.:Chapter One:.
It all began on a warm, sunny day.
The birds were chirping and singing their beautiful songs, though they were hidden from view. The forest, in its own sense, was never quiet, and today, a young girl hoped to use this to her advantage.
Her name was Dragon-Hopeful, a youth going on sixteen years at the time. She had left the day before on the search of the one thing she'd wanted more than anything else in the world: An egg. Not just any egg either. She wanted a dragon egg. Hopeful had left her town the night before, determined to prove that she could steal and raise an egg as good as any Dragon Tender. She'd tried it a few times before, but she had never been able to hatch a dragon. The eggs had always died. Now though, she knew this just had to be the time. Hopeful had a general idea of where she would find a dragon eggs, but she hadn't found it yet. To be truthful, she was mildly sure that she had been going in circles ever since she woke up. However, at nearly noon, she heard a crunching. Curious as she was, she was also cautious, immediately spotting a tree with branches she could reach. Thanks to many long days of climbing trees, she had no issues with grabbing onto one of the branches and quickly heaving herself up. She waited, watched, and listened. No dragon came walking past, but she could hear the distance crunching still going on. For her own safety, she drew her bow, trusting her balance on the branch as she drew an arrow. Like her mother before her, she had skill with a bow. She wasn't advanced by any means, but she could usually hit her target, depending on whether or not they were moving, how quick they were moving, and how far away they were. The wind wasn't always so forgiving either when she tried to shoot.
In any case, Hopeful, with an arrow at the ready, waited in the tree for a few more minutes before she had to drop out of the tree, absorbing the fall as best as she good. Keeping low, she crept forward, the crunching sound getting closer. Finally, she saw a huge cave in the middle of the forest, where there were many large dragons wandering about, more than she had ever seen. She knew immediately that her flimsy arrows would be no use against their scales. Her only chance was to remain unnoticed.
Hopeful crept around the edge of the treeline. She could see a large pile of dragon eggs near the entrance of the cave. Her eyes narrowed. This was it. If she could steal just one of those eggs, she would be on her way to be the Dragon Tender she'd always wanted to be. Which one though? She knew nothing of the different breeds of dragons and what they did. It was then, as she pondered her choice, that her eyes fixed on a single egg.
It seemed to be about the average size of the rest of the eggs, and pure grey. She couldn't help relating it to light storm clouds. The egg was surrounded by what looked like fog, and, to her surprise, it seemed far enough away from the other eggs to grab without a dragon noticing. Quickly slinking towards the egg, she hesitated as her hand touched the egg. Though surrounded by fog, the egg was surprisingly hardly damp at all. And, at the same time that she felt this, there was also something else. Something just changed. She couldn't tell what it was, but it sent a shiver up her spine. She grinned wide as she picked up the egg and made it away without anyone noticing. Once she was clear away, Hopeful brushed her hand against the top of the egg, listening, waiting. Nothing happened.
Sighing, she admitted, "Maybe I just can't hear you yet. One day, though. One day, when I'm an experienced tender, I'll be able to hear you. Someday." A little disappointing, she concluded, opening the satchel she had brought and stuffing the bottom with grass before she gently placed the foggy egg into it. She closed her satchel, and immediately began to wonder what she was going to do now. According to law, she was allowed three more hatchlings, but she wasn't sure if she should start off with her hands so full.
Despite this, there was nothing she could think of that would be better than raising her first four dragons at the same time. All the others my age are starting off with one dragon I bet, thinking that it'll be easier. To think, they thought I wouldn't be able to raise one dragon. Hah! I'll show them. I'll raise four!
Her heart set on getting another three eggs, her attention was drawn to the volcanic islands. A true fire breather wouldn't be so bad. Wanting to make it there well before the day was done, she set off immediately. Using a map her father had given her, she navigated through the woods as best as she could, not even sure if she was in the right place until she reached a coast, the waves beating relentlessly against the shore. Not far off, the volcanic plains stretched out, awaiting her arrival.
The volcanic plains were just that. Volcanic and plain. No normal plants grew there, and the ground was warm, hot to the touch in some places. For the most part, the plains were made of molten rock from past eruptions. The nearby volcanoes were pretty active. Luckily for Hopeful, they had no intention of blowing any time soon, though the heat still easily caused her to break into a sweat. As before, a pile of eggs stood a short walk away, while large dragons roamed about, some checking up on the eggs. A few of the eggs stood away from the others. The one that caught her eye was a soft blue egg with a gray marking, like a shield with three points. It was conveniently set in front of the rest, as if guarding them. She didn't know if this dragon would breathe fire, but something told her that this was the one she should get. She obeyed this instinct, creeping over to it. While two others caught her eye, next to each other and behind the others, she still picked this one, carefully avoiding the eggshells as she slipped back onto the coast and away from the heat of the volcanic area.
With two eggs now snuggled in her bag, and some time still in the day, she headed by to the forest, arriving at dusk. A few minutes after that, she found herself back at the cave where she had gotten her first egg. Though she had wanted to get them all from different places, this seemed as good a place as any to get her third. After all, four was four. She looked at the remaining eggs. By now, some of the dragons had already gone to sleep, but others still guarded the cave. A seemingly sleeping dragon was posted at a pond. Hopeful at first took this nothing, but then noticed objects floating in the water like wood. Eggs. She decided to take a chance, sneaking over to the pond. All the eggs there were the same, so she picked one, and began to walk away when suddenly...
A roar sounded behind her, like nothing she had ever heard before. The second she heard the roar, there was a bright flash, and a thunderclap sounded. She ran. Her heart beating out of her chest, she wrenched her satchel open and put the egg in as the rain began to fall down in torrents.
In minutes, the sky was dark with clouds, and the rain had soaked through her clothes; Still, the dragon chasing her did not let up. It chased her until she was near the summit of the mountain. The faint sound of crunching eggshells had been drowned out, so there was nothing to warn her that she was near a hatching ground until she stumbled over an egg. It was nearly translucent, and Hopeful could even see a little baby dragon curled up inside. She quickly grabbed it, putting it in her satchel.
I have all four. She thought to herself, but she couldn't linger on it for long. That dragon is still chasing me! There was another flash of lightning. Through the dense rain, and gathering fog, she could see figures, dragons and hatchlings in the distance. Suddenly, one of them was coming closer, and quickly. She didn't recognize the type of dragon it was, but she knew that any dragon, or at least, most dragons, could kill her. She scrambled to hide, but this dragon wasn't after her. It ran right past, and the sound of dragons roaring and shrieking almost overpowered the storm. There was a very blunt sound, like that of something hitting the ground, and hard. Then two roars, and then wingbeats, moving steadily away. As Hopeful watched, the storm started to dissipate. First, the rain slowed, then stopped, and then the clouds began clearing. And by the time they did, Hopeful was already at the base of the mountain. Drenched, cold, and in need of shelter, the youth ducked into small cave, more of an abandoned animal den in the side of the mountain, shivering and tired.
She reached into her bag, taking out the four eggs. Though the pale egg had been put in last, the blue egg had somehow ended up on top of all of them. It seemed to have taken the worse beating, with scratches and scrapes, and even a spot where part of the shell was a little cracked, though not broken through. The others looked relatively fine. Maybe a scratch here or there, but nothing broken. She listened once more, but still could not hear the baby dragons inside calling to her.
Hopeful, having nothing dry to change into only curled up on her side with her back against the wall, hugging her four eggs close. She closed her eyes, and eventually, she fell asleep.
[I hope you enjoyed it!]