Dragonborn

Chapter 2 ~ Departure

"No!" Ariel screeched. "There must be some mistake! That title is mine and mine alone! I'm not going to let some peasant steal my spot!" The girl was turning around frantically, looking at all the faces and trying to find someone who agreed with her. When she couldn't, giant crocodile tears filled her eyes. "I don't understand, there must be something wrong with that gem! That gem... there must..." Her words fell away to incomprehensible murmurs and tears streamed down her cheeks and she fell to her knees, getting mud on the dress she had cared so much for just a mere few minutes ago.

It felt satisfying, in a way, to see her on the ground like that. To finally see the mud Ariel threw into her days splattered all over the brat's dress made something inside her tingle with warmth. But she didn't have time to enjoy it, right now Akila had her own issues to solve.

"Akila!" The Dragonborn woman called her name as she pushed through the crowd that had gathered around the crying girl. "We leave immediately. So say your goodbyes and gather anything you need for the journey.

"Oh" she whispered. "I didn't realize we would be leaving so soon." Fearful of the answer, she hesitated to ask her next question. "Um... When can I visit?"

A sympathetic look crossed the Dragonborn's face as she put a hand on Akila's shoulder. "It's best for both you and your family that you don't visit."

"But... but," Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she protested. "Why can't I? I mean... how long is the flight?"

"A few hours."

"Then why not? I'll only be gone a day!" Akila pressed.

"I'm not saying never... but don't count on it" said the woman. "Now go, say goodbye to your family."

"Wait..." She had one more question. "Are we flying there?"

"Yes"

Akila only spent one moment in stunned silence before she scurried off to find her father. In the end, he found her.

"Akila! I'm so proud of you!" He cupped his hands over her cheeks and kissed her forehead. "All I've ever wanted for you is to escape this dull life."

"But father! What if I don't see you again?"

"Don't worry dear." He gave her a sad smile. "You don't need to, just think of me every once in a while."

She looked up into his tearful eyes, in them she saw the reflection of a scared little girl, who just wanted her family. So she hugged him tight, never wanting to let go. "I'll think of you every day" she said. "And I promise you, I will visit."

~

Much to the villagers' delight, the woman had changed into her full form in the middle of the square. The color of aquamarine covered her entire body, including her irises. "Time to go." The dragon's voice rang throughout the unusual silence.

Her pouch heavy with added books which she'd quickly ran to get, Akila climbed onto the base of her neck. The scales were smooth and a bit cold. In this sense they resembled small pebbles, but something about them made you write off that idea quickly.

"Hold on tightly." The Dragonborn said.

And with one last final glance at her father, they took off.

The village and its fields spread below her like a patchwork quilt, growing smaller and smaller. She couldn't believe that her entire life was so tiny and had consisted of so little. In a way though, she'd liked it. Every day she'd woken up knowing exactly what she was going to do. But this, this was like standing at the edge of a cliff knowing you were going to fall in. And praying that whatever was at the bottom would be soft and comfortable. Unfortunately though, from her current standpoint, she didn't expect it to be anything but jagged rock.

"Keep your head high" said the dragon beneath her. "From now on, you are a public figure that the kingdom will draw strength from. They cannot see you looking weak."

"But... I didn't choose this! You just ripped me away from my family and I'm supposed to smile and climb right on?"
Akila wiped away some snot with her sleeve.

"I know you didn't, nobody did."

Her interest piqued, she stopped crying for a second. "What do you mean? How were you chosen?"

"Same way you were" the dragon answered. "By a dragongem."

"Oh, so that's what they're called."

"Yes."

The wing beats echoed loudly in the sudden silence. "So..." Akila dared ask, "What was your family like?"

The dragon visibly faltered for a second, but she nevertheless, slowly, started speaking. "Some forty years back-"

"Forty!" Akila exclaimed incredulously. "But you don't look at day over twenty five!"

The Dragon, a tad annoyed, continued speaking. "Yes, no Dragonborn has ever died of old age. And since we age normally until we are in full power, it is assumed that we are immortal."

"Wow..." Akila said. But once again, silence reigned. She shouldn't have stopped the dragon from speaking. "What's you name?" She asked.

"My name is Sai."

"Oh." She said, at loss for words. "That's a nice name."

"Thank you."

"Who gave it to you?" She pressed.

The dragon sighed. "My mother did."

The terrain flew by. Pesky silence once again had wormed its-self into the conversation, so she decided to drop it. But unlike what she first saw, the majestic creature beneath her actually was, in a way, human. Soon though, she realized, she would be flying like that too.

The thought alone scared her, she would have to learn to transform and to fly, and rumors had it that Dragonborn even had some sort of other power that they could use while in human form. She would definitely have to ask Sai about that once silence took its leave. But in the meantime, she just tried to enjoy the ride.

Total words: 1,992