Shakily I sit back down in my seat, Aqueous squeaking in my arms to be released.
That wasn’t so bad...
Was it?
It probably was.
“I’m glad that’s over,” Wes breathes. “You’re not good at public speaking either, huh?”
“No. I hate it with a passion.”
The other students introduce themselves. I don’t listen to most of them, showing off their companions and boasting about their elements. I’m just glad my turn is over. It was embarrassing, but at least I didn’t trip up on my words.
“Now that introductions are over, by law I must tell you about our political situation.” A few confused murmurs echo around the room, kids gazing quizzically at Mr Gilmore or raising their eyebrows. “Over the course of the year you will have to pick which side you’re on.” He pauses before continuing. “Choose carefully.”
“This is weird,” Wes mutters.
“There are two groups: the Cindaraans and the Krystalans. At the moment, the Krystalans are in power and govern the country. They believe that dragons are equal to us, and that companionship is vital for us. The Cindaraans believe that dragons should spend their lives serving us, doing as we say.”
So Raymond is leading a political faction here? Maybe that’s why he’s such an asshole.
“Why?” a kid at the back asks.
“So we can reach our full potential. They would still be our companions, of course, but they would have to earn their keep.”
Some kids shrug and murmur. I’m not too sure what to think. They’re pretty basic explanations; we don’t know what may lie underneath.
“Hazel?” Wes nudges my shoulder.
“Huh?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
He sighs and shrugs. “Me neither.”
“Don’t worry too much about it; you’ve got all year,” Mr Gilmore says. “Think carefully about what you think would benefit you.”
Conversations pop up around the classroom again, and Mr Gilmore allows us to chat for a bit about it.
“I think dragons should pull their weight; some of them are lazy,” someone behind me whispers.
“They teach us responsibility; we shouldn’t make them work,” the person next to them snaps.
“I think we should worry about our own problems.”
“I couldn’t care less about our problems!”
From the lack of agreement, the class appears to be split between Cindaraans and Krystalans.
Would I be happy if Aqueous had to earn his keep? What would he have to do? How long would he have to work?
My companion has settled back on my lap after the introductions. He is snoring softly once again, his head hanging over my legs floppily. Wes is staring at Asteroid, deep in thought. Aqueous yawns widely, showing off his sharp white teeth before curling up in a tight ball, his feet covering his face.
I don’t think I prefer either party, but I’m sure that having to pick between the two will cause arguments for everyone.
One thing is for sure: I don’t want to be around Raymond.
* * *
School finished at one. We have four hours of lessons per day for four days of the week: Monday through Thursday. We can then go back to our cabins or go out and have lunch, before returning to the school field at three to attend dragon training.
“Where are you going to get lunch?” Wes asks.
“I dunno. A café, I guess.”
“Haze!”
I don’t get the chance to turn around before my best friend has barrelled into my back, nearly knocking me off balance.
“Marco!” I whack him across the head instinctively. “Be careful!”
“Ow! That was mean!”
“Don’t rugby tackle me then!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll try to knock you on your ass next time.” He chuckles, ruffling my hair playfully and tucking it behind my ears.
Ducking out of his grip and freeing my hair, I mutter: “Whatever.”
“Do you want to go to lunch? I’ve got a good place in mind...”
“Yeah, sure. Is Rocky coming?”
“Yeah, he’s in the toilet.”
Marco seems to notice Wes for the first time, who is standing beside him awkwardly. Wes smiles slightly, Asteroid staring at Marco quizzically.
“Oh, Marco, this is Wes. Wes, this is Marco.” I introduce them awkwardly.
“Hi,” Wes mutters.
Marco says nothing, just raises his eyebrows while studying Wes carefully. Asteroid opens her mouth threateningly until Drea plods up behind my best friend, making her cower in surprise.
“Wes, do you wanna come to lunch with us?” I turn towards the quiet boy, anxious about Marco’s standoffish behaviour.
His eyes light up and he beams. “Sure.”
Aqueous squeaks and emerges from my bag, though quickly retreats upon spotting Drea. Marco doesn’t even try to hide his surprise.
“Oh, fuck!” His eyes don’t move from where Aqueous’ head popped up. “You do realize what dragon you’ve got, right?”
“I know; he’s cool, right?”
“'Cool’? You got an extremely valuable dragon, and it’s just ‘cool’ to you?”
At this moment Cerberus arrives, yapping excitedly and sniffing Wes curiously. Rocky arrives moments later, a large grin on his face. “Hey guys, guess what I-”
“Hazel’s got one of the most valuable dragons as her companion!” Marco exclaims, cutting my brother off.
“Huh? It hatched? Lemme see it!”
Gently, I lift Aqueous out of my school bag, his little legs wriggling. Rocky holds his arms out and takes him, gently scratching his chin. “Aww! He’s cute! What have you called him?”
“Aqueous, after my element.”
Aqueous squeaks as Cerberus nudges his tail, kicking out with his small legs. Asteroid joins in on the fun, flying around Cerberus’ head before landing on her back.
“Hey, Rocky. I’ve invited Wes to come to lunch with us. That’s okay, right?”
“Huh? Sure.”
Wes’ shoulders relax a bit, and I nudge his arm happily. Marco rolls his eyes, which causes Drea to roll her pale pink eyes in return, making me giggle. They are very alike in their mannerisms and attitudes, it seems. Aqueous wriggles out of Rocky’s grip and clings to my arm, unsure what to think of all the attention.
Marco shakes his head in disbelief and mutters: “Let’s go to Café Terra, then.”
Rocky shrugs. “Fine by me.”
* * *
Café Terra is in a small garden, surrounded by colourful flowers and a white picket fence. White metal tables and chairs are the only available seating. I order a sandwich, as I’m not that hungry; the boys order a bit more food because they’d all skipped breakfast this morning. The dragons are given small bowls of chicken to eat. Aqueous seems to really like it, though he struggles to chew it with his small teeth.
“You two excited for dragon training?” Rocky asks.
Wes shrugs. “What’s it like?”
“You basically learn about your element. If you don’t know it going into the class, you’ll definitely know it leaving.”
“Cool.”
“Dragons also get their first Elemental marking in that class. That’s how you know,” Marco chips in.
Asteroid jumps on Cerberus, trying unsuccessfully to wrestle the much larger dragon to the floor. The bigger dragon runs around in circles trying to shake the younger dragon off her back.
“Cerberus, be good!” Rocky snaps.
The brown dragon freezes and plonks herself on the floor, a sulky expression on her face.
“Let them play; they’re not doing any harm.” I reach over and pat the sulky dragon on the head.
“You can say that, but wait until she knocks over some old lady.”
“I don’t see any old-”
“Don’t be cheeky,” he sighs.
Marco and I chuckle at my brother’s o
bvious frustration. “It was only a joke!” I manage to get out between laughs.
“Oh wait. Did I tell you about what happened today?” Rocky pipes up, his eyes glowing in excitement.
“Cerberus knocked over an old lady?” I unhelpfully throw out.
“No. Ciara Fay asked me out.”
For heaven’s sake. Ciara? Really?
Really?
“Ciara from our Year?” Wes asks.
“Unfortunately.” Aqueous brushes up against my legs as I sigh.
“'Unfortunately’? You don’t like her?” Rocky stops eating, eyeing everyone with a confused glance.
Marco rolls his eyes. “Who does? Don’t you remember what she was like in Primary Town? A new boyfriend every week? Is that what you’re gonna be?”
“No, she said that she’s grown up.”
“Pfft.” The disbelieving noise comes out of my mouth before I can stop it.
Rocky glares at everyone around the table. “Whatever. It’s not up to you guys anyway.”
Rocky is too sweet for Ciara. The problem is that I don’t know her motives. Does she actually want to be with him, or is she just using him as a pawn in one of her stupid games?
She hasn’t changed. She’s still the snobby, arrogant girl that she was a year ago.
Wes wriggles uncomfortably, but thankfully he changes the subject. “Did you guys have to choose between the two political parties when you were in our Year?”
“They asked you too?” Marco raises an eyebrow. “It’s been newly introduced this year, but I didn’t think they’d demand a decision from the First Years.”
“It’s already causing arguments,” Rocky points out. “Our Year is starting to split in half over it.”
“They’ve chosen already?” I call Aqueous back when he starts to wander over to another group of people, curious about their companions. Thankfully, he scampers back and tackles Asteroid, who quickly pins him down with one foot.
“It was drummed into us last year. I think most of the teachers here are Cindaraan supporters; that’s why they want to know.”
“What do you guys think?” Wes murmurs.
Marco flicks his hand in dismissal. “I don’t know, and we’ve got to decide by the end of the month.”
Rocky starts playing with his plate, flicking crumbs off the table. “I don’t like it. I guarantee it will cause more harm than good.”
“That’s a given,” Marco agrees.
What on earth is going on?
If it’s newly introduced, then why do they want us to decide on our political views so quickly? Why does it matter?
6
Chapter Six
“Good afternoon, class,” Mr Reedman walks up and down the line of kids, eyeing each of us. “I will be the main dragon training teacher for this year, and I am also your Fire Instructor, for those of you who have the element fire. This lesson, we will be learning about how to control your element, firstly by discovering it. You will go through eight tests to see which one you react best to.” He nods to Eruption, who launches into the air and hovers above our heads. “You will not have to do all eight if your element is discovered.” He looks behind him, at the row of seven people, each with dragons of differing Elemental markings. “The other instructors will also be assessing which element you react best to.” All seven dragons launch into the air, their strong wings beating loudly. “First will be the Light Instructor, Mrs Bennett.”
A tall, slim, blonde-haired woman steps forward, a friendly smile on her face. “Spread out, and try not to injure yourselves.”
Reluctantly we spread out, but I keep close to Wes, just in case. A pink and brown dragon with pale pink markings on its face flies forward, firing a beam of bright light out of its mouth, making my eyes water for staring at it. Screams fill the air as the dragon flies overhead, but they don’t last long. As I open my eyes, a few kids are holding balls of light in their hands, so Mrs Bennett quickly ushers them away. Then I see Aqueous flying above me, his mouth bared threateningly at the remaining seven dragons.
“Come here, it’s okay.” I hold out my arms to him. After a few moments’ hesitation, he falls into them, but his gaze is still locked on the remaining dragons.
The tests for dark, earth and electricity go the same way, with kids who show signs of having that element being taken away. Wes and I are still standing. Ciara left at dark, and Naomi with earth.
“Now it’s the fire test.” Mr Reedman smiles darkly, gesturing for Eruption to fly forward.
My heart jumps into my throat at seeing the large ball of fire charge in Eruption’s mouth. Aqueous wriggles in my grip, growling at the beast.
As Mr Reedman steps away from the terrified children, Eruption lunges forward, a large blaze of fire exploding from his mouth. I close my eyes and wait to feel searing flames, but a strong gust of wind tugs at my clothes instead. My eyes snap open, and I see Eruption being blown back slightly, losing focus on breathing fire. Everyone stands around in a confused silence for a few moments, until an old man steps forward, a large grin on his face.
“That’s a strong element you’ve got there!” The man takes Wes’ hand and shakes it. “You used it for the wrong test, but you used it nonetheless!”
Wes did that?
Oh goodness.
He’s dead.
“Don’t encourage his behaviour!” Mr Reedman snaps, storming up next to the man. “We need to know who has fire!”
The man shakes his hand in dismissal. “We’ll leave it until last, to make sure none of the other elements get in the way.”
Mr Reedman looks furious, his hands balled into tight fists and his face going a bright red. “Fine! But get this boy out of my sight!”
Wes looks back at me, and I return his confused stare. If that was him, then what made him do it? Fear?
A tall, lanky man with floppy hair steps forward as the old man and Wes back off. He gestures his dragon forward, a dark green one with bright blue swirl markings on its stomach.
“Now, the water test,” he says.
Yes! No more tests!
The man steps back, and his dragon surges forward, drenching everyone in cool water. I close my eyes and concentrate hard on letting the water drip off me, which thankfully it does. I’m surprised to feel that Aqueous is completely dry in my arms; the water must have just dripped off him too.
The man steps forward once more and points to all the children that either remained dry or are now holding a ball of water in their hands. “Come with me; my name is Mr Knight.”
We form a straight line behind Mr Knight as the other students did with their Element Instructors. There aren’t many other kids who have water; including me, there are only seven. The biggest class at the moment appears to be earth, but there are still about forty kids left for the remaining three tests: ice, wind and fire.
After the ice and wind tests, only eight kids left with their Instructors, which means that fire is the biggest class by miles. Mr Reedman looked impressed as all the remaining kids held a ball of fire in their hands. However, he quickly masks that and turns to everyone.
“Now that you know your element, you should see a small marking on your dragon of said element. If you have the marking of a different element as well, please see me at the end to discuss it.”
I soon spot a small blue water swirl on Aqueous’ cheek. I’m relieved that I don’t see two: I don’t want to spend more time with Mr Reedman than I have to.
“Your Instructors will now take you to different areas of the field to discuss your lessons. Listen carefully; they will not be repeated.”
After all the excitement, kids happily follow their instructors to different areas of the large, overgrown field. Mr Knight takes us to a small pond, and makes us sit in the grass before handing out sheets of paper.
“These,” he holds up one sheet, “are your timetables. I will see you Friday through Sunday at nine o’clock for water dragon training. The rest of the week you will have Mr Reedman.”<
br />
A few groans echo from the small group, making Mr Knight raise an eyebrow. “I know he’s not fun, but you’ll just have to deal with it,” he jokes. “Now, I want to check that everyone is here. Hazel, Jeremy, Yvonne, Polly, Isla, Richard and Lilac.” He looks up and does a head count, saying “good” when he realizes everyone is here.
“Now. Shark and I will be teaching you and your dragon how to control your element, water. Is there anyone here who has two?” No-one puts their hand up, so he continues. “You will be taught how to use it, how to control it and how to feel comfortable with it. However, as it is your first day, we will begin on Friday. Does anyone have any questions?”
The short girl next to me with caramel-brown hair, Yvonne, puts her hand up. “Will premier dragons be getting higher training?”
“Yes. Depending on what dragon you’ve got, the higher the quality of training they will have.”
All eyes are on me. Aqueous buries his head into my armpit under their stares.
Mr Knight clears his throat uncomfortably. “Out of interest, how many types of dragon are there here?”
He notes down the status of our dragons. Yvonne has a premier dragon, which is probably why she asked the question. Jeremy and Lilac have rare dragons, and the rest have uncommon ones, except for me, of course.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about higher training at the moment,” Mr Knight smiles. “It’s all organized on your timetables, and we’re only learning the basics for the next month or so.” After a long, awkward silence, he clears his throat. “Well,” he says. “Class is dismissed. I’ll see you all next Friday. Regular dragon training starts next Monday.” We get up and turn to leave when he calls us back. “Oh! I almost forgot! You need a mentor for dragon training. By next week you need to have picked someone from one of the higher Years to help you with your training. They don’t necessarily have to have the water element; just make sure you’ve got one for next week.”
A mentor?
Who on earth would mentor me?
“Okay, see you next week. Don’t overexert yourselves!”
* * *
“Mr Stirling says that he’s going to ask his son to mentor me! Won’t that be cool?” Wes chirps on about his lesson, a large smile on his face.
Elemental Dragons Book 1: Blood and Water Page 5