The Fallen Prince

⋇- 15: In Good Company -⋇

Fluffy clouds floated around the blue sky, hiding the sparkling sun from time to time. Examining the area more carefully, those clouds covered most of the atmosphere and a moderate wind swayed the vegetation under it. En folded his arms, sighing.

"Is something wrong?" asked a calm voice behind him.

En turned around and saw Mei slowly approaching him with her wheelchair. He blinked two times, noticing that she looked different. He was so used to seeing her in dresses and skirts that he almost didn't recognize her with shorts and her long her tied in a high ponytail. 

Despite telling him on the phone last night that she was in charge of herself, it seemed that in the end, she followed his suggestion to not wear a dress or skirt.

"Nothing." En shook his head. "I was hoping we would have a clear sky today."

Mei gazed up. "It's not that bad. Besides, bad weather can't ruin our day; there's plenty of activities we can do indoors."

"You're right," En agreed. "But I wanted today's weather to be perfect; the view is beautiful when the sky is clear."

Mei blinked repeatedly, looking confused. En walked towards her.

"The first activity we'll be doing is fly," he said, patting her dark head, "and see the wonders of our kingdom. It might switch on your artistic inspiration."

Remembering what Lili had told him, Mei's situation reminded En of his time locked on the royal grounds. If he wasn't studying or training, he would pass his time drawing something. But even then he would get bored and lose inspiration to enjoy his hobby.

If he hadn't risked secretly visiting the outside world, he couldn't imagine how his life would be. With Mei not being allowed to visit the outside world, he was sure she would get bored sooner or later.

"Fly?" Mei's forehead wrinkled. "How? Did you ask for a private jet or something?"

En shook his head and turned around. He then patted his back, giving her a hint. Mei frowned even more and tilted her head. A quick chuckle escaped En's lips upon seeing her reaction.

"There's a reason I asked you to wear those clothes," he said. "I'm sure you would spend most of your time fixing your skirt instead of admiring the view during our flight."

Mei blinked. She tried to say something, but nothing left her lips.

"You have to wear proper clothes to ride a dragon," he teased.

"We're riding dragons?" Mei's eyes brightened. "Where are they?"

Mei examined her surroundings as if she was trying to guess where the dragons were hidden in the spacious garden.

"It's right in front of you," En replied.

Mei looked back at her front and blinked repeatedly.

"You're a dragon?" Mei's brows touched.

"I am." En nodded. "Well, I'm half. I have mother's heritage in me."

"Eterians can turn into dragons?" wondered Mei. "That's news to me."

En gazed at his cousin, who looked amazed at that revelation. Hearing her words, he wondered if the family never told her that detail. After all, the only princess in the family was married to a dragon. He concluded that after what happened, maybe they didn't want to talk about his father and the Dragon Clan at all.

"Yes, a specific group of Eterians can turn into dragons," he said. "They live in small islands, so they're not well known around the worlds."

En remembered reading that before the first Dragon King took over Eteria, his clan was rarely seen in mainland Eteria and were seen as mythical beings due to their ability to shift into such a powerful creature.