The dragon took a deep breath, let it out in a huff and said rather plainly, “I’ve come to Oescienne for one purpose: to see how good you are at fighting and defending yourself and I don’t have all day to do it.”
Jaax seemed a little irritated, Jahrra thought. Perhaps he was still angry about yesterday, or maybe he hadn’t slept well. She didn’t really care. All she cared about was being woken up so early. Fighting and defending myself? What on Ethoes is he talking about? I must still be dreaming. Jahrra pondered sleepily as the cool air enticed her to stay right where she was.
“I’ll not ask you again!” demanded Jaax’s grumpy voice, shattering all hopes of this all being a dream. Not a dream, a nightmare.
Jahrra tempted herself with the idea of staying in bed just to spite him, but she didn’t want to see what would happen if she did. He was bad enough in his normal, non-agitated mood. She got up and dressed quickly, not wanting to anger him further.
“Good morning, Jahrra,” Hroombra greeted as she shuffled into the main room of the Ruin. “Are you excited about your new lessons?”
Hroombra sounded a little guilty, and Jahrra gazed at him through half closed eyes and said, “New lessons? Huh? What’s going on?”
She was too tired to be annoyed that she hadn’t been told about this sooner, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
“We discussed it last night and decided that it would be best if you took part in some extra-curricular activities. I know you think going on adventures with Gieaun and Scede is enough, but I think this will be better for you. We’ve even found you two trainers who are excellent in teaching swordsmanship, archery and advanced riding skills. I’m sorry, I did mean to warn you in advance, but Jaax insisted you start right away.”
Of course he did, Jahrra thought heatedly as she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes, attempting to drive away the sleep, only Jaax would think up ways to make me miserable.
She grabbed something for breakfast and made her way to the door, braiding up her hair while she held a biscuit in her mouth. She was still confused by this sudden change in her daily life, but she was curious nonetheless. She found Jaax standing in the great field, looking towards the north, towards the path that led to the old castle.
Jahrra tied off her long braid and took the biscuit out of her mouth.
“Should I go and get Phrym?” she asked, not caring if she sounded dumb.
Jaax just turned his head to the side and nodded once, slowly returning his gaze to where it had been before.
I’ll never understand that dragon, Jahrra thought as she traipsed through the cold, wet grass. Waking before sunrise and signing me up for some defense lessons without telling me.
Jahrra’s pants were soaked up to her knees by the time she reached Phrym’s stable, but she didn’t care, they would dry when the sun came up. Hours from now, she thought sarcastically. Phrym poked his head out over the gate, wondering what could be making so much racket this early in the morning. When he saw that it was Jahrra, he gave a happy whinny. Jahrra couldn’t help but smile back at Phrym’s cheerfulness. If only she had the same positive attitude about this whole strange morning.
“I brought you an apple as a peace offering for getting you up so early,” she said as she fed him the fruit.
Phrym didn’t seem to mind at all that Jahrra had awoken him early; he was just glad to get the apple. Jahrra quickly saddled him and cantered over to where Jaax stood. She pulled Phrym to a stop just behind the dragon’s shoulder and waited. He still stared off into the woods, but Jahrra waited for him to speak first.
“Are we ready to go?” he asked sardonically, returning his gaze to her face.
Jahrra responded with the same tone, “Phrym and I are ready. I don’t know about you.”
Jaax gave her an annoyed look and then started off, Jahrra and Phrym keeping their distance behind him.
“So, where exactly are we going then?” she asked through a yawn once they reached the main road.
“Somewhere where I can test what skills you have, or lack thereof.”
Jahrra ignored Jaax’s last comment and wondered why they couldn’t just stay where they were, but she wasn’t about to question him further while he was in his foul mood. They walked down the well-worn road for several more minutes. Jahrra thought the trip would’ve been more pleasant if there had been conversation, but she couldn’t imagine a pleasant conversation with Jaax.
Instead of starting a discussion that would more than likely end in an argument, Jahrra passed the time by listening to the sounds around her and taking in the early morning grandeur. The birds were starting to sing and the owls were heading off to bed, and the smaller animals were searching noisily in their morning breakfast hunt. The sky was no longer solid ink but the washed-out blue and grey of the approaching dawn. Jahrra breathed in the cold air as the warmth of the sun’s first golden rays touched her face.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Jaax stopped walking and turned his head to talk to Jahrra.
“We’ll stop here. This looks like a nice, flat open space.”
The great dragon stepped off of the road, merely a small path to him, and started heading west through the new grass that was still quite short. Jahrra sighed and led Phrym after him. I can’t wait until this is over, she thought to herself. A ring of tall eucalyptus trees decorated the furthest edge of the field, and Jahrra could see beyond the rim of the bluff just beyond. A sliver of the distant blue ocean and taupe-hued dunes, glowing brilliantly in the morning’s golden sunlight, were visible between the trees.
Jaax’s voice finally interrupted Jahrra’s thoughts, “Shall we continue?”
“What?” Jahrra said, not realizing she’d stopped to ponder the scene before her.
“I want to be done with this as much as you do, so it would help if you paid attention.”
Jahrra turned pink. Stupid dragon! He shouldn’t be allowed to be so rude all the time. She clicked Phrym forward to catch up with the dragon, now walking towards the middle of the large field. Jaax stopped and began to gaze lazily at his surroundings, surveying the open space the way a deer might contemplate an unknown meadow. Jahrra just sat atop Phrym, who began to paw at the ground, and waited for her next order. She let out an obvious sigh, hoping that it would coax Jaax into speaking, and shifted in the saddle, causing the leather to squeak in protest. For someone who’s in such a hurry, he sure is taking his time, she thought as she crossed her arms in vexation.
It seemed a full five minutes before Jaax finally spoke.
“Alright, I guess the first logical thing to do would be to see how you handle yourself on a horse, since you’re already prepared for it,” he said, looking Jahrra and Phrym up and down in a bored fashion.
“What would you like us to do?” Jahrra asked composedly.
She had no idea what Jaax wanted her to do with Phrym, but she figured it couldn’t be too difficult. She’d become quite a good rider since she began her lessons with Gieaun and Scede, and Phrym trusted her completely.
“Take him to the edge of that small grove of trees and back.” Jaax nodded to a few young eucalyptus saplings growing away from the main wood. “If you know any maneuvers or other “tricks”, go ahead and show them to me.”
Jahrra rolled her eyes and clicked at Phrym, bringing him into a sudden canter. The semequin easily covered the distance in a short time and soon Jahrra was weaving him in and out of the trees as she ducked and swerved adeptly from stray branches and limbs. She quickly turned Phrym, keeping her balance as he jumped over three fallen logs on their way back to Jaax. Jahrra was tempted to keep riding back to the Ruin, but instead she pulled her tall semequin to a sudden stop, causing foraging birds to scatter raucously and forcing a large cloud of dust to rise up around them.