A gentle, high-altitude breeze brushed against her face, cool and refreshing.
Noah slowly opened her eyes, finding herself surrounded by endless, fluffy clouds under a vast, clear blue sky. She was leaning back against a firm, familiar chest, and when she tilted her head up, she saw her father's profile.
Leon was sitting cross-legged on the broad back of the flying Leviathan, with Noah nestled securely in his lap, having slept through most of the journey. Glancing down, she saw the shimmering, smooth scales of the massive creature beneath them.
Gathering a bit of strength, Noah spoke softly, "Dad..."
She tried to sit up on her own, but her body, still weak and heavy with exhaustion, refused to cooperate. Sighing inwardly, she relaxed back against Leon's solid warmth.
Leon gently ruffled her silver hair, his voice warm. "Awake now, Noah?"
"Yeah..." Noah's voice was thin, but she managed a response. "Did you... take care of everything, Dad?"
"Of course," Leon replied with a confident, reassuring smile. "When have I ever failed to clean up a mess?"
Noah's tired face brightened into a small, proud smile. "Dad, you're amazing."
After a moment of comfortable silence, she asked, "What about Helena?"
"She's doing much better than you are. She was just shaken up, so her homeroom teacher took her and the other students directly back to the academy on another transport. Her aunt Claudia will be checking on her soon," Leon explained patiently.
"That's good," Noah said, a wave of relief washing over her. "But..."
"But what?" Leon asked, looking down at her curiously.
"Does this mean... all our efforts during the exam were for nothing?"
Leon let out a soft sigh. "Unfortunately, yes. The monster that attacked you and Helena was Adam, the Warhammer Dragon King. He injured the academy guards at the perimeter and slaughtered many of the forest's dangerous beasts. The exam had to be canceled entirely because of the security breach. The vice-principal plans to organize a retest at a later date."
Noah nodded, her expression thoughtful. "Well... I suppose it wasn't a total loss. After all, Helena and I didn't manage to defeat a single creature. Our score was a big, fat zero."
"My brilliant daughter, scoring a zero? That's a first for the family record books," Leon teased, a chuckle rumbling in his chest.
Noah narrowed her eyes, her expression turning into a deadpan retort. "Dad, you might've been some kind of prodigy when you were young, but now you're just a husband who listens to everything Mom says."
"...And who taught you that particular phrase?" Leon asked, raising an eyebrow in mock sternness.
"Little Light," Noah stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh. That explains it," Leon sighed, shaking his head. Little Light was always teaching her sisters things that chipped away at his dignified, paternal image. "Remind me to have a... talk with her when we get home."
.
.
.
Far away, in a classroom at St. Heath Academy, Little Light suddenly sneezed in the middle of a lecture.
"Are you catching a cold?" her deskmate, Ryan, whispered concernedly.
"No," she said, rubbing her nose thoughtfully. "I have a distinct feeling someone is talking about me. And not in a good way."
.
.
.
Noah had fallen asleep again at some point. Her body, still depleted, gave her no warning before pulling her back under. When she woke again, she immediately recognized the familiar, majestic landscape below. They were approaching the Silver Dragon Sanctuary.
"We're almost home," she murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.
"I haven't been home in two months, Dad," she added quietly, a note of longing in her tone.
Leon simply nodded. Her mother had mentioned this in her letters. Between demanding school assignments, inter-clan competitions, and intensive weekend training, Noah simply hadn't found a spare moment to visit.
Leon decided to test the waters, to see if Noah was aware of the upcoming family news. "You know, when we get home, your mother has a surprise for you."
"A surprise?"
Noah was silent for a moment, processing, then said, "Oh, you mean that Mom is pregnant with another baby."
Leon blinked in genuine surprise. "How did you know about that?"
"Mom wrote to me about it last week," Noah replied calmly. "She said she didn't tell me earlier because she didn't want it to distract me from my final training push. She only mentioned it in the letter she sent right before the exam."
Leon couldn't help but sigh. Like mother, like daughter. Their strategic minds worked in uncannily similar ways.
It had been over four months since Leon had last seen Rossweise with his own eyes. This wasn't the longest they'd been apart—once, in a fractured future timeline, they'd been separated for a grueling twenty years. But back then, he'd had an adult Noah by his side and could at least see Rossweise, even if she was tragically sealed within a crystal.
This time, all he'd had were the letters written in her elegant, sometimes hastily scrawled handwriting. The old saying was true—distance made the heart grow fonder, and Leon had never felt the ache of separation more keenly.
Now, as the sanctuary drew nearer, his heart swelled with a nervous excitement.
Has she been taking care of herself? Is she eating well?
He did a quick mental calculation. He had been gone for just over four months. Rossweise must have gotten pregnant very shortly after his departure. At four months, she would just be starting to show.
His timing, he thought, was perfect. She would need more support as her pregnancy progressed, and he was determined to be there for her every step of the way.
I'm such a good husband, Leon thought, a familiar, confident smirk touching his lips. She's going to be so moved when I walk through that door.
"Dad..."
Noah's soft voice pulled him from his self-congratulatory thoughts.
"Yes?"
"I... I want to ask you something," she said, her tone uncharacteristically hesitant.
"Go ahead. Ask me anything."
Noah squinted at the Silver Dragon Sanctuary in the distance, its familiar, majestic spires and bridges becoming clearer with each passing second. Her lips, still pale from fatigue, pressed together. Her silver hair streamed across her face in the wind, her expression a complex mix of hesitation and deep contemplation.
After a long pause that stretched between them, she finally spoke again. "I want to ask if you're—"
She cut herself off, lowering her head as if thinking better of it.
"Am I what?" Leon prompted gently, curiosity piqued.
But Noah didn't answer. Looking down, Leon saw that her breathing had evened out once more; she had fallen asleep again, the question left hanging in the air.
"Well, we're almost home, sleepyhead," Leon said softly, his voice full of affection.
He carefully removed his outer coat and draped it over her, pulling her small form closer to share his warmth. Whatever weighty question had been on Noah's mind, she had decided to keep it to herself for now.
Maybe I'll ask him later, she thought dimly, as consciousness faded. For now, she simply nestled deeper into the safety of his arms, lulled by the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and the promise of home.
.
.
.
The great Leviathan hovered gracefully above the central plaza of the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, its immense shadow a welcome sight on the ground below.
A soft beam of magical light descended from its belly, gently lowering Leon and the sleeping Noah in his arms onto the familiar stone of the entrance courtyard.
Maids and attendants streamed out to greet them, and the guards, seeing their prince return after such a long absence, offered warm, respectful salutes and welcomes.
Leon acknowledged everyone with a nod and a smile as he walked purposefully toward the grand, sweeping staircase that led to the main hall.
And then, at the top of those stairs, a tall, elegantly poised figure emerged from within.
She descended the steps with a measured, innate grace. Her long, flowing silver hair was unbound, swaying like a celestial ribbon in the mountain breeze. She wore a simple, loose gown that shimmered in the afternoon sun, making her look like a figure from a divine painting. Even completely bare-faced, the Silver Dragon Queen, Rossweise Melkvey, stood out among her maids, her natural, regal beauty radiant and impossible to ignore.
The sharp, commanding edge to her presence had softened over the years, tempered and enriched by the profound warmth and gentleness of motherhood.
But to Leon, she was every bit as breathtakingly stunning as the proud, formidable queen he had fallen in love with on that fateful day.
They stood on different levels, one looking up, the other looking down, their gazes meeting and locking across the space.
In his dark, earnest eyes and her luminous silver ones, they saw only each other—the living reflection of a love that had endured countless trials and separations.
Even after all these years and all they had been through, every time their eyes met like this, it felt utterly impossible to look away.
"I'm home, Rossweise."
"Welcome home, Dear."