In the beginning, I was going to snap at JJ and tell him no just until I realized he was my only ticket out. I decided perhaps we can both sneak out and then the fire worker and I could ditch him together. So, when we finally sneaked out, which wasn't that hard considering Mika being asleep, and everyone being in the giving room assuming JJ and I were playing video games.
We left a letter to mom and the others saying we will return in a day or two or so and that there is no need to worry about us. Then, we finally took off. We sneaked out of the window in JJ's room. II was thankful it was on the ground floor as I wondered if JJ ever sneaked out. I made sure I took my backpack I had set up earlier with me. Finally, we were on the run, literally. We were sprinting to the barn hoping none of our family members have heard us. Finally, it was five minutes to midnight. When we grew closer to the barn, we could see the fire worker leaning by the side of the barn. This time he had no fire on his arms. He saw me. Then he saw JJ and he didn't look pleased.
When we reached him he said "You bought the company" to which I answered with "I know, can I have a word with you?"
I hesitated to walk aside as JJ watched and I whispered to the fire worker the situation "It's your fault. Be a man of your word" He told me "He's coming with us" he told me. I was in disbelief, to say the least. Who would have thought a man who was willing to bru down a barn earlier would have some certain moral compass. That was when I realized his threats were empty words. He was not going to burn down any barn any day sooner. At least, I doubted he would do so. Now I was stuck with getting JJ to the Night Kingdom and then back to his home safely. I hoped this wouldn't be hard.
"Alright, fine. Let's just go" I told the fire dude to which he nodded and walked away. I figured we should walk with him so I did and ushered JJ to do the same. After a bit of walking in the dirt, we finally reached what looked like.... an air balloon? Yes, it was an air balloon. The fire worker ushered JJ and I to get in its basket. The basket is bigger than normal air ballon ones and it was big enough to support us three. That was going to be insanely cool. I was thankful I did not have a fear of heights. The fire worker unknotted the knot that hard the balloon to the ground as soon as we got on. without hesitation, he extended his arm to the fire that made the balloon hover and released flames out of his wrist making the balloon fly higher quickly.
"What the-" JJ started and I interrupted him-
'Why didn't you use the gas?" I asked
"This" He lit his hand on fire again" is more fun"
I nodded. It seemed more like he was to show us he was in a powerful position at the moment. I decided didn't like this guy.
"What's your name?" I asked out of curiosity.
"None of your business, kid"
"I am not a kid"
JJ giggled. The fire worker glanced at him giving him a terrifying look that made J shut up instantly.
"You look like one" The worker replied. I didn't like how amused this guy sounded.
"Whatever," I decided to avoid talking to him. I looked out of the air balloon that was practically flying above plains of dirt and plants the Johnsons own. It was beautiful, dark, and peaceful. It reminded me of summer, sweat, and sweet smells of fruits even though I couldn't smell anything from up there.
"Xavier" The fire guy finally said amidst the silence. "My name is Miloxavier," he told me. I glanced at him and he looked like he was sharpening a metal dagger which made me frown. I felt rather unsafe already with a man who can throw flames out of his very palms and now he has a dagger. Absurd is the first word that came into my mind. This was the first time I took my time to observe how Xavier actually looked like. He was wearing brown attire. Even though he was sitting down, he obviously was relatively taller than I was and towering above JJ who was even shorter than I am. Xavier was frizzy curly hair and brown chocolaty skin with yellowish brown eyes-I think, I couldn't see properly at the time.
"And I am Vex" I replied saying my last name rather than my first name. I always preferred it this way.
"Jeremy, better called JJ" JJ introduced himself but Miloxavier didn't reply to us. He was concentrated on sharpening his dagger and occasionally steering the air balloon in the direction we were supposed to go in. It was not exactly extremely dark outdoors. The full moon was shining like it was a light bulb illuminating the town. The town was filled with yellow lights, especially further from the farm. The farm itself was dark beyond explanation. The air was refreshing yet sticky and warm. It made the three of us look like a sweaty mess. Then after fifteen minutes of this sticky weather, I finally saw it, and let me tell you this: It was even better than what I imagined it would be.
The cloud realm was a set of kingdoms- and many other systems of ruling- that set on clouds. The clouds carried these kingdoms like rocks, if not flat earth. The Night Kingdom fell under the cloud realms and it was beautifully powerful if not dangerously magical. From afar, I saw all the clouds turn blue in gradient. There was light blue, dark blue, cyan, sapphire, Lapislazuli, baby blue, and many more deep blue colored clouds. It was an insane sight. There seemed to be a certain path we took that did not have clouds amidst. Practically, I think the reason for the presence of a path is because the darker the clouds, the stronger they are. That means if we bumped into a sapphire blue cloud, our air balloon might pop.
Then we were close enough to see the kingdom itself. I heard JJ gasp at the sight as he took all this abnormal view before him in. There was a castle that had each building in it posses one of those colors: white, black, or baby blue. The windows were cyan-blue with that crystal colorful reflection that we could see from afar from how shiny the moon was tonight. The moon. Oh god. The moon itself looked like it was right beside it. It was GIGANTIC. It was extremely white and it illuminated all of the night kingdom. It was so bright that it hid the stars in its own fascinating glow. The whole castle-at least what I could see of it from here- was full of lights: fire to be specific. Fire seemed to be the main source of light. Fire tourches hung on the walls of the castle and -potentaily- inside the castle walls. I could not have a good look at the buildings that were not castles as we crossed the cloudless path, but soon we landed.
The landing sight was on the 'ground' of the Night Kingdom's edge. The ground for the night kingdom consisted of darker blue clouds(AKA: the tougher clouds) Xavier was the first one out which left us to follow his lead. He opened the small door of the ballon after he closed the gas that fueled the fire and then walked on the dark blue clouds. JJ and I did the same. I wanted to take off my shoes to feels the clouds. They were rough not the surface but the lighter their colors, the fulffier they got. We walked a small distance-ignoring JJ's gushing until we finally reached a pretty gate with torches of fire held by guards that would lead inside more magic of the Night Kingdom.