5 Chapter Five: The Floating Castle

Zirian walked into Alice's chambers as the sun rose into the vast blue sky. The birds chirped and people went to work.

"Alice," he nudged her. "We will leave in a few hours for the Human Empire of Stravos. Don't you want to get ready?"

Alice slowly opened her eyes as she realized what day it was. She fully woke up and, with Cecile and Sonya's help, was ready in no time.

"You're all set, Princess." Cecile said. Sonya and her bowed before leaving the room. Zirian walked in as they left, holding a white reflective ring. "Here, this is for extra clothes. We'll be in the Human Empire for at least a week.

Cecile and Sonya are getting ready, as are a few guards. We'll leave in one hour now."

Alice nodded. "That's a storage ring, correct? Why's it so shiny?"

Zirian tilted his head. 'I never told her what a storage ring was...' He looked Alice in the eyes. "How do you already know of these S-Rings?"

Alice already knew what to say. "Well, you said that it's for changes of clothes, and I know that clothes can't fit in a normal ring, so it was just a guess that you just confirmed."

Zirian looked at her for a moment before laughing. "That's my daughter."

After a while, Zirian and Alice walked outside, climbing into a carriage before riding off through the streets to the east. Sonya and Cecile sat on opposite sides of Alice.

The people parted ways for the carriage and stared on in awe at the beautiful accents of red and gold on the black surface.

Alice began to think that since they were taking a carriage, it would take much longer to arrival at the Human Empire.

"Father, why are we taking a carriage?" She asked after about thirty minutes.

Zirian smiled. "It's because once we get to the eastern wall of the capital, we'll board an airship that will take us out of the kingdom, into Human Empire territory."

She understood and decided to take a nap.

- ETA at destination... 5:00 minutes remain -

Alice was awoke by the system. 'I was beginning to think you were gone, System.' She thought.

- Not until System Goal is Complete -

'What do you mean?'

- ... Arrived at destination -

Alice thought about what the system said as she looked out the side window. She was met with a large shadow, that connected back to a large blimp like structure.

It had four exterior pieces that had magical arrays in the centers. This is what allowed the airship to fly.

Zirian and Alice left the carriage after Cecile and Sonya got out and bowed.

Zirian turned to Alice and smiled. "This is The Floating Castle!" Much like the carriage, it had red and gold accents that seemed like vines all over the body of the airship. As they walked inside, Zirian gave Alice a tour of the entire thing. After allowing take off, of course.

Their were ten bedrooms for the royal family, a few gust rooms, and commoner rooms for the servants. The commoner rooms however, were very spacious, seeing as they had to accommodate a few people each.

Each room had a bathroom, which toilets that made human excrement and piss disappear into thin air. Alice's room was right next to Zirian's.

She walked in, immediately walking to the window. Looking down, they were already high above the clouds. She turned to the rest of the room, noticing a large bookshelf and a desk with a light crystal on it, possibly for studying.

On her bed were white bedsheets and a large plush bear with a pink bow. She had a couch and on the opposite side of the couch was a cabinet, which had multiple games in it. The Astrea equivalent to games like Chess, Risk, etc.

She walked out of her room and into a common area, where she found Zirian talking and laughing with a man that looked similar to him.

He had red hair, and similar attributes to Zirian. A woman also sat with them. She too had red hair, but her skin was more pure and soft. Her face was gentle and her voice was quiet.

Zirian noticed Alice and waved her over. "Excuse me for never introducing you before, Alice. This is your Aunt Astris, and your Uncle Damien. They are my younger brother and sister who have been traveling the world in this Floating Castle.

I've never been able to introduce you because this is the first time I've seen them in ten years."

Alice bowed. "How are the two of you?"

Damien immediately gasped. "Zirian... I didn't know you liked them so young."

Astris shook her head. "He's a lost cause, Damien. A stupid pervert eyeing little kids."

Zirian immediately snapped at them. "She's my daughter! I was secretly married shortly after you left and we had her. Her mother didn't survive the childbirth though."

Astris got up and inspected Alice. "Where are her wings? Every demon by the age of five has wings or at least the markings showing they've been put away."

Zirian laughed. "Oh yeah... her mother was a Fallen Angel." Her rubbed the back of his head.

Damien and Astris' jaws dropped. 'A F-Fallen Angel?!?'

They grabbed Zirian. "Are you serious?!?! Do you know the conflicts that will be fought over her blood?!?!"

Zirian nodded. "That's why we tell people she was born with a very rare type of wings. Demons have sported Angelic wings in the past."

Damien shook Zirian. "Only Lucifer and Satan, dumbass! You know, the first two Demon Kings!?! The Fallen Twins?!? The Corrupted duo?!?!"

Alice sighed. "I'm standing right here, Uncle Damien. Since we have the time to kill, why don't you tell me about the first Demon Kings?"