The Beginning

by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

  “What did you expect Jahrra? To be hailed and carried away on their shoulders?” Jaax remarked. “Don’t let anger guide your thoughts, and watch the attitude you now display. You are lucky Hroombramantu isn’t allowing me to deal directly with you in this matter.”

  “What exactly are you doing here, anyhow?” Jahrra snapped, angry at Jaax’s patronizing tone. “Don’t you have something better to do? You can’t honestly have a good reason to be here.”

  Jahrra regretted the harsh words the moment they were out. She secretly cursed herself for letting everybody’s disdain get under her skin.

  “Jahrra, Raejaax, that is quite enough. Let us walk in peace the rest of the way back to the Ruin. It’s a long journey and I wish to think, something I cannot do over raised voices.”

  Hroombra was the only being that could get an obedient response from Jahrra. She immediately focused her attention on leading Phrym and occupied herself with greeting the many Nesnan onlookers still gaping at the unlikely champion. The path they took back home was the one that led past the lakes. Jahrra grinned inwardly as the group approached the head of the trail, secretly recalling all of the fond memories she’d had traveling this exact route.

  Before long the two dragons, Jahrra and Phrym were heading down the road that led through Willowsflorn and along the Danu Creek. Jahrra had given up walking several miles back and was once again atop Phrym, very much aware of Jaax’s eyes boring into her back.

  A soft breeze picked up and shuffled the leaves of the willows, stirring the stagnant silence. Jahrra knew she should’ve been enjoying the walk on this wonderful day, but she also knew that it was only a matter of time before they got back to the Castle Guard Ruin, where the dragons would really let her know how they felt about the race. She sighed and tried hard not to think these unpleasant thoughts. When they finally reached the top of the Sloping Hill, Jahrra was surprised to see Scede and Gieaun waiting patiently for them. They must have raced Bhun and Aimhe here, she thought complacently. The warm greeting by both her friends caused Jahrra’s tension and anger to wane, and for the first time since leaving the beach, she smiled.

  Scede and Gieaun regarded the two dragons as they usually did, grinning cautiously for fear they might get caught up in Jahrra’s punishment, whatever that might be.

  Jahrra was surprised, however, when Jaax addressed her friends, “Now Scede, Gieaun, don’t look so nervous, you’re not at fault here.”

  The siblings nodded and Jaax flashed them a genuine smile. “It is very good to see you both. You have grown into such fine young adults.”

  What’s he doing? Why is he being so pleasant?! Jahrra fumed. Jaax was never agreeable with her, even when she wasn’t in trouble.

  Gieaun grinned weakly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other while she eyed the ground shyly. “Thank you,” she answered timidly.

  “I guess we had better get going, it’s growing late,” Scede said cautiously. “We just wanted to say congratulations again without everyone else around. We’ll see you tomorrow, right Jahrra?”

  The siblings gave her an inquiring glance, but when they saw the sour look on Jahrra’s face they turned to leave with no further argument. They had known Jahrra long enough to know that whenever Jaax was around it was best just to leave and wait for her to come find them.

  Hroombra took a great breath, released it and proclaimed, “That is enough excitement for one day. I think I’ll head off to bed early. Jahrra, don’t stay up too late tonight, we’ll need to discuss several things in the morning.”

  He took one hard look at both Jaax and Jahrra, as if warning them to watch their words, then turned toward the Ruin. As soon as Hroombra was out of sight and out of ear shot, Jaax got right to the point.

  “The last thing I expected when I arrived this morning was to find you making a spectacle of yourself in front of the entire population of Oescienne,” he said harshly.

  “Then why did you know where to find me this morning if you didn’t expect it?” Jahrra countered rather cheekily.

  Jaax just glowered down at her, his expression clearly showing his irritation. Jahrra simply turned her back and let out a half triumphant laugh as she pulled Phrym towards the stable. Phrym whuffled in aggravation, informing Jahrra just how rude it was to jerk him along.

  On her way across the field, she decided that she was done talking to Jaax for the day. Speaking with him only lead to arguing and arguing only led to more anger. She stopped walking for a moment and held her hand up to shade her eyes as she peered out over the ocean. The sun was only an hour away from setting, and Jahrra, despite the pent up anger that was driving her, was finally feeling the weariness of the race. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply as she tried to calm her emotions. A gentle breeze lifted her bedraggled hair and dropped it behind her shoulders, the sun caressing her skin like a fire-warmed blanket. It was so calming just standing in the open field, listening to the music of the breeze-blown trees. Jahrra flinched, however, when Jaax’s voice interrupted her sense of peace.

  “You can ignore me all you want, but I’m not going away,” he said with a steady calm, the earlier hint of anger and rashness now gone.

  Jahrra refused to answer him. She snatched up Phrym’s reins once more and trudged on. I won’t give in this time. I’ll just keep walking and stay silent. He’ll leave eventually.

  “Rude silence is not very becoming of a young lady,” Jaax called out from where he stood. “You could use a few lessons from your friend Gieaun.”

  Jahrra turned so suddenly that she wrenched Phrym’s head around with her, causing him to start just a little.

  “Since when have you been on equal terms with Scede and Gieaun? I thought your goal in life was to be far more superior to everyone you know, even Master Hroombra.”

  Something dark crossed Jaax’s eyes and he lost his usual smirk and domineering gaze.

  “Is that what you think Jahrra?” he asked in a dangerous tone. “Well, you don’t know me at all then, do you?”

  “No, I don’t. And I don’t wish to either. I don’t even know why you keep showing up here, except to drop insults every chance you get. You always have some patronizing comment for me, no matter what I do, and this time you greeted my friends in a perfectly civilized manner while scolding me like a seven-year-old child!”

  Once all of her pent up frustration had been expelled, Jahrra felt worse than before, not better. She thought, that after all these years, telling Jaax how she really felt about him would make her feel more confident and relieved. But now, as she stood there exhausted, both mentally and physically, with the Tanaan dragon staring down at her with what appeared to be a look of pity on his face, she just wanted to curl up and go to sleep for a very long time.

  With a final spout of gumption, she looked Jaax in the eye and said simply, “You don’t like me at all, do you Jaax? I mean, I’m the burden you bear, aren’t I? Having to check on me every so often to make sure I’m still alive, it must be a great inconvenience to you. I’ll do you a big favor, alright? Forget I exist; stop checking in on me. Whatever reason there is for you to have some role in my life, it can’t be more important than anything else you could be doing. So go, live your life and let me stay here and live mine. I have Master Hroombra to look after me, and believe me, one dragon guardian is quite enough.”

  The look of exasperation on Jaax’s face flickered to one of surprise. He never imagined that Jahrra felt as strongly as this. He took a deep breath, trying to push away the guilt that threatened to overwhelm him. He had good reason for his absence from Jahrra’s life, but when he gave it a good amount of thought, he knew it was no excuse.

  “You’re right,” he said plainly. “I am harder on you than anyone else you know, and I do test you, but it is for reasons you couldn’t possibly understand at your young age. There are things in your future that you must be ready to face when the time comes, and you’re the only one who can face them. My job is to make sure that you’re prepa
red for that. You may not understand now, but someday you will.”

  They had finally reached the stable and Jahrra had begun to loosen Phrym’s old saddle, the four pommel saddle that Jaax had sent her for Solsticetide almost glaring like a beacon on its shelf in the corner. The young dragon sounded honest enough, but Jahrra couldn’t avoid the sour expression that dominated her face. She refused to believe that anything he had to tell her could be inconceivable, and the fact that he suggested she needed to be “a little older” to understand simply infuriated her. Hadn’t she just defeated a group of world-class riders? Hadn’t she entered the Wreing Florenn on many occasions and emerged again unscathed? Hadn’t she encountered a draffyd and a sehnna and lived to tell the tale? She paused only for a moment, bade her tense muscles to relax, and continued with her work.

  “You make it sound like I’ll be the only person ever to face the trials of life,” she stated with a raw voice as she heaved the saddle off Phrym, her back still turned to the dragon. “What could possibly happen to me that wouldn’t happen to anybody else?”

  The silence that followed was as thick as harvest pudding. Only the sound of clinking metal and stretching leather combined with Phrym’s soft breathing interrupted the quiet. Jahrra plopped the worn saddle down upon a rickety wooden sawhorse next to the rest of her spare riding gear. She felt uncomfortable in the lengthened silence, and she wished that Jaax would say something more, even if it was something demeaning.

  “Someday you’ll understand,” he finally said, his voice grown soft.

  Jahrra heard him begin to leave but she didn’t turn to say goodbye. She was still too angry over everything that had happened that day, despite the lingering glow of her victory. The last thing she wanted to do was wish the dragon Raejaaxorix a good night.

  Finally able to relax now that she was alone, Jahrra breathed a sigh of relief and finished getting Phrym settled in his stall. She patted him and said, “Good night my friend, you did a good job today. I’m sorry I seemed harsh, but I promise none of it was aimed at you.”

  She kissed his dappled forehead and he let out a soft whicker. She gazed into his loving, smoky eyes and smiled. It was as if he was trying to remind her that if it wasn’t for that dragon she despised so much she wouldn’t have her semequin friend at all. Jahrra turned and faced the ruins of the Castle Guard and breathed a wearied sigh. She was tired from the day’s efforts, but her mind was suddenly alive with action. Her argument with Jaax had given her a new boost of energy, but all she wanted to do was settle down for the night.

  Looking out over the edge of the Great Sloping Hill, Jahrra admired the changing of the sky as the red sun dipped into the sea. She smiled. Nothing was more peaceful and beautiful than the sun setting over western Oescienne. It was like watching a rainstorm of color unfold before her eyes. The eucalyptus trees, normally silvery green and creamy beige, were now bathed in a golden film. The lakes of Oescienne were five dark sapphire abysses with rings of trees surrounding them, changing from warm chartreuse to a cold jade in the fading light. The shadows that crept over the land painted the dunes with sharp angles and deep furrows, while the golden lavender tone of the mountains washed away to reveal a deep indigo beneath the shadow of early twilight. Jahrra released her breath, unaware that she had been holding it, and started towards the edge of the bluff to watch the changing landscape.

  She walked up to an ancient eucalyptus tree and placed her hand on the smooth trunk. The bark seemed to quiver and the all too familiar twinge of magic tickled her wrist once again. She thought of how Viornen’s and Yaraa’s bracelet had aided her on Sobledthe Eve, but frowned at the other awful memories from that night. She took a deep breath and turned her thoughts instead to the time she first met Cahrume and learned of her gift from the Sacred Apple Tree. Jahrra smiled as she carefully lifted herself up onto her favorite branch, a great thick arm that hung low to the ground and stretched out over the cliff’s edge. She stepped carefully out to the end, using the smaller branches as her guide while searching for the place she liked to sit. At last she found it, at the very end.

  Jahrra settled herself into the well-worn seat, smoothed down from her years of perching, and let her head fall slightly to the side. The sun sunk lower in the sky, casting its golden rays upon the shivering landscape. She crossed her arms with ease and let her legs hang freely out into space. She thought about what Jaax had said earlier, ‘Someday you will understand.’ Understand what? she wondered. Understand why I’m being raised by a dragon? Understand why Jaax had me take self defense lessons with Viornen and Yaraa all these years? Understand why he brought me to live here in the first place?

  Jahrra blinked wearily and released a deep sigh. She stared out over the west, finally letting her muscles relax. She shook the troublesome thoughts of Jaax from her mind and grinned as she remembered the positive events of the day.

  “I won,” she whispered to the encroaching twilight. “I beat Eydeth in his own race; I beat all those pompous, conceited fools.”

  Jahrra rested her head against the hard, rough bark, allowing the last vestiges of unobstructed sunlight pour over her face. She may have wondered why Jaax had brought her to the southern part of the province, but she was never sorry that he had. She couldn’t imagine any place more beautiful than her Oescienne and couldn’t picture herself living anywhere else.

  Someday I’ll see more of Ethoes, thought Jahrra sleepily as she let her eyes rest for a moment. But at this moment, she was content with her paradise.

  ***

  Jahrra woke with a start. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. She knew she wasn’t in her bed because she could feel the crisp, open air on her face, and she was sitting up instead of lying down. She shivered and glanced up, blinking blearily into the diamond-frosted darkness.

  The stars . . . ? Of course! She shot forward quickly and grabbed instinctively for a branch as she felt herself slipping off something. And then it occurred to her where she was. She’d been sitting in the arm of her favorite tree, and she’d been watching the sunset. But what day was it, and why had she fallen asleep in this tree? It took her awhile to get past the confusion of sleep, but after a few moments everything came rushing back. The Great Race! I won! Jahrra recalled with a thrill, slipping slightly on the smooth limb once more. Then she remembered why she had crawled out to the end of this branch to begin with; an argument with a young ominous dragon who had decided to show up out of the blue. Ugh, she thought drearily, almost wishing she had fallen off the limb.

  Trying to forget her perpetual irritation at Jaax, Jahrra shifted and began her sluggish climb down from the arm of the tree, wincing in the process. Whether the stiffness and soreness was a result of the long day before, or from falling asleep in an awkward and hard place, she wasn’t sure. Probably from both, she thought groggily.

  As she slowly walked back across the dark field, Jahrra tried not to shiver from the cold that had settled in her bones or grimace from her aching muscles. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but from the position of the stars in the sky she knew she’d been asleep long enough to arouse suspicion at home. Luckily, Hroombra had probably fallen asleep before she had. Jaax, on the other hand, was most likely sitting just inside the Ruin, waiting to give her another verbal lashing. Sometimes I just wish he would set me on fire and be done with it, she thought morosely.

  The night was very dark, but Jahrra’s eyes eventually adjusted to their surroundings. She waded through the thick grass, determined to get to her soft bed inside the Ruin without the Tanaan dragon noticing. She was almost to her destination when something made her stop in mid-stride. A strange melody of hushed voices drifted from the very north end of the field near the edge of the wood. Jahrra caught her breath and was suddenly wide awake. She tried very hard to see who or what it was that was talking, but she could only make out shapes from the distance. They were large shapes; dragon shapes.

  Jahrra crouched down and quickly, but quietly, moved through the field, doing
her best not to trip over the wet tangles of grass. She shivered and felt her mouth go dry when she heard one of the voices more clearly, a voice she knew. Jaax was speaking to someone, another dragon from the size of the shadows, but it wasn’t Hroombra. It was an unfamiliar voice, a female voice.

  “Will you please hear me out? You know how I feel about perching on icy mountaintops for days with no company. Can you really blame me?”

  The short, heated blast of breath that followed had to have come from Jaax, Jahrra decided.

  “You were told not to come here with me. I thought that had been made absolutely clear.”

  A slight, simpering noise followed, but it was immediately quenched by Jaax’s chiding voice. “Shiroxx, now is not the time to be selfish about personal comforts! I explained to everyone my reasons for taking leave. If you had a problem with that, you should’ve voiced your opinion then instead of following me here like some forlorn puppy.”

  Jahrra thought she felt the very air bristle.

  “Well, I’m here now Jaax. You had best come to terms with that. And why is it, exactly, that you are the only one allowed to come and see this girl anyway?”

  Jahrra felt her breath catch. What was going on? Not only had she discovered that there were truly other dragons in the world, but that these other dragons knew about her. Why would a dragon want to see me? Jahrra wondered.

  Jaax’s stern response to the female dragon made Jahrra start.

  “I have told you that already, and I will not change my mind. You may be correct in the fact that I’m stuck with you for now, but the important issue at the moment is finding Jahrra, wherever she’s run off to.”

  The female dragon, Shiroxx, sighed. “I’m sure the young thing is just off pouting about your reprimand. You said so yourself she is very willful and prone to sulking. Perhaps she took that semequin you gave her and fled to a friend’s house?”