I had finally reached SkyHaven Dragon Rider's Academy.

It had been a long, hard journey on the road from my grandfather's house (I still wasn't used to calling him that). I had gone several days without food or water, and some nights I ended up sleeping out in the open. Once or twice a kind cart driver would give me a ride, and I would sleep for hours until they had reached their own destination and kicked me out. I had gotten lost several times, but I had, at last, reached my destination.

Above me, a huge arch made of marble glittered in the sunlight, welcoming me to SkyHaven. A path branched in all directions from my feet, and a mansion rose high up a few yards in front of me, the sign out front of it engraved with the words "SkyHaven House". The left branch of the path led to a huge stable yard, surrounded by stalls with gargantuan doors and stone walls, where the dragons undoubtedly lived. To the right were more buildings, these ones labeled, "Tack", "Hatchery", "Food Storage" and "Tool Shed". I looked on in awe. This was where I was meant to be, I was sure of it.

A pretty young woman came out of the house and saw me. She was dressed in a pristine SkyHaven riding jersey and black leggings. She looked with obvious interest at my clothes, and burst out laughing.

I looked down at myself and grimaced. I was still in my old, ripped tunic and trousers, covered in dung and dust, and clutching the dragon egg to my chest. I bowed my head, my face burning. I heard the woman's laughter stop.

"I'm sorry, child, for laughing at you. I just couldn't help myself! Come inside, you're in obvious need of a bath."

I looked up to see that she was smiling kindly at me, her arms open wide to show that she meant no harm. I took a step closer and she beckoned to me.

"Come in!" So, I did just that.

The inside of the SkyHaven House was just as grand as the outside. Gilded marble pillars carved with dragons wound their way up to the arched ceiling, which was decorated with swirling clouds and golden rays of sunshine. The floor was polished, honey- gold wood, and there was a long red carpet leading up to a front desk. The young woman ushered me towards it. "Don't be afraid, now," she coaxed.

The woman sitting behind the desk had short, artificial gray curls topping her head. Her face was pinched and irritable, and I instantly recognized her as someone not to be messed with.

"Well, Cynthia, what have you dragged in now?" the pinch-faced woman snapped. Cynthia smiled.

"I found her at the Archway. She was holding this." She took the gray egg from my arms and showed it to Pinch-Face. I grabbed it back, hugging it to my face as if I was a small child and it was a favorite stuffed animal. Cynthia smiled at me. "She's going to need lodgings, aren't you...?"

"Kiera." I said shortly.

Cynthia turned back to Pinch-Face. "Kiera will need lodgings. And I daresay you aspire to be a rider?" she asked me kindly. I nodded.

Pinch-Face's face became even pinchier. "Well how are you going to be paying for your lodgings, Miss Kiera?" she directed this sharp question at me. I shrugged hopelessly and looked to Cynthia. Her smile had faded and she looked at Pinch-Face with nothing short of contempt.

"Put it on my bill," she instructed shortly, and held out her hand to Pinch-Face.

Pinch-Face sighed and put a key in Cynthia's outstretched hand. "Your room is on the fourth floor, number four twenty-seven."

Cynthia smiled again. "Thank you, Jean." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the left side of the desk, where there was a short hallway ending in a door. She ushered me to the door and pressed a button that was on the wall next to the door. She turned to me.

"So," she said, nodding to the egg I held in my arms. "Where did you get that? My name's Cynthia, by the way." I nodded.

"I found it."

She looked surprised. "You just... Found it? Wow! It's hard to come by dragon eggs in the wild. Where did you come from?"

"I was given to the town herbalist when I was eight years old. I didn't show a bond with any of the young dragons here at SkyHaven. So my parents sent me to become a healer." I shrugged. Cynthia looked shocked.

"That's so sad!" she said, giving me a swift, one armed hug. I stood like a limp doll in her arms. Suddenly, there was a loud DING! and the door next to us slid open, revealing a tiny room lined with mirrors and golden lights.

I stepped in. "Wow! What is this thing?" I asked, taking in my new surroundings. Cynthia entered as well, looking amused.

"This is called an elevator."

"It's awfully pretty. But what's its purpose?" I asked. I couldn't think of any reason why this tiny room would be necessary.

Cynthia laughed. "You'll see." She pressed the button on the wall labeled with the number four and the door to the room shut. I instantly panicked. I ran to the door and tried to tug it open. I pushed, pulled, shoved, and even rammed myself into it. I didn't want to be trapped in this thing!

I suddenly felt Cynthia lay a soothing hand on my shoulder. "It's alright," she chuckled. "Elevators are supposed to do that." I calmed down a bit, but was still panicking inside.

The door of the elevator opened, revealing a hallway lined with doors. To the left, there was no wall, but there was a railing. I looked down over it and saw Pinch-Face, or Joan, as Cynthia called her, way below. I giggled, feeling a sudden urge to lean over and spit on her head. Cynthia pulled me back before that could happen. "Let's find your room," she muttered.

We walked along the hallway until we reached a door labeled Room 427. It was made of solid, rich dark brown wood and had a polished bronze doorknob. Cynthia inserted the key into the lock and the door swung open on oiled hinges.

Inside, the floors were carpeted with a plush cream-colored rug, and in the far corner there was a twin- sized bed covered in a thick blue comforter. There was a large arched window on the far wall covered with blue and silver drapes. Another door the same as the outside one, but without a label, stood on the left wall. It led to a small bathroom containing a washbasin, a bathtub, and a chamber pot. I could have leapt for joy- this place was all mine!

I turned to Cynthia with a huge grin on my face. I had never been so happy in my life! On the contrary, Cynthia was frowning deeply as she inspected the room, shaking her head. I frowned, too, tilting my head to the side.

"What's the matter, Cynthia?"

She pursed her lips. "Joan gave you one of the smallest rooms. I should have known." She walked over to the dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. She relaxed a bit and shut it.

"Well, the dresser has plenty of space for you to keep your clothes in, and you will be eating in the dining hall with the other riders, so no need to have a kitchenette," she told me. I frowned and looked down at myself.

"These are the only clothes I own," I told her quietly. She smiled.

"Well, we'll have to fix that. Next, we're going to get you some proper attire," Cynthia told me, then looked at my clothes again. "But... maybe we should clean you up a bit first."

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

After I had bathed, I came back into the main area of my room fully dressed. Cynthia was there with a new tunic and leggings for me, the tunic a shimmery blue and the leggings plain black. I thanked her and dressed quickly.

After I was dressed, Cynthia gave me yet another surprise- new shoes! They were just simple, plain black slippers, but they were the nicest shoes I'd ever owned.

As I was slipping them on, admiring how comfortable they were, Cynthia brought up the egg. "We should really get it to the hatchery, Kiera. I know you don't want to let go of it, but it needs to be in the right conditions for its last couple days. It's going to hatch soon, you know," she added. I nodded.

"Grandfather told me."

She looked surprised. "When did you meet your grandfather?" she asked, sitting down on my bed. "Didn't you say you've been living with an herbalist?"

I nodded. "The herbalist was my grandfather. He didn't tell me until the day I left."

She bit her lip. "I see." Then, she sat up a bit straighter, smiling. "Let's get that egg to the hatchery, and then do you want to meet my dragon?" I nodded vigorously, and she laughed.

"Okay, let's go."

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

After dropping the egg off at the hatchery with a nice man named Dennis, Cynthia and I ambled towards the stable yard. I was feeling very pleased with myself, because apparently I caused a pretty big fuss when I arrived. No one had seen anyone, particularly a child, arrive with a wild dragon egg for many years. I was getting a lot of attention, which wasn't my favorite thing in the whole world, but I liked causing a ruckus. Just a little bit.

We reached a stall with an iron plaque that was engraved with the name Breeze Cloud-Flight engraved on it. Cynthia opened the door and stepped inside, and I followed her.

The inside of the stall was larger than I expected. It had many caves and ledges carved into the walls, and above, a skylight bathed the room, as I began to think of it, in bright afternoon sunlight. Along one wall, a waterfall trickled down, ending in a large pool. Cynthia chuckled at my amazement.

"We try to re-create the dragon's habitat as best we can. That way, they're more comfortable. You see," she went on, "dragons are no ordinary animals. They're thinking, intelligent beings, just like us, so we treat them how we would want to be treated."

Just then, a large blue head poked out of a cave halfway up the towering wall. I saw sharp, intelligent green eyes inspect me, and then the dragon swooped down and landed next to us. It was twice Cynthia's height and was at least three times longer than she was tall.

"This is Breeze Cloud-Flight, or Breeze, for short," Cynthia said to me as she advanced towards her dragon. I watched in amazement as Breeze extended her neck to meet Cynthia, her nostrils flaring to catch her scent.

"Can she talk?" I asked tentatively.

"Of course she can," Cynthia laughed. "Only the person who a dragon is bonded with can communicate with them, though. So I am the only human able to hear her speak, and she, in return, is the only dragon who can speak to me."

Seeing me hanging back, Cynthia beckoned me over. "Come on. Come meet her!"

"Is- is it okay with her?" Breeze snorted and Cynthia's smile widened.

"Of course."

I walked over and put my hand tentatively between Breeze's nostrils, and the dragon closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. When she opened them again, I began to stroke the sky-blue scales on her neck. "Wow, Cynthia, she's magnificent," I breathed.

Cynthia laughed. "Breeze gives you her thanks."

I stopped stroking the dragon and backed up a bit, making a small bow to Breeze. "Thank you," I said sincerely. The dragon nudged me gently.

Smiling, I followed Cynthia back into the courtyard. That had been amazing. I couldn't wait until I found my dragon companion.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the direction of the hatchery, and a boy a little older than me came running towards us.

"A hatching," he panted as he reached us. "Miss Cynthia, Dennis sent me to get you. And her." he said, nodding in my direction.

Cynthia's eyes widened and she grabbed my hand, dashing towards the hatchery, dragging me. I tried to keep up, but found that I was better off just hanging limply. Cynthia was strong and was able to tow me over the path.

We reached the hatchery in a matter of seconds and were ushered inside by Dennis himself. This building was stone as well, but I didn't get the chance to look around because Dennis was now dragging Cynthia and me into another room.

This room was very small, hardly big enough for the three of us to stand in together. In the very middle was a stone pedestal holding a large, round, very familiar object that was shaking uncontrollably.

"My egg!" I breathed. I watched, spellbound, as a long crack appeared, fracturing the once perfect gray and green surface. More and more cracks appeared, and then, finally, it exploded.

Shards of eggshell went everywhere and knocked me, Cynthia, and Dennis to the ground. I was the first to get to my feet, and saw something I would never forget until my dying day.

A tiny dragon sat perched on the pedestal, looking bewildered but strong, shaking its head and staring about with piercing, bright blue eyes. It had dark, shining charcoal-gray scales and strangely bright green streaks under its eyes, along its body, and on its legs. Its leathery wings were the same bright green as the streaks.

Its gaze came to rest on me, and with a squeak of excitement, it launched itself off the pedestal at me, flapping its stubby wings to stay aloft. It crashed into my chest and caused me to topple over backwards again. As soon as it touched me, a single word flashed into my mind like lightning.

Companion.

I grabbed up the hatchling, which squealed with protest, and pressed it to my face. Dennis, who was struggling to his feet next to me, smiled.

"It looks like the little one's already found his human companion. What's his name?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"I don't know."

"Ask him," Dennis insisted, grinning like a madman.

What's your name? I asked with my thoughts. The little dragon squirmed in my arms.

I am Tempest. Tempest Thunder-Wings.

I smiled. "Tempest," I whispered.

Tempest.

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

Aaaaaaand boom! Kiera is now a Rider! woot woot!

This chapter was fun to write, I hope you all enjoy reading it :3

please vote, share, fan, and comment!

-Silver