Dragon Seekers

Chapter 23

Jamie continued to be blown away once again. It was the library this time that surprised him this time around. It was twice as big as the drawing room. The bookshelves went from the floor to ceiling, with gold coloured ladders on rails attached to them. Books filled up each shelf completely, leaving no room for anything else. Large windows provided all natural light into the room. There were small tables and chairs spread out in the room. Some more books were piled on a few of the tables, clearly not being able to be put back on their respective shelves. There were two doors. One that seemed to serve as a second entrance. The other was probably for another room or even a supply cupboard.

Jamie and Ash were sitting down at one of the tables that were clear of books. The only thing that was on it, was Jamie's egg. It was settled peacefully on another white cushion, safe and unharmed. Jamie knew that it was in safe hands, but he was more than relieved to see it again. That part of him that he was separated from was back with him. Ash stared at it in awe. If Jamie didn't know better, there were literal sparks in her eyes as she admired it. She looked more awed than Jamie had seen of her yet.

"If I've said already, I'll say it again: your egg is unique," she smiled, resting her chin in her hands as she planted her elbows on the table. Jamie's smile went wider as she said that. "I've never seen patterns like that on any egg before. Your dragon will definitely be a rare one. No doubt that the Dragon Seekers will want to be notified of it."

"I think you mentioned that before. "Dragon Seekers". Who are they?" Jamie asked, finally taking his eyes off of the egg. He recalled Ash talking about Nexus being one, but never explained what a Dragon Seeker was. Ash gave him a knowing smile. She suddenly stood up and went over to one of the bookshelves. She scanned each and every book in front of her for about three minutes. Finally she grabbed a book and ran back over to the table. She flicked through a few pages before she left the book wide open on the table.

Jamie looked down at the picture that Ash pointed at. There were men and woman illustrated in it, each having their own unique dragon. Hey wore armour and held weapons that had their own design and colours. Not one of them looked alike. The only similarities that they had, was a dragon symbol on their chest plates and helmets. Jamie looked at the symbol, thinking that e had seen it somewhere before. But where?

"They protect wild dragons, especially the rare ones," Ash explained, her voice carrying strong admiration for these protectors. "Not all dragons are tame like the ones you've seen today. There are a lot of wild ones out there. So the Dragon Seekers go around their respective islands, protecting dragons that fall under their jurisdiction. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it isn't, but the Dragon Seekers always do their job right. You might recall me mentioning that Nexus was one. He's retired now, but they say that he was the best of the best at what he did. Some say that he was the first ever Dragon Seeker, but I think that's too far of a stretch."

"They sound amazing," Jamie breathed as he eyes at the picture in front of him. The Dragon Seekers sounded strong and brave. Something that he always wanted to be.

"Yeah, they really are. I've got a lot of respect for them," Ash smiled, her eyes seeming to go misty as she started to remember something. "My dad was one actually. I want to be like him. I'm going to be a Dragon Seeker." Jamie looked up at Ash as she mentioned her dad. That was the second time that she had brought him up, and Jamie had yet to see him.

"Is that why I haven't met your dad yet? Because he's a Dragon Seeker?" he asked, curiosity taking over him. He had overheard his classmates say that they hadn't seen one of their parents for a while because they either worked abroad or they were in the armed forces. It would make sense if Ash's dad was absent because he's protecting wild dragons.

Ash's face suddenly changed. Her smile was wiped off of her face, and her eyes no longer shined. Her arms wrapped around herself as she suddenly couldn't look at Jamie or the book.