Aliya and Kilnik were riding the air currents peacefully. After they had left the castle it had taken a little while to get their bearings and begin heading in the right direction.
Aliya constantly checked the map Tate had drawn her. It was detailed and easy to follow. Which only made her more terrified of making a stupid mistake. She could only imagine the humiliation if she were to arrive after Tate did and had to explain to him that she got lost.
She groaned and leaned back on Kilnik until their spines were pressed together and her head rested a little over halfway down his wings. She watched dreamily as they flapped every once in a while. He then angled them just right to catch the wind beneath them.
They were going extremely fast but it didn't feel that way to them. She admired the veins in his wings, their excellent form, and their beautiful color. She hadn't seen any other dragons up close but she couldn't imagine that any others were as beautiful as her Kilnik.
"As much as I approve of you admiring me can you please pay attention? Do we need to bank here or keep straight?"
She sat up reluctantly and pulled out the map.
"According to this, we need to bank a few degrees left. If we are on target we should reach the Capitol tomorrow afternoon." She sighed. "It really does pay to fly instead of take the roads. Poor Tate he has to take the long way around."
"I wonder what Aquana was like." Kilnik suddenly said.
She looked down at the top of his head. "It isn't like you to wonder about others, why are you bringing that up now?"
"Master Tate seems to mourn her even now. You can see her shadow in his eyes. I just wonder what she was like for their bond to have been that strong. I want us to have a bond just as strong or stronger, only I don't plan on either of us dying. You are the most important thing to me and I want to be the same to you."
She chuckled. "Silly dragon of course you're the most important to me."
He preened. "And Tate is right there with you." She finished.
He deflated. "Honestly, I know he's important to you, but you could just pretend that I'm better than him."
She laughed outright at this. "You are...In your own way. I love you both but very differently. Tate I love as a brother, he is family to me."
"And me?"
"You-you are my best friend, my burning candle in the darkness, the reason I exist."
"Okay-okay forget it."
"What?" She smirked. "Was it the tone? I can be more dramatic with it." She cleared her throat. "YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND, MY BURNING" dramatic pause, "CANDLE IN THE DARKNESS, THE REASON I EXIST!" She shouted to the skies with the appropriate dramatic flourishes of the arm. She looked like a crazy person.
She could feel him sigh and roll his eyes. "See now even the crows and bluebirds know what you mean to me, don't you feel special."
"You're ridiculous." He grumbled trying to sound annoyed but she could hear the affection in his voice.
"Don't act that way around the new humans, they will probably get the wrong idea about you." He warned.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, obviously they will think you're a crazy person."
She crossed her arms and glared at him playfully.
"It wouldn't do for them to be right on the first try."
Her mouth fell open in shock and affront.
"I'm not talking to you anymore." She said out loud.
He didn't reply and she thought that was the end of it.
He dived.
She screeched and scrambled to hold on as he executed a ninety-degree dive out of nowhere.
He leveled out just before they would hit the ground.
Her heart was hammering and her hair was a mess around her face. She was gasping for breath.
"What the heck was that?"
"Oh, are you talking to me again? Good. Which way." He replied like nothing had happened.
Dazed she checked the map. "Keep straight."
=====
The rest of their journey was utterly uneventful. Aliya was downright bored. Kilnik had cloaked most of the way except for brief intervals and when they landed to sleep. For that reason no one had noticed them as they'd flown over farms and villages, each settlement getting larger and larger as they drew closer to the capitol.
She checked the map one last time and pinpointed their rendezvous point. Tate had marked it clearly. It was a meadow in the forest they had gone through long ago. It was only a mile or so outside the capitol.
Kilnik landed but remained camouflaged. Written on the map was a signal that would be given by those who were coming to escort them into the city.
He held his wings up to shield her. If he held them just so he could use his wings to camouflage her on the ground. It was a very specific hold of his wings that was not needed in the air since it was his body that blocked the view from below.
Long moments passed until she heard a rustling in the forest.
"I think I heard something." Someone beyond the tree line said quietly.
"Should we try calling out?"
"What are you talking about there is supposed to be a full-grown dragon in the clearing, do you see a dragon idiot?"
"Who are you calling an idiot did you not read the report?"
"What report."
"Honestly, you both sound like amateurs, even Cade here is more professional. Cade, step into the clearing and give the signal just in case we missed the landing."
A young man about her age stepped into the clearing. He had black hair and almost clear blue eyes. He was very handsome. She must have thought it loudly because Kilnik grumbled through the bond.
"What's so handsome about such a scrawny human, he's not fit to be your mate."
Startled she retorted. "Why are you suddenly talking about mates, I'm not getting a mate and he's just a good-looking boy what's the big deal?"
"You shouldn't look at males," he grumbled.
She was stunned and amused at his words, she'd never heard him say such things or have such thoughts. She wondered what his deal was all of a sudden.
The boy put his fingers to his lips and let out a soft cooing noise that mimicked a bird. It was the signal on the map.
"De-camouflage." Kilnik obeyed and suddenly there was the dragon and dragon rider they had been looking for. The men present to witness the sight gasped.
"A dragon that can camouflage!"
"Wow."
"I've never heard of a dragon with that ability."
Among all the not-so-quiet comments the royal guards, or at least that's who she presumed they were, stepped into the meadow as a group.
An older man with gold accents on his armor stepped up and bowed his head slightly.
"My lady, lord dragon." He greeted. "It is my honor to welcome you to the capitol. The Emperor is waiting for you. Please follow us, the path we are taking is large enough for a dragon." He reassured.
Aliya nodded in return. "Thank you, I am Aliya and this is Kilnik, we will be in your care." She hoped she'd said the appropriate pleasantries. She'd studied decorum hard with Tate and Ms.Marge but it had never been her favorite or best subject. Still, she felt fairly confident that she would not embarrass herself of Tate's teaching.
The man grinned. "Commander Roylin, at your service. Please." He motioned his detachment into formation and with her and Kilnik in the middle of the procession they started off towards the city walls in the distance.
As they walked she listened contentedly to the chatter around her. This seemed like a laid-back detail, they obviously didn't expect any trouble.
"My name is Cade, you probably don't remember me."
The boy from before introduced himself, he fell into step beside her.
"I'm a dragon rider too, but my dragon hatched after you were taken away with, Kilnik was it?" He addressed the last bit to Kilnik himself who nodded his head.
Aliya was fascinated, she'd not expected to meet another dragon rider so soon. "It's nice to meet you, I didn't expect the Emperor would send another Dragon Rider."
"Well, I'm his youngest son and I asked so..." He trailed off awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
"You are the Emperor's son?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes, but don't let that scare you, we share the same status since I'm a Dragon Rider before I'm a royal these days."
She nodded but didn't quite understand how this all worked.
"Did Tate ever mention me?"
She was surprised at the mention of his name. "No, I can't say he ever did."
The boy looked disappointed. She hastened to reassure him. "But he hardly ever talked about anyone in the capitol even his own family."
The boy sighed. "No matter, I'm sure he's had a lot on his mind these past years. When will he be arriving, do you think?"
Aliya shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but if he left on time then in a little over two weeks."
Cade sighed again, "I guess I'll make peace with waiting."
She looked at him curiously. "Why are you so eager?"
Cade flushed and pulled at his collar. "He's my role model, that's all. He has been since I was a little kid and a part of me had just hoped he would be with you."
She nodded. "I miss him too and it's only been a week for myself and Kilnik, I can understand. He's my role model too after all."
Cade grinned at her. "Well, you'll have to join our fan club then!"
"Fan club, what's a fan club?" She asked.
His face got very animated. "It's just a group of like-minded students who study Tate's battles, tactics, and personal life. We try to learn everything we can about him. I-I mean from him!" He corrected himself.
Aliya couldn't help but be amused. He was funny.
"I've known Tate almost all my life, and he always supported my dream to be a dragon rider even though in reality the chances were very low. There are many other students at the Academy that look up to him and want to be like him."
"I'll definitely think about it." She paused for a beat. "So you're in the Academy too?"
He nodded. "Like you, I will graduate next year. We will be training together from now on. I've taken a look at your schedule and we have a lot of classes together!"
She liked Cade more and more as she talked to him. He seemed to be kind and friendly, and he was funny too.
Kilnik on the other hand couldn't stop grumbling about the "pretty boy human."