After parting ways with Kilnik she wandered along the path until she reached the Second Hall of the Academy. When she entered, it was alone. She was at once thankful that Cade had a different class than her at the moment but at the same time, she was lonely.
She wanted to groan out loud in frustration. How could she want someone near and far away from her at the same time? She blamed the Emperor for this mess, not out loud of course but in her mind she cursed him daily. After the dinner she'd attended where she'd learned of Tate's fate as well as had her one and only conversation with the Emperor for a while, it was normal. She and Cade had carried on as they had been, as good friends. It was only recently that she learned that he'd been hiding the fact from her that the Emperor had settled on them marrying in the future.
It had shocked her so much that she still couldn't figure out how to act around him. What had been an easy friendship now seemed to carry an unbearable weight. She felt terribly sorry for herself until she thought of Tate's circumstances that is, then she could only chastise herself for having it so easy. At least her "destined partner" wasn't previously spoken for by a loved one.
She sighed as she opened the door to the classroom, not that she had a loved one besides Tate to begin with.
Once she stepped in the hall she had to banish those thoughts and face the new dilemma. She had gotten to know her classmates in her time here and in this particular lecture hall she would be hard-pressed to find a friendly face. Quite a few of them were from the previous Arial Combat Class and were out of sorts and embarrassed that they'd performed so poorly. She'd gotten used to them blaming it on her and Kilnik. Even though it was their error, no doubt they were whispering that it wouldn't have happened if she and Cade hadn't been showing off.
These words were all meaningless to her, even if she did hear them uttered under someone's breath it wasn't like she could do anything about it. She refused to do less than her best just because others wanted her to come down to their level so they looked better and felt better about themselves.
She took an empty seat near the back and by the window. She propped her chin on her hand and looked to the sky. She had this habit now of looking for Kilnik. Sometimes she saw him while Professor Lorent prattled on, she'd see him arching and diving, twisting and floating with all the other dragons. She couldn't help but smile when she saw him like that, he looked so free and happy, flying among his own kind. She'd give anything to have wings and be up there with him instead of sitting in this boring lecture.
Professor Lorent came in at that moment and called the class to order. After he called the roll he launched into a lengthy dissertation on the military campaign of General Boumont in the ancient time. It was a time when dragons and humans were fighting together for territory, it was a campaign that led to the early version of the Lya Empire when it was just one kingdom among many. It was a campaign preserved only by luck through fragile scrolls rescued from the brink of destruction by fire five hundred years ago. It was also a faulty account.
It was dreadfully dull, especially since it was one of Tate's favorite history stories to tell, and he told it much better, and more accurately. She'd been shocked that a person could take such an interesting topic to her and make it so tedious she felt like pulling her hair out but somehow Professor Lorent managed it.
She smiled a little as she looked out the window, the prattling monotone voice of the professor buzzing in the air around her. Her eyes unfocused as she remembered that summer day when Tate had first told her this story.
She'd been thirteen and Kilnik had just undergone his second partial metamorphosis and was resting in his nest. She'd been worried sick about him for days and had almost made herself sick in the process.
Tate had taken her silently but forcefully from Kilnik's side. She'd expected him to scold her and lock her in her room until she began behaving like a proper human again, but he hadn't done that. Instead, he'd led her out to the cliffside, right up to the edge where he told her never to go.
Close to the edge, someone had laid out a brightly colored blanket that stood out starkly against the lush green grass waving in the ocean breeze. A rock held down each corner and a whicker basket was nestled in the middle.
Without a word he led her onto the blanket and with a firm pressure on her shoulders he made her sit. The first thing he produced from the basket was a wide brimmed straw hat, that of all things, was decorated with fresh flowers around the brim. He put it on her head without expression, but she knew him well and saw how the corner of his mouth flicked up. The sight amused him.
She huffed and crossed her arms, she must look silly in pants, a dirty shirt, and a girly hat.
Out of the basket flowed all manner of surprises, all her favorite cold foods were there, along with one of Cook's pies that looked heavenly. Her mouth watered against her will and her stomach grumbled loudly, letting her know that she had neglected it too long this time. The last thing he pulled out was a book.
He'd placed it into her hands without explanation and then went about putting the food onto the plates he'd already extracted. She turned the slim volume over in her hands a few times. It was an ornate thing, the cover was dark blue and there was gilded filigree in the patterns of fire and roses around the border and along the spine. The title, to her shock, was in a language she could not read.
Tate and Ms. Marge had taught her to read when she'd first come to Nourii Castle.
"What is this, Tate, the title is strange?"
"You can't read it either?" He didn't look up from his work. "Open it."
When she did she was surprised to see that she could in fact read the words written in the book. The book was odd in so many ways she couldn't stop staring at it. It looked handwritten, and not like a professional copy but like someone's personal writings. There were inconsistencies and sometimes the words were crammed into a line before beginning the next line. The strangest part was that the words in the book were definitely not the ones she'd learned to read.
"How about now?" He asked.
She gaped in amazement. "I-I can read it. How can I read it?"
He looked at her then. "Who knows? It's the same for me, I found this book in the library one night. I noticed the strange language on the cover and when I opened it I was shocked that I could read it. I've showed it to a few of the servants who know how to read like Ms. Marge and none of them can read a word of it."
"What does it say?" She asked intrigued.
He chuckled. She looked at him properly and smiled when she saw the smile on his own face. She liked it best when he smiled.
"Read it silly."
She shook her head feeling playful all of a sudden. She'd become a serious child lately and ever since Kilnik started undergoing the partial metamorphosis she'd felt so down and sad that this feeling reminded her that she was still a child, and she wanted to be a child.
"No, I want you to tell me what it says."
He gave her a look.
"Come on, you've read it haven't you, just tell me what it says."
He grumbled, "That's not the point. I wanted to cheer you up, I thought you'd like to read it."
She grinned. "Do you know what I'd like even more?"
He sighed and looked up at the sky with longsuffering.
"It will make me feel a lot better if I can just lie here and listen to you tell me a story, so tell me this one." She thumped the book and flopped on her back.
"But lunch." He protested.
She reached blindly for the plate nearest her and took a sandwich. She took a bite and groaned in delight, it was full of her favorite blackberry jam.
"Go ahead." She said through a mouthful of bread, it probably didn't sound like that coming out but he got the idea.
He sighed. She giggled, delighted.
He sighed again, and then he began.
As the breeze swirled around them, and the waves roared beneath them he told her an epic story. The story of how Lya came to be.