Rise and Fall

ANDRA

Andra was lost in the dragon’s purple eyes.

It felt as if her whole life had built up to this moment. She stared into the dragon’s gaze with the unexplainable sensation that she understood the creature completely.

And in turn, the dragon understood her. It felt like, for the first time, Andra was being seen for who she truly was.

Even though it was dangerous, all she could think about was getting closer. She began to crawl along the rafters, over the Riders of Paerolia.

If they looked up, she would be caught—and brutally punished.

But Andra was hardly worrying about that now.

She remembered Talias, waiting by the doorway. She glanced back to find him peeking in from the hall, his eyes wide with fear and warning.

Then she turned back to the golden altar. Down there, the green dragon was testing out its new feet.

The purple dragon was still looking up at Andra; it was so small, and as innocent as a baby bird.

~What could it be thinking?~ Andra wondered. ~Is the creature scared?~

She smiled, hoping she might comfort it somehow.

It cocked its head in response, and Andra resisted the urge to laugh out loud.

The dragon looked to its brother or sister, the green dragon, who had begun its journey toward its true Pair…

Andra was near the front of the room, and suddenly, everything was clear to her.

She could read the excitement and trepidation on the boys’ faces. Judge Dusan stood to their left, looking as if he was holding his breath.

In fact, it felt like the whole room was holding its breath—waiting to see who would be awarded the greatest honor any of them could fathom.

The Riders in the audience were waiting to see who would join their ranks. Which young men would fight beside them if another war were to come?

Who was to be the next generation?

Among the students, the smallest boy, an elf with long, white-blond hair, broke into a smile. He stared in wonder at the green dragon.

His eyes began to fill with tears. He knew what was about to happen. He knew his life was about to change forever—beyond his wildest dreams.

The elf began to crouch, reaching out to the dragon before him.

As Andra watched him, she understood how he was feeling.

He had forgotten he was in front of a waiting audience. All that mattered to him was that green dragon—and closing the distance between them.

Andra realized that what made this ceremony so special was that the dragons needed to initiate the bond.

The Rider could not move toward the dragon, he had to wait patiently for the creature to come to ~him~.

To choose him, to touch his hand…and forever mark his skin with the flame of the Riders.

The green dragon continued forward, flapping its wet wings. Ena nudged it gently with her snout as she cooed a low, comforting noise.

Finally, the dragon took the final step, closing the space between them. It raised its snout and nuzzled the elf’s outstretched hand.

The elf’s face broke into a huge smile.

~What are they saying to one another?~ Andra wondered. ~What is he feeling right now?~

A moment later, the new Rider stood, raising his marked palm into the air.

The reception hall erupted into deafening cheers. The Riders of the audience stood and clapped, chanting a sacred word of the elven language that meant “Sky Riders.”

“Veholum! Veholum! Veholum!”

Judge Dusan was smiling, content and proud.

The celebration only lasted a moment longer, because the brown dragon was beginning its own journey.

This dragon moved more quickly, confident on its legs, squawking softly. It took Andra only a moment to find its Rider.

He was a plain boy with red hair. His eyes were wide with surprise, as if he didn’t want to believe he was really chosen in case it ended up not being true.

The other boys eyed each other uneasily. They were all praying that they would be chosen…and the most anticipated day of their life would not end up disappointing them.

The brown dragon continued forward, and the red-haired boy glanced to his right and left, questioning whether the creature was really heading for him.

But it was.

It reached his feet and cried up at the young boy. Only then did he kneel down and extend his hand.

As the dragon touched him, he finally let himself smile with relief and pride.

Then he raised his own hand into the air. Paerolia had gained one more Pair of Sky Riders.

“Veholum! Veholum! Veholum!”

Finally, all eyes turned to the purple dragon.

This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. The purple dragon was a rare breed, and formidable in battle.

It cried for its mother, confused. Ena nudged it forward, toward the young men, and once again the room held its breath.

The young dragon looked out at the students, and Andra felt her heart ache.

But she stopped herself. Who was she to feel ownership over this majestic creature?

Even though it was all her heart desired, she and the dragon could never bond. She was a servant—and a girl. It was impossible.

And then the tiny dragon, the living purple gem, looked up…at her.

The audience began to whisper, and Andra’s utter stupidity dawned on her. If anyone followed the dragon’s gaze, they would see her!

They would know that she, an unworthy servant, had trespassed on the most sacred event of the year.

The young one looked away, and Andra exhaled.

It retreated back across the golden altar to Ena, only to be pushed away once more. This time, Ena’s coo was close to a growl.

The baby dragon cried, confused and scared.

It nearly broke Andra’s heart.

“Poor thing,” she whispered.

The dragon whined, a desperate sound. It looked up at Andra again, and Andra froze. The fire that had warmed her mind before grew to a wild, uncontainable blaze.

The purple dragon cried out, flapping its wings.

Judge Dusan inspected the creature critically. And then he followed its gaze up to the rafters—to ~Andra~.

“Disgrace!” he yelled. He pointed one long finger up at her, and the rest of the room turned in shock.

The ceremony quickly devolved into chaos. Riders and students alike were shouting while Judge Dusan shouted for the guards.

Through the angry shouts and the terrified beating of her own heart, Andra could hear the purple dragon’s cries.

“Come down at once, you filthy child,” Judge Dusan ordered. His glare was poisonous.

Andra obeyed.

The moment her feet touched the floor, armed guards lifted her by the arms.

Some Riders shouted at her, while others shook their heads. And charging toward her was the livid, vengeful Dusan.

Andra understood the gravity of her crime. Servants had been sentenced to death for far less than this.

“Because of this conniving little slave, one dragon has been kept from Pairing,” Judge Dusan announced to the crowd, but his murderous gaze fell directly on her.

The hateful words that rose from the audience of Riders struck Andra like physical blows. Through it all, she could hear the sorrowful whine of the small purple dragon.

“Bring her to the dungeon!” Judge Dusan cried. “Tomorrow, at daybreak, her punishment will be announced.”

Andra collapsed into the arms that restrained her. With that, the guards carried her from the great hall and down a winding servant’s staircase to the dungeon.

Swinging an iron door wide, they threw Andra inside. Her skin was bloodied and scratched by the dirty floor, and Andra was left alone.

***

In the dungeon, Andra’s mind raced as she replayed the day’s events over and over.

She cursed herself for being so arrogant, for stepping out of line.

~This is what happens,~ she thought, ~when I forget my place. When I let my dreams get the better of me.~

The moment she’d seen the dragon, Andra had felt like her life had changed forever.

She dreamed that they could be together, and the dream was so glorious, so ~close~, that all she could do was follow it.

But the dragon was never meant to be hers.

Andra had been right about one thing, though. Her life would never be the same.

Dusan was not known for his mercy. Perhaps he would sentence her to death, and she would no longer have a life at all.

As the sun went down, her thoughts dissipated until her mind was a numb, blank slate.

With no food, no water, and no blanket, her mind drifted. She was falling toward sleep when a voice startled her.

“Hey!”

Andra opened her eyes, disoriented. Through the small barred window at the top of her cell, Andra saw that dawn was breaking.

“Andra.”

~Talias.~ Andra would know that voice anywhere.

He was holding the bars of her cell, and she moved toward him, covering his hands with her own.

Even now, when Andra’s heart was breaking, Talias’s touch filled her with hope.

“I can’t stay long,” he whispered. He looked away for a moment, and Andra swallowed the lump in her throat. “But I don’t know what tomorrow holds, and I had to come see you.”

There was so much to say, and they might have run out of time…and it was all her fault.

“I wanted to give you this.”

Talias pulled a thin leather bracelet from his pocket and began to tie it around her wrist.

In the near-darkness, tears ran down Andra’s cheeks.

“I made it for you, as a…promise.” Talias’s eyes were wounded, vulnerable. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, Andra, but I want you to think of me when you look at it.”

Andra wanted to tell him she had always thought of him and would never need a reminder. But she let him continue.

“I want you to think of a bright future, full of freedom and love.” Talias reached through the bars, wiping away Andra’s tears.

“Because when I’m older, and you’re done with your service, I’m going to find you, okay? And we can be together. We can have a farm with pigs and cows…and all the pastries our hearts desire.”

Andra’s knees went weak, and she felt like her heart would explode. In the past day, her nightmare and her dream had come true.

She wanted to respond, but her tears were choking her.

And at that moment, footsteps echoed from the end of the hall.

Talias’s eyes were full of longing and urgency. But he needed to leave. He cupped her cheek once more.

“Don’t give up hope. As long as you keep a fire alive inside you, it will light the way,” he said as his fingers slipped away from her face. “I’ll find my way back to you.”

Then Andra watched as the boy she loved disappeared into the shadows.

***

When the rooster crowed, and the sun was rising in the sky, the guards came for Andra in her cell.

They grabbed her arms and dragged her quickly through the corridors, and once more into the reception hall.

The decorations of the day before had been removed, but the seats were as full as they had been.

As she was dragged to the front, she saw her fellow servants at the back of the room and the pews filled with Riders.

Judge Dusan was waiting for her.

“We have gathered for the public sentencing of this indentured servant who has compromised the Pairing of the rarest dragon Paerolia has seen in a century.”

Disgusted grunts filled the air along with ugly curses.

Andra closed her eyes, waiting to hear her fate…waiting for all of this to be over.

“The servant is assigned an additional ~five years~ to her contract, and she is to return to the service of Judge Castigo in Vereor, the manor where she was born.”

Andra’s legs collapsed, but the guards held her in place.

Death would have been a better punishment. Now Andra would serve until she was thirty.

And she was forced to return to the place where she had spent the worst years of her life, where she had lost her father and experienced endless torment.

Just the day before, Andra had let herself believe that she might have a connection with a dragon.

But it was just a fleeting moment, borne out of false hope. It was an empty dream that could never come true.

Andra had learned her lesson.

She would not waste time on empty dreams anymore.