Four Suits (Book 1)

Day 42-3: Palace

   Sparkly-eyed, Leda climbs right behind him.

   "Being able to transport yourself anywhere you want sounds amazing."

   "It is," he agrees. "If only the same can be done to the one in possession with my heart."

   Leda sweatdrops at once. She avoids his gaze. "Mhm. I-If only..."

   Orian offers her a sympathetic glance as he gets on beside her. After a brief inquiry ensuring they haven't forgotten anything, Leda scans the room.

   "Even if we're supposed to be levitating, how are we supposed to get through the—"

   The bed lurches into the air before she can finish. In unwarranted speed, it manoeuvres to the exit and tilts enough to allow their bed to zip through bedroom door as well as the gaping front entrance. Leda practically stumbles and would've been tossed right off if not for grabbing onto Orian in time, and Orian for hugging onto the wood of the bed for dear life.

   "A-Avel!" she yells.

   His amused laughter is stifled by the smothering wind that whiplashes their faces. 

   "My apologies," he chuckles. As if to appease them, they decelerate, and match pace with Ro's bed which he's taking meticulous care not to harm. "I keep forgetting how much you're unfamiliar with Straeh. Are you all right, my lady?"

   She crawls properly onto her knees, heaving heavily to stabilize her quickened pulse. "Almost got a heart attack and plummeted to my death, but alive. Orian?"

   "I-I'm fine, too, Master," he replies.

   Having regained her strength, Leda fixes her gaze ahead. The sight unfolding before her is breathtaking. High up in the sky, the entirety of Compa and the surrounding land glistens under the midday sun, alongside the beautiful colours fluttering through the air. The wintry breeze chills her cheeks and flays through her hair, but the cold is lost to her wonderment.

   "W-we're flying," she stutters. "We're actually flying!"

   "That, we are," Avel chortles.

   She can hardly snap to her senses as the scenery blurs past her eyelids at a faster pace than she can follow. "Is this really happening? Wow. Straeh is amazing!"

   "Master," Orian says, transferring his gaze from the view toward her. "Let's not forget where we're headed."

   "I'm not," she says. "I'm not, but..."

   Avel's lips curl wider as he sneaks a glance at her. "I'd love to take you on a tour—show you around the kingdom to your heart's content," he says, "but for the sake of your companion, we should save that for later."

   Leda tears her focus onto the bed flying adjacent to them—at Ro's gruelling state, and his face wretched in pain—and her stomach clenches. She nods. "Please do."

   "Hold on tight," he instructs, tapering his eyebrows. "Amore is still ways ahead."

♥♦♣♠

   Let alone the exterior of the palace, the prince of Hearts' bedroom is larger than any house Leda's ever imagined. All the floors are a glossed marble, slippery to the touch and spaced out with woven carpets. Disregarding the cluttered books and documents scattered about, there spins a staircase at the back corner of the room, leading to another secluded floor. Portraits adorn the walls, of Avel as a child and other unfamiliar people.