Legacy in Ruins: Dragon Rider Book 1

Chapter 10: Not A Vibe

Author's Note:

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the late update. Anyways, here's another chapter for everyone. Please vote for the story, it really makes my day when people do that. : )

Ow. I winced, and gently eased myself back onto the bed. My body had begun to cramp in this ridiculously uncomfortable bed if you could even call it a bed. A rock or boulder would be more comfortable than this bed.

I mentally scolded myself, remembering what got me here. If I would have just stayed with the group and not have strayed from the path then I wouldn't be here. My body wouldn't feel like a sack of broken bones, my head wouldn't be pounding, and my pride wouldn't be wounded. But no, I just had to get a closure look at the dragon, didn't I?

But it was worth it. Even if it meant me spraining my wrist, breaking three ribs, getting a bruised knee, or having the biggest bruise on my back for weeks. I got to touch a dragon... in a manner of speaking. It touched me, well, its tail did anyways, right on my back.

The orange dragon,  Khelar and his rider, Ashton Plaker, had been flying over the islands when a meteor fell. This was more common than people thought, even the mages dealt with it. Though it was strange for them to appear out of the blue. The rider and dragon, had dove out of the way to try and avoid the giant rock but ended up out of control and, hence, crashing into me.

Both of the two had apologized profusely for hitting me, and I, of course, tried to assure them that it was completely okay. It was an accident, they couldn't help that the meteor chose to come crashing near them. But even after trying to convince them that I wasn't mad at them, they still blamed themselves. It was surprising really. If I had gone to the mage academy and some accident happened with another mage, they probably would have only apologized once.

Slowly, I blinked my eyes open, fearing that somehow I might receive some kind of pain from it. But nothing happened. I looked to my right at the large oak doors. They were thick so that even a dragon couldn't barge through them, but was big enough for them to walk through. Beside me, on either side of my gurney, lay rows of other identical beds, exactly like mine. This room could easily hold forty people in it and still be able to hold twenty more. But despite its rather large side, to my left, were gorgeous windows that ran along the length of the rust brown walls, allowing the high noon rays ignite the entire room. And since the infirmary I was taken to was in the Great Halls, I got a decent view of all the city and the mountains to the side. The tops of the windows were stained with beautiful pictures of famous dragon riders and their rider.

Above me, on the ceiling, were murals of dragons and riders in battle. Each painting telling a story of their heroic adventures. Some of the painting showed riders and dragons flying over hundreds of soldiers while others showed ground combat and aerial flying. Some of the dragons looked ancient and very much, unlike the dragons I've seen flying around in the sky.

Beside me, Ashton exasperated a sigh. I turned my head to look at the brown-haired boy staring at the ceiling with the most bored expression possible. Despite the darkness of his hair, his skin was very pale, almost a ghostly white. His uniform made up of dark orange leather to match his dragon, reflected the light shining into the room. His black pants were snug against his muscular thighs and seemed to be made of a lighter material than the leather top.

Ashton wasn't as banged up like me, mostly just bruises and scratches. But the Head Nurse, Judith wanted him to stay for a few hours for observations.

Hinges squeaked open, as the sturdy oak doors opened. My head turned, gingerly to the noise, seeing Maryanne and Cora pacing towards me.

"Norah!" Cora squeaked with a relieved smile across her lips.