Clandestine

Chapter One

Clandestine - Kept secret or done secretly, especially because illicit

Chapter One

It doesn't feel real. I had to be dreaming. Today is the day I've been waiting for my whole life. Last June, I finally was old enough to join our army as a dragon rider. I will get the chance to bond with a dragon. Once you're bonded with the dragon they gift you magic. It's something I've never stopped thinking about since I was old enough to understand what magic was. Three.

Now I'm twenty-one. Bag packed and ready to go.

I run my brush stressfully through my hair again. Should I tie it up? Braid it? No, I'll leave it down. I take a breath and look at myself in the mirror one last time.

I got this.

"Don't go." Mother begs as I make my way towards the front door. I risk looking over at her and instantly regret it. My mother has been trying to get me to change my mind since the day I signed up. I can't blame her though, if it was my daughter trying to become a dragon rider I too would try to talk her out of it. I understand the risks.

I'm not the typical person that signs up for this type of thing. I noticed when I had to lie about my height on the sign up sheets. Women shouldn't have to be tall enough to fight in a war. Just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't do everything that everyone else can do.

Mom watches me with tears in her eyes, causing my breath to get stuck in my throat. "I'll be able to see you in a year." I force a smile at her, "I can write to you when I rank up." The thought of ranking up causes anxiety to rush through me. I'll be with my dragon by the time that I rank up.

"What if you don't?" She snaps, pointing her finger at me. "You can die! I will not lose you too!"

I flinch... Dad. We both had came to a silent agreement to not bring up my father. His death destroyed her, and I lost my dad...

"Mom, that isn't going to happen to me." I try to assure her. Stepping forward, I warp my arms around her, hugging her to me. "I'm not going to die." I wasn't sure if I was saying it for her benefit or mine.

There was a small part of me that was telling me this was a bad idea. A little nagging voice in the back of my mind telling me, this is a mistake. I try brushing it off, I'm just nervous. Mother hasn't stopped listing all the dangers of joining either. I swear she stays up all night just to have a new list of reasons why I shouldn't do this everyday.

Fear fills her eyes as she notices that I'm actually leaving her. "Dragons are unpredictable-" She tries to say.

"In the wild." I cut her off, my voice softening a bit. "We're not going to be out there. We're going to be safe." I give her a squeeze then step back. "I really have to go." I grab my bag from its spot against the wall, throwing the strap over my shoulder. "Nothing is going to happen to me." I promise her, even though that little voice in my head thinks otherwise. Her expression shows she doesn't believe it either and I don't blame her. I'm one of the smallest people I know and I've never been in a fight. Yet I signed up to fight on the back of a fire breathing dragon. Smart.

"Sage, you don't have the body to fight in a war." Her voice was softer. Her big round eyes begging me to change my mind. "And you probably won't make it to one. Dragons can't be trusted." She shakes her head.

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes at her. My body type doesn't have anything to do with me fighting in a war. "I will be okay." I assure her again. "If they were worried about my body type I would've been turned away when I signed up." Which is true, if I hadn't lied on the paperwork.