New Beginnings

by Jada Fisher

  She flinched as a cool cloth was placed over them, but settled soon after once she realized what it was. It helped that her whole body felt so heavy and weighed down with pain and exhaustion that every movement took monumental effort.

  After a few moments, the voice came again. “Alright, let’s try again now.”

  The cloth was removed, and slowly she was indeed able to open her eyes. The world swirled for a minute, hazy and undefined, before solidifying into her regular view.

  “Ah, much better, right?”

  Her gaze swung to the voice, and she saw a figure sitting next to her that probably looked a lot like Crispin, but only if his face and hands had been swollen up with too much air and painted in shades of black, purple, blue, and red.

  “C-Crispin?” she whispered, her voice cracking around just how dry her tongue and mouth were. By the spirits, she felt like she could drink a whole barrel of water and then some. “You look terrible.”

  He laughed, although it was a quiet sound, one side of his lip swollen up so much that it was touching his purple and red nose. “You should have seen me when these healers first got their hands on me. Apparently, I was quite a sight.”

  “Healers?” Confused, Ukrah tried to sit up, but her body protested and she wretched so violently it almost felt like her throat tore.

  “Whoa, whoa there. Just take it easy! Here, let me get you water.”

  He did just that, grabbing a pitcher from the stand next to her cot with hands she noticed were also mottled with bruises, then poured a good amount into a wooden cup. He slid one hand under her head, helping her sit up enough to drink when he held it to her mouth.

  She didn’t like being babied normally, or at least she didn’t think she did, but she was immensely grateful for his help as she swallowed gulps at a time.

  “Hey now, not all at once. Don’t wanna make yourself nauseous.”

  She tried to listen, but it just tasted so good and right that she drained the glass very quickly.

  “We’ll wait a bit on the next one,” he said once it was all gone. She let out a faint protest, but she was already feeling more human now that she had liquid in her.

  “I don’t understand,” she mumbled, feeling like someone had stuffed her head with cotton and thrown it up into the sun. “Where are we?”

  “Oh! We’re in the healers hall in the academy. It’s real nice here, ya know. If you end up getting in, I’ll have to sneak in and visit you all the time.”

  Ukrah frowned. Crispin would live with her there, wouldn’t he? She didn’t want to be separated from him. But then she had another thought that chased that unhappy line of thinking away.

  “Wait, you were so hurt. How are you so…”

  “Spry?” he said with a very dry laugh that ended in a wince. “They’re good at what they do here, I guess.”

  “But last night you were—” She cut herself off, not wanting to picture exactly how he had been. So lifeless, with his face swollen beyond recognition, covered in so much blood. The thought made her feel sick and angry, and all she wanted to do was rest.

  “Last night?” the boy said, giving her a curious look. “Ukrah, Athar brought us here four days ago.”

  Her eyes went wide, and she was filled with cold shock. “F-f-four days, that’s not possible. How… How did I miss four days?”

  The boy tilted his head, looking somewhere between bewildered and unhappy. “Ukrah, you were shot clean through the belly with an arrow. As far as I know, you died, and they were just barely able to get you breathing again with some sort of…of…air bladder or something. They kept you asleep for two days after that for your safety or recovery or something, I guess, and only recently took you off whatever the potion was for you to wake up on your own.”

  Shot in the belly?

  She remembered that happening, but she also remembered that arrow bursting into ash. She remembered following Crispin and taking care of all his attackers. She remembered…

  Fueled by her fear and surprise, Ukrah did manage to reach down and pull her long, cotton tunic up. It wasn’t the one she was wearing before, but that barely registered over her panic.

  “What are you doing? Hey, you should leave that alone.”

  But she couldn’t. She hiked the cloth to above her belly button, where surely enough, she saw a red, jagged ring of a wound that was stuffed with a strange, gauzy sort of material. If she pulled it, she knew she would be staring at an open hole in her own body.

  The thought made her dizzy, and she looked to Crispin, desperately hoping for some sort of answer.

  “I think they said because it was an open wound, then needed you to heal from the inside out. They’ve been, uh, I think it’s called ‘packing’ it twice a day. You’ve got a similar thing going on behind you.”

  She didn’t understand. She had a hole running through her entire body, but she had managed to lift Crispin and put him on Fior. Things weren’t adding up, and she was beginning to wonder what was real and what wasn’t.

  “But I… I…”

  Crispin leaned forward and suddenly his face was in such clarity. She could see where his swelling had gone down, where the very tips of his bruises started to feather into yellow, and she could also see where the blood from others was pooling, leaving blackened, purplish masses that looked so painful to the touch.

  His voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke. “I saw what you did to save me. You’re not crazy.”

  Her eyes went wider, and she skipped a beat. She had killed people…again. Hadn’t Eist told her that she shouldn’t go straight to violence? And yet that was exactly what she had done at the first chance.

  Had he told them? Were they going to round her up and jail her? Kick her out? She was obviously too dangerous to be trusted. She—

  “Hey, hey, I can see that look. Calm down. I didn’t tell anybody. I don’t think they would understand. I just wanted you to know, you’re not crazy. That really happened. And it looks like I owe you my life again.”

  Ukrah fought to steady her breathing. She felt like she had just gone through several fairly large shocks in a very short span of time. Her head was spinning, and she was just so very tired.

  “How are you not scared of me?” she murmured, staring at the boy in wonder.

  He shrugged. “Because I don’t see you as someone to fear. I’ve had a couple of folks at the manor look out for me ever since my parents died, but nothing like what you do. I gotta say, you have a way of making a man feel safe, ya know? Protected.”

  As soon as the words exited his mouth, she felt a happy rush within her. One that was definitely disproportionate to the moment.

  “You feel safe?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. There’s a lot of bad stuff in this scary world, but none of it can touch me when you’re around. It’s a pretty nice feeling.”

  But…but that didn’t make sense. He had been beaten within an inch of his life. The only reason he was in trouble was because of her. She had effectively ruined his life.

  As much as she wanted to say all that, her body was too busy reacting to the warm, satisfying sort of contentment that had filled her from his words. He felt protected. He felt safe.

  That meant she was doing things right, and that was apparently all she needed to know in order to blissfully drift back to sleep.

  Ukrah’s next few days were hazy and filled with people she didn’t know. Apparently being shot through the middle was usually a death sentence, either because of infection from her innards being nicked and leaking waste into her own body, or because a puncture of her stomach meant she couldn’t eat or drink and the acid would leak into her body.

  She wasn’t dead, however, and that was only because the arrow that had run her through had somehow missed everything that was important inside of her, only barely scraping the outer edge of her spine.

  The healers were calling it a miracle, but she didn’t know if it was really that or if it was the strange…thing inside of her.

>   She also didn’t know if it was inside of her or a part of her. When she was saving Crispin, it very much felt like they were one, but now that she wasn’t in battle, wasn’t trying to save someone, she couldn’t feel more detached from it.

  Used, almost.

  She didn’t get much time to worry about it, however, as she was constantly busy. It seemed that healing was actually a process that required a lot of work.

  Her wound was cleaned out and repacked twice a day, which took plenty of time on its own. Every time they rolled her onto her side, she thought she was going to pass out, and if it weren’t for Crispin crouching by the side of her bed, talking to her, she was pretty sure she would have.

  As if that weren’t enough, a healer would also come by twice a day to move her arms and legs in specific exercises that were supposed to stop her muscles from atrophying. She liked the idea of them, because she liked having muscle, but found the actual practice pretty darn awful.

  Then whenever she needed to use the chamber pot, that involved a female healer erecting a screen around her bed and maneuvering her into an embarrassingly shaky position to do what she needed, then more cleaning before she was allowed to lay back down.

  There were also apparently things called bed sores to be watched out for, and her sheets were changed every other day, and lots of other little things that often left her feeling frazzled and frustrated by the time night fell. If she had known being wounded would take up so much effort, maybe she would have tried harder not to be pierced.

  At least everyone visited her often.

  Well…everyone but Tayir. The bird was MIA, and by the fourth day, she began to worry. She was sure that she had heard him in the woods, but she had never seen him. Was he even real?

  “Hey there, you’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

  Ukrah blinked, pulling herself from her thoughts, and looked to see Eist approaching her cot, a package in her hands. “I’m…just laying in bed.”

  “Yeah, but that was one strenuous expression you were wearing.” She reached the side of the bed and pulled up one of the stools. “I guess history really does repeat itself.”

  “What do you mean?” Ukrah asked, trying to sit up a bit. The woman tsked at her and stuffed enough pillows behind her to help her before answering.

  “It’s almost summer. Around this time when I was your age, I also was in the healers room after almost dying. Weird, huh?”

  Although it was a grim topic for sure, Eist seemed amused. And her pleasant smile was enough to put Ukrah at ease that the God-Woman wasn’t mad at her. “I suppose it is a bit peculiar.”

  The woman let out a short laugh then nodded, dumping her package on Ukrah’s knees. She expected a lance of pain from that, but the parcel was surprisingly light and soft.

  “I was saving my grandfather, you know. He was going to die, but I just couldn’t let that happen. Ended up taking on a woman who was possessed by the Blight. It… It didn’t go well for me.”

  Ukrah nodded. “I heard the story. But you beat her. You saved the day.”

  The woman let out a sound that was something between a laugh and a huff. “Not quite.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I basically just clung to life and made as much noise as possible until there were too many witnesses and fighters around her. And the only real reason I was able to buy myself that much time was because I peed on her.”

  If it was possible for her eyes to bug out of her skull, Ukrah’s did so right then. “You… You…”

  “Yup. Peed on her. Note to you, if you’re ever being carried somewhere, or someone has you pinned down and you can’t get free, making yourself as gross as possible is the way to go. Urine, vomit, whatever it takes, assault all of their senses. It certainly saved my life.”

  “I… I don’t think I’ve ever thought of that.”

  “Yeah, because most people want to maintain some superfluous level of dignity. They don’t realize when it’s coming down to life or death, the only thing that matters is staying alive.” She let out another huff. “Besides, most warriors assume everything comes down to a test of strength, but that’s not it. Sometimes, it’s just who’s better at surviving.”

  Ukrah felt like she was learning so much in such a strange way, but she appreciated it, nonetheless. The God-Woman was certainly nothing like she expected. Guarded, yes, intense, yes. But she was kind, and funny, and surprisingly human. No wonder she had such a tight unit of people who loved her.

  And Ukrah had disappointed her. “I’m sorry that I’m not going to become a dragon rider yet like you wanted.”

  “What do you mean?”

  It was difficult to meet her gaze, but Ukrah forced herself to. “You said it’s almost summer, and I’m injured. There’s not enough time for me to train, and it doesn’t sound like there’s an egg for me either.”

  To her surprise, Eist just waved all of that away. “Trust me, I was in much worse condition. I’m telling you, I have a feeling.”

  But Ukrah had a feeling that she was wrong. Although…it had been pretty nice riding on top of Fior, high up in the sky and filled with a sort of power that was ancient and wonderful.

  “Anyway, are you going to open your present or not?”

  Oh right, the parcel was still sitting in her lap, wrapped in a simple dark cloth and tied in twine. She reached for it, and slowly undid the knot, letting the fabric drop away to reveal a plush, silken pillow.

  “It’s down feather,” Eist said, almost sheepishly. “The healers said that you were up and walking so you can come home soon, but you’re still going to be on a lot of bedrest, so I figured you might as well have something to make your bed comfy.”

  “This is…” Ukrah searched for the right words. “This is very kind of you, Lady W’allenhaus.”

  “Please, I think we’re to the point of where you can call me Eist. I’ve never been much of a one for titles anyway.

  Ukrah didn’t know if she could do that. That was treating the God-Woman with a level of familiarity that seemed almost disrespectful. Thankfully, she was saved from having to say anything as an elderly man burst through the door.

  He wasn’t some sort of frail figure, however. No, he was grizzled and layered with muscle that came from years of hard work. He had a long, long gray beard and his peppered hair was pulled up into an intricate braid that started at the center of his hairline and hung halfway down his back.

  “Eist!” he called, striding forward. “Eist, you and the girl have to come now!”

  The girl? Was that Ukrah?

  “Grandfather! We were just talking about you a little bit ago.”

  That was her grandfather!? Ukrah couldn’t help but openly stare at the man. When Eist had just mentioned him, she had assumed he was dead. After all, the God-Woman was toward the latter half of the twenty-years, so the man certainly had to have been around for a long time.

  Then again, she had heard that dragons extended the lives of their riders. Was… Was he an ancient warrior?

  “We need to hurry.”

  “What’s going on?” Eist said, standing up. Concern was evident in her voice. “Is there something wrong in the caves?”

  In the caves? So not a warrior, but a caretaker. That was a heady, important responsibility. Eist’s lineage really was the stuff of legends. Ukrah didn’t even know who her parents’ parents were.

  “No, better. Bring your girl, hurry!”

  Eist let out the giddiest laugh Ukrah had ever heard from her and clapped her hands. “You don’t mean— Ah! I knew it! I knew it!” She whirled to Ukrah, all gentle hands as she helped her up. “Come on now, let’s go for a bit of a walk.”

  “I don’t understand,” Ukrah said while complying. “What’s going on?”

  “What’s going on,” Eist said, her grandfather coming up along Ukrah’s other side to support her, “is exactly what I hoped would happen.”

  11

  First Impressions

  Ukrah was
covered in sweat by the time they reached a cozy cabin built into the mountain. It was bigger than the average city home that she had seen, but certainly nothing like the manors or estates of the nobility and dragon riders.

  If either of her supporters noticed her shaking, they didn’t say so, and that made her feel remotely better. While she knew there was nothing shameful in recovering from her wound, she still felt a bit ashamed at being so weak and needing help to walk a very short distance. She never would have even made it to the cabin if Fior hadn’t trotted over right after they exited the academy, letting her sit on his back and lean against his head as they made their way over the grassy knolls.

  But he couldn’t make it through the front door of the cabin, so it was her job to walk from his back to inside.

  A more difficult task than one would think.

  But she trusted that the God-Woman wouldn’t have taken her on such an intense jaunt if it wasn’t worthwhile, so she bit her tongue and kept trudging forward with the two of them supporting her. Boy, Crispin was going to be so upset when he came back from getting food to find that she was gone.

  She felt a flash of guilt, but that quickly faded once they walked from the homey interior of the cabin into a wide, lofted cave.

  Ukrah’s jaw dropped, stunned by the beauty of it all.

  The cavern was huge, going far above her head and deep into the mountainside. There were tunnels going who-knew-where higher up, and she could see the remainder of several nests where dragons had rested before and after laying their eggs.

  While there were torches everywhere, there were also glowing crystals embedded in the stone, coating the room in a swirling layer of soft light that was so incredibly peaceful.

  No wonder the dragons wanted to come here to leave their young. There was something so welcoming about the place, drenched in a slippery-sweet layer of bubbling magic.

  It was strange. It was like in the back of her mind, she could see hundreds of eggs all around her for a moment, stretching out across generations, so much potential and power blessed upon the world. But as soon as she blinked, all of that was gone, and she was left looking at a hay-covered floor.