The question had been asked almost with fear in her voice, and Cessilia’s smile gradually lessened. She knew Tessa didn’t really need a bedtime story; what she really wanted was to hear her voice, Cessi’s voice, without any trembling and stuttering in it. Cessilia’s heart pinched a little bit. She knew her cousin meant well, just like the rest of her family. However, she just didn’t feel like it right then.

“We should tr-try t-to sleep,” she whispered.

She rolled onto her side, to face Tessa, but she closed her eyes. Their faces were so close, the two girls were curled up toward each other, like two halves of a heart. While Cessilia kept her eyes closed and tried to slow down her breathing, Tessa kept looking at her, with mixed feelings in her heart.

After a few minutes, she slowly extended her hand and caressed Cessi’s hair, very gently. They had the exact same hair color, and they had many other similar features. Many people often thought them to be sisters, even twins at times. Their characters were so different, like fire and water, yet they had grown so close as if they were completing each other. She couldn’t remember them arguing or fighting, even once, mostly due to Cessilia’s gentle nature.

“...Don’t worry,” she whispered after a while. “I’m sure she will come back.”

Cessilia’s lips twitched a little, and she frowned faintly, as if she was trying not to open her eyes. She wasn’t doing a good job of pretending to sleep, but they both knew that. Tessa kept caressing her hair, gently, and let out a faint sigh.

“And even if she doesn’t, I’ll be there. I’ll be your dragon, Cessi.”

Cessilia opened her teary eyes, muttering a silent thank you to her cousin. Tessa smiled, moving her hand to grab Cessilia’s. The cousins spent a moment, simply gazing at each other while holding hands before slowly closing their eyes.

The next morning, they were both woken up by a gentle knock on the door, and Nupia’s voice claiming she had brought them breakfast. The two girls sat up in bed. Cessilia’s curls were all over the place, and she had to push them out of her face to see Tessa’s grimace, her cousin glaring at the door.

“I really don’t like those three,” she grumbled.

Cessilia didn’t answer, only stretching for a few seconds before letting the triplets enter. She felt a bit sore from walking around all day and was a bit jealous of her cousin who seemed fine, only a bit grumpy as usual.

The triplets worked quietly and efficiently. In fact, since Tessa had exposed them, they weren’t even trying to hide their stealth abilities anymore and compared to before, they were a bit faster and more silent. They were obviously very well trained despite their young age... if they were even as young as they looked.

“I have to say, I could get used to this,” sighed Tessa, staring at the magnificent view beyond the balcony.

Indeed, the room was amazing. It had been beautiful the previous day at dusk, but now, they could see it in the early morning. The sun was rising from the other side, so they weren’t blinded, but they could see the amazing shy pastel shades in the sky, just above the sea line. The sea felt much quieter too, and Cessilia realized she had slept so well thanks to the regular, gentle sounds of the waves far below.

The triplets were setting their breakfast on a little table and pulled up a pair of white wicker chairs with little cushions for them to sit on. Tessa immediately took her seat, grabbing some pastry she could recognize from what Nana had introduced them to the previous day, while Cessilia grabbed some tea first.

“I still don’t like this King,” said Tessa, her mouth half-full, “but I have to admit, he’s got good taste. Why in the world is he giving you this room, Cessi?”

Her cousin simply smiled behind her cup, but she didn’t answer. She thought so too.

Tessa was used to Cessilia’s mysteries, and not one to push her either. She sighed, and just grabbed some fruit. They really had plenty of choices; the triplets had gone out of their way that morning. In fact, it was obvious they had already memorized what the girls had enjoyed the most from their outing the previous day, making sure they had those available there.

For a little while, the two of them simply ate quietly, not exchanging a word and just enjoying the morning sea breeze. Cessilia had put her feet on the edge of her chair, her toes curled up while she quietly drank her tea. As someone who had grown up with many siblings and about as many dragons around, she appreciated quiet mornings like these a lot, but she missed her little brothers’ and sisters’ faces showing up to wake her...

“There he is,” suddenly chuckled Tessa.

She was the first to notice the large silhouette flying their way, and Cessilia put down her teacup to go and greet it.

Krai loudly landed below them, digging its claws into the rocks just like before. The large dragon looked to be in a good mood when she went to pet it, a large fish fin still stuck between its fangs until Cessilia pulled it out.

“Someone’s enjoying his new diet,” chuckled Tessa.

“J-judging from th-the size of th-that fin, he p-probably hunted it far from here,” nodded Cessilia. “Good b-boy, Krai.”

The Black Dragon growled in satisfaction as Cessilia continued to pet it. After a while, though, she went back to wash her hands and resume her breakfast while Tessa took over, playfully throwing Krai little chunks of meat and watching the dragon open its large maw to catch it. It wasn’t much of a challenge, though; with the limited space, Krai only had to move its head a little to grab them.

“What are you g-going to d-do about Nana’s b-brother?” asked Cessilia.

Tessa sighed.

“You know I’m not one to give up. I don’t care if he doesn’t like strong, warrior women. I just need him to like me... and I have other weapons to show,” she added with a little wink.

“Th-that’s my T-Tessa,” smiled Cessilia.

“Right? Ugh, yesterday was so frustrating... He said women who wield swords are not feminine! I’ll show him if I can’t be feminine with a sword! I think he just felt embarrassed in front of his friends... or colleagues, whatever. I’ll show them, Cessi. I can show all those cads what women are made of!”

Cessilia nodded enthusiastically, happy to see Tessa fired up again.

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and one of the triplets opened it to Nana, who barged in with a big basket in her hands.

“Girls! My cousin delivered all these beignets for you, as a thank-you for buying my uncle’s biggest catch yesterday!”

“Oh gosh, I know they are good, but seriously, I don’t think Krai will be able to carry us back if we keep eating those every day...” whispered Tessa.

“M-maybe Sabael likes fuller g-girls,” chuckled Cessilia.

Tessa paused for a second, and when Nana put the basket down in front of them, she put on a large smile and grabbed one in each hand.

“Thanks, Nana,” she said.

Next to her, Cessilia was trying hard not to laugh, but she grabbed a beignet too and threw another one to Krai, who was also a big fan of Nana’s family’s recipe.

“Good morning, Sir Dragon!” exclaimed Nana, waving at Krai, visibly very comfortable with the Black Dragon already. “Is it alright if he eats beignets too?”

“Nana, we were not kidding when we said he can eat humans. Dragons can eat pretty much anything. Trust me, the only thing he risks with your beignets is a serious butter addiction.”

“...He won’t eat me, right?” asked Nana, grimacing a bit.

“Just throw it!”

Cessilia chuckled, seeing Nana awkwardly throw some of her delicious beignets at the happy dragon. Indeed, there might be a real need for the north village to start selling beignets when the dragon returned...

“Do you want to go downtown again today?” asked Nana. “I thought about it, we probably won’t have any risks of bad encounters like yesterday, most of the candidates are entering the castle today!”

“...I want t-to explore the c-castle t-today,” said Cessilia.

Nana’s smile disappeared, and she now looked a bit worried instead.

“Are you sure? I mean, I would be happy to show you around, but there will definitely be some candidates we might run into... I don’t mean to say they are all bad! But, uh... some might not be very friendly.”

“That’s fine,” scoffed Tessa. “I’ll just bring my swords.”

“T-Tessa, no swords.”

Her cousin turned to her, lowering her hand that was about to reach for another beignet.