“FFFN! Fff’fff fffhhh mmmmmffn!!” Rose enthuses, eyes wide, looking out over the world in a way she’s never seen before. It’s nothing short of miraculous, and she hardly notices the ropes that the Baroness has set her in for display purposes, and she definitely isn’t letting the thick white band of silk over her mouth stop her from trying to share her enthusiasm with the princess squirming underneath her.

How could she? This is magic. This is a beauty that she has yearned for all her life without knowing, a secret spell woven on her heart. How often did she look up at the peach-bruise sky and find inside her a nameless desire? How often has she sat on the side of roads and looked up, and up, and up, at the lights flickering up and down the elevators, mysterious and incredibly distant?

After all, the Burrow Folk made no aircraft, allowed no competitors in the sky. There was no reason for them to flash warning lights so that dragons like Princess Jessic would one day be able to avoid them even in the dark, even in the fog, even in battle. There was no message they needed to proclaim to the surface, no final testament they sought to leave behind; it cannot be communication. Or if it is, it is in no code or cipher that the people of the world know.

And yet the lights flicker anyway.

The world is full of things like that! Up here, she can see them all. She grunts in delight and nudges Yue with her shoulder and gestures with her head, trying to get her to see: look, [i]below[/i] them, a Five-Tailed Firebird (not actually on fire, named for their bright plumage, tail does split into five long and distinct trails)! And, oh, oh, mmmph, [i]hmmmph,[/i] look at that, brave Knight! Look at that! The shards! [i]The sunshards![/i] Oh, if only the Princess could see! But the Princess is hiding her face, isn’t she? What a [i]silly[/i] girl, nuzzling into Rose instead of watching the world made new and strange and beautiful!

...but she cannot judge the sweet little thing too harshly. Maybe she’s afraid of heights! Or maybe she’s stuck down there! That might be it. Princesses do tend to get stuck places. That’s why Rose is going to do her best to explain everything, [i]everything[/i] she sees, even if talking’s a little difficult right now?

But, but isn’t that the fun, too? Yes, Rose is very certain that’s fun. It’s difficult to explain, but... but [i]trying[/i] to talk is more fun than [i]actually[/i] talking. It makes her feel all kinds of hot and warm and excited, not being able to talk! And Chen— ah, maybe that’s it! Maybe that’s the key. She must be cold up here, where the winds are so strong, where the air howls so incredibly, where it exerts strange pressures on the head. She must be looking for the warmth radiating out of Rose’s heart in happy beats.

No fear, little princess. That warmth is yours, too. So Rose makes sure to envelop the princess as best she can, to be blanket and pillows and comforting weight, even as she shares bright, sparkling looks with the Knight. Isn’t this wonderful? Truly, Sai a’Niz is [i]full[/i] of miracles. Just like her world! It’s simply incredible to think that one fox goddess could have painted the sky with these hyperreal colors and then given her loyal priestess the opportunity to experience it with such amazing companions!

And deep within her, a thing of scales purrs happily and settles into itself, thinking impossible things, enjoying the relief of freedom through bondage, silenced at last, and yet safe, safe, [i]safe.[/i] No mountains to lie beneath, no dark dreams, just Chen and Yue and a wide open sky, and a burning candle.