Flying For Freedom

Chapter three (Just Like School)

We hurry down to an open area in the garden. It is filled with a small orchard and a few hundred flowers of all the different colors. There are a few open areas of grass, which is where we train.

My father growls when we enter, "You're late." I don't respond, but my sister is quick to say something. She doesn't hold back.

"We're practically on time, father." I see his eyes roll in annoyance as my sister does the same. I can't help but think that they have some things in common. Claw gets mad at me if I say she's similar to King. It can get very tense between the two. I have heard of skirmishes because of differences, but I've never seen it because of similarity. My mom often laughs when my sister says that she's definitely not like him. I sometimes laugh, not because it's funny but because mom is doing it

Father gets us to start practicing quickly. After five minutes, I want to lay on the ground and fall asleep. The self-defense training is very difficult, but the moment I stop, my father tells me to get up and keep going. After a few hours, even my sister's stance is a little sloppy, and I want to sleep for a week, like every day. King tells us it is time to go to our next subject.

"Next time I want you to both make it through without needing a break. Sometime, you will thank me for the training."

My sister hides an eye roll. When we're out of earshot, she starts complaining again.

"He's always sooooo strict." I don't comment but just nod, silently agreeing with her. Dad is strict.

Before long we were at the next activity, boring history with Aron. I try to stay focused, to keep my eyes open. But his voice makes my eyes start to droop, and my mind fades away. Claw doesn't even hide her boredom, she yawns every five minutes. Before long she's asleep. Aron is not intimidated by her.

"Claw, would you like to tell me who the main contributor to starting the war was." Claw wakes with a start, reaching in her neck compartment where I know she keeps a knife despite our father's rules of no weapons outside of the weapon room and self defense practice.

"Um..." She stops, no idea of the answer. Aron does not spare her much time.

"I expect you to pay attention during my classes." She just nods. This is our first class with Aron. I kind of like him. He's not as boring as the last one, in fact, he's kind of cool. He doesn't hesitate after my sister. He turns on me before I'm ready.

"Do you know the answer, Flame?" I rack my brain, quickly remembering,

"Chaos had a friend named Red, who was the one who convinced him to become bad." Aron looked thoughtful, and I was glad I had made a good impression. Claw, however, did not leave a good impression.

The literature test went equally bad for Claw. There was a rule of no talking and she started humming. I couldn't think with all the noise. The teacher didn't say anything, but after the test she did not get high marks. I got an almost perfect score.

I sigh as we finally finish studying the ancient language. No one even uses it anymore. I've never even heard it from anyone but my teacher. Claw once again messed up things, but she doesn't care.

Claw and I part to go and study all of our stuff. Because I haven't finished, I continue to read about Flame. The words start to move, and no matter how hard I try, I can't keep my eyes open. Eventually, I just give up and read some fantasy. Things that are exciting make me stay up, not fall asleep. Eventually, I get bored of that too, and switch to another one.

An hour later, my sister comes. I've gone back to studying.

"What are you doing?" I ask her.

"I'm done studying," she states. "I would do anything else, even eat a snail. At least it would be interesting."

"Well I'm not," but I wish I was. Her words start to come, an endless line. Eventually, I give up on studying and choose to listen.

"When you're king and have a wife, I'll get to be the aunt of the future king or queen." She would probably want to be the queen, but it's the oldest of the siblings that gets to be the king or queen.

"Aren't you happy to be the sister of the future king?" I ask it in a joking way and she laughs.

"I'd rather see a two year old as the king." Now we're both laughing from our odd sense of humor. We almost never hear actual jokes, so we make our own.

"I think that I'm very responsible, Claw. I will not tolerate that insult."

"I wish I got a name as good as Flame. I know it's because of your powers, but still. It's unfair." I know it isn't fair. I know that I don't deserve what I got, but that's what happened, and I can't get rid of it. I can't even use the powers I supposedly have. I've disappointed everyone. I want to comfort her because she's always helped me.

"All I can do is break or make things because my tail has a triangle point. And I can't intimidate almost everyone I meet. I don't even know how to use it, or if it even works." I've tried to use my powers before, but all that happens is my claws start to tingle and the moment I stop trying, it stops too. Claw's eyes become clearer, now bright and active.

"I have an idea that will help us study," she says with a gleam in her eye. "We can practice our self defense." I know that it will be anything but studying.

Before I can prepare, she tackles me. I fall to the ground and am quickly pinned. Using my stronger body, I force her off. Before she can react, I have Claw pinned. She yelps and leaps away. She goes on the defensive, throwing pillows at me. Before long, I'm in a pile of pillows.

"Surrender," She hisses.

"Never!" I answer.

I struggle to my feet. But before I can retaliate, a shadow looms over us.

We both turn facing the dragon in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" My father asks us loudly, practically yelling. I cast a worried glance at my sister, who will surely talk back, which our father hates. A pet peeve, if you're talking to my mom.

"We were practicing our self defense." As I predicted, my sister talks back, and also predicted, father gets mad.

"I expect you to respect your elders," He says. "Do not try to get around the fact that you were doing something wrong."

In a glance I beg my sister to not talk back. I meet her eyes and shake my head. Don't make him any more mad. Thankfully, she doesn't.

"I'm sorry father," she says. "I should respect you as my elder, not my peer." King seems surprised by this, and doesn't say anything else.

He gets up and leaves. I can hear his sigh from a room away.