Chapter 1

Alexia's brown eyes examined the perfect purple stone she had found whilst searching for wood near the Igualda Falls this morning. The traders had been later than previous years and she now had nothing to do. She was in her room thinking how much it would be worth. Besides, she was13 and knew her father would be shouting again if she didn't start finding money of her own to use. Well she was a teenager. She was quite tall and slender, dirty brown hair falling just past her shoulders tied up with a battered piece of leather. Her ears were not rounded as every human, but slightly pointed. No one noticed it much as she was careful to hide them behind her hair in public.

She was dressed simply: a cream blouse and brown skirt and her feet were covered with cheap leather shoes.

"Alexia, we have a visitor tonight and it's time for supper." A sharp male voice shouted. Alexia sighed.

"Yes father." She knew what it meant. She was born left-handed, so she had to use her right hand to do everything until the visitors left in other words, act like a normal right-handed teenager.

Her parents were already disappointed Alexia wasn't a boy when she was born and that her ears were slightly pointed, but being left-handed was a bit too much. After months of debating and months of neglection, they finally agreed to keep her only if she didn't show she was left-handed to anyone else.

Alexia looked into her small round mirror on her desk and tried to look presentable. After letting down her hair that covered her ears and setting her stone on the desk on some parchment as a paperweight, she walked silently down the stairs into the dining room.

Supper was frustrating for Alexia and it was hard to control her shaking hand. She was exhausted by the end of it and when Juliette went to wash the dishes, she retreated to her room and examined the purple stone once more.

By the afternoon, the traders finally arrived and her parents gave Alexia some money for her to spend.

"For being so good with visitors."

Her first stop though, was Merlock's tent, a trader who specialized in strange trinkets and jewelry. As Alexia neared the tent, Merlock brought out some brooches that were obviously made with much care and skill.

"Would you like to see some of my newest collection of brooches? They came all the way from Surda."

"I'm not looking to buy this time."

She brought out the purple stone from her pocket and gave it to Merlock to examine. Without a word, he went inside his tent, so Alexia followed. After looking through it with a jeweler's glass, he proceeded to tap it with his finger. It produced a sharp, clear sound. Then, he gently tapped with a wooden mallet. It produced another clear sound. Merlock straightened up and said,

"I've never seen anything like this before. Firstly, it is unbreakable, even with the most powerful hammer." Alexia nodded, motioning for him to carry on.

"The stone is made up of two colours of the same substance: purple and white. As well as that, the stone is hollow, as you may have noticed, when the sounds rang. Sadly, I do not know how much it is worth and I advise you to sell to some traders who specialize in these sorts of things. I can name a few but I'm not taking the risk of buying it now." Alexia nodded again.

"Well, can I ask you not to mention this to anyone?"

"Of course." When she turned to leave, he spoke again.

"Just out of interest, where did you find this?"

"Near the Igualda Falls. I thought it was some kind of jewel, before I dug it out and noticed it was a stone. I thought it would be enough to buy some meat for my parents."

"Ah."

"Well, thanks for examining it for me."

"My pleasure." Alexia exited and found a boy of about her age and an older man sitting on a stone step, waiting for the women to disperse so they could get to Merlock. Without a second glance at them, she walked away, the stone tucked carefully inside her skirt pocket when the boy looked at it.

During the next few days, nothing unusual happened. The stone was placed on Alexia's desk and she thought no more of it.

During one night, Alexia was awakened by small squeaks. She first thought of rodents, but the squeaks were alien to her and she was sure rodents didn't sound like that. The squeaking stopped. Feeling uneasy, she fell asleep again.

Alexia woke up with a start. At first, she didn't know what woke her. A slow rocking sound reached her ears, then the alien squeaks. She took out the dagger from under her pillow, climbed out of bed and glanced around. Her eyes fell on the stone. It was no longer stationary, but rocking back and forth. Cracks had appeared on the outside. Frightened, she remembered Merlock's words. It is unbreakable, even with the most powerful hammer. She waited patiently, out of curiosity. It's worth nothing now, anyway. Might as well find out it the inside's worth more. Suddenly, a large part of the stone flew away, just missing her face

When the stone was completely broken, a purple winged lizard the length of Alexia's arm stood on the desk, staring at her. It had an almost oval shaped head, two fangs protruding from its jaw. Its scales shimmered in the moonlight and the tail was swishing to and fro. The dragon's dark eyes started to search for something and when it came to the edge of the desk, it let out a frightened squeak. Alexia, with her quick reflexes, caught it with her arms but when she touched it, immense pain took over her body. It was as though fire was burning through her bones, her left palm feeling more pain than the rest of her body. She screamed, trying to move but something kept her still. It felt like hours before the pain subsided and when it did, footsteps were hurrying to her room. Juliette opened the door and both her parents burst in.

"What on Alagaësia are y-" Kyle stopped when he saw what Alexia was holding. His eyes flashed fire and all of a sudden, he was breathing heavily.

"That is IT! You have five minutes to get your belongings and your MONSTER and NEVER RETURN!

"I suggest you keep your abnormalities to yourself for when they find out who you really are, they will never look at you again. I only tell you this because we will not be meeting again and we're not your parents; you came here in a bundle of blankets, a letter attached, telling us we need to take care of you. That's what we did. We worked harder and got you clothes and you lived how you liked as long as you follow some simple rules every household would have. But now, now you have gone too far, keeping that, thing in this house. You will leave Carvahall and shoot yourself to save someone else the bother." He slammed the door behind himself and his wife.

As the last of the information slowly went to her brain, she sprang into action. I need to pack. She took out a bag to put everything in and packed two sets of clothes and as many possessions in it as she could. Walking silently to the shop till, she took out as much money as she could.

The front door slammed behind Alexia and the dragon. Well, what now? The dragon nudged her knee and started tugging on her skirt in the direction of a forest.

"Alright, I'm going!" This dragon was the reason she had no home now, but all the same she was grateful for it. No more acting to visitors, as I will remain unnoticed. I choose to be free!

When they reached the forest, Alexia found a secluded place to stay. For now, anyway. Something brushed her mind and she took out her dagger from her worn boot, looking around. The dragon squeaked and it brushed her mind again. This time she could feel hunger. Pondering for a minute, she looked at the dragon.

"That was you, wasn't it?" It replied with a squeak. Alexia took that for a yes.

"But I don't kill animals, it's like killing yourself in a different body." The dragon blinked, then squeaked again, brushing her mind again.

"Fine, but I'm only killing this once. I'm buying the meat until you can hunt, I cannot bear to kill more than I need to." She set off in the direction of what she hoped had dead game to save her the misery of killing them herself. All the same, she carried her bow and quiver.

A while later, Alexia returned with a dead rabbit and red eyes. She prepared it and cut it into small squares with her dagger and held one piece for the dragon to sniff, careful not to touch it again. It snapped it up and touched Alexia's hand for more. She was stiff when it touched her, preparing for the pain again. When it didn't come and she had a sudden desire to scratch her left palm she slowly turned it over and nearly screamed again. In the middle of her palm was an oval of shimmering white. If she wanted to go into cities to buy meat, she would have to hide it or someone will notice. Great, I might as well hide my whole body from the world. Alexia thought bitterly as she pulled out some leather gloves, slipping them on. She continued feeding the dragon until it could eat no more and had curled into Alexia's arms and went to sleep. Alexia rested on the trunk of a large tree and sleep took over her.

The next morning Alexia awoke before sunrise, her back and neck feeling stiff. She stretched and stood up to relieve her cramped legs, before remembering the dragon. It was sitting besides her, staring. You seem to do that a lot. All she got was a squeak. It brushed her mind and Alexia sensed hunger again. Vowing never to take care of another dragon as long as they eat meat, she took her purse and started to set off, before realizing that most of the people in Carvahall won't be awake. Dropping her purse and telling the dragon to stay where it was, she set off to Sloan's shop. She smiled evilly at the thought of stealing from her most hated enemy.

When she got back with as much meat as she could carry and a bag of fruit slung over her back, she started cutting up the meat. After feeding the dragon she started on breakfast whilst watching it explore the surroundings. When she finished, she thought of how she and the dragon, which she still needed to name, would survive in the forest. She couldn't stay here, someone could find her but she didn't have a map of Alagaësia to go by. Soon, the dragon will grow too big for this place, but I don't know where to go. Her thoughts were interrupted by a large snap! of a twig. She sprang up, bow ready. There was a rustle and someone stepped into view.