General Art Dragon Riding

[Raindrop14]

Okay folks, here it is. I'd rate it age 12 and up, it's got mild cursing but nothing else. Hope you enjoy the first chapter. ^^

Chapter 1: Sleeping in​

She was sound asleep in her cozy wool bed. Her covers lay askew about her as she slept wearing her dragon riding gear from the day before. She had been practicing for the big day in a week, always waking early and sleeping late to assure that she had the most time on the practice field. It was about seven thirty, the time she usually got up. She had told her bird to wake her up at that time, but something was keeping it. Meanwhile, Elliot was practicing on his own dragon, smiling all the while. His ear length brown hair blew in the wind as he made his special maneuvers through the air. He wore the normal brown leather riding gear that you’d want to wear while riding. He was proud of his devious little mind for coming up with that plan. And it worked. She’d wake up and be so angry at him, but the whole time he’d smile at her and thank himself.

It was now eight o’clock and his riding time was up. Ao Primrose stood waiting in line to use the practice arena. He had the same brown hair Elliot had, and they could possibly be called twins if it weren’t for Ao’s blond bangs. He wore the riding gear that everyone else wore while riding. Elliot landed his dark red dragon smoothly on the freshly cut grass. His dragon made a noise to tell him he liked that flight very much, and Elliot responded with a good pat on Felin’s neck. He slid off of his dragon and walked cheerfully to where Ao stood. Ao and his dragon Kane waited patiently for Elliot and Felin to exit the gate.

“So, the early bird isn’t here this time. You do something about that?” Ao asked with a wry smile.

“Perhaps I did. But then again it’s not my fault she has a so easily bribable bird.” He replied.

“I swear, she’s been out her for that past month practicing. Hasn’t she done enough?”

“I think she wants to make sure she doesn’t lose to me again. It’s so good to know that she thinks I’m the best.” Elliot said smoothing his hair back.

“You keep thinking that and you’ll never stay focused.” Ao said taking his dragon in the training arena.

“See ya later Ao.” Elliot said walking to the dragon stables.

When he entered the stables he saw all the dragons sleeping. He also saw Wisla Bough talking to her brown dragon. She wore her long wavy sandy blond hair down as always, and wore the same riding gear as him. She was patting it on the head and talking gently to it, as a mother to her child. Wisla was always like that, she was kind to all the dragons, but she treated her own as if it were her delicate baby. Elliot went to his own dragon’s stable and was taking off the saddle. Wisla didn’t seem to notice him, as always when she talked to her dragon. He pulled the saddle off and Felin obediently walked into his stall. Elliot then turned and walked up to Wisla.

“Awake early I see.” He said trying to tease her about sleeping in all the time.

“Yes, I decided to wake up to train. After all the contest is in a week.” She said keeping her gentile tone and not taking her eyes off her dragon.

Elliot always could never get Wisla mad or annoyed. It was like she was immune to all emotion except love for her dragon. He always teased her about sleeping in but she always responded with, “Yes, I suppose so.”

He’d recently been looking for other things he could tease her about but she didn’t seem to have any weaknesses.

“Have you already trained yet?” She asked in a different tone as she looked at him with those staring light blue eyes.

“Yeah, I was the first.”

“I see.” She went back to her dragon.

“Well I’ll see you later then.” He said.

She gave a little “hmm” as he started to walk away. You just couldn’t get any kind of good conversation out of her when she was with her dragon. He left the stable and headed for the Academy to see if Kyla had awoken yet. As he went he saw his father on the balcony talking with the Dragon Riding Master. His father saw him and pointed to him and the Dragon Riding Master looked down. Elliot waved and went inside the Academy. His father was always doing that, showing him off to everyone. But as the Master of the Academy he was proud to have a son as great as him.

Elliot walked up the stone stairway to the girl’s floor. He was allowed up here, just not in the rooms. He walked down the quiet hallway looking at each door for Kyla’s name. He found it at the end of the hall and was about to knock when he heard some noise.

“That damn Elliot, I show him.”

He heard Kyla talking to herself. He kept his laughter in as he listened to her anger.

“I’ll tell the Master that he’s been bribing people’s birds and then he’ll get the worst he’s ever seen.”

It sounded like she was doing something while she talked. She gave a few grunts between some words and he guess she was getting some riding gear on. He decided he’d better not be here when she erupted so he started to walk away. Just as he was at the top of the stairs though he heard a door slam open.

“I’ll kill Elliot myself if-” she paused.

Elliot froze at the top of the stairs. He’d have to endure the shouting after all. Kyla looked angry, as usual around him, and walked over to him.

“Hasn’t anyone told not to mess with peoples birds?” She yelled, her dark red eyes burning like fire.

“We should take this-”

“I’ll have your head for this Elliot! I swear this is the last time I take your annoyances! I’ll go straight to your father!”

She pushed past him down the stairs and left outside. He stood there laughing his head off as he watched her go. He had really done it this time. She wore the riding gear that the other riders wore and left her long wavy dark blue hair down as usual. She stormed out of the Academy shutting the door with a slam. While Elliot laughed at the top of the stairs a few tired people came out of their rooms.

“Elliot, why do you have to pester her? That’ll only make things worse for everyone.” John said rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist.” Elliot said calming down.

Elliot decided he’d go to his room and change out of his riding gear. It was going to be another hot day today, and wearing thick leather wasn’t going to help any.

***

Kyla was super mad now. He had deliberately bribed her bird and told it not to wake her up. She had to admit that her bird wasn’t the best, but what he did was not acceptable. Right after training she’d go tell the Master of the Academy, and then he’d get it. As she headed for the stables she saw Wisla walking out with her dragon. She had a sweet motherly smile as she usually did when she was around her dragon. Kyla always liked how kind Wisla was to her dragon; she hated it when people ignored their dragons.

She found her forest green dragon in the stall next a blue dragon’s. Raymond was already awake, and Kyla apologized for her lateness. She told her story about Elliot making her late as she saddled her dragon. When Raymond was ready she took her out to the arena. Wisla was getting onto her dragon in the arena and Ao Primrose was walking back to the stables.

“Hey Kyla, heard you slept in.” He said a little teasingly.

“All thanks to that idiot Elliot. Gosh he makes me so mad! I’m surprised he’s his father’s son.”

“He’s really that annoying eh? Well see ya later.”

“See ya.”

She headed to the arena as she saw Wisla flying gracefully through the air. She and her dragon were like a swan, swimming for an audience of thousands. She was a very good flyer, and Kyla tried to tell her that all the time. But unfortunately she is a jealous type and just ignores Wisla most of the time when she’s riding. She told Wisla once that she was really good, but Wisla didn’t seem to hear so she left it alone.

Wisla didn’t seem to care if Kyla also flew in the arena. Kyla liked that Wisla didn’t mind; now she could get her practice in without waiting. Wisla continued to ride like the swan in the air until an hour later; she landed on the grass like a cat keeping its balance. Kyla flew for a few more minutes, knowing that she needed to get as much practice in as possible. She only stopped when she saw the Academy Master taking a walk along the side of the fence. She landed hurriedly and got off her dragon, telling Raymond that she did excellent. She rushed over to Leon looking a little angry.

“Why hello Kyla, have a good night’s sleep? I heard you slept in.” Leon said smiling.

“That was your stupid son Elliot’s fault!” She burst out. “He bribed my bird, knowing it would take the bribe, and told it not to wake me up! Why haven’t you expelled him yet?”

“He did that huh? I’ll talk with him, but something like that isn’t going to make me expel him.” He said trying to keep in his chuckling. “I’ll tell him not to do that again.”

“Fine.” She said knowing that she had gone a little far asking for him to be expelled.

She walked away from Leon and went back over to Raymond. Raymond waited patiently at the entrance of the arena gate, and then followed Kyla back to the stables. Kyla unsaddled her and led her into the stable next to the ocean blue dragon. Dantay was there, saddling the blue dragon. Surprisingly he had the same color of hair and eyes as her. His hair was much shorter though, only reaching to a little above the shoulders, and was a little spiky. He was fairly quiet, but after a while of being around people he became himself and didn’t shy away.

She had always fantasized that he was her long lost brother seeing as they looked very similar, but she knew her parents wouldn’t give away their child, they loved children. Somehow Dantay was the only one she didn’t have a hard time being nice to. Maybe it’s because he didn’t annoy her as the others did. He was about the only one in the Academy she could call a friend.

“Hey Dantay.” She said putting on a smile.

“Hey Kyla. So you weren’t the first one up? That’s a big surprise.” He said being friendly.

“Yeah, that idiot Elliot bribed my bird. But I practiced with Wisla and got my hour in for the morning. You going out now?”

“Yeah, I’m taking Giddion out to practice. He was sick last week so I let him rest, but now we’ve got to make up for it.”

“Alright, good luck. See ya later!”

She waved to him as she left the stable. He was the only one who didn’t hate her, besides the adults who had an obligation to be kind to her. She would hang out with him often, but usually he hung out with the others boys. Dantay, Ao and Elliot could almost be called the three musketeers. Kyla headed back to her room to change. She hated the heat so much; sometimes she wished she’d never lived on this floating island.

 

[*M i d n a*]

Ah, a good start, Rainy. It looks to be a cool story so far. There is a contest coming up soon, kinda like in SS? I'm just guessing, but I can't wait to see what this contest is all about. Also, haha, Elliot seems like he likes giving Kyla a hard time, lolz. She wanted him expelled for what he did? Seriously, lolz. Oh, and the three musketeers part was cool, really. There were a few times I noticed there were letters missing, so you might wanna check those out, other than that, an awesome start. :yes: I Liked it.

 

[Chilfo Freeze]

Very nice start! A good introduction to what's going to be a great story! I adore Wisla; what a cute girl! Elliot is a bit of an instigator with all that teasing

I like it so far! Like Gobli said, there were a few letters missing in some words. Also, you're almost the opposite of everyone else I know when it comes to the use of punctuation! Usually, people overuse commas and colons and stuff like that. You roam free, girl! Remember, punctuation can be a good thing too!

 

[Raindrop14]

Man this was way down. But I finally found the motivation to write this next chapter! So here it is. ^^

Chapter two: The three musketeers​

Dantay was done his flying and had taken his dragon back to the stable. It was now twelve o’clock and he had missed breakfast. He decided he’d go to the dining hall and eat with the other students. When he entered the somewhat large hall he saw that everyone was up and eating. There was still a line to get food so he got in line and waited. He got his choice of food and looked around for where to sit. It wasn’t particularly crowded at this time, but he was looking for somewhere to sit with people he knew.

He spotted Elliot and Ao sitting nearby enjoying a conversation. He decided he’d go sit with them and join the conversation. Ao and Elliot no longer wore their riding gear; instead Ao was wearing black pants with his somewhat dirty black boots, a gray sleeveless shirt and a black vest over it. This was what he normally wore in the heat. Elliot wore something a little normal for the place they lived in. He had put on his green tunic and tan pants, and was wearing his brown boots. The other students normally wore tunics, but Ao liked to keep cool and didn’t care about dress code.

Dantay didn’t follow dress code either, instead he wore his dark brown pants, a light brown short sleeved shirt and some knee length brown boots. He never thought the tunics were comfortable, but he didn’t say that to anyone who was wearing one, unlike Ao who says everything on his mind. Dantay sat across from Ao and joined the conversation about this morning. Elliot was re-telling the story about how he met Kyla on the stairs when she woke up and how she stormed off, threatening to get him expelled. Ao laughed at the story having already finished his food, and Dantay, after another re-telling, laughed as well. He didn’t want to make fun of Kyla but it was pretty funny to hear how she’d shout at Elliot for everything.

Just then Kyla walked in and noticed them laughing. She could guess what they were laughing about but decided to ignore them. Elliot and Ao were calling to her to join them as she walked by with her tray. She ignored them again and swiftly walked passed to a table in the corner. Wisla sat there as well and the two started talking. Wisla was pretty normal and down-to-earth when she wasn’t around her dragon. Dantay wished Ao and Elliot wouldn’t torment Kyla like that, but then they had never talked to her like a friend. They’d always teased her and tried to get her angry, whereas Dantay befriended her and talked to her like normal.

“Do they ever annoy you?” Kyla asked Wisla as she ate her sandwich.

“No, I don’t let them. I’m pretty tolerant so they don’t even try. You’ve got to learn to ignore them, and then they’ll stop annoying you.”

“I try, but that idiot Elliot just gets way under my skin.” She said pounding the table.

“Maybe you should try being with your dragon a lot more. Heila has taught me a lot about keeping calm. That’s why I’m with her a lot.”

“I guess.”

Elliot, Ao and Dantay finally left and Kyla could go back to her room. She got up with Wisla and they both threw out their trash. Wisla left for the stables and Kyla left for her room. She was going to take a nap. She passed therough the main hall and went up the stairs to the women’s rooms. She found her room and went inside, closing the door behind her. She sat down on her bed and took off her boots, then lay down and tried to sleep.
She lay there for a while with her eyes closed, but unable to fall into the dream world. She decided she’d change out of her riding gear and get into some more comfortable clothes. She opened her dresser and pulled out a white short sleeved shirt, her brown tunic, her white pants, and a brown belt. She got dressed and slipped on her knee-length boots and headed out the door. It was a nice day today, so maybe she’d take a walk with Raymond.

On her way down the stairs she bumped into Dantay, Ao and Elliot. She looked fiercely at Elliot and passed by, purposefully shoving him to the side. She walked on to the stables, not looking back when she heard laughing.

***

As Kyla stormed off Elliot burst out laughing. He thought it was too funny seeing her get mad like that. Ao chuckled a little but Dantay was silent. He liked hanging around with Elliot and Ao, but not when they were laughing at Kyla.

“Okay, I’m sorry. It’s just, she looks at me like that all the time and it’s just too funny.” Elliot said.

“Wonder what you did to make her so angry.” Ao said sarcastically.

Elliot shrugged his shoulders.

“Well let’s go up to our room. I don’t want to block the stairs.” Dantay said.

Elliot and Ao followed Dantay up the stairs and into their room. Elliot lay down on his bed and put his hands behind his head. Ao sat on the floor beside his bed and leaned against it. Dantay just leaned against the wall and looked down.

“Oh come on Dantay, don’t feel sad for her. She’s doing this to herself if anything.” Elliot said.

“And you guys keep feeding the fire.” Dantay replied.

“If she’d just lighten up and take it as a joke then she wouldn’t be so grumpy all the time.”

Dantay went over to his bed and sat down, leaning against the wall.

“I think Dantay just likes her and wants to protect her.” Ao said a little teasingly.

Dantay clenched his fists. He wasn’t in the mood for false accusations, even if it was a joke.

“Yeah, he does hang around her a lot.” Elliot said.

“Hey I know, why don’t you ask her to dance at that pre-contest dance for the Academy? That’ll get her to like you more.”

“Would you shut up!” Dantay said losing it.

“Sheesh, we were only kidding with you Dantay.” Elliot said sitting up.

“Sorry Dantay, I guess we’re not being very good friends right now.” Ao said trying to ease Dantay’s fire.

“It’s fine.” Dantay said. He didn’t like getting mad at his friends.

“What say you we go play a game of All? I’ll pay to make it up to you.” Elliot said smiling.

“I’m up for a free game of All.” Ao said teasing Elliot.

“You’ll take anything free.” Dantay said teasingly. “Yeah, I’ll play.”

“Let’s go.”

***

It was the day of the Academy dance. This was the night where all the Academy students got together for a fun night to party right before the big day. The five challengers would be the main center of attention, and would get a song of their choice to be played first. Galdania would be playing, and to the Academy Master’s relief, for free.

Kyla was right now in her room with Wisla sitting on her bed. Kyla and Wisla had become good friends in the last week and had been spending a lot of time together. Kyla was looking at Wisla with furious eyes now, her hands on her hips. Wisla looked back, smiling.

“Wisla, I refuse to go tonight. I will not be humiliated by that stupid Elliot and his friends.” Kyla said.

“But it’ll be fun!” Wisla complained. “Come on! Do it for me? I’ll be there if they harass you!”

“That’s the thing! They’ll get you away from me so they can do something stupid without any witnesses!”

“I promise that I’ll be by your side wherever you go the whole time. I’ll even wait by the door when you’re in the bathroom!”

“No, you’ll get distracted somehow. What if they tell you something is wrong with your dragon? You won’t be able to resist the urge to go check on her!” Kyla said waving her arms.

“Then we’ll go together!” Wisla gave a little pause. She looked at Kyla with worried eyes then. “She’s not sick now is she?”

“No of course not. But you see! You even think something is wrong with her now!”

“Maybe we should go check just-”

“No! I’m not going and that’s final!”

“To check on Heila or the dance?”

“Both!”

Kyla sat down frustrated. Wisla was hard to deal with when she was thinking about her dragon.

“It’ll be a big enough crowd that Elliot and the others won’t even be able to find you.” Wisla sat putting her hand on Kyla’s shoulder.

“This is the academy were talking about right? Like, fifty people? That’s not big.”

“Look, if you go I’ll do something for you, anything you want.”

“That certainly won’t motivate me, unless you can make it so that Elliot was never born.”

“I’ll lose the contest for you.” Wisla said seriously.

Kyla looked at her. “No, I won’t let you do that. And don’t you dare lose that contest even if I don’t go.”

“So you’re saying you might?” Wisla said happily.

“No!” Kyla said putting her face in her hands.

“Please? You have to go anyway, your one of the contestants.”

“Who said that?” Kyla said looking up.

“Leon.”

Kyla got up and bolted out the door. Just then Leon was walking down the hall to the store room. He had his hands behind his back and was whistling one of the songs Galdania played. He stopped and smiled as Kyla rushed up to him.

“Master Leon, is it true that I have to go to this thing tonight?” Kyla asked hopeful.

“Why yes, as a contestant you must. It’s going to be lots of fun, and you’ll get to know the other contestants.” He said cheerfully.

“Why? I already know them!”

“Ah, but do they know you?”

“What does that even mean?”

“Excuse me Master Leon, Kyla and I have some things to do. Bye!” Wisla said pulling Kyla back into her room. She closed the door and turned to Kyla.

“You heard it! You’re going! Let’s go get you a dress.”

“No way am I going in something stupid like that. If I’m going, I’m going in what I want to wear.” Kyla said getting up.

“And what’s that?”

“My riding gear. If it’s for the contest, then I should wear my riding gear.”

“Fine by me, so long as you’re going.” Wisla said with a wink.

*end*​

 

[blue-eyes]

:clap: :clap: :clap: I enjoyed both of teh chapters, and I wander what the game All is... oh well. Good writing, and I didn't notice any errors, but then again, I am the polar opposite of a grammar/spelling Nazi.

 

[Raindrop14]

This was soooo low... But that aside, here is a new chapter! I'm really sorry for the long wait, but writers block is not my friend. Anyway, this is the second to last chapter so the next one is the last. Enjoy. ^^

Chapter three: The dance​

The Academy Hall was filled with students and non-students. There were over a hundred people there, but the Hall was very large and held them all with dancing room to spare. They were all either standing in corners talking or sitting down at a table, waiting for the food to be served. The women were wearing their finest dresses and the men their finest suits. Some of the younger boys had taken off their coats and loosened their ties, but the men kept clean and tidy.

There was the head table at the far end of the room where the contestants sat. Wisla, in her elegant sea blue ball gown, was at the very end followed by Ao, in his brand new suit, and Elliot, wearing the same wuit as Ao, then Dantay, wearing the same thing as Elliot and Ao but without the coat, and then Kyla, grudgingly wearing a light green ball gown. Wisla had made it for her as soon as she found out about the dance, knowing that Kyla would wear it.

The Master of the Academy was in the center of the contestants with Elliot on his right. Leon then clanked a glass and got everyone’s attention. He cleared his throat and began his little speech.

“Thank you all for coming; it has been a pleasure having you. Most of you are family from far off and have come to see these students compete, and some of you are students, here to have a good time. We are going to start eating here in a moment, but before that I’d like to say a few words regarding the contest tomorrow. This contest is a very dangerous one; it will not be as easy as the previous ones. Please be aware that we have made sure that this contest will not kill anyone, but may seriously injure them. But there is a point to this. It is to test whether they learned anything from this Academy or not, and to test their bravery. Let me tell you contestants,” He turned to the contestants. “If you wish to drop out then do so now, otherwise you will have to go into that arena tomorrow and face the challenge.” He turned back to the crowd. “Now let the feast, begin.”

Everyone sat down then and waited for some cooks to come in with plates. They all began talking again and eating. Kyla ate her meat rather viciously to show that she didn’t even want to be here. Wisla laughed to herself quietly, watching Kyla eat. She knew deep down Kyla wanted to come.

When everyone was done eating music began to play. Galdania was playing their soft and sweet music as requested. The contestants had chosen their own songs that Galdania could play, and right now Ao’s was playing. Over half the people got up to dance, leaving the plates and silverware behind. Ao asked a random girl to dance and she blushed, taking his hand. Elliot and Dantay were standing by, smirking.

“Ao is a ladies man.” Elliot said.

“You’ve got that right.” Dantay agreed.

“Hey look, here comes your girlfriend.” Elliot said bumping Dantay on the shoulder.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

Kyla was walking towards them, looking down at a piece of paper. She hadn’t noticed them and walked right into them.

“Oh I’m sorry!” She said looking up. “Oh, never mind.”

She went around them and continued walking.

“’Never mind.’ She says. So polite.” Elliot joked.

“Well she did say sorry.” Dantay pointed out.

“Before she knew who we were. Anyway, let’s go have some fun.”

“Like what?”

“Let’s go see how Ao would react if we danced around him and talked about him.” Elliot said with a sly grin.

Dantay and Elliot asked a few girls to dance, most of them said no to Elliot, and finally they were dancing. Seeing as they were the leads they moved their way through the crowd to where Ao was dancing with a pretty blonde girl. Elliot started to talk to his girl about how Ao was always complaining and making a mess of the room. He also said a few things about Ao copying Elliot’s homework and bringing in cheat papers to a test. He oacasinally checked to see Ao’s expression but noticed Ao was smiling the whole time. The girl he danced with had red cheeks and wouldn’t look at Ao’s face when he looked at her.

Dantay decided not to play in on Elliot’s trick and just have a good time with the girl he was dancing with. He also noticed Ao’s happy expression and figured Ao knew something they didn’t. When the song was over the boys bowed to the girls and the girls curtsied. The girl Elliot was dancing with went off immediately but Dantay and Ao’s girls stayed with them. The five of them gathered in their own little group and started talking.

“I’m going to go get a drink.” Ao’s girl said, and ran off.

“So, having fun?” Elliot asked Ao.

“Actually yes. But I don’t think you are, being rejected all the time.” Ao replied.

“You know I wake up the whole school for a reason.”

Dantay’s girl left too to go to her friends. Ao’s girl came back and gave a drink to Ao.

“Thank you.” Ao said.

“So, did you hear what I was saying about Ao?” Elliot asked the girl.

She gave him a puzzled look. “Who is Ao?” She asked.

“You don’t even know your own dance partner’s name? This guy is Ao.”

“His name is Jack. Perhaps you have mistaken him.”

“No, his name is Ao.” Elliot pointed to Ao.

Ao merely smiled at Elliot and drank his water. The next song came on and Ao and the blonde girl went off to dance. Elliot looked a little confused but soon realized what had just happened. Ao had predicted that Elliot would try something like that, and had told the girl a lie about his name. Elliot couldn’t help but give a smile as he admired Ao’s cunning scheme. Oh well, Elliot had his fun with Ao. He suddenly noticed Kyla having fun talking with a group of girls. Wisla was by her side as had been the whole night. Elliot then decided he’d have a little fun with Kyla before the night was over.
He walked up to the group of girls and stood outside of their circle. He was right behind Kyla so she didn’t notice him.

“Truth be told I really didn’t want to come.” Kyla said. “But I had to so here I am.”

“And you dress looks really nice.” One of the girls said.

“Thanks, Wisla made it for me.” Kyla looked at her dress and sort of showed it off.

Elliot held in his laughter as he watched Kyla. She acted tough around the guys, but around the girls she acted innocent and delicate.

“I’m going to go get a drink.” Kyla said.

And before he knew it Kyla had bumped into Elliot. She looked up to see who she had run into and frowned. Her eyes fired up and she looked at him with utter distaste. She pushed past him and moved on to the drink table, with Wisla following. Elliot began to laugh then, knowing that Kyla knew he had heard what she said. The other girls went off to dance and Elliot was left laughing.

***

“He really tries to piss me off doesn’t he?!” Kyla said frustrated as she poured some water.

“I don’t know, guys sometimes do that to show their affection.” Wisla replied taking a drink.

“No, he has no feelings for anything! He just likes to be the jerk of the town!”

Kyla drank all her water in one gulp and put the cup roughly on the table. She could still see Elliot silently laughing.

“Hey, let’s just ignore him and have a good time okay? Look, here come some guys who might want to dance.”

“I’m not dancing and I’m not staying.” Kyla said heading for the exit.

Wisla grabbed her arm and turned her around. “Please don’t let him get to you. If you leave you’ll only make him feel like his mission was accomplished. It won’t do you any good.”

Kyla stared at her friend. She was right; it would only make him feel better. Kyla sighed and Wisla let go of her arm.

“Alright, but if he does anything I’m going to punch him in the face.”

“Fine by me.” Wisla said smiling.

Turns out the boys who were walking towards them were Dantay and Ao with a blonde girl. They were coming over for a drink and were also talking. Ao and the blinde girl didn’t seem to notice Wisla and Kyla, but Dantay smiled at them both and greeted them.

“Hi guys, having fun?” Dantay asked.

“No, all thanks to Elliot.” Kyla said.

Wisla nudged Kyla. Kyla gave her a look and turned back to Dantay and the others.

“Well anyway, I’m done dancing and I think I’m going to bed.” Kyla said.

“Oh, alright. But do you mind having at least one dance with me?” Dantay asked.

Kyla stood there a little shocked. She quickly regained her composure and smiled as best she could at him.

“I’m really tired Dantay, I’m sorry.”

“Oh come on!” Wisla said pushing Kyla into Dantay.

Kyla pushed herself away then and looked at Wisla with an evil frown. Wisla smiled and pushed her again.

“Just one dance, that’s it. Then you can go to bed sleepy head.”

“Fine.”

Dantay took Kyla’s hand and they moved onto the dance floor. A slow song started to play and they danced to it the best they could. Kyla was looking down at her feet while Dantay was smiling at the top of her head. Kyla had never danced before, she’d never liked it. When the song was over Kyla steped back, thanked him and left the hall.

She hated dancing, and she hated Wisla for making her dance to that song. She figured Elliot had probably seen that and would be making jokes about it in the morning. She brushed that aside and put on some clothes to sleep in. She’d need to get a lot of rest for the big day tomorrow.

 

[blue-eyes]

Amazing! I enjoyed it, and it was worth the wait.

 

[Raindrop14]

Okey dokey, I've got that last chapter for ya'll.

Chapter four: Riding contest​

"The door had never been locked before.” She said shaking the knob.

Kyla thought about who had the keys to the gear closet. She needed her things fast, or she’d be disqualified. She thought about Farlon, the jail warden. No, he’s got keys but not these keys. Kyla thought about Leon, the master of the academy. He’d have the keys, and Kyla knew where he was too. She ran as fast as she could down the stone hallways, careful not to run into any of the women carrying food trays.

She came around the corner, almost bumping into Elliot. He moved to his right just in time so as not to collide with her.
Where was she going in such a hurry? Kyla turned another corner then, out of his sight. He shrugged and carried on as he was, going to unlock the gear closet.

Kyla ran out into the courtyard, seeing a few of the riders heading her way into the academy.

What are they doing? She thought. Are they trying to get disqualified?

Kyla ran passed them, not paying attention to what they said to her.

“Where are you going? The riding gear is this way!” One of them called.

Kyla didn’t hear that as she ran out of the courtyard and into the town square. She ran passed the towns people, almost running down an old man and his cat. She stopped at the market place, not wanting to push down the elderly lady in front of her. There were others around her and Kyla couldn’t get through. She looked frantically for another way around, but there were so many people. She waited, impatiently, for the elderly lady to move. The lady was taking her time, looking at a beautiful gold watch. Kyla didn’t have the time; she needed to get the keys from Leon.

Tired of waiting Kyla spoke up. “Excuse me, could I get through? I’m one of the riders you see. I need to get to the ceremony.” She said as kindly as she could.

The old lady didn’t hear her, and Kyla just wanted to strangle her. Just then the old lady moved, taking the beautiful watch with her. Kyla dashed through the opening then. She finally made it to the grass field with all the other dragons waiting for their masters. She saw that none of them had any riding gear on, and she wondered why the other riders had waited. She saw Leon then, talking to the jail warden. Kyla ran towards him, but stopped when the elderly lady who bought the watch came in her way. Kyla moved to the side but the lady moved again, obviously not wanting Kyla to go.

“Excuse me; I need to see master Leon.” Kyla said sounding irritated at the old lady.

“I need to ask you a question.” The lady said.

Kyla folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot waiting.

“I bought this lovely gold watch from that vendor over there.” She said pointing to the vendor.

“That’s nice.” Kyla said irritated.

“I bought it for my granddaughter. She’s flying in the contest. I wanted a young girl’s opinion on it. Do you think she’ll like it?”

The old lady shoved the watch in Kyla’s face. Kyla certainly though it was beautiful. It was made of real gold, with very small diamonds around the rim. There was also a beautiful sapphire in the center of the watch, shining brightly in the sunlight. Kyla was about to respond when the old lady said, “I knew you’d like it.” She smiled and walked off.

Kyla watched the old lady walk away. For a moment she forgot about Leon, and then she shook her head and looked to where she had seen him. He was gone and she looked frantically around for him. Kyla saw the other riders coming then, all of them with their riding gear.

How did they get in? She asked herself.

It hit her then, as she saw Elliot walking with two gear sets.

Of course!

Kyla ran to Elliot, being careful not to run into the others. She saw the smile on his face and stopped. She started walking, keeping a stern look on her face. Kyla walked up to Kyle and grabbed her gear.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to unlock the door?” She yelled at him.

His smile never faded she he replied, “I thought you were in a hurry somewhere so I didn’t want to stop you.”

“I was looking for Master Leon! I was at the door and I wanted to get my gear, but the door was locked!”

“Well you should have waited.” Elliot said knowing he was irritating her. He loved doing that to her.

“It’s never been locked before! How was I supposed to know you were going to unlock it?”

“We didn’t want the riders to see the course before the contest, so we locked up all the gear.”

“I wasn’t informed!” Kyla yelled dropping her gear.

She got down and picked it up, holding it all in a mess.

“Sorry. You snooze you loose.” Elliot said happily.

Kyla smacked him on the shoulder, knowing he was trying to get her steamed up. She wouldn’t let him do that this time; she needed to stay calm and focused. She stalked away from him then, trying to show her anger towards him.

“Wait.” Elliot said.

Kyla turned around, ready for what stupid things he had to say.

“That’s mine.” He said pointing to the riding gear in her hands.

She looked at the gear she had and saw his name on the saddle. She looked at the gear he had and saw her name on the saddle.

“Here.” Kyla said shoving the gear in Elliot’s hands and taking hers. She turned around, knowing he was having a blast with this. She hurried to Raymond, her beautiful forest green dragon. She moved her hand gently across the smooth scales as she talked to the dragon.

“Are you ready Raymond?” Kyla asked the dragon, gearing her up.

The dragon gave a high pitched noise showing she was ready. When Kyla was done she saw Elliot gearing up his own blood red dragon. He looked at her but she quickly turned, getting onto her dragon. Raymond gave a pleasing sound, letting Kyla know she was comfortable.

Elliot was on his dragon now, and Kyla knew he was looking at her. She was going to beat him this time; she had the best dragon in the academy.

“We’re going to beat Elliot and Felin this time. We’re going to prove that you’re the best dragon in all Fendin.” Kyla said petting her dragon.

Leon started to announce the dragon riders then, speaking over all the commotion of the crowd.

“We have five wonderful riders this time, all willing to participate in the annual dragon riding contest. Each will go through the course we have laid out for them, doing the best they can. This year we have decided to not let them see the course, giving them a bigger challenge since they are of age. They will go one by one, starting with the jail warden’s son, Dantay Cordelain.”

Everyone gave loud cheers. Kyla looked over to where Dantay and his dragon were waiting, ready to go at the gun. She looked back to Leon, as the crowd quieted down.

“Next will be the healing master’s granddaughter, Wisla Bough.”

Everyone gave bigger cheers for her than they did for Dantay, but Kyla saw that Dantay didn’t look discouraged.
“Next will be Ao Primrose, our dragon trainer’s son.”

He got the biggest cheer so far. Kyla saw Wisla was petting her dragon, looking a little discouraged.

“After Ao will go my son, Elliot, the winner of last year’s contest.”

He got the biggest cheer, and Kyla saw that Elliot was showing off just to annoy her. She turned back to Leon, trying to show she didn’t care.

“And finally will go Kyla, who came close last year, tying with Ao.”

Kyla got a quiet cheer, for none of the town knew her very well. She was a trouble maker, and not liked by most, but she was a good rider, and they all knew that. She didn’t let that get to her, as she needed to stay focused for Raymond’s sake. Kyla had asked to be last, for she wanted to see how high the bar would be raised for her. She wanted to know exactly how well she’d have to do in order to win.

“And now, at the sound of the gun, Dantay will take off and go through the course. One… Two… Three!”

The gun sounded then, sending Dantay and his dragon flying. They dove down underneath the clouds. Kyla couldn’t see, and she saw that Ao was trying to take a peek. She rolled her eyes and waited.

It was a while before Dantay came up. Kyla wondered how tough it was, as Dantay came up looking worn out from the flight. She thought about how dangerous it was going to be. But she wasn’t going to let that get to her. But Kyla couldn’t fight how much she wanted to know what was coming up though. Elliot seemed to look completely calm and he didn’t look like he cared what was up ahead. He just sat back and waited for his turn. Kyla knew he was trying to annoy her again, but she let that go. She looked to Leon, as he would announce Dantay’s time.

“Dantay and his dragon, Flestin, got a time of three minutes and seventeen seconds!” The crowd roared with excitement. That was faster than the time Kyla had got last year.

When Dantay’s time was announced Kyla saw a flicker of fear in Elliot’s eyes. She gave an evil like smile as she knew that Kyle was worrying. She calmed down then, knowing that Elliot wasn’t doing as great as he appeared.

“One… Two… Three!” The gun sounded again and Wisla shot off the ground. She dove under the clouds, facing whatever was down there.

Kyla couldn’t worry about the times now, she needed to focus.

A short time passed when Wisla came back up, she was bleeding a little on her right arm, but no serious damage. She went up to Leon, and awaited her time.

“Wisla and her dragon, Heila, have a time of three minutes and thirty seconds!”

The crowd cheered, but Wisla kicked her foot on the ground and stalked off. Kyla couldn’t help but feel happy, one opponent down, and two to go. She just had to beat Dantay’s time and she’d be all set.

Kyla heard a bang and the gun sounded again. Ao took off without delay and dove into the clouds like the others. Kyla waited not too long for him to re-appear. He came back with no marks and looked the same as he did when he left. He dismounted his dragon and presented himself to Leon.

“Ao and his dragon, Kane, have a time of three minutes!”

Kyla saw the excitement on his face and he smiled to the crowd. There was a very loud roar from the crowd, and Dantay looked sad. Kyla saw Dantay go into the crowd, not wanting to be around Ao. It took a while for the crowd to calm, but when they did Leon counted and shot the gun. Elliot and Felin took off, not wasting any time. Kyla saw how Elliot instantly became focused on riding, and lost all other thoughts. She secretly admired how he could keep his calm that way; she was never able to do that. She shook her head, not wanting to think about that now; she needed to focus because she was next. Not long after Elliot disappeared did her re-appear and land on the grass field. He dismounted his dragon and ran to Leon to know his time.

“Elliot and his dragon, Felin, have a time of,” He gave a pause. “Two minutes and thirty seconds!”

The crowd gave a deafening roar as they cheered for Elliot and his dragon. Elliot gave a great smile as he thanked his father. He looked to Kyla, but she turned away not wanting to see what face he had in store for her. She focused on taking off as soon as she heard the gun.

“One… Two… Three!”

The gun sounded and Kyla took off. She told Raymond to go down into the clouds. Raymond obeyed and dove down. As soon as Kyla was under she saw nothing.

“What is this?” She said.

Just then she was hit by an arrow. She turned to where it came from and saw that there was a man standing on a floating rock, readying another arrow for her. She took no time in sending the man flying off the rock by telling Raymond to kick him. Kyla flew forward, ready for more. She needed to find a bell and ring it. That was what they had to do every year. She searched with Raymond for the bell, but with no luck. As she started panicking she saw a small glint of light not too far away. Kyla flew as fast as she could, reached her uninjured arm out for the bell, and rang it.

Kyla heard a loud ring and thought it was over. She needed to get back now, as fast as she could. She flew fast through the clouds. She was almost there when she was hit by another arrow. This time it hit her chest and she fell off Raymond. Kyla fell through the air, knowing this was the end; she’d lost both her life and the contest. She fell on something hard and realized it was Raymond. Raymond had come to save her and was flying up through the clouds.

Kyla appeared out of the clouds and Raymond gently landed, letting some doctors take Kyla off. Kyla was wincing in pain and didn’t notice that Elliot was near, looking worried. Kyla was taken to a bed near the area. They treated her as she listened for her time.

“Kyla and her dragon, Raymond, have a time of four minutes.” Leon said. The crowd made no noise, awaiting something more. “She was injured, and would have made it back sooner. So we have decided to allow her thirty seconds more. Her time is three minutes and thirty seconds!”

The crowd roared with joy, even though she had not won, they were glad she made it out alive. Kyla was unhappy she had lost, but she lived, and that was all that mattered. She winced as they pulled out the arrow from her chest. She opened her eyes and saw Elliot walking up to her. He knelt beside her and smiled.

“Although you didn’t beat me, you did pretty well.”

Kyla could see the worry hidden behind that smile. She grabbed his shirt and pulled his face to hers. Kyla kissed him then, ignoring the doctors’ yelling.


(Writer's note: This whole story was based off of a little 2,500 word story I made/am making for a writing contest at my local library. This chapter was basically the whole story that I've got for the contest. I'll post the story for the contest later, although you don't have to read it. It'll just have the names changed and a few little details changed that couldn't fit. Although if you do happen to read it, PLEASE let me know your honest opinion on it and let me know if and where any typos are. You can do the same with the last chapter of this story too though, so you don't have to read the other one if you don't want to. )

 

[blue-eyes]

I loved the whole thing. It was amazing! I am glad you wrote this for us!

 

[Chilfo Freeze]

This short story was awesome! I loved the dance/ball that they had - it was definitely a cute addition! Very well done, Rainy.

 

[*M i d n a*]

Pretty neat story, Rainy. I loved it. <3 There were a few minor mistakes but none that really could hurt the flow of the story much. Here's an example: She ran passed the towns people, almost running down an old man and his cat. (The word you want is past, but I can see how one could easily confuse the words, I did it once I believe. Also, towns should be town's? lol )

I like the ending as well, it wasn't really kind of surprising to me because I had read throughout the story about how Elliot was always teasing her and giving her a hard time. I knew something like that was gonna happen, you know, with the two of them actually ending together. I am glad she lived, which is always good. She may have lost the race but she came out alive to tell the tale, and as you know, there is always another time in which she can try again. Excellent job, Rainy. You're improving much in your writing. ~Gobligotchi