Raven's P.O.V (surprised?)
The next day I was excited. Valerie was going to show us whatever it was that she went to do in those trail rides through the forest. I had noticed her trips since the first day I had come to the stable, because when I had got here, she was just coming back. I have to admit that I had enjoyed horseback riding a lot. I was still afraid that the same thing that had happened with my ex best friend, Gaby, and my ex boyfriend, Cole, would happen here. But little by little, Valerie and Anne had gained my trust, however I still can't let my guard out and they don't know all my secrets. Still, Valerie was going to trust us with whatever her secret was, something that she hadn't even remotely mentioned until we had confronted her about her suspicious behavior. Maybe I should be brave and tell them my past. But I'm still not ready.
The school day dragged on and on, and I could see that Anne was just as curious as I was, and that Valerie was extremely nervous.
Finally, class finished, and Valerie's mom, Katrina, offered to take the three of us to the stables. When we got there, I tacked up Carnival for class. When it finally finished, I asked:
"So, what's the story?"
"Well, I've always liked exploring, and one day, I found the forest that we're going to. What I had said before to Anne about the cave was true, but I'd cleared the path a long time ago. That's what I can tell you for now."
"Ok, I'm just super impatient to know what it is."
A while after we had entered the forest, Valerie told us to shorten our reins, and be ready for our horses to spook. We rode into a clearing. I looked around, and I noticed that there were some deep marks on the floor. They looked familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. I spotted the cave, at the edge of the clearing, and I was wondering if we had to go in, but Valerie hadn't said anything about dismounting.
The thing I least expected, was that Valerie took off her right glove. I noticed I had never really seen her palm. She always wore gloves, or kept it busy doing something with it. She held it up, and I saw a coppery mark, in the shape of a crescent moon. It glowed blue at the borders.That is when I knew what was happening.
"What is that?" Anne asked.
"You'll see." My friend answered cryptically.
A few seconds later, I heard really loud flapping. I looked up, and to my surprise, my gaze met a dragon! My mouth dropped, and I could sense Anne's had too. It was quickly descending, and it had bright bronze scales, with blue at the tips. The dragon landed, and I could see that it's eyes were sapphire blue.
"Anne, Raven, this is Isaldrí, my partner of mind and soul." Valerie introduced.
"Hello Anne and Raven." A voice sounded in my mind.
I knew it when I saw the mark.
"Dragons are magical creatures, and are extremely intelligent. They have the ability to speak with us using their minds." My friend quickly explained.
Trying to get over my shock of seeing an real dragon, I started asking questions. This was so amazing, and I had like a million I wanted to answer.
"Calm down Raven. I'll explain everything."
"Ok." I said cheerfully.
"It started when I was on an early morning hike during fall break in my uncle's cottage. I found a weird stone, the same colors as Isaldrí's scales. There was something really familiar about everything, but I didn't know what. That afternoon I was studying it, when Isaldrí hatched. That's when I realized that it was super similar to the events of Eragon. Anyway, I hid Isaldrí in the forest where I'd found her until break ended, and then when it was over, she came here. Now you must understand that it is incredibly hard for both of us to be separated for long periods of time, so I obviously came here every day. About three weeks after she hatched, she started talking to me. We could already send feelings and mental images to each other, but she couldn't talk until then. A while later, we flew for the first time. Anne, you must have noticed that I took one of the saddles from the stables. The reason for that, instead of riding bareback, was because if I did, I would wreck my legs. That's about it. Oh, and all those times I had a dreamy look on my face was because I was talking with my partner."
"What about your improvement with Flicka?" Anne asked, talking for the first time.
"I'd forgotten about that-"
"I thought that maybe it would be a good idea for Valerie to try to communicate with her like she does with me, since she was very nervous about the competition. Flicka has been around me for about a month and a half now, so that made it easier." Isaldrí explained.
It still surprised me when she talked in my mind.
"So anyone could try that?"
"No. It was possible because of the Dragon Rider bond, and again, because of all the time Flicka has spent with me."
Anne's POV
I was shocked that Valerie was a Dragon Rider. It was clear that Raven was almost jumping with excitement, but I had taken longer to process everything. After all the explanations, I said:
"Sorry for acting so weird. It's just that this is a lot to process."
"It's ok, Anne. I couldn't believe it myself either when it first happened."
Isaldrí interrupted our conversation.
"Do you want to fly Valerie?"
"Of course." She replied. It was so weird hearing them in my mind.
My friend went to the cave, and took out something wrapped in plastic to protect it. When she opened it, it was a saddle. She put it on Isaldrí, attached the breastplate, and tightened the girth. It looked hard, considering Isdalrí was bigger than a normal riding horse.
"Ugh, it's getting small. I can't wait for the new one to get here!" She complained.
"New one?" I asked, wondering if there were bigger horse saddles.
"I custom ordered one, on the pretext of a movie. You see that I've made some adjustments to this one in the meantime, and that one already has them incorporated. I used my winnings from the competition."
When she finished, she climbed on Isaldrí, using the dragoness' leg for support, sat in the saddle, and put her legs through what I recognized were the stirrup leathers, only that adjusted to hold her legs. She tightened them, told us to stay back and control our horse, and then, Isaldrí bounded, jumped into the air, and started flapping her wings to ascend.
Valerie's POV
Isaldrí took off, and a smile split my face. I was happy because I'd been able to introduce her to my friends, and none of them had reacted badly, as I feared.
"Want to show them what we can do?" She asked me.
"Go for it."
Isaldrí went into a steep dive, and like we practiced, pulled up a few meters from the ground.
"Show off."
"It's not my fault that I'm awesome." She protested.
"Barrel roll?"
We dived again, spiraling as we went. We ascended again when we finished.
"Shall we show them the new move we've been practicing?" She asked.
"All right." I relented.
I unbuckled my legs from the straps, carefully passing my right one on top of her spikes, and ended up sitting sidesaddle.
"One, two three, go!"
I jumped, and I could hear Anne and Raven screaming. I focused on angling my body just right, and a few seconds later, Isaldrí swooped under me, and I landed on her back. I buckled my legs again, and we landed.
"I got so scared when you jumped off!" Raven exclaimed. "I want to do it too!"
"Calm down. First you have to learn to fly normally, and have practiced 'falling off a horse' many times. Knowing that, you probably won't hurt yourself if the trick fails. Second, you need a lot of practice with the other tricks, and you have to start small. The first time I did it it was from that small cliff, since it isn't as dangerous. Third, I would prefer for you to fly with me mthe first time, but this saddle is too small, so you'll have to wait for the new one to get here. Last, it is a lot easier having the mind connection. It isn't easy for someone that isn't a Rider to communicate with the mind, but it makes it easier if someone else starts the contact."
"That's so bad. I wanted to."
"I promise that when I get the new saddle I'll let you both fly with me, if you want to, but no tricks at first."
"Ok." They both agreed.
With that, I untacked Isaldrí, put her things away, and the three of us rode back.
"Promise me that you won't reveal this to anyone else, and that if you are going to talk about it, to do it where no one can find out."
"Of course Valerie." They agreed.
Hi guys, I hope you liked this chapter. What do you think about the different points of view? And the sneak peak of Raven's past? From now on I'm going to use the other points of view more, and it will mainly be Valerie and Raven. Remember to comment and vote if you liked it.
~Valerie.