They quietly left the market, Bastat waving as they exited the little alleys of the market. However, Naptunie frowned and got closer to Cessilia.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, but... why are we going there? It’s really not a good place to go, even if the King freed that city. The cities usually take a while to get back on their feet and for people to go back there to open trades. If they liberated it last week, it’s probably still very, uh... unsightly.”

“I kn-know. Th-that’s why I want t-to go now.”

Naptunie was a bit confused, but she still decided to follow Cessilia quietly, without further discussion. Whatever the Princess did, she was always curious to hear and see. It was more interesting than any of her books.

“So... do you want us to rent horses? If we take really fast horses, maybe we can get there tomorrow morning, but it’s still going to be a dangerous journey... I can ask Sabael to come, but it might not be enough! I know Lady Tessa can fight really, really well, but...”

“D-don’t worry, Nana,” chuckled Cessilia. “I have th-the ride and s-security already c-covered.”

Nana frowned for a second, and then she slowly understood, her eyes opening wide and her heart beating a bit faster. She opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to formulate her thoughts. She walked a bit quicker next to Cessilia, only to realize they were going to the Royal Guards’ training grounds, probably to get Tessandra. Perhaps they were picking her and Sabael up before going to rent horses? However, Cessilia had definitely said the ride was covered... Nana tried hard to contain her excitement, but she was practically jumping when they arrived at the training grounds, not even daring to ask the question that was burning on her lips, which was quite a first.

“T-Tessa!” Cessilia called once they got there.

In the middle of a training field, her cousin was shining. With two short, wooden sticks in her hands, she was defeating her four opponents with incredible ease. When her cousin’s voice got to her, she turned her head at the same moment she blocked an attack coming from the opposite side, as if her arm was operating by itself. Then, she turned around, and as if she had been resting until then, she quickly ended the fight about one minute later. She was sweating a bit, but compared to the young men with their bodies and egos on the ground, she was fine. She quickly walked up to Cessilia and Nana, Sabael appearing behind her with a faint frown, and a bruise forming next to his chin.

“Cessi, Nana! Are you guys back already? How was it?” Tessa asked, a large smile on. “How come you’re back already?”

“We need t-to go somewhere,” Cessi said. “N-now.”

“Got it. Are you coming, handsome?”

“I told you to stop calling me that...” Sabael blushed. “Where are you girls going?”

“To the Muram Village,” said Nana.

“What? Why would you go there!”

“We won’t b-be long,” promised Cessilia. “We will be back before dusk.”

Next to her, Nana’s eyes sparkled with joy, but her brother had a different opinion.

“Wha–No way, you’re going to take my sister on the... the...”

“Dragon,” chuckled Tessa. “Come on, babe, you can say it.”

“Don’t call me that either! I’m sorry, but I can’t agree to that. Nana is only sixteen, she’s not going to–”

“I am not waiting for your permission!” his sister exclaimed. “Don’t come if you don’t want to, but I’m going to ride on Sir Dragon, and you’re an idiot if you don’t come with us too!”

“Nana!”

“There’s enough room for four,” added Tessa with a little wink, putting an arm around Nana’s shoulders. “Alright, let’s go, ladies! Come on, Nana, let’s go buy some beignets for the big boy before we go, he’ll be happy to have a snack for the road... and I’m hungry too.”

Cessilia chuckled but turned around to follow Tessandra and Nana, leaving poor Sabael behind. After they had taken a few steps away, they heard an exasperated sigh behind them and steps catching up to them.

“By all the gods, you dragon girls are impossible!”

Again, they borrowed the Dorosef Tribe’s passes to get out of the Capital and find a deserted area to call out to Krai. This time, Nana was much more enthusiastic than before about leaving the safe area, probably more convinced about both Tessa’s skills and having Krai as a bodyguard. The reluctant one was her brother. Although it was obvious he would come with them regardless, he kept protesting as they moved away from the crowded streets and past the two walls, leaving plenty of time for him to banter with Tessandra along the way. Cessilia suspected her cousin was loving those arguments with Sabael, so she and Nana didn’t really take part in them.

Soon enough, they found themselves in a deserted enough area, and Cessilia called out to the large Black Dragon.

“Couldn’t Sir Dragon have come to get us near the castle?” Nana asked, her eyes on the sky.

“I d-don’t want t-too many p-people to b-be aware of his p-presence,” Cessilia shook her head. “It’s b-better if he is left alone, I am a b-bit worried that others will t-try to hunt him d-down.”

“I’m sure Sir Dragon would be fine!” Nana exclaimed.

“Oh, he would,” scoffed Tessa. “We would be more worried about the hunters...”

Nana grimaced, understanding their point. Despite this, she was a bit excited and nervous to be able to climb on the big dark dragon. She was almost on her toes and trying to glance all around when the dark spot finally appeared in the sky, coming from farther north. Krai let out a loud growl before landing right in front of them, its large wings throwing gusts of wind on all sides. The Black Dragon looked a bit excited and leaned its head toward Cessilia, who patted the large snout.

“Hi,” she said with a smile. “I’ll c-climb up first. Nana, you come after me.”

“Really?” Nana gasped, smiling from ear to ear.

“Your little sister is less scared than you,” said Tessandra, teasing Sabael with a little elbow push.

“I’m not scared! It’s just... concern.”

“Sure...”

Tessandra helped Nana climb up before doing so herself and offered her hand for Sabael to get on. The young man sighed and rolled his eyes once before eventually sitting behind her.

“You’d better hang on,” Tessandra warned him with a mischievous smile.

“Uh... to what...?”

“To me!” she exclaimed, frustrated. “Oh, come on, if you can handle a sword, you can grab my waist...”

Sabael turned red, his eyes going down to Tessandra’s waist. Of course, she happened to be wearing a mere piece of fabric around her chest, meaning a lot of skin was exposed below that... He sighed but finally wrapped his arms around her, trying to look elsewhere.

“Finally,” Tessandra smiled.

“N-Nana, you hang on t-too. C-come on, K-Krai, let’s g-go.”

The dragon jumped up in the sky effortlessly, despite the four humans it carried. Nana gasped, letting out something between a squeak and a cry, but in a matter of seconds, and despite the fear, she found herself mesmerized by the view below. The Capital was growing tinier each second, while the large, flapping wings were taking them high, fast. The dragon was climbing up, and even Sabael had to hang on tighter to Tessandra, much to her satisfaction.

Thankfully for Sabael, Krai quickly found a nice pace at which to fly. The dragon could float a bit with its wings spread wide open, and at this height, it was incredibly easy for them to get away from the Capital. Quickly, Nana had to point at the place they were headed to, almost like she would have pointed it out on a map. Still, she enjoyed each second of the flight. She had never seen her country like this, nor imagined the sensations flying could give them. It was scary but thrilling. However, because it was her home country she could observe from up there, it was also saddening to see all the ruined, burnt, deserted lands.

“Two of my uncles and our grandfather died in the civil wars,” she whispered to Cessi with a sad voice. “It was really hard, for a while. I was scared every day that people would ransack our house next... My dad said we survived because we were able to stay together and protect our boats, but we knew what was happening everywhere else. It was worse when the army came back defeated from the border. People don’t like to say it, but many of the people who became mercenaries were soldiers before that. After they lost the war, there was no money to pay them, and they didn’t want to return to their families empty-handed. It became really horrible... Even those who returned to their villages ended up having to fight to defend them...”

Cessilia felt her pain as well. She had accompanied her father on battlefields, and her mother in hospitals. She knew how to recognize traces of war and devastation...

When Krai finally landed them in front of the Muram Village, a terrible smell of burnt flesh greeted them. Nana grimaced and covered her nose, hiding behind Cessilia, a bit afraid once again. They all got down from the Black Dragon, which growled, also unhappy about this place. Krai wasn’t the only one. This village didn’t look like it had been freed, it looked like a cemetery. There were only a few people who ran to hide upon the dragon’s arrival. Cessilia gestured for Krai to stay behind, the dragon lying down, and she stepped forward first, the others following right behind her.

“This place is... hell,” grimaced Tessandra, visibly just as disgusted.