Didn't I mention before that climbing cliffs when your head is pounding is no fun?

So now I found myself trying to haul my own battered body up a pile of shifting, tumbling boulders, using only one arm, as the other was clutching at the dragon egg's smooth surface, trying not to let it fall. It was my only hope of getting a life with my family. But if I couldn't get out of here, there was no chance of life at all.

By now, night had fallen, and I wasn't even halfway up the rock pile. I wasn't even a quarter of the way up, in fact.

I sighed and slid back down the boulder pile on my behind. Climbing up with one arm was just too hard, and I would never make it at the rate I was going.

I lay back and glanced up at the stars shining down on me, casting their cold silver glow across the world above. Their light didn't reach down here, and I was lying in utter blackness. I closed my eyes. Maybe I should just sleep down here and climb again in the morning.

Something about the thought of sleeping down here with who- knows- what lurking in the shadows frightened me though, so I began to look around for a few things I would need for the long climb up.

First of all, I would need a basket or knapsack of some kind to put the egg in. I couldn't do what would inevitably be a several- day climb with only one arm. Second, I needed to find something to keep me warm at night. I was dressed in a worn tunic and trousers, which were ripped after my ordeal the day before. They were threadbare and their many holes and tears allowed the chill in. I couldn't survive long like this.

I would also need to find some source of water and food. I needed to drink and eat, and I felt that the cut on my forehead was becoming infected. I needed to wash it out somehow.

I had found a thin scrap of cloth, which I had tied around my head to stop the bleeding and keep out infection. But the blood was quickly seeping through, and pus was starting to leak out as well.

I began walking back the way I came, searching for everything I needed. I found some reasonably good pieces of fruit and some nuts that the herbalist and I had been to full to eat. I also found the remains of some pork the herbalist had probably thrown down here last night. It smelled fine, but it would need a little more cooking.

So then I began searching for wood and matches. I remembered that the herbalist had thought a packet of matches was empty, (though in reality it had been full,) so he'd made me throw it in the pit. I found these quickly enough, but there was no wood to be found. I guessed I'd have to make do with what I had on the rockpile.

Time passed by in a blur and by morning I had collected a large basket, a small bag of fruit and nuts, some berries from a tiny bush that had been knocked down by the rockslide, the box of matches, an old moldy blanket, a rope, four old, weathered wooden stakes, the pork, and a patched up old waterskin. All I needed to find now was water to fill the waterskin, which it was very unlikely that I would find any. So I decided to go as fast as I could up the slope and get the moisture I needed from the fruit and berries.

I packed the blanket into the basket first, then nestled the egg into it. I put in the nuts, berries, fruit, meat, and matches next, all surrounding the egg. Then I tied the stakes together with the rope and with the other end lashed them to the basket securely. Then, I tied the basket to my waist and began the climb.

I had to be very careful that the basket didn't tip, or all of my hastily collected belongings would spill out. So I was careful to take the easiest route, even if it would take longer.

I was reaching for a handhold high above my head when I felt something tugging at the basket. I looked behind me to see that the rope had gotten caught on a tree root sticking out of the pile. I tugged at it to try and get it free, but all that happened was that the rope snapped and the basket dropped onto a ledge about six feet below. I silently cursed my stupidity and began to carefully climb down.

When I finally reached the ledge I let out a huge sigh of relief. It was a fairly large boulder that jutted out of the pile with a small cave-in at the back. I grabbed the basket and checked to make sure everything was still there. It was, so I brought it into the cave.

As I sat in the semi-darkness, stroking the egg, I thought about what had just happened. I was lucky that the basket hadn't fallen all the way back down. I had climbed for hours and still wasn't even a fourth of the way up. Then, I put the egg down on the blanket and walked over to the basket.

I ate one or two pieces of fruit, crunched up a few nuts, and took a bite of the pork. Then I packed everything but the rope, the blanket, and the egg back into the basket. I carried the basket over to the tip of the ledge and dropped it. I watched sadly as all of my belongings fell down. I couldn't carry them all the way to the top- they would just slow me down.

Before I settled down to sleep for the night, I grabbed the blanket and wrapped the egg in it. I tied the blanket shut with the rope. In the morning, I would tie the egg to my back so I could carry it more easily.

I lay down, sighing. This had been a long, hard couple of days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next couple of days, I struggled up the boulder pile. I hadn't rested since the night I slept in the cave, so I was completely worn, but I had less than a fourth of the way to climb now.

The egg was getting heavy, and occasionally I had to stop on a narrow ledge and take off the makeshift harness. I would check its bonds, and then keep climbing, until finally, one day, I reached the top.

The sun seemed so bright, and felt so warm. I had never been so happy in my life. I shouted for joy and rolled in the grass and threw dirt into the air. I was grabbing the egg to hug it when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

I turned around slowly to see the herbalist. His expression was one of distaste and mild disgust. He sniffed the air only inches from my face.

"Where have you been?" he demanded shortly. "You smell awful."

"I..." I searched for an explanation. "I slipped in the mud and fell into the pit, sir. There was a rockslide a few days ago, and I climbed up the rockpile."

The old man looked me over. Then he spotted the egg. He peered at it closely, straining to see it better with his filmy, half- blind eyes.

"What is that?" he croaked, reaching for it. I snatched it back possessively before he could touch it. He glared at me.

"It's my... My lucky rock," I stammered. "It... It gave me... gave me luck... so I didn't die... in the pit." The old herbalist stared at it.

"Well," he wheezed, "time to put it down and get back to work."

He turned around and began to shuffle back to his hut.

"No."

He turned around disbelievingly. "What did you just say?"

"I said no." I lifted my nose in the air and clutched the egg tighter. "I won't put it down. And I'm not going to work for you anymore." The old man continued to stare at me, a fascinated sort of horror in his eyes.

He regained composure. "And who decided that?" he challenged softly.

I lifted my chin. "I did. No, this... this rock did." I said, holding up the egg so its smooth surface glittered in the sunlight. "This isn't any rock, sir. It's an egg. A dragon egg. And the creature that hatches out of it will be my companion. I'm going back to SkyHaven- to find my parents, my family, and my destiny- I was never meant to stay here, with you. I am sorry."

The old man chuckled softly. "There's no need to be sorry, young one. I always knew you would go back someday."

I stared at him. "You did?"

"Of course. You see, Kiera, I would have done no different."

I was confused. This was the first time he had ever called me by my first name. And what did he mean, he would have done no different?

The old man sighed. "I can see from your face you can't figure out why I said that. I regret not telling you this before. Kiera... I am your grandfather. I was once a dragon rider of SkyHaven, just as you long to be."

I stared, dumbfounded, at the old man who had just claimed to be my grandfather. "W-what?"

He nodded sagely. "I suggest you leave now. You are running out of daylight and," he added, nodding to the egg, "that little one seems close to hatching."

I smiled and ran over to him, hugging him in one swift movement. I grabbed up the egg and ran in the direction of the road.

Behind me, the old man smiled.

...........................................................................................................

More of a filler, really.

*Fillers already? o_o*

What do you think about the herbalist being her grandfather?! weird right?

So anyway, be on the lookout for ch 3!

Please vote, share, and comment!!!

-Silver