Captain Ameena was never this nervous piloting a Cloud Corvette before. She may only been in her twenties, and have only been piloting this scout ship for about five years, but she had a lot of significant battle experience with this flying ship.

  And yet, none of those experiences could prepare her for today's mission

  That morning, she was summoned by King Raynel for a secret mission. Being a part of the Royal Army, she readily accepted. Who would have guessed that the mission is to transport Raynel and his supposedly dead son to Atrox!

  ‘I mustn't crash this ship! I mustn't crash this ship!’ was the mantra she kept chanting in her head.

  Her steely concentration was interrupted however, when she felt someone tapping on her left hand.

  “Oh errr…hello Prince Dev-Devlin? What can I do for you?” Ameena stammered.

  “Hehe. I noticed you haven't taken a rest since we departed this morning. So I brought you coffee and sandwiches.”

  Ameena looked down, and cursed herself for not noticing the tray in Devlin's hands. Immediately she reached for the tray and put it beside the chart.

  “You shouldn't have bothered, Your Highness. Thank you so much!”

  “Pfft, it's nothing. It's not like I made it. I just brought it to you.”

  “Hahaha. Still, you actually took the time to bring it to me. You're a good kid, Your Highness.”

  “Hehe, okay enough bootlicking. Eat up before it gets cold.”

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  The two spend the next moment silently. Ameena, eyes still locked on the horizon, enjoy the warmth the coffee brought. And Devlin walked to the side of the deck, watching the view below.

  Probably bored of the view, Devlin stood next to Ameena. Sometimes he lunged his next a bit to watch the glowing runes on the wheel and the sails. His eyes would lit up too when, if there's strong wind, Ameena would channel her magic to move the sail or speed up or slow down.

  Ameena smiled, noticing that. Devlin reminded her of herself when she first learned how to pilot a Cloud Corvette.

  “Are you interested in this flying ship, Your Highness?”

  Devlin's eyes glowed even brighter. “Of course! Who wouldn't? Who knew that sea ships could fly as well!”

  “Hehe, yeah. I can see that. But you know, there's a few key differences between those sea ships and my Cloud Corvette right here.”

  “Oh? What is that?”

  Ameena pointed at the rune carved on the handle. “First is this one. This rune gives me control of the speed of the boat.”

  Devlin frowned. “Huh? I thought the wind gave the ship speed. Is it not so?”

  “That's sea ships. For this one, the witches at Furcifer have created a new magic circle. One where the sails absorb energy in the air and convert it into magic energy.”

  “Whoa! So this ship is essentially a witch too?!”

  Ameena couldn't help but burst out laughing. “It kinda is, isn't it? Anyway, with that runes in the sails absorbing magic, all I have to do is put in some of my own magic to choose how much speed and power I need. And that's the same with controlling direction and elevation as well.”

  Devlin nodded. But then, his look of confusion returned. “Can't we just carve the runes to a normal ship?”

  “We can. But the ship cannot withstand the energy they absorb. Plus, the ship need to withstand the attacks below as well.”

  “Oh yeah, right?” Devlin touched the deck floor. “Then…what is this ship made out of?”

  “Hehe. Cloud Corvette is made up of melted flying Magic Beasts’ bones.”

  “What?! That's so cool!”

  “Hahaha. I know right!”

  Watching Devlin sit straight down, trying to feel the texture of the animal bones, made her happy. This kid had such a tragic backstory. It's great to know that he grew up into a normal kid after all.

  “Oy, you naughty child! What are you doing disturbing the captain?!”

  Hearing the voice, Captain Ameena immediately turned to it and gave the Pulcra military salute. Feet at attention, fist on the chest. “Greetings, Your Majesty!”

  “At ease, Captain. I'm just here to fetch my feral son.” Raynel said as he stared daggers at Devlin.

  Devlin scoffed. “I'm not disturbing her. Captain and I had a lovely chat. Until YOU disturb us.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I'm the buzzkill. Now go and change. We're about to meet Master Enan and the Countess. You should clean up and present yourself well.”

  The gleam in Devlin's eyes returned. “The infamous Bow and Arrow couple! Oh yeah. I'm gonna get ready now!”

  Devlin dissappeared into the belly of the ship. Raynel shook his head. He turned around, and bow to apologize to Ameena.

  “I apologize about my son, Captain.”

  Ameena anxiously waved her hands. “Ehhh no no. He's a good child, Your Majesty. He's just here to bring me coffee and sandwiches. Please don't be hard on him.”

  Raynel looked at the tray of half drank coffee and empty plate. A proud smile formed on his face. “He is, isn't he? He is a good boy.”

  “Yes he is, Your Majesty.” Ameena also smiled.

  The smiles lingered on the rest of the journey.