Chapter 931: Back To The Royal Palace
Rowena"s heart pounded as she weighed trust and doubts, but then finally decided on the former.
"I... I"m sorry for doubting you. I just want to see my friend. Any moment delayed is another moment where I could lose him. I can"t lose Julian."
Raphael suddenly felt jealous when he heard another man"s man roll so sweetly on her tongue. So, her friend"s name was Julian and she looked so worried about him.
What kind of relations.h.i.+p did Rowena and Julian have? Were they just friends or was there any other relations.h.i.+p that
However, Raphael immediately pushed down that feeling and nodded in understanding. He didn"t want to have Rowena upset with him, so he chose to calm down.
"I know, and that is why we will get there as soon as we can," he said.
"And how will we do that?" Rowena looked around desperately. They were completely stuck inside a forest and there was no clear path out.
Raphael turned momentarily away from her and then took out a flute. It was an item that belonged to the G.o.d of Aviary, and he only confiscated it when the G.o.d of Fire was messing around with it.
However, Raphael was going to borrow it momentarily. It was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. So, he would borrow the item now and ask for the G.o.d of Aviary"s permission later.
"Allow me to handle it," he said calmly.
Rowena didn"t know what to expect from Raphael or what he"d do, but as he let out a beautiful tune from his flute, she looked around. She recognized that the flute was magical but she did not know exactly what it would do.
The forest around them did not split open and provide a clear path to Verona, but it did cause something instead.
A fierce roar echoed in the air and as Rowena looked up into the sky, she witnessed a mythical creature. Her eyes widened and she took on a defensive stance when she saw the legendary beast.
Its body, tail, and back legs were of a lion. However, it was no mere lion that came out to eat them. Instead, it had the head and wings of an eagle and talons were its front feet.
"That"s a... Griffin." Rowena exclaimed in awe.
She had read about the creature portrayed in the grand bestiary, a collection of creatures that her father once encountered in the past.
Raphael smiled and nodded as he put the flute away. "You are correct."
"And this is all because you"ve acquired a magical flute?" Rowena"s curiosity was piqued once more.
The man did say that the two of them were similar, and she a.s.sumed that it was because of them being both royalty or n.o.bility at the least... but now she was incredibly
curious of him.
Raphael smiled kindly. "Yes, that seems to be the case, doesn"t it?"
The G.o.d of Aviary could call on different sorts of birds to act as messengers, spies, and even other purposes such as this one. The flute was merely an instrument, imbued with his authority.
He stepped towards the Griffin and offered a hand to Rowena. "Shall we go to Verona now?"
Rowena looked up to him and then reached out to him. "Y-yes, let"s go. There"s no time to waste."
She couldn"t believe she got distracted by a magical flute. She needed to focus on Julian and yet another thing made her queasy. This was the first time that Rowena would go up into the air and her stomach churned.
Visible on her face was a hint of nervousness.
"This creature is gentle enough, you don"t have to be scared," Raphael said soothingly as he helped her take a seat on the creature"s back.
"Thank you, I just did not expect this to be our ride." Rowena smiled sheepishly as she held onto the Griffin"s feathers.
To her surprise, the Griffin suddenly let out a mewl that resembled more of a cat than that of a bird. Rowena"s heart relaxed a little as she sighed in relief.
However, she suddenly became conscious when Raphael took his place behind her.
The Griffin wasn"t exactly a large creature, but it could hold the two of them.
Rowena couldn"t help but feel the heartbeat in Raphael"s chest as he was pressed slightly against her back. At least, she wasn"t the only one nervous about this.
Raphael gave orders to the bird and soon they took off into the air. The creature rose up gently and smoothly so as to not make Rowena afraid, but once she had gotten used to it and felt a little braver, Rowena urged the creature to move faster.
They flew through the blue skies, soaring past the clouds until their destination was finally in sight. Verona lay and awaited before her, the kingdom close to the sea in all of its glory.
"I"m back, Julian." Rowena whispered and then said to the creature, "To the palace please!"
The Griffin followed her orders and headed for the royal palace and made its way to one of the palace"s large terraces.
A great number of royal soldiers caught sight of Rowena and Raphael in the air, and they formed a small circle when they landed down. The fearsome Griffin intimidated the entire lot of them, fortunately Prince Liam"s bodyguard recognized Rowena and welcomed their arrival.
"Your Highness—we"ve been looking for you," the royal bodyguard explained with a bow.
"How... How long have I been gone?" Rowena a
sked.
"The party ended last night," the royal bodyguard explained.
"Oh... that"s good," Rowena heaved a sigh of relief. So, she didn"t leave long. "Please take me to Julian now."
She didn"t have time to spare for pleasantries in exchange. Rowena leapt down off of the Griffin and then looked at Raphael. She had to part ways with him, but it didn"t have to be so soon. She needed to extend further grat.i.tude for all of his help.
"I—I need to deliver this to my friend, but I have to thank you again."
"I"ll come with you," Raphael rea.s.sured her as he went down and sent the Griffin back to its home.