“Oh no! Jaax, I’m sorry!”
She dropped the branch and backed away, worried that he’d be furious. But the dragon merely shook his front foot as if to stop the stinging.
“Ha, don’t worry. That scale has been loose for weeks.”
The dragon’s scowling mood was suddenly gone, and in its place Jahrra could almost detect a hint of approval. “You did well. You caught me by surprise and actually made contact. Unfortunately, if I were truly an unfriendly dragon, you’d be dead by now, but we’ll worry about that later.”
He smiled and Jahrra felt her strained muscles ease a little.
“Jahrra, go pick up that scale you knocked off and bring it over here.”
The scale wasn’t hard to find. It glinted with the blue, green and gold that made up the hue of all of Jaax’s scales. Jahrra picked it up out of the grass and looked at it. It was heavier than she’d anticipated and fit nicely in the small center of her palm. If she didn’t know any better she would’ve said it was a glittering stone she happened upon in the field. After admiring it for awhile, Jahrra brought it back over to the waiting dragon.
“What will you do with it?” she asked as she dropped the small scale into Jaax’s opened paw.
“I’ll find a use for it,” he said. “Maybe the elves of the north can reattach it for me. Now, we’d better head to Aldehren, there is someone waiting to meet you.”
Jahrra was glad to see that Jaax was no longer as disagreeable as he’d been earlier that morning, and she was even starting to feel more relaxed and optimistic. Maybe the loose scale had been bothering him and she’d actually helped him by removing it. Whether that was the reason for his sudden easy mood or not, she didn’t care. She was just glad of the change.
Jaax watched as Jahrra went and collected Phrym from the edge of the clearing, his hard eyes dark with thought. She reminded him of someone he once knew, long ago, someone just as stubborn and just as unrelenting. It would be a long while yet, however, before the Tanaan dragon realized just how similar the two were.
For now, he needed to focus on her improvement. She had so much to learn. She had to become stronger, that was a must, and more flexible. Her reflexes needed improvement and her archery needed to be fine-tuned. She had to learn how to wield a sword, and although she rode quite well, she needed to become even better in the saddle. Perhaps she was too young to begin these brutal and trying lessons, but Jaax knew that it couldn’t be helped; the sooner she learned how to survive the unthinkable, the better.
Jaax shook himself like a horse shaking off a shiver of unease. This whole process of delaying his busy schedule to check in on Jahrra had been a thorn in his side, and his patience had been worn thin by it. It had also saddened him in a way. He had always meant to have a greater part in Jahrra’s life, that is, until other matters came up; matters outside of Oescienne that were so much more urgent than helping Hroombra raise a child. This in turn had angered him, for some of these issues could’ve been dealt with by someone else, and some of them, well, some of them Jaax hadn’t anticipated on happening so soon.
Oescienne may be resting peacefully on the other side of the great Elornn and Thorbet Mountains, but outside of the province it was a different story. Although the signs were not obvious, it was apparent that the world was growing restless. For several years now, the wandering tribes of Rhiim and eastern Felldreim had been joining together, creating bands of warring criminals, raiding and attacking isolated villages. What was more disturbing, Jaax thought ruefully, was fresh news of the Tyrant’s soldiers and mercenaries being spotted as far west as the Aandhoul Plain. Several years ago he’d heard of scouts and spies being spotted here and there, but now he was seeing troops of men on the move with his own eyes. Has Cierryon somehow found out about Jahrra? Could he know where she is?
The dragon squeezed his eyes shut, as if doing this would push the worries from his mind. He forced a blistering breath from his nostrils and opened them again with weariness. I must focus on Jahrra while I have the time to do so. I can think about everything else later. Including the dreams he had been having lately . . . Later, he reminded himself with determined vigor.
He looked over at the girl, now sitting patiently atop Phrym. He smiled and finally let his qualms melt away for now. He’d been impressed with the way she caught him off guard on her third attempt to attack him. Perhaps she isn’t hopeless after all.
He grinned more purposefully as he thought about her reaction to his crude derision the day before. Most children would fear him or, in the case of her friends, be in awe of him, but not Jahrra. He had written it off as a bad attitude, a lack of discipline on Hroombra’s part, but now that he gave it some genuine thought, he was starting to see that her will and her pride were much stronger than he’d previously believed. At least now I have one less thing to worry about, he mused, his anxiety dissolving a little. But now she has to learn how to use those assets against her foes, even though she won’t face them for some time . . . At least, he hoped she wouldn’t have to face them for some time.
The young dragon directed Jahrra to the road and on towards Aldehren. Jahrra led Phrym ahead of him without argument, and Jaax paused only long enough to watch them in the glow of early morning.
“Someday,” he whispered to his surroundings as the semequin and the girl moved out of earshot. “Someday, you can know the truth of what you are, Jahrra, but not now, not yet.”
-Chapter Eighteen-
The Elves of Dhonoara
The normally short trip down the Sloping Hill took longer than expected, what with Jahrra and Jaax stopping every now and then along the way to greet familiar faces. Jahrra couldn’t resist saying hello to the mailman, Mr. Dharedth, whom she hadn’t seen since she started riding Phrym to school.
“Jahrra! My how you’ve grown! You look a full foot taller than last time I saw you.” His kind eyes crinkled in amusement. “How old are you now?”
“Eleven,” Jahrra answered proudly.
“You don’t say . . .” the mailman mused. “She’s gonna be a tall one, that girl,” he added to Jaax. “Say . . .” Dharedth said, looking at the dragon more closely, “you don’t look like Master Hroombra. Jahrra, who’s your friend here?”
“Oh,” Jahrra said in surprise, forgetting that Jaax only ever visited her and Hroombra. “This is Jaax. He doesn’t visit often.”
“Huh, well it’s a pleasure to meet you. Jaax is it? I go by Dharedth. How do you do?” Dharedth didn’t seem intimidated by Jaax one bit, and Jahrra was glad of this. The mailman was used to seeing Hroombra, so the sight of a dragon wasn’t as shocking as it would’ve been to anybody else, she decided.
“I’m glad to meet you, and I’m well.” Jaax cast a firm glance at Jahrra before continuing in a rather diplomatic manner, “I wish we could stay and chat, but we have an important meeting in town.”
“Oh, I best be off now too. You two may have the day off, but we delivery folk don’t. Have a nice day.” He waved cheerily as he clicked his old horse on down the road.
“You too!” Jahrra called after the clattering mail cart. She stopped smiling when she turned and saw the look on Jaax’s face.
He spoke before she could give his serious gaze any more thought.