A large, powerful tongue licked the top of my head with so much force that it hurt a bit.
I knew Lars wouldn’t do such a thing, so it had to be Kaideetay. I opened my eyes just in time to see a massive pink tongue coming straight toward me.
“Good morning, Kaideetay!”
I dodged Kaideetay’s tongue and wrapped my arms around his gorgeous black and silver striped neck. While I was enjoying the unique silky-fluffy texture of Kaideetay’s fur, the others all began getting up as well.
Euche, Sache, and Kai started galloping around the courtyard, enjoying the invigorating morning sunshine, their manes and tails streaming behind them as they ran.
It probably feels nice to run around freely in the crisp morning air.
“You slept impressively soundly despite spending the entire night outdoors.”
That has nothing to do with the fact that I habitually sleep like a log, I assure you…
Yeah, yeah, it must’ve been the sleeping bag’s fault! The sleeping bag Paul found for me God-only-knows-where was just so comfortable!
It’s probably got a load of spells cast on it because my body isn’t even the slightest bit sore from sleeping on the ground, and I was the perfect temperature all night, not too hot or cold.
And as a bonus, I didn’t roll around in my sleep like usual, either. There’s something relaxing about being all wrapped up, snug as a bug in a rug!
🐎🐅🐎
✦ ✦ ✦
AS they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and before I knew it, the time had come for Will and the others to return home.
“Ghizel, I promise I’ll come to play with you all as soon as I get back, so please wait for me!” I said.
“Sure, we’ll be waiting. Human bodies are fragile, so please be careful.”
Now even Ghizel’s worried about me…
Okay, fine, I promise to try not to do anything reckless.
I hugged Ghizel’s muzzle, which set the other dragons off.
“Hey, no fair!”
“Me too, me too!”
“Come home with us, Neema!”
“Sorry guys, I can’t go home yet.”
I hugged each lindbloom in turn, doing my best to comfort them.
Once I’d finished saying my goodbyes to the dragons, it was Will and Lars’s turn. I was still a bit put out at Will, who’d given me a stern lecture first thing in the morning.
“Don’t forget what I told you, got it?”
He’d drilled it into me that, just like Karna, I was a representative of our country here in the Linus Empire and needed to behave accordingly.
“Yeesh, I said I’ve got it already!”
Lars gave me an encouraging lick on the cheek as if saying, “You can do it!”
I couldn’t exactly lick him in return, so I settled for petting the fluffy fur around his neck one last time before we parted ways.
“If anything happens, call me immediately. Understood?”
“Okay!”
For some reason, it didn’t feel like “goodbye” with Sol. Maybe that was because I could “call” him—not on the phone, of course, but telepathically—any time I wanted.
Telepathy sure comes in handy!
Sol took off first, and then one after another, each lindbloom took flight as well.
Will gave one last bow to the emperor, then climbed onto Lars’s back, and they followed after the lindblooms.
I watched as they got farther and farther away until they became tiny dots on the horizon and finally disappeared altogether.
Just then, Karna came up behind me and gave me a hug.
“You’re going to miss them, huh?”
“Don’t worry, Karna! You’re here with me, so I don’t feel lonely!”
I could see them any time I wanted once we got home. For now, there were plenty of things I wanted to do that could only be done while we were here, so I would focus on that.
“You two get along well, huh? I wish certain people would take a lesson from you ladies…” Louis said, smiling wryly as he ruthlessly criticized his niece and nephews.
Louis sure doesn’t hold back when using “tough love” against his relatives, huh?
“Forgive me, uncle, but I would have to disagree… In fact, I believe we’re actually quite close?”
The imperial siblings’ relationship was built upon a complex web of power dynamics that sometimes made it interesting to watch them interact.
“Now then, uncle and older brothers, work hard today at your official duties. It seems that Mother doesn’t have anything scheduled today, so let’s have tea with just us girls, shall we? Of course, Karna and Neema, you absolutely must join us!”
Eliza’s something, isn’t she?!
“Our princess certainly is as fierce as any man, isn’t she?” the empress remarked, sounding exasperated.
You say that like it’s a bad thing!
“If you ladies don’t have any plans, might you consider indulging Eliza and joining us for tea?”
And that was how we decided to have a girls-only tea party.
In Japanese, we have an idiom that says, “If three women get together, it’s bound to get noisy,” and boy, did that ever prove true in this case. In particular, Eliza and the empress’s complaints about the men of the imperial family were flowing forth like a raging river.
But when the empress glanced over and, with an enchanting wink, said to keep this just between us girls, I didn’t dare disagree.
Phew, Theo and the others sure have their work cut out for them!