by Jada Fisher
Maybe if she was lucky, she would dream of Grandfather.
12
A Hand Revealed Too Early
“Now give me five more squats.”
Eist groaned as Dille gave her a hard look but finished the move nonetheless. She had thought, in the two months of her being at the academy, that she had learned what pain and soreness were. It seemed that she had been quite wrong.
In the days following the fire, Eist found herself spending from morning until night sitting by her grandfather’s side. Watching. Waiting. Only leaving to relieve herself and sleep. Yacrist and Dille brought her food without even asking, which she was intensely grateful for.
And she was quite content to keep sitting there for the months and months it would take for him to get better, but after the first full week of her watch, it was Ale’a who came with a noon meal instead of her friends. Eist could remember the conversation as if it were just minutes ago, and not days.
“How is he?” she asked, sitting on a stool that was almost comically small for her.
“Better. They changed his bandages yesterday and so far, there is no sign of infection.”
“That is good then.”
“It is.”
Eist wasn’t sure what to say to the woman that she admired so much. To be honest, she had forgotten about much of the world beyond the walls of the infirmary and seeing the redheaded warrior reminded her of all that was waiting outside.
“You have missed much in these past days,” Ale’a said matter-of-factly before taking a large bite of the chicken leg in her mouth.
“Have I?”
“Folks are preparing for the grand test before the hatching.”
“That’s not for another three months. I will have time to catch up.”
“Will you?”
Eist finally turned her head from her grandfather, giving the woman a curious look. “Do you think I won’t be able to?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. I’ve been watching you, little one, ever since that first day when you so calmly ran your laps. You have control, and you know your body well, but you are going through a great change and need constant training to keep up with the young men as they grow too.”
“What do you mean? That women are somehow inferior?”
“Of course not,” she answered with a laugh, putting Eist at ease. Although Ale’a was a woman, she wouldn’t be the first one that Eist had run into that had several pointed opinions about female dragon riders and their place in life. “But right now, you’re in the middle of becoming a woman and they’re in the middle of becoming men. Their muscles are doubling, and their beards are growing in, while your hips are widening, and your balance is shifting. These advantages will even out later in life, when you’re both done with your changing, but right now, you’re at quite the disadvantage. Especially if you’ve already started your moon-bleeds.”
“My what?” Eist asked, surprised by the turn the conversation had taken.
“It is something all women go through. It’s not necessary to discuss now, but I would like to in the coming days. It can be…disconcerting.”
“More disconcerting than a lightning strike to the hatchery?”
“In some ways, yes.”
The conversation stilled for several moments before the woman cleared her throat. “Listen, I would have you come back to your classes and training on the morrow. I cannot force you, but it is what I recommend.”
Eist shook her head, her heart lurching at the thought of leaving her grandfather. “I can’t. I need to be here.”
“Do you really?” This time, Eist did indeed glare at her, but the woman seemed unperturbed. “Look, he will recover whether you are here or not, and you still have your two days a week to sit by his side and tell him all that you’ve done.
“But I am telling you, should you choose to stay here and lose more days, the dream that you obviously hold so dear will slip through your fingers.
“I didn’t wish to say this, but as an assistant, I hear the teachers talk. Some think you’re slow, like some sort of stunted child. Some see your potential. You have to fight three times as hard as anyone else here to make it through the final test.”
Eist chewed on her lip, much of the training her grandfather had taught her flowing through her head. He had so desperately wanted her not to choose this path. Would he be happy if she just gave up?
No. He had told her that once she started on the path, she must finish it, and she couldn’t stray now. Not after all the work that he had put into her.
“They really think me slow?” she repeated softly. She had always had an inkling that some of them believed how Ain did, but at least none of them treated her differently in class.
“They speak of them having to repeat themselves multiple times. Of the way you stare at them as if they were speaking a foreign language. Of how whenever you look down to write, you’re almost impossible to speak to again until you’re done writing.”
“That’s not—” Eist took a breath. “I’m not addled. I’m just different.”
“I am well aware,” Ale’a answered, clapping her large hand on Eist’s back. “And like I said, I did not intend to tell you this, but you must understand how everything is stacked against you right now. I want you to become a dragon rider, like me, but you must leave this room.”
Eist was quiet a long time, weighing everything that she was saying. After minutes ticked by, she finally sighed, the only sound she could make that wouldn’t release the tears.
“Alright. Tomorrow.”
“Good. And perhaps those friends of yours would like to join for a little makeup training with everything that you missed?”
“Perhaps, but they also might be busy with their own preparations as well.”
They were not busy. In fact, it seemed that Dille got a certain sort of satisfaction from putting Eist through her paces. While the she could outlast all of them on laps, Ale’a had assessed, accurately, that she needed to work on her flexibility, grip strength, and reaction time. Which, of course, were areas that the lithe Dille excelled in.
“Really? Another set?” Yacrist asked, even his handsome face red like Eist’s. At least he usually tried to do most of the moves with her when he wasn’t busy studying for himself. Over the weeks, Eist had learned that the boy had difficulty remembering which colors of which dragons did what, so she helped him in what little spare time they had.
“Come on, five more!” Dille said sharply, her voice ringing throughout the training field.
Normally it was much too late after curfew for them to be out, but apparently having her training sponsored by Ale’a came with its perks. Why the giant woman had taken an interest in her, she didn’t know, but Eist wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
And so, she did five more squats, then sparring, and just when she felt like she was going to fall over, it was time for the long set of never-ending stretches they did in the hopes that she could one day touch her toes.
“Owww,” Yacrist groaned as the three of them bent over, perhaps the only person less flexible than her. His note of pain made her snicker a bit.
“Ah yes, mock my agony. You know compassion is one of the tenants of a dragon rider.”
“I do know,” Eist said evenly. Or as evenly as she could considering she was doubled over and trying to get her fingers to touch the tips of her boots. She wasn’t even that tall! She had no excuse for being so stiff-spined. “Because I am the one who taught you that at our last review.”
“Ah. So that’s why I could hear it in your voice.”
That made Dille snicker too and soon the three were chortling to themselves. It was these moments that helped Eist power through the worry and guilt from leaving her grandfather’s side. He would like these two, she just knew it.
The three were so involved in their little joke that they didn’t hear footsteps approaching until something broad slapped against Eist’s backside. Startled, she stumbled forward, a
nd face-planted right into the dirt.
“What the hell are you doing?” she heard Dille spit, already sounding absolutely livid. Eist rolled and looked up to see Ain with a broad plank of wood.
Had he… Had he spanked her???
“Oh, was that you, slow girl?” he said as if he was just so hilarious. “I thought a cow had broken into the middle of the field and I was trying to get it back to the pastures.”
Yacrist stepped forward, puffing his chest out, but Eist stood and caught his arm. “Don’t give him the attention he wants. He’s like a buzzing bug. Ignore him, don’t feed him, and he’ll go away.”
“Yeah, I’m the bug.” Ain spat.
But Eist just followed her own advice, turning back around to face away from him and bending forward once again. She could sense the other two staring at her like she was insane, but she just cleared her throat and they followed suit. The way she saw it, Ain had a choice. He could back away now, having gotten his jab in, or he could escalate the situation. Which wouldn’t be the wise thing to do.
Then again, Ain had never seemed to be very wise.
Eist could hear the board pull back again, ready to fly through the air toward her rear once again. She allowed herself a single sigh, then kicked back with her thick leg, putting all that she had into the snap.
Several things happened at once. She felt her boot collide with the thick wood and it shatter into pieces that flew several which ways, before her leg extended all of the way and connected with something quite soft.
A howl sounded from behind her, then a thump as a body hit the ground. Eist stood slowly, allowing each bone of her spine to come up one by one, before calmly turning to face the writhing Ain.
“Y-y-you—” he sputtered, cupping the juncture of his legs in pain. Huh, she hadn’t consciously been aiming for that particular soft spot, but it seemed that part of her mind had wanted to be especially vindictive.
“I think that concludes this lesson for tonight,” Eist said flatly before stepping over the writhing boy.
“I won’t forget this! I won’t! I will get you back!”
“I certainly hope not,” she said over her shoulder as her friends joined her. “That would ruin the whole point of the lesson, wouldn’t it?”
He continued to howl, curses falling from his lips, but Eist just marched forward, her head held high.
Ale’a was right. She would have to work three times as hard as everyone else, but that just meant that she was three times more the foe and they needed to prepare themselves for.
Weeks passed, each one of them more intense than the last. They became a cycle of waking up sore, studying, training, visiting her grandfather if she could, then going to bed sore. But her improvements began to be noticeable. She stopped looking down whenever she wrote in class, making sure to concentrate on what the teachers were saying. She started to excel in their physical training, and even the always-shirtless trainer began to notice.
Slowly, she proved her worth, and more students began to come to her for help when they were struggling. Teachers called her up to answer or draw on the black patch of wall. Even Ale’a seemed to be glowing with pride.
And so, bit by bit, she felt her destiny coming toward her. Finally, it was time for the final assembly to sort out how their class would be divided for the test. Apparently, whatever it was would be too long for all of them to go in one day, but the teachers certainly didn’t want the first through to tip off later students, so there had to be a sort of separation.
Eist wasn’t worried about it, though. She was sure that she would make it through. She had been training so hard, there was no way that she would fail. She filed in with Dille and Yacrist beside her, grateful for a chance to rest her feet. They had been particularly sore lately and she suspected that she was outgrowing her shoes. Ale’a seemed right about those body changes so far, but hopefully, they would stop soon. Eist had far more important things to worry about than new clothes and body proportions.
Just like the first day, the three council members stepped to the podium. But unlike that time, Elspeth wasn’t present, leaving Keyln in her place.
It was Radoth who stepped forward first, holding his hands up. That quieted the room, and he began to speak.
“Greetings again, young ones,” he said, voice deep and rumbling. He projected so well that she bet even the people in the back could hear him with no problem. “We have all noticed the work you’ve been putting in, and we are incredibly impressed. All of you have—”
“Actually,” a loud, familiar voice cut in from behind her. It took quite a bit of willpower for Eist to suppress a groan as Ain approached her. She could tell from his tone that he was feeling quite confident in himself, which meant he was probably about to mess with her. Still…he had never antagonized her in quite so large a group before. “Funny you should say all of us, because there’s someone who’s been allowed in here that is an active danger to one of us.”
He stopped at the edge of Eist’s row, only Dille and another person separating him from her. He shot her a bit of a wink, then revealed a large pot from behind his back and a thick, wooden spoon. Eist only sent him a confused look, before he suddenly banged the pot as hard as he could.
The sound bounced around the room and many people covered their ears. Eist flinched, and she could see that Ain’s lips were moving, but she couldn’t make out the words over the rushing in her ears. The only thing was the reverberation of the pan over and over again as he continued to hit it.
Eist went cold as she realized what he was doing. He had promised her that he would get her back, and she could tell from the cruel twist of his lips that was exactly what he was doing now. Fear shooting through every bit of her body, she jumped to her feet and lurched over the others, grabbing his spoon in mid-strike.
“Stop!” she cried, much more desperately than she would have liked. But it was too late, she could already feel dozens upon dozens of eyes upon her.
“You see?” Ain continued lazily, as if he was so sure of his superiority. “A dragon rider who can’t hear is a detriment to us all. She’s wasting our resources and besmirching the name of this great council.”
Silence fell over the room and she felt so many accusatory stares at her back. It made her want to shrink, to run away and hide. She had fought so hard to make sure no one knew, and now the secret was out.
“I… I can hear,” she said slowly, letting go of the spoon and turning to look up at the council members. She could feel her cheeks blazing red with her shame, but she was caught. She had to confess her weakness. “Just…not well. Speech can be especially difficult sometimes, especially if they mumble or look away.”
She took a deep breath. She had gotten this far. Even if they kicked her out, she would hold her head high and know that she had done her best. Even if it wasn’t fair. She hadn’t asked for this.
“But my lack of hearing doesn’t mean I can’t be a dragon rider. If anything, it will make me a better one because I don’t take a single sense for granted. I watch, and I learn, and I take everything in that I can. I…” Another breath. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. “I’ve only been like this for four years, so I am still learning. I’m still finding ways to adapt. But I promise you, I will never let this ever hinder me in one day being a dragon rider on the council.”
Radoth and Marquis gave each other a look, clearly surprised by the spectacle that they had not been anticipating. After a few heart-pounding moments, it was Marquis who spoke.
His voice was also not how she had expected it—just as loud as Radoth’s but much higher, with a sort of lilting melody to it. There was a calming sort of aspect to it, and she leaned forward to hear more.
“Tell me, boy, do you know of Merielda the Scarlet?”
A look of confusion crossed Ain’s face and he shook his head.
“I see you have much to learn in your schooling. She was a famed dragon rider, one who helped lead the final battle against the dark not so long ago, whe
re she fell with many others. But her death allowed thousands to escape the city, and there is even a statue of her erected in Margaid.
“But do you know why I bring her up now, boy?”
Ain shook his head again, and Eist couldn’t also help but wonder where this was going.
“She couldn’t speak a word or utter a sound. She was as mute as they come and went to her grave just as silent. She also just so happened to be my mother.” His face hardened and Eist felt hope begin to rise within her stomach.
“So, I have firsthand seen that someone who would be otherwise dismissed can use everything at their disposal to become great. This girl beside you is no doubt stronger than you could ever hope to be. So, sit down and listen well. You should be grateful if we choose to keep you here.” His gaze moved outward to address the crowd.
“What you all might not understand here is that we are a family. We are here to help each other grow. To support each other. Yes, there will be tests that cut some of you away. Not all of you are destined to feel a dragon beneath you as you touch the sky, but you are always welcome within our fold.
“Now, if you don’t mind, we would like to get on with the proceedings.”
Ain backed away, clearly cowed, and Eist felt as if she was glowing. She made it back to her seat and couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear.
Her secret was out now, but apparently, it didn’t matter. One of the council members didn’t care, and if he thought that way, surely others did too. Which meant maybe she didn’t have to be so ashamed of the fever that had taken so much of her hearing.
Looking forward, she tried to focus, but she was still flying so high. There was still a long path to go, but she was elated that she wouldn’t have as much stacked against her as she had thought.
She couldn’t wait to tell her grandfather when he woke up.