Saying goodbye to her family was no less difficult the second time than it had been the first. Yet, this time she wasn't as worried nor nervous as she had been. She knew what she was facing and she also had an idea of how she'd tackle it.
Still, it was the exact same set-up as last, with her entire family there to see her off.
Her mother stood in front of her, both hands covering Ciara's.
"You are absolutely sure this is what you want to do?"
Ciara glanced behind her. Last time it had been Kaisog Tao standing by her side and escorting her to the Fire Kingdom. This time it was Kaisog the dragon, the king himself and some of her closest friends doing the same. There was no doubt in her mind.
She turned back to her mother, beaming at her.
"Absolutely."
She was returned with a soft one again. "There is no changing your mind this time either, I see," the woman stated primarily to herself. "I am not worried though. You will be just fine." She squeezed her daughter's hands. "Just remember what I told you, okay?"
Ciara nodded reassuringly. "I will, I promise."
Her mother ran a hand down from the top of her head and down the side of her face, saying nothing else. Her father placed a hand on her mother's shoulder.
"Do try to remember my words this time as well," he amusedly told Ciara, drawing attention away from the increasingly emotional mother.
Ciara smiled brightly at him. "I will not forget them this time," she promised, knowing her words to be true this time around.
Aem and Madia stepped forward as well.
"Do not worry, C. We will be by to visit you once in a while and make sure you will not be getting lonely." He sent her a grand smile while Madia eagerly nodded beside him.
That was when Ciara felt a presence right beside her.
"If you both would try not to make such a big uproar out of it next time, that would be wonderful," the king said with his arms folded over his chest.
Madia raised an eyebrow challengingly. "We would not have had to if you had treated our sister properly."
The king opened his mouth to protest, only to immediately close it again.
Alex chuckled from where he stood with the fire dragon. "You got him good."
"Naturally." Madia smiled and winked.
"Nothing hurts more than the truth." Aem looked pointedly at the king. "You had better do right by her this time around."
The king just stared at the two of them. "... All the same..." he muttered to himself, though she could only catch some of the words. "I will, to the best of my ability."
Aem sent him a skeptic look, then exhaled with a shrug. "Well, I will have to take what I can get," he quickly ended the conversation, then turned to Kaisog. "You pick up his slack and keep up the good work, big guy!"
Kaisog replied with a happy yelp and thumped his tail in response.
She smiled and shook her head at her siblings. "I will be looking forward to seeing you again, you two," she honestly told them, drawing their attention away from the king.
Madia smiled widely, then drew her in for a hug. "Just do not go catching poisoned arrows or causing too much trouble, C."
Ciara returned the hug with a quick squeeze. "I will do my very best."
That was all she could do.
The king looked down at her once the sisters had pulled apart.
"Are you ready to go?"
She gave him a determined nod. If she stayed here any longer, she might very well go and change her mind. She gave her family a last wave, then followed the king to where the two dragons lay with their bellies flat on the ground to make it easier for passengers to get on.
"If you do not mind, I would like to fly back with you on Kaisog, princess," the king suddenly said. "It all became a little cramped over there."
She smiled and nodded at the king. Considering the three men in question, three people, even on the back of a dragon, might feel like a lot, so she understood.
"That will not be a problem," she assured him as she easily crawled up on Kaisog's back, having done it a million times by now.
She was just about to offer the king a helping hand when she saw him get up as though he'd done it as many times as she had.
He looked up at her once he got himself seated behind her, only then seeing her stunned expression.
"There is no reason for you to look so surprised, princess. I did a lot of horseback-riding when I was little," he said, a smile tugging at his lips.
She looked back at him, still a little surprised despite the explanation. "I see."
Well, if he was small enough and the horse big enough, perhaps the difference was pretty much the same.
Kaisog raised his head and looked at them over his shoulder questioningly, yelping to catch their attention.
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, we are ready, Kaisog."
Kaisog replied with a happy whine and immediately took off the ground with a powerful beat of his wings. The other one following close behind.
She hadn't really taken the chance to revel in the sensation of flying last time, so she made sure to fully do that this time. Enjoyed the sensation of the air flowing through her long hair and curling around the shape of her body. It was the most wonderfully free feeling of them all.
She was brought out of her short reverie when a beautiful harmony of three exceedingly familiar roars reached her. She didn't have the chance to turn and see who it was before they already had her surrounded.
It was Kapura and Rangi flanking each of Kaisog and the fire dragon's sides with Aporo flying above them. They were here to wish them goodbye.
"Thank you, you guys! I will look forward to seeing you again!"
She was met by a chorus of roars as the dragons sped a little ahead of them again, looped around and returned home under them in perfect synchronization. It was heartwarming to be at the receiving end of such a display.
"They are all really concerned for you, huh?"
Having completely forgotten he was there for a moment, she turned to look at the king.
"They are," she confirmed. "They can be a little crazy sometimes, though," she added, halfway attempting to apologize for her siblings' behavior.
"You are very lucky," he simply said, so lowly she wasn't even sure she'd heard correctly. And with them followed a long silence.
...
She once again had no idea how long they'd flown, only that it was longer than on the way there, as they weren't in as much of a hurry now.
But she knew it wasn't far yet as Crocus had come into view ahead of them.
"I should probably warn you that there are a lot of people awaiting your return, princess."
She frowned a little. "How many, exactly?" She hadn't actually expected there to be a lot of people who would've missed her.
He sighed. "The entire castle."
So, it apparently hadn't been a lie when he said he had a lot of people breathing down his neck. She saw the proof with her own eyes as they soared in the sky, approaching the castle. The courtyard was lined up with people - Royal Guards, maids and servants alike - in two rows going down from the castle doors. She couldn't say how many precisely, but she was probably not overstating it by saying there were more than one hundred people down there.
She could only stare, quite stunned as Kaisog softly landed in his usual spot by the grand willow-tree.
The king slid down from his back quickly, forcing her into movement and following closely after him.
While it was certainly strange to have her feet back on the ground after such a long trip, it was nothing in comparison to the sight of so many familiar faces all gathered in one place. All for her.
She smiled when she saw Elias, Mathilda, Chanti and Narza approaching, followed closely by Arthas, though he seemed to remain in the back.
"I am glad to see you back, princess Ciara," Narza spoke, being the first of them all to greet her.
Elias followed closely behind. "We gathered everyone here to welcome you." He smiled lightly at her. "So, welcome home, Ciara."
That was when Chanti couldn't hold it in any longer and immediately rushed at her, enveloping the princess in her arms.
"I missed you so much! Do not ever leave me again!"
Meanwhile, Mathilda was seething. "Know your place, girl!" she hissed at the maid, who chose not to hear the admonishment.
Ciara smiled brightly, attempting to blink away the tears in her eyes.
"I am glad to be back."