Dragon Riders

Chapter 10: Feelings Blooming

Aspen POV:

Shade told us it would take about a week for the Viys and Teffs to all return to Beliu, and that we should take the week off. We'd earned it. Iris gracefully leapt back onto Shade and smiled down at me. I could tell we were going to be good friends. She wasn't like any of the girls my mother had forced me to spend time with. First of all, those girls were daughters of dukes and barons, which meant they were incredibly dull, haughty, egotistical, and, worst of all, girly. All they wanted to do was compare tiaras, try on my dresses, do each other's hair, and talk about boys. I could never go an hour without taking out one of my daggers and threatening to stab them.

I guess that explains why you sneak out to see friends, Serafina guessed. And why you only see guys.

Aren't you so smart! I declared.

Yes, she concurred, playing along with my sarcasm, Yes I am! She headed into the forest. Let's go see how Cade is doing! I rolled my eyes and followed her carefully. We ducked into a Ure and Serafina's eyes widened. I followed her line of gaze, through the crowd, to see a familiar Fire Dragon.

Orion! My mind shouted. Serafina turned and glared at me. Can I meet him?

No! She protested mentally. Maybe after we see Cade. We ducked back out into the forest and followed a dirt trail, lined with smooth, white stones. The deciduous trees created a green canopy above us, blocking the intense heat of the sun. As we walked, flowers sprouted up around the path. White lilies, yellow daffodils, white baby's breath, and purple violets were among the newly budded flora.

Serafina, I reminded her. You're growing again! She sighed and the sprouting stopped. We finally reached the Wiops and went to the third on on the left. There sat Cade, chatting eagerly with Juniper. "Oh dear!" I sighed. "He's probably driving her insane with questions!" He saw us and waved eagerly. Juniper saw his wave and turned to see us. Relief flooded her face.

"How is he?" Serafina called as we approached.

"Fully recovered!" Juniper declared. "I gave him a small amount of our medicine and he was perfectly fine!" She turned and whispered to us. "Just a little chatty!" I giggled loudly and Cade cocked his head in confusion, as if wondering what was so funny. I crossed the large cave to his makeshift bed.

"Hey," I greeted him. He looked over me carefully, examining my attire, and his mouth fell open.

"Are you a rider?" He gawked in disbelief.

"A Viy!" I corrected.

"A Viy?" He pondered. "I don't think I've ever crossed that term in my readings..."

"It's in Drina," I informed him, "the Dragon language." He nodded in understanding. "Viy directly translates to rider. Serafina's my Teff." He opened his mouth to ask what Teff meant, but I beat him to it. "Teff means a rider's Dragon." He nodded again. He stood up and brushed the soot off his torn clothing. He smiled at me, his teeth glowing in the sunlight. He looked at me sheepishly,

"Could you possibly quiz me?" He asked; my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "On colors and types? I want to be prepared to recognize Dragons." He smiled pleadingly. I nodded. He bounced eagerly as I began,

"Red?"

"Fire!" He proclaimed. "Easy!"

"Gray? Brown? Blue?"

"Air! Earth! Water!"

"Pink? Black? Orange? Purple?"

"Nurturer! Storm! Space! Nature!" He glanced respectively at Serafina. She nodded in approval.

"Bronze? Silver? Gold? Yellow?"

"Council! Queen! King! Idea!"

"Okay, smarty pants," I taunted. "What about Creator Dragons?"

"Trick question," he pointed out. "Creator Dragons, only one at any given point in time, reside in the Meadow of Creation, in solitude, hidden deep within the forrest of Beliu. No living creature has laid eyes upon one, except the Dragon Keeper of course. So, nobody knows what color they are!"

"Very good," I applauded. Then I gestured to Serafina. "You want to fly?"

"Yeah!" He declared. Cade had gotten so much better at flying over the past month; he had even gotten over his fear of heights. I leapt gracefully onto to Serafina's back. He attempted to do the same, but only made it halfway. He rammed his head right into Serafina's scaly side and bit the dust. I began to laugh hysterically, giggles exploding from within myself. He rolled over on his back and joined in my laughing fit. Serafina rolled her eyes at our foolishness, but I detected a hint at something in her mind.

What? I questioned mentally.

Nothing! She asserted.

Serafina! I demanded.

Fine, she confessed. He was trying to show off! He likes you too!

Yeah, I said sarcastically. Sure! After a long pause, I began to fire back. What about you and Orion? Huh?

NO! Serafina bellowed. He's just... She was going to continue, but was cut off by Cade's complaint.

"Hey guys!" He interrupted. "I know you all have some weird, mystical connection, but could we go? I want to see Beliu." He clamored onto Serafina and wrapped his arms around my waist. I tried so hard to keep the blood from rushing to my face, but I couldn't stop the blushing. I kept my rosy cheeked face turned forward, away from Cade, and patted Serafina's shoulder, signaling for her to take off. She was trembling with laughter regarding my predicament.

Stop! I warned as we took off. We soared over the canopy of treetops and glided on until Cade insisted we land in a Ure packed with Dragons, so he could chat with some in person. I rolled my eyes, but listened. Everyone stared at us as we landed. It was unusual for a Dragon to bear more than one human. We were greeted by several inquirers. Who are you all? What's going on? We were asked these questions frequently, as well as others. Suddenly the crowd parted and there stood an enormous, red, Fire Dragon.

Orion! Serafina and I recognized at the exact same time. I could feel her heart pounding.