New look, same great taste! Or, at least, same basic ish-esque-ness of it all. But completely redone! Or, somewhat redone, anyway. Dangit, I will never be a good commercial this way...
But anyway, Caleea's POV for the first chapter. And her POV until the fourth chapter, actually. Again. Lol. The other version, the crappy(er) one, will be deleted soon. Hopefully this one's better. There wasn't much change to the first chapter here, but a few bits and pieces were changed and edited and such since our storyline is adjusted. :)
Hope we get some new readers and keep our old ones and, well, hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1:
Every life is a story, Caleea mused as thunderous applause filled the dining hall, whether it gets written or not. And each of the four apprentices walking the tables around her were about to start a brand new chapter.
Caleea secretly envied them. She envied them their stories. Her tales about young holder girls, heroic dragonriders, brave craftsmen—all of them triumphed in the end. Triumphed just like the new journeymen were doing tonight; a perfect contrast to Caleea's own life.
Each of the boys had been at the Harper Hall at least two turns and Caleea knew they were deserving of their new titles. She didn't begrudge them their right to success.
The clapping died down, all breaths held, as yet more journeymen stood from the oval tables. Three. The long apprentice tables nearer the great hearth were amazingly and unusually silent in anticipation as the last journeymen approached.
Sighing inaudibly, Caleea ignored the tension surrounding her and speared another bite of the now-tasteless roast wherry with her knife, peering around the dimly lit cavern. She couldn't see her friend, but then again it would be extremely difficult to pick him out of a crowd if he didn't want to be seen.
As footsteps sounded behind her, Caleea politely set her knife down and glanced to both sides. After the events of this evening—namely, returning one of the girls' bracelets her friend had stolen when he "was bored"—she'd been in such a haste to find an open seat she hadn't noticed who she sat near.
What could the Masters be thinking? Caleea wondered, eyes wide, as she absently brushed a brown curl away from her face. The only apprentice within four places of her that was even possible of walking yet would be Brendi; and while she did show more promise and natural talent than the others sitting nearby, she was no Menolly; she couldn't possibly—
A hand on Caleea's shoulder halted her speculations and she slowly turned her head, barely able to hope. After a second that felt more like a Turn, she faced Journeyman Talan, a broad grin on his lopsided face. His adorable lopsided face.
In her shock, she had to concentrate hard to keep her curious little green from darting into the hall to see what was going on. If Minia came in now, it would only cause more attention to be drawn to Caleea, and that she wasn't keen on. It was bad enough she owned a green fire lizard; apprentices didn't own anything.
"They're sending us to find a clutch?" Caleea asked the boy in front of her for the third time.
"Mmhm," the boy, Val, murmured, pressing on ahead of her through the increasingly soft sand. Caleea'd only met him about a month ago, when she'd first come to the Harper Hall, but from day one she'd figured out he wasn't exactly someone to trust with valuables.
"Why?" she asked, trying to convey all of her disbelief and doubt in that one word.
"They think it'll teach you responsibility."
"They told you that?"
"No."
Caleea giggled, imagining a sour expression on his innocent-looking features. His full name was Valth, but she refused to call him that. Val it was, and he had finally stopped objecting.
She'd hung around him since the incredibly chaotic day one; ever since she convinced those journeymen that Val had been with her the entire day, whether that was true or not, showing her around the Hall, and couldn't have possibly stolen any marks.
But after the journeymen left she still hadn't believed Val entirely when, green eyes perfectly innocent, he claimed he'd been framed. It was amazing how many times that month those green eyes could get themselves into trouble. But according to everyone else he'd gotten into less than half as much trouble as usual, with Caleea around.
She didn't tell them it was because she deflected most of the blame. She looked a lot more innocent and trustworthy than Val, after all.
"There!" she suddenly exclaimed, startled out of her musings by the mound she spotted to her left, sort of surprised that Val hadn't seen it first.
Not waiting for his response, Caleea darted toward the mound. In her excitement, she didn't even hear the waves which had finally come into view.
She fell to her knees, brushing her hands carefully as silk over the eggs, brushing away the coarse sand. All she found were empty shells.
"Not a Gold's," Val quietly repeated what Caleea hadn't heard before. "Come on, let's go."
"But—" the slight girl started, running her hands over the poor, desolate things. She felt like crying. All those beautiful creatures, dead before they even broke shell. This was worse than being left unImpressed at a Hatching—these hadn't even been able to hatch.
"You know that's what happens to Green clutches. Let's go." Caleea was kind of surprised he hadn't just left without her.
"Val!"
"Caleea . . ."
"This one's still alive!" She picked up the small sphere, hard as a rock, but she was convinced it wasn't one. She cradled it carefully in her milky hands, turning hopefully to look up at the boy standing over her.
"How can you be sure?"
A crack suddenly formed in the creamy surface and Caleea squealed, but didn't drop it. She barely saw Val's eyes widen as he knelt next to her and then her full attention was on the little green form Hatching right into her hands.
Almost in a trance she reached for the meatrolls in the pack at her belt, awed at the creeling of the beautiful jewel-toned green.
"Here, here, you silly dear thing, don't eat my hand," she crooned softly.
Not in the mood to think about the implications this event might have on her future at the Harper Hall, Caleea hoped Val would ask what her new darling's name was when he cleared his throat. But apparently his mind was on a different track, as all he did was utter,
"Scorch it!"
Still hardly daring to believe she'd actually made journeyman already, Caleea stood, trying not to stumble over the bench and managing a small smile back at Journeyman Talan. The fresh round of applause—for her, this time—was drowned out by abrupt panic as she froze for an instant in the face of so much attention, desperately scanning the suddenly unfamiliar sea of people around her.
Then she found him, Val, halfway across the hall, also being led to the oval tables. His eyes met hers for a second and she thought she saw him wink, but it could have been a trick of the light. Relief washed over her.
Caleea snapped out of her paralysis just as she felt a slight pressure on her arm. She resumed walking, a true smile lighting her face, for once ignoring the fact that the entire Harper Hall would be staring. Talan didn't ease the pressure of his hand on her arm, and Caleea blushed, the colouring lost in her already flushed features.
She should probably be keeping an eye on Val; he'd likely already lifted marks from the journeyman leading him.
Caleea suppressed the desire to roll her eyes and giggle at the same time. She'd already gotten her friend out of trouble once this evening. If he wanted to joke around and thieve himself into more mischief tonight then she could deal with it later. This was as much her time to shine as his. Not that he was exactly a shining kind of person.
If she wasn't so happy, she thought she might have cried. She'd excelled, she'd triumphed, she'd made it.
She could almost hear Minia's exultant chittering—wait, she could hear it. Caleea tried to keep her cool as her gaze darted around, landing on a pair of quickly whirling dots. Stay above the hearth, she thought firmly to her darling. If Minia stayed still, perhaps no one would notice the little green's presence.
Caleea breathed in again as Minia settled back, content to be allowed to stay in the same room. Hopefully no one else could see her with all the cheering going on. Talan chuckled and Caleea glanced sideways to see him gazing at her green. She sighed a bit.
His attention could very well be because he had a bronze of his own . . . and Minia was nearly a Turn old. Perhaps he was just trying to get a head start on all the other Journeymen with male fire-lizards that would be trying to claim her attention over the next few months. She shook her head a bit to clear it. Oh well. But she did subtly move her arm out of Talan's grasp and he didn't try to reclaim it.
Val made some snide comment—it didn't sound snide on the surface, but Caleea knew any remark he made publicly almost always contained some amount of subtle sarcasm, whether it was a compliment, joke, or simple statement. Still, she ignored him for now; the incessant applauding drowning out most of it anyway.
As she took her final steps to the journeyman tables, along with the other two former apprentices, all other sounds silenced by the impossibly louder clapping, Caleea realized: this was her story. And it was finally going right. It was so different from the rest of her life—even from a mere Turn ago.
Caleea stared out at the empty stretch of hot sand. Empty of everything but shards of dragon eggs. The other Candidates who'd failed to Impress had already left; now it was just her.
I should have just stayed a trader, Caleea thought viciously, clenching her fists. This was the second Hatching she'd failed in a row. What would she do now? If she did return to trading, would her group let her back in? They'd already taken her in once, but would they accept her after she'd been Searched and they hadn't?
"Cal!" a voice called, getting closer.
Caleea turned, trying not to look too dejected. She should be used to this, right?
"You know I don't like you to call me that," Caleea said, sighing overdramatically as her friend Nirra pulled up next to her and pulled her into an embrace.
"Fine, Caleea," Nirra emphasized.
Caleea smiled but it didn't quite reach her dimmed brown eyes. Nirra was a greenrider—still a weyrling. They'd been Candidates together in the last Hatching and even though Nirra had moved on and Impressed her Gailith, they hadn't quite lost their friendship.
"Oh, Cally, I know you're disappointed but I've got some good news for you."
Caleea let the name thing slide—she didn't really mind—as Nirra hugged her again and curiosity overcame her.
"What's the good news? I get to go back and try this Hatching again?" Sarcastic as her voice was, inside she felt almost normal again—Nirra's enthusiasm was contagious.
"No, silly! The Candidate master talked to Master Menolly—the actual Menolly—and the Harper Hall needs more girls to even out the boys and he told her about your skills and how great you play the gitar and even though you wouldn't be able to stand again and I'd really miss you, she's willing to bring you back to the Harper Hall as an apprentice!"
Caleea blinked as she tried to take it all in.
"That's great," she managed as her greenrider friend bounded off the Hatching Grounds, dragging Caleea behind her.
She tried to act happy as she gathered her things, rode for the second time in her life between, and landed—after an amazing view that she took no note of—in the courtyard of the actual Harper Hall.
But as she dismounted with the help of the bluerider who'd taken her, smoothing her wherhide jacket, she couldn't help but cringe at the horde of awed and envious apprentices watching from the doorways.
Crowds. Staring. Strangers. First the traders, then the Weyr, now the Harper Hall. How many more times would she fail and be whisked away to someplace new?
Clutching her pack to her chest, she walked bravely toward it all.
But before she could muster up the courage to say anything, there was a commotion in what looked to be the dining hall. A dark-haired, medium built boy raced out, grabbed her by the hand, and dragged her after him as he darted through the courtyard to the main building.
Too startled to pull away, Caleea simply stumbled after him, tripping over her boots, trying not to drop her pack.
"Name's Valth. I'm supposed to show you around." He threw a glance over his shoulder and Caleea followed his gaze to see three people chasing after them. "Oh, don't mind them. A simple misunderstanding. That right there's restricted; that's the boys' barracks; that's where you'll be sleeping; that's . . ."
Was he really a guide, or was he just using her as an excuse to throw off their pursuers? Giggling a bit, Caleea followed dutifully, not really caring at this point.
As she glanced around at her rapidly passing surroundings , sixteen-Turn-old Caleea took as deep a cleansing breath as she could while panting after Valth.
Now only if she could stay here for more than one Turn.
Sure she hadn't lasted more than a Turn, but this time it was a good thing.
"Where do you think we'll be posted?" asked one of the new journeymen to her left.
His answer was drowned out by the affronted "Shells!" coming from somewhere to Caleea's right. She stifled her giggles with a hand. That couldn't be anyone but Val.
Well, at least nothing's changed.