Sorry about not updating last week. Three of my college classes had a test last week and all my time was spent studying. I got an a on two of the tests but on the third I got a c. I fucking hate math. I still don't understand why I have to take it but I do. Again, sorry about not posting last week.

The first several days of the dancing lessons were hell as my muscles were truly exercised. Every night I scryed Manny and Claire. I always talked to the dragons and last night Katrina's dragon and Amethi came to talk. Katrina hurried to my room to speak to her young dragon. They talked for more than half an hour during which they finally decided on a name. They decided on the name Sencil, which means serene in the ancient language.

That night when I scryed them everybody was pretty disappointed when I told them that I wouldn't be able to come when I had previously thought. But, when I told them the reason all Manny could do was laugh. Claire tried to hold in her laughter but it eventually broke through. Even Blugun had laughed. They all knew how terrible I was at dancing.

And then gave me some tips on dancing, just like she had done when they had first seen me dance.

"Just remember, you have to be light on your feet, just like when you're sword fighting. Also, don't watch your feet. Keep looking into your partner's eyes." Claire said to me. "Also be sure that you hand doesn't stray to far down. Girls do not like it when men touch their butt during a dance. That is how men lose fingers."

"Got it." I said to Claire. "Anything else?" I asked the girl.

Claire thought for a few seconds and then she said to me "You just need to relax and have some fun. That is the main thing to remember." Claire then smiled and said to me "See you tomorrow."

"Yep, see you tomorrow." I said to her. "See you tomorrow Manny."

I ended the spell and then went over to my bed and sat down.

It's to bad that Blugun couldn't make it so I could talk to him. I say to myself in my mind. I wonder what he was doing. Oh well, I'll talk to him tomorrow. If I can survive the dancing practice.

I quickly fall asleep and when I wake up I once again feel that Katrina is in my bed with me. I kiss her to wake her up and she groans as she comes to consciousness.

"Good morning, Katrina." I say to her.

"Good morning , Josh." Katrina says to me before returning my kiss.

I cast a spell that would light the candles in the room and then I smile at her and then I say "You know you still haven't answered my question about why you always sneak into my room. May I please get an answer now?"

Katrina smiled at me and then she said "Alright, but only because you asked nicely. If I sleep by myself then I have nightmares. When I sleep with my dreams are always beautiful."

"Are you just saying that so that I don't kick you out of my bed or are you telling me the truth?" I ask Katrina.

Katrina puts on an innocent face and then she says to me in the cutest voice she could do "I'm telling you the truth, Josh. Please don't make me sleep by myself." Katrina held her cute face for a few seconds and then she started to giggle. "Damn, I almost held it." Katrina says as she giggles even louder.

I laugh a little with her and then I ask her "So what is the real reason?"

"I just sleep better. I can't explain why, all I know is that I sleep better if you are near." Katrina said to me.

I smile at her and then I kiss her gently. "I sleep better when you're near as well." I say to Katrina as I sit up. Katrina sits up as well and then she stands up from the small bed so that I can then stand up.

I stretch and then go over to my closet and pull out some clothes. I turn to Katrina who leaning against the wall and yawning.

"Katrina, I have to get dressed so I will need you to leave." I say to the tired red-head. "You also have to get dressed so I suggest that you hurry to your room."

Katrina groans a little but she knows that she has to leave so she kisses me one last time and then she leaves me alone in my room. I quickly get dressed and then I grab my sword and strap it onto my waist. I grabbed my boots and then I slip them on and leave the room.

I quickly walked the now familiar path to the training room. At first the turns and corridors had confused me but after walking down in several times I got used to the way and soon had it memorized.

When I entered the small room I was surprised to see that for once it wasn't just the elfish instructor and the two other dance students there, but also Roran Stronghammer and his wife, Sandra.

"Ah, there he is. Josh, I hope you don't mind but we have come to see your progress so far." Sandra said as she saw me enter the room.

I bowed to her and said "Of course I don't mind. It is a pleasure to have you here as well as your husband."

"Alright Josh," my instructor said as he approached me. "You know the drill. Remove your sword, boots and your ring then put on the shoes."

I looked over to the dainty little shoes that I had to wear and sneered.

"I know you hate the shoes but they must be worn while in this room. Regular boots scuff the floor." My instructor told me.

I hung my head and did as he told me to do. I removed my sword, ring and then sadly my boots. Then I slipped on the soft white shoes and laced them up. I growled at the shoes as if I was a dragon, something I rarely ever do. I only ever do that if I absolutely hate the object.

"No growling." My instructor said as he tapped me on my head with a spare shoe. "Stand up and get ready to stretch."

I did as he said and joined the line of students then we all did the stretches which left my muscles already burning from the unbelievable poses that I had to stretch and flex myself into.

"Good, much better than yesterday." The instructor said to me. The damn man hadn't even broken a sweat. The other two students, which were both girls, were also sweating and breathing heavily, but none were as bad as me.

"All right students, now that we are done with our stretches get your partner and get ready for dance number three." The instructor said to us. I went over to the brown haired girl and then I gripped her hand and her waist while she gripped my hand and set her other hand on my shoulder.

The instructor waved his hand at a diamond that was set into a wooden frame and the diamond started to emit a light hearted dancing melody.

"Remember, find the beat and follow it." The instructor said to us as he started to dance with the other student.

After a few seconds I managed to start the dance and then as always I messed up after a few steps. My partner, Jennifer, just smiled encouragingly at me and then she said to me "Just relax, Josh. You will get the hang of it."

I nodded at her and then started again. I managed to go a while without messing up but when I did I somehow managed to step on my on foot which made me hop up and down holding it. "Damn these ridiculous shoes. I bet that I could do this if I could just wear my boots instead of these things." I said to Jennifer.

Jennifer giggled a little and then we got back into stance and started to dance again. I just barely managed to go the rest of the dance without messing up.

"Very good you three. Nice work on your speed Jennifer." Then he turned to the blond girl he had been dancing with and said "Very nice grace, Stefanie. And Josh, your footwork is getting much better. Now, dance four. Positions and begin." Again the melody started up and then we quickly started to dance. I barely managed to not mess up. I just had to remain focused on my feet and where they were going and this time I didn't step on a single toe.

"Marvelous, Josh. Absolutely marvelous." The instructor said to me.

The blond, Stefanie cleared her throat and then she asked the instructor "Instructor, may we please have a break?"

The elf nodded and then he said "You three may have a ten minute break." Then he went over to Roran and Sandra and started to talk to them as we three students sat down on the hard wood floor with wooden cups of cold water that a servant brought us as soon as the instructor said we could have a break.

As we sat and drank, we talked a little. "Josh," Stefanie said to me. "You really are getting better. I still can't believe how terrible you were when you first came here. You were constantly stepping on not only our feet but also your own."

I nodded as I remembered the terrible first day I had. It had been just as the blond had said. I had been stepping on toes and feet the entire day and it had been terrible.

"I had always been told that all swordsmen were amazing dancers." Jennifer said to me. "You sure proved me wrong." she said with a slight giggle.

"Come on now, give me a break." I groaned. "I'm getting better. That last dance didn't have a single toe getting stepped on."

"That's true." Jennifer said to Stefanie. "Good thing too. My toes were beginning to feel like they were going to fall off." Jennifer said as she rubbed her feet.

We talked for a couple of minutes and the conversation somehow turned to the instructor.

"He truly is an odd elf." Stefanie said to us.

I nodded and drank the last of my water. "Why won't he tell us his name?"

The girls shook their heads. "We have no idea." Jennifer said to me. "No matter how many times we ask him he never tells us."

"It is absurd." Stefanie said to me.

"Alright, stop talking about me." The instructor said as he walked over to us. "It's time to continue class."

"Hold on a second." Roran called out. The instructor stopped his hand motion for the music and then looked over to the bearded man. "Let Josh wear his boots this time. I want to see if he truly is better with them rather than those dainty shoes he's wearing."

I happily agreed and then went over to wear I had my boots setting next to my other objects. I almost tore off my shoes and then I quickly slipped my boots and went over to Jennifer and we got ready for the next dance.

The instructor waved his hand once more and the music for dance seven started up. Jennifer and I quickly started dancing and this was undoubtfully the best dance I had done. It was the most fun I had while dancing.

When the dance was over, the instructor just stared at me for a few seconds and then he said for us to switch partners and then we did dance four again.

Again I danced great. It was the weight of my boots that was helping me. Those stupid little shoes were to light and I was unaccustomed to the feeling.

Once the dance was over the instructor looked at me again and then he hung his head. After he looked back up at me he said "I can't believe I'm saying this but you were right. You are better at dancing in those boots than in the specially designed dancing shoes."

"So can I wear my boots from now on?" I asked him. He nodded and I smiled a wide smile.

"Awesome." I said.

"That is great. Thank you so much." Stefanie said to the instructor. "We can finally go home without our toes feeling as if they are on fire."

Jennifer giggled and then she nodded and said "Yes, thank you Instructor."

The instructor sighed and then said "Whatever. Let us just continue with today's lesson."

The rest of the day went by easily and it was full of fun. As was the next few days of lessons.

The day of the competition came by all to soon. I honestly felt as if I needed some more training but they couldn't postpone the dance just so I could get more training.

The morning of the dance I got a set of dance robes custom made for me. They consisted of a black over-robe with a white tunic beneath it. I was then given a pair of black felt gloves.

I put the robes on and then followed as a servant showed me the way to the dance hall. The door that led to the hall was a large and well lit room with tall and wide windows all along one window as well as candles that were evenly spaced out all around the room.

There were servants running all over the room, getting stuff ready for the dance. On large tables that were pushed against the wall large platters of food were being set out as well as pitchers of drinks and glasses sat next to the pitchers. On one end of the room was a bunch of chairs in case any of the dancers got tired from all of the dancing.

I watched the servants run around for a few minutes and then I sat down in one of the chairs to wait for the dance to begin. As I waited, more people showed up for the dance. Among them was Anna. She was wearing a long flowing dress made of light blue silk with white lace on the hems of her sleeves and her collar. Her hair was curled and left down so the brown locks of hair cascaded from her head.

When she saw me, she hurried over to my side and asked me "What do you think of my dress?" then she spun around a couple times, showing me the whole dress.

"I think it looks very nice on you." I said to Anna. "I can't wait to dance with you."

"Well, we don't have long to wait." Anna said to me as she sat beside me. "I think it will only be another half hour before the dance begins. My father says that the competition between Anna and I won't be announced like some kind of royal affair. We shall just dance together and then after that dance you shall dance with Katrina." Anna looked over to the door that she had entered through and saw Katrina coming in.

Katrina hurried over to us with her pink silk dress hanging just below her knees. Covering her from her feet to somewhere above her knees was a pair of light blue shoes with the top of them reaching above the hem of her dress. Just like on Anna's dress, Katrina's had lace on the hems of her sleeves, which were shorter than Anna's and reaching about halfway up her forearm, and there was lace on her neckline as well. Covering her hands was a pair of white silk gloves that reached up and past the hem of her sleeve. Unlike Anna's, Katrina's also had lace on the bottom of the dress.

"You look beautiful Katrina." I said to the red-head as she approached.

"Thank you, Josh." Katrina said with a slight blush. "You look very handsome." Katrina then turned to Anna and said "Are you ready to lose?"

Anna shook her head and said to her twin "No, but I am ready to win. Once the dance is over, be sure to tell me what the taste of defeat is like. With how absolutely awesome I am, I haven't ever tasted it so you will have to describe it to me."

Katrina stuck her tongue out at Anna and then Anna did the same. I chuckled a little and then I said to them "What if neither of the dresses is better than the other?"

The girls looked over to me and then at themselves. After several seconds of silence Katrina said to me "I guess we would then call a truce." Anna nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan." I said with a smile. "So how much longer is it until the dance starts?"

Katrina looked up in thought and then she said "Maybe about half an hour?"

"Still?" I asked with surprise.

"What do you mean still?" Katrina asked me.

"Like forever ago Anna said to me that it would still be another half hour." I said to Katrina. "This is taking forever. Things need to speed up around here."

"I agree. Things are going by far to slowly." Anna said.

"What should we do to make time pass more quickly?" I asked the twins.

We thought for a few seconds and then Anna suggested "How about we play with some magic?"

There was a few things that were wrong about that, for example magic is a dangerous tool and not a toy, but it sounded to fun to pass up.

"That sounds like a lot of fun." I said to Anna. "As long as we don't do anything dangerous I completely agree."

"Same here." Anna said to us.

"Awesome, so what should we do?" I asked the girls.

We thought for a few seconds and then Katrina suggested "How about we fly around?"

Anna shook her head and said "That takes way to much energy."

"How about we make little figures out of the floor and then control them and move them around?" I suggested.

"How would we do that?" Anna asked me.

"Watch." I said to her. I knelt down on the wooden floor and held my right hand out and over the floor with the palm facing down. I muttered an incantation and then the wood of the floor started to flow up and touch my palm. Then I shaped the wood with my mind into the form of a man.

Then, I linked my mind with the wooden man and moved him around using my magic. Anna clapped as I walked the man around. Anna and Katrina knelt beside me and then Anna asked me what words I had used to create the man.

I told her that it was the word for wood and after about a minute all three of us had a figure walking around in front of us. After a couple of minutes we started to make the figures attack each other. When Anna and Katrina started to team up and fight against me, I created a second figure, this time a dragon large enough for my first figure to ride.

Anna gasped as she saw the dragon rise from the floor. Then she clapped as I used another incantation to make the dragon and its rider fly through the air.

Then, I channeled some magic energy into the human figure and focused it into his right hand. A gedwey ignasia started to glow on the palm of the tiny hand.

Then I made the figure pull back his right hand and then throw a tiny ball of energy at the other two figures. The ball exploded in a flash of blue smoke and when the smoke died down it showed the two figures shattered and lying on the ground. The only solid piece left was a hand off of Katrina's figure.

I landed my rider and dragon and then I made them melt back into the floor. As the figures turned back into sections of the floor I heard applause and looked up to see that it was Anna and Katrina as well as a small crowd of dancers that had watched our small battle.

Once the applause died down a bombardment of questions started. One of the main questions that was asked was where did we learn how to do that. After a brief explanation about how we were riders, Anna and Katrina showed the onlookers their gedwey ignasia. I kept mine hidden. I didn't want to scare the people around us.

After several more minutes a tall and narrow man in black robes with a red sash around his waist came up to us. When I looked closer at the sash I could see that he had the ancient language stitched into the fabric with white thread. The man also carried a cane with the head of a snake carved out of silver metal for the handle. The shaft was made of black wood and the tip of the cane was also carved out of silver metal. Just like on the sash I could see the ancient language carved into a spiral all along the shaft.

"Good evening, young ones." The man said to us in a reedy voice. "You have undoubtfully heard this question many times but I would like to ask you where you learned to do that."

"We learned on Vroengard." Katrina told the man.

"Ah, so the three of you are riders? May I see your gedwey ignasia? I have always wanted to see one in person." The man asked.

Katrina nodded and then removed her long gloves and showed the man her palm. The man peered closely at it and then he smiled. It was one of the creepiest smiles I had ever seen.

"Absolutely beautiful." The man said in a hushed tone. "This little mark is proof that you have touched a dragon hatchling and became its rider. Fascinating."

Just then, a now familiar male voice called out over the noise of the guests. "I would like to welcome you all to our celebration feast." Roran called out. It was amazing how powerful his voice was. "We are all here today to celebrate the home coming of my beloved daughter who has been gone for quite some time on a mission for the riders. So please, enjoy the music and food and have some fun while we all celebrate this wondrous night!"

The crowd applauded respectfully and then a band that I couldn't see started to play their instruments. Barely a second after the music started up a hand grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me onto the dance floor; Anna was apparently very excited to start dancing.

We got into stance and then I took the first step of the dance and Anna followed. The dance for this music was full of turns and twists but somehow I managed to get it correctly.

Anna was an amazing dancer. She was very light on her feet and looked absolutely stunning as she twirled around.

After the second song was over and my time with Anna was complete I went over to where Katrina was waiting for me with a large crowd of guys around her. I had difficulty getting past all of the guys around her but eventually I made it to the front of the group.

Katrina saw me and smiled. She stood up from the chair she was sitting in and then all of the guys around me perked up, thinking that they were going to get to dance with her. Katrina walked straight to me and then I offered her my hand. Katrina grasped it and then accompanied by the groans of a lot of young men, I led Katrina onto the dance floor.

All of the time I had spent getting through the crowd of guys had taken so long that the band had played an entire song. Thankfully, they had another lilting dancing song and Katrina and I greatly enjoyed dancing together. She was just as good of a dancer as Anna, if not then better. Katrina was not only light on her feet, but she was also poised and graceful and instead of being stunning, she was absolutely beautiful.

Our second dance, was a slow one. I happily got closer to Katrina for the correct dance pose and then we started to dance. It was absolutely amazing. The lithe form of Katrina pressed so close to mine as we moved around each other; dancing with our souls as they mingled together. And, as the song came to an end, Katrina and I kissed passionately.

We were broken apart by Anna as she said "Alright you two, that is enough of that. This is a dance floor, not a bedroom." Anna smiled and then said "I think it is obvious who Josh chooses to be the better dancer in their dress. May I have the next dance, Josh? It will help to make my defeat less bitter."

I chuckled a little and then I nodded. Anna and I danced the next slow song and after that I danced with Katrina again. After a while that just became the rhythm. I would switch off dancing partners after every dance.

However, during one of my dances with Anna, another lilting dance, someone tapped on my shoulder and when I turned around I saw that it was a man with black hair that was slick from grease and his face looked unwashed. The man also had a terrible smell to him and I could barely keep myself from plugging my nose.

"You are dancing with my woman." The man said to me. "Step aside."

I looked back to Anna and saw that she had her eyes closed and was rubbing her head as if she had a headache.

"You're late again, William." Anna said to the man. "The dance started at least an hour ago. Where were you?"

"Mind your own business, Anna." William said to her. This man was starting to get on my nerves. "What I'd like to know is who is this boy that you're dancing with."

"Seriously?" I said to William. "You tell Anna to mind her own business and then you try to get into hers. That sure makes a lot of sense."

"Listen up, boy." William said to me. "I am the son of a very powerful family. My father is the general of the army. What makes you think that you can even measure up to me?"

I sighed. Guys like William really grated on my nerves. I looked William into the eyes and then pushed my mind against his. As expected, he had training in mind defenses. Just about all members of a powerful family did. But, William had some of the weakest defenses that I had ever seen and I broke through them easily.

William's eyes went wide as he realized that I had broken into his mind. Before he could call out for help I forced his body to freeze up, making it so he couldn't do so much as utter a single sound.

"Listen up, William. This is a lesson that you are in desperate need of learning." I said to the man. "But first, lets go somewhere a bit more private." I then controlled his body like I had done with the figurine earlier. I forced him to walk in front of me and then Anna followed me and Katrina followed Anna.

I walked us over and out of the ballroom and then I eventually found us a sitting room with nobody in it. After Katrina had entered, I locked the door behind that way nobody could barge in on us. I then cast a couple spells making it so that nobody could hear what we were saying and then the second one was to release my hold over William.

As soon as he was capable of moving he scuttled over to the furthest corner from me. I walked over to him and then knelt in front of the man while he cowered.

"William, you need to learn several lessons. If you don't, then you will forever be hated among everybody that you know." William looked at me with anger.

"I am not hated!" William roared at me. "You need to learn some respect when talking to somebody of higher office than yourself."

I literally slapped William. The man looked dazed after the hit.

"No William, you are the one who needs to learn respect." I said to him. "I am of higher office than you. I am only slightly lower than your father. William, I am a dragon rider and I could have you imprisoned for what you have said to me."

No you can't. Katrina said to me from within my mind. You are still only a student. You barely have any authority.

I know. I said to Katrina. But he doesn't and I can use that to my advantage.

Oh, I get it now. I'll tell Anna what you're planning.

"William, you are disrespectful. Not only to people of higher office but also to people of lower office." I said to him. "You must learn respect and manners if you ever want to be liked. And, it is possible that if you do that then people will actually want to be around you, despite your smell."

"That is another thing you need to learn." I said to the man. "You must learn how to bathe. I can smell your horrible stench from clear across the room; plus I can see the grease in your hair."

William tried to punch me but after I muttered a quick word his hand froze mid-air. "Fight me like a man you spineless weasel and stop using your damned magic." William said to me through gritted teeth as he cheeks flushed with anger.

"Only if you agree to do as I have told you." I said to William. "Bathe more than once a month and learn respect. Those are the consequences should you fail our fight. And, if you fail to learn the lessons then you shall be banished from not only your home, but also all of Alagaesia. You will have to hide within the forests and mountains in order to survive, living off of moss and mushrooms."

William cowered as he heard my threat. "Remember William, I am a rider. I am stronger than you, faster than you, smarter than you and I am also trained to kill. Choose wisely; you can either lose against me in a fight and possibly be banished or you can start learning your lessons right now. The choice is yours."

William looked up at me and as I looked down upon him I saw something inside him break. The man hung his head and said "I submit. You are the better man."

"That was never the argument." I said to William. "Acknowledge me as the superior, and do so with respect, and then go and take a damn bath. Your stench is starting to burn my nose."

William continued to look down at the ground.

"Look up at me, William, and do as I have commanded." I said to the man.

He looked up to me and said "You are the superior, Rider. I shall learn respect."

"And?" I asked him.

"And I shall learn to bathe more often." William said to me.

I nodded and said "Good, now get going and take a bath you filthy little man."

William nodded and then scurried over to the door, unlocked it and then fled down the corridor in the direction of the bathing rooms.

I heard a cheer come from Anna. I looked over to her and she appeared to be one of the happiest people in the world.

"Thank you so much for doing that, Josh." Anna said to me. "Thank you so much for putting him in his place."

"You're welcome, Anna." I said to her. "It was a pleasure. So, what do you two say to us going back to the dancing and having some more fun?"

Both Katrina and Anna happily agreed. I led the way back to the ballroom with a beautiful woman grasping each of my hands and with a wide smile on all of our faces.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and have a nice day.