Aidan and Flame found the wagon driver who’d agreed to let them hitch a ride and were about to go when a liveried servant hurried out of the tower.

“Mr. Rhiannon!”

Aidan turned around. “What?”

“A letter for you. It came last night.” The servant jogged over to Aidan, holding a square of white paper. Aidan took it and thanked the man. He walked back to the wagon, looking at the letter with puzzlement. It was addressed to him all right, with a return address in Aerievale, of all places. Who did he know in Aerievale? As the wagon set off with a creak he walked beside it and opened the letter. Flame was sitting in the back of the wagon with the three kids by her side.

Dear Aidan,
I don’t know if this’ll get to you, but I heard a rumor that you’re part of the Queen's Own, so I’m sending it to the Queen’s tower and hoping it’s true. If it is, you’ve sure gone up in the world! I always knew you’d amount to something. If you can spare a minute from saving the world, would you come and see me?
Your old friend,
Thomas.

Aidan felt a sudden flash of guilt. He really should have tried to see his old friend again. He'd been down south several times since that first disastrous trip. But there had always been something else going on...

“What is it?” asked Flame.

“A letter from Thomas,” he answered. “He says he heard I was in the Queen's Own and he wants to see me.”

“Are you going to go? You’re within a day or two of Aerievale right now.”

“I know,” he said. “I’m thinking of it. Would you be able to manage the children without me?”

“Of course!” said Flame. “Though I’ll miss you.”

“Are you going away Daddy?” asked Littlespark.

“I think so, love,” was his response.

“You promised me a flying lesson!”

Aidan grinned. “Well so I did! I’ll give you one then, before I leave.” He looked around the terrain that was slowly going past. The caravan moved at a leisurely pace. The main benefit of traveling with it was safety, not speed. Up ahead an outcropping of rocks rose above the rolling hills. “There,” said Aidan, pointing. “Once we get closer we’ll go to those rocks so we can start from a high point.” He would need a little extra altitude to get airborne with his daughter. She was only six, but tall for her age, and the extra weight would make a big difference.

“Yippee!”

He strolled along, keeping pace with the wagon easily as it rolled slowly forward. It seemed to take forever before the wagon was at last abreast of the rock outcropping. “Come on, fuzz-ball, let’s go,” said Aidan. He boosted Littlespark down out of the wagon and they ran to the stones. Littlespark climbed up first, with Aidan following to give her a boost when needed. Soon they were standing twenty feet or so above the ground. The wind ruffled Aidan’s black hair, and sent Littlespark’s orange and white locks whipping around her face. A kind of blurring came over the little girl, and when it cleared instead of a human child, a half cat, half aerian girl stood there. She looked similar to her human form, with white hair starting to turn orange in streaks. She was covered in a fine coat of white fur with fire-orange stripes starting to show faintly. Her features were distinctly feline, but her green eyes were unchanged. From her back a pair of white-feathered wings sprouted. Aidan put his arms around her from behind, getting a good grip, and said, “I’m going to take off from here and get us some real altitude. Then I’ll let go. You just spread your wings and glide. It’s easy. Ready?”

She nodded, so he spread his own white wings and jumped off of the rocks. He dipped down for a moment before he got up enough speed to start gaining altitude. Then he swooped upward. It was easy to find a rising thermal over the summer fields and despite the extra weight he managed to circle higher until the caravan below was only a string of dots, like ants. “All right,” he said in Littlespark’s ear. “I’m going to let go now.”

“I’m scared,” she said. “We’re so far up!”

“All the more time for me to catch you in. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be right here. I won’t let you fall, I promise. You ready?” When Littlespark nodded wordlessly, he let go. She gave an excited shriek and for a moment she tumbled through the sky, but then her wings came open and her fall slowed. She stopped tumbling and pulled up in a smooth glide. Aidan came up next to her and gave her a thumbs-up. “See! I knew you could do it! Come on, let’s catch up with the caravan!” He banked sideways, adjusting his course to follow the road that twisted below. Littlespark followed his example, though she turned too far at first and had to correct herself. Soon the pair was soaring over the tiny string of wagons below. Aidan dipped downwards and waved at Flame Song. Littlespark followed, gleefully buzzing the wagons. Aidan had a bad moment when he thought she might have gone too low, but she pulled up easily. She was already mastering her ability to fly. He laughed and shouted, “You’re doing great!”