I scurried after Quinten as he walked towards the enormous building in front of us, he didn't turn to look at me when I caught up to him, he kept his gaze forward. I opened my mouth, but hesitated. What would I say? I'm sorry for lying to you? Sorry for putting your life at risk? Sorry for hurting your friend? I suck at this! There was nothing I could say to excuse what I had done, so I closed my mouth at watched as people bustled past us without thinking twice. There were wooden carts pulled by horses being led to the building, their cargo varied from weapons, to cloth, to other things I couldn't name. A dragon nearby landed, sending a tremor through the earth, causing me to almost lose my balance but no one noticed so I kept walking towards the sounds of distant shouting and fighting. Since this was a training school, I figured it was natural to hear those things, so I didn't question it as Quinten opened the door for me to enter the building.

Inside was so busy I couldn't focus my eyes on one certain thing. Against the wall were stairs leading up to a second floor where I could see people unloading crates from the carriages outside. They walked along the elevated path that circled the entire room, there were several places where it diverged and allowed one to walked towards the center where a giant cylinder reached from the floor the ceiling. The workers disappeared inside with their crates as sparks drew my attention to those welding new swords. Their station placed on the outer side of the cylinder, hanging off the floor. There were stairs also spiral up the giant tube with people moving either up or down on them. There were perches and windows scattered around the cylinder, with people constantly passing. I heard a particularly loud shout from the corner of the room, seeing four people fighting with no weapons. The were waving their hands and streams of colors would appear, either to protect themselves or to attack one another. No one was landing any blows, they all just choreographed their moves perfectly, like a strange dance, no one could gain the upper hand. Near them was a women standing in front of a group talking and gesturing to a display, lecturing on a topic I couldn't hear over the noise produced by everything else. There was so much more going on, I couldn't even pinpoint all the activities before Quinten pulled me aside to let other pass through the doorway.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, snapping out of the trace that the sight had put me under.

"Don't be," he said while releasing my arm. "It's a lot to take in." Our eyes met and I felt compelled to spill my guts right there and apologize for all the misdoings I had caused him, but he looked out into the giant crowd of people and machines. "I think our best bet to find Oniza, is in her office." He said into my ear loudly, over the roar of the room. "Follow me."

Quinten then started to walk towards the center of the jumble, in the direction of the giant black cylinder. I stayed on his heels, while he ducked through the crowd easily. Who is Oniza? Why do we need to find her? Does she have the egg?! But Quinten said I was here for the same reason as everyone else. We reached the base of the stairs at the tube and started climbing as other made their way down past us, Quinten didn't say anything, he just kept moving forward. Once reaching the second level, we entered the cylinder Quinten took a sharp left and we went up more stairs, I was working so hard to act natural, like I wasn't dying on the inside. I need to do more cardio or something... He finally took the exit and made his way to a new door, on the outside it said 'Assessments'. We entered to see the room full of cabinets, there was no empty wall space at all. A women was sitting at a table in the far corner near a small window, she looked up and smiled as we approached.

"Rider Quinten, how good to see you," she stood to shake his hand.

"Hello again, Oniza," he smiled. "I have brought to you, the final Rider of Earth: Alyson," he gestured to me.

Oniza? This is the women we needed to find. Who is she?

"The final Rider of Earth? How delightful to see you here, Rider Alyson. That would mean you are here for a skills assessment, yes?" Quinten nodded. Skills assessment? What is that? "Please have a seat," she gestured to the many chairs around her table. I glanced to Quinten, unsure of what was happening, but he gave away nothing.

"Rider Alyson, you have been in Alagaesia for a very short time, yes?," Oniza asked while digging through a cabinet behind her.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Many of the earth riders are overwhelmed when first arriving, something I can easily understand," she faced the table again, clearing a space for her new folder. "My job, is to assess the skills you already have, to determine the training level you should start at. Being from Earth, I'm sure you have no knowledge on spells and magic?"

"No, ma'am" I squirmed in my chair.

"That would include casting, conjuring, potions, and everything related to magic?"

"Yes."

"Alright," she said while scribbling into her folder. "Physically...," she looked me up and down before asking," Do you have any previous training in combat, either one on one, in a group, or with dragons?"

"uhm... no," I shifted again. A flashback to that day in the desert as I watched Ashley attack Ariana projected into my head, but I quickly locked it away.

"That's alright," Oniza smiled brightly," we have any excellent trainers here. As for your dragon... what is the name?"

"My dragon? Her name is Luna."

"Luna. That is quite an interesting name, one I have not heard before. Tell me, does it mean something on Earth? I like to ask all the Riders of Earth this, it is quite fascinating to meet someone from another world," she propped her head in her hands and leaned into the table. She reminded me of a love drunk school girl, drooling over her crush across a classroom, but instead she was looking at me.

"Uhm... yeah. Luna is spanish for moon."

"Spanish?," Oinza asked confused, she corrected her posture and began writing again. Now she looked like a professional business women who took no nonsense from anyone. The kind that worked harder than anyone else to get where she is, who would do anything for her career.

"It's a language we have on Earth," I explained.

"Spanish? Spanish... huh, I've never heard of it. Spaaaannisshhhh. Spaaaaaanish." That makes sense, since you've never been to Earth. Who is this women, she seems a little odd?... I turned to Quinten again as Oniza kept repeating the word spanish over and over. Quinten didn't turn to me, but kept his gaze on Oniza. "Back to it, how old is your dragon, Luna... which is Spanish for moon?"

"Luna, well, shes a few months old."

"Alright. And as for your knowledge on dragons, am I correct to assume the you know very little?"

"Well, I guess that depends. I think I know more than the average person back home, but here... yeah, fairly little."

Oniza took off her glasses and I could see her dark freckles speckling her face. "There is nothing wrong with that. Even though you are from Earth, it doesn't mean you can't learn. Matthew, one of the brightest students I know is from Earth, he has just absorbed all of this like a sponge," Oniza spoke all while using very exaggerated hand gestures. "All the Rider of Earth have done exceedingly well, many of them have passed in rank from those born here."

I paused for a minute and studied Oniza, she had short afro which was pulled pack by a headband. Her eyes were dark brown and her teeth were slightly crooked. She wore what resembled a pant suit, but not quite what we have back home. I couldn't figure her out, was she professional or down to earth. One minute she is one, the next, the latter. Is she quirky, or just weird? Maybe multiple personalities?

"Don't you worry too much about it. I'm not even going to ask to see your skills in motion, I'm just going to place you in the beginner courses, so we can just build from the ground up. Now, there is nothing to be ashamed of with that, every Rider of Earth has started there, and it's only so we can be sure you're getting the most of everything."

"Okay...," I nodded. Beginner sounds right.

Oniza put her glasses back on and scanned her paper quietly," So Rider Quinten," she turned to him. " I heard you are forming a notion to use Riders as a security system for the castle?"

"Yeah," Quinten coughed and sat up in his chair, clearly caught off guard by Oniza's question. "I think it would be a good use of the resources that Queen Nasuada has placed in the academy. It'll let us all use our training in the real world, keep the skills fresh."

Oniza chuckled," It is a good idea, but not too many people attack the castle, am I right?," Oniza smiled at me as if to show we were in agreement, but I couldn't say anything.

Quinten cleared his throat, "Yes, that's true, but in my plan, Riders are also used as way to escort the Queen safely to conduct business with other rulers and make new treaties. Some of these people can be seen as questionable and therefore, she should have added security."

Oniza nodded," Yes that is true, especially with tensions on the rise with-..."

"Yes," Quinten cut her off quickly. "That is precisely my thought."

Oniza's eyes went from Quinten to me, then back to Quinten. "Yes... " she said slowly. "Yes of course." Abruptly she began stacking paper into the folder in front of her. "Well, Rider Alyson will begin where everyone does, the beginning," she chuckled at her joke. "And you, Rider Quinten, I presume will be her mentor?"

"Excuse me?," Quinten asked, not sure if he had heard Oniza correctly. His shocked face brought a grin to my lips, but I hid it from both of them.

"I merely assumed, since you were the one to bring her here. That is what is normally done, when one takes on this responsibility, Rider Quinten... but you seem...," Oniza searched for a word,"... ill prepared, especially in light of past events. I will assign Rider Alyson a different mentor, if that is all right?"

"Wait! I mean, I can do it, it's no problem," Quinten defended himself.

Ill prepared? Past events? What is she talking about?

"No, don't you worry about it. I will assign her to... ," Oniza pulled a new file and flipped through the pages. "Rider... Jesada." She looked up to me once more, "Yes, I believe you will make a good match. Rider Jesada." Quinten sighed quietly and leaned back in his chair, not resisting Oniza's words. Oniza wrote a few more thing in her folder, while we all waited in silence, before closing it loudly. "Rider Jesada is a truly talented rider. She is quite powerful when it comes time for combat, she will guide you well. I will have her made aware of this and you two can meet at a later time."

"Thank you very much Oniza," Quinten stood and reached his hand out.

"The pleasure is mine," she smiled and shook his hand firmly. "As for you," she turned to me and her eyes seems welded to mine. "I am always happy to meet a new Rider. I hope to hear great things from you Rider Alyson, let Rider Jesada show you. I will see you for your three month check in," she shook my hand and sat back down, diving into the files she had indulged before us. It was as if we weren't even there anymore, I quietly followed Quinten out of the room.

"What the hell was that?," I asked him before he could just walk away.

"It's a mandatory assessment. Everyone has to do one before they can start training, all that is left is a physical check up. I'll show you were that is." His tone was plain, he showed no interest or emotion. He was starting to irritate me, why wont he just say he's still upset? If he is, why did he agree to escort me here? Just apologize Alyson, if he is still acting this way, then it's on him.

"Look, Quinten...," I paused after saying his name, it felt wrong. "I'm sorry for everything that happened. I didn't know what was going on, let alone did I know what they were going to do. It's no excuse, but I'm honestly apologizing for it because I know it was wrong. I didn't want you to feel betrayed and I certainly didn't want Ariana to be hurt. It was a terrible day for me and I hate myself for going along with their plan. I should've said no and just told you everything, but I couldn't because I do want to go home and the only way to do that is to listen to whatever the Queen says. She said not to tell you, so I didn't. I'm sorry."

Quinten still hadn't moved, he stood there, his eyes on the floor, probably thinking of what to say, determining if I was sincere or not. He lifted his head towards the stairs, "Come on, I'll show you were the physical check up is."

Seriously! He's not going to say anything! "So, you're not going to say anything!?," my voice raised higher than I had wanted it to. "You'll just pretend that I didn't just give you a real apology."

Slowly Quinten turned to me," I heard you're apology."

"And...," I asked exaggerating my syllables.

"You want me to forgive you?," Quinten perked his eyebrow, he was starting to fidget.

I drew back," Uhmm..." Do I? I do want him to forgive me, but that's not why I'm apologizing is it? This is sincere, right. I really am sorry or what happened. Yes, I am. "I don't want you to be all weird and hostile towards me, I want-..."

"You think I'm being hostile?"

"No, you're not, but it just feels that way to me because you used to be so nice and talkative."

"Yeah, that's how I am around my friends," Quinten said the words hat fell heavy on my shoulders.

"So we're not friends? After I forgave you for almost killing my dragon!"

"That was an accident," Quinten defended himself more aggressively than he had with Oniza.

"So was this!"

"How!? How was that an accident!? You made a decision that could have cost someone there life!"

"I didn't know their plan! How was I supposed to telepathically guess their next move!," I drew a deep breath, realizing my volume was growing. "Look... I'm guilty, I know it. I was wrong, but now I know I can't trust Collin, or anyone for that matter. Everyone here is playing their own game for self benefit, a game that I don't give a fuck about." I leaned against the nearby wall and closed my eyes. None of this really matters.

"You think that of me? That I'm just using others for my own gain?"

"No, god." I rubbed my temples, stupid boys and their egos. I opened my eyes to see Quinten standing where he was before but now with his arms crossed. I pushed away from the wall. "I don't know you well enough to make that call, but you either aren't that type of person or you are very good at hiding it. It doesn't matter, because I don't need us to be friends," Quinten arched his eyebrow. I want us to be friends, though. "I don't. I just need us to be even, no hard feelings, just on good terms." I just need to fly under the radar, I need to not be seen as a threat so they will let me leave. I need to go home.

"What I don't understand, is how you agree to something you supposedly know nothing about. How does that happen?"

"I just... I don't know. It just happened. I was skeptical, but they seemed to know what was going on, they were confident and they kind of made it seem like it wasn't an option. They didn't give me their real plan, just the outline."

Quinten didn't say anything, he just stood there again, like a statue. Is he finally going to see I'm telling the truth? Is he going to let this go?

"I'll show you where the physical check up is," he said before turning into the stair well.

I guess not.