Over the next day, we got used to the routine of training, writing, relaxing, and for me, teaching. The work on the dictionary was going pretty well, but I wasn't sure how much we were going to get done in the amount of time we stayed there. Part of me hoped we wouldn't finish. That would say something about how long we had been in hiding, while our friends were somewhere out there... possibly in danger. I shoved those thoughts away. It also really sucked that we weren't able to leave. I was sitting on the floor in the training room early that morning. I held the sword in my hands, looking over it. Ella had decided not to wake up early today, since she had stayed up late last night helping Lilly with writing. Of course, that left me to my own thoughts. I stood up slowly. You're here to train, Jamie, not be sad over everything going on, I reprimanded myself. I raised my sword, deciding to try something new. I let my hand warm up from my fire powers, channeling it through the handle so that it wouldn't burn, and then I lit the sword on fire. I couldn't help grinning. That was going to be cool. I made sure to be careful, though, as I swung it at a dummy, because I didn't want to burn something down. Obviously Ryoko had made sure most things in the room were fireproof, waterproof, all of that, because if they weren't, the room would have been destroyed ages ago. I stared at the flames on the tip of my sword. It sounded weird, but I was starting to form a sort of connection with it. I felt as if it would be strange to wield something else. I heard a voice behind me- Ella's. "I see you like your new sword," she said. I turned around, putting the flames out. "Yeah," I grinned. "I felt like, with your trident, Amelia's spear, and Lilly's bow that literally glows, I needed something flashier." Ella rolled her eyes. "I suppose it shows off your personality." She paused, then added, "everyone else is going to eat breakfast now. Do you want to come?" I looked down at my sword for a moment, then mumbled, "Yeah." The two of us made our way out to eat.
~~~
During the small amount of time I had to relax, instead of going to the creek with the others, I went to the huge open air entrance hallway. I was getting tired of being on the ground, so I made my wings appear and launched myself into the air. I grinned, feeling so free. I let myself fall backwards, flipping upside down. I closed my eyes, and when I finished the flip, I flew back up, opening them again. I was near the intricate ceiling. Looking down, I realized just how tall dragons could get. Speaking of dragons, Ryoko was standing at the entrance, looking up at me. I flew down. "I see you're enjoying this room," she said in Draconic. I grinned and responded, "I definitely am." Ryoko probably could fly in the room, but she couldn't get very far off the ground, and the walls were too close for her wings to spread out so far. But it was amazing for a dragon hybrid like me. Ryoko's gaze softened. "When I was a dragonet, I would love flying around this room, at my small size. This was where I first flew. At the time, humans were still hunting us down, and it was dangerous for us to be outside most of the time, so we learned inside." I landed on the floor. "Honestly, that must have been terrible. I love it here, and you all are so kind to let us stay, but being here all the time with no open air, especially for a dragon..." my voice trailed off. Ryoko leaned down to my level. "But now we can roam the skies freely. One day, you will be able to too." I stared her in the eyes. I could already feel the tears coming, but I forced them back. "I really hope so," I whispered.
~~~
When Ella and I got back to our room, I was still thinking about that conversation. I wondered how dangerous it would be to explore just a little bit. Surely not many humans were looking around here. I sighed and fell down onto my bed. "Ella, I love it here, but I also can't stand being here for much longer. I miss Chris. And Thomas. And-" I cut myself off before I could say the last name. Forget about Jake. He's not and will never be my friend. "And everyone else." Ella didn't respond for a moment. "I do too," she finally murmured. "And I want to continue running the HFA, but it's just not possible. Not right now." I bit my lip. "A lot of things don't seem possible right now. But if we run on that motto, we'll never make hybrids legal," I said. "I know. I know." Ella's voice got quiet. "How's the speech coming along?" I frowned. "It's... it's a speech," I mumbled. Nothing that would convince anyone to legalize us. She sighed. "Can I read it so far?" I nodded, digging through the drawers to take it out. I handed it to her. She skimmed over it. "You're almost finished with the rough draft," she said. "That's good. We might need to shorten our training time so we can all help." I nodded and took it back. We both sat in silence for a little longer, until I whispered, "Ella, I want to see the magical world." I could feel her tense, even from farther away. "We used to live here, you know. But I can't remember a thing about it. And we've barely even seen a thing in it, despite living in it right now." I heard her sigh. "I want to too. So badly. But you know that's a bad idea. We'd get caught." I didn't respond. I just turned over in my bed and closed my eyes.
YOU ARE READING
The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds
Fantasy{ ~ "Dragons learn fastly" ~ } Jamie and Ella Glynn are two young adults who have been accepted into Yale University along with their best friend, Jake Grey. But the sisters have a secret. They are hybrids, who are hated by the rest of the world, to...
