A few hands were raised gingerly, most of them in Crystal's class. "Well, technically, all of you have broken the law, or at least your parents have," Professor Stone noted with amusement. The hands all vanished, and he laughed. "This isn't a law that we punish in the courts though. The punishment is issued when you crash and die if your parents fail to teach you the basics properly." There were a few gasps from the girls, with Daisy looking particularly worried.
"But that's not something that will happen in my class," the Professor assured them. "So, hands up again, let me count you." Five hands slowly raised in the air. "Excellent. Please step forwards, each of you. I would like your assistance." Four boys and one girl moved hesitantly to the front. John was one of them. Crystal couldn't tell if he was nervous or bored; as usual, his face failed to register any emotion.
"Now, I will be demonstrating the glide myself of course, before I get the rest of you to have a go, but I thought I would see if any of you would like the opportunity to shine in front of your peers before we begin. Who would like to show the class what they have already learnt?"
Two of the boys looked pretty confident and nodded eagerly as they stepped forwards. John, the other boy, Jerome, and the girl, all stayed where they were.
"We have our first two volunteers. Go and transform in the hut, if you would be so kind. Young lady, what's your name?"
"Mia," she replied. She was one of the girls from Furnace, who sat in front of John in their classroom. Crystal had never spoken to her, but her distinctive curly hair gave away her origin.
"Well, Mia, we can't let the boys have all the fun. Would you mind transforming as well? Use the other hut, the one marked ladies. Thank you; off you go. Now, while they transform, I'll explain what they'll be doing." While they waited for the others to return, the Professor talked them through the basics of gliding, which were just as simple as they expected.
"Ah, volunteer number one," the Professor announced. The first dragon emerged from the boys' hut, shortly followed by the other. The third dragon emerged from the girls' hut a moment later. The crowd parted as the dragons approached, towering over their fellow students. Each dragon was so alike—bright red scales from nose to tail and even redder, fierce-looking eyes, long legs, about as long as Crystal was tall, and a long neck, about half as long again as their legs. They had the same pattern of spines on their heads, and a single crest down their long necks. Crystal marvelled at how hard the students were to identify as dragons, the girl indistinguishable from the boys.
The professor, however, appeared to have a sharper eye. "Right, now our first volunteer, Ben—if I remember the name correctly—please glide from the platform on this side to the other platform on the far side, the lower one over there."
Ben stepped cautiously towards the edge of the platform, his confidence appearing to vanish. He stretched out his long neck to peer over the edge before spreading his wings, and then after a long pause, leapt forwards. He wobbled slightly while he glided, but landed competently on the platform on the far side of the amphitheatre. The class clapped politely and Ben started to walk back.
"Very good, Ben. Your parents have taught you admirably. Now, Alex, I believe, your turn."
Alex was more confident, and spread his wings and charged towards the edge. Sadly, his confidence was not matched by his skill, and he veered from right to left as he flew, struggling to hold a straight line and almost missed the platform, flailing with his legs as he landed to avoid slipping off the edge. There were a few laughs, but the Professor shouted loudly "well done," and the class clapped along with him.
Mia proved to be the best of the three in the air, gliding smoothly towards the platform, although her landing was a little awkward and she slid gently into the grassy bank of the amphitheatre, her claws cutting deep marks in the turf.
"Now, Jerome, I see you have transformed for us already," the Professor noted. Jerome was sat patiently behind the class, his head resting on the ground. "Would you like to show us what you can do?"
Jerome tipped his head to the side, and then nodded. Without running towards the platform, he merely flapped his wings to take off and then glided in a circle around the amphitheatre, passing over the class once, before circling again to land on the other platform. He bowed his head before taking off again and flying back to land behind the class, where he performed another bow to enthusiastic applause from the class.
"Well done, Jerome," the Professor shouted enthusiastically, which appeared to be his favourite method of communication. "I see your parents have been breaking the law for some time." The class laughed at this. "No, don't go back to the huts to transform. Stay and watch our final volunteer. Our blond-haired friend. Do you think you can do any better than that, John?"
Crystal cringed at the reference to his hair. Why was it so important? And why did John have to stand out yet again? Hadn't he learnt anything from the geography lesson?
"Yes, sir." John replied earnestly, standing to attention as he addressed the professor. "I can do more than that."
"Well, well, another son of criminals, and a confident one at that. Let's see what you can do, John."
"Alright, sir. Of course." He started walking towards the platform.
"Err, John. Aren't you forgetting something?" Professor Stone asked politely.
"Sir?"
"Transforming, John? The huts are over that way." He pointed towards the boys' hut, and there were a number of mocking laughs from the class.
John smiled back at him. "I haven't forgotten anything, sir," he replied, and broke into a run towards the platform. It was a fifty foot drop from the platform, easily enough to kill someone if they fell, and there were gasps of shock as John leapt from the edge without having transformed. Crystal's stomach turned as she watched him suspended in the air with the huge drop beneath him. He curled into a ball as he leapt, executing a neat somersault in the air, and in a flash, John transformed, faster than Crystal thought was even possible, his clothes vanishing to be replaced with shiny red scales and wings bursting from his back and catching the wind and stopping his descent. With his wings spread wide, he circled the amphitheatre before beginning to flap his wings hard, moving faster and faster through the air. He caught a thermal and rose quickly, ascending high above the class before changing direction suddenly and moving into a dive. He pulled out of the dive just above the opposite platform and flapped his wings several times to break his fall, landing vertically onto the platform with complete control. A number of the students watching broke into cheers, although mainly those from the other classes.
"Well done, John!" the Professor shouted excitedly. "Fantastic flying. Really first class. Come on back."
John nodded his head in accord, and flew directly to them, flapping his wings quickly as he returned in a straight line towards them. Just before he landed on the platform, he performed another mid-air transformation back into his human form, his clothes wrapping around him smoothly to retain his modesty and landing gently on two feet.
"That was perfectly executed, John," Professor Stone enthused. "Literally perfect! I've rarely seen anyone fly as well as that, and if I'm honest, I didn't think transforming that fast was even possible. Students, what John just showed you is about as much as you need to learn over the two years, and quite a bit more. We don't teach mid-air transformation, of course, or even practice it, and although I'm impressed John, please don't encourage your classmates to attempt the same, unless you want them to plummet to their deaths. Where did you say you learnt to do all that John?"
"I didn't say, but it was my father who taught me, sir. He is an excellent flyer."
"I would say so, John. He must have been an excellent teacher as well. He should be instructing our troops. I'd be keen to know how you managed those two mid-air transformations myself, and wouldn't mind him showing me. Still, we have you here, and he should be proud of what he's produced in you."
"Thank you, sir. I do try and make him proud."
Cry
stal shook her head in disgust. Did John want the class to hate him? Why couldn't he just talk like a normal boy? He sounded like a servant. To her even greater disgust, he moved back into the group to stand next to her. She glared at him and moved to the other side of Jenna, placing her cousin between them. He had not bothered her for the last two days, and she had hoped that it was going to stop. It seems that this was a vain hope.
Professor Stone instructed the rest of them to transform in the huts, and they filed into the large wooden structures in two groups, taking it in turns to transform. Crystal always felt a little self-conscious undressing in groups like this. Just because they were the same sex didn't remove the need for privacy, she thought to herself, and it was outrageous that the school made people like her change in this fashion. Being able to change instantly like John had was suddenly very appealing. He did fly unusually well—spectacularly well when she came to think of it. Not that she would tell him, of course. That would require talking to him, which she planned to avoid.
She watched Daisy changing up ahead. She guessed that Daisy rarely had to suffer the indignity of having to disrobe in front of anyone else. Well, other than in front of maids who were there to dress her. Daisy had a figure that most of her classmates would be envious of, and with long, slim legs, she was actually one of the taller girls in the class, so it seemed strange that people referred to her as little Daisy. Still, there was something childlike about her. She looked just as uncomfortable as Crystal did changing in front of her classmates, despite her stunning physique. Jenna on the other hand didn't seem to care at all. The more people looked at her, the better it seemed. She transformed quite quickly, and seemed to relish the experience. It was strange seeing her as a dragon for the first time. She looked just like any other Red Dragon, but the way that her red eyes darted around, seeing who was looking at her, and the way that she tilted her head as if posing, made her easy to recognise. If it was possible for a dragon to pout, Crystal was sure that her cousin would be doing so.
Crystal knew that she would be slower than everyone else, so decided to hurry up and start. She had practiced all week now, and was in control of her transformation, but needed to concentrate before beginning. She quickly removed the last of her clothes and moved into a clear space in the hut to begin transforming. The sensation was more enjoyable now, and it felt more like she was changing back into the correct form rather than an alien one. She flapped her wings as they formed, and heard a couple of girls nearby squawk in protest. She ignored them and hopped forwards, eager to join the class.
That's you, isn't it? Jenna stated tentatively, her voice inside her head. I was half expecting you to have blond scales.
And I was expecting you to have painted claws and lips, Crystal quipped in return.
Very funny. I see you have control of your thoughts already, Jenna retorted. I was expecting you to embarrass yourself today by broadcasting your every day dream.
Crystal laughed to herself, an action which caused a few dragons to stare at her strangely, the sound being rather odd. Right, that's something not to do, she remarked. Have you ever laughed as a dragon?
I'd avoid doing so, Jenna replied. How strange it is to see everyone like this.
It is, isn't it? Do you still fancy Arthur now that he is a dragon?
Please, Crystal. We all look the same. I couldn't tell if I'm looking at boy or girl dragons at the moment.
But that wasn't quite right. Crystal found that as a dragon, her vision was sharper, and the subtle differences between each of them were more apparent. Sexes weren't really distinguishable as such, but identifying individual dragons was actually quite easy and it didn't take long to work out who was who, especially as their thoughts sounded exactly the same as their voices. Crystal felt two familiar eyes rest on her.
Hello, Crystal, said John. Are you nervous about flying?
No, she replied irritably, glaring at him. Just as he was as a human, as a dragon he was unnaturally still. Why would I be?
You shouldn't be, he replied. This will be easy for you.
Thank you, John, but I don't need any encouragement, she told him coldly. I'm not worried at all.
She turned around to face Jenna again, hoping John would get the message. Professor Stone's voice echoed in all their heads, signalling the start of the lesson.
Now, class, watch, and learn…
Chapter 8: An uncomfortable biology lesson
The second week of school began with a cancellation, as one of their teachers were ill, so they started the day with some free time. If John had hoped that his flying skills that had so impressed the class had won him their friendship, then that hope was dashed very quickly. It was only minor stuff, but the bullying had already started; feet suddenly sticking out to trip him, things thrown at the back of his head and other such trivial annoyances, but Crystal knew that it would only get worse. The teacher assigned to babysit them seemed oblivious to it, so Crystal decided to pay no attention to it either, and spent the lesson talking to Jenna.
Their second lesson of the day was biology, which was in the adjacent tower to theirs, taken by Professor Hedley, a quiet teacher that was reportedly very popular with his class. It was during this lesson that Crystal learnt to hate Kal, the haughty boy from Furnace who she had met at her party. He had a family who were important in the military—something they had in common—but Kal had clearly already taken just as much a dislike to her as she had to John.
"Sir, I have a question." Kal had his hand in the air and was sneering at John.
"What is it, Kal?" the professor asked.
"What would happen if races were to interbreed?"
The professor paused, and before he answered, Daisy spoke up. "That is forbidden, Professor. No Red Dragon is allowed to take a husband or wife from another race and it has never happened."
Kal laughed derisively. "If you say so," he retorted sarcastically, "but I'm not talking about marriage. I'm talking about breeding. I hope we don't have to explain the difference to the princess. What would happen, sir?"
The professor glanced at Crystal briefly, pausing before answering. She had no idea why, but the professor was clearly uncomfortable with answering this question.
"What would the baby be, sir?" Kal asked again, pushing the point. "If, for example, Daisy here, was unfortunate enough to be captured by the Blue Dragons, and one of them decided to take her as their, um, wife," he said, pausing to sneer at Daisy, "what would her children be? Blue Dragons, Red Dragons, or something else?"
"Something tells me you know the answer to this one, Kal," John commented. "Or at least you think you do."
"Think I do?" Kal replied irritably. "I know what I know. But I want to have the professor's view. What would happen, sir?"
The professor blushed, glancing at Crystal, then John.
"Would you mind if I were to answer this one, sir?" John asked.
The professor shook his head. "I'll answer this. It's simple, Kal; the baby would be a Blue Dragon. The baby is always the same type of dragon as the father."
"That can't be right," Daisy objected. "We take parts from each parent. My tail, it's distinctive, and is from my mother's side. Arthur has the same tail. And when I'm human, I have my mother's nose. Surely we would be a mixture of blue and red?"
The professor shook his head. "It's not possible. You are either one or the other. There are no mixes."
"So the red part of you just disappears?" Crystal asked. "There are no traces of your mother?"
Kal latched onto this quickly, seeming delighted that she had asked the question. "Oh there can be traces. Not while you are a dragon, but as a human, yes. Maybe not in the first generation, but it shows up sometimes in grandchildren, or even several generations later, doesn't it, sir?"
"What traces?" Crystal asked. Kal smiled smugly and sat back ignoring her question.
The professor glared at Kal, his anger clear. "Occasionally, the child, or the grandchild, has the hair colour of the moth
er. So in this case, the baby might have red or it might have blue hair. It can miss many generations, apparently."
The class was silent for a moment. Clearly only Kal, John and the teacher knew the answer to this question.
"So if a child was born with blond hair…?" Crystal asked weakly.
The professor looked at her sadly. "Then at some point, maybe a long time ago in her family's past, one of her female ancestors was not a Red Dragon."
"In other words, her ancestry is not pure," Kal added. "Probably descended from the bastard offspring of a captive slave, shared by a bunch of prison guards."
Crystal blushed bright red, both angry and embarrassed. Everyone in the room was staring at her, and she wished that the ground would swallow her up. She rose to her feet slowly, before running out of the room and slamming the door behind her. She carried on running, through the school and out of the front gate.
Back in the classroom, for a moment, no one said a word. John looked at the door, wondering if he should run after Crystal, or whether that would make things worse. Suddenly, Seth jumped to his feet and kicked Kal in the chest, knocking him off his chair.
"Take that back!" Seth shouted, his fists clenched as if ready to fight him.
Kal sprang to hit feet quickly, almost snarling at Seth. He was a couple of inches taller than Seth and was clearly a lot stronger than him. He raised his fists, ready to fight him. John decided to intervene and calmly walked between the two of them.
"The insult was meant for me more than Crystal, Seth," he said, calmly regarding Kal. "But if you're worried about her, perhaps you should go after her instead of fighting this ignorant fool."
"There will be no fighting!" the professor shouted, finally responding to the situation. Seth glared at John, but ran out of the room after Crystal.
John turned back to Kal. "You really think that's the only explanation, don't you, Kal?"
"It is the only explanation, John," Kal spat. "You two are probably related. I expect your great grandmother was the entertainment for the whole army." There were quite a few laughs in the class.
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