Soon after, Wednesday came.

  It was finally the fifth day. Two more days and Alex would be back!

  Abi was missing Alex so bad and it was getting worse by the day. She hadn't had any contact from him at all; not a single text or a call. Abi might have started to wonder if she had just made him up in her head if it wasn't for the utter sadness in her heart, telling her that he was not just a figment of her imagination because her feelings were very real.

  Thankfully, on that day, Kelly suddenly barged into the orphanage, waving an envelope in the air as she ran towards Abi, as if to save her from another painful day.

  "Abi! Good news! I got an invitation from Country V's royal family! They're going to have a ball! They invited dad and I but dad suddenly had a very important matter he had to deal with right now so he regretfully gave the invitation to me. And so, here I am, inviting you!" Kelly excitedly told her. The girl knew that Abi had been dreaming to see Country V.

  Hearing her, Abi was overjoyed. She saw the photos Kelly had taken when she had travelled before to Country V - the so-called hidden kingdom in the south - and she had been so envious. Since then, Country V had become her dream place and she had been wishing to see it for herself one day before her time was up. She didn't include this on her wishlist with Alex because she thought that a request like that was a little too over the top.

  This news served two purposes for Abi. She would finally get to see the beautiful country she had been dreaming to see and it would serve as a very good distraction to keep her mind from missing Alexander Qin.

  "We're going to stay there for just two days. Are you in?"

  "Of course! Thank you for inviting me, Kelly!"

  "Hehehe, well, I am excited to show you the delicious candymen in that kingdom; not that anyone out there could beat your Mr. Qin's beauty, though. Never mind… come, let's go get your things. Our flight is early so you have to sleep at my house tonight."

  …


  Finally, the day of their trip arrived. Abi was extremely excited as she read up on some facts about the Country.

  Country V's government was an absolute monarchy. It was famously known as the Hidden Kingdom of the south because of its secluded location. This kingdom had also never been colonized throughout its whole history because of the same reason; its strategic location made it impossible to be invaded.

  The country's landscape ranged from lush subtropical plains in the south to sub-alpine mountains in the north. The land consisted mostly of steep and high mountains crisscrossed by a network of swift rivers that formed deep valleys. The northern region of the Kingdom consisted of an arc of alpine shrubbery and meadows reaching up the glaciated mountain peaks with extremely cold temperatures, while the southern region had a more moderate climate and was covered by heavy savannah grass, dense, mixed jungles with freshwater springs and mountain rivers, fed by melting snow. Seventy percent of terrain was coated by a majestic forest, while nine percent was pressed beneath glaciers.

  Once Abi and Kelly got off the plane, Abi breathed in the fresh air and she immediately felt something was different about this place. It was like there was magic in the air.

  She couldn't explain it but she just felt like this was no ordinary place. The scenery was just picture perfect but at the same, she felt like it was a kingdom shrouded in mystery. Abi may not have travelled to many places, but she felt like this place was one of a kind, like she would not find a place like this anywhere else in the world.

  The Kingdom was a complex blend of the ancient and modern worlds which made it endlessly fascinating.

  As they travelled to their hotel, Kelly told Abi about some other facts that she knew about the Kingdom. She said that the kingdom was first ruled by a member of the Reign family. The Reign royal family was the official, undisputed and absolute ruler of the Kingdom since the beginning of the country's history.

  Kelly's father was a good friend of the Kingdom's current King so he had told Kelly a lot about the country. According to her father, the Reign dynasty's successors have reigned over this country from when they settled here to the present day and the country had actually the lowest poverty rate in the world. But the strange thing was that billionaires in the country were relatively few and most people seemed to be all equal in financial status, which Abi thought was a great thing.

  "Well, this place is kinda fascinating and intriguing," Kelly said as soon as they entered their hotel room.

  "I totally agree. This place just has a very different vibe. It is just so absolutely beautiful, simply breathtaking, Kelly. I wonder why this place isn't as famous as other countries. I also noticed there are only a few tourists around."

  "It's because this Kingdom isn't into tourism, Abi. As I mentioned before, they are quite private so it's hard to get in here without an invitation. This country is one of the hardest places to visit in the world. The process of visiting here is reportedly hard, unnecessarily complicated, slow and very expensive, so tourists feel discouraged to come here."

  "Oh… that's strange. It's like they don't want to earn from the tourism industry, or they don't like the tourist influx? I can't blame them though. If I lived here, I wouldn't want tourists roaming around and potentially ruining the landscape and the natural untouched beauty of this place by their presence."

  "Mn. Maybe that's why they are very strict. I don't really know. Like I told you, this country isn't like any other country. Now, let's stop talking about that and let's go out and enjoy the view and the food here is great, too! Abi, let's go!"