The Hazardous Seventh Floor

The two newbies walked with Natucha with their luggage at hand. Since they had powerful arms, there was no problem in bringing their own bags. When they got to the door leading up the spiral staircase, Kanaru and Eann made gasps of awe. The scent of cleaning agents assaulted their noses, but the magnificence of the tower made them giddy.

As if a friendly gesture, Kanaru collected all their bags and flew up to the sixth floor first. He found a dry spot near the box window and returned to fetch Natucha. He even went past Eann, who was crawling up using his clawed fingers and toes. As for the bunny, she just couldn't jump high enough to decline Kanaru's offer. Neither were the stairs reliable.

"Wow! Can you see this?" Eann got to the same window to fetch his things, but his eyes were glued to the view outside the window. He turned behind him to find Kanaru putting Natucha down. "Are the windows only this small? I wish I could see more."

"Wait, let's see the room." Kanaru used the key ring and took out the one with the same two-headed horse engraving as the door. When he swung it open, he let Eann see the place first. 

The lizard prince squealed at the look and quickly brought his bags down. He got to the wide window that showed the distant lights of the city and the imposing walls. Since the window was at most seven meters long and two meters tall, it was enough to show off the country to whoever owned this room.

However, he figured out how unsafe the window was. It must be very cold in this place due to the ocean surrounding Middlemist. He then looked at Kanaru. "Do you think we can do something about this window? It's amazing, but I don't feel safe having an opening this huge."

"We can ask Rodnir if we can build something to cover the window." Kanaru looked out and dangled almost half of his body from it. The winds were indeed cold from the altitude, but he loved the breeze. He wondered if the top floor had the same thing.

"Kanaru, I don't think you should poke half your body out like that…" Natucha felt scared as she looked out the window. Everyone noticed the distant lights, but she realized how high they were from the ground. Since it was a tower, she could see the ground from where she looked. The view froze her body, Eann just gently pulling her back.

Kanaru heard them, but he didn't do anything. After all, he realized that the tower was high enough to look down at most of the palace. From where the window was, he could even see the central garden and the balconies looking over it. With his enhanced vision, he could see how Fenris walked out of his own balcony and leaned on the railing. Then, the king looked in Kanaru's direction as if feeling his gaze.

A smile curled the king's lips as their eyes locked. However, Kanaru didn't know if he was seeing things properly. Moreover, what a dangerous window—he could see the king from where he was. However, he still smiled back at the king before pulling away. With a stiff smile, he turned to Eann and Natucha.

"Erm, we might have to restrict the view. The ministers might find trouble with you if they realize you can see even past the garden from here." Kanaru didn't know if he should let them look outside and catch the king on his balcony.

"Past the garden? Like the king's balcony?" Natucha would jump to check, but she figured she would have to dangle half her body as Kanaru did. She pulled away as soon as she grabbed the window's ledge. "Ahem, yes, we might have to restrict your view, Eann. Is that all right with you?"

"It's all right." Eann nodded and rubbed his neck. "I mean… am I supposed to watch if he entertained Miss Sierra in his room? I guess it's better if the window loses half its width. The view from here is already so nice. We should put up a screen, too."

Kanaru felt a little shy. Right, what if he peered into the balcony and saw the king 'busy' for the day? That was a dangerous thing to find. He should just look at his room now. If there was another big window, he might as well close it without looking. Exiting the room, the three climbed the hazardous steps to the seventh floor's room.

However, unlike the room on the sixth floor, the seventh floor only had small windows for ventilation. When Kanaru opened the room, the windows didn't even offer a better view than the hallway outside. Kanaru's eyes flickered at the misfortune, but he knew how excited Eann was with his room. There was no way he could switch with the lizard now.

It was just that Eann entered as well. He took in the feel of the room, and the temperature was more regulated there than the room downstairs. Moreover, he saw a hatch on the ceiling. He then pointed it out while Kanaru was hiding his bitter smile. "Kanaru, I found something. Can you reach it?"

"Reach?" Kanaru looked at the hatch. He flew a bit to push the hatch up and poked his head out. Then, he immediately climbed out. "Oh, my God! It's amazing up here!"

"What do you see?" Natucha asked, and Eann offered to give her a boost. She was also helped up by Kanaru. When she got out, she gasped at the view of the tower's roof. The place could give her a 360-degree view of the palace and the cities far away. She could also see the dark walls in the distance.

The only difference with what it showed Eann was that she could see past the palace's main body's roof. The iced walls behind the palace were ever-imposing, giving the palace a sinister glow through the faint reflection of the moon.

Kanaru and Eann walked closer to the edge, where they could see the shining ice walls under the moon they had never seen before. When things changed, the moon's trajectory was affected. Right now, only a few countries could see it. More when it appeared over the skies of Middlemist.

"No wonder Middlemist is a bit brighter than others…" Kanaru stared at the iced walls… only for him to squint in suspicion. He could see the top of the ice walls, and something spherical was poking out of it. However, the light was too strong for him to focus his eyes on a dark object beyond the wall. "Natucha, what is that behind the ice walls?"

"Oh, that? I don't know. No one is allowed there but the king and whoever he took with him. Maybe Sierra knows." Natucha squinted at the dark thing, but she had nothing better than anyone's eyesight—what more of Kanaru's enhanced avian vision?

"Man, I wish I could ask the king to show me…" Kanaru whispered. "It looks like a satellite dish…"