurts so much…”
Luoli crouched down, carefully avoiding her tail, and gently wiped away her tears:
“There, there, don’t be scared. Let’s get you up, and we’ll go see His Majesty, okay?”
“Will… will it fall off?”
Yiyi hiccupped, clutching tightly at the base of her tail.
“Of course not.”
Luoli tried to hold back her laughter, soothing her gently.
She slowly helped Yiyi up, being careful not to put any pressure on her tail, and sat her down on the edge of the bed.
Yiyi still didn’t dare move, obediently letting Luoli check her tail.
Her eyes were still red, but she no longer cried as heartbreakingly as before.
“Oh my, why is it so red? It’s all swollen.”
Luoli gently touched the tip of her tail, and Yiyi immediately hissed in pain, her mouth quivering as if she was about to cry again.
“Don’t touch it!”
Yiyi shrank back, clutching her tail tightly.
“It hurts whenever you touch it…”
“All right, all right, I won’t touch it. I’ll heal you right away, and it’ll be better in a moment.”
As Luoli spoke, her left hand slowly gathered a gentle healing magic.
A soft green halo swirled in her palm, like scattered starlight, and gently enveloped the reddened, swollen tip of Yiyi’s tail.
As the pale green light touched her tail, Yiyi shivered at first, then felt warmth slowly spreading along her tail.
The sharp pain seemed to dissolve in the warmth, fading bit by bit.
She blinked her wet red eyes, curiously staring at her tail.
Her little nose still sniffled, but her sobs gradually faded.
“It… it doesn’t hurt anymore…”
Yiyi tested by moving the tip of her tail, which, once stiff, now wobbled slightly, with a bit of awkward softness.
She looked down at the ring of swirling green light, and couldn’t help but reach out to touch it, only for Luoli to gently hold her hand back.
“Just wait a little longer.”
Luoli’s voice was as soft as a feather, and the magical glow in her palm slowly faded.
“Your Highness, you mustn’t bite your own tail when you sleep from now on. And no more rolling around randomly, okay?”
“I… I didn’t bite…”
Yiyi turned her face away, her little mouth pouting so much it could hang a tiny oil jug, and her ears quietly turned half-red.
“All right, all right, you didn’t bite. Your Highness, let’s get you washed and dressed.”
After a while, Yiyi and Luoli were walking together on their way to the dining hall.
Just then, Yiyi was suddenly hugged from behind.
“Yibao, good morning~ You didn’t sleep with me last night, that’s just too much.”
“I waited and waited for Yibao, and got so hungry~” Warm breath brushed past her ear, and then a soft tongue gently licked Yiyi’s neck, leaving a damp, ticklish sensation.
Yiyi froze, like she’d been pressed pause.
Her little ears shot upright, her tail tensed instinctively, nearly flicking up behind her.
“Lilia.”
She jerked her head around, her cheeks reddened by the sudden affectionate lick, her eyes wide with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.
“Don’t—don’t lick me! It’s so ticklish!”
Lilia let go, but still leaned close to her arm, her fingertips gently scratching Yiyi’s flushed cheek: “Who told Yibao not to sleep with me last night? And to take so long to get up this morning? I almost wanted to run to Aunt Xiameier’s room and bite you, you little Yibao~ ya.”
“Luoli’s still here! Wait until later, okay?”
“All right, all right, I’ll listen to Yibao.”
Luoli turned away, hiding her smile as she pretended to adjust her sleeve, though the tips of her ears quietly turned red.
The two little princesses’ affectionate display was almost too sweet to interrupt.
Yiyi’s face burned hotter under Lilia’s teasing, and she brushed away Lilia’s fingers from her cheek, puffing angrily: “You can’t do this here! If you must make trouble, at least wait… until no one’s around!”
As soon as she finished, she was momentarily stunned herself.
Her tail tip wobbled uncontrollably, and she quickly lowered her head and tugged at Luoli’s sleeve: “Luoli, let’s go, I’m hungry!”
“All right, all right, time for breakfast! I’ll feed Yibao~!”
Lilia immediately echoed her, sweetly looping her arm through Yiyi’s, her fingertips sneakily rubbing the base of Yiyi’s tail beneath her skirt.
Yiyi, startled by Lilia’s touch on her tail, turned with a blush to glare at her: “No more touching my tail in secret!”
“All right, all right, I won’t, I won’t~”
Lilia grinned, her eyes full of indulgence, but just as Yiyi turned away, she quickly brushed her fingertip over Yiyi’s tail tip again, swift as the wind.
“Yah!”
Yiyi yelped, her cheeks flushing crimson.
She reached to smack Lilia’s hand, but Lilia deftly dodged.
“You’re still doing it!”
Yiyi glared angrily at Lilia, but her tail unconsciously shifted in front of her, as if to guard against another sneak attack—though she couldn’t quite hide her adorable awkwardness.
“So soft, hehe.”
“You still say that!” Yiyi puffed her cheeks, reaching out to pinch Lilia’s cheek.
As soon as her fingers touched the soft skin, Lilia caught her hand with a laugh.
Lilia wrapped Yiyi’s little hand in her palm, deliberately using her fingertips to gently tickle Yiyi’s palm, eyes curved in a smile: “It’s just soft, Yibao is a soft and cuddly little darling~”
“And yet you still bite me, don’t know how to cherish at all.”
“For bloodkin like me and Yibao, it’s not feeding—it’s…” Lilia deliberately dragged out her words, her fingertips lightly tracing Yiyi’s flushed palm, her eyes full of mischief.
“It’s the most intimate kind of snuggling~”
“Ahem, Your Highnesses, we’ve arrived.”
Luoli’s voice rang out at just the right time, breaking the sticky-sweet atmosphere between the two.
Yiyi, startled like a little rabbit, jerked her hand away, her cheeks red enough to drip blood.
Without looking back, she dashed into the dining hall, her little legs moving fast, tail swishing frantically beneath her skirt.
“Yibao, wait for me~” Lilia laughed and chased after her, her eyes brimming with uncontainable affection.