The Dragon's Girl

The Dragon’s Girl

The girl stood on the edge of the rocky precipice looking down into a vast blue body of water, rippling slightly with the wind. Behind her, a forest that swayed with the breeze. The sun was bright, glinting in her eyes, but she felt no breeze, nor heat from the sun. A large, winged shadow crossed over the lake.

A dream, she decided.

She looked down once more into the waters, knowing what she must do. She felt no fear as she lifted a foot to step from the ledge.

Theodora Thare awoke to the sound of smashing glass. Groggily she lifted her head, a mass of black hair tangled in the band she mistakenly left in the night before.

Yelling and crying pushed her rudely out of the last moment of slumber. She blinked sleep out of her eyes, the room coming into focus slowly. Pushing herself up, she immediately crashed back down with a groan. She was sore all over, for her trainer had been particularly insane yesterday. Her shoulders, arms, and legs felt like violin strings pulled too tight, to the point of snapping.

The crying sounds became louder, and she knew she would have to face this day, sore or not.

Theodora, or Theo as she liked to be called, rolled out of bed, rolling her wrists and ankles to regain their feeling. She pulled some clothes on and headed out to barter for peace, as the yelling grew to a summit. And by barter for peace, she means crack some skulls.

Theo lived in a group home, despite being void of any sort of family dynamic that could qualify it as a home. She was dropped off by her parents at the tender age of two, but she didn’t quite blame them, for she knew she was a handful and more.

Troublemaker, rebellious, and disobedient were adjectives often thrown her way.

Slipping down the stairs, she peaked around the corner into the kitchen, where a kid, just five years old, sat in the middle, bawling his eyes out. Ms. Delacroix’s man friend stood over a smashed plate, screaming at the kid for breaking it.

Theo took the last step off the stairs and slipped around the doorway. Crossing her arms, she gave the man her best icy stare and cleared her throat. He looked to her, a snarl appearing on his ugly face. His weakness was immediately obvious to her. Theo had an uncanny ability to pinpoint someone’s physical weakness, whether it was a bad knee, fractured wrist, or even a pulled muscle. This man, whatever his name was, had a bad right knee and a gimp left wrist, amongst other aches and pains.

“What do you want?” He sneered. There were a great many things she wanted, but to smash his ugly face was at the forefront.

“I want you to leave this house and never come back.” Theo sneered right back. He guffawed, throwing his head back and showing his yellowed gnarled teeth.

“What’s going on?” A sleepy voice asked. Ms. Delacroix stepped in, rubbing her eyes, smearing the black eyeliner across her face. She wore a skimpy white slip, a strap slipped from one shoulder, very nearly exposing a breast. The previous night’s cosmetics were in disarray, blush tarnished, lipstick rubbed from her lips and down across her chin.

Ms. Delacroix was a middle aged woman, who after receiving her inheritance, squandered it away on parties, booze, and gambling. Becoming a foster mother was an occupation for her, which merely paid the bills and funded her bad habits. She dated around, always horrible men, allowing them to come into her house and intermingle with the youngsters.

This last one, standing in the kitchen, was particularly bad. He reeked of garbage, had rotten teeth, and a bad temper.

Ms. Delacroix sauntered over to him, slinking her arms about his shoulders and gave him a sloppy wet kiss.

Theo almost gagged.

“Clean this mess up, will you dear?” She directed the command towards Theo, peaking over her shoulder to give her a cold stare.

“Johnny-baby and I are going to have an adult only talk.” She took him by the hand, and lead him away to her bedroom. Theo almost gagged once more as she saw the grin on “Johnny-baby’s” face. She rolled her eyes, getting the broom and dustpan.

The kid, who now had tears quietly running down his cheeks, sniffed and stood up.

“He was the one who broke it.” His small voice cracked. Theo looked at him with pity, sweeping the broken pieces of the plate into the pan.

“Kid, whatever you do, don’t get in the way of one of Ms. Delacroix’s men. It would be best if you stayed in your room, or found a hobby outside the home.” The advice maybe wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t as if she could be there around the clock to interfere. The kid was close to getting a beating.

“Besides, they’ll probably move you in a few days anyways. Little kids like you don’t last long here.” Theo dumped the pieces of plate into the garbage and dusted her hands off. She saw the downtrodden look on the boy’s face, and felt another pang of pity.

“Just… stay out of the way, okay?” The boy nodded sullenly, and quietly tread up the stairs. He would learn, they always did. Children were to be seen rarely and never heard around here. As long as Ms. Delacroix got her payment from the Fostering System, they had access to a roof over their heads and a pantry of food, sparse as it was.

She sighed as that roof let a drop of water go and hit her forehead. She only had to wait a few more years, then she could be free of this place. For her, it was her last stop. The Fostering System of North Culan could only move you around so much, and she was at her limit. The kid had some time left.

North Culan was a modern city, built in the crevice between two mountains. Part of a kingdom called Etrithen, North Culan was a city for many different creatures. Wizards, sorcerers and other sorts of creatures inhabit the city, along with a few of the most noble Dragon Riders, and even some Dragon Kin. Dwarves, elves, and fairies also inhabit the great city. They were now in a time of peace that was only rocky when the Orcs, goblins, or darklings felt the urge to invade. Luckily, the Badlands where they called their home was far enough from their city to rarely do them much harm. Etrithen had a strong army, and was a powerful kingdom, with powerful allies. The raids were certainly getting more frequent, but those residing in the city worried less than before, having total confidence in the Dragon Rider Army.

Realizing the time as the sun came glaring into the kitchen, Theo rushed back up the stairs, to dress more appropriately for her task today. She had almost forgotten that this day was the day.

Three years ago, she had stumbled upon (by way of some bad news friends) an underground fighting ring that awarded prize money to winners of matches, all leading up to a grand championship. She jumped right in, and lost her first match quite quickly. Despite losing, she felt a rush that she had never felt before, like she had not been living before then. Her fierceness in the ring caught the eye of who is now her trainer. Laban was an older man, with grey streaks in his black hair, worry lines etched into his skin, and a demeanor of the most stoic of Dragon Riders.

He was an unyielding coach. He worked her hard, like her life depended on her combat skills. He mostly taught her hand to hand, but in the last year, he has insisted she learn archery and sword play. Useless in the ring, but he contended anyways, despite her protests.

And when she learned the exact reason why, she was livid.

Laban had sent an application in to the Dragobay Academy, a college of sorts. It accepted students only once per year, and offered a slim variety of coursework. Dragon Riding, Healing, and Sorcery. Despite her only being sixteen years of age, she was accepted to compete in the Trials, a sort of weeding-out process to ensure only the top students made it in. He had applied her to the Dragon Riding track, something she had no interest in. Dragons were amazing, she would agree, but the majority of the Dragon Riders she had known in her life were a special sort of bastard. Lording over everyone, thinking they were better than them; bullies, who thought they could get away with murder. She would admit that maybe not all Riders were like that, for she knew of all the heroic stories just like everyone else, but personal experience certainly swayed her opinion.

While she ranted and raved, he sat quietly, speaking only once while she paused to catch her breath.

“Do you really want to stay at Ms. Delacroix’s until you’re of age?” Theo shut up fairly quickly after that, sitting on the floor of Laban’s gym to contemplate. Could she really be free of the system? If she went to the school, it would have all the authority over her, just like Ms. Delacroix. She would be trading one prison for another. And it wouldn’t be easy by any means.

But if she could get in, she would be out from underneath The Fostering System and Ms. Delacroix’s thumb, and she would be on track for a steady profession. It didn’t come without its risks, many Dragon Riders didn’t retire before being killed, and she could always be wounded in battle to the point of no return. The prospect of becoming one of the heroes she had learned about in school was considerable as well.

But… those consequences were far off, and she could always choose to disappear or become an Adventurer after her schooling, after she had become of age. And the food would probably be better at the Academy.

Steeling herself, she accepted the invitation to the Trails.

Today was that day. The Trials were surrounded by an air of mystery. They changed every year, and were held as a closely guarded secret.

She had no idea what was in store for her today. Theo wore a pair of thin black pants, for comfort and flexibility, and a light blue top with no sleeves, also chosen for maximum unrestricted movement. It was her go-to combat outfit for the Pits, the underground fighting ring. As she pulled her tattered shoes on, she knew that she was going to be late.

Running, Theo thankfully caught the EarthPillar Ridgetail at the Dragon Station, the dragon that traveled to the west side of town. The Ridgetail was a large, flat backed dragon with no wings, but its long legs and wide body were great for inner city transport. Most of the Dragon Station transporters were Ridgetail, in fact.

She paid her copper piece and hopped up near the end, next to an elderly lady clutching a bag in her lap. Theo stomach growled with hunger as the dragon lurched forward, guided by his Rider.