It was that afternoon when Felix felt that he couldn't contain himself and decided to visit Alfie.
After leaving Michael and Peter in charge of the troops practicing hand-to-hand combat, he left the soldiers' gymnasium on floor level B2 in the military department and headed toward the east wing of the palace. There, he gave a few knocks at the door that belonged to the girls' quarters, and a few moments later, he heard a familiar voice say, "Just a moment, please."
Indeed, a few moments later, the door opened, and Felix said, "Afternoon, little elf."
The surprised Alfie stared up at Felix for a moment, dumbfounded to see him standing there at the door and grinning at her.
She said, "My Lord Felix? What are you doing here?" After all, this was the first time he had come to visit her at the girls' quarters since she had entered the palace.
Felix frowned instantly at her question. He said, "I'm here to see you, of course."
Alfie blushed in response, which pleased Felix. Since he couldn't help himself, the lord gently caressed her cheek fondly. He asked, "Are you free? Or are you busy studying?"
Alfie thought for a moment and then said, "I'm kind of done with studying for today. My brain just can't take any more reading. I definitely need some fresh air." She chuckled.
"Good," Felix said. "Then come out with me. We're going riding."
That piqued Alfie's interest, and she asked, "Riding? In a carriage? To where? The city?"
He smiled devilishly. "You'll see." Then he seductively drifted his gaze over her from head to toe, which made Alfie blush. He noted that she was not wearing any shoes inside the residence, just a pair of white socks, which he found rather interesting.
He returned his attention to her face and said, "Go and get ready. I'll be waiting."
Alfie felt flustered for a moment and then said, "Give me a few minutes." Then she rushed off along the hallway and up the stairs, leaving Felix to gaze at her backside moving delicately. Subconsciously, the lord licked his lips, deciding that he liked Alfie's adorable butt. He wondered what it felt like to touch that butt. Would it be soft? Or firm?
Alfie returned a moment later, now wearing a pair of boots, jacket, and topped off with a cap on her head.
Cheeks hot and red from rushing, she said, "Let's go."
Side by side, the two strolled in companionable silence along the exotic garden, which pleased Felix because it felt just right. Just perfect.
It was some ten minutes later when they arrived at the stables, and Alfie gasped in delight when she saw a stable master bring around a winged lion. She asked, "Are we going out riding on a winged lion?"
Felix nodded. "Ernie needs some exercise, after all."
Alfie looked up at him, her head cocked to one side. "Ernie?"
"His name," Felix said, nodding toward the winged lion.
Once the stable master brought the massive golden winged lion named Ernie up close, Alfie realized that it was the same one Felix had ridden when he had found her in the woods a couple of weeks back. Instantly, she felt a little frightened of the animal and moved closer to Felix, who grinned in pleasure.
The lord proceeded to wrap his ironlike arm around her shoulders and said, "Ernie doesn't bite."
Alfie said, "I beg to differ. Ernie hates me. He growled at me aggressively that first time."
Felix thought about this for a moment and then remembered that night when he had dumped Alfie on the winged lion after they had ensnared the youth. The beast had growled aggressively at Alfie, indicating that it had smelled something foreign and special within the vicinity. A trained winged beast could sense pure qi and would roar at the subject to inform their masters that they had found one.
He chuckled and said, "Ernie was just informing me that he had found one with pure qi."
"Really?" Alfie asked, perplexed. "So this winged lion... I mean, Ernie roared at me just because I have pure qi?"
He nodded. "Not only the pure qi, but those with either dark or gold."
"Dark or gold?"
"They are the rarest types of qi."
Alfie asked, "How many are there?"
"Ten," Felix said. "Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet are the most common and exist in creatures in the Aurora realm. The rarest ones are dark or black, pure or white, and of course, the gold, which only exists in the catastrophic class beasts."
Suddenly, Ernie started roaring, which surprised both the stable master and Alfie, who in fact jumped in fright.
Alfie said, "I don't want to ride anymore, Felix. It seems Ernie is still wary of me. If you must ride and exercise your winged lion, then by all means, do so yourself. I'll watch."
Felix would have none of that, since his sole purpose had been to spend time with her. Thus, he bent his knees, placed one hand behind her thighs and the other behind her back, and easily lifted her in his arms.
Alfie gasped and asked, "What are you doing, Felix?"
"You're not allowed to change your mind, darling," he said as he came close to Ernie and proceeded to place Alfie on its back.
The winged lion roared again loudly, which turned Alfie's body stiff in a panic attack. She clutched Felix, who said, "Easy now, boy," to the beast.
Once the winged lion ceased its growling, Felix turned his attention to Alfie and said, "It's fine now." Then he hopped on Ernie's back and took his place behind Alfie. He asked, "Comfortable?"
Alfie said, holding on to his arms tightly, "As comfortable as could be."
Felix snuggled his face against the side of her face as he said, "Relax. You'll like it once we're up in the air."
Alfie nodded. "I know, and that's why I'm trying my hardest to endure this."
Felix couldn't help himself and laughed in amusement. No wonder Alfie hadn't bolted at the sight of Ernie. He now realized that the youth wanted to ride on the winged lion and see the city from above, in the air.
Felix told the stable master to hand over the reins. Once sorted, they set off, with Ernie giving out another loud growl and then sprinting across the field.
Felix tightened his arm around Alfie's middle as the winged lion started flapping its wings and then began to ascend into the sky.