The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts-Chapter 548: I… was clearing my throat

The wind howled across the summit like some ancient beast crying into the sky. Snow blew sideways, stinging their faces. The entire world was white, quiet, cold, endless.

Isabella sat collapsed on the ice, exhausted from the emotional trauma of carving the world’s ugliest ice bowl. Her breath came out in foggy bursts. Glimora curled up on her lap like a miserable frozen dumpling. Osiris crouched nearby, watching her with an expression that hovered between confusion, worry, and absolute bewilderment at how dramatic one small woman could be.

After a long, long silence, Osiris cleared his throat.

"What is next?"

Isabella did not move.

Not a flinch.

Not a twitch.

She simply blinked at the snow, dead inside.

After a whole ten seconds, she turned her head very slowly, staring up at him like she was debating whether to stab him or herself first.

"We have to find," she said with a tired, cracked voice, "the hummingbird."

Osiris frowned. "Where exactly do we find the hummingbird? There are barely any trees here. Or flowers. Or anything alive."

He wasn’t wrong.

The summit was basically a frozen graveyard. Ice. Snow. Rock. Wind. Repeat. Nothing colorful. Nothing green. Nothing remotely hummingbird-friendly.

Isabella narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why," she asked slowly, "must you ask me stupid questions."

Osiris leaned back slightly. "It is not a stupid question. It is a reasonable question. How do we find a bird that drinks from skyflowers when there are no flowers."

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

Then glared.

"Osiris... if I knew how to find it, do you think I would be sitting here looking like a depressed snowman."

He opened his mouth.

She raised a hand violently.

"Do not. Speak."

Osiris shut up.

Glimora squeaked in miserable agreement.

But despite her annoyance, Isabella forced herself up. She brushed ice off her clothes, muttering curses that would have made her ancestors disappointed.

Her system screen shimmered beside her, glowing faintly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

BUBU: "Skyflowers bloom in places where the wind is calmest."

Isabella froze.

Then she looked around.

The entire summit was a violent snowstorm.

"That is not helpful," she muttered at her system. "The wind is violent everywhere."

BUBU: "Adapt."

"Fight me," Isabella hissed quietly.

Osiris was watching her again, confused as usual. She ignored him. She ignored the cold. She ignored the fact that her fingers were dying. She forced herself to walk ahead, boots crunching deep into the snow.

She stopped.

Turned her head left.

Snowstorm.

Turned her head right.

More snowstorm.

She groaned loudly.

Glimora lifted her head, struggling not to get buried in the snow drift.

"Fine," Isabella muttered. "We walk. We search. We suffer. As usual."

Osiris blinked. "You sound like you are going to cry again."

She glared so violently at him that he stepped back instinctively.

"Say one more word," she said softly, "and I will feed your organs to the wind spirits."

He nodded. "Understood."

They began walking, trudging through the deep snow. The summit stretched endlessly, each direction looking exactly the same. The sky was pale. The wind howled. The world felt frozen in eternal winter.

They walked for minutes.

Then an hour.

Then another hour—though time meant nothing on this cursed mountain.

And still... no hummingbird.

No skyflowers.

Just snow. Endless, hateful snow.

Finally, Osiris spoke up again.

"So... how will we know the bird when we see it? Does it have wings? Is it colorful? Does it make a sound? Or—"

"Osiris."

He paused.

She turned to him with the tiredness of a single mother of seventeen children.

She narrows her eyes.

"Osiris, I am tired, I am cold, and I am done with your mouth. If you speak again, I will stop cooking for you for the rest of this mountain trip. And I mean it. You will eat rocks and tears."

Osiris’ eyes widened.

"...I will be quiet."

"Good."

They continued onward.

Suddenly Glimora perked up, tiny ears twitching. She jumped off Isabella’s shoulder and bounded ahead, leaving little pawprints in the snow.

Isabella followed her.

"What is it...?"

She rounded a boulder.

And froze.

There nestled in a patch of oddly calm air was a single glowing flower. Sky-blue petals, shimmering as if lit from within. A soft, gentle light radiated from it, melting snowflakes in the air around it.

A skyflower.

She gasped.

"Oh my god."

Osiris stepped beside her. "It is glowing."

"Yes, Osiris... that is what glowing means."

He ignored the insult, staring at the miracle flower.

Isabella crept forward slowly, holding the ice bowl carefully. A small part of her hoped her suffering would be validated by at least a glimpse of the rare hummingbird.

Just as she knelt—

A soft fluttering noise filled the air.

She froze.

Osiris froze.

Even Glimora froze dramatically.

Then—

A tiny hummingbird materialized in the air. Its wings moved so fast they were a blur. Its feathers shimmered between blue, green, and silver. It was small—delicate—beautiful.

And so rare.

Isabella’s heart hammered.

She had found it.

But she couldn’t force it.

She had to earn its trust.

She knelt slowly, placing the bowl in front of her. She kept her movements gentle. Soft. Respectful.

"Hello," she whispered, voice trembling. "I... I need help."

The hummingbird floated closer, hovering just above the bowl. Its eyes sparkled—intelligent, curious.

"You see," Isabella whispered, voice cracking, "someone important to me is dying. And I need your nectar to save her."

The hummingbird tilted its head.

Isabella swallowed.

"I have suffered on this mountain," she continued dramatically. "I have carved bowls in the cold. I have been insulted by my system. I have dealt with Osiris."

Osiris frowned. "Hey."

"Silence."

The bird fluttered its wings delicately.

Isabella leaned closer.

"I am begging you," she whispered. "Just one bead of nectar. Please."

The bird hesitated.

Isabella held her breath.

Then...slowly...it floated down, landing on the rim of the bowl. Its beak dipped gracefully into the skyflower. A single glowing bead of nectar formed at the tip.

The hummingbird lifted its head.

And dropped the bead into the ice bowl.

Isabella froze.

Tears filled her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered, voice shaking. "Thank you so much."

She dropped to her knees.

Full kneel.

Osiris’ eyes widened. He had NEVER seen Isabella humble before. Ever. Not once. Not for anyone.

He almost choked trying not to laugh.

It came out as an ugly snort.

Isabella turned.

Very slowly.

Her eyes glowed with the fury of a thousand suns.

Osiris immediately stopped laughing.

He coughed loudly. "I... was clearing my throat."

"Mm-hmm."

Isabella carefully picked up the bowl. The bead of nectar glowed like a tiny star.

Osiris asked, "If you keep it in your space, will the bowl melt and ruin the nectar?"

Isabella stared at him.

Then said in the flattest tone on earth:

"If you shut your mouth, you will live longer."

He rolled his eyes at her answer.

She placed the bowl and nectar into her space, safe from time.

Then she turned back toward the hummingbird.

"Thank you," she said again, bowing slightly.

The bird fluttered its wings and vanished into the cold wind like a tiny spirit.

Isabella finally stood up, brushing snow from her skirts.

"We are done," she announced. "Let’s go. Next stop is the lagoon."

Osiris and Glimora followed.

The task was complete.

The mountain still stretched endlessly.

Their journey was almost over.