Heaven woke up with a start, panting heavily like she just had a marathon session. Her hair was disheveled and beads of sweat were on her forehead. She looked around and realized that she fell asleep on the deck of an airship.
As she stood up and leaned over the ship's rail, she remembered that she already left Solstice Mountain. Her nerves finally calmed down as her right hand reached for the clouds.
"WAAHH!"
She gave out an unladylike shriek as she was startled by the sudden tap on her shoulders. She would have fell down and met her creator if not for the high ship's rail.
"For God's sake! What an asshole! Are you trying to kill the hell out of me, you freakin' moron?" She spat all kinds of curses that she'd known while clutching her chest.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you... but, uhm, I saw you having a nightmare. A-are you okay?"
The voice came from a man, but was very meek, as if he's scared that she will yell out again.
She slowly looked up to see the owner of the voice and her eyes grew wide and sparkled at the unexpected eye candy.
The boy in front of her had a beautiful face and a very gentle aura, like a boy next door type of guy. His skin was clear and smooth and his face was small and symmetrical. He had crystal clear blue eyes, modest smile and unruly smooth blond hair.
She was so focused on gawking at the eye candy that she's unable to hear the man's gentle gasp.
"Whoa, you're so beautiful!"
"What a real beauty!"
Both of them exclaimed in chorus. There was a 3-second awkward silent, then they blinked twice at each other.
"Eh? How can you call a man 'beautiful'?!" The boy finally cried out his complain.
She laughed out loud at the boy's cute response and puppy look, totally ignoring his appraisal about her.
"En," she nodded and reached out her hand for a handshake. "Thanks for your concern. My name is Heaven Fair, but you can call me Heaven."
The man gave her a gentle smile as he took her hand. "I'm Leonidas Bellmark."
He made a 45-degree bow, his right hand holding hers and his left hand behind his back. He kissed the back of her hand softly and respectfully, like a loyal knight to his young mistress. He continued, "Please forgive my lack of decorum. I should have greeted you when you set foot on the ship earlier."
They looked like an old-fashioned picturesque painting; a lady standing gracefully, while a gentleman was bowing in front of her. Anyone who could see them would think that they had a master-servant relationship.
"With your gentle aura and very well-mannered behavior, I bet you're from a very rich and prestigious family." She said with mischievous grin on her lips, half teasing and half stating the fact.
The young man just smiled mysteriously and said, "I'm glad to have you on board. Please meet my pride, The Golden Chephirah!" He introduced the airship gallantly.
As if on cue, Heaven finally noticed the features of the flying vessel. She repeatedly turned around with her eyes sparkling and mouth gaped open. It's the first time she had seen an airship, and she's even riding on it. She thought it was just a fabricated thing that made story books exciting to read.
The Golden Chephirah looked like a sophisticated pirate ship, except that it's flying in the air instead of sailing in the ocean. It was not huge, compared to the ships she'd read and seen on her picture books.
It was made of fine but sturdy wood with two masts -- foremast and mainmast. As it's name indicated, majority of the ship's decors were different sizes of golden lions. The sails were even made of fine gold threads. A fierce lion with a coat and sword insignia was embroidered on the sails.
Leo casually promoted the features of his ship. "Chephirah's resilience and speed makes up for it's lack of dimension."
"This must be your first time seeing an airship." There was no hidden malice in his tone and simply stated the fact. "All airships are powered by Aero Magic Core which situated at the engine room. It's a kind of core created by Magi who can weild the power of air."
'Magi? power of... air?' Her brows creased as she thought to herself.
When she opened her mouth to voice out her thoughts, she was stopped by the announcement from the crew.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have finally arrived to Militia Empire! Please prepare yourselves as we are about to land on Vita, Militia's capital city."
Heaven excitedly ran to the bow of the ship. With a huge smile on her face, she marveled the breathtaking view.