Tesaldia walked slowly behind Shai. Her legs ached and her head throbbed. They had been walking since yesterday. Tesaldia slowed even more, wishing she could rest. Finally Shai stopped. "We'll rest here for a while."

Tesaldia collapsed to the ground and lay there, not moving. "Are you all right?"

Tesaldia just waved Shai off as she lay on the ground. Tesaldia eventually sat up and took the bag off of her shoulder, and set it on the ground. "When do you think the egg will hatch," she asked Shai.

"It's hard to know exactly. There is one way to tell though."

"How?"

Tesaldia was now getting excited. She couldn't wait for it to hatch. "If you put your hand on the egg shell," he placed his hand on the egg, "The egg will get warmer and the pulse inside the egg shell will become more powerful the closer it gets to hatching."

Tesaldia put her hand on the egg, her hand became hot and she could clearly feel a pulse. She looked at Shai, her eyes flashing. "When do you think it will hatch?"

"I'd say in three days at the most."

Tesaldia tensed up and her face was stuck in a large grin. She would finally have a horse of her own.

That night Tesaldia thought of what the horse would look like. Would the color of its egg have anything to do with the color of the horse? Tesaldia thought about this as she slowly fell asleep.

Tesaldia was the first to wake the next morning. She sat up and looked around. She stretched and then got up. Tesaldia was about to lift the bag onto her shoulder when she stopped. Did the egg just move?

Tesaldia was excited and she quickly took out the egg. Tesaldia laid it onto the ground and stared at it. The egg shook again. Tesaldia crawled over and woke Shai up. "What is it," he moaned.

"The egg, it's hatching. Wake up!"

Tesaldia turned around a large crack ran down one side of the egg. Tesaldia sat and watched the egg. The egg shook and cracked and suddenly there was a small squeak. Then a small hoof broke through the side of the shell and all at once the egg fell apart. Tesaldia couldn't believe her eyes. It was an extraordinary foal.

It was about the size of a dog. Its coat was a dark blue roan. It's main and tail were pure white. The foal didn't have any white markings, but it did have gold and silver stripes on its legs. The stripes seemed to drain out of the knee as they swirled around the leg down to the hoof. Tesaldia breathed a sigh of relief. Then the foal took off. Tesaldia shouted after it, but the foal wouldn't stop. Tesaldia ran after the foal, her heart pounding.

The foal kept running and then abruptly stopped when it came to a lake. Tesaldia watched the foal as it dove into the water. Tesaldia ran to the lake side and looked for the foal. Then its head popped above the surface and the foal swam back to shore. Tesaldia's jaw dropped as the foal stepped out of the water.

Water continuously ran from the foal's shoulder over it's back and down its legs. The water churned and spiraled, going in different directions as the foal moved. Shai came running up and looked at the foal. "It's a water horse."

Tesaldia looked at Shai, "It's a what?"

"A water horse?"

Tesaldia stared at Shai. He nodded. "Yeah, a water horse, they can control water, just like you can."

Tesaldia thought about this. Maybe it had been fate that the horse had died and Tesaldia had gotten the egg. Tesaldia picked up her bag and put the egg shell into it. She also took off one of the straps from her bag and she tied it around the foal's neck. Shai started walking and Tesaldia followed close behind him.

Shai and Tesaldia walked for hours before Shai stopped. He took out his map and looked at it. "We have to keep going this way for about five miles, then we should be in Balar."

Tesaldia looked at the hills ahead of her. She really didn't want to walk anymore, but she would have to.

A loud screech rang through the air and Tesaldia looked up. Her eyes widened as a large dragon flew out of the trees. Tesaldia broke into a run, the foal behind her. She didn't know where Shai was but she didn't want to stop. She ducked into the trees but the dragon landed in front of her.

It glared at her and steam blew out of its flaring nostrils. Tesaldia tried to run the other direction but the dragon cut her off again. There was no water anywhere that Tesaldia could reach with her powers. She was doomed. Then she thought, the foal. Tesaldia shouted to the water and managed to get it to go from the foals back to the dragon. The dragon screeched in pain and backed away.

Tesaldia whipped water at the dragon over and over again. She would not stop until it was gone. Finally the dragon had enough and he flew off, but before he did he left out a mighty roar.

Tesaldia was shaking. Her hands felt weak. Shai came running up. "Are you okay," his voice sounded shaky.

Tesaldia nodded and looked at the foal. It stood there and left out a small nicker. Then the water enveloped the foal's entire body. Tesaldia was about to lunge forward when Shai stopped her. She looked at him, but didn't protest. Then the water grew larger and larger until it was a big ball. Then the water died down, but the foal was now a yearling! Tesaldia gasped, why?

"When the water horse gains trust in its owner, it grows."

"I saved it from the dragon."

Tesaldia smiled, her horse trusted her. She couldn't wait for the yearling to become an adult, then she would be able to start riding.

Tesaldia thought about the dragon. She knew this would not be the last time she would see it. She also knew that soon enough she would be challenged by the Vyrdaes himself.