A Second Chance
They left late afternoon, as soon as their mother had woken up, telling her that they would go to the city to find out what was happening. She looked worried but they reassured her that nothing would happen to them if they were together.
Kayla had exchanged her blue dress for a pair of leather pants and a loose white linen shirt, matching her brother's outfit. She had washed her body, face and hair, which was now in a ponytail. Her conversation with her brother in the early morning had stayed with her and she couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness and guilt. Her wish had been granted but Tristan looked more miserable than ever and she did not want that.
They reached the village square as small puffs of smoke still flew towards the sky. Most of the buildings had been destroyed, cheap and expensive objects lying on the ground like sand grains in the sea bed and it was obvious that some villagers had made efforts to restore the order but not with much luck.
Kayla pointed a soldier to her brother and they both walked towards him.
"I need to speak to a dragon rider" she told the soldier. The man looked at her as if she was crazy.
"The dragon riders are busy, girl, they have been patrolling the skies all day" the man answered and fixed his helmet.
"What about any magicians or Arhan's leaders? We wouldn't be here if it wasn't important" Tristan said behind her.
The man shook his head, unsure.
"We are willing to exchange a goat. Lovely, little thing, makes milk every day and fixes your grass problems" Tristan continued and Kayla shot him a perplexed look and so did the soldier.
"Look, I am not interested in your goat. I do not know where the Arhan leaders are but I do know that some magicians and elves are tending to the wounded in the clearing we gathered last night. Whatever you have to tell them, must be very important otherwise…." The man was saying but Tristan was already running towards the clearing with Kayla following closely behind.
When they reached the clearing a few tents had been set up and Kayla could hear people crying. Tristan rose an eyebrow at her direction but she shook her head. There were guards outside each tent, their swords glowing in the sun, their expressions serious.
"I will distract them" Tristan told her and Kayla hid behind the tent, watching her brother approach the guards.
"So, how much do you get paid each day?" Tristan casually asked, while studying a piece of rock.
The guards watched him carefully.
"What do you want, boy?" one of them asked. Tristan sighed dramatically and threw the rock in the air, catching it again.
"It's just that I have always wanted to do something else apart from being a smith and your job looks so exciting! Getting to ride alongside elves, dragons and the sort. Do you feel a rush of adrenaline before a battle?" Tristan asked having both guards' attention and motioned to her to go.
She run around the tent, only a few inches behind the guards and entered as silently as she could, praying they would not turn around. Kayla sifted her attention inside and she saw more people than she had expected. Their moans reached her ears and she momentarily felt dazed.
She searched around trying to find someone that could take them closer to the eggs and she saw a magician, kneeling beside a man's bed, concentrating hard. She rushed to them and stood a few inches away not wanting to distract the healer. She noticed the magician had dark skin and her hair was short and curly.
Kayla watched in fascination as some of the man's injuries began to heal as if by themselves and black smoke rose from his wounds. The man had his eyes closed, wincing once so often. After she was done, the healer opened her eyes and breathed deep and slow. She took out from her bag a piece of bread and a jag of water and she drunk deep.
"I need your help" Kayla whispered behind the magician. The woman jumped, almost dropping the water she was holding and her attention sifted to Kayla.
"I am sorry but I am busy. I can't help you" the magician said and shook her head taking another sip of water.
"But I am willing to help you. I believe we can help each other" Kayla said to the woman and she looked surprised. The man beside them, let out a small wince and closed his eyes again.
"Girl, do you see all these wounded here? Do you hear their pain? Do you see the smoke rising from their wounds? In all our years, few of us have seen injuries of that extent. To heal them takes a tremendous amount of energy. Energy that we do not have" the woman said and run her hand through her hair, wiping sweat from the man's brows.
"You need energy. I can give it to you" Kayla said to the woman and the magician looked taken aback.
"I have read books and though I am sure they are not accurate I know how magic works. You need energy to heal the wounded, I will give you mine. I want the people of Arhan to be healed as much as anyone, since I live in this village. But in return you must talk to one of the dragon riders for me. There is something I need to tell them" Kayla continued.
"Girl, you do not know what you ask. It's a hard task tapping into someone's energy…" she started but Kayla cut her mid-sentence.
"But it will be renewed and you need all the help you can get"
The magician seemed to mull over this decision and then looked at Kayla. She felt a presence in her mind and she could see the woman concentrate, as her eyebrows were pulled together and she was breathing hard. There was a small part in her mind, something she had felt before and it was being approached by an alien entity.
She felt the energy flow as it moved from her to the magician and her knees trembled slightly. Kayla suddenly felt lightheaded and went to touch a wooden chair just as the connection between her and the magician broke.
The older woman looked as if she had just eaten an immense amount of fruit, and sugar was pumping throughout her body. She gave Kayla a drink of water and a piece of bread, which the girl accepted happily.
"Did you get enough?" she asked in a small voice.
"Yes. I got enough. I got more than…" the older woman started saying bewildered, but Kayla cut her mid-sentence.
"And my energy reserve will heal now. I know. Will you speak to the riders for me?"
The magician nodded twice and closed her eyes but her brows were not pulled together and it seemed as if she didn't need to expend any energy at all.
Kayla got up from the chair, feeling a bit better and waited as the woman opened her eyes again after a few seconds.
The magician got up and went to exit the tent while Kayla followed closely behind.
"And then when I was ten I killed this gigantic wild boar that roamed the Spine for years causing havoc and terror… "Tristan was saying to two extremely bored guards who kept glancing at each other. He glanced at her direction just as the tent opened and the two guards stepped back, startled, to let the magician pass.
"Dear sister where have you been? These two lovely people have been keeping me company while I was waiting for you" Tristan said, smiling widely and followed behind Kayla as he waved at the guards. "Until next time", he continued and the guards shot each other horrified expressions.
"You didn't say there would be two of you" the magician whispered to Kayla when they had put some distance between themselves and the guards.
"Will this be a problem?" she asked, suddenly worried. The magician closed her eyes for a bit and then shook her head.
"Follow me" she whispered to them both as she walked deeper inside the forest.
…
Kayla struggled to keep up with the turns and twists in the road but after only a little bit, she gave up. She still felt slightly weak from the loss of energy and she was steadily losing ground and being left behind. Tristan was in front of her, trying to start a conversation with the woman.
"Do all magicians have black markings such as yours?" he asked her.
"No" the woman replied.
"Is it true that you don't grow old, as fast as normal humans would?"
"Yes"
"Do you enjoy a roast chicken more than a vegetable broth?"
"Yes" the woman answered and then looked at Tristan baffled. "How does this connect with me being a magician?"
"It doesn't, I just wanted you to say something else other than yes and no" Tristan replied and gave her one of his biggest smiles.
Despite herself, Kayla smiled just as the woman came to a halt.
She saw nothing out of the ordinary at the place they stopped, apart from the fact there was a small opening between the trees.
"Mor' amr" the magician said and suddenly out of nowhere structures appeared and the opening that was before, now seemed ten times larger. A brown dragon lay down with its eyes closed, smoke rising from its nostrils.
The elf dragon rider appeared from between the wooden structures and approached them, looking deadly serious.
"What is it that you wish to speak of, young ones?" he asked in a solemn tone, his fair hair touching the sharp angles of his face.
"I am asking to see the dragon eggs again" Tristan said, standing close to Kayla. The elf seemed to consider this for only a little while.
"No" he replied.
"What is it with creatures who wield magic and single word answers?" he asked almost annoyed and Kayla touched his shoulder,
The elf rider sighed, almost impatient.
"What attacked us last night left a bigger damage than we had originally anticipated. Two dragon eggs are damaged and one is missing. We cannot afford to let you near these eggs" he explained. Tristan looked taken aback with this new information but he did not stop.
"We do not pose any danger. We just came to see them one more time…" he said just as the Urgal dragon rider appeared from inside the wooden structure. Kayla looked at him, wishing he could remember her from last night. If he did, he did not show any signs.
"No. Next year" the elf said and irritated Tristan nodded and turned around to leave.
"I demand to be presented to the eggs!" Kayla shouted, as she watched her brother giving up and something sparked inside her.
"You cannot demand anything little girl, you ask and if we want we give" the elf continued.
"But I have the right to see the eggs as everyone else in Alagaesia"
"You have already had your chance"
"No, I haven't. In all three years I have declined the offer but there was supposed to be another calling of names"
"And it is your own fault. You will have to wait until next year when Brasungr festival shall begin…" the elf continued but Kayla cut him mid-sentence.
"We both know that this is not desirable. How many eggs have hatched this year? Two? Will two dragon riders be enough? Already word has it that the number of dragon riders has started to decline. Give us a chance, you have nothing to lose and if you are afraid that we might damage the eggs, examine our minds, do whatever you want. We just want another chance" Kayla said again and almost begged.
The Urgal rider approached them and touched his chin, his yellow eyes glinting as the sun started to set. Kayla returned the gaze, not showing the slightest sign of fear.
"Impressive speech but why do you think you or your brother will be picked as dragon riders? What do you have that the other men and women here, lack? Please convince us" he asked her.
I want my brother to be a dragon rider. I want him to succeed.
"We want to be dragon riders. We went through all this trouble of finding you. I don't see any of the other men and women you mentioned standing before you"
The Urgal looked at the elf dragon rider who was intently studying Kayla and Tristan, his gaze lingering on both.
"One minute" he said. "One minute for each egg and if nothing happens you will go back to your house and wait for another year"
"Agreed" Tristan said behind her, in a calm demeanour, Tristan who got excited with anything dragon related.
They followed the elf and the Urgal inside the wooden structure leaving the woman behind as she turned around to go tend to the sick.
Five eggs stood before them in special pedestals and protective material surrounded them. Kayla, gazed mesmerized as she had never seen dragon eggs from such a close distance. The two dragon riders watched their every move, like lions watching their pray.
"The girl first. Don't forget, one minute for each" the Urgal said in a deep tone.
Kayla nodded and went to stand before the first egg which had the colour of almonds. She swallowed, suddenly very anxious as she felt her hand shake. She run a single finger, quick, across its surface and then went to the next one. This one, had the colour of the rising sun and repeating her previous movement, her hand touched the outside hurriedly. She didn't even properly touch the third egg before she went to the forth.
There she paused. This egg was different compared to the ones before. She couldn't determine its exact colour as it was something between silver, grey and purple. Her heart beat faster inside her chest and she felt sweat run down her back.
Her delicate fingers grazed the rough but smooth surface and she felt a presence inside her mind as she had done so when the magician had entered her mind. However this was a calm presence, a curious presence and it seemed to want to know more about her, slightly brushing the edges of her unconsciousness.
Kayla shivered and almost screamed, dropping her hand to the side. Without looking back she went to the last egg, a similar complexion to the previous one with that having highlights of light blue instead of purple. She pressed her right hand on top and she felt another consciousness demanding entrance into her mind. Perplexed and scared, she only held her palm on top for only a second before she rushed away and walked close to the two dragon riders.
Her breath was coming out loud, but she was trying to calm herself and show no signs of distress in front of the elves. She didn't want them to get the wrong idea.
She watched as Tristan walked to the pedestals, touching the eggs with his palms but he held them there longer than she had. Kayla could still feel the brushes of a consciousness in her mind making her uneasy.
Please let a dragon hatch. Please let Tristan become a dragon rider, she pleaded with her mind.
Tristan walked to the forth egg, placing both his palms on top as the two dragon riders watched carefully. He removed them after just a minute and put his hands on the final egg. There seemed to be a sudden change in his expression, surprise mingled with hope and then suddenly a noise echoed around the wooden structure and all four turned to see a crack appearing on the forth egg.
Kayla smiled but her brother appeared more puzzled than anything else and then another loud noise echoed and riders and humans alike gazed, shocked, at the large crack that had appeared on the final egg just as all hell was about to break loose.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. What do you think of the plot so far? Do you like the pace the story is going at or should I increase it? Reviews/comments would be greatly appreciated .