Black Sapphire | Xaden Riorson | S/H

I

・・・　・・・　・・・

     I pinch a frown as I stare down the parapet.  A long bridge extending who knows how many feet, 250 of those off the ground, and not even 2 of those wide.  18 inches, actually.
     I'm trying to not look at the man beside me.  He's sat behind a table while two others stand, a man and a woman.  All three are staring at me, likely because I'm carrying nothing, or maybe because of the loose sack-dress I'm wearing.
     Xaden Riorson.  The man at the center of every dream I dare have.
     I don't want to look at him and I know he knows why.  Son of Fen Riorson, the man who led the rebellion that took my father and killed my mother, the only two people I've ever had.

     "Can I just go?"  The two standing cock their heads, oddly in sync, but Xaden doesn't even acknowledge me.  Good, because I really don't want him to.
     "Well..."  The woman looks at the man as he moves to sit down and shrugs.  "Garrick, Xaden?"
     "Gets it over with faster."  I ignore Xaden's comment as I turn forward again.
     "Awesome."  I don't wait for a proper answer as I begin. I've walked 23 days for this moment, I don't want to wait the meaningless minutes to start.  

     It's windy, being mid-summer, but with a storm brewing on the horizon, I know this is the calmest it's going to be all day.
     I mentally curse the General over and over again as I begin walking.  I don't want to die in the rain.
     I hope they didn't notice me continuously glancing back as I walked the bridge.  The moment they're out of sight, I stop and shuffle myself to the side.  I close my eyes and take in a deep breath.  It won't hurt.
     It felt slow as I tipped to the right, over the edge.

     But it did hurt.  And it didn't take nearly as long as I thought.  There's no way I didn't die from that.  There's a heavy, slow beating sound of fabric whipping in the air.  I put my hand down and the feeling makes my eyes shoot open.  Warm, navy blue scales sit underneath my palm.  A dragon.
     It lands on top of the college's 10-foot-thick wall and shakes like a dog, throwing me off and to the floor.  Unfortunately, I land on the inside of it, on the grounds of the Basgiath War College.
     Fuck.  I did not want to be here.
     I cough as air finally enters my lungs.  The blue dragon above me snarls and leans down close to my face, its breath unnervingly humid and scorching.  A low rumble shakes the wall and my heart as it studies me, but eventually it chuffs and takes flight again.
     I roll onto my back as I suck in breaths.  I look up as a man stands in front of me, holding out a hand for me to take, which I do.  Sitting behind a shabby, light-wooden table is a woman with bright red hair cropped to above her shoulders.  Her eyes are narrowed at me, so much I can't see their color, but I don't pay her much mind.

     "Interesting way to cross the parapet," she comments with a small grumble.  I glance away from her pointed stare that follows my pale (C/C) outfit.  Fitted clothes are a much more popular choice to avoid the freefall I just took.  I'm still hardly processing how I got here.
     "More dangerous than just trying to go on foot, but it worked out for you, I guess," the man continues with a boisterous chuckle.  "She must've already eaten lunch."
     "Who?"  My brows furrow.  He nods his head up towards the blue dragon turning in the sky, moving to head northwest.
     "Sgaeyl, the dragon that just saved your life."  I stare up at her, watching her soar.  They were so much bigger than I'd ever imagined.

     "Well, name?" the woman asks.  I look over at her as I finally start to catch my breath.  Was that really such a concern right now?
     "(Y/N)."  She nods, holding for a moment without writing behind cocking an expectant eyebrow.
     "Your surname?"  I shake my head.
     "Don't have one."  She frowns at the obvious lie but doesn't seem to mind it as she begins writing.
     "Alright, (N/N)-"
     "No, no," I say quickly. "(Y/N)," I annunciate.  I spell it out for her and she sighs as she moves to correct it.
     "(Y/N)," she repeats slowly with a heavy emphasis on certain letters like she was mocking me, which she most likely was.  "Welcome to Basgiath.  Go straight to the field up there."  The man drops a heavy hand on my shoulder as he forces me up the small hill so I can see the elevated podiums near the tall, cobblestone walls of the school.

     I thank him before beginning that way.  There's a large group already gathered, professors and highly ranked students and staff.  They're speaking to each other and all glance my way as I approach.  I offer a small, sarcastic wave.
     "(Y/N)," he greets with a big grin.  He throws his arms open wide as rage fills my blood.
     "Aetos."  He sighs as he shakes his head.  He begins towards me, stepping off the stone stage and crossing the grass.  I don't move back, but I'll be damned if he gets close to me.
     "You don't have to speak to me with so much hate," he chuckles.  "I know you're upset about what happened but I promise I tried my best.  I'm very sorry for everything."  I pinch my lips.  Thankfully, he stops a few feet in front of me, so I don't have to kick him in the balls.
     I don't know if he means killing my mother or if he means not adopting me.  Neither matter to me.

     He stares at me awkwardly, expectantly, as his son begins towards us.  He's less cordial with me, but I really don't mind.  I don't like the games Colonel Aetos wants to play.
     The elder man sighs at my continued silence.  Dain stands behind him, urging him back to the podium as students should be crossing the parapet soon.  I keep my gaze focused on the brown eyes that watched my mother die.  Maybe I could see her last moments again if I looked deep enough.

     As more filtered in, I took my time to filter out.  I begin toward a small, covered alcove in one of the walls to hide from the now-pounding rain.  It's unfortunate that I'll have to understand this place a bit.  Violet had tried to tell me about it, but I don't remember much, and I think she mostly focused on the Archives.
     I turn into the alley, and silver hair catches my eye.  It's a more metallic version of my crown.
     "Violet," I hum lightly.  Her head is crammed between her knees but tilts slightly to acknowledge me.  Dain is standing beside her with a hand on her back, and a dark-haired woman I don't recognize stands just in front of me, now turning around.  Dain's brown eyes narrow at me.
     "Who are you?" the girl asks me.  I look over at her and quirk an eyebrow.
     "Just a civilian, trying to pass through," I answer.  She frowns at the vague answer.
     "Meira," Violent mumurs.  Slowly, she sits up and back, her hands moving to grip onto her left knee.  "What are you doing here?"  Her eyes narrow and her head twitches as her eyes scan over me, taking in the new details of my appearance I've developed since I last saw her.
     "I could ask you the same."  Her hazel eyes glimmer in the sunlight bouncing off the walls, looking like they're glowing in the shaded passage.  Then, she shakes her head.

     "Mom."  I nod mine.
     "So the storm is on purpose."  She sighs as she nods as well.
     "Probably."
     "Who's this?" I ask as I motion to the girl next to me.  Violet huffs and Dain nearly drops to his knees which makes me tsk.
     "Rhiannon," she answers quickly.  "We stood in line together.  I trust her."  I chuckle a little at her statement.
     "I'm not Dain, you don't need to tell me if you trust her or not."  I look over and give a polite nod to the girl while Dain gives me a small sneer.  "I'm (Y/N)." She tilts her head to the side and nods.
     "Are you related?" she asks quickly.
     "No, but it's a common question," I tell her.

     "How the hell did you cross the parapet in that?" Violet asks quickly.  I shrug, but my cheeks heat as embarrassment begins to quell inside of me.  It's an objectively ugly dress.  It's poorly made, and I'm not the weaver my mom was, so I wasn't able to get nearly enough usable material for anything better than the poorly dyed wool.  We're supposed to die in the richest color we can get our hands on, and the paleness of my dress is a sad presentation, to say the least.  "And why are you wearing that?"  I shrug again, this time less definite and more to stall.
     "The only thing I have from my mother are her sewing guides.  I wanted to make something for this special occasion."  The special occasion that has been postponed indefinitely.

     I frown as Dain looks at Rhiannon, all but ignoring my presence entirely.  If he would just combust, that would be awesome.
     "Parapet should be over in the next couple of hours, depending on how fast the candidates cross or fall.  Go find the redhead with the scroll—she's usually carrying a crossbow—and tell her Dain Aetos put both you and Violet Sorrengail into his squad."
     I don't wait to hear the rest of his ramble, stepping around him to continue through the alley.