THE NEXT DAY I had the pleasure of discovering just how much Becky loved her alarm clock. She hit the snooze button at least a million times until the device fell off the nightstand and crashed to the floor.
Sammy jumped on Becky. "Wake up sleepy head, or else we're leaving without you!"
Becky growled, but reluctantly got out of bed. I laughed as she struggled to wake even as we were leaving our room.
We found Master Longwei at the main entrance, where we came to a silent halt. He was unlocking the gate and didn't notice our arrival.
The gate I love and hate all at the same time.
"He really needs help with his fashion choices. Those ankle shorts are so last season. Not to mention his ancient Hawaiian shirt," Becky said, as if she were the fifth member of Fashion Police.
"It's not so bad," Sammy said.
Becky rolled her eyes. "Sammy, no offense, but if I didn't tell you what to wear every day, you'd be dressed like a circus clown."
"My choices aren't that bad. I just love color."
I smiled, feeling at home with these girls. Dad jumped into my mind again, and a lump rose in my throat as I thought about how many of their mannerisms aligned with his.
"Good morning girls." Master Longwei swung the gate open and turned to face us. "How did your first day go, Elena?"
"Well, I'm still alive." I swallowed hard, and tried to hide my fear of heights behind a shaky smile. I looked around and found the sky and clouds where buildings and trees should've been.
"I heard about George. I'm deeply sorry about his behavior and I assure you it will never happen again."
"No hassle," I said, brushing it off with a wave of my hand, hoping to change the subject. "Why didn't you tell me you're a dragon?"
His expression told me he hadn't expected that question. "I should have known Becky would enlighten you as to what I am."
"See it as a little payback. Do you have any idea how hard we had to work to keep Elena from running away?" Becky chirped.
We all laughed.
"Are you comfortable with having a dragon for a headmaster?" he asked hesitantly.
"It's okay. If it's not too personal, can I ask you another question? How old are you?"
He grinned. "I'm scared you'll run away screaming. But Elm with all the historical buildings and museums is a good place to stumble onto something like that."
"Screaming my head off while running away is so yesterday's news," I said, injecting more confidence into my voice than I felt.
He chuckled and watched me carefully as he spoke. "I will be celebrating my four thousand, three hundred, and sixteenth birthday next month."
To my surprise, running for the hills didn't pop into my head. I guess the girls' crash course had worked.
"That young?" A smile turned up the corners of my mouth.
My smile soon vanished, however, as I remembered why he was unlocking the gate. My heart started to thump inside my throat and my knees trembled softly as the edge, just a few feet past the gate, caught my eye.
"Close your eyes, Elena," he said.
I did as he told me and an image of him transforming into a dragon flashed into my mind.
My eyes flew open when my feet bumped against a small step.
"You are such a wuss," Becky said, already in her seat.
I found myself standing on the step of a modern carriage with leather couches. A strong lemon aroma hung in the air around us.
I felt like a twenty-first-century Cinderella. The windows were tinted—not that I had an urge to look outside anyway. I took a seat next to Sammy as I struggled to tear my gaze away from the carriage's finer details. Someone had hand-stitched the black couches, and the soft, dark brown velvet that bedecked the walls gave the carriage a warm ambience.
Master Longwei took a seat right next to Becky. Our eyes met as my attention wandered to the ceiling.
"So, I heard that you solved the chef's riddle last night."
I nodded and let out a tiny shriek as the carriage lifted off the ground. I grabbed the safety belt and buckled up.
"Do you like riddles?"
"Not really," I spoke fast as the carriage started to stabilize itself once again.
I took a deep breath but didn't unclench my fists.
"She got the answer on the first try. We were complaining about the horrible food when she just blurted out the answer,"Becky said.
"Speak for yourself, I like Chef's cooking," Sammy snapped.
"You mean those disgusting leaves you're always eating?"
"Vegetarianism is a life choice."
"Sammy, you're the first dragon I've met that's a vegetarian."
Sammy stuck out her tongue at Becky.
"My intuition tells me Chef is going to make a lot of junk food," Master Longwei said.
I just smiled nervously.
As the turbulence returned I began to wish the ride would end and closed my eyes tightly. Elm had better be worth this horrible ride. A soft nudge in my rib cage made my eyes fly open. I saw Sammy nodding earnestly toward the exit.
Becky crouched in front of me and shook her head as she prepared to disembark.
We landed in the woods near a narrow path. I automatically searched for what had pulled the carriage. I should've known what I would find: two big-ass dragons.
I quickly followed the others down the path to a small village. We didn't have to wait long before a tram came into sight. "You have normal transport too?" I asked half mockingly.
Sammy giggled, and Becky ushered me onto the tram. The conductor greeted Master Longwei with a firm handshake, and they started to talk. For the first ten minutes I tried to figure out whether the conductor was a dragon, but curiosity vanished the minute we entered the city.
It reminded me of New York mixed with Venice. People walked on the sidewalks with dogs, and a few even drove around in little mobile carts. We passed a fountain where a couple was tossing in loose coins. Next to the fountain, an artist worked his magic on an easel, reproducing the beautiful scenes around him.
Shops started flashing by, and the streets buzzed with more and more people. As the road narrowed, I was surprised to see more conventional transport: bicycles and motorcycles. A touch of home but there were also some things out of this world. Some people were standing on a sort of skateboard contraption, flying a few inches above the air. A flame of blue steam came from the back of the board. Their riders were really good and zoomed in between the people.
"What is that?"
"It's called a raider," Sammy said. "Your side doesn't have them yet?"
I shook my head without taking my gaze off one.
Sammy started to laugh and looked at Becky. "Becky's tried like fifty odd times to get hers."
"Hahaha," Becky said sarcastically. Sammy and I laughed. "It's not fifty yet."
"Okay, then let me rephrase: the next time will be your fiftieth."
Becky glared at her, but a small smile appeared and I knew she took Sammy's comment as a joke.
The tram came to a halt in front of a big mall with coffee shops dominating the area around it. People were drinking coffee and reading newspapers at the sidewalk tables.
Sammy pulled me out of the way and a raider just missed my head. It was followed by two other raiders and the guys who rode them all wore goggles and laughed.
Everywhere we went, people greeted Master Longwei. He simply nodded and smiled back politely.
"Give," Becky said, hand open and her palm facing up.
"Oh no, I am not going to be fooled this time, young lady. Here is money. My credit card isn't safe between the two of you," he said. I sensed this wasn't the first time he'd asked Becky to run errands for him. He gave her paper money that had horizontal patterns printed on it. "I will meet you by the carriage at three o'clock. Three o'clock, Rebecca." He gave her a knowing stare with his eyebrow arched, letting us know he meant it. "Good luck, Elena." He smiled then went to one of the coffee shops.
Becky grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the store with the same name that was on the label of my jeans: Twiggs.
"If you buy from Twiggs you will never be out of fashion," Sammy explained excitedly. "Lucky for you, Becky has a good eye for what goes together and what doesn't."
"Thank you, girl." Becky beamed at Sammy's compliment as we entered through a revolving door.
Inside the store was a nightmare. I had never changed so many times in one day, but I had to admit, Becky did have an eye for fashion.
As the pile of clothes on the counter grew, I began to worry whether we had enough cash, but the three bills offered to the cashier seemed to do the trick.
Sammy carried most of the bags, which looked so unnatural.
I thought we were done and intended to return to the coffee shops, when Becky pulled me into another store. "Weatherly's and Co." was written in big green letters above the door.
"This is Lucian's favorite store," Becky said, and her smile made me wonder if she didn't have a thing for him. Not that I blamed her.
Inside, the store swords, axes, fighting hammers, whips—even the one with the long chain and ball at the end—and a variety of shields were displayed on rows of shelves. My jaw dropped.
There were uniforms in all different colors stacked in another aisle with more raiders. They all had different shapes and sizes.
Goggles and huge saddles were placed in another part of the store. I didn't know where to look.
Plenty of little boys admired the swords, with their hands tucked behind their backs. They made me smile as I realized it didn't matter where you grew up, every boy dreamed about being a knight.
We walked past two boys sparring playfully. One of the boys pretended to be a knight, the other one a dragon, and not just any dragon—the Rubicon.
Thankfully, Becky took me straight to the vest section.
"Rebecca Johnson, how is your mother doing?" the clerk asked.
While she gave me her famous eye roll, she flashed the clerk her beautiful smile. "Oh, she's fine. I'm looking for a vest for my friend. Her name is Elena."
The clerk's shoulder-to-hip scrutiny made me uncomfortable.
He turned around and disappeared into the back.
"He has a thing for my mom." Her lack of excitement was obvious.
"What does your father think about that?"
"He died when I was really little," she said.
"I'm so sorry, Becky." I always say the wrong stuff.
"It's cool, Elena. Besides, I never knew him."
I was glad when the bearded man returned right at that moment with a small black disk and handed it to me for inspection. I turned to Becky and scrunched up my face with confusion. Once she'd taken the small disk, she pressed the small green gem located in the center and put it back on the counter. In five seconds, the disk was gone, and in its place was an impressive black vest.
I picked it up and stared at it. The vest was light with quilted padding on the inside and a rock-hard exterior.
"What is it?" Becky asked, leaning over my shoulder.
"It's the Samurai Three Thousand. Nice, huh?"
I glided my fingers over the engravings that decorated the shell-like exterior.
Becky glanced at the price tag. "This is way too expensive." She grabbed the vest from my hands and shoved it back at the clerk.
He disappeared again and returned with another. This disk was more of an oval shape, with a delicate blue stone in the shape of a lightning bolt. I cautiously touched the gem and flinched as the new vest appeared in my arms. It didn't resemble the Samurai Three Thousand, but it still looked pretty awesome. The name "Black Bolt" and the number "5" were engraved on top of the vest's surface.
"Try it on," Becky said after she glanced at the tag.
The vest fit perfectly, covering all the important areas, and didn't smell like stale sweat, like the one in which I'd practiced the day before.
Sammy—who'd been on her own mission—found us as I was adjusting the straps. "That's really nice, Elena."
"How does it fit?" Becky asked.
"I actually feel safe."
They both giggled.
"We'll take it. Can I drop off mine in three weeks for a cleaning?" Becky asked. The clerk assured her it would be fine.
As he disappeared, something behind Becky caught my eye.
I gasped.
"Cool huh?" Becky stood right beside me.
"I'm going to check the latest gear," Sammy said, and squeezed past us.
"Is this armor for dragons?" I asked as we investigated the racks further.
"Yes," Becky said. "This section is for the Night Villains. They have to make the armor with special steel because of the acid they breathe. That one at the top is vereautiful. If I had a Night Villain I would buy him that." She pointed at a shiny silver torso and head armor hanging above our heads.
We were so engrossed we ended up walking the entire section.
There was gear for Moon-Bolts, Sun-Blasts and even Snow dragons. By the size of the harness, the Snow dragon was indeed not as big as the others. The gear came in all the colors of the rainbow and were a variety of different designs. We found Sammy by the Fire-Tail section purring over a black number with silver spiky studs.
"This would look freaky with my brass color, right?" Sammy looked at Becky for approval.
"For the first time you might be right, Sammy."
We paid for the vest, which was transformed back into the oval disk, and I picked up a pack of playing cards from a small basket by the register. Becky grabbed a pack, winked at me, and tossed it in with the vest.
I glanced at my watch: five to three. Jeez, time flew when you shopped with friends.
Running, we caught the tram and reached the woods shortly after three. Master Longwei was waiting for us, tapping his foot in annoyance.
"I said three, Rebecca Johnson."
"Oh, you can be glad that it's a couple of minutes and not half an hour. Six hours was hardly enough."
He grinned. "Did you enjoy your shopping?"
"Yes, thank you, Master," I said, and climbed into the carriage. Words couldn't describe how I felt at that moment. I pulled the safety belt over my shoulder slowly, feeling a bit drained from our trip, but giddy from my new purchases.
I felt sorry for Master Longwei. He had no choice but to listen to Becky babbling about shopping. She even tried to throw in some fashion tips, which meant Sammy and I had to suppress our laughter so we wouldn't cause offense.
I fell on my bed when we eventually made it back to our room, completely immobile.
Sitting next to me Becky opened the pack of cards and handed me one. "It's all the famous people throughout the years. Many of the young boys and girls collect them."
Sammy mumbled something as she picked at a packet of crisps, and dove into it as if she hadn't seen food for days.
On one card was a picture of a guy named Theodore Verona, whoever that was. I turned it around and all his stats were listed on the back, like a baseball card. He'd lived in the thirteenth century and had been a knight. They had his number of kills along with his victories at the Annual Games. He had slain one thousand and five dragons.
Becky handed me a second card that depicted a woman named Delilah. She was a Fire-Tail dragon and must've been the oldest of them all because she had celebrated her fourteen-thousandth birthday nineteen years ago. It said King Albert had thrown her a huge party. A third card depicted Sir Chan Wei-Ling, also a dragon, and the General of King Albert's court.
I froze as I stared blankly at the last one and my mouth fell open. "Are you serious?" I showed Sammy a card of her brother.
"He's the Rubicon, Elena. That card is extremely rare. You can exchange it for at least ten cards."
I guess I still didn't get how famous Blake was.
"He hates going to town, it's a big mess," she explained.
"Really?"
"He's usually in disguise but always gets caught by one of the locals," Sammy said.
"At times I pity him," Becky admitted.
I looked at his picture. A strange sadness shone through his eyes. "Can I ask you guys a question? Where does Master Longwei get the money to pay for our little trips?"
"Dragonia is loaded. The parents whose children are not born with the mark pay plenty of money to get them in, which covers situations like these," Becky explained, while she helped me unpack the shopping bags.
"Master Longwei allows them inside Dragonia without the mark?"
"It's not written anywhere that you have to ascend to claim a dragon," Sammy answered.
"Just because one person has done it, doesn't mean all of them can," Becky countered.
"Wait, you actually mean somebody claimed a dragon that didn't have an extra ability?"
They only nodded since Mystical Song, a TV series, had started and the conversation ended there.
I lay back on my bed, too tired for another teen drama, and drifted away with Sammy's hyena laughter echoing noisily in the background. A huge emptiness filled my heart and I wished I could have shared this day with Dad. As I thought back on the past forty-eight hours, my new reality started to kick in. I rolled over as a tear escaped and landed softly on the pillow. I would never share anything with him ever again.