A Fifth Daughter [Book 1: The Dragon Rider]

Chapter ~ 2

For me, it's like someone put me into a blender and hoped I'd come out sane. When I first had that thought I was five or six and my child-mind pulled up an image of a baker tossing ingredients around, and over the years the idea has strengthened and stayed as a distant memory. He throws in a pinch of black hair, a squirt of violet and a dusting of golden eyes, a little sarcasm, a bit of defiance, a fear of heights, and a bucket load of mishaps. I'm my own recipe for a somewhat pretty disaster.

"I'm not hungry." I whisper quietly. Ryler snickers under his breath, but straightens up as soon as Mom's critical eye hardens on him.

"It's just nerves." Katie – our adopted aunt and Mom's help around the house – concludes, smiling lightly at me. Her shoulder-length grey hair brightens her blue eyes. She has a kind face, one a grandmother should have. "They'll drain away by morning, or maybe, if you're lucky, before you even go to bed." Great, more reminders.

"It's probably the fear of getting a desk job." Ryler mumbles around a mouthful. I kick his shin under the table and he splutters on his meal.

"Ryler Hush Green," Mom says, looking completely baffled about why he'd spit out his food. I stifle laughter. Getting reprimanding by your full name is always the worst. "If you're going to chew your cud you are welcome to sleep with the cows in the barn."

Next to Ryler, Chase puts a hand to his mouth to hide his laughter in a fit of coughing. I try to remain as passive as possible, but ultimately fail when Ryler looks up at me like an abandoned puppy, because now I'm coughing to hide my laughter too.

Mom huffs from the end and braces her hands against the table. "Children, honestly. You can all enjoy the hay for beds tonight."

"Ooh... a birthday sleepover in the barn." I say, smiling brightly. I can still sense my nerves, but slowly they're dispersing, especially with my brothers' help. "That'll be fun. We'll stay up all night and play Uno."

Ryler nods excitedly. "I'll play and whoop you three out of five."

I scoff. "Keep dreaming, Ry."

"It was a given fact, not any dream."

"Uh-huh... sure it was. You're going to lose."

"Whoa, whoa." Chase leans forward. "I'll take you both out."

Ryler and I share a common look then turn to Chase. "You're on." We say in unison. We all three shake on it, trying to look as serious as possible and failing.

"Children!" Mom slaps the table to get our attention.

"Yes." We all turn to look at her.

She glares for a moment longer then shakes her head with a sigh. "Have fun."

Oh, boy. Fun isn't a big enough word to cover what's going to happen tonight.

Exceptionally abnormal, unlawfully crazy, and – you know what, never mind, adjectives aren't going to cover it either.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious might do it. Maybe.