“Wow…! This is so cool!” A voice’s yell got carried in the fast blowing wind through the sky. “This is incredible!”

The owner of the voice was Indira, and she was perched near the head of a massive creature’s head while looking down at the speck that was the ground while clouds surrounded them as they flew through the air.

“Indira! Come back! It’s dangerous!” Priya, her other twin sister called to her with a nervous look on her face.

“Ah. Relax, Priya. Nothing bad will happen,” said Lakshman, their brother from beside her with a grinning face.

“You’re too optimistic!” Priya complained.

“Call it confidence,” he corrected her with a bright smile.

The three of them were currently riding atop a massive creature that was a dragon. More accurately, its name was Draga, known as the Spirit Dragon and one of the two familiars of the Phoenix Titan. Flying right beside the dragon was a massive bird that matched the creature in size and stature. Riding on it were the wives of the Phoenix Titan, who were also enjoying the ride in their own respective way.

“Cantia! Stop leaning over like that!” Sonia scolded worriedly. “You don’t have wings like me to fly in case you fell!”

“Oh, come on, Sonia! I don’t get to do this on a regular basis,” implored Cantia while trying to look down from the edge of the Eternal Phoenix by the name Phylex.

“Geez! Stop being so childish and come over here!” Sonia complained and grabbed Cantia’s arm to drag her back.

“Aww!” Cantia wailed sadly as she was pulled back to sit with the group.

When she sat down with a gloomy atmosphere surrounding her, Ondine placed a gentle hand down on her shoulder and said soothingly, “There, there.”

“I was so enjoying the view,” said Cantia, and she looked irritably at Sonia.

“Yes, yes. Falling off the edge will also be enjoying if it really did happen!” Sonia retorted, equally as irritated as her.

Seeing their exchange, Sumara turned to her and asked, “Have you ever fallen off from a great height?”

To this, Sonia nodded and said, “Yes. It was during when I was still learning to fly. I was around ten-years-old at that time and was a little overweight and because of that I couldn’t learn to fly quickly. Father complained a lot about my diet and always scolded Nana to get my act straight instead of directly scolding me.”

Nana was the nickname of Natasha, the maid that was always by her side since childhood. After the incident with Sonia’s father losing all memories and functionality in his body, she was assigned to be his caretaker.

“So, out of anger, did you jump off a building or something?” Cantia asked exasperatedly.

“I did exactly that!” Sonia proclaimed proudly with a smug smile.

While the others stared at her in surprise, Cantia blinked twice before exclaiming with a disbelief look on her face.

“Huh?! You really jumped off a building?! Seriously?!”

“Of course, I did that!” Sonia replied, looking hurt that she was not believed. “I was angry and you know what I’m like when I lose it?”

“I can imagine,” muttered Silvera wryly.

“So, there I stood atop the tallest tower, flapping my wings behind me! Flap! Flap!” Sonia said and gave an impression of what she had done at that time to them. “Then I ran forward and went for a leap of faith like jump while flapping my wings hard. I was really trying hard, but being overweight and all and a child, my wings strained and I fell down instead.

“Oh my!” Ondine winced while Emilia covered her mouth with both of her hands in shock.

“Did someone catch you?” Sumara asked worriedly.

Sonia nodded and said, “Yes. My godfather. He heard my screams and rushed up just in time to catch me in mid-flight and then he landed gently on the ground.”

“Lucked out, huh,” said Silvera with a click of her tongue.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Sonia asked her, looking alarmed.

“Come on! You were seriously an idiot to think you could fly when you’re overweight! Have you no common sense?” Silvera berated her.

“I… I must admit that was my fault,” admitted Sonia, and she formed a sheepish smile on her face as she went on saying, “but it’s all good since godfather hit me on the head and told me never to do it again or he’ll make sure I eat only vegetables everyday for one month straight.”

“Oh. Wow. That’s scary to imagine,” remarked Cantia in amazement.

“Yes. I was scared, and since then, I learnt my lesson and exercised by running daily to lose that extra weight and all to get into shape. Afterwards, I managed to learn to fly and all was good,” said Sonia with a bright smile.

Silvera shook her head disapprovingly as she said, “Seriously. A needless thing to do at such a young age.”

“You were such a rebellious child! There’s no shame at all in the way you retold that story to us now,” commented Cantia disapprovingly.

“What’s there to be ashamed off when I was just a child with way above thoughts than she should be having?” Sonia asked in return stubbornly.

“Calm down, Sonia,” said Tetra from beside her and looked knowingly at Cantia. “Cantia was also a rebellious child as a kid.”

“Huh? I was?” Cantia asked, looking surprised. “When?”

“Oh? Don’t you remember?” Tetra asked as if it was the obvious. “The time when you snuck away from the Camdra Beast Clan’s lair to pay a visit to Lucky. And then that time when you brazenly dropped into his room and slept with him naked even though we were tired from returning to the kingdom after dealing with stuff related to the Phoenix Emperor.”

“Ah!” Cantia exclaimed and suddenly looked guilty.

“Wait?! What?!” Sonia, Sumara, and Silvera exclaimed in shock. They turned to her and asked, “You slept with him naked?! When?!”

Before Cantia could say anything, Tetra cheerfully supplied, “It was around when Lucky was thirteen-years-old, and she snuck into his room. Right, Ondine?”

As she turned to Ondine, who appeared to be thinking about it when she suddenly remembered and said, “Oh. Right. That happened although she wasn’t truly naked, just had a lot of skin exposed. Still, Lucky was so annoyed at that time too since all he wanted was to sleep, and she was interrupting it. Ah!”

It was then that Ondine realised what she had done and looked at the shocked expressions on the three ladies before turning to look at Cantia.

“Ondine!” Cantia exclaimed accusingly.

Ondine blinked in surprise before she smiled guiltily and put her hands together in prayer while mouthing the words, “Sorry.”

Cantia looked helplessly at her and then turned to see the glowering looks of the three girls, who slowly said, “Cantia…!”

While they were having their heated discussion, Lakshman watched them from where he was seated on his dragon familiar and smiled. He had declared his plan for going on a vacation to the family the previous evening and everyone got instantly excited, although their energies dropped a little when they heard where they would be going. And so, that morning, he summoned his familiars and got on board of Draga before inviting them to get on the familiars.

“Isn’t it faster to just teleport there using the Phoenix Portal?” Sumara suggested, but he did not agree and instead said, “It is faster, but where’s the fun when we could just ride my familiars and enjoy the trip instead?”

Convinced, everyone got onboard the familiars, with Priya and Indira getting on Draga to join their brother while his wives got onto Phylex. Then Lakshman spoke to Mariana, instructing her to be ready to bring the babies over when he reaches there and uses Phoenix Portal to get back home. And so, they found themselves flying through the sky at high speed, with the wind buffeting against them and ruffling their hair and clothes with its coolness.

“What are they doing over there?” Priya asked curiously, taking notice of the seeming heated discussion happening in the second group. “Ah! Indira! Get back here!”

She spoke suddenly because she saw, from the corner of her eye, Indira had taken the opportunity to inch closer to the edge and look down. Indira laughed cheekily as Priya grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back all the way to where they sat.

“Geez! Learn to have some aversion for dangerous things!” Priya scolded her sister.

“But it’s fun, and besides, I won’t fall of,” said Indira innocently.

“It’s never safe to assume you won’t fall of, young miss,” said Draga telepathically to her in joining the conversation. “Even master doesn’t look over the edge and remains in a safe seating position each time he rides me.”

“That’s because I never had any interest in seeing what the world looked like below when I’m so high up,” stated Lakshman, and Draga let out a telepathic sigh.

Indira chortled with laughter and said, “It’s okay. Even if I do fall, I’m not worried.”

“Why?” Priya asked, looking shocked.

“Because annayya will save me,” she said as if it was obvious much to her sister’s surprise. “Besides, mister dragon will act before annayya and save me before him.”

“Honestly…!” Priya said as she shook her head wearily.

“I’m happy to hear about your confidence in me, chelli,” said Lakshman, and he rubbed her head gently, and she looked like she was enjoying it.

A moment later, Draga let out a telepathic sigh and said telepathically, “That’s some confidence you have in me, young miss. What if I didn’t care, or didn’t react like you expected?”

“If that was the case, then you wouldn’t be my annayya’s familiar,” she replied with a bright smile.

There was a moment of silence before Draga suddenly started chuckling out loud, making the sounds appear as if it was grunting. Then he spoke to them telepathically with, “Honestly, like brother, like sister.”

“Like brother, like sister?” Indira asked curiously. “What do you mean?”

“I’m saying you and your brother are so similar. You said to me something similar as him when I first became his familiar,” said Draga and he began retelling the past. “It was after defeating me and making me his familiar where it was part of the familiar’s contract to remain by the contractor’s side for an entire day. At that time, when he told me he was going to sleep, I asked him what if I decided to attack him in his sleep. Do you know what he told me at that time?”

“No. What did he say?” Indira asked curiously.

Draga grunted as if he chuckled again and said telepathically, “He said that I wouldn’t be his familiar if I was capable of such underhanded methods.”

“Oh… wow…!” Indira said, and she turned to look at her brother in awe.

Priya, on the other hand, looked at him in amazement and asked, “Geez. No wonder I have to deal with Indira’s free-spirited personality. It came from you, annayya!”

“Hey! Why are you stating it as if it was my fault?!” Lakshman exclaimed indignantly at her accusing him like that.

“It seems the Phoenix Titan of this era is totally different from the past,” said a voice from behind, and he turned to see Valerian seated there with a bemused look on his face.

“It took you so long just to realise that fact?” Lakshman asked with a laugh, and Valerian’s smile widened a little at the joke.

Valerian had arrived at their home early that day after receiving the instructions through telepathy from Lakshman. Then he got on board the dragon with the sisters and had remained silent till now.

“How’s the ride so far?” Lakshman asked him curiously.

“It’s… certainly different,” replied Valerian with a smile. “It’s my first-time riding atop a dragon.”

“I see,” said Lakshman shortly as he could see that the being from the ancient times was slowly adjusting to the lifestyle of this time. “Take your time.”

Valerian nodded appreciatively and asked, “I didn’t think you’d have two familiars, especially one that is a dragon.”

It seemed like his words sparked a nerve in Draga as he telepathically asked, “What’s wrong with him having a dragon as one of his familiars?”

“Well, it’s because he’s the Phoenix Titan,” said Valerian casually in a monotone voice, “so I assumed he’d have a flock of phoenix familiars.”

“How rude to simply assume that?” Asked Draga heatedly.

“It’s expected, Draga,” said Lakshman calmly. “In the past, I did have a flock of phoenix familiars, but this time around, I wanted to do something different. So, instead I aimed for only two familiars; one a phoenix and one a dragon.”

“But why a dragon?” Valerian asked curiously.

“They’re majestic creatures of their own right,” said Lakshman with a smile, “and it doesn’t hurt to have one on your side when you consider the rivalry that kind of remains between the Phoenix Clan and the Dragon Clan to this very day.”

“Ah. I see now,” said the Storm Titan, nodding in understanding.

“Hmph! I’m not impressed,” said Draga telepathically, but his voice was filled with smug satisfaction that made Indira and Priya to chuckle when they noticed it. “Why’re you laughing? What’s so funny?”

“We just thought of something, that’s all,” said Priya cheerfully.

“It better not be something rude or I’ll barrel roll and throw you off!” Draga threatened them telepathically.

“Yes, yes,” both sisters said simultaneously with bright smiles.

They continued to fly for a few hours while chatting happily to another before Draga announced in their heads, “We’re here.”

As he did so, he and Phylex began to lower their altitude by descending down gently. A moment later, they broke through the clouds and appeared where the land below them came into clearer focus. Indira and, in spite of her own earlier warnings, Priya moved forward and leaned slightly over the edge of the dragon’s neck to peer down at the ground to see where their destination lay.

“Is this…?” Priya asked in a quiet voice while Indira looked worried.

“Yes,” began Lakshman with a grim expression on his face as he finished saying, “it’s the ruins of Rodfox Kingdom.”