AT THREE, I went to the cafeteria to meet Cheng. Today was my first History lesson, and I was nervous, but not as nervous as I had been when I was going to meet Arianna. Scanning the room, I noticed a group of four boys huddled around one of the tables. Not one of them resembled the description Sammy had given me earlier of Cheng, and I became discouraged. A tall figure appeared from behind a Buddha statue. He wasn't oriental, as I imagined he would be, and looked like he was a true ethnic mix.
"You must be Elena. I'm Cheng," he said, and held out his hand for me to shake. I realized what he was when I noticed the bronze glint in his hair.
"You're a dragon?" I asked.
"Busted." His smile reached his eyes as he held up his hands in mock surrender. I couldn't help but smile back at him. "I hope that it's not going to make you uncomfortable."
I shook my head. I was used to dragons now. Hell, I was sharing a room with one.
"Good, shall we take a walk?" He led the way, taking me along the same route Lucian had last week. We went to the stables and found Ginger standing outside in the pen, lazily eating grass. Cheng took out a handful of sugar cubes from his pocket and started calling her by clicking his tongue. He stroked her gently as she nibbled at the sugar cubes in his palms.
"Horses like dragons?" I asked, shocked at how calmly she behaved.
"Only the Metallic ones," he said in a very soothing tone.
"What is it about horses that you love?"
"They're such graceful creatures, Elena. I do believe that they have a soul too. The way some humans use them to get over their fears tells me that they are teachers just like us, in their own special way," he said as he stroked her mane.
"Yeah, there's something soothing about them," I agreed, and remembered my trip with Lucian.
"I know history can be boring, but you're looking at it the wrong way. Without history, we would not know where we came from or what direction to go," he said. He blew gently into Ginger's mouth. Her lips vibrated and she stomped her feet, neighing.
"What are you doing?" I giggled.
"I'm making her used to my smell. It's a small human trick. The Sioux tribe used to believe that blowing in their faces makes them used to your smell. I hope it's true, otherwise I just looked like an idiot."
I laughed. "So what is it that makes history so exciting?"
"What are they teaching you?"
"Oh, very boring stuff about medieval times."
"You don't like the medieval times?" he asked, as we carried on walking toward the coliseum.
"Not really. They were cruel and saw dragons as the enemy, right?"
"Yes, it was. I'm really lucky to be born during King Albert's time."
"Why were they so afraid of the dragons?"
"It was mostly the Chromatic dragons that gave them reasons to fear us. There was no enchanted wall back then and Paegeia was free for everyone to visit. People passed fluidly through the barrier. The Metallic dragons, like me, were wise to hide. They knew that the humans would never trust dragons, so they disguised themselves as the very creatures who wanted to destroy them. At that stage, it was still a dragon secret. I can just imagine how hard it was for them to watch their kind being slaughtered like monsters. When King Alexander ascended the throne, with the help of a great sorcerer, the wall was erected to protect magic from the humans on the other side who wanted to abuse it."
"A sorcerer?"
"Yes." He chuckled, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced by a sad frown. "I wish he'd died before he could produce an heir," he said.
"Why?" It was a weird thing to say.
"Because the most powerful sorcerer that ever lived descended from his bloodline. His power consumed him, and he betrayed and murdered his best friend."
"Who did he betray?" I was intrigued by Cheng's story. Why can't they talk about the interesting stuff in class?
"King Albert."
"His best friend was a sorcerer?"
Cheng's lips twitched while he stared holes into the ground. "It happened about fifteen years ago. The Viden warned King Albert, or so my mother tells me. The Viden said that someone in his kingdom would betray him. He didn't want to believe her because everybody loved him. She planted the seed of doubt, though, said there was a time that he became suspicious of everybody, became really quiet too. Mom was a serving maid in his castle, and she remembered the sadness in his eyes around the dinner table, just looking at his men and wondering who was going to betray him. She told me that it was a look that didn't suit him at all," he said softly.
The story of King Albert had hooked me, and I stumbled over the only rock in the path.
Cheng's reflexes were fast, however, and he caught me before I landed on my face. He chuckled. "I can see why you don't do so well with classes on this side."
I giggled at his sarcasm. "If you think this is bad, you don't want to see me in Enchantments."
We walked past the coliseum toward the edge of Dragonia, while he continued his story. Looking around, he chose a spot on top of a big rock and wanted me to sit with him, but I chose to stay on the grass with my back turned toward the view. My fear of heights had spoiled plenty of breathtaking scenes, and this was no exception.
He told me how King Albert had been the only one who had given Chromatic dragons a chance. He explained how Sir Robert had been evil, but King Albert had been adamant about claiming him. Night Villains weren't very pet-like, he explained, while shrugging, and I laughed at his comment when he said that it was the Metallic dragon's job. I was mesmerized by King Albert's bravery, how he'd claimed the first Chromatic dragon. It had changed Paegeia forever. Cheng told me it was also when he decided to build Dragonia. It took many sorcerers and strong enchantments to raise the Academy into the air, and keep it aloft. The minute King Albert discovered that humans born with the mark could actually bond with the dragons, he chucked them inside too.
"I don't know why people like that always have to die. The world doesn't have many of them to start with." His tone was soft, and some sadness lined each word.
"So this best friend that betrayed him, is he still around?"
"Goran." "He's the reason Etan is forbidden."
"Yes, Becky told me about the creepers. Is it true that only Blake and his Dragonian can enter?"
He grinned. "I doubt that anyone would be able to claim the Rubicon."
"Why do you think that? King Albert claimed the first Chromatic dragon. How should the Rubicon be any different? There always has to be a first, even if it seems impossible."
He looked at me, surprised. "You've listened."
"Well, your story's interesting," I said..
"It's history, Elena."
I frowned when I realized what he meant.
"Then why's mine so boring?"
He roared with laughter. "Don't tell anyone, but I agree."
We both laughed then he sighed. It was quiet for a while, before he spoke again. "I know you and Lucian have something going on, and don't get me wrong, he's got the makings of a great Dragonian, but I truly don't believe that he'll be able to claim Blake," he said.
"Why not?" His statement intrigued me.
"Easy. The Viden."
"The Viden sucks things out of her thumb." Just thinking about her made me pissed off all over again. Grabbing a rock that was next to my leg, I threw it as far as I could, pretending that it was her crystal ball.
"Yes, most of the time, but when she makes a true foretelling, it always happens."
"You mean like when the so-called wind blows and her eyes become silver," I joked.
He threw a stone over the edge. "Yes, it freaks me out too."
"It happened when you were with her?" I asked, and he nodded. "What did she say?"
"That's only meant for me, Elena. Foretellings are very personal, and you'll never find anyone that will reveal what the Viden told them, unless they are written in the Book of Shadows for everyone to see," he said.
"Book of Shadows?"
"It's a book that follows the Viden's foretellings. Nobody knows how it came to exist. Every time she makes a foretelling that is of importance to Paegeia, it will magically appear in the Book of Shadows," he said.
"What did it say?" I asked, curious. I was always curious when it came to Blake.
"That the only one who will ever claim Blake is his true Dragonian. His egg hatched three years before King Albert and Queen Catherine were murdered. When she said that the Rubicon would be claimed by a royal, it meant them. When she received a foretelling about King Helmut or King Caleb, she would refer to them as the Knights. My mom said that it was the best news she ever gave them, because she was telling them indirectly that they'd get a child. It was the only thing they ever wanted. My mom told me that before the Viden made the prediction, the queen prayed for a child every single day for at least a hundred and fifty years."
I gasped. "She had the essence of life too?"
"Yes. Their dragons gave them each a piece. King Albert was two hundred and fifty years, and Queen Catherine was about two hundred and forty-five."
Jeez. It sounded so old to try to have children. "Are you sure it was one of their children? What if the Viden had it wrong just this once?"
He laughed. "Then she wouldn't be the Viden."
"Is it true that all Moon-Bolts can see the future?"
"Depends on how old they are."
"I saw two, before George, I mean."
"Yes, I know. How did it happen?" he asked.
I couldn't believe it when my mouth just opened up and my story started spilling out.
"My dad was a Copper-Horn. I never even knew that he was a dragon. We used to flee from our home every three months. He told me a lot about Paegeia when I was little, but I thought it was just bedtime stories." I didn't tell him I'd forgotten most of it. The pain buried deep inside me slowly emerged to the surface. I missed Dad so much. I told Cheng everything about that night, and when I was finished, I looked away to wipe off a tear before it rolled down my cheek.
"No wonder you don't cope with classes. You've hardly dealt with all of this."
"I just don't know why it happened. What was so important that they felt his life had to be the price? What if he died thinking that I would never forgive him? I can't tell you how many nights I'd prayed for a miracle, a normal life, a life where we didn't have to flee anymore. Now that I've gotten my wish, I feel like such a nobody. The way some of the students look at me as if I don't belong here, the Viden..."
"You're not a nobody, and your dark mark is why you are in Dragonia, Elena, not who or what your father was."
"Then why don't I get anything, Cheng?" I said, tossing my hands in the air.
"Give yourself some time, woman. You'll get there," he said. It was as if he knew something I didn't.
"When?"
"Rome wasn't built in a day, or so I've heard," he joked, and it worked, it made me smile. "You put so much pressure on yourself, why do you do that?"
"It's stupid, you'll laugh," I spoke, turning my face away.
"Try me."
I took a deep breath. I might as well tell him. I had told him everything so far, and I felt as though I could trust him with my life. "I've never felt so alive."
He just looked at me and frowned. "I'll help you with whatever I can, Elena. If it's that important to you not to fail, I'll give it my best."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it. You're really cool," I said, meaning every single word.
"Wow, I don't think I heard that one before. Most of the other students think of me as a geek."
I laughed again and punched him playfully on the leg. "Well, maybe they should try to get to know you."
"So, do you want to know why I believe Lucian won't claim Blake?" He moved from the rock and plopped down on the ground beside me. "It has to do with another foretelling she made a couple of years later. It's also written in the book. She said that only the King of Lion can claim him."
"The King of Lion, like in the sword?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Nobody knows what she meant. Not even her. They still think that using the sword is the answer, but it's also the one thing that can kill Blake, so they don't even consider it."
"You don't believe that?"
"I can give you a lot of theories, Elena. Crown-Tails love theories. If you ask me, I think she didn't mean the sword at all."
"What then?" I said, leaning in so I wouldn't miss a word.
"I think it has to do with King Albert's bloodline."