Drakon

month later

{📜t e r r i s h u n t e r📜}

They say that time passes quickly when you're having fun. It also passes quickly when you're riding on a fire dragon with super speed while practicing to dive bomb an impenetrable fortress. It's been a month since the Shadow Queen, aka Kia Drake, entered the castle of Lukar. It's also been a month since I was inducted to be 'rider', a selected group of people who went on missions for his Majesty King Felix. And it's been a month since I had the privilege of meeting the crown prince himself, Prince Alistair Russell Selwyn. Honestly, he's an idiot.

A lot can happen in a month. A lot can change in a month as well. Let me tell you about the fun things first. My daily routine had changed drastically. It had changed from staying in the library and searching through scrolls tirelessly to a day full of sweating, panting, and collapsing of tiredness. The only times I did spend time in the library was if I was using it as a lab for me to test out new weapons and metals. And that was highly frowned upon by my fellow scholars. Usually, I would make something explode, and be shushed by the others like a typical library scene.

I had also taken to change out of my usual mustard robes, instead choosing to wear the female scholar dress. I had it folded and sewn up, so I had more space to move my legs and had extra pockets. A lot of extra pockets. Alistair often mocked me that with everything I held in my dress, I would be too heavy to ride on Starfire's slim figure. I showed him by riding Adara and beating the crap out of him in a mid-air mock battle.

Oh yeah! Fight training. I usually wasn't bothered for this type of thing, and I would usually rather stay in the nice shade and learn about techniques rather than go out in the sun and spar. But since I learnt that my own father was my childhood idol Salvador Helix, I was encouraged and inspired to try harder. It was different fighting against Alistair and Kia. Alistair's way of fighting was incredibly well mannered and disciplined. He did not allow dirty tricks, and fought with perfect posture and stances.

Kia, on the other hand, brought out her aces from the streets. Unlike Alistair, who was usually quite predictable, Kia was fluid and ever changing. She was full of possibilities, coming up with the strangest and most peculiar ways to win a fight, even if she did 'cheat' or as she put it, 'take advantage of a situation.' I was the in between of them two: though I had learnt how to use a sword and a knife instead of my usual batons and scrolls, I focused more on technique, instead of strength, like Alistair, and speed, like Kia. Here, Kia was the best warrior out of the three of us, since I could tell there was a bit of silver dragon trickery going on here. Her unknown ability to read minds gave her the edge against me and Alistair, since she could predict our every move. Me? I think that was extreme cheating, but it was anything to survive. So I let her be and kept my mouth shut. She was still ignorant.

However, once we had finished training in ground fighting- or as Kia dubbed, graduated from beating up to kicking butt- we started to train in the air. In this case, I was the best, with Adara and I moving in complete synchrony. Ironfang was too large and bulky, which did fit Alistair in a way, but in flight against a speedy opponent like a fire dragon, his size was a problem. Adara and I slipped through his defences, and with his reaction time too slow, we could often manage to pluck Alistair off Ironfang's back and into the air.

Of course, Ironfang would always save Alistair before he fell to his death. On a particularly good mood day for the grouchy silver dragon, Ironfang had even decided to only save Alistair when he was a few inches from the ground. Talk about phobias and anxieties. I'm pretty sure Alistair still hasn't forgiven us yet. For aerial training, we practiced more on accuracy. The substance I had created when I first met Adara (or Starfire, whatever) proved to be extremely dangerous against dragons. Now, I resorted to normal daggers, but I was still experimenting to find a mixture that could create a non-lethal state-changing metal.

The first time we practiced, I daresay it went poorly. No matter how skilled Kia was in the art of knife-combat, throwing them was a different thing. Was it not for Ironfang, we would all be dead by now, even Adara. I had never seen a knife be thrown so off target, and then bounce against so many different objects that they could rebound back to their thrower. It was actually a miracle.

I would say I started off on a better start than Kia, but still, I wasn't the best. Learning from the Shadow Queen's mistake, I had thrown my batons first as a test run before actually throwing daggers. Once we had the hang of that, we learnt how to use a bow. I ended up constructing a crossbow with a suppressor that allowed me to shoot arrows at high speed with higher accuracy, while Kia casually threw fruits and then skewered them with a well thrown arrow. She claimed that she didn't like wood.

Then came sorcery. With my apparent adept skill in magic, Adara had taken it onto herself to teach me how to utilize magic to it's finest in hopes to overpower a natural born warlock. At the end of the day, we would go over scrolls together, and she would teach me about the history of magic and the history of dragons. My abilities grew, and soon I could cast spells without the need of my scrolls; only my ring was needed.

But there were also the boring part. Like teaching Kia Drake, the uneducated street-thief, how to read. She recognized basic words. Then there was also teaching her how to act like a lady and hold herself as a woman. I know I wasn't the best example of a well mannered lady, but I still knew how to act in front of a higher ranking member of the court. Although we had immunity, being companions of the prince (which spread some rumors around for a while), we may be required to be diplomats and enter other kingdoms. We wouldn't have immunity there.

But that was in the past. Currently? Trying to get Madame Celeste to pick up a knife. We already gave her one with a diamond hilt to convince her to come, but now she wouldn't even touch it. Groaning, I picked it up. "I have places to go, you know. Anytime today would be good."

"You don't order me around!" She whined, stomping a baby pink jewel-encrusted heel. I guess those are better than slippers, since she'll probably make her enemies go blind with pinkness and glitter.

I sighed again, before scooping up the dagger she was supposed to be picking up. I twirled it in my hand, before taking aim. She squealed, edging towards the wall. Perfect. I flung the dagger, and it sung, whipping through the air and impaling the wall next to her neck. I flung two more in unison, and they pinned her ridiculously poofy pink dress to the wall. "I said, I have places to go. Kia and Alistair? Take charge please."

I hurried to the castle wall, before facing an impatient Cecil. "You're late." He complained.

"You try getting the daughter of the duchess to pick up the knife. I ended up impaling her to the wall by her stupid frilly dress." I groaned. "What is the news from Terrande?"

There it was, the reason I was so eager to leave. For this month, I had been helping the dragons plot a rebellion against King Felix and his regime of terror, and we were awaiting news from the dragon citadel Terrande. I communicated through Cecil when I couldn't go up to see Adara or 'Ironfang', and though I had already placed my trust in the Firedrake siblings, and them I, Ironfang refused to give me his real name.

I suddenly heard a swoosh, and a dark figure with a bow appeared beside us. I flicked my hand, my ring glowing white as I uttered a single command. "Ánemos!" Wind surrounded the figure, and Cecil drew his sword, the point at the intruder's neck. "Who dares to invade the castle?" Cecil asked in a deadly voice that Adara would most likely laugh at him for.

"My name is Hawkeye," The skinny figure shouted, struggling against the wind funnel that bound him. "and I demand that the King returns the Shadow Queen."

Hawkeye? Ashton Reeves was here? Seriously? To my knowledge, he wasn't part of the rebellion- or not yet.

Cecil also seemed annoyed, pursing his lips. "Oh, snap."

image: louis baines as ashton reeves