“Everything is packed and ready,” she said, her mouth half full. “We’ll get going soon!”
“That’s great... What about Lady Cessilia?”
“She’s already outside. She’s talking with her dad.”
“I see.”
Yassim didn’t dare ask any more, so he quietly drank his tea, letting Tessa enjoy her breakfast in silence. He was a bit nervous, but already grateful they had let him sleep. Judging how her outfit was completely different, a thicker one with a long black coat, the girls had been up for a while already.
He waited until Tessa was done eating to stand up with her and, without a word, they both walked to the castle’s entrance. In the sky, the first purple waves were announcing the sunrise already. The Black Dragon was standing in the middle of the castle’s courtyard, several bags fastened on his back, eating a large chunk of raw meat. This time, a couple of saddles had been put on his back, and Yassim realized this was probably meant for him. However, his eyes didn’t stay on the dragon long; farther away, two silhouettes were cut by the first rays of sunlight.
The War God was talking to his daughter, the two of them facing each other closely. Yassim couldn’t hear what was said, but he could see the big, green eyes of Cessilia on her father, full of tenderness. As if he couldn’t bear to part with his daughter yet, the War God had his large hand on her cheek, also staring at her with a serious expression. Yassim felt a little pinch in his heart seeing this. He had never had the blessing to conceive any children himself, but this scene brought this old man a lot of emotions, just by witnessing it from afar...
He only had a little satchel for himself, but Tessa brought another bag to put on the dragon’s back while he stood there, a bit unsure of what to do next. The large creature truly didn’t seem to mind carrying all of that. Its long tail merely wagged a bit as the young woman climbed on its back to secure everything once more.
“Did you take your thicker coats?” asked Nebora, coming out of the castle behind him. “It’s going to be colder up there!”
“Yes!” shouted Tessa, patting one of the bags.
“This one is for you,” the servant woman suddenly said to him.
To Yassim’s surprise, he had to open his arms at the last second to receive a thick, heavy fur cape. This was one of the most magnificent pieces of clothing he had ever received! This was definitely made of a bear’s fur and held with some leather straps, yet they casually gave this to him?
“I-I can’t accept such a valuable gift...” he muttered, feeling the weight of that gift in his hands.
“Just take it,” said Nebora. “It’s merely a little coat. With everything the boys hunt, we have dozens like this, so don’t worry about it.”
Once again, he was astonished by the difference in wealth and strength. The War God’s sons could hunt large beasts like these and gift away fur coats as if it was nothing? It was too impressive! In the Eastern Kingdom, the wars and fires had chased a lot of their fauna away from their former habitats, making such hunting prizes extremely rare and valuable... Still, he accepted the gift, bowing a couple of times, and put it on his back. This was indeed very warm, and heavy on his old bones!
A few steps away, Cessilia hugged her father one last time, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then, they slowly parted, the War God’s hand falling.
“Mother will be b-back soon,” she promised in a whisper.
“...I know.”
She gifted him with a smile and slowly walked up to Krai. There, she met poor Yassim, a bit lost in this situation.
“Let’s g-go,” she said, climbing up.
Yassim was definitely nervous to ride the Black Dragon again, but as they said, the second time could never be worse than the first... Hence, he did his best to climb up behind her on the mighty creature, trying to imitate her movements, until he saw Tessa’s hand extended to help him up.
The three of them were finally on the Black Dragon’s back, and Yassim was brutally reminded of how tall the creature was... From there, the War God seemed a bit small all of a sudden. The Prince walked up to his dragon, suddenly grabbing its snout and pulling it to him. The creature had still been busy licking and curating the last bits of its meal just a second ago, and growled. The War God stared at the creature, and the next second, the red eyes got a bit less intimidating, staring at its owner with curiosity.
“Watch over them,” simply said the War God.
The dragon stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, before letting out a long, high-pitched growl. Then, the Prince’s eyes went up to meet his daughter’s again. Seated at the back, Yassim couldn’t see what Cessilia looked like but, the next second, the Black Dragon suddenly jumped up in the air.
If he hadn’t already been holding on to the saddle, Yassim would have been thrown off. The dragon climbed fast and high, its large wings violently flapping the air around as it rose higher and higher. The cold morning wind slapping his face suddenly had Yassim realize how grateful he was for that thick coat... The two girls in front of him also wore similar ones, although theirs were made of precious snow leopard fur, white with the characteristic black prints. Yassim also suddenly understood their change of hairstyle: Tessa had bound her little braids around her head to keep it from flying in all directions, and Cessilia too had several little gold chains circling all around to keep it down. Because they were flying higher than before, the wind and cold were much stronger. When he finally dared to look down, Yassim recognized the Onyx Castle as a little black point below.
“We’re right on time for sunrise!” exclaimed Tessa, excited.
Indeed, they were. Right ahead, the tip of the sun had just appeared on the sea, glowing brightly and sending warm colors into the sky ahead. Yassim was struck by this view. He had seen the sunrise before, many, many times in his life. However, never had he been able to witness such a view from the sky.
He could see the miles and miles of sea ahead, its deep blue shades scattering all around the lands. Even more amazing, he was able, for the first time, to see his homeland from the sky. It was extraordinary. It was like looking at a living map, and he could actually recognize the lines many cultured people had tried to accurately copy on those maps. The various rivers that crossed their Kingdom, scattered like a spider’s web into thinner or thicker blue trails.
“This is our first time flying above your country,” said Tessa. “We were never allowed to go past the border before...”
“...Welcome to the Eastern Kingdom, my ladies,” nodded Yassim, a bit proud.
“C-can you t-tell us more about it?” asked Cessilia, sitting at the front.
“Of course. There are three main rivers crossing our lands. The one most north is called Pseha. Then, the second one, in the middle, is the one with the most ramifications, Soura. And then, the one at the bottom, the largest one that continues to your Empire, is Riva.”
“Riva?” repeated Tessa. “It’s called Keriva in our Empire, and one of the most dangerous ones. All the places around are swamps...”
“Oh, not many of our people live in the south either. Our villages are mostly gathered around the two other rivers. A lot of our diet revolves around what our fishermen trap there.”
“The villages s-seem localized by the sea...” Cessilia noticed, her eyes looking down.
“Yes, my lady. We even have many islands farther east, although not many people live there. They get submerged when the Sea Goddess rises, but we use them to teach our children how to swim, bring our cattle to eat, and put traps to hunt bigger prey.”
Yassim suddenly pointed farther down below them.
“See that island, in the Soura bed? It is where our King’s Castle is, and our Capital, Aestara.”
“Aestara...”
The island was growing bigger, as Krai was slowly starting its descent. They could now see the very, very large river bed and the many little islands in it. It wasn’t the sea, as there was a clear line following the coast, showing where the sea actually started. Miles and miles of beaches, yet, there was a clear opening where Soura started, as if the ground had been split apart to let the river through. Among all the islands present, it was easy to guess which one was the Capital: it was the largest, and the one which all the other buildings seemed to be turned toward. However, for a few seconds, the girls didn’t understand where the castle was actually located until they understood.
