The Dragoneer Manual

Chapter 10 - Teak

It was hard to calm down in the shower. Rory found herself quickly washing off her body with a bar of soap and combing through her badly tangled hair with the comb she'd found in the drawer. She genuinely felt like she couldn't be wasting time on such silly requirements such as personal hygiene when there was an entire castle outside the walls of her dorm waiting to be explored.

By the time she was out of the shower and had blow-dried her hair straight, it was already 6:30pm. She slipped on her fresh, clean uniform and stood before the full length mirror in the bathroom, hardly believing her eyes. She looked like a completely different person.

The long trek to reach the meeting point had made her so fit; all her extra body fat had been replaced by lean muscle. The uniform was perfectly tailored to her size. Her hair had grown longer, and now that it had been straightened, it fell gracefully to the middle of her back. She smiled at herself. For once, maybe for the first time, she felt quite beautiful.

But when she walked out the door she was a bundle of nerves. What were the other recruits like? Would she get along with them? She tensed up at the idea that she might be an outcast among this group of eager dragon lovers. What if she didn't fit in with the very people she most wanted to be like? In the middle of her rumination she was snapped back to reality by a sweet female voice.

"Hi! Are you going to the cathedral?" the voice asked.

Rory swung around to see a small girl, who couldn't be older than 14, staring up at her with big brilliant blue eyes and two long blonde pigtails. The girl was wearing the same grey jacket with a teal dragon's claw on the front pocket.

"Yes!" Rory replied. "Are you a new recruit too?"

A wide smile spread on the girls face, and she looked genuinely thrilled at Rory's answer.

"Thank dragons! I've been wandering around for an hour trying to find it," Her mouth pursed into a pout. "I'm really bad with directions."

Rory chuckled, wondering how this girl could have possibly made it to the meeting point if she couldn't find the cathedral.

"No worries," Rory said. "Let's go together."

The girl skipped over to Rory's side, her hands clasped behind her back.

"What's your name?" Rory asked.

"Teak," the girl said, beaming.

"That's a nice name. I'm Rory. When did you arrive at the academy?"

"Oh, I've been here for a year!" she said, smiling.

"A year?" Rory asked, taken aback.

"Mhm. They won't let me move up a level until I'm old enough, because Intermediates go into battle."

"I see," Rory said, pausing for a moment at the mention of battle.

"So aside from directions, you probably know a lot already, right?" Rory said.

"Sure do! I know all about dragon breeds, abilities, and battle techniques. I also know a good amount of magic and can fight with a sword. But I grew up learning all about it from my father."

"Your father seems very knowledgable."

"Yep, you might know him. His name is Arthur Wood!"

Rory froze in her tracks and her jaw dropped.

"Arthur Wood? The author of The Dragoneer Manual I and II? You're his daughter?"

Teak smiled back at her, unfazed and blinking.

"Uh-huh!" she said.

Rory took a deep breath and processed this information. She didn't know what was more shocking: that she was speaking to the daughter of an absolute icon, or that he had decided to name his child Teak Wood.

"Oh, there it is!" Teak squealed, seeing the cathedral. She put a hand on her chest. "I was going to get a real scolding for missing orientation again."

Rory chuckled, and to her surprise, Teak grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

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A/N: You finally meet Teak!!! <3 What are your thoughts on her so far?