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One month later, there was a knock at the door. She opened it, and three men stood there. She recognised two of them as Jack and Faolin. The other spoke first. "I-I'm t-te-terribly sor-r-ry, but miss, y-you have... I-I p-put..."
"Be quiet, Nex. Leila, did you find a dragon egg recently? Nex says he tried to stash one on your ship."
Nex burst out crying. Going back into the house, she grabbed the egg off of the shelf, and was ready to give it to them, when a young boy came to the door. Hiding the egg behind his back, Jack stepped to the side to allow him passage. The boy looked only fifteen or so. "Leila, hi, my name is Ryu, last week we met in Teirm, and I was wondering if we could..." Jack hurried over to her, egg still behind his back. "It's hatching!" he whispered in her ear. She looked at Ryu, and asked, "Would you like to come in?"
As soon as they were in the house and around the table, Jack set the shivering egg on the table. Ryu's eyes lit up as he saw what it was. His mouth turned into a circle as a bright green dragon disentagled itself from the remains of the egg. It squeaked when it saw him and ran to him. It sat on the table licking itself clean (like a cat), all the while Ryu just kind of sat there, stunned. He reached out to touch it-
"Young man, what is your name?" said Faolin. "Ryu," he said as he placed his hand on the dragon. Leila didn't know what was happening, but Jack winced visibly. Ryu sat still for a minute, hand still outstretched. Leila asked Jack, "what's happening?" Jack replied, "He and the dragon are bonding. It's rather painful but it works out in the end, you get the best companion of your life." Ryu moved and sat back on the chair.
"Leila, what just happened? I-" he put a hand up to his head to push his hair out of his face, and his eyes met the mark on his hand. "Oh no, what's my mom gonna say when she sees this?" The dragon playfully ran to him, and he made a comical scene trying to run away from it. "Young Ryu, you have just been chosen by a dragon to be it's rider. Why do you dishonor this tradition?"
"It stung me! I don't know how you guys must stand it!" While he was talking and standing still, the dragon was nuzzling against his leg. He looked down in surprise. "So it was only the first time, then? Good, I don't think I could have stood that again."
Jack gave him some meat to feed to the hatchling, and Ryu played with it for a while. Eventually, they all fell asleep, Leila last. "What is all this about?" she wondered before she dozed off.
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Nex had managed to convince them it wasn't his fault, but not that she stole it. But now that she was sleeping, it would be so easy...
but he couldn't, yet. Revenge is so sweet as to be savored, and requires preparation. Kale was unnatural, and any spawn of him deserved what they got...
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The sun was shining outside, casting a sephia tone on everything near the window. Leila woke drowsily, and headed to the room where the others were sleeping earlier. She found them in the kitchen, with Ryu making breakfast. Coincidentally, nobody felt like having eggs.
"Morning, sleepyhead," said Jack as he watched Ryu flip bacon. "We thought you'd never get up, you sleep like a dead urgal." Faolin, being serious as always, said, "Leila, would you like to come to Vroengard with us? You are special, and I think we should train you. After all, you could be a courier. It would be much better than your life here."
Tears beaded at the corners of her eyes and threatened to spill. "And be reminded every second of what I am and what I'm not? I couldn't..." She blinked and her tears dropped silently over her cheeks. "I wish I could, but I need a promise that you'll not tell anyone. I don't want to be taunted..."
A miraculous change occured then. Her eyes changed from their normal brownish green to a fiery red. She wracked into convulsions, not noticing her new hue in her hair. She collapsed on the ground and knew no more for a long time.
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He was sure of it now. She should be disposed of immediately, about a week after they landed at Vroengard.
He hoped no one would suspect.
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When Leila awakened, the first thing she was aware of was a horrible pain in her head. She had wondered what it was from. With a cry, she remembered what had happened.
"Are you alright, Leila? Come on, talk to us." It was Faolin. She got up, and at seeing the famliar sights of Vroengard, she shivered. When she saw Ryu, her 'shaded' attributtes faded and she was her normal self again. Grateful for having her looks back, she asked, "What..."
Faolin interrupted her. "The change in you is triggered by emotion. Any extreme feeling will transform you. If you don't want this to happen again then you should learn to control your emotions." Ryu stared at her, mesmerised. His dragon, almost twice the size it was before, hopped off his shoulder and trotted over to her. It glared at her playfully, and she patted it on the head. In her mind she felt another thought, one that said, "Fun!" It stalked away, leading everyone to follow it. It led them into a cave, with about ten dragon eggs inside, in all colors of the rainbow.
Jack looked at the little one, it squeaked and ran to a pale grey egg. Leila ran after it, and looked back at Jack. "Go on," said his voice in her mind. Everyone else left the cave, even the little green dragon. That's when the little pale grey egg started to hatch.
At first, she was surprised. Why would a dragon hatch for a shade (or at least half shade)? Then she remembered that as of now she was human, at least, mostly human. The small scaled creature was a shimmering shade of dull white, and had eyes the color of the sea on a cloudy day. Half knowing what she was in for, she cautiously reached out to touch it. She didn't actually feel much pain, just a tingle like a small electric shock. When it was over, she watched as a small white oval formed on her palm where she had touched it.
