The Night Rider

Chapter 9

Slowly my feet find the ground again. The black smoke and light disappear into nothingness, the place they came from. Behind a tree, Chea emerges in her human form. She lets her hand fall down beside her. A little grin on her face is visible, a grin that draws her. Slow steps bring her closer.

'This is your future if you keep going like this', her words are harsh and leave no room at all. Too often in my life I have been told that I am a burden, hopeless or a danger. I become distraught by these words, words that people keep presenting but never give an explanation. Chea is the first to give a manual.

'If you look like your mother, the option now being used is the wrong one. You will succumb under yourself, succumb between these walls' Surprise is the thing that takes over my body. In the meantime, Chea has woven her hands behind her and is walking in my direction.

Still bewildered I stand in the middle of the open plains looking at the blond lady. 'Go out into the world, into the nights like you did. As soon as your mother's gone, go to town. Find a way outside those walls' With every word she utters, I lose her further. I don't understand how the woman standing next to my mother is urging me to do the complete opposite.

'This may not be my job to tell you, but I don't feel like anyone else is going to do it. Your mother inherited the throne from Chanel but that doesn't mean she has the power'. The Supreme Lord has spoken. The most powerful woman in the world, a woman who looks like she's in her mid-twenties but who's actually had knowledge for almost 100 years.

'Use your powers, the powers you keep hidden' The moment the words have left her mouth I shoot back with a huge gust of wind and find my back a tree trunk. Anger bubbles up in my body. The rage I fight with every day. I get up in a jump and let a gust of wind as strong as a swing of Reviri's wings glide to Chea.

All Chea has to do is form her hands like a shield in front of her to catch the blow and then in a swing send a sea of fire at me. Wind shooting from my lifelines through my hands bring me into the air, evading the fire.

A fight of wind and fire arises, flames are bounced against the trees by gusts of wind. The wind rushes past our ears. The fire doesn't get a chance to set fire to the forest. We both have no intention of actually hurting each other. For hours we test each other's strength, endurance and energy.

Eventually, we end up with our backs in the grass. Panting, we release our breath and search for new air for our lungs. The sun is rising and illuminates the deep forest that now loses its dark side. The sounds of the awakening birds bring the forest to life. 'I meant what I said' Panting, the words lose Chea's mouth. I'm not responding.

'Now we have to go back for people to miss us' the next moment I hear Chea straighten herself on her legs and her blond hair comes into my sight. She gives me a hand, which I gladly accept. I pull myself straight and knock off my clothes.

Together we start our way back to the castle. The whole way is quiet. At times like this, I don't understand the ties with the people living in the castle. My mother is the queen and that's more clear to me than ever. Someday I will succeed that throne, at least that should be the intention. The curse that I bear from birth, and that is apparently caused by the woman who gave me my life, is the crusher.

Celeste is like a second mother to me, a mentor and an example. All my life that woman has been wandering past me. She gives me advice, tells me more than necessary and together we have discovered parts of the world I wouldn't know without her. She is perhaps more valuable to me than my mother is to me.

My father is a man I'm comfortable with. He's honest, sweet and passionate. As head of the dragonriders, we have more common ground than he knows. As a child he already took me into the stables to see the baby dragons and take a little ride on his fire spotted dragon. We let each other in our value, that's valuable to me.

I've also known Chea all my life. She's a woman of comings and goings. Sometimes I don't see her for years and suddenly she shows up again. She's very much on her own and smarter than she pretended to be. She is a person who observes from a distance and intervenes as soon as the time is ripe in her eyes. She is smart.

Meanwhile, our way has ended at the front door of the palace. The guards let us in through the huge wooden doors. Immediately the halls where it was full of chatter are quiet. Several servants and guards shoot on the side and back to their posts.

Chea has a clear goal and walks with a fierce pass to my mother's office. Although I don't fully understand why I am following her, I do. There is a clear sound of discussion coming from the office and the sound becomes clearer and clearer with every pass we make.

Chea throws open the door. All the heads sitting at the table are pointed at us. My father, mother, Celeste and Elien sit around the wooden table. The table is littered with power papers and clearly they are not lying there for no reason. 'What's the news?' As if Chea could hear from the moment she came in that something was going on, she asks the question.

No one at the table answers until my dad brings up a newspaper. Chea walks in steps to the table and lets her eyes slide over the paper. 'We thought they were extinct' My father mumbles the words more to himself than to someone sitting at the table. As soon as my eyes fall on the paper I freeze.