Becoming a Dragon Read online

  "I can't believe he had the nerve to answer back to the Professor," Crystal remarked indignantly. "How arrogant is he? Has he no respect for authority?"

  "The Professor shouldn't have let Daniel go on so long," Daisy argued. "It was meant to be a fun exercise, but Daniel was just mocking him."

  "Daniel was only telling the truth, princess," Seth replied. "Look, maybe Daniel isn't so nice, Daisy. I couldn't say as I don't know him, but that doesn't make John right. This school is for people like us. Not people like him. He shouldn't even be here, let alone have the right to question whether we should be here. It's unfair they let him come here; unfair on us for having to tolerate such an individual and unfair on him as he'll never fit in with people who are superior to him in so many ways. It would be best for everyone if he just left now and never came back."

  "Best to avoid both of them," Arthur advised his sister. "Don't let John drag you down. I know you've been sat next to him, but you don't want to be associated with the one person that the rest of the class hates. It's not even the end of the first day and he's made enemies of most of his classmates. He probably won't last long."

  Daisy frowned, uncomfortable about disagreeing with her brother but clearly unconvinced. She glanced along the corridor, and saw that John was standing alone, staring into the distance. She shrugged and followed the others to lunch.

  Just before the end of lunch, Crystal found herself sitting alone outside, warming herself in the sun, as Jenna had gone for a walk with Arthur, when a shadow loomed over her.

  "Mind if I join you?" John asked, sitting down beside her.

  "Um, yes," Crystal replied firmly.

  John didn't move away, but just nodded. "Did I offend you by my comments?"

  Crystal glared at him. "Of course! You offended everyone. I don't want you sitting next to me! You'll tarnish me with your reputation! You may not care if no one likes you, but I want to have friends at this school. Please just go away."

  John nodded and stood up, his face tight as if he were trying to control himself. When he spoke, his voice was shaky and a little strange. "Just one thing, Crystal. I'm not unique in that class. I'm not the only one who isn't there because of their birth. You aren't either. You weren't born into your family. You were adopted. Can you really look down on me as the rest of them do?"

  John walked away before she could reply. She was tempted to shout after him, but realised that she didn't want him to come back. How did he know that she was adopted? A cold sweat passed over her. Did anyone else know that as well? Would they treat her like they had treated John? She glared after him. He was risking ruining everything for her. Why couldn't he just disappear and leave her alone?

  The afternoon's session seemed a little dull after the drama of the morning. They were given a tour of the school building, which appeared to be modelled on the City of Furnace, built in the shape of a hexagon, with a tower at all but one of the points, and the school hall and main building at the sixth point. Half of their classes this term would be in their tower, but they would have lessons in two of the other towers as well.

  In the centre of the hexagon was the single story building where they had had their lunch, and mirroring the school, this was also built in a hexagon. There were paths from each of the towers and from the main building to this building, which was simply referred to as the hexagon, which made little sense to her. The paths were covered so you could walk to lunch without getting wet when it rained. In between the paths were the school gardens and some large grassy areas for playing sports, as well as a large round building that was used for indoor competitions, including ground combat, something they would learn next term.

  Above the school, there were always at least ten Red Dragons circling while the students wandered around. These were the school guard, there to keep them safe from any unwanted attention. Apparently they only patrolled when the students were outside, and not during lessons; Professor Silver explained that Furnace was exceptionally safe and there was no real need for them.

  Between each tower and built into the high wall that surrounded the school were the teachers' residences and some unused buildings that were intended for students who wished to board at the school, of which there were none at the moment. Crystal wondered whether it would have been more fun if they had all boarded here instead of being spread across the city.

  The tour took quite a while, but when it was finished, their Professor dismissed them for the day, letting them finish a couple of hours earlier than they expected.

  "Fancy doing anything?" Jenna asked as they left the school, pausing to stand outside the gates.

  "What were you thinking?" Crystal asked.

  Jenna shrugged. "Arthur has offered to show me some of the town. He's been given the guided tour by his older brother, so he knows the place quite well already. It might be a good way to get to know this place."

  Crystal frowned. "So why would you want me along? Don't you want to be alone with Arthur? Other than his bodyguards, of course."

  Jenna sighed. "The bodyguards won't be a problem. Arthur makes them walk quite a way behind him, so you hardly notice them. But we won't be alone. His dopey sister will be with us."

  Crystal laughed. "So my job is to distract her so you can get to work on Arthur. No thank you."

  "Please, Crystal? I'll owe you," Jenna begged. "You know how much I like him."

  "No," she replied. "We have our first flying lesson this week and I need to practice transformation. I don't want to make a fool of myself."

  "Oh, come on, that's a terrible excuse. You can do that any time."

  "No it isn't. It's hard to practice in the week as it always gets dark too quickly. I have a whole two extra hours today and I plan to use them. You've been doing this longer than me but I've only just learnt and it's taking me ages to transform each time."

  Jenna pouted and shook her head before stomping off to find Arthur. She wouldn't hold a grudge long though, so Crystal didn't give her a second thought and started walking home, eager to get started. She had walked barely for a minute when she heard a familiar and unwelcome voice.

  "Hello, Crystal. Do you mind if I walk with you?"

  Crystal turned around to see John hurrying to catch up with her. "Yes, I do mind. I thought I made that perfectly clear earlier. Is this even the right way for you to get home?"

  John shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. I'll be flying home and it only takes a minute from the school, I just fancied a walk."

  "You can fly? Already? I thought we weren't meant to learn outside of school."

  John frowned. "They make exceptions if you live in the small border settlements. Or at least no one objects to the rules being bent in places where Blue Dragons are seen on a weekly basis."

  Crystal was curious, both about his ability to fly and the fact that he had probably seen Blue Dragons. The border with the Blue Dragons extended from the coast in the north along the east of the northern principality and then all along the edge of the Eastern Principality. The Southern Principality, her home, bordered the Eastern Principality but didn't overlap with border with the Blues at all, instead sharing a border with both the Green Dragons and the fearsome Rhino Dragons, but unlike the Blue Dragons neither of them were seen very often.

  "So how long have you been flying? Can you fly well?"

  John nodded. "I've been flying for a long time. Years already. I came to Furnace on my own, so I had to fly all the way."

  "Seriously?" Crystal asked in amazement.

  John nodded. He didn't seem to be bragging, just stating the facts.

  "What about your parents? Why didn't they bring you? Weren't they worried about you?"

  "My father taught me to fly. He used to be a flying instructor, so he taught me himself, and was confident enough of my flying ability. It would have been difficult for him to bring me, so we agreed I'd take myself."

  "And you flew from near the border?" He nodded again. "Wasn't he worried that you might meet one of the Blue D
ragons?"

  "He wouldn't worry about that. He has taught me very well."

  Crystal was sceptical. "Well enough to out fly a squad of Blue Dragons? I thought no one flew alone near the border, in case the Blue Dragons attacked. Are you sure you're not making this up to impress me?"

  John gave her surprised look. "No, I'm not making anything up, and I wasn't trying to impress you, just answer your questions. I'm just...different...and I can do things others can't. I'm like you. We're both special."

  "Special? I'm not special. How do you mean?" Crystal stared at him coldly.

  John paused again. "You and I are different to everyone else. You just don't realise it yet."

  "Is this because of my hair? Look, if you think that gives us some sort of bond you're very much mistaken. It's just hair. And if my mother let me, I'd dye it red."

  "I don't think it would suit you," John commented. "And dying it wouldn't change anything. You'd still be the same person."

  "Well, I don't care what you think. If you don't mind, I'll walk this last bit alone, thank you very much. Goodbye."

  She walked faster, leaving him standing at the corner of the road. Barely three seconds later, a loud scream sounded above her, and she looked up to see a Red Dragon fly past. Surely he couldn't have transformed and taken off that quickly? The Red Dragon flew quickly and disappeared out of sight. Behind her the street was empty; John had disappeared.

  That evening, when her mother asked her about her first day at school, she asked her whether it was likely that any of the students could have been flying for years already.

  "Years?" her mother asked. "I don't think so. We're not meant to teach our own children how to fly, but plenty of parents do, and it's frowned on but no one gets punished for having done so. But if a student had been flying for years, they'd have had to have been taught how to transform years ago. You can get into a lot of trouble for teaching your children how to transform before their sixteenth birthday, even if it's just a few days before. It can damage your health if you start transforming when you're too young. Who told you that they had been flying for years?"

  Crystal didn't answer the question. "And what about having seen Blue Dragons? Is it likely that they could have seen lots of Blue Dragons? If they lived near the border?"

  Her mother looked even more surprised. "I'd doubt that anyone who goes to your school would live anywhere near the border. There are those that do so, but not the sort of people we would mix with."

  "But if they did live near the border, would they see many Blue Dragons?" Crystal persisted.

  Her mother shrugged. "I don't really know, but I don't think so. Blue Dragons only cross our borders when they are going to raid a town or village. We have border patrols, and if they see a Blue Dragon they'll attack it. They wouldn't just wander across. Raids do happen of course, and more frequently than we'd like, especially in the East and the North, but they're still pretty rare. Unless you're serving in the army, you'd be very unlikely to see a Blue Dragon. I doubt any of your school friends have seen one, let alone many."

  Crystal nodded. As she thought, John must have been making it all up. It was pretty pathetic; such an obvious lie and one that she was bound to work out eventually. Did he really think that he would impress her by telling this story?

  Crystal woke early the next morning, keen to practice transforming a couple of times before going to school. Not wanting to be late on the first real day of school, she left the house early, and was one of the first in the school. But not the first. That was John. She caught his eye as soon as she entered the room. He had an open notebook in front of him that he carefully closed when he saw her. Sitting between her and the door she had to pass him on the way to her desk.

  "Good morning, Crystal," John said as she passed, adopting a friendly tone.

  "Morning, John," she replied, trying to convey as little warmth as possible. She was tempted to call him out over his lie, but decided that she would rather not talk to him at all if she could help it.

  "How is your transformation practice going?" he asked inquisitively.

  "Fine. Why do you ask?"

  "I heard you mention to Jenna you were going to practice last night, and I see you've been practicing this morning."

  "What! How do you know that? Have you been spying on me?" Crystal was furious. She had practiced on her grounds, where she thought no one could see her. If he had seen her transform, he'd seen her naked.

  John shook his head. "Look at your eyes after they transform. They always look a little different. You can always tell if someone has transformed recently."

  Crystal wasn't aware of this, but resolved to check in case he was lying, especially after the last conversation they had had. "Oh, is that always the case?"

  "More or less; but more so with you. As I said, you're special."

  Crystal glared at him and said, "Whatever," before turning her back on him and sitting down. She could feel his eyes on her, and pulled out a text book to pretend to read to discourage him from trying to engage her in further conversation.

  The class slowly filled up, and soon there were other people to talk to. Daniel arrived and sat next to her, and she made a point of engaging him in conversation, knowing that John wouldn't want to speak with Daniel after the incident with him yesterday.

  Professor Silver took them for several of their subjects, including Culture and Society, the first lesson of the day, a rather dry subject that she hadn't been forced to endure previously. The boredom was felt throughout the class, and the only one really paying attention was John, an act that endeared him to no one, not even Professor Silver, who clearly saw through John's attempts to get back on his good books. Crystal struggled to stay awake and just spent the lesson day dreaming about flying.

  To her immense irritation, John tried to discuss the subject with her in the morning break. As if the lesson hasn't been dull enough! If it hadn't been clearly impossible, she'd believe he was actually interested in the subject. She managed to get away from him fairly quickly, and went and joined Jenna as she flirted with Arthur.

  The second lesson was geography, which was in one of the other towers with a different teacher, Professor Easthill. He was slightly older than their Professor, and was a jolly man, with grey hair and a plump figure. He was as unlike Professor Silver as was possible, and Crystal found him a little ridiculous with his enthusiastic greetings to the class and his old, crumpled clothes.

  "Welcome students, welcome to geography! Come along, sit down, anywhere you like, it doesn't matter. That's right, just sit down, quickly now. Right, I know some of you won't like it, but we're going to start with a quiz. Yes, yes, calm down, this is just to let you know, and to let me know, just how much each of you already know. Help me see what I have to work with. Now what's your name?"

  "Daisy, sir," the princess replied brightly. Crystal wondered how on earth the Professor didn't know who she and her brother were. There were hardly likely to be many princesses in the school.

  "Ah, good, and what an enchanting smile you have, my dear." Crystal groaned inside, but Daisy's face lit up like a lamp. "Please, can you hand out these tests to everyone?"

  Daisy smiled sweetly at Professor Easthill and took the papers, distributing them throughout the class. She seemed to almost enjoy the task. Crystal was starting to wonder whether she actually was a princess.

  "Now, don't worry about this test. We have only just begun, so this won't count towards your final grade. There are one hundred questions, but as you will see, they are multiple choice, so it shouldn't take you too long. Please don't write on the test papers, write the answers on a separate piece of paper. Oh, and of course, no talking, and work on your own. Cheating is pointless, as this doesn't count for anything, and I'll know if you have. Please begin."

  Crystal turned over the test paper and started reading the questions. Despite the questions being multiple choice, she found the test very hard, and was disappointed to find that even the section on the S
outh wasn't that easy. She was glad it was a multiple choice test, as at least she would get some marks just by guessing at the answers.

  Once they had finished, the Professor made them all swap their papers with each other, so they could mark each other's work. He then began going through each of the answers, asking students the answer rather than just telling them the correct ones. Crystal was amazed to find that John knew many of the answers not only to his region, but also all the others. He got some questions on the South right that she had failed to answer correctly. When they finally got to the end of the quiz, Professor Easthill asked them to count the number of right answers, and then he wanted to see who had managed to get the most numbers of questions right.

  "Let's start low. How many of you are holding a paper that you've marked above fifty?"

  Only eight hands went up in the air. Seth, who had marked Crystal's paper, had his hand firmly by his side.

  "Not too many," the Professor commented. "But it wasn't an easy test, so don't feel bad if you haven't scored well today. We'll soon have you mastering this subject. What about above sixty, how many of you managed that?" Four of the hands dropped. "Above seventy?" Everyone but Daisy lowered their hand. "Ah, Daisy, you hold the winning paper. Would you mind telling us the score?"

  "Ninety five," she replied proudly, as if it were her own score she was announcing.

  A gasp went through the classroom, and even the Professor looked shocked. "That's incredible, Daisy. Quite incredible. Would you mind showing me the paper? Just to check your marking."

  He took the paper from her and scanned down the list of answers. "Right, well, yes, this does all look correct. I guess it's easier to count the mistakes than the right answers. Yes, ninety five. Whose paper is this?"

  "John's, sir," she replied smiling, pointing over at John. John looked up at the Professor, his face an unreadable mask, showing no emotion whatsoever. Arthur was shaking his head in disappointment. Of course Daisy had taken John's paper. No one else would do so willingly.