Ancestral Dragon

Chapter 24

Hoo hooooo hoo. The call of an owl filled the quiet night as Jak absentmindedly rolled the Dragon Stone in his pocket.

The absolute failure with Rory had Jak reflecting. The bond with Agarilus made him different and unique in a way that he never thought could happen. Going through high school, it felt as if all of his classmates had been finding themselves and what they wanted to do with their lives. Jak never had. That was until he landed on Kaolin and found magic.

Jak's blunder from that afternoon shook his confidence in all areas. His abilities as an Ohnji were supposed to be second to none. However, Rory wiped the floor with Jak even without her own Ohnji powers. How could that happen? The only answer that Jak came up with led him to admit his error; that he should have been practicing with magic all this time. But even if he had practiced, Rory had so much more experience. She would have won either way. So, what did it matter? He wasn't training in order to join the rebellion but simply to prepare if he found himself in another situation like the ones with Von Chiemer.

There was more to the failure than just his own hurt pride that unsettled Jak but he couldn't pinpoint it.

Thoughts of Jak's mother surfaced, which caused a pain in the back of his throat. While he had been enjoying himself in this new world learning magic and flying with Agarilus, she was back on Earth, probably torn to pieces over losing her son. He broke the vow to always be there for his mother. Guilt gripped his stomach as his failures piled up on one another.

A bright fire caught Jak's attention as it flickered in the darkness. The light showed a young woman with curly dark hair, tied neatly behind her head as she hung wet clothing on a line that extended from the cabin to a nearby tree. She worked carefully, not letting any of the damp clothing fall into the dirt.

After stealing a quick glance, Jak noticed she wasn't too much older than him. An abrupt gust of wind carried the shirt she was holding, away and right into his face. She quickly ran over, lifting her plain dress above her feet so not to trip. She smiled as she pulled the shirt from his face. He lost himself in the stark contrast between her light blue eyes and dark curly hair.

"I'm so sorry about that," the woman said.

"Hello," Jak said. He fumbled over what to say next as he obsessed over her beauty. It had to be significant enough for her to want to continue the conversation. "That's alright." Jak mentally slapped himself for his choice of words.

"Well, thank you for catching that for me. I wouldn't want to wash it again after spending all afternoon doing laundry." She chuckled as she walked back to the clothes line to hang the shirt. Her laugh was intoxicating and compelled Jak to follow her in order to continue their conversation.

"That seems to be a lot of work for one person if you're still hanging the clothes this late."

"Everyone has to pull their own weight, right? My father is training the new recruits all day so I keep up with our home."

"Your father is Douay?" Jak's mouth dropped as his eyes whipped side to side, scanning the immediate area for the hardened Aunsi trainer. Jak didn't want to have any kind of conversation as to why he missed trainings. Luckily, Douay was nowhere in sight.

"Yes. You must be one of his trainees." The young woman smiled as if she had a secret to tell.

"I've trained with him," Jak said hoping she wouldn't pry. He didn't want to explain why he only showed up for one lesson.

"You must be taking part in the tournament then?"

"Yea."

"So, why are you still up if you should be resting for tomorrow?"