The Dragon Rider's Curse

The Professor and Trainer

The man drew closer to me invading my space, not that there was much space in this room. I backed up until I hit the desk and fell backward into the seat. He moved over to the bed and sat down opposite me. If he was any closer his knees would be bracketing me in. I concentrated on my breathing.

"My name is Dominic." He was leaning forward, his forearms on his thighs and hands clasped in the space between his knees almost close enough to touch my knees. I shifted backward slightly.

"You're named after the God of night?" I asked before I could think better of it.

"Ironically, I am sure. I've got orders regarding you." Dominic ran his hand through his dark hair looking at me with those steel colored eyes, as if he could see right through me and my costume to my soul beneath. "You are to enter the trainee program. This is unprecedented to have someone with no background and no sponsorship to be placed in the trainee program. But I have orders. You will have one week to learn what the other trainees know from birth and spent the last year as First Turn, filling any gaps. You have a tutor for your classes. He will use the week to catch you up to speed and a tutor for the sword and bow so you don't die in practice with the other trainees after the week." He paused here to give me a long look up and down. "Personally I don't think you will last the week. But that's it, you have a week to get it right and enter into the trainee program as it starts in only a week. Someone will be here probably predawn to get the girls and take them to the old barracks and your tutor will be in the library. You have to be there before the third bell. Do not be late!" Dominic stood up so fast I flinched away knocking into the desk so hard it nearly toppled the lantern. Dominic paused and studied me a moment, then shook his head and headed for the door.

"Th-Thank you." I stammered as he shut the door.

The twins were playing in the wooden tub still dressed in the many layers we wear in the fall and winter. I pulled off their soggy clothes and found soaps bars and liquid. I was puzzled but managed to get them washed and scrubbed well enough. They were small for 7 year olds, malnourishment will do that to a child. But one of the bottles made Alice's hair easy to brush with the comb by the mirror and braid and knot it before I dressed them in some cotton shifts from the bottom of the pack. The shifts were dirty but dry. They ate some food from the pack and went to bed. Then I washed all their clothes and hung them up to dry along with some of my best clothes so I would at least be clean tomorrow. I then took a bath having to drain it several times. My hair was poop brown but I had thought it was lighter when I was younger. I used the soaps and oil for combing my long hair and received a shock as I brushed the ends. It wasn't just light my hair was platinum. Not blonde or the grey of old age but a silky silver platinum color. It has been so long since it was so clean. The best I had ever gotten in the snow or rain was light brown. It was also much longer than I knew once I had it all combed out. I stood to braid it having to untangle it at the bottom as I went. In a braid it was to my knees. I was going to have to cut it... Tomorrow. I climbed into bed with the twins and they snuggled closer in their sleep as I drifted off.

I was woken the next morning by sharp knocking on the door. Outside was a slightly older woman, maybe mid fifties in a pale yellow robe. "Good morning!" She said far too cheerfully for so early. "My name is Gertrude, but most of the kids call me Gertty. I am here for two little ones to go to Wonderland." At my blank look she elaborated. "It's what a child ended up calling the barracks a while back and the name stuck."

"Oh they aren't dressed and haven't eaten yet. I am sorry we slept later than normal." I went to wake them up and introduce Gertty.

"We can have them eat at wonderland if you don't mind. You are welcome too of course and we have hot pancakes, waffles, sausage, juice, fruit, and I think cook made some sort of whipped crepe concoction for dessert." The twins heard this and were dressed faster than I could blink. I chuckled and dressed in the bathroom before following Gertty down stairs and out in the courtyard. The grounds were mostly gravel with some gardens and grassy land placed strategically. But the pathways, wide enough for a cart, were colored cobblestone starting with all different colors in a central circle not far from the dorm's courtyard. The one we were on now was an artistic mix of yellow and bright blue. The path split and we continued on the now solid yellow while the blue went to the South.

Wonderland was an old barracks building but it looked nothing like an old bland stone structure now. The walls were bright white stone with red roofing making it look like a fairy tale castle. Around the bottom of the building adult height and shorter were paintings of flowers, animals, fruit trees, a prince on a unicorn and a couple dragons dotted here and there, flying or curled up resting on the ground. Most dragons were a solid color but sometimes a dragon could have two sometimes three colors all together. Whoever painted this seemed to take liberties painting some dragons with five or six colors.

"The kids here have painted all these. Alex and Alice can add to it as well if they want to sometime." Gretty said as we walked into a blend of organized chaos. Kids and pastel-robed adults were calling and moving, the kids mostly ran indifferent to the calls not to run. They were all heading through a doorway into a small mess hall. Gertty sat us at a small table off to the side and the twins were glued to either side of me trying to make themselves smaller. They perked right up when Gretty brought back a platter of all the foods she had named along with other as well and plates and cups. Gretty talked about all the things they do at wonderland with the kids from school and food to learning a trade. She also said she would stay with the twins all day long and every day after until they felt comfortable. I was feeling better about leaving them there, atleast for now when a bell rang through the grounds.

"What bell was that?" I asked, panicked.

"Second bell sweetie. You meet your tutor at the third bell I think is what the message said. However if you feel anxious you can leave any time and give yourself time to get there." Gertty stood up and so the did the twins.

"We'll be ok Rose." Alex said giving my hand a squeeze.

"And you can drop by anytime you want, though Trainees often don't have extra time." Gertty said. At the front door Gertty reached into a basket and pulled out a hunter green crystal. "We use these for the older kids doing errands but it will help you find the library. Just follow the green cobblestones." Gertty handed me the crystal and pulled open the large front door and I gasped. What had been plain yellow pathway as we walked here, was now yellow dotted with hunter-green cobblestones. I set the crystal down on a side table and the pathway went back to yellow again. I grabbed the crystal and the hunter-green came back. It was a sparser color than the yellow so you could tell this was a yellow pathway but gave a clear direction.

"Thank you." I said to Gertty and hugged the twins and kissed them goodbye. While they wished me luck. I left wonderland and followed the green cobblestones to a circular cobblestone center where all the colors joined and mingled. There was more hunter-green stones here I followed to a path going West. The circular area where all the pathways converged was to the right of the dorms and right in front of the main building where trainees learned everything they needed to know about being a dragon rider. I think the back part opened into caves that dragons used as they were seen coming in and out of opening halfway up the mountain and then the same jewel colored dragon would appear gliding over an area behind this trainee building. I kept going around the trainee building to the west side of the grounds and found a massive rust stone building dotted with skinny arched windows. This must be the library as the green cobblestone path lead right to the door. I pushed open the carved rose wood door and breathed in the smell. It smelled like paper! Paper, and dust and leather and somehow like sunlight locked inside. I had never smelled anything as amazing as that. I took several deep gulps of the amazing air and nearly choked when someone spoke up from a hidden corner.

"Ahh you are an early riser. Excellent." A man maybe in his forties was hidden it turns out by stacks of books on an overloaded desk that looked like it was waiting for a leg to give out under the weight. "Let's get started. Please sit here and write your full name at the top of this sheet or paper. My name is professor Callum."

I sat down on a hard wooden chair and looked at the sheet of long paper with irregular edges bracketed by the stacks of books. A quill was sitting in an ink jar with a cloth covered in ink stains next to it. It knew my letters and most words. But there was big difference between teaching the kids by writing in the dirt or sand and holding a quill. But I guessed how it worked. The hollow shaft held ink while the cloth was for the first fast flow of ink? I tried it and it worked quite nice. Humm now for a full name. I didn't have a last name but every trainee here would be expected to have one. All trainees only come from noble families or sponsored by a noble and therefore given their last name. The painting of the prince on the unicorn on the walls of wonderland reminded me of a story my mother used to tell me about knight Casteel Malik. So I jotted down Rose Malik and before I could lift my quill off the paper fully Professor Callum whipped it out and read my name studying the untidy scrall.

"Your penmanship is atrocious. But legible. Rose Malik?" The professor looked at me for a long moment then murmured, "A silver rose." He seemed to come out of daze and handed me back the paper. The next few hours I was taking notes on the origin of Panthro kingdom, history of dragon riders and the nobles' families and histories. Next was a new stack of paper and math questions to gauge where I was with math. I did not have time to study math but was naturally good at it and the professor said it was adequate. Then lunch and then a magic class. I was excited about this but it turns out Professor Callum was only going to teach the basics of magic theory and cautionary tales.

"Upon entering the trainees first year, you along with all the trainees will be tested for mage power. We will only study the basics here." Professor Callum ended the tutoring and gave me some books I was to read tonight. In what time I had no clue but I stuffed them in a satchel he gave me. Then he led me out of the library and to a fenced in training yard behind yet another stone building. It had a shooting range with straw targets at varying distances. Obstacles were scattered over an open area and on the far side twirling a wooden sword and glaring at me was Dominic.