Dragon's fire

The Finale

'Rise, sir Edgar Tyron, dragon warrior and protector of Fiboka.' I rise, proud and smiling, after Dragon priest Borgen says those words. I'm the last in the row of boys and young man who are knighted today. Six of the sixteen recruits passed the final test. Two of them are my friends Trystan and Kristof. But to my surprise, Sven passed the test too. We turn around and everyone in the hall starts to cheer and clap. I see the general clap reluctantly, Thom, who winks at me and Robert who cheers the loudest and raises his thumbs at me. My father claps too, and at the same time says something to Robert, probably that his behavior is not fit for a crown prince. I laugh when I see that Robert cheers even louder after that. 

Later that day there are all sorts of festivities to celebrate the newly knighted dragon warriors. There is a big feats in the throne room. I walk through the crowd in search of some food when Robert comes towards me. I had not talked to him since the ceremony. He wraps his arms around me. 'Congratulations, little brother!' he shouts in my ear. 'Thanks' I repeat. Robert let go of me and steps aside. I see father standing behind him. He walks towards me and hugs me just like Robert did. 'Well done, son.' He says. I nod in a way of saying thanks because I don't really know how to respond. Father looks at me like he has something else to say, but he only says: 'Go celebrate, this is al for you after all.' I nod again and walk away. While I walk through the crowd, congratulations come from all around me. I politely say 'thank you' and 'thanks for coming'. Then I see Trystan and Kristof and I walk towards them. 'Congratulation!' they say simultaneously, and Trystan hits me on my shoulder. 'Thanks, you to' I reply. They offer me a drink and we talk a little. Then I see the general looking at us. No, not to us, to something behind us. I turn around and see Sven. 'How did he pass?' I ask. 'Who? Oh, Sven!' Kristof starts to laugh. 'Quick as a fox.' He says. 'The general couldn't follow him.' I could see the scenario playing in my head and laugh. I wave at Sven to let him know to come to us. 'Congratulations to you too!' I say when he arrives. He nods, a little shy. Kristof raises his glass. 'To us!' he says. We all do the same. 'To us!'

Two years later.

It is time. I'm sitting on Onyx' back and we are flying through the air. Next to me are Sven, Trystan and Kristof on their own dragons. We are surrounded by about twenty other dragon warriors with the general up front. Beneath us is the rest of the army. We're heading south, where a foreign monarch invaded Fiboka. None of us is saying anything. We are nervous and exited at the same time. This is the first time we're going to war. 'Listen to me, war is not a game, be careful.' Those were Roberts words before we left. I nodded at him and climbed on Onyx' back. He was now bigger than Rager, just like I expected. The sun was shining on his black and white skin while we flew up. I looked back one last time and saw my father looking at me. And there was something in his eyes I had seen before, but until now, it had never been for me. It was pride.

Authors note:

There is it. I had this story written in my notebook for years and never did anything with it. I hope you liked it. Please tell me if I should make a full story out of this if you want more.

Femke