Yes, My King

Day 1: Amber

August 1st. I knew this day was coming for 3 years, yet I still don't find myself prepared. My father has demanded that I attend Taniyn Academy as a legacy child, carrying the tradition of him, his father, and his father before that. They had all been placed into the House of Xerxes, the most physically brutal, which was filled with offensive attackers and front-line soldiers. The academy is a 5-year program, designed to teach us everything there is to know about our history, war, and dragons. 

suddenly, a call from my father, "Amber, get your ass out here, NOW". 

I rush to pick up my knapsack, packed with only necessities, as all else must be earned, according to the handbook, and make a run for the door. The open space of the living room with a balcony is a luxury that many warriors and royalty have to accommodate their flying reptiles. My father was sitting on his mighty dragon, Bregh. She is a brilliant shade of deep blue, with miscolored areas that act as lights in the dark and in the water. Her claws are webbed for accurate swimming, while her tail resembles that of a shark, as all Oceanics are. Her piercing black eyes stare at me, not bothering to hide her frustration at my lack of time-management skills. 

I climbed up her forearm to take my place behind my father for the hour-long journey to the academy, not looking forward to the boring travel. 

"Soon, you'll take your place as warrior and wear the badge proudly in battle riding on a dragon companion of your own," my father speaks, pride bubbling. 

"I know, I know, it's just going to hurt knowing that I can't see you for the next two years", the sadness in my voice was evident. 

"You'll live". Very helpful, dad. Though he's never been one for heartfelt conversations. 'do or die', as he always says. I will do. 

A lot sooner than I expected, we landed at the academy. My father gave me a quick hug before leaving. We both know that he may cry if he stays, betraying his macho-man persona that society forces him to keep. I was greeted by an academic officer who told me where to go for orientation.

The orientation room was a large circular room with lights strung at the top, magically litghting the room at night. Tapestries of dragons and our warriors hung from the dome-shaped top, while statues of famous dragons were carved into the pillars holding up the ceiling. There were no walls, just the pillars, in order to make room for dragons to enter, though they were supposed to remain perched on the balcony as often as possible. Towards the far side of the room, there was a stage-like perch where the school head stood, ready to speak on what we are to expect. He had rich skin and no hair. Not even eyebrows. He was wearing a cream robe, as all of the professors and faculty are expected to wear here, but he has a scarlet sash with golden swirls adorning his dress, which was worn similarly to a belt. His dragon was a medium-sized Cloudeater. His scales were white with the occasional gold, grey, and hazy blue. He had six horns, three on each side, the top of his head was the biggest, getting smaller as they descended. Cloudeaters don't usually have spines or spikes along their backs, but this one has small ones just poking up. Mist surrounds the ground near them, as this is a common trait of this species. 

"Good morning!" the headmaster says, his voice booms and lightly echoing throughout the orientation dome, "everyone in this room has great expectations to look up to, whether it be by mother, father, ancestor, or special appointment. You are all first-years, though some may call you hatchlings" chuckled filled the room, but they were soon silenced by his continuation of the speech. "This first year for you will be... how should I put it? Hell. You will have to train, prove yourselves worthy to weild magic and dragons, fight, delegate, win. You will all wish that you never came, but it will be worth it, because you will be rewarded, if you are worthy, with a dragon" he boasts this last word with great pride, and on cue, his Cloudeater roars, blasting sound that we can feel in our bones. "As a majority of you know, our campus works in squadrons. All first-years will live in the East Wing in which there are ten rooms, five for men, five for women, holding five students each, leaving plenty of space for the fourty-nine of you. You will be devided into groups of ten, decided by your room, and your squad leaders will be chosen in the arena in two days. The winner of the battles in each squad will lead the squad. Good luck and disperse". 

I follow the crowd to the East Wing. It's a decent walk away. Eventually, we all make it to the wing and look at the signs on the doors, each carved with the names of the residents. The left side of the hall holds the female rooms, while the right side holds the males. I walk to the end of the hall looking for my room, I am in the last door before the hallway walls open up, leading onto the balcony. Ah, I'm in Squad One, the Fangs Squadron. I look at the names on the door, not recognizing any of them, there are only nine, so I guess we are one of the squads missing a person. I push the oak door and enter the wide room. There are two bunks, and one single, the single is obviously meant for squadron leader, so I don't dare take the bed. I take the top bunk to the left, since I've always loved being high up, there's a comfort in it. There are two other women in here, they both chose the two bottom bunks. The girl underneath me has short, black side-shaved hair, green eyes, and ghostly skin, and the other one has curly brown hair with a few pink streaks, brown eyes, and chocolate skin. They're both thin with perfect figures and mildly toned muscles. We're all sitting on our chosen mattresses, likely waiting to see who the last member of the squad will be. 

A tall woman walks in. She has blue eyes, blond hair, and tanned skin. Her muscles could easily be seen. She's probably the strongest of everyone in the room, including me. I expected her to take the remaining bunk, but instead she takes the single bed. I wasn't going to say anything, but her statement makes me change my mind, "hey, I hope that nobody minds that I take the bed, since I'll be leader anyway", a quick laugh escapes her mouth. Oh gods, I'm going to hate this woman. I just know it.

I let a brief chuckle slip past my lips at her audacius comment, and she responds with a glare. I'm going to defeat her on that damned mat. I have two days to prepare, but I'm sure I'll win, I've been fighting since I was eight alongside mentors, and even my own father on occasion. Though winning the battles will make the professors adress me as the leader of the room, winning the respect of my roommates will solidify my title. 

I hang my torso over the side of the bunk, looking down to my green-eyed roomy. "Hey" I whisper. 

She opens her eyes, seemingly startled by my awkward position. "Hey?". 

"My name's Amber, I'm the daughter of John of Aster" I throw my arm over the bed, hoping to shake her hand without falling off of the bed, and she accepts my hand. 

"I'm Ava, daughter of general Maurine", she almost winces as she says the name. Maurine died in battle three years ago. Her dragon died in battle too. If he hadn't, then Ava would already be riding since most dragons try to bond with their riders offsprings after death. 

Awkward silence takes over the room before she starts again, "It's no big deal. Well, it is, but it isn't at the same time, heh. I hoe we can be friends". She's nice and upfront, my kind of person. 

"I think we will be, goodnight" I pause, "Goodnight" saying this to everyone in the room this time, not just Ava. I hope we'll get along. 

I climb back into my bunk and let dreamless sleep overtake me. 

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