A Different Destiny Chapter 6
The next three days dragged by for Levitas, but they flew by for Emily, even though she did not actually fly. She took Celeritas' instruction to be the Winchester's taskmaster seriously. At random intervals thoughout the day and night, she would burst into the courtyard and tell Levitas, "We're going flying! Right now!" Then she would watch his response, to be sure he would test his harness and pronounce it good before he would even think of letting her climb on board. She never did climb on board, of course, because he was grounded. But when he got it right (which he always did, after his initial lapse), she would praise him and rub the base of his neck. He would close his eyes and rumble in his throat, which was the draconic equivalent of purring.
She also kept Captain Hollin busy. Once or twice a day, she would ask him to remove Levitas' harness and then re-fasten it, so the dragon could go through a complete check of how all the straps felt. Hollin did not need the practice, of course; he could swap out a small harness like this one in his sleep. As for Emily, she always asked him respectfully to change the harness; she didn't give orders. She couldn't let herself get drunk with power, not when he was now a Captain and she a mere cadet, to say nothing of the age difference between them. The three of them worked well together. At the end of the third day, Hollin pronounced Levitas fit to try flying again.
"Will Celeritas agree?" the dragon asked nervously. "He grounded me once for a simple mistake."
"If you make no more simple mistakes like the last one, then he will let you fly," Hollin reassured him. "It appears to me that you have re-learned your old, good habits, so I am not worried on your behalf."
"You'll do fine," Emily added. She scrambled onto his back and they walked together to the cliffs where the training-master dragon waited for them.
"No human riders on the first flight, please," Celeritas ordered. Emily quickly unclipped and dismounted, unwilling to cause any problems for Levitas on this critical occasion. "Thank you. Levitas, wings straight up, please." Levitas did so. "You still cannot raise the left wing fully? I fear it may never completely heal. That is unfortunate. Oh, well; whenever you are ready."
The Winchester shook his harness and announced, "All lies well," even though it wasn't a critical matter because no one was riding him. Then he leaped off the cliff, spread his wings, and soared upward. Betsy and Hollin had difficulty keeping up with him. He carefully stayed well within the training grounds, but when he wasn't veering away from the boundaries, he was the picture of unfettered joy.
Betsy finally overtook him. Captain Hollin called out some simple maneuvers that Celeritas wanted the Winchester to perform, and Levitas did so without difficulty. When the training-master had seen enough, he called them all back to the cliffs. There, he said, "Levitas, that was good. Now we will test your procedures for flying with your captain."
"My... what?" Levitas stammered, taken aback.
"My apologies. That was inappropriate; I am not sure how I should describe Cadet Roland. Levitas, you will now fly with your friend."
"Oh," Levitas finally said. "Friend Emily, are you willing to fly with me again?"
"Yes, of course," she said matter-of-factly as she approached him. "But not upside-down." His heart soared! Again he shook his harness out and announced that all was well. She climbed onto his back easily, clipped on, paused to test him, and finally announced, "Crew is aboard." Only then did he spread his wings and fly.
Emily had ridden on Temeraire a few times. She'd ridden on Excidium with her mother so he could begin to get to know her, she had taken some short flights on other dragons like Maximus when their captains were in a good mood, and of course she had taken that quick, unscheduled flight with Levitas three days ago. This was her first solo flight. He was much smaller than the other dragons she had ridden, but he accelerated more quickly, and the feeling of power was intoxicating. She leaned forward and murmured, "Can you go faster?" Levitas' wings bit into the air as he accelerated; they swiftly left Betsy behind. They were getting close to the boundaries of the training grounds, so he dipped a wing and swept into a banked turn. Her short hair was standing out nearly straight behind her, she had to squint into the wind of their forward motion... and she wished that this moment never had to end. She raised a fist and whooped in triumph, and it mattered not whether Hollin or Betsy heard her.
Then Levitas straightened, backwinged, and glided toward the cliffs. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Celeritas says I must land," he answered. "Did you not hear him?"
"All I heard was the wind rushing in my ears," she said. "I suppose your ears are better than mine." They glided down smoothly, and Levitas made a near-perfect landing. Laurence and Temeraire, and her mother and Excidium, were waiting for them, along with Celeritas, Hollin, and Betsy.
Celeritas was still all business. "Cadet Roland, did you notice any irregularities in Levitas' flight?"
"Sir, there was a slight hitch when he turned to the left," she answered as she dismounted and patted her hair back into place. "Nothing else." She marveled that she had noticed anything at all, beyond the pure exhilaration of flight. She wondered how it would feel to ride Excidium and feel that kind of power under her own control.
"Excellent, all things considered," the training-master nodded. "Then I suppose it is time for you to repair to the Pen Y Fan breeding ground, Levitas."
"I beg your pardon, sir?" Levitas had been so excited to fly again; this news hit him like a faceful of ice-cold water.
"Just like that?" Emily was also stunned at this development.
"Dragons without captains cannot stay in the training area, which is only for dragons who are actively serving England," Celeritas explained. "Have no worries, Levitas; you will be well-fed and cared for, and you will be provided with mates from time to time. The place is called 'the breeding ground' for a reason."
"I cannot have a captain?" the little dragon whimpered. "Ever?"
"I know of no one who desires that position," Celeritas declared. "Without full use of both wings, you cannot return to active duty, and the Admiral will not ruin a promising man's career by assigning him to a dragon who is unable to serve. Chin up, now! You will make many new friends in the breeding ground; it is not as though you are being sent into solitary confinement."
"But I like people," he sniffed. "Even if some people don't like me, I still like being with people."
Emily began to say something, but she suddenly felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. "Think carefully, Emily. Think about your destiny. You were born to be a Longwing's captain."
Emily glanced at Laurence. "I will give you no orders, Emily, and I can offer you no advice."
Temeraire added, "You must do what is best."
"Thank you, but that's not much help," Emily complained. She looked sadly at Levitas, but said nothing more.
"Let us go, Levitas," Hollin said as he climbed onto Betsy's back. "We will escort you to the breeding ground and make certain that you are properly received there. Then they will remove your harness and you will begin your new life there. Shall we go?"
"In a moment," Levitas said sadly. He turned to face Emily. "My friend, you have been very good to me. I fear I will not see you again. Will you promise to remember me?"
"Of course I will!" she burst out as she flung her arms around the dragon's neck. Laurence thought he heard her sniffling, but she mastered it. She let go and backed away. Levitas took one more look at his friends, then resolutely launched himself into the air. Betsy flapped upwards at the same time, and the two dragons curved around to the south and set off on their journey without looking back.
"I suppose that ended well enough," Laurence commented.
"Indeed," Celeritas nodded. "The dragon could have died from his injuries, or he could have been crippled and flightless. But he showed great strength, both physically and mentally, as he recovered. I think the breeders will be glad to extend his bloodline. England needs more dragons like him."
"Well said," Jane agreed. "Emily, you also did well, nursing that dragon back to health. Perhaps it is time for you to resume your usual duties now." She got no response. "Emily?"
Emily was looking away to the south. "Mother, no," she said firmly. "Temeraire says I should do what is best. Sending Levitas away is not what is best. It's not best for him, and it's not best for me."
"Don't throw your future away!" the senior Roland warned her. "Your whole life needs to stay focused on becoming Excidium's rider someday. Nothing you could ever do for England, or for me, could ever be more important than fulfilling your destiny."
"Mother, I agree with that last part." She pointed to the south. "But my destiny just went that way." Then she turned to Laurence. "Sir, for just a couple of minutes, I was a dragon's captain. Celeritas even said so. As one captain to another, I'm asking you for a favor."
"What cheek!" Celeritas exclaimed, and Jane Roland nodded.
Temeraire disagreed. "Is it not a good thing that she knows what she wants and is unafraid to ask for it?"
Laurence glanced up at his dragon and managed a smile. "Very well, Emily; in these unusual circumstances, I shall humor you. What is it that you want of me?"
o
Levitas flew in sullen silence. Betsy and Hollin repeatedly tried to draw him into conversation, and they repeatedly failed. He paid no attention to the scenery as it rolled by beneath them. Even the sight of a herd of cows could not catch his notice. He flew with his eyes half-closed, staring straight ahead. Hollin gave up.
He could understand the dragon's depression, to a certain extent. But how else could his story end? England desperately needed every dragon she could get, but an unhealed injury that affected flight was a disqualifier. Who could guess what effect that injury might have on a long flight, or in the heat of battle? Hollin tried to imagine living in a place where he was given free food and plenty of willing women... but if it meant giving up Betsy, he would decline the offer without a moment's thought. Yes, he could understand the dragon's position. But Levitas had no captain and no prospects of gaining one. Surely this was for the best.
Neither dragon was looking behind them; they had no reason to. Both dragons where shocked when a huge shadow swept across them, and a violent roar from just above them added to their fear. Betsy, like most Yellow Reapers, reflexively panicked and dove for the ground. Levitas did not have that innate response to an attack from above, and his mind wasn't fully alert anyway. He looked back to find the source of the roar.
"Temeraire?" he asked, confused.
"Prepare to be boarded and surrender!" the Celestial shouted back. He put on a burst of speed and overtook the Winchester, who was still too mentally fogged to take any kind of evasive action. A slim figure hung off Temeraire's larboard side as he passed over Levitas; that figure dropped lightly onto his back and clipped herself onto his harness.
"Gotcha!" she exclaimed.
"Friend Emily? Why are you here? I don't understand."
"It's simple," she said matter-of-factly. "You want a captain, right? Well, now you've got one. If you'll have me, that is."
"You would choose me over Excidium?" Levitas was struggling to understand all this. "But why, Emily? He is so much bigger than me, and so much more powerful!"
"So what?" she shrugged. "He might be bigger and more powerful than you are, but he's not as nice as you are. If I'm going to spend all my life with a dragon, then it ought to be a dragon I can get along with, right? I like you, and you like me, so we ought to be together. To me, that's all that matters. Just promise me you won't do any more flying with me hanging upside-down, okay?"
"But what about your career?" he begged. "And what about Excidium? You will have no future, and he will have no rider."
"Laurence says he has an idea about my career," she answered. "I trust him. As for Excidium, he's my mother's worry; she'll come up with something. Now, will you have me as your captain, or won't you?"
"I will," he said, and blinked hard. "With all my heart, I will!"
"Good," she said with satisfaction as she stroked the base of his neck. "Now, let's catch up with Betsy and tell Captain Hollin what's going on. Then we need to turn back. We've got some training to do, and we're headed in the wrong direction."
"I hear and obey, my captain!" Levitas answered proudly as he spiraled down toward Betsy's distant form. "Oh, I love saying that. 'My captain!' " A full smile crossed his face. His name meant "light-hearted," and now, for the first time since his hatching, he was living up to his name. His joy was contagious; as they overtook Betsy, Emily was smiling too.