“BUTTERCUP, Daisy, and you two chicken, I’m gonna be leavin’ the door open for you.”
I decided to leave behind the horse, goat, and chickens. The Fairy Barrier has disappeared, but the Millennial Tree’s blessing is still going strong. Whether they live out their lives in the forest or are adopted by someone, they’re better off staying here.
“…Thank you for everything until now. Good luck to you.”
I didn’t have the nerve to confidently insist that we’d meet again.
“Are you ready to go, O knight?”
“Whenever you are, Dragon.”
It’s been a while since I last rode on his back. Guess the last time was when we raided the Self-proclaimed Daemon King’s tower? Princess rode him pretty often though.
“Then let us depart…for the princess.”
“For the princess.”
I tighten my knees against his flank and grasp the straps. I see, this is easy.
Dragon runs, the earth trembling below him. His four legs kick off the ground and his wings spread out. The flexible membranes catch the rushing air and expand.
Oh?
The weight bearing down on my arms disappears. His forelegs float in the air. Flapping his wings once, he kicks off the ground, hard, with his hindquarters. Wind howls around my ears as my body is held down by invisible arms.
Flapping his wings even more, we rise up, up, diagonally up. The forest’s treetops approach but disappear below my legs in the blink of an eye.
The grand forest that had surrounded and hovered over us is now a green carpet fanned out below my eyes.
His fully spread-out wings catch the wind’s current. With a flap, the pressure on my body whisks away. The howling wind and the sounds of his wings all disappear.
For a moment, time stands still.
The clear blue sky stretches beyond. It’s frighteningly serene. There’s nothing to block my view. I can see so far away that the horizon is out of sight. It’s too much freedom. But I’m not afraid. There’s nothing to support me, but I’m not the least bit worried about falling.
Ah, now I get it.
I’m looking at the world through the eyes of a creature that was born with the capacity of flight. These are Dragon’s senses. He can fly, so he isn’t scared to fly into the highest reaches of the sky.
FLAP! RUSTLE!
The sounds his wings make are similar to those of a leather tent popping open. The flow of time resumes.
“I just need to head to the southwest, correct?”
“Yeah, that’s the way.”
Dragon knows the direction of the castle we’re headed to. Probably the result of his extensive knowledge superimposed onto mine.
To the southwest we fly—and nowhere but the southwest.
Vibrant green pastures are below us. Are the scattered specks people or cattle? I can see the rooftops of AtteGrune as we quickly soar past them. Before I can get a good look, they’re far behind us.
To the southwest we fly—and nowhere but the southwest.
Green pastures give way to a very long stretch of faded wasteland. Below lies the road I once traveled as I lost friend after friend. Now we traverse it in the opposite direction. Even if my heart aches, I don’t have the time to lose myself in sentimental feelings right now. Who did I see off for the last time here? Whose final moments did I care for here? We’ve already flown passed by the time I remember. Those places that hold so many memories fly farther and farther behind me, racing away. What’s the difference? Whatever they hold, my objective remains the same.
Everything is for the princess.