Cloak and Scalpel

ABERLEEN ARC: Gold Coin

"Lesley, open your eye."

Lesley kept her eye shut tight.  She could feel the wind blowing past her, feel the chill as they soared higher, and higher.  Gusion's voice was nearly lost amidst the whoosh of the wind in her ears.

She shook her head in protest, tendrils of red hair whipping around her.  "Not for anything!" Lesley snapped.

"You're worse than Diana!" There was a teasing lilt in Gusion's voice.

"Don't be an ass, Gusion," Diana was saying from in front of them.  "Give her time to adjust.  I mean, I'm pretty much scared of heights myself."

"You don't look scared," Gusion pointed out.

"That's because I have such a reliable fiancé who'll catch me if I fall," Diana said with cheeky snark.

"Is that so?" the duke's voice answered.  "Shall we go for a little freefall then?"

"Don't you dare!" Diana snapped, and Lesley could hear the duke chuckling in amusement, the sound lost amidst the roar of the wind in their ears.

"You're gonna miss the view if you don't open your eye," Gusion pointed out.  "We wont' be riding Tyrasos forever, you know.  Might as well appreciate the view from up here while we can.  I promise, it's not so scary after a while."

Lesley let out a small hmph! of annoyance.  And then she sighed and slowly opened her eye.

Her eye widened and she blinked rapidly in surprise.  Surrounding them was a vista of clear blue sky and fluffy white clouds floating serenely by.  The pure white of the clouds glowed gently with sunlight, giving them an ethereal quality that left her speechless.  She watched in fascination as Tyrasos's leathery wings cleaved the air, stirring the fluffy clouds around them.

"Will you look at that," the sniper said with silent awe in her voice.

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Gusion said, glancing over his shoulder at her.

Lesley chuckled, the wind whipping past her thick red hair.  "I gotta admit, it is," she said.

And then her eye fell on the ground far below them.  "Gods above!" Lesley said, quickly clinging to Gusion's waist.  "How far above are we?"

"I'd say...roughly eight thousand feet?" Diana answered.  She was seated in front of the duke, and Lesley couldn't make out any of her features.  Her voice sounded thoughtful.  "I mean, it's almost cruising altitude for short-haul planes in my world."

Lesley had no idea what the young woman was talking about, and she frankly didn't care.  All she cared about was that deadly drop below them.  How could the duke be so confident, be so trusting of the dragon that frankly held their lives in her talons?!

"You okay?" Gusion mumbled, looking back at her with concern.

She scoffed. "Of course," she said, pulling her gaze away from the fields of brown and green far below.  "I mean...it's just a little...heights."

Gusion chuckled and she glared at him.  "You can hold me tighter if it scares you," he pointed out.  "I don't mind."

"Say that again, and I'll snipe you."

____________________

Tyrasos made her descent in the afternoon.  She landed in a forested clearing just outside the planes of Avalor.  Aamon leapt off her, helping me down after.  I grinned at him as his arms wrapped tighlty around me.  "You can let go of me now," I said as my feet hit the ground.  He chuckled as he held me closer.