The sun was already up when Snowflake had finally left the forest. He stopped by Beauty's garden, but lingered around only for a few minutes long, then he left. Not only because it seemed like Beauty didn't wake up yet, but mostly because, again, the switching into the human form didn't happen during the night, so it could happen anytime from now on.

"Hmm, it seems like KuanKuan has already gone to the main palace, and I didn't get to write that royal decree yesterday. But I will write it down today, as soon  as I will change into the human form.", the white wolf kept grumbling while checking out  the palace's rooms where he could find his friend. "I am sorry my dearest KuanKuan, for leaving like that. I am sorry for always getting you  worried and upset."

The wolf jumped up on the desk from the library when noticed the package resting there with a note stuck on it.
He recognized KuanKuan's writing, announcing to him that the package was sent by the Prince of Rose, along with his apologies for borrowing the books without King Wang Yibo's consent.

"Oh, good heavens!
The books!
The diary!", Snowflake howled, hastily ripping the wrapping paper off the package with his fangs.
"Did he read the diary?!!!!!"

As he expected, the book on top was "Wang Yibo's Diary".
Snowflake was not patient enough to wait for the shifting moment, so that he repeatedly bumped his snout  onto the book trying to open the diary's cover.
An envelope fell down on the floor from between the cover and the first page.

Snowflake managed to read the delicate, elegant handwriting from the envelope:
"To King Wang Yibo, the King of Peony
From Xiao Zhan, the Prince of Rose."
He has no other choice but to wait for the shifting moment to be able to open the envelope and read what was inside.

"Maybe I should take a bath while waiting.
But first I will eat the food that KuanKuan left for me, for keeping my word given to him. He deserves my whole  consideration, look, he even left clothes on the sofa, for when I would shift.
Actually I feel hungry for real.", the wolf smiled affectionately in his thoughts when imagining his friend's approving nods. 

At least the excruciating throes of metamorphosis started only after he finished eating and bathing.

When the whole process was finally fulfilled, Wang Yibo didn't waste not any  minute to look in the mirror like other times when he was nostalgically staring at the human that he once was. He  was now overhasty to read the letter from Beauty.

"Maybe he wrote that he lied in the previous note when saying that it's not true that he loves me...", Yibo whispered while unfolding the letter with trembling hands.
"But why would I even wish for something like that?
KuanKuan is so right, it's for the best for both of us, and especially for Beauty to forget me, maybe even to hate me..."

After reading the letter several dozen times, he kissed the paper touched by Beauty's hand, then carefully put it back into its envelope and placed it into the safe next to Beauty's portrait that he also kissed it.

The note made Yibo happy even though it was a very cold text in which Beauty was apologizing for taking the books and was also assuring him that he didn't read the diary...Thank God for that!

"Māmā (A/n: Mom in Chinese), I didn't talk with you for such a long time, I have so much to tell you about.
As I have now a whole hour, I will spend it by writing in the journal...And maybe rereading some of the old notes about him, as it's pretty late and probably today I'm not going to see him.", Yibo murmured while taking a pen and opening the diary.

He refrained himself from reading the old notes and started writing.

                                                                               ~𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓯𝓪𝔀𝓷~

Māmā, I titled this chapter  "The fawn", because something outstanding and very strange happened last night.

But first of all, let me happily announce to you that I finally learned how to control Beast's murderous turn of mind that was urging him to eat anything alive. I still feel  terribly ravenous, yes, but I can tame now that horrible hunger for alive creatures.

You know how after getting Beauty's note from yesterday evening, that made me extremely sad, I went to the forest with only one thought in my mind. I was determined to finally leave this ugly world, even if I had promised my beloved KuanKuan that I would never think of that again.

The way every living creature from  the forest was already aware of who I am and was running away from my way, pained my heart and  reinforced the decision to die. 

I kept thinking but still don't understand why this happened to me, what I did wrong to the world to be punished like this. However, maybe I could have  bore to keep living like this while knowing that I could love him, even if secretly. But now that I finally figured out that my love could only harm him, I wanted to kill Beast, so badly!

I was sitting on a rock, staring down in the abyss of a deep ravine, thinking at what could be the unfortunate odds  to survive after jumping down.
"No, no! I must be sure that I wouldn't survive! Imagine my poor KuanKuan having to take care of a crippled beast!
Imagine my sweet Beauty to feel tormented with guilt or regrets!
No! Maybe shooting my brains off would be a more effective option...but that would mean that Beast would have to wait to become Wang Yibo. I don't want to wait anymore!", I was voicing out my thoughts, or better saying growling out my thoughts, when a sound like a high pitched  bleating got me startled and surprised as well. 


I was sure that I was alone, no animal wanted to be in my proximity risking to be eaten alive, so what was that?
I looked around, but saw nothing...maybe it was a bird that flew away.
Anyway, I stood up to get ready to plunge into the ravine. I said a quick prayer to not survive, and also to ask forgiveness from  my loved ones who will get hurt by my death. I also prayed asking  the Gods and the Universe to take care of them.
"Goodbye Beauty, please live a long and happy life, goodbye my love.", I said my last words.

The same high pitched sound from before stopped me from jumping. The sound was now clearer , and was talking.
I mean, it was a bleating produced in humanly clear words.

I turned around and had the major shock to see a deer that was sparkling in the moonlight, and it was...talking ! The deer was talking to me like a human:
"No, don't do it!
You have no idea how lucky you are that you have someone you can love! Someone alive!
Have some appreciation for that luck and don't waste it by killing yourself!"

"What the hell, am I hallucinating, or am I really seeing a deer that sparkles and talks like a human?", I gasped.

"No, son, you don't hallucinate, you do see and hear a deer indeed. But for more accuracy,  actually I am a fawn, a sparkling and a talking fawn. You can say that I am a charmed or magical fawn.
Let's step away from that ravine and let's have a talk. It was so long ago since I talked with a human for the last time, you would really make me happy to chat with me for a while. ", the weird creature spoke.

The fawn led me to a small grove out of the forest where we sat down, and had a long chat indeed, hidden by the highly grown plants.

What did we chat about, you may ask. Nothing particularly, actually. But it made me so happy to make someone happy, and I could feel that the fawn was indeed very happy for being able to communicate in a human way.
He asked me all kinds of questions about the present life of the Peony's people, about the kingdom's  rules and other information he was very curious about. Of course he asked me how I got into this situation, but I didn't know how to answer.

I asked him the same question. He said that he is bound to keep the secret or else he could die anytime. He could only tell me that he was a human some years ago, he lost the count of the years. And someone cursed him to  change into a fragile animal who could be easily  killed by the wild animals.
But it seems like the Gods had other plans with the fawn, as they sent a protector to him. Or so he thinks, or else what explanation could be for his sparkling skin and his survival for so many years?

I didn't even notice when I fell asleep. Amazing, it was my first time sleeping in the Beast form!
I woke up when I started to change into Snowflake. And guess what! Snowflake was sparkling in the sunrise light, for some reason.

"Good morning, son, don't get scared of the sparkling, I have this effect on someone I  care about and like. But it will go away as soon as you will not be near me anymore..
Look at this nightingale, how she sparkles, she is my friend. Next time we meet I will introduce you to my friends. They don't speak human but they are very nice and will welcome you when  knowing that you are my friend, too.
Oh and let me tell you that in our group of friends we are always protecting each other.
Thus, whenever you feel the need to see me, or you're in trouble and need help, you can send me a thought in your mind while saying three times Ni Ni Ni (A/n: Ni means Fawn in Chinese)!
And let me tell you something more, before you go!
Don't lose hope! You don't know why this happened to you, same as you don't know when or how everything will get back to normal! Take me as an example! I never gave up! I stubbornly kept living and kept hoping that someday, maybe someday...never know what future can bring! Especially that you have someone whom you love!
Love kept me alive, too."

When he finished writing, he ran his fingers over  the diary covers, whispering:
"I'd like so much for you to be here with me, I love you Māmā.", then he hugged the book.
"The sun is almost down, I see that KuanKuan is being late. I hope that nothing bad has happened.
I still have a few more minutes, I'm going to use them by rereading about him...you would love him, Ma (A/n: Mom in Chinese), he is so.
God, I love him so much...even though I shouldn't!"

Wang Yibo opened the diary, impatient to read  their second encounter chapter, even though his eyes were blurred by tears.
But as the diary had opened  a page before, he read first about the race.

                                                             ~𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓮~

Māmā, you'll not believe what happened last Saturday.
I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I was just too disturbed, to put my sh!t together ( I apologize for my language). No, no, not disturbed in the bad way, but I was too euphoric to even get up from the bed in the morning, much less to write in the diary.
 

You know that the Peony kingdom celebrated a hundred years of blessed peace.
As I told you before, I convinced  the King that it would be for our benefit to organize a banquet and invite our neighboring kingdoms.
 

"But it's your 18th birthday party on that same day!", Shūshu ( A/n: Uncle in Chinese) said.
 

"It doesn't matter. It's not like I can't celebrate it a day sooner, on Friday. I informed you that I don't want to celebrate it with food and drinks, but I'd rather organize a motorcycle race with my friends. Nothing can stop us from racing  on Friday, a day before the banquet.
We decided to race in the night time, so as to not bother in any way the possible drivers or to scare out the horses from the traffic.
But before that, I  promise to celebrate my birthday by having a nice dinner with you, my King, and with our beloved ZiZi.", I told him.
 

"Didn't ZiZi tell you? Let me apologize on behalf of her, then. She left yesterday, she said that she will congratulate you before leaving, but maybe something happened, or you were not here, that she didn't announce to you about her leaving."
 

"Where did she leave?
Will she come back for the banquet, at least?"
 

"The princess of Daisy organized a beauty session or something, with the most famous facial therapists, masseurs, hair stylists, and whatnot, I don't really know about these things. Anyways ZiZi wanted so much to be there, too, that I allowed her to go.
And no,  she will not join the banquet, she said that she would get too bored in the presence of all those old emissaries sent by their kingdoms.
As for your birthday, she said that it's your exclusive time to shine, she doesn't want to steal from your spotlights  in any way."
 

"She is such a darling. I am sorry that she will not be here, though. Thank you my sweet ZiZi for being so considerate.", I said, making King Yang smile happily, proud of his daughter.
"But wait, what old emissaries are you talking about?
I thought that our celebration of a hundred years of peace is important enough for the neighbors to send their princes and princesses to represent their kingdoms!"

"No, no! Beauty will not come! Everything I did and fought for, was in  vain!", I cried out. But only in my thoughts, as I couldn't give myself up to King Yang.

This talk happened two days before the race. Ma, I cried non-stop day and night since then, my heart was so broken! I waited so much for the moment I'd see Beauty again. I didn't even care if he would hate me and refuse to be near me! Just  being able to  look at him in reality, not only in my dreams, would have been enough for me. But all my hopes were shattered by King Yang's dreadful piece of news.

I was so upset that I wanted to cancel the race, but picturing my friends' huge disappointment  made me reconsider it.
They were all so excited when I told them about the way I want to celebrate my 18 years birthday, that I would be a major jerk to break their hearts too, now that mine is crushed,

"I'm going to stay for a sleepover at YangYang's place, after the race. You know him, he is the son of my motorcycling instructor. He invited me, and I couldn't say no, because I owe his father a lot.
But I will be back in time to join the banquet, no worries. ", I announced to King Yang.

(~~~~Wang Yibo wiped his teary eyes before reading further~~~)

"Please apologize on behalf of me to the guests for not being there to welcome them, but I  really need to  help the boys in preparing the motors for the race. I'm going  to leave early in the morning.
Thank you once again for this extremely nice dinner and for all the gifts! There were too many, thank you.
I wish a very good night, Shūshu", I bowed to King Yang after the dinner.

"You're welcome, my dearest, have a good night yourself too, and happy birthday  once again!"

When I left the palace, it