Thanks to the reviewers;
basketballstar (haven't seen you before! thanks for the review... will reply properly sometime!)
Restained . Freedom (great idea about Greenie's rider being 'experienced but new'. Sadly, that isn't why, but at the end of the chapter you will hopefully understand why the rider is 'experienced but new' )
SimplySupreme (the question in your review is answered in this chapter :) your blue cookies are on the way...)
*Huge chapter alert*
Well, not actually that long in words, but something very important happens here...
Read on and see!
The Meepsta :) :)
PS: 5 + reviews would be awesome...
(Elva POV)
I crouch here in the cave, numb with the cold, but somehow content. Underground is the only place in the world I feel welcome, as down here, nobody is around to challenge me. As soon as I get away from other people, their cruel thoughts and petty hurts soon fade away. It is, I suppose, like whispers in the wind, drifting away until finally...
They disappear.
As I glance around my surroundings, I notice a golden dining-table in the centre of the chamber. Cracked and stained, I assume it was abandoned by some rich King or Queen, deciding that it had become too untidy to be of use. Still, why would it be here?
It is then that I first notice it. Underneath a dark cloth, a strange object emits a emerald light. It is so blinding that I am forced to look away for my safety, but I am determined that I will find out what it is. Raising my hand in front of my eyes for protection, I take a step forward. I pick up a small pebble at my feet and fling it at the item, testing whether it is a trap.
The dark cloth begins to slide, and just as the object is revealed, a deafening ringing resounds in the cave. I fly out the door and up the stairs, convinced that I have raised an alarm. But was it an alarm?
My curiosity soon gets the better of me, and I find myself at the bottom again, holding the object in the palms of my hands. I can now see my reflection in it, eyes wide and glowing with magic.
Only then do I realise what it is.
(Greenie POV)
I have waited a long time for this. This moment. I always thought it was unfair that my brothers and sisters found their Riders before me, but now I understand. I understand why I must wait.
The not-quite-human-one holds my egg in the palm of my hand, and her touch feels different. To the others. And I know for certain this is my Rider.
Experienced but new. She is that too.
I know for certain. It is time to escape my prison, time to escape the shell that was given to protect me while I was young. But how do I escape?
(Elva POV)
It is the egg... the green dragon egg! I stand there, paralysed in my shock and amazement. Who would have thought that such a fearsome creature could come out of such an innocent-looking object?
(Greenie POV)
Ramming my scaly head against the wall, I squeak in excitement as it shifts from the impact.
I must kill it. The egg.
I smack it again, this time with my scaly hide, and a piece of shell flies off. The egg is cracking!
And again...
I poke my head through cautiously, looking around frantically for my Rider. Where?
Staring down at me, with a weird expression on her face, is a girl. A human.
My Rider.
A human with purple eyes, and a weird silver mark. On her forehead? How?
(Elva POV)
Has the dragon really hatched for me? Surely there must be some mistake... couldn't it have hatched late for another? After all, I have amethyst eyes, not emerald, unlike the elf Arya.
Why not she?
Pushing away those thoughts, a small smile tugs at my lips as I admire its glimmering scales and tiny fangs.
Prepared to fight from the beginning.
I brace myself for the pain that is to follow... the pain when I claim this dragon as mine.
(Greenie POV)
The human lowers her hand down to stroke my scales, and I reach up to meet her.
As we touch, time seems to slow as her face contorts with some terrible pain.
She is hurt?
Falling backwards, she hits something soft with a thump.
Have I killed her?
(Elva POV)
Red spots of agony dance over my vision. My sight is blurred, everything around me rippling as if underwater.
But, for the first time in my life, I am genuinely happy.
For the first time in my life, I know that I will have a companion who understands me completely. For the three years of my life, I have constantly been surrounded by people who would never dare to become my friend. They just 'used' me.
For the first time in my life, I have an idea of what I must do. After bringing my dragon up in some hidden place, I shall flee this land on dragonback and start anew. Maybe the creatures in the land over the sea will give me a chance at life. Maybe they would even respect me for who I am.
I am Elva, your Rider.
I project my thoughts to my dragon, more easily than I expected.
You need a name, don't you?
The dragon tilts his head and crawls towards me, resting in the crook of my arm.
I am Elva, your Rider.
Elva. He replies, deep voice full of happiness. Elva.