'What a spectacular kingdom!'
Amusement was all Anasthasia ever thought of as the pack of clouds slowly vanished from her eyes. It glued right away, which deemed the highlight of attraction, to the center. The structure built in such sophistication, nearly all of its sculpted surface, reflected the sun's golden rays and seemed so bright compared to the rest of the kingdoms she had ever seen.
The stonework edifice dared to reach the heavens. Her eyes moved downwards, from afar, overlooking the several infrastructures—with colors stood out in their way and ever brazened on their sizes— branched out from different river channels. She noticed how there such green areas evenly distributed throughout the place.
Her heart thumped from the sight, then screamed aloud, "Michael!"
He mused, "What?"
"Is this the Navarre Kingdom?"
"It is!"
"It's breathtaking! I can sense the bustling activities of the people and livelihood at this point!"
"I'm glad you appreciate it."
Anasthasia could discern his hearty chuckle amidst the buzzing winds; she retorted in response, "I have good eyes, as you can see!" She huffed out, crossing her arms.
"Don't you worry, I believe in you."
Her lips twitched ever so slightly from his response. She took a glimpse once more and saw how lush green valleys embraced the kingdom; A perfect place for flora and fauna to flourish perpetually, and the far north side of the kingdom evoked mountainous region, drizzled with snow and ice on top of the creation.
But her heart welled with nostalgia and wonder as she pondered further, 'Things have changed!'
Though her admiration didn't last long as she heard a deep voice that rang behind her left ear, looking flustered, she mumbled, "Stop that! W—What is it?"
"We should hold our advances from hereon."
"It's still far, though."
"Just trust me."
Anasthasia began to contemplate, 'Is this because of the detection system? That's quite impressive to have come this far—Or was it this dragon is too big to notice in the distance?' Her mind assaulted with different speculations, but she shook her head with one thing in mind. She had to believe him.
"Fried! Let's drop by the area over there!" She pointed her hands to the direction they want to land and screamed, "It's relatively an open area."
"Here?" He turned his head towards the direction, he flared his nostrils, growling, "Wouldn't that make me visible?"
"Don't worry, and I got this."
'Refraction!'
Anasthasia shut her eyes and began to wave her hand. Their figures—the linings of their outfit, their distinctive colors, shapes, and sizes of their body— had melded well to the sky. The magic spell brought forth a swell of panic in their hearts, especially the twins.
Liam trembled, prattling in such tone, "What in the blazes—Levi is gone! Your Highness? Your Highness! Where are you? How in the hell I'm floating in the sky? Where's the dragon!?"
Liam screamed on top of his lungs and flailed his arms, but it didn't take long for a pang that struck his head, "Who hit me? Who did that—"
"You need to calm down."
"Your Highness..." Liam's eyes had almost welled up, then croaked softly, "I thought we had lost you forever."
"Save your emotions, and we are under some sort of invisibility."
"Oh?" Liam glanced down, aside from the eerily view of nothing but a bunch of clouds beneath, and he noticed his body movement that has slight obscuration. A portion in his front had deflected the strong winds as though someone had turned into a blockade, marveled, he commented, "This is a groundbreaking spell! It's much sophisticated than—"
Anasthasia interrupted him as she shouted on top of her lungs, "Hold on tight! We're about to descend!"
It was, again, exhilarating for her. But it turned out impending doom for the rest. With Freidmirth's swooping rate, all of them had lurched from their positions. Michael firmly shut his eyes, clenching his jaws as he braced for impact. Levi, who had left his body for the entire ride, snapped for the worst as his stomach lept up to his mouth, on the verge of barfing. Liam's hearty guffaws had turn wide from the abrasion of winds, frolicking his belligerent nude lips.
"Fried!"
"What is it?"
"The ground we're about to land shouldn't have any dents even to the slightest detail, am I understood?"
"What do you mean? Why do I have to do that?"
"Just do it!"
"Fine!" He huffed a puff of smoke, then eyes darted at her, growling, "I shall expect a reward from this!"
"You can bet on that!"
When Freidmirth swooped close to the ground, things got clearer—the trees grew more abundant and vivid verdant meadows overarched their vision—which welcomed their senses similar to how they fall from such heights. In just a hair's breadth, he vigorously beat his wings in a timely fashion, releasing a strong gust of wind. Splinters and wooden debris thrashed away from their location, though it wasn't strong enough to completely shatter the trees around them.
Soon as the dragon gained stability midair, he then landed with grace. All of them hopped out as soon as he lowered and crouched his position. Tasha snapped her fingers once more, and their appearance suddenly turned visible.
"Good work, Fried!" Tasha strutted towards his snout, caressing then carefully preached, "I'm so proud of you. I will reward you soon!"
"Of course, who do you think I am?" Freidmirth let out a haughty laugh, his snout wiggled. He shifted his gaze, reminding her, "You better hold your promises!"
"Oh, please." Anasthasia rolled her eyes, then reached to his snout. A bright light slowly enveloped his colossal figure. Distinctively, he steadily shrunk to a minute size, the same as he was last night.
"I guess we shall separate our ways here—"
"Before you go…" Michael beckoned, which interrupted her and turned around. His grey eyes rattled in a subtle way when no words longer lingered out his lips.
Anasthasia was patiently waiting for his response; eyes flickered slowly from his face looking abash. She cleared her throat before she clarified, "Yes?"
"Ah!" Michael blinked a few times, and he had his hand pressed temples of his forehead. "Sorry, I got sidetracked on my thoughts. But I hope you'll accept this."
Anasthasia hummed in a soft tone, and her eyes dawned upon his hands that reached his pockets, rummaging inside, causing her to ponder, 'I wonder what is it this time.'
Michael grabbed from his pocket, opening his palm revealed a small pin, as small as a pebble, and peered at the small aquamarine gemstone engraved on it. A smug grin on his face formed.
"Please accept my gift of appreciation; you saved us from most of the threats that could end our lives. It was a tough journey, to begin with, and little to no hope of returning.." Then he handed it over to her.
"Back then was an insignia, now what could this be?"
"It's an accessory. You can wear it anytime," He smiled, uttering, "You should use it. It looks good on you."
"Indeed, Ana, you should wear it all the time!" Liam chimed in.
Anasthasia nodded and retrieved the pin from his hands. She carefully picked Freidmirth up from the ground and embraced in her arms.
"I'll look after Fried." She muttered, caressing the dragon's head.
"That's fine by me. We'll just wait here."
"Why is that, Michael?"
"We should be able to send a signal at this distance. When the kingdom sees it, it'll alarm them that we have safely arrived."
Which, in turn, had Liam gasped in horror. He mumbled audibly, "Not this again, such unnecessary parade!"
"So that's how it is. Then shall I get going?"
"Sure." Michael nodded and pulled out an item from his rear pockets. He held with firmness, twisting it, thus releasing a bright, smoky blue flame descended at a slow rate from the heights.
'A flare, it is then.'
"They will arrive soon. I have to get going. It was such a fun journey to be with you three. Take care!."
"Take care, Tasha."
Liam shoved the unconscious Levi up while he waved his arms, bidding farewell, "Please take care of yourself, Ana!"
Anasthasia smiled in response, she took a gradual pace and waved her palms in front of her. A gust of wind heed her call, waltzed towards the woods. Her nose was assaulted by the fresh air hailed by the overarching forest, eyes welcomed by the lush greeneries.
'An accessory, huh?' But as she rode with the wind, she giggled in silence, contemplating further, 'You can't be that foolish to trick me well with a tracking device!'
Her palm firmly clasped the pin, revealing sudden electrical discharges.
'This should do!'
Soon, the array of trees diminished, slowly moving to the side. Anasthasia hastened her pace. When plain meadows blessed her eyes, she noticed the peculiar movement of air forefront.
'A barrier?'
This caused her eyes lit up in excitement.
'This shouldn't disappoint me!'