I looked over the balcony to see where she landed, instead I saw two huge red eyes fast approaching.
She flew past the balcony in a swift motion, but to me, it seemed like time stood still. Majestic blue scales glimmered under the moonlight. Talons that are as sharp as the weapons I used to shorten a life were also clearly visible.
She's now flying randomly up in the sky as if it's been forever since the last time she was flying in her dragon form. I looked at her with respect, awe, and admiration, making me forget the incident that happened earlier this evening. So this majestic being truly exists in this world. I wondered if I, too, can have a dragon also.
She then approached me and looked me in the eyes.
"Do you want to come with me?"
Come? Come with her? How?
"You can ride on my back. Just hold on tight. Don't worry, if you fall I will catch you."
Ride on her back? With these baby hands? Is she crazy?
"Are you scared?"
Am I?
"Well, maybe of course you are. You're still a baby and you're seeing a gigantic beast in front of you. Although I must say, I'm pretty average compared to the others."
I can’t believe she's actually really talkative. It’s hard to view her as the same dragon who was with us earlier. All of her dignified looks have now completely vanished.
I stared at her.
"Well, would you look at that? You're not afraid at all. You've got a big smile on your face and excitement inside those eyes of yours."
It's like she became a child.
"Ah, look at that!"
I heard someone from below.
"Relax, it's just the dragon of Duchess Lucilia"
"I-it's still my first time seeing one in their dragon form."
"Well, now you've seen it. You'll get used to it soon. Let's continue our patrol so that we can rest."
The knight started to leave while the other one was still dumbfounded by what he was seeing.
"All hail the imperial family. All hail the dragons."
With that, he bowed down and went after the other knight.
"It's nice being revered by humans."
Blue stated with a proud look on her face.
"But of course, I revere my mistress."
I tilted my head, trying to ask her what she meant.
"Oh, enough talking. Hop on already!"
Really? Hop on?
I looked at her with a deadpan expression.
Is she serious?
"Oh, right you can't. Sorry."
She then wrapped her tail around me and put me on her back.
I adjusted myself and held on to her hair.
"Now, hold on tight. Don't go falling on me now. Or my mistress will kill me."
"Or maybe not? I don't know if she can even kill me."
I can feel her laughing beneath me.
"Don't worry I will fly slowly. You cannot enjoy the view if I would fly swiftly, right?"
With that, she took off.
The cold night breeze caressed my skin as I leaned closer to Blue's back.
We passed by the forest and I saw a tall tower in the middle of it.
That must be the magic tower.
Ahead of us, I saw what was once the Caelum Palace. It was now unrecognizable. Its majestic beauty is now nowhere to be found. In just a single night, it turned into ruins.
"I heard that the explosion came from your room."
My room? Why? Does that mean I was the real target?
"Don't worry, no one will harm you as long as I'm around."
"Oh, and your knight too. And soon you'll also have your own dragon."
We flew deeper into the forest and arrived at a huge lake where the moonlight was being reflected.
It's so beautiful. I'm glad to have witnessed these beautiful things in this life.
Blue suddenly dove towards the lake.
"Hang on!"
I can feel my lips forming a huge smile, as she accelerated. I want to go faster! Faster!
When Blue almost hit the surface of the lake, she then changed direction but her tail splashed into the water.
"Ooops sorry, did you get wet?"
I only laughed as a response.
"Huh? Oh! You're laughing! And here I thought you don't know how to."
Blue also chuckles under me.
"Do you want to go outside the capital?"
Huh? Outside? Would that be safe? The last time I was outside, I almost died together with my father.
"Relax! We'll head east. The Duke’s son over there is very hospitable. So, do you want to?”
The east? I assume that place is not near the capital, right? Can we even get there and head back before morning?
"Oh, wait. I forgot I can't fly using maximum speed."
"Hmmm, so where should we go? I want you to see the ocean too. But maybe you’re against going further east."
The ocean? I want to go to the ocean!
"G-go!" I managed to utter the word and I hope she understood me.
"Really? Can I? Oh, wait!" She gently stopped and went down towards the ground.
"Okay, I will assume you can understand me."
She turned her head towards me and locked eyes with me.
"Okay, I hope you can understand this." She sighed.
"Now, tie my hair around your waist. Can you do that?"
Okay, tie them around my waist?
"Good, so you can understand me."
After I finished tying her hair around me, she took off again.
"Okay! Hold on tight! We're going east!"
I thought I was wrong at first, but now I’m sure. Blue talks to me casually, as if she’s a friend and not someone inferior to me, well maybe because she's a dragon?
*****
As the night became darker and darker, the moon became brighter and brighter. The sound of the ocean waves is soothing to the boy's ears as he flipped through page after page.
He's reading a book while being seated next to the window where he got a wonderful view of the ocean.
"Last chapter, then I'll stop for the night."
The boy heard faint footsteps from outside so he hurriedly closed the window and dove into his bed.
The door opened and the maids were whispering to each other.
"The young master is already fast asleep."
"Eh, I thought he would be up all night again, reading that book of his."
The first maid chuckled.
"He truly loved that book, huh?"
"Yeah.” The maid’s expression turned sad, “It was the only gift he received from his grace.”
The other maid sighed, “Okay let's retire for the night."
With that, they closed the door. The boy waited for a few moments for the footsteps to fade.
"Okay, the coast is clear."
The boy got up, took his book, and opened the window again.
He was about to read his book again when his attention was caught by something that flew swiftly past his window.
"What was that?"
He looked outside and saw nothing.
"Maybe, I'm already hallucinating things. I guess it's really time for me to slee-"
He stopped midsentence when he saw a familiar figure. His eyes were filled with excitement when he recognized who it was.
Against the full moon over the ocean, its silhouette can be seen. The boy rubbed his eyes and blinked many times to make sure if he was not wrong, but when he opened his eyes again, he saw nothing.
He was about to close the window when a pair of red eyes appeared meters away from his window.
“The twins.” He smiled slightly to himself.
***
Blue and I flew past the mansion near the ocean.
“Okay! We’re here. That was fast! You okay?”
“Yes!” Good, I can now manage to talk without stuttering.
We went over a lot of towns fast asleep before arriving here. Blue flew over the ocean and the salty smell from the ocean entered my nose.
"Okay, since we're here. Why don't we visit a friend of mine?"
A friend? She has a friend?
"Oh good! His window is open!"
I looked ahead and saw an open window in the mansion we flew past. I looked closer and a boy was standing near the window. Who is this?
"Oh! He's still awake!"
The boy hurriedly opened the balcony doors and stepped outside. He waved towards Blue with an excited look on his face.
Blue shrank and landed on the balcony.
"Ash-"
His excitement dropped and was now replaced with skepticism.
"Blue? Who is that?"
"Oh, this?"
Blue once again wrapped her tail around me and put me on one of the chairs.
"This is my young masters' cousin. And of course your distant cousin as well."
The boy had the imperial family's typical red hair and red eyes, with fair white skin. He's actually handsome even though he's still a child. His eyes are wide but they became smaller on the tips, with thick eyelashes and eyebrows, although they seemed empty.
"Oh, I thought you brought Ashwin." The boy looked sad.
"I'm sorry, Ashwin was fast asleep."
"Nah, it's okay." He then turned to look at me.
"So, you're saying that she's of imperial blood?"
Blue only nodded as she changed into her human form.
"But she's got black hair?"
"Well, that's still a mystery for everyone at the palace or maybe all over the empire."
“Oh! So she’s the rumored daughter of the crown prince.” The boy looked at me with recognition. “I heard the adults talking once.”
Blue picked me up and let me face the boy.
"Okay! Let me introduce you, this girl is Flizeria. She's still a year old, maybe turning two this year. And Flizeria, this is Finnian. Finnian Orientem. The son of the Duke of the east."