Lunar Secrets

Chapter 1

"I hope I get a red dragon!" A young boy called to his mother as he ran from the house. Today was the day, the day that the new dragon eggs were brought in. One day every month, some of the village men would bring in eggs they had gotten from the elves and would have all the men in the town line up to touch each egg to see if it would hatch. If the egg hatched before one of the men, then the dragon liked the man and they would have a special bond.

A girl older than the boy watched as he ran through the streets. "It's not fair!" She pouted. "Why can't girls have eggs? We're just as good as any of the boys." She jumped from the roof she was on to another roof closer to the men, where she could watch.

Men of all sizes and ages were in a group ready to have a dragon, few would receive one, but those who did were lucky. "Welcome men! It is the day that those special ones will receive they're dragon! Line up behind me to begin!" A tall man called out and then there was a bunch of shoving to get to the front of the line. Finally once everyone was in line, the man nodded and the first man walked forward, touched an egg, waited and moved on. The man behind him did the same, until they had gone through the whole line and one of the two eggs hatched.

"Hmm, that's a stubborn egg," the tall man said to his companion. "I wonder what we should do with it, maybe we could make an omelet out of it."

"You know that would be impossible, those eggs are more solid than rock." His companion replied.

"Your right, well we'll just through it in the river tomorrow. But that egg is very strange, I've never seen one of such distinct coloring." He told his companion and the two men departed, leaving the girl sitting on the roof alone.

She looked down from her perch staring at the egg. They're right, it is a strange color, she thought to herself. "Let's go have a look," she said aloud and jumped from the roof to the ground. She landed all hunched up in a ball, and straightening walked over to the egg. She sat next to it, examining it for a while, but as she sat there the sky began to grow dark and starry. "I had better go home, but this egg is too pretty to spare." She said and with that she picked up the egg. As she touched the egg, it started to shake and all light was blocked out. She looked up at the moon, but it was covered. "An eclipse," she whispered softly and looked back at the egg. It cracked and she gaped wide. Finally after what had seemed like a century the egg opened and there sat a rather large dragon of the color black, it almost glowed. It looked up at her with crimson eyes gazing almost coldly. Suddenly it gave a little "thrum" of a sound and it's spines changed to a blue shade.

The girl was about to scream out, when she realized no one would ever be able to know what she had done. Hello there, the girl said telepathically to the dragon.

Hi yourself, you are truly a good person. None of those men were worthy of my grace, the dragon replied.

The girl reached down and picked up the little dragon. You're very pretty, she told the dragon politely.

You're not too bad yourself, the dragon replied equally polite.

The dragon walked up her arm and sat upon her shoulder, with his tail wrapped around her arm. So where do you live, are we going there?

I live in the seaside of Teirm, she replied to him starting to walk through the dark street. She walked down an ally that had no lights and was pitch black. It's a little ways from here, but not too far. She jumped up on a box, climbed onto a market stand ceiling and onto a roof, before jumping from roof to roof.

Well you sure are the little acrobat, no wonder I liked you so much.

The girl smiled at the dragon's comment as she saw her house up ahead. She jumped off the roof and onto the ground a few houses away. She walked slowly towards her house and saw no lights on, so she quietly opened the door stepping inside only to have the floor creek below her. She inhaled sharply as a candle went on in the corner and her mother stood there before her, but before she said anything she gasped. "You-you have a dragon!" Her mother whispered in horror.

"Yeah what of it?" The girl replied in a confused tone.

"Women are not allowed to have dragons," her mother said walking over to her daughter with candle in hand. "We are not meant to be fighters, but stay at home and be house-wives for our husbands."

"That's rubbish! I don't want to be someone's house wife!" The girl replied in defiance, the dragon stirred upon her shoulder.

Her mother hesitated seeing the dragon move she walked slowly up to the dragon placing it close to the dragon's face. "This isn't right, you will be exiled. You must get rid of the dragon, you will not live to see two more sun rises." Her mother's eyes filled with tears as she fell into a chair placing the candle on a table.

"Mother I won't die I promise you, I can take care of myself." The girl replied walking over and giving her mother a hug making sure the dragon did not touch her, but she walked away to her room and went to bed. The dragon curled up on her pillow next to her and fell asleep.

The next morning she awoke to see her dragon gone, instantly awaken she looked around for the black dragon. She got out of bed and looked around on the floor as she started to click, when suddenly she heard a dying gasp of a mouse. Turning around she saw the dragon with a mouse's tail hanging out of its mouth. She smiled at the dragon; "there you are, out for a little morning hunt."

I got hungry and you were still sleeping so I took the liberty of eating a few spare mice. The dragon replied kindly with a curt nod.

She nodded and looked out the window, "I must go, I have work." She said and turned around grabbing an anklet and placing it around her ankle. "Please stay here and out of sight," she told him sternly before walking out of the room and grabbing an empty jar and walking towards the sea. She carried the jar with both her hands in front of her hugging it gently. She reached the docs and placed the jar in the water so that it fell over the rim and filled the jar. Pulling it back out of the water she placed it on the doc and let her feet dangle in the water to cool them. She quickly got up grabbing the jar and spun around to find a town boy standing in front of her. "What do you want Jerinam?" She asked viciously.

"What do you dislike about me so Lia?" He asked her.

"You're whole being disturbs me," she replied to him, "your attitude is distraught and your ego needs to be deflated."

"Oh so harsh coming from one so pretty," he said and grabbed the jar from her. "Let me carry that for you."

Yanking the jar from his hands she pushed past him, "no I will take it myself." She briskly walked through the streets with him close behind.

"You should know it not safe to travel alone in the city, especially an unescorted girl like yourself." Jerinam said.

"And you know that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She said placing the jar inside on the kitchen table. She walked back out to find him waiting there for her.

"You know that Hunter has a crush on you too." Jerinam said to her following her as she walked back towards the sea once more.

"Hunter can die for all I care, that guy needs to get over himself." Lia said as she walked to the end of the doc and pulled on a rope that was wrapped around a piece of wood.

"Oh I can, can I?" A voice said and Lia looked up to see Hunter. Hunter leaned down and helped Lia pull up the net that was full of fish.

"Yes, you can!" Lia said pulling it away from him. She swung the net over her shoulder and walked back towards her father's old shed. "I hate both of you, why do you follow me everyday, don't you have chores?" She asked them.

"No, our fathers are out at sea so we have nothing to do." Jerinam replied to Lia. "Besides spending the day in your basking glow is enough for me."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Lia replied placing the fish on hooks and hanging them from the ceiling. She put one on the table and grabbed a large machete and chopping off the fish's head before replacing it on a hook. She did this for every fish while Hunter and Jerinam sat in the back and watched.

"Lia, please," Hunter said walking up and grabbing her hand.

Lia yanked her hand away and smacked him across the face, "I have work to do, so back off." She said swinging the machete in his face.

"Woah Lia, watch it with that thing!" Jerinam said back up to the door even though he was farther away than Hunter. "You could kill someone."

"Maybe that's the plan!" Lia threatened and jerked towards them once more, before they ran out screaming like a couple of girls. "Serves them right," she said aloud and closed the door starting to skin the fish. She stopped about half way through due to the feeling of another presence in the shed. Spinning around she came face to face with her dragon upside down. "Oh jeez don't do that," she said and went back to skinning the fish.

What was with those boys, they were rather weird.

"Yeah, well that's just how they are a bunch of jerks." Lia replied hanging another fish up and grabbing the next one.

Interesting, well if you ever need any help I'm open. Can I have one?

"What fish? You can have the heads," she said pointing to a bucket on the ground.

The black dragon hopped over and sticking his head in started to chew on a fish head, which crunched in the bucket.

"Ya know I still have to give you a name," she said to him while she worked. "I have the perfect name, Scolin." She said not stopping from her work.

That's an interesting name, but I like it, it fits perfectly. He replied to her with a smile that was covered in fish scales and blood.

She smiled back at him, before hanging up the last fish and walking out, "come on." She said as she opened the door and held out her arm. Scolin bounded over to her and landed on her shoulder, as she closed and locked the door.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" A voice shouted from behind her.

Startled Lia dropped the lock and spun on her heel to see Hunter and Jerinam standing before her. "What you two never seen a dragon before?" She asked them.

"A dragon? But you're a girl!" Hunter said turning to Jerinam who gave him the same look and they both laughed.

"And you're just a pompous jerk but that never stopped you now did it?" She said.

"I'm going to tell the entire town! That Lia has a dragon! Wait till the council tries to take your dragon away!" Jerinam said with a smirk.

Scolin lunged off of Lia's shoulder glided over to Jerinam biting at his hand that was out in the open.

"Call it off!" Jerinam shouted as he started to run away with Hunter behind him trying to get Scolin off.

Scolin jumped off and flew back to Lia landing on her shoulder, "we haven't heard the end of this." She said following the boys who were still running down the street. She went back inside and sat down at the dinner table. Scolin had gone into her room, while she ate pork with salt and bread.

During the middle of supper there was a knock on the front door, "I'll get it." Her mother said and opened the door. "Oh hello can I help you?" She asked.

"We heard that a young girl has obtained a dragon in this household. You know this is against the law and we will have to confiscate the dragon." A man's voice said from outside.

Lia looked up instantly when she heard the voice and her mother cast her a glance. She ran into her bedroom collected Scolin up and jumped out the window.

"I'm sorry, but I believe you have the wrong house." Lia's mother said starting to close the door.

The man slammed his hand down on the door and swung it open. "We'll have to look around," and three men came in trashing the house looking for Lia and Scolin. They found no trace and were forced to leave.

Lia came back in after they left and ran over to her mother, "I have to leave." She said, "it's not safe for me here anymore."

"Just hand the dragon in Lia," her mother pleaded, but knew it was hopeless. "Okay then I will pack you a few things." She said and started to pack food, clothes and other provisions, which she hooked up to a horse's saddle. "You must remember to come back, I don't care how much that dragon means to you. I am still your mother," she said starting to cry again not letting go of the reigns.

Lia reached down and gave her mother a hug, "don't worry mother, I will return." She said and got settled in the saddle, when she heard voices from behind her.

"There's the dragon!"

"It's Lia that little miscreant!" Another shouted out.

Lia saw the three soldiers that had come in earlier and she knew it was time to go. "Hya!" She called and smacked the reigns down and the horse took off in a flash. As she raced through the town people came out onto the streets with torches and lamps a few with pitchforks. "The sooner we get out of this town the better," she thought aloud and hit the reigns again the horse speeding up. She saw that the gate was being ordered to close and she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to make it or not. "Come on, come on," she whispered to herself. Time was racing as they closed in on the gate but it seemed inevitable that they were not going to make it. A few feet from the gate it closed and she pulled up on the reigns spinning the horse around to face the angry mob. "This isn't good," she thought as she grabbed the two packs her mother had packed and got off the horse. "Come on Scolin, get on the wall, I'll meet you up there!" She called.

I can't leave without you! He called to her.

"You have no other choice!" She called to him and he nodded flying off the horse and onto the wall watching her. The mob was closing in as the horse ran away into the darkness. Lia had thrown her packs onto a roof and now was proceeding to try and climb the west wall, farthest from the mob. As she got close to the top she slipped and the mob had closed in on the house. They were standing below her, ready to catch and burn her.

"Burn the house!" Someone called from below and she could feel the torches fire burning the bottom of her feet. She held fast to the wall as she made it the rest of the way up onto the roof, as she collected her packs torches started to land around her feet and the roof lit on fire. She looked over at the wall to see Scolin waiting for her. "I can make this!" She thought to herself aloud.

Lia fastened the packs to her waist and took one large leap towards the wall, her foot got caught in the roof, but she made it off. It cut her jump distance in half and she came crashing into the wall. She started to slip upon the wall once more the people below her, but she quickly caught the wall with one hand. Stopping from sliding on the wall she pulled her other hand up. Her blood dripped down the wall from the cuts and knick she had gotten. She slowly pulled herself up the wall blocking out the shouts of the angry people below. She soon made it to the top where Scolin sat perched waiting for her. "I told you," she said with a smile. She sat on the wall for a moment as she saw the gates start to open and knew they were going to follow her. She got up on her feet and started to run the length of the wall with two packs on her back and a dragon on her shoulder. She jumped onto the ground below and saw the people bursting out of the city after her, they won't follow me into the spine she thought and ran towards the mountains. She started her journey up the steep slope in bare feet knowing this was going to be the most dangerous thing a twelve-year-old had ever done.

Looking behind her she saw the towns people stop at the edge of the mountain gazing up at her. "We'll get you one day Lia!" They called up to her. "You won't live to be a dragon rider!"

Remind me to change my name, she told Scolin who nodded with a weird dragon smile and they slowly ascended the mountain as the townspeople went back to bed.

Chapter 2