I'm sitting in the hatching room with most of the others that came into the cave.

We'd been in here for a few hours waiting for our eggs to hatch. None of us wanted to leave for the simple fact that this was our Dragon and we would be there to see when he/she hatched. Well, I thought that anyway.

Then, to my amazement. She hatched.

It took a while but she finally managed to poke the top of the egg and look at me.

Going all fuzzy and warm inside I helped her hatch and hugged her close to me.

"I think I am going to name you... Flame." I decided.

She was the most beautiful Dragon I'd ever seen. Blood red scales and one scale thick gold around her eyes. She had gold claws and tail tips and had intelligent looking silver grey eyes.

"Looks like you got a fine example of a Fire dragon there." Raven said coming over.

I jumped and then looked at him. "A... Fire Dragon?"

"Yep. That's what I said."

"No ties to a water Dragon at all?" I asked.

Raven lent closer to Flame. "Nope. None at all. I think you'll find that you may perhaps have a rare pure fire Dragon in front of you. I'll go put that in the books."

When Raven had gone I looked at a now sleeping Flame. "I suppose going home now is out of the question."

Flame was to stay in the Hatchery for a couple days whilst she got stronger so I had more than enough time to write a letter to father.

Dear Father,

                     I have an Dragon! Yes, my very own. I've named her Flame. After her scales.

I crossed that out. Father would know straight away what she was.

Dear Father,
        
                      I hope you are doing well. I have a dragon, just like you said, I shouldn't of been worried. She's in the Hatchery getting stronger, beautiful as anything. Got a temper though so I've called her Flame. She is, unfortunately, a Fire Dragon.

I crossed that out throwing it in the bin with the other one. I couldn't let father know like that. He'd be devastated.

Dear Father,
 
                     I hope your doing well with your Dragon. I have one too now! She's in the Hatchery, I'm not sure what to call her yet. I've decided to stay for the three year course that can follow it, purely for the fact that I could get into the flight academy with the qualifications. Give my wishes to mother,

Lilly Water Dragon
         xxx

I smiled. The letter was nice, didn't really say what Dragon it was, her name couldn't give it away and it explained my absence. Now all I had to think about was how I would break the news about Flame being a Fire Dragon not a Water.

Putting it in the post room I was sure that they'd get the letter the next day.

I looked around my new dormitory. Apparently we were put into groups of ten with the same elemental Dragon to stop too many fights.

I chose the most practical of beds. The bed on its own. I knew that dragons can grow quickly and I certainly didn't want to be on the bottom of a bunk bed when that did happen.

The two days went by quickly and before I knew it, the bonding process was completed and the Fire Dragon tattoo was on my face. It was like the Water dragon's but on the right hand side.

Flame was still tiny and couldn't fly yet so she wrapped herself around my shoulders whenever I moved around. She still was baby talking but I couldn't wait to be able to talk to her and her talk back to me.

I made friends with some of my dormitory, made enemies with others, and had a good look around the school. (It was very big).

Now Flame could stay with me, and all the other dragons could go where ever with their person. We had a day to adjust to our dragons and them us. Though I thought it was more of a hierarchy squabbling for us.

I say that because we were locked into our dormitories as soon as everyone was in them and kept there till the dragons stopped fighting with each other.

People yelling, heated arguments, everything I wasn't used to was too much for me so I just sat on my bed watching.

For a second I wished I had a water Dragon to have the peacefulness that they had before I remembered that they too had this.

There wasn't a lot of difference in size in the first day I knew but there would soon be. Because of hierarchy status meaning that the higher your Dragon was, the bigger they'd grow, some humans got their Dragon to fight with others because they wanted a big Dragon.

I told Flame she could go and fight for status of she wanted but she didn't move from my lap, too wanting to just watch and not participate.

It was clear that by lunch that the 'king' of our dorm was a dragon called Magma bonded with Zack. Magma was a red Dragon with black wings and bright orange eyes.

Second in command was a dragon names Ember bonded with Sapphire. Ember could of been called a Shadow Dragon if it wasn't for the fact Ember had a red tail which was always swinging around dangerously.

After lunch to two dragons rounded on Flame who'd they'd only just noticed.

I couldn't deny them the challenge, Flame would be the lowest of the low if I did, but I knew they didn't play fair, I'd been watching them.

"Fine. Flame can fight against your dragons, only if she fights them one at a time with a ten minute break to recover between them." I said feeling a Flame who was hiding behind my legs.

Sapphire smirked at Zack. "I think we can do that." She said to him.

Zack nodded back. "Anything else you want to tell us?"

"Yes, I invoke the Dragon Hiatus Rule in the two fight."

There were sharp intakes at this. I wasn't surprised, it was a big thing for them.

The Dragon Hiatus Rule was ancient and dragons would follow it even if their bonded humans wouldn't. The Dragon Hiatus Rule was that if a dragon fought under that rule and won, then the dragons falling below that status could fight again to reconfirm their status. It was a big thing because a low ranking Dragon could become more higher and the opposite for others and because they couldn't refuse the fight or they would become the lowest of the low ranked Dragon they had to fight.

Sapphire sighed. "I'll fight your Dragon then, but your Dragon will have to submit two ranks if I win."

That would place Flame as an middle ranking Dragon. Quite good if you didn't want to cause trouble or be picked on or be in the spotlight often for fighting but not so good for working her way up the rankings. But it was that or no ranking at all.

"Agreed."

"Agreed." Sapphire and Zack said at the same time.

A circle had been made for the smaller dragons and it was quite big for smaller dragons. That was where the fight would start.

I bent down to Flame. "I won't make you fight if you don't want to, nor make you win, just try your best." I whispered. "Good luck." Giving her a kiss I let her walk in.

Flame folded her wings and looked at Ember who was already a head bigger than Flame.

Pacing around the circle the two dragons didn't go at each other for a while.

Ember did all the usual scare tactics by roaring, having her wings open wide and snarling. I think she would be breathing fire if she could.

I felt a nudge in my side and a small boy stood beside me.

"Is that a pure fire?" He asked me looking at Flame with awe in his eyes and face.

"She might be. I don't know but the Unicorn helper thought she might be." I whispered not wanting to distract Flame.

"Then Ember will be in for a shock." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Watch, I've always wanted to see a Pure Fire in action." He said.

Flame had whipped around to face Ember directly. Snarling for the first time she charged at Ember keeping her wings tucked in and clawed and bit her til Ember submitted, the battle was won and Flame was victorious. She was a second in command Dragon.

As decided there was a ten minute break for Flame to recover and so I was sitting on my bed whilst the fighting continued.

The boy's name was called Alex and he had a small looking fire Dragon which was called Storm. She was red except for the random scales which was yellow.

"How did you know she was a Pure Fire?" I asked Alex.

"Well, she has quite clearly got gold and red. You know it's good cuz Storm's got yellow. All pure dragons have another unique color to their main colour. Fire's have gold." Alex explained.

"Water's Silver." I said.

Alex nodded. "That's right, Earth has bronze, Wind has a silvery-Grey colour, though you have to look at it very carefully to see it, Lightning has light blue and Shadow... well, no one has seen a Pure Shadow so on one knows the colour."

"What about the Sub dragons?" I frowned.

"They can't have one because they have at least two Pure dragons blood to make them." Alex shook his head.

I nodded. Getting up Flame stopped preening and walked to the circle. "Its time for the next fight."

Looking at the rankings (someone had made a chart so we could see whose was where) Ember was now a high ranking Dragon rather than second in command.

"Ready to lose?" Zack said to me looking pumped and ready.

I shrugged. "Rankings are just rankings. I don't care where I come, what have you to lose?" I asked him.

Zack didn't answer Magma had just walked into the circle and he wasn't going to wait and attack.

His launch took Flame by surprise, I remembered this was only her second fight, but as she was on her back she kicked him away with her powerful back legs and flung him away where he crashed into a bed and submitted in pain.

Flame roared in answer and it was just in time because the bell had gone and now the rankings would be the same till the next week.