"We should take a rest." Anasthasia waved her hand, and strolled—her steps revealed crunchy noises from leaves and splinters—towards Freidmirth.
His amber eyes gleamed with concern, and he huffed before making a low rumbling sound. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Please, don't mind it. Treat this as a normal occurrence."
"If you treat that as a normal occurrence, then every human settlement you stay in would be obliterated." He raised his snout, not batting an eye on her stead.
"I was careless."
"Be careful from now on."
"I never thought you have this caring side."
"What—?"
Seeing how Freidmirth crossed his forearms, Anasthasia giggled quietly then pondered, 'I'm glad I made a deal with this dragon.'
"What's with those giggles?"
"Nothing, don't mind it."
Friedmirth shut his eyes firmly and stopped wagging his tail, lowering his limbs. He curled up from his position. His nostrils flared as he beckoned, "Anasthasia, come here already."
Anasthasia heaved a sigh of relief and turned her heel, looking at Michael and the twins who seemed stunned in place. Caused her to tilt her head and mused, "What are you guys standing there for?"
"Uh..." Liam flinched for a moment. He scratched his nape, averting his emerald eyes, and mumbled audibly, "We don't think that it's a good idea."
"What do you mean?"
"It's—"
"For a valiant knight like you." She rolled her eyes, scoffing, "You're acting quite a scaredy-cat."
"Liam, Levi, just get in here! It's been a tough night, and everyone wants to rest." Michael berated them, which had them slumped their backs, sighing.
"That's the Prince for you!" Anasthasia raised her thumb, winking. Michael couldn't help but shake his head.
Liam and Levi followed behind as Michael continued moving through and eventually reached her side.
"I'll take the other side of Fried, so the three of you should stay here—" Michael was about to open his mouth when her eyebrows rose to intriguing heights. "What? Do you honestly think I'll sleep with you?"
"No—"
"Then, let's drop this already." She gracefully strutted to the back of Freidmirth, mumbling between her yawns, "Good night."
"Good night," they responded in chorus. Michael remained calm around Freidmirth's embrace, but the two deemed the opposite. So, the twins had their faces pale and having subtle convulsions on their bodies.
Tasha reached the other side and released a gust of wind, afloat and peering at the other side. She bit her lower lip, and conscience clawed her deeper. She reconsidered in her thoughts, 'Is this some sort of trauma? I feel bad that I'm forcing this to them. I have to do something.'
"Levi, Liam..."
Her gentle voice startled them; they glanced up and saw her hovering. Crinkles in their eyes formed as they force a stifling smile, then this had Liam prattle back, "A—Ana, please don't worry, we'll be over—over this in a jiffy! We're also guarding His—His Highness for the rest of the night—!"
"I'm deeply sorry about this, although I can help you guys rest for now. How about that?"
Levi and Liam had snapped their senses, remaining vigilant. Levi nudged his glasses as he muttered, "Ana, it's our duty—"
"You're all safe here. Give it a rest." Michael closed his eyes and leaned his back on Freidmirth's hind leg, crossing his arms. Before they could refute back, he warned them, "Do I have to tell you two that this is an order?"
"Your Highness..."
"Tasha—!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" She let out a haughty laugh and danced her fingers as she released a white mist. Before the twins could react, they slowly slumped back to Freidmirth's torso.
At this point, she witnessed how they relaxed near Freidmirth and landed safely to the ground. She lowered herself, feeling against the course of his smooth scales, and brought her knees closer to her chest as she hooked her arms around it.
'This would be my first time sleeping in a hundred thousand years.' Closing her eyes had her body relaxed and her mind drifted away to rest.
***
"—Tasha..."
She hummed in a soft tone and squinted her eyes, noticing Michael's call. Fingertips rubbed her eyes, grumbling, "It's morning already?" Her vision obscured because of the warm brilliance of the sun. But she noticed certain silhouettes that drew larger and cast a long shadow in her way.
"Apparently," He cleared his throat before he carried on his speech, "Shall we get moving?"
Anasthasia covered her mouth, yawning. The other hand, which had been hooking her knees, had reflexively stretched upward. Seeing as how they readied themselves, she stood up and patted her dress, dusting off the dirt.
"It's morning?" She raised her head. To her astonishment, her blue eyes widened from their stature— their hairs slick and wet, faces glistened, and overall freshness loomed them—which had her mumbling, "Michael, why didn't you wake me up?"
"It's not good to disturb the lady's rest."
Looking at the twins, with hesitation and grimace, behind Michael, Tasha was horrified. She had no idea that Michael was too much of a considerate person, and it seemed he refrained them from doing so.
Her eyes bore unto them, and she was fascinated that the tattered robes removed from the sight. It was clear enough to see their armors—it wasn't heavy type but durable. Stiff with a thick metal plate that glimmered so brightly under the sun, gold lining highlighted the corners and a lion with a criss-cross sword symbol on the chest encrusted with bright gemstones. Finally, bright red cape, clipped from their shoulders, draped and fluttered in perfection. They seem to stand out by themselves.
'Such contrasting colors that meshed perfectly with one another, and high-quality at that!'
She then facepalmed, groans escaped her dainty lips while grumbling, "You know I still have to freshen up."
"Can't you do it with your magic?"
"Are you kidding me? You want me to create something from scratch?"
"Well, you can do anything." Michael shrugged in response.
"To make things clear, I don't." She harrumphed, rolling her eyes. She shifted her glance and chattered, "Water is one thing; soap is another."
"Alright, how much time do you need?"
"20 minutes..."
"20—" Before he could finish his speech, she waltzed out in a jiffy. She glided by the wind, moving closer to the riverbed. She snapped her fingers, which caused the disappearance of the wind, then landed with grace.
"I arrived pretty quickly. Now I shall start taking a bath."
Anasthasia's hands twitched pointing at the ground. A ring of monolith protruded within the area, causing a blockade. She looked around one more instance and reached out to her back. Her fingertips hovered over the zipper, slowly pulling down near the waistline. Afterwhich, hands reached out to her shoulders and removed the ruffle straps. Lastly, she removed her lingerie with sultriness.
Now undressed, she bathed herself in a generous amount of river water. Embracing the coldness that tingled her sensitive skin, she scrubbed against the smears that clung to her voluptuous figure. Her body acted automatically, with eyes shut, despite her mind drowned in thoughts.
'We'll approximately reach the kingdom by dusk. I'm looking forward to this.'
'I need to see the changes for myself and plan for the next move.'
'I really should be careful on using my powers from now on.'
'I guess I have to transform Freidmirth later as well. Should I bring him with me?'
When she finished her bath, fingers glowed and grazed over her body, casually releasing ample warmth—then they reached towards the hanging minidress. Once she finished, she snapped her fingers, and the monoliths crumbled. She sauntered away from the riverbed and hopped midair. A sudden blow of wind sent her adrift.
When Michael saw her incoming figure, he revealed a smug grin.
"You've arrived just in time."
"Of course, who do you think I am?" She huffed as she flipped her hair.
"Shall we?"
"Without further ado—" Suddenly, she gasped and looked around, mumbling under her breath, "Where's the saddle?"
"Saddle? I think it's over there, Ana." Liam pointed in a direction and found the saddle marked deep on the ground.
Anasthasia extended her arms, tugged her fingers, and soon lifted the saddle midair. She carefully placed the saddle behind Freidmirth. The twins got to work on supporting the tightness of the saddle. Now that everything settled, she squealed in glee.
"That should do!"
Soon as they all perched atop of him, he started to beat his wings. He released a haughty growl under his smoky breath, "Hold on it!"
"Tasha, what did he say?"
"He said we should buckle up.
"Buckle up—Ugh!" He groaned from Freidmirth's sudden flight, closing his eyes against the firm, buzzing winds. The twins screamed in horror, and only she dared to shriek in excitement. The ride deeply enthralled her.
"Fried, to the Navarre Kingdom!" Pointing at a direction, her high pitch voice contested with the winds, musing their ears. Freidmirth roared in response, then flew at incredible speed.