The Legend of Oescienne - The Finding (Book One of the Oescienne Series)

Chapter Eighteen - The Elves of Dhonoara

Jahrra cleared her throat as they came to the bottom of the hill and said, more to disrupt the awkward silence than anything else, "So these lessons are going to be like my Kruelt lessons? Top secret?"

Jaax didn't answer for a while so Jahrra shot him a sideways glance. He was smiling, though his eyes were trained keenly on the path ahead.

"So," he drawled, "Hroombra has finally started teaching you the language of the dragons."

Jahrra nodded. "Do you speak it?"

"Tehna."

Jahrra's heart skidded to a halt. She knew tehna meant yes, but she was suddenly terrified Jaax was about to start speaking to her in Draggish.

As if reading her thoughts, the dragon said "Shall we continue the conversation in Kruelt?"

"No," Jahrra said too quickly.

She immediately flushed. Now she was going to have to tell Jaax just how much of a challenge the language was for her. One more point against me, she thought miserably.

She was surprised when he answered, "Very well, another day perhaps."

Jahrra had been so absorbed in their conversation that she was surprised to look up and see a crossroads ahead marked by a crude sign. The arrow that pointed eastward read Aldehr Lake & Edyadth and the one that pointed northward read Raenyan Wilders & Glordienn. She remembered taking the eastern road when she and her friends went to Aldehr Lake once, but Jaax motioned her to lead Phrym down the northern road this time.

"I thought we were going into Aldehren," she commented, her voice overtaking the soft plodding of dragon's feet and horse's hooves and the delicate swish of Phrym's tail.

Jaax waited a long while before answering, "We're not going into the city but to the home of two elves, Viornen and his wife, Yaraa. They're old friends of mine and just happen to be excellent trainers in the arts of combat. They can teach you basic defense and attack maneuvers, fine tune your horsemanship and perfect your archery."

Then his grim mouth tweaked into a tiny grin. "Not to mention, they're the only people in this province that I can trust with this task."

Jahrra blinked at him and secretly wondered if Jaax truly trusted anyone. But elves! she thought with a thrill.

The path they now followed ran snuggly along the base of a range of steep hillocks. Jahrra looked around warily and frowned, despite the bright sunshine warming her skin. The trees along the dreary road appeared to be sick with a cold and the empty wood and its depressed surroundings would surely turn away any traveler that happened by; except for one girl and the dragon following her of course.

Well, this path sure goes well with Jaax's personality. My new trainer is probably just as bad as he is. Jahrra thought with a sigh, forgetting the wondrous images of magical elves she had envisioned earlier. She tried with all her might to make light of the situation, but she simply couldn't find anything pleasant to look at, even the occasional lizard or bird was dull and comatose.

They continued down the trail for another half hour or so and gradually the intermittent oaks became so crowded that any light making its way through the thick canopy was stopped before it could reach the ground. These trees, Jahrra noticed, looked less depressed than the others, but she was convinced it was only her imagination. A few more turns around the dusty lane proved her wrong, however, when they came upon a bright cottage tucked back into a secluded gully.

Jahrra gaped in surprise, astounded at the contrast the cheery white house made against its boring surroundings. It was a single storied place, constructed of stone and topped with a red wood pole roof. There was smoke of a peculiar purplish color rising out of the tall chimney, and the front door, a rich blue in color, was open to a stone path that led out onto the road.