Side Story 2: Flying Freely through the Sky

 

 

 

Side Story 2: Flying Freely through the Sky

 

“SHE wants to…fly?”

Laetitia was always surpassing Glenreed’s wildest expectations.

He’d come to that realization the day she served him the hot meal.

Even so…this was still a surprise.

“…What is she talking about?”

Knitting his brow, Glenreed sat down to read the entirety of Laetitia’s letter.

◇　◇　◇

“COME, Fon. This is your brand-new bedroom.”

“Kyuwah!!”

A wooden shed stood in front of the two of us. I opened the double door to reveal a bed of straw spread across the ground.

“Kwee!”

Tap tap. Rustle rustle.

Fon poked at the straw with his front legs and beak, then lay down on top of it. His belly was glued to the ground just like a bird settled into its nest. He seemed to be very relaxed.

“I’m glad you like it. Wait here for a while, okay? I’ll come get you later.”

I left the shed with Fon still half-buried in the straw.

It was nearly time for the wolves to arrive. I’d never let them come near Fon before. Fon was an incredibly large Mythical Beast, and even from far away, the wolves seemed alert in his presence. They might be frightened if I let him get too close. It would take time and effort for them to grow comfortable with each other. For now, I was instructing Fon to stay away.

After leaving the shed, I headed to the trees in the front yard, underneath which the wolves were waiting.

“Kyauh!!”

Tera, the puppy, rushed up to me first. She’d grown attached to me ever since I used a wolf plushie to help her start drinking milk. In the past few days, she had grown quite a bit larger, and her droopy ears were now upright.

Tera was wagging her tail at me. I lifted her up with both hands.

“You’ve gained some weight, huh?”

“Woof?”

The pup was soft and warm, fluffy and gentle. Her fur was the softest of any of the wolves.

I was completely entranced by those dark-brown eyes gazing up at me.

“So cute…!!”

I squeezed her tight and heard a playful bark from her.

How cute is this pup?

Once I’d finished my wonderful little hug, I set Tera back on the ground and the other wolves came over.

“Welcome back.”

“Thanks for having us today, Your Majesty.”

Edgar led the wolves into the front yard.

Jenna, the friendliest of the pack, came right up to me. She pushed her head against my body as I stroked her fur. I could tell she wanted her head pet too. As requested, I moved my hands to the top of her head, and she laid her ears flat, which made it easier for me to pet her.

“There, there. You’re such a good girl.”

“Roooo…”

She squinted her eyes as I stroked her fuzzy head, snuggling up against me for some pampering, until…

“Grah!!”

She looked up at the sky and let out a sharp howl. All the other wolves were staring in the same direction.

“Kyuwah!!”

It was Fon.

He flapped his broad wings and landed next to me.

“Grrr…”

The wolves let out low growls of warning.

“Fon, didn’t I tell you to wait in your shed?”

“Kweeee…”

The griffin sounded guilty in his response, but he made no attempt to leave. His eyes were pointed at the wolves.

“What’s the matter, Fon? You never come near the wolves. Did something happen?”

He shook his head from side to side at my question.

…I didn’t understand, but it looked like he wasn’t planning on going back to his bed.

“…Your Majesty, the wolves are frightened, so I think it’s best if we leave.”

Fon didn’t budge until Edgar and the wolves had totally gone.

◇　◇　◇

AFTER that day, Fon started showing up every time the wolves arrived.

He never used to disobey me, but my orders to stay away no longer had any effect on him. While he made no attempt to threaten or attack the wolves, the giant winged beast never failed to unnerve them. If things continued, the stress for the wolves might become too much. They wouldn’t be able to come to the villa anymore.

Still, I didn’t want to just lock Fon away against his will.

As I looked at Fon and the wolves, trying to figure out what to do, Edgar spoke up.

“I asked the older wolfkeepers and gave it some thought myself… We think Fon might be territorial, and that’s why he wants to keep an eye on the wolves.”

“Territorial… But he’s always obeyed me before. What could have changed so suddenly?”

“It’s probably because he has an official place to stay now.”

“…Ah, I see what you mean.”

That sounded right.

Fon was smart, but he was still a griffin. He understood human speech and behaved like my own personal knight. But he wasn’t a human himself. His griffin instincts seemed to urge him to observe the wolves when they were in his territory.

“Hmm. Is there any way to solve that problem? Fon just seems to be concerned about the wolves, and that’s why he watches them. I wish the wolves would warm up to him instead…”

“…I think they’d need a lot more time to reach that point.”

“Right…”

It might be best to keep the wolves away for a while, until I could train Fon to better listen to my orders.

I was going to miss petting those wolves, but I felt too guilty forcing them to come here…

“Please don’t feel sad, Your Majesty. There’s another way we can solve the problem.”

Edgar’s suggestion for me was…

“You can ride Fon as he flies across the sky.”

“…Excuse me?”

My mouth fell open.

◇　◇　◇

ACCORDING to Edgar…

There had been cases of Mythical Beasts larger than wolves, like dragons and flying horses, that soared through the skies above the castle. To soothe the stress of the concerned wolves during those times…they showed the wolves the sight of a human flying on the beast’s back. That way…

“The creatures must be safe, because they obey humans.”

Once the wolves saw it that way, they were less cautious over the presence of Mythical Beasts. This was something the wolves could understand. The human controlled the winged beings even in their home domain—the sky.

“…I see the logic there. But I oppose the idea of you flying in the sky with Fon, my lady.”

Lucian had a grim expression on his face. He glared at the griffin, his brow unusually furrowed.

“We can have another person ride Fon.”

“That won’t work. A griffin would never let anyone other than their master ride them.”

“But what if he knocks you off while in the air…?”

“That’s why I have to be the one to ride him.”

One of the spells at my disposal was a way of making my body float in a strong wind. A floating spell required constant use of energy, so I could suspend myself once and stay that way, with some control. With my amount of energy, I could easily cast such a spell the entire time I rode Fon.

“You know I can use floating spells, right, Lucian? And you know how intensive Big Brother’s training was when it came to floating ones in particular…”

A shudder overcame me.

My second-oldest brother was an outstanding soldier. He was also a truly brutal teacher. They say lions throw their cubs off cliffs to toughen them up—well, he was the embodiment of that philosophy. He even pushed me out of a big tree at our house so that I could practice my floating spell.

…Though it was true that his rigorous education was the reason I could quickly control people like Sumia and Fon with my magic.

I never wanted to be instructed by my big brother again.

“Those days you trained with him…I still dream about them sometimes…”

“So do I…”

Lucian had gotten wrapped up in my brother’s training too. I really appreciated the fact that he never left me behind in the middle of a lesson, but I could see the trauma still lingered even now.

“…Well, let’s forget about Big Brother for now. I’m going to try riding Fon.”

I mounted the leather stirrups on Fon’s back. Jumping straight to a full flight was too frightening, so I decided to practice controlling him on the ground first. Thanks to my brother’s lessons, I was skilled at horseback riding, but it was my first time on a griffin.

Fon’s torso felt somewhat thicker than that of a horse. I could feel the strong, flexible muscles of his sides with each of my legs.

“Ready, Fon?”

With a stroke of his back, I made the griffin begin to take his first steps forward.

◇　◇　◇

I continued my training with Fon, and one day, I decided to write a letter to His Majesty.

I told him I wanted to fly with Fon above the woods surrounding my villa. Even though I planned to avoid the area around the king’s castle, Lady Natalie’s villa, and the rest of the palace territory, I wanted his permission for what I was doing.

It was such a ridiculous request. I was a bit nervous for his response, but I ended up receiving His Majesty’s permission.

“All right. I’m ready.”

The wolves were on alert. Fon leaned down in front of them.

The whole pack was focused on my movements, with my hands on the griffin’s back.

My heart began to beat faster. I’d floated in the air with magic before, but it would be my first time flying through the sky with full control.

I let my pulse slow, activated my floating spell as a safety harness, and gave Fon the signal.

“Okay, Fon. Take me to the sky!!”

“Kyuwah!!”

He flapped his wings.

The wind picked up around me, lifting my body toward the sky.

“Whoa…!”

We climbed higher and higher. Soon, we were above the roof of the villa. The sight of the bright blue sky filled my vision.

“How incredible…!”

I heard more flapping of wings. Fon twisted his powerful muscles and took off soaring.

The wind felt so pleasant against my cheeks.

Flying through the sky was so very fun.

“Kraaah!”

Fon let out a happy cry too.

I looked down and saw that the wolves were following us on the ground. Even little Tera was racing at full speed to keep up.

“Can you turn so that we’re flying in a big circle?”

With that request, Fon tilted his body slightly and began to rotate. As we went sailing around and around, as if set on an invisible track, I saw the wolves sitting in the center of our circle, looking up at us. Tera had stopped too. I felt like she was looking at me. I waved my hand at her and heard the wolf’s little barks in response.

Once they seemed to have processed the sight, they headed back to the villa.

“It doesn’t look like they’ll be scared of you for much longer, Fon.”

My mission was complete. I still had plenty of magical energy left too.

As I enjoyed our little stroll in the sky…

“Hm? Is that Lord Aroo?”

I felt like I spotted a familiar figure beneath the trees. Curious, I made Fon get closer to the ground. As we flew low, I peered through the gaps between trees…

“Huh?! His Majesty?”

It wasn’t Lord Aroo, but King Glenreed instead.

I was confused, so I had Fon bring us in nearby for a landing.

---

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“What brings you out here, Your Majesty? Did you see a silver wolf nearby at all?”

I dismounted Fon, greeted the king, and quickly straightened out my dress. My outfit allowed for more mobility during horseback riding, but then there was the king, wearing only the finest of clothes.

“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen any wolves.”

“I see. Perhaps I imagined it. …Why are you here, Your Majesty?”

“I heard you’d be flying, so I came here for a walk to see it while I’m on a break from work.”

“Alone? Out here in the forest?”

“There are hidden guards posted around us right now.”

Really?

I couldn’t sense any of them at all. But it made sense for the king to have secret guards with him, I supposed.

As I came to that conclusion, his fingers reached for the side of my head.

“Your Majesty?”

The sight of his fingers approaching made my heart skip a beat.

It was the first time he’d ever gotten so close to me.

His expression remained unchanged as he gently touched my head.

“Your hair was a bit tangled. The wind must have done that.”

“…Thank you.”

The king had fixed my hair.

I thanked His Majesty, but he stepped back and turned away from me.

“I’ve got to get back to work, so I’ll be on my way now.”

With that, he retreated out of my line of sight…

My heart still took quite some time to settle back down.

◇　◇　◇

“I never really thought she’d actually fly herself…”

Glenreed was muttering to himself in his bedroom at the castle.

When he first received her letter, asking for permission, he had to do a double take.

So she’ll even fly through the sky if it’s something the wolves need…?

It was a very strange task for the daughter of a duke, much less a queen, to take on.

But Glenreed was concerned. What if Fon dropped her? He felt he needed to go watch over her in his silver wolf form.

However, not only was she unafraid, she really seemed to enjoy it up there. She’d been smiling, her golden hair fluttering in the wind as she rode Fon through the sky.

Glenreed found the sight of her, bathed in pure, unobscured sunlight, to be truly radiant.

She never fails to surpass my expectations. I can’t take my eyes off her for a minute…

Glenreed sighed.

Laetitia’s actions weren’t the only thing that had shocked him. He’d truly meant to observe her only in wolf form, but when he wanted to exchange words with her, he turned back into his human self.

It was difficult for Glenreed to meet with her casually as a human, given that he was the king and she was merely a figurehead queen. Yet he’d felt that transforming then wouldn’t be a problem, since no one else was around.

That realization hit the king, and before he knew it, he’d left his silver wolf form.

The change had surpassed his expectations.

…But thanks to that, I got to fix her hair.

Laetitia had looked so surprised.

Maybe she was confused by Glenreed’s sudden touch.

It wasn’t fair that she was always the one surprising the king.

“But now we’re even.”

The sight of Laetitia, her cheeks tinged pink with shock, was unexpectedly charming.

Glenreed gave a fulfilled sigh and broke into a smile.