The Dragon Huntress

The Way To Camp (Chapter-3)

She reached the arena, to find loads of people. After another 6 months, she would be returning to the same hill, to choose whether she was going to be a huntswoman or a rider. Standing at the arena, she started looking around. Everyone was crying; turns out she wasn't the only one who didn't want to go to the camp. 

Her parents came and stood next to her. She hugged them tightly telling them goodbye and ran down to meet the gateman. The 6-foot tall gateman really looked scary when he was angry and completely not pleased with the fact that he was surrounded by a swarm of students. "Stand in a line". An Instructor called from one side of the crowd. "Name," the gatekeeper asked not looking away from his list when it was her turn at last.

"Kendra Antonio Wulfric"

Suddenly the crying stopped around the arena. Every eye was on Kendra. The gateman looked at her for the first time. She was not used to this, even though her family is the richest and the strongest one in the clan, her father is the elite pack leader, her mother is the first to kill the red sea-king dragon and the Wulfric family is the most feared and dangerous in the Draco Ignis clan.

 She never stayed in the public too long to experience fame or the power of the surname "Wulfric".  All her knowledge and skills came from the teachings of her grandmother and mother and not from schools that everyone went to. She was new to the crowd even though she felt she belonged there. Mr Antonio and Mrs Reika Wulfric watched from far. 

"May I know which my carriage is?" She asked, still looking around at the crowd that stood there staring at her. She felt the bang of nervousness again. The gateman checked his parchment and called out loud "The carriage for Kendra Antonio Wulfric is the one hailed by the fabled purple horse" She walked towards the black carriage at the end of the line, still looking at all the stares she was receiving.  Before entering the carriage, she gave a nervous smile to her parents and the people staring at her.

The carriage was purple on the inside with a small black lamp hanging right in the middle; it would have looked scary if not for the windows. The windows were there on the two sides so that there was a good view of what was happening outside. This was a part of the training so that on the way they could learn about the dragons residing in the fields. There was a storage box below the seat, where the food and weapons were kept. This was a part of training too, the carriages will only take you to the Mystical Forest, where you have to find your way to the camp along with the 2 people with whom you will share the carriage. Most dragons on the Mystical Forest were herbivores, but not all. Overall, the journey was scary yet thrilling. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a boy approaching the carriage. It was Hugo Greybane, the youngest of the Greybanes. They were known for their kindness but it's better if you don't pick a fight with them. Their family consisted of four boys, the older three are already in the training camp and are famous for their hunting skills. Hugo looked surprised when he saw her but smiled. Even though both their fathers are leaders of the hunting packs, they were never really friends. All they did was exchange a few greetings every time they met. He sat opposite her looking out of the window awkwardly. 

She continued looking outside and admiring the carriage until the last person came. This time it was Adriel. The only child in the Hydra family. She had brief conversations with Adriel too but he wasn't much of a friend. Adriel smiled when he saw her and sat next to Hugo. Soon after Adriel settled, the horn blew and all the horses whinnied along with it. The carriages had set off from the village,  with their carriage in the end. 

The people in the arena were waving good-bye while some parents still crying. She felt a rush of excitement as the road filled which had been filled with people had turned into forests. The lush green scenery followed them till they reached the dragon park, the starting point of the training. 'What's wrong?' Adriel asked, seeing Hugo frowning. They had just reached the park. 'The nightsingers' Hugo said pointing towards a flock of dark green dragons flying 'They are flying towards the east' 

In the stories her grandmother had told, the night-singers were night dragons who will not travel to the east until there is extreme danger. 'Isn't that bad?' She asked. The carriages in front seemed to notice it too, for their carriage had overtaken the rest of the carriages and was leading. The ground slightly started shaking, because all the dragons in the fields were running in different directions, most towards the forest, while some following the nightsingers. But, their coachman seemed to not notice it, because the speed only increased, while other carriages around them started backing away.

Suddenly their horse shrieked and the carriage took a nasty turn into the forest almost sending Adriel out of the carriage along with some supply boxes. Hugo by luck caught Adriel by his hand and pushed him inside before he fell. The carriage was speeding deep down the forest and with the door now open, she couldn't hear a thing Hugo was saying. Adriel, on the other hand, was helping her hold the things from falling. 'Lock the door' she screamed as she struggled to keep the bags and boxes from falling. Thankfully Hugo heard and closed the door before it broke off. 'What is going on?' Hugo asked. 

She looked out of the window to try and locate where the coachman was sitting. But instead, she saw something even dreadful, a black wing. 'I think a dragon is chasing us 'She said to them, as their eyes filled with worry. 'We have to inform the coachman' Hugo said as he started looking for something to alert the coachman 'How did the dragon look?' Adriel asked ignoring Hugo. 'Black wings, that's all I could see' She replied. 

Hugo stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her, eyes wide, while Adriel went near the window to make sure of what she was saying. 'Black? You sure?' Hugo asked with fear. Black meant bad luck in their clan and seeing black wings meant, the worst that could happen to them.

The carriage suddenly took another turn sending all three to the ground along with the supply box and bags. Adriel suffered the worst. On his way to look through the window, he hit his head and fell, giving cracks in the glass window and a new scar on his forehead almost unseen by his long hair. Hugo on the other hand fell right next to the door, narrowly missing his head. She thankfully fell on one blanket which came out of the supply box. 

The carriage stopped. Hugo now under the pile of bags and boxes pointed his finger towards the window, indicating her to look outside. Slowly and steadily she got up and stood on her knees holding the windowpane and looked through the window. Turns out she wasn't the only one looking through it.

A pair of golden eyes seemed to be staring back at her. The golden orbs perfectly blending with the pitch-black dragon skin, it had. She stood there without blinking, holding her breath and stared back at it. Slowly, another set of golden eyes revealed itself to her. Two identical black dragon heads stared at her. It was so silent that she could hear the dragon's heartbeat beating excitedly at its new prey.