We walked out of the kitchen. I was just following wherever Ryan went—mostly because no one had actually told me which room I was supposed to sleep in.

  "Ryan, where are we going?" I asked, examining the endless tapestries on the walls. "I don't know. Just walking."

  The squirt suddenly stopped and looked at me very seriously. "Listen, Greg. Tomorrow is an important day for me. I'm being promoted in rank. This is an event on the level of a birthday, do you understand?" "Happy for you." "And do you know what guests are supposed to do on a day like this?" "What?" I suspected a trap. "Give presents."

  I snorted. "You're just a weakling. Why would you need my presents?" "When I become truly strong," the prince lifted his chin, "I won't need your presents. But for now—if you please."

  A present, huh... I thought. I was too lazy to buy anything. And I didn't feel like stealing. I simply placed my hand on the crown of his head.

  POP.

  We were high above the world. Right on the clouds.

  First, I heard a frantic, ear-piercing scream, followed immediately by some very distinctive sounds. Ryan, as expected, hurled his guts out. The sudden change in pressure combined with an instantaneous teleport was not the best combination for a seven-year-old's stomach.

  About two minutes later, he quieted down. I lazily lay back on the fluffy white edge of the cloud and stared at the moon.

  "How... how are... how are we sitting here?!" Ryan wheezed, clinging to the cloud as if it might tear apart at any second. "Oh, that. I'm partially levitating us. Relax, you won't fall."

  I couldn't take my eyes off the massive glowing disk in the sky. Ryan, finally regaining his senses, looked around.

  "Wow... Is that the castle down there? And there's the city... the river... the forest. Everything is so tiny. Like toys." He carefully lay down next to me. We looked up in silence. The stars here felt so close it seemed like you could just reach out and scoop them up by the handful.

  "It's beautiful," Ryan breathed out. "Yeah..." "Look!" Ryan started poking his finger at the sky. "My teachers told me about this: over there is the constellation of the Bear. And there's the Turtle. That's Orion, and there is the Great Dog. What about you, Greg? Do you see anything up there?"

  I squinted at the glowing dots. "I don't know. I'm just looking at their light. Oh, that star over there shines the brightest. And there's some kind of pattern forming right there... And the moon..." I hesitated. "The moon... is like silver hair."

  Ryan whipped his head toward me so fast he nearly rolled right off the cloud. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, GREG?!" "What's the big deal?" "Are you... are you in love with my sister?"

  I nearly fell off the cloud myself, but this time from laughter. "WHAT?! No, I'm not talking about her at all. Just... remembering someone. Someone with the exact same hair and the exact same eyes."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  I closed my eyes and couldn't help but smile at a distant, dusty frame from my memory.

  "Greg, it's nice up here," Ryan said quietly. "But it's cold. Next time we need to dress warmer." I sighed. "There might not be a next time."

  SNAP.

  We were back in the castle corridor. The prince instantly collapsed onto the rug. He had nothing left to throw up, so he just winced pitifully.

  "Right, I need to sleep. Could you point me to my bed?"

  Ryan stood up, swaying slightly, and led me around the corner. And right then, as if on cue, Alexia stepped out of the shadows.

  "Why are you two together?" she frowned. "And why do you look like you got run over by a wagon train, Ryan?" She stepped closer and touched her brother's face. "Goodness! Why are your cheeks freezing cold? And your hands are like ice!"

  "Greg was just showing me the stars..." Ryan yawned. "Right on the clouds."

  Alexia froze for a second. Then she smiled softly, patted the squirt on the head, and nudged him toward the doors: "March to bed. Now." "Yeah, okay... Goodnight, Greg."

  When the prince disappeared, Alexia turned to me. "And why aren't you asleep?" I shrugged. "No one bothered to show me where I'm supposed to sleep. I've just been wandering around like a ghost." "You could have just asked," she muttered.

  Her hand habitually reached out and touched my head. Her fingers buried themselves in my hair, beginning to stroke it with slow, soothing motions.

  The world instantly stopped being cold. My legs turned to cotton. I felt myself starting to tip sideways, completely losing control over my body. And she just kept petting me, not pulling her hand away. Somewhere on the very edge of my consciousness, I heard her quiet, satisfied chuckle.

  "Powered down again..." she whispered. And then I simply ceased to exist until morning.

  I woke up to an unfamiliar sensation. It was... soft. Unbelievably soft.

  Peeling my head off the pillow, I realized I was in a normal room, lying on a bed that felt like it was made of marshmallows and swan feathers. Apparently, Alexia hadn't just "powered me down" with her petting yesterday; she had also arranged for the transportation of my body to its designated destination.

  Someone knocked on the door. Short and demanding. A second later, the door was kicked wide open.

  Lianel stood in the doorway. She looked like she had already conquered a couple of provinces this morning and was currently looking for someone else to punish.

  "ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP?!" her voice hit my ears worse than an offensive spell. I pulled the blanket up over my head. "What do you want? The sun hasn't even reached its zenith, yet your sound waves are already here."

  "Get up, quickly!" She marched over to the bed and started yanking the blanket off me. "Ryan has been talking my ear off. He demands that you personally attend his promotion ceremony." She stopped and looked at me with poorly concealed irritation. "And what kind of gift did you give him yesterday? I gave him a collectible dagger made of black steel with custom engraving. I asked him whose gift was the best... And that little traitor declared that 'the best gift so far was from Greg.'"

  I sat up in bed and started scratching the back of my head. "Promotion, ceremony... Why make an elephant out of a fly? The kid just graduated from the 'completely useless' category to the 'slightly useful' category. What's with all the pomp?" I thought about it for a second. Only one valid reason to attend such events popped into my head. "Hmm. Will there be good food? Is there a banquet?"

  "Why, Greg?!" Lianel threw her hands up in exasperation. "Why are you constantly thinking only about food? You only have one route in your head: from the table to the bed and back again. Food, food, food... Is there anything elevated inside you at all?"

  I looked at her with my wisest and simultaneously laziest expression. "You know, there are entirely too many things in this world trying to kill you, deceive you, or force you to work. Against that backdrop, satisfying basic animal instincts is the most honest joy there is. Good food never betrays you. It just makes you happy for the next half hour. Sounds like an excellent deal to me."

  Lianel looked at me like I was a lunatic who had accidentally said something profound. "Get up, animal. There will be a banquet. But first—the ceremony." "Well, if there's a banquet," I reluctantly slid out of bed, "then fine, I suppose I'll make an appearance."