It was obvious that father was extremely happy for us. He is as unselfish as Tanya is. He hugged us and told us that he was proud of us.
"Tanya, I'm proud of you," he said, first to Tanya and then to me. After that, he told us to go to sleep. I wasn't tired, but he insisted that we should rest before our journey.
While lying in my bed, I was thinking about everything. Being a Dragon Rider comes with great responsibility. I could manage that. Maybe I'll be the best Dragon Rider one day, and I'll maybe conquer the Ogres. Silly dreams. I scolded myself for stupid thoughts. Finally, sleep found me and I slid into a dreamless sleep.
I woke up to see a face in front of me. I was shocked for a second, but then I realized that it was Tanya, already fully dressed. She was always up before me.
"Get up and get ready! It's an hour till dawn!" she shouted, smiling widely. I rolled my eyes at the sight. She was such a silly person sometimes. And an hour till dawn? I have a lot of time to get ready. I got up to see Tanya's back disappearing through the door. I chose the clothes from yesterday, since they were comfortable and they looked nice. Great for riding dragons. The thought of being on a dragon made me smile, and the excitement from the day before caught up to me.
I entered the kitchen to find breakfast waiting for me on the table. We had chicken and some vegetables, not what we usually eat. Nevertheless, this day is special, so I couldn't complain. Besides, chicken is good. I ate it quickly, wondering where Tanya and Father were. I checked the backyard, and there they were, sitting and talking. My least favourite thing to do. I wasn't very social, and they were always getting along well, even without me.
"I'll go and just have a walk around the village. There is a lot of time before dawn. I'll meet you at the centre at that time," I said, turning around before they could protest.
I wasn't the best at goodbyes and I've always hated emotional things. Well, maybe I was lying about having a walk. I wanted to do a few jokes for goodbyes. Truth to be told, I was nervous. Of course, I couldn't tell that to anyone, since it would ruin my reputation as a cold-hearted, strong individual. Seeing other people in trouble made me relax. As long as it was nothing dangerous, I was able to enjoy it. My first choice was Jordan. He hated me, I found him funny, and that made him a perfect target. He goes fishing every day before dawn. I took the road that led into the forest and to a small lake. After a five-minute walk, I heard voices from nearby. I was there a few minutes after that, and the voices got louder. I crouched behind a bush and peered through it. Jordan was fishing, but he had company. A girl named Marlene was with him. He was totally in love with her, but she thought herself too good for a boy like him, or that's what she told everyone. Now, I could see that they were sitting very close together, their legs hanging a few inches above water.
They were in an excellent position to be pushed. I stepped out of the bushes, as light on my feet as ever. I summoned all my strength when I came close enough, and pushed them hard. Marlene screamed and Jordan yelped. She was trying to hold onto him while they were falling. The water wasn't deep, so I knew that they wouldn't drown. They splashed for a few moments until their panic left, and then they both looked up. I couldn't sustain a grin, and I burst out laughing at the shocked look on their faces. Suddenly, the expression on their faces changed to anger, and Jordan tried to get out of the water. It was slippery, so he fell back when he tried to lift himself. That made me laugh even more, but I decided that it was time to leave. I blew them a kiss and started running towards the town. I didn't want to be late. I noticed a boy standing not far away from these two, so I knew that the story of what I had done would spread.
I hurried out of the forest, speeding up with each step. I didn't want to be late, and I wanted to say my goodbyes. I'm not entirely heartless. I'd miss my father, but it's not as if we were very close. I wasn't a good smith, so since I wasn't very strong, Tanya loved helping father in his workshop. They were happy family even without me. I was always different.
After a few minutes, I was at my destination. No one was there yet, so I guessed that there was still some time until dawn. I was about to go home, but I saw two figures approaching in the distance: Tanya and Father. I waited until they drew closer, and then started approaching. Father looked very sad. I hugged him, saying that I would miss him, but that I would take care of Tanya, and would make sure that she didn't do any of her dangerous tricks. That made him chuckle. I could bet that was exactly what Tanya told him she would do for me. I was certain of that when Tanya gave me a funny look.
By the time we shared our goodbyes, all five of the chosen were there. Father drew away, wanting us to make contact. Tanya gave him a thumbs up and hurried towards them. I wasn't as eager as she was, but I followed anyway. I stood close behind Tanya, not wanting to join in. I wasn't good at making friends, but excellent at making enemies.
"Medea, you do know that you'll get punished if you trick people so much at school?" a girl asked. I couldn't remember her name, but I knew I had seen her before.
"What is your name again?" I asked instead. I grinned at her annoyed look.
"I am Wave."
"You don't look a lot like a sea to me," I pointed out, widening my smile at her expression. I liked playing stupid. I knew I sounded like a half-wit, and I found it amusing. "But I wouldn't know, now would I, since I can't tell whether someone has seaweed for brains without knowing them better? We ca..." I was interrupted by a sudden pain in my stomach. I doubled over, out of breath.
Tanya was looking at me angrily, clenching her fist. I decided not to give in, so I punched her back. Tanya was caught off guard, and the breath was knocked out of her. After a few moments, she sent me a glare, but didn't do anything except stand up and clench her fists. I was still trying to make myself breathe properly.
"Yes, she is always so mean," she said to them instead. I rolled my eyes. She started it.
"I am not mean. I am just truthful," I said. Tanya growled at me. I smiled at her, knowing it would annoy her.
"You are a very strange person. I'd certainly like both of you as my friends," the seaweed girl said.
"After what she said to you?"
"Don't expect her/me to be nice," Tanya and I said at the same time. I continued, "Being friends doesn't stop me from playing tricks on you, or makes me be in your company and help you whenever you wish. I do what I like, and friendship doesn't stand in my way."
"Very well, but we are friends now. I know that Tanya is more than willing to be my friend, and I'll put up with you. I am Wave, but my real name is Violet. This boy is Nickolas, also known as Nick, and the girl on my right is Rush, real name Rosella, and everyone, this is Tan."
"Tan?" I asked, surprised.
"Uhm, you don't know your sister's nickname? Everyone calls her that!"
"I'm not exactly desired company."
"Well, now you know."
Three Dragons were approaching in the sky. They were flying high and gradually scooping down. All three of them were red. One had a blue belly. As they landed, we were all gathered there, staring. Then, we got something in our minds. We felt someone say hello. The dragons didn't exactly say it to our minds, but placed it into them. It was a weird feeling.
"What was that?" Tanya asked. I shook my head at her stupidity. She's not the brightest, as I always say.
"It's called mind sharing. Wind thought to you, and that's the way of communicating between a dragon and a rider. You can share your thoughts with your dragon only, and dragons understand human. Wave could share thoughts with you because I have a Mind Element, which allows her to communicate with any Rider. Now, climb on, Medea, you will ride with me alone, since I don't want any students falling to their deaths. Riding is dangerous."
Did the man really have no trust in me at all? I frowned, but got on anyway. I sat on the saddle, but as far as possible from him.
"You won't be able to hold onto me if you're so far away."
"There will be no need for me to hold onto you. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," I said. There was no way I was going to do what he said.
"Fine, but you will probably regret your decision."
And you'll regret your decision of letting me ride with you. I just thought that, not daring to say it out loud. Once everyone was settled, the dragons rose.
I was stubbornly not holding on, and we were gaining altitude. If I fell, I'd die, and I knew that.
The air was fresh up in the sky, and I enjoyed the speed that we were flying. I had my hands on the saddle, just to be sure. The wind was ruffling my hair, but I didn't mind it. I didn't care much about my appearance.
We flew for a few hours. I was getting bored and sore until we saw a huge building, as big as three villages, looming overhead, and in an even bigger clearing. That has to be the school.
I looked on with wide eyes, as we got closer. We started losing altitude, and in no time, we were landing gracefully onto the field. It looked like we were among the first to arrive. There were five other students standing there and gaping in awe. I had gotten over my excitement, jumped off the dragon quickly, and went over to Tanya. She didn't notice me at first, for she was still staring at the building. I had to nudge her to snap her out of her trance. She then nodded at me and motioned to join the others. They were already getting to know my victims...I mean, other students. Wave was the one talking at the moment. She turned towards us when we were within earshot.
"This is Tanya. She helps anyone in trouble and she is very strong. She likes everyone, even her sister, Medea. I recommend you to stay on Medea's good side, because she likes tricking people, and you'll probably be the ones with a bug in your pants at the end."
"I don't do what I do for fun. Well, I do, but fun is the side reason. My intentions are far greater than embarrassing you and making you feel uncomfortable," I said. One of the girls looked at me with pure hatred.
"I don't like you already. You better keep far from me, and if I see you doing harm to anyone, I will report you!" she practically shouted. I smiled. She was certainly a type I'd like to play tricks on.
"One cannot go against one's nature, and this is my nature. I cannot change however much I try, and I will try no more. I like myself like this, and you can report me all you wish, but I will be the one laughing at the end, always." I felt like someone stepped into my body and started speaking. I don't remember myself willing to say that, but it was smart. It managed to shut the babbling girl up. Finally, the man led us into the school.
As we went through the door, we found ourselves in a hall, which had four pairs of stairs. One was purple, which probably led to a school part called Tornado. One was light green, which led to Earthquake, and the red led to Fate. The fourth stairs were made from stone, like the walls of the building.
"The stone ones lead to the kitchen, library, and the classroom, in which, you will get your dragon. They also lead to the top of the building, the largest part where the dragons live. There are rooms for each dragon, and other spaces are for everyone. There are open spaces, and they can fly from them and get back whenever they want to," the man explained, as if he could read their thoughts.
"Where are we going now? To that classroom?" Tanya asked.
"Yes. You can go by yourself, you can't miss it. It has a big three-colour door. The colours are same as the school parts. Everybody new will go there. There is not a chance for you to miss it," the man said and walked out of the building. The other kids started to flood the hall. We hurried towards the stone stairs, not wanting to be the last. As we reached the top, we saw the door that the man had mentioned. He was right; nobody could miss it. I walked in and saw ten kids standing there. In the centre of the classroom was a tall woman with long red hair. I went to stand beside Tanya.
"Welcome to The School of Dragon Riders. It's a big responsibility being the chosen one. Other people rely on you to protect them. Today, you will get your dragons. We will now go to the Hall of Dragons. One by one, each of you will walk through it. If you hear an egg, stop, lift it, and bring it to me," the woman said as she walked out of the classroom. Her voice was dull and monotone, and she was speaking very, very, fast. Tanya walked out first, pulling me behind her. We took a few turns and then went down the stairs. Then the teacher stopped.
"I will call you by your name now. Medea Beroast, just go through that door. The hall is very long. It usually takes 5 to 10 minutes for the student to get a dragon from the hall," she said. I straightened a bit and opened the door, and then closing it behind me. In front of me were shelves on both walls, and they were filled with dragon eggs. The room was very warm, and the white walls made it seem cosy.
I started walking slowly through the hallway, my eyes always on the eggs around me. What surprised me was the fact that all the eggs were white. Everything here was white. I walked for about a minute before I heard some noises coming from an egg. I turned to the side and saw an egg tilting and cracking. I walked towards it and picked it up. It was as big as my head, and it was incredibly heavy. I had to use both hands so it didn't fall.
Tanya was clapping when I came out. Everybody else was just looking emotionlessly.
"Stand over there and put the egg beside your feet," the woman said. I did as I was told and watched as Tanya left the room. She was gone for nearly five minutes, but she came in carrying an egg twice as big as mine in only one hand. I knew that she was strong, but not that strong. On the other hand, maybe I was just weak. She put it next to me and smiled.
"Mine is prettier," I said at her amused look at my egg. "My dragon will be much faster." For some reason that made Tanya laugh.
"Oh, sister, none of that matters," she said. I was silent as students began to pile up eggs. All of them were bigger than mine was, except Nick's. His egg was even smaller. Tanya's egg was definitely the biggest.
After the last student stood with an egg next to him, the woman spoke, "I have one more piece of news for you! As you may or may not know, School Army Commanders are students, but our last School Army Commander finished school last year, so we will be choosing a new one. If any of you have any knowledge about that and wish to apply, go to the headmaster's office after we finish everything. Nevertheless, don't be fooled, you all know the stories. War Commanders are always in danger. Ogres, sometimes attack us, as well as monsters, so War Commanders have to think fast. Now, we are going to the choosing room. You will be given a reaction test, which will determine the part you are in." School Army Commander? I really wanted to apply. I am great at strategies, and I am very intelligent. I knew that I wouldn't die so easily.
"I'm going to apply," I said matter-of-factly as we started following the woman. The others looked at me wide eyed.
"It's dangerous, but you do have a mind for it. I just hope you get hurt. It would do you well," Nick said. I took it as a compliment. We were going up, taking different turns and entered a big hallway, the one you go in when you enter the school. Then we took a few stairs and finally came in front of a big stone door.
"As I said, you will now be tested. This room has a mind of its own, and it will throw you in a scenario where you will have to choose something. Now, the first one is you, Medea." I hated being the first one, but I approached the door quickly anyway. I pushed it and entered the room. It was small and cold. It looked like a perfect place for an ice giant. Yes, we do have giants. Fire and Ice giants, but they live in the other universe, approachable only by going through the portal guarded by the most powerful sorcerer, one of the sorcerers that banished the giants into another universe, after they killed more than half of the humans.
For a moment, I just stood there, but felt a presence around me. I felt it with my mind. Then I felt a voice speak in my mind.
I see you are ambitious. Highly jealous of your sister. Hurt for constantly not being loved by your father. Being hated by other children. That made you go bad and do the things you did. Trick people and make them feel uncomfortable. I know exactly what to do with you.
I didn't have any time to think about what the room said, because I was standing in a clearing with Tanya beside me. It looked real, but I knew that the room made it. If I die in my mind, do I die for real? I still wonder that, as I wondered then. Suddenly, a knife started speeding towards Tanya out of nowhere, and everything was in slow motion. I realized it then. It was a hard choice. Let Tanya die, or jump in front of the knife to save her.
I was scared for her, and for me. I was uneasy and didn't have the slightest idea what to do. However, an idea formed after less than a moment. I jumped, but not in front of the knife. I jumped and caught the knife in mid-air by the handle and fell to the ground. That's what brains are used for.
Smart. You found a hole. You are loyal, but you consult your brain as well as your heart. I'm now deciding between Tornado and Fate. You like to scare people, so let's go somewhere scary.
After those words, I was swept into another world. I was standing in a dark hallway, lit only by a candle on the floor next to me. It was a bit creepy. I picked up the candle, holding it firmly. I started walking, and found myself going through what seemed to be a hallway. Nothing attacked and I heard no sound except my footsteps. The light flickered on the dark walls, making me feel a bit uneasy. It was pleasantly cold, but then it started getting hotter and hotter. I have sort of an allergy to heat. During summer, if it is too hot and I'm outside for too long, I get ill with a weird fever of some sort. It was getting hot, and I started shaking. I was getting sick. Nevertheless, I continued walking, because I heard weird noises coming from somewhere up ahead. Then I heard a high-pitched scream. I felt like I was going to pass out. Tanya would just be sweating at this temperature, but I felt like I was going to die. I continued anyway. Someone up ahead needed help.
I walked on until I came to a point of blindness. The heat was literally killing me. I tried to walk, but I couldn't. Suddenly, I was okay, standing in a cold room. I was back in the choosing room. I felt relieved. Standing in the cold felt like a miracle.
You are in Fate.
I felt happy at those words. I came out grinning.
"I'm in Fate," I said. I expected applause, but everyone was just staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Everyone can see and feel what you went through. We saw your body's reaction to heat. Go to the school leader, now. You want to apply to an Army Commander post anyway. Tell him what happened. He will explain it to you." I didn't know what to feel after the woman said that.
Did I have a terrible disease everyone knew about except me? I just nodded and went through the hallway we came from. There were signs pointing to the direction of his office, so I just followed that. I finally came to a door with a sign on it that said, THE SCHOOL LEADER.
I went in without knocking. It was not because I felt more important than the rules, which I did; rather, it was because I forgot in all the excitement. The office was large, lined with shelves full of books. At the centre of the room was a worktable and a chair in which sat an elderly man, writing something. He lifted his gaze when I closed the door.
"Beroast, Medea. Sit, child, and tell me your worries," he said. I took a seat at the other side of the table. I told him about my heat problem. He listened while looking directly at me, which made me a little uneasy.
After I finished, he spoke, "Nobody ever told you.Medea, you are not a Beroast. After the wars with the giants, a few of the IceGiants remained on Earth. Your father found a little baby while he was taking amessage to the king. The child was partly covered in ice and was icy blue. Itwas small, much smaller than it should have been. That was the reason they leftthe child to die. He took the child in and raised it as his own, but he wasnever able to love it as much as his real child, since Tanya reminded him ofhis dead wife, and you didn't. Tanya is not your real sister. You are an IceGiant, Medea."c