Shadow's Rising {Wing 1} Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day Jarid was cleaning the arena for the upcoming event. He had to stay late to get it all done, but he didn’t mind. It was a great opportunity to train in a proper arena when nobody was around.

As he swept the arena to the beat of one of his favorite songs, he stayed in his fighting stance and fought off imaginary opponents who were attempting to prevent him from completing his work. This was his time to practice proper form while the music helped with his rhythm.

The music came from two small beads that fit snugly into his ears. They were attached by metal strings to a small metal box with a glass screen. The screen lit up and let him choose songs from bands from beyond this world or who had passed away long ago.

This magical device was apparently very common among the nobility. It was made in a mythical place called the Magic City which was destroyed in a calamity long before Jarid was born.

The music box was a gift from Simon after he completed his first usable plow. It was the only gift Jarid could remember ever receiving from his father and he cherished it more than gold.

When asked about the gift, Simon had dismissed it, saying that one of his noble clients didn’t want to pay for the repair of his horseshoes. So, the noble gave him one of his extra music boxes before sarcastically commenting that he should be grateful to receive something that belonged to nobility.

Jarid frowned at the thought as he paused his work. He felt the presence of someone behind him and narrowed his eyes. He should be the only one out here this late.

Causally he turned off his music and put the earbuds in his pocket. Then he quickly tossed the broom aside and spun around to face the stranger while sinking into his fighting stance.

“Oh. Sorry to have startled you,” a feminine voice replied.

Jarid’s eyes widened in surprise at the intruder. It was a girl about the same age as himself. She had a very athletic build and was about his height with short black hair tied up with a string behind her. She was wearing a training uniform that was similar to the ones the nobles used. Jarid thought he recognized her from somewhere too.

“I came out here to train for a while by myself and stopped to watch you training. Or was it cleaning? Anyway, I came over to ask if you were going to participate in the recruiting contest for Dragon Rider Academy tomorrow.”

Now he remembered her! Jarid had seen her standing behind one of the important looking people from Dragon Rider Academy. This meant she was definitely a noble, and an important one at that.

“Sorry for jumping like that. Please excuse my rudeness, miss,” Jarid apologized sheepishly as he bowed respectfully.

“To answer your question, my name is Jarid, and I am definitely going to be trying out next week.”

The girl laughed. But it wasn’t the demeaning and sarcastic laugh he had come to expect from nobility, but a genuine, if somewhat girlish, giggle.

“Sorry to inform you, but the trials actually start tomorrow. And don’t bother with the formalities. I’m Airel by the way.”

Airel stuck out her hand for him to shake. Jarid shook it, looking confused. Most noble girls would have curtsied or had him kiss their hand if they felt like humiliating him, but she was more respectful to him than even the other girls from the village. Even so, Jarid was more confused by what she had just told him.

“What do you mean they start tomorrow? Every other year they held it on the first day of autumn.” Jarid stopped himself, wondering anxiously if Airel might take his comment as questioning the decisions of nobility.

“I meant no disrespect. This is just a few days earlier than I expected so I’m a bit confused,” he explained awkwardly.

Airel nodded. “Yes. Autumn is the normal time, but the instructors have a tight schedule this year and can’t afford to wait. They told everyone at the meeting yesterday, but I guess you weren’t there?”

Jarid looked down, embarrassed. “I’m not a noble so I’m not included in those meetings.”

Airel looked surprised. “I suppose I could have guessed from your clothes, but you seem quite refined for a common boy. Did someone teach you noble etiquette?”

“My father has sold things to nobles before, and I admire the nobility so much I copied their manners as best I could.”

Jarid hated lying, but he couldn’t exactly tell her that he had learned noble etiquette from the memories of a dying dragon princess. He hoped that complimenting the nobility would help her gloss over his lame excuse. Thankfully, it seemed to work as Airel continued without missing a beat.

“That will be helpful since noble etiquette is expected at the academy. However, the academy itself is a meritocracy. Your family and rank mean little there. All that matters is your magic, intellect, and skill in battle.” Then she smirked at him. “And from what I could tell, you’re more than qualified in the fighting department.”

Jarid was about to ask what a girl would know about fighting, but he held his tongue. After she treated him as an equal, despite her superior noble status, he had no right to discriminate because she was a girl. Then Airel took on a thoughtful expression.

“Hmmm. How about this? I’ll register you for this year’s competition. That way you won’t need to worry about getting a noble’s permission. All you’ll have to do is show up at the arena on time. What’s your full name?”

“Oh, um, Jarid,” Jarid replied, a little dumfounded. He had no idea that you needed a noble’s permission to even attend the competition. That probably explained why no commoner had ever even attempted the competition before.

This girl, Airel, was unlike any noble Jarid had ever met. She was helping him without demanding compensation or groveling from him. She didn’t even give the work of registering him a second thought. If what she was saying was true, then this might end up being his only chance. He couldn’t imagine any other noble granting him permission to attend.

“Yes... but Jarid... who?” Airel asked with a hint of annoyance.

“Oh, uh. Jarid Drakoulis,” Jarid stammered as he came back to himself. He had been so stunned that he completely missed her asking for his full name.

“That’s an interesting name,” Airel commented as she wrote it down on a small notepad.

Jarid smiled proudly and thanked her for the compliment. Most families had names passed down for generations and Simon had once told him that an ancient member of their family had slayed a wild dragon. He was granted the honor of changing his name to Drakoulis for this feat, and it had been that way ever since. Though he was sorry about the dragon it still amazed him that his father’s ancestor accomplished such a feat.

“Sorry, Airel, but you don’t seem like any noble I’ve ever met. I thought nobles wouldn’t get near a dirty peasant like me. Yet you…”

“Ah. Don’t worry about it. There are many nobles who treat their peasants as no less human than themselves. I’m a bit of an oddity among noble girls though. Unlike them, I actually enjoy getting my hands dirty. Besides, I don’t think any ordinary peasant could use martial arts like that either, so we're even.”

Jarid raised his hand to protest but stopped realising she was right.

“Well, I think I’ll hold off on my training for tonight. I’ll see you at the competition. Remember It starts at three thirty so don’t be late or I’ll find you and kick your butt myself.”

She walked out of the arena waving goodbye.

Jarid waved back, but he was still lost in thought.

Not only did she treat me as an equal, but she also said she’d kick my butt if he missed the trial. I wonder if she trained herself too. She seems like the type to do that. Even if her family gave her a tutor, I could tell she didn’t get those muscles from just watching others fight. She must train almost as much as me.

Man, was I lucky. If she hadn’t shown up, I would have missed the trial altogether, not to mention signing up for it. I doubt I’ll ever meet a noble like that again. I’m not about to let the chance slip by!

Jarid quickly finished his work and headed home. Unfortunately, it was too late to see Shadow that night, so he promised himself he would make sure to visit in the morning.

Simon was just waking up when Jarid raced out the door the next day.

“Breakfast is on the table, father. I’ll see you in a little while.”

Simon grunted his acknowledgement on his way to the kitchen.

The morning air was crisp, and the sun was just about to rise. Shadow had never been a morning dragon but that didn’t matter right now. He had no idea what happened if he got accepted into the academy. What if they took him right on the spot and he didn’t have a chance to say goodbye?

He found Shadow sleeping in the soft grass at the back of the valley and threw a rock against his side to wake him up. He’d once tried jumping on his friend’s back to wake him and the resulting bruises from being flung across the clearing made him realize it wasn’t the best idea.

“Come on sleepy head! I only have a little while before I head into town.”

“Urrrgh.” Shadow groaned as he rolled over, placing his talons over his ears. “Just a few more minutes Jarid.”

“Get up lard tail. This might be the last time I get to see you so hurry up.”

That sure got his attention. Shadow scrambled to get up and stumbled as he whirled around, still half asleep.

“What do you mean it might be the last time I see you?” He asked anxiously. “I thought you said the assessment wasn’t going to be for another week!”

Jarid nodded. “Yeah, but then I met one of the people who came with the scouts from the academy. She said they were doing it early this year.”

He could tell Shadow was upset even as he rubbed his eyes to clear them. They now had even less time left with each other. Jarid walked up and put his arm around the dragon’s neck.

“Don’t worry. I don’t know if they’ll take me today. We might still have some time before I go.” Shadow took a deep breath and shook himself.

“Yeah. Well, either way, you’d better win or I’ll tease you about it for the rest of your life. When you get back, we’ll go on a long flight together. I doesn’t matter whether it’s tomorrow or years from now. How long we are separated will never change the fact that we will always be brothers. No matter what.”

Jarid smiled and hugged him tightly. “No matter what.”

Jarid returned home to find Simon packing everything for the trip to town. He helped Simon finish then hopped in the cart.

When they arrived at the forge Simon went inside to get the fire going while Jarid unloaded the tools. After readying everything Jarid nervously approached his father.

“Father? I would like to finish early this afternoon. Could I-”

“Hmmm? Are you slacking off boy?” Simon asked gruffly as Jarid trembled before him.

“Do you think I’ll just let you run off to do who knows what while I manage the forge all by myself?! Hmmm?!”

“No father.”

“Well?! What is so important that you would disrespect your own father by even asking a question like that?”

Jarid’s hands were covered in a cold sweat as he tried not to flinch with each word. He still hated lying. Even to his father. So instead, he decided to tell him part of the truth.

“I… I met a girl at the arena the other night.”

Simon arched his eyebrows.

“And here I thought you’d never man up,” he muttered.

“Well? Who is her father? I hope you two aren’t meeting up to go frolicking in the woods.”

Jarid quickly held up his hands to halt the notion.

“No, no. I’d never do anything like that! We were just…”

Jarid quickly glanced around and noticed the half-finished knife on a nearby table.

“I was just going to show her how to make a knife! Her father is a butcher, and they were passing through. She was curious, so I thought I’d show her a bit. But she said they were leaving in the evening, so I was hoping to show her before she left.”

Jarid could feel his stomach doing flip flops under his father’s harsh gaze. Simon narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Then he let out a small sigh.

“You had better get all those utensils polished and horseshoes cleaned before you go. And you’re not stepping one foot out of this forge until I’m satisfied!”

Jarid tried to keep himself from collapsing with relief as he nodded. “Yes sir!”

Jarid worked hard and was able to finish with time to spare. After leaving the forge, Jarid put on his best boots and training clothes, which he had hidden in the cart that morning, before making his way to the arena.

As the coliseum-like structure came into view, Jarid saw a line of rich looking carriages outside and a small crowd near the entrance.

This was it. The Dragon Rider Academy entrance trial was just ahead of him. If he passed, then his dream of becoming a dragon rider had a chance of becoming real! Then he and Shadow wouldn’t have to be afraid of others hunting them down as monsters. They’d be heroes!