Chapter 32

by Amanda Cast

What Friends are For

“What’s wrong, Pandora?” Oola asked. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were puckered and wrinkled into a frown.

Pandora shrugged and stared at her food with no appetite. She managed to force a few bites down her throat, but it was dry and tasteless. Her mouth was not cooperating. The saliva would not appear.

“Well, Instructor Hargoth beat the crap out of her,” Greg said darkly. He poked at his vegetables and wrinkled his nose in distaste. He liked meat and bread, but always seemed to skimp on the vegetables no matter how much effort he made in eating them.

“You do look bad,” Diajeer said to Pandora with a worried expression that spoke loudly in his dark eyes.

“The fighting wasn’t the problem,” Pandora said and finally decided to give up. She set the fork down and pushed the plate away.

“What is wrong?” Oola said again, this time with more demand.

Mack eyed her with an off suspicion. “Did you and Serene have a fight? Did the hatchlings do something?”

“Was it Topaz?” Oola asked. “Is he all right?”

Pandora frowned in surprise. “No, it has nothing to do with the hatchlings and Topaz is the same active little shit in one perfect little piece.”

“You shouldn’t talk about him like that,” Oola said with a pout.

“So it was a fight with Serene,” Mack said with satisfaction. He was too observant for a boy.

“It wasn’t a fight,” Pandora said with a sullen look.

“Then what was it?” Oola asked, picking up on Mack’s assessment as if it were her own. “Did she hurt your feelings?” Oola asked protectively. “Was she mean to you?”

Pandora sighed. “She told me something about Greg.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Greg said with a sudden defensiveness.

“This isn’t about what you did,” Oola snapped, “Is it, Pandora?”

“Please don’t snap at him,” Pandora said softly. “He is in danger. Serene heard some of the master mages talk about killing him when his usefulness has come to an end.”

“My… usefulness?”

Pandora nodded. “You are providing new ways to look at things. They are learning from you… for now. When you no longer are of use to them they may kill you. So far the Arch Mage is protecting you, but he may be fickle.”

“Mages aren’t murders, are they?” Oola asked, shocked.

“I was supposed to warn you,” Pandora said. “She wants to get you out of here now, but we lack the skill, and the hatchlings aren’t ready yet. We can’t leave them.”

“You’re risking your life, too, by staying,” Oola pointed out soothingly.

“That is not all,” Mack said eyeing Pandora again. “What else is wrong, Pandora?”

“Yeah, Amazon, you can’t just be worried about little ol’ me,” he said with a strained smile.

Pandora shrugged helplessly. “She is just mad at me,” Pandora said. “We’ll get over it.”

“Have you two ever fought like this before?” Oola rushed to ask before Mack could open his mouth.

“Serene and I don’t fight. She rants and I listen. That is how we work,” Pandora said. Irritation was crawling under her skin and enhancing the pain in her bruises in an uncomfortable fashion.

“That isn’t how it should be,” Oola said with a deep frown. “You both should be able to talk.”

“Honestly, I spent two or three weeks with her. Amazon rarely talks,” Greg said and shifted uncomfortably when Oola glared at him.

“She was sick. That doesn’t mean you know her.”

“On a normal meal she rarely speaks more than two words without you asking her a question. I mean, it isn’t like I just learned that when she was sick,” Greg said. His face was turning a violent shade of pink.

“Greg’s right,” Diajeer said with a nod. “She does rarely speak unless spoken to.”

“Fine,” Oola said and eyed Pandora. “What did she say to you?”

“She said a lot. I can’t remember,” Pandora said.

“It’s bothering you; you should remember it,” Oola said and crossed her arms over her chest.

She felt trapped and cornered. It took all of her discipline not to just leave the table and hide away from every person and dragon in the Academy.

“What did she say?” Oola said demandingly. Her eyes were wide and sparked with power.

Pandora shrank away from her and stared at her plate full of food. “She was mad,” Pandora said with a shrug. “Serene is passionate. It’s not serious.”

“It’s not serious? You’re never upset and you’re saying it’s not serious?” Oola said with exasperation.

“I don’t think you should push her so hard,” Mack said and placed a restraining hand on Oola’s arm.

“Yeah,” Greg agreed and then shoveled some food into his mouth so that he would not have to respond to any of Oola’s scathing remarks. She was only this horrible when it came to dragons and Pandora. Why she was so defensive about those two things were beyond anyone at the table.

“Do you think I’m a freak?” Pandora asked quietly.

“What was that?” Mack asked.

“Nothing.”

“No, I heard it,” Oola said. “She asked if we thought she was a freak.” She speared Pandora with an accusing look. “Why would you ask something like that? Did Serene call you a freak?”

“That’s bullshit,” Greg said, “She’s a fuckin’ half-elf. She’s not even human. Who is she to say?”

Pandora gave him a look that she hoped dared him to say another ill word about her cousin. She rose slightly in her seat. He shrunk back.

“He’s right, Pandora,” Oola said and moved as if she would defend Greg from an onslaught. “But Serene shouldn’t have called you a freak.”

“But am I not a freak?” Pandora asked. “I’m stronger than all of you, faster, wilder. I’m not exactly normal.”

“We’re not by imperial standards either,” Mack pointed out. “Oola uses magic in a way that the mages here can’t replicate. She was all but kidnapped too, bet you didn’t know that?”

Pandora frowned thoughtfully at Mack and after a moment’s thought asked, “What makes you different?”

“Well, you know…”

“He’s part dragon,” Oola blurted out.

“But that’s forbidden,” Pandora said just as suddenly. The words simply poured out of her mouth before she could think.

“It’s forbidden for a dragon to mate with a human, yes,” Mack said blushing hotly. “But I’m only a quarter dragon, and the dragons don’t punish the children for the union, only the parents. If the child is actually born they are allowed to be grow up. I was actually a mistake.”

“How?”

“Well, my father took my mother as his lover for a short time. He had no idea she was pregnant before he left and she didn’t want either of their lives to end so she kept it secret for as long as she could. I was taken in by the Academy after she died. I actually worked in the kitchens for a long time.”

Pandora stared at him, speechless.

“We’re not immortal, but I could live up to two thousand years, if I’m lucky.”

“Plus he’s super powerful,” Oola said with a pleased—if not smug—look on her face.

“There is actually a reason the Academy took me in,” Mack said. “And it isn’t because they’re benevolent.”

If he was expecting a word of encouragement he was disappointed. Instead he simply received a quizzical expression.

“My grandfather was a shadow dragon. I have great control over it, but most of the instructors don’t know. Only the Arch Mage does and my friends.”

“Isn’t that awesome?” Oola asked, excited that someone else was let in on the little secret.

Pandora nodded. “Serene has been training with it since she would speak.”

“Really?” Mack asked. “That’s a pretty serious offense against the law there. Why was she learning it?”

Pandora shrugged. “That’s for her to say. She is good at it though. Have you ever used it before?”

Mack nodded.

“What is it like. Do you… see differently?”

Mack shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

“Colors don’t get sharper?”

Mack thought about this for a moment and then shook his head. “No, I guess I not. I see pretty normally. It’s essential so that you know where the shadows are.”

“Can you Speak?” Pandora asked.

Mack shook his head. “No, there is only a slim chance that a quarter blood will be able to Speak. Do you think you’re part dragon, Pandora?”

Pandora shook her head. “I was told that my line is the last pure human line. My father was an only child and my mother was a twin. It was a dieing line. Everyone split off over the course of time and the two remaining lines merged into one…which is me.”

“Yeah, most humans have elf or dragon in them some how, but strangely dragons and elves can’t have viable children. Strange, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty far fetched,” Greg said. “There has to be a reason that is not genetic. You would think that a dragon would have such a…” He sighed heavily. “Never mind, you have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“Maybe not, but what are you talking about?” Mack asked.

Greg shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I’m no geneticist but I did take high school biology. What I do know about genes and reproduction is that there should be no way in hell that a dragon and a human could reproduce. I mean, a dragon is a magical reptile… God that sounded strange. A human is just a normal adaptive mammal that is maybe a bit more intelligent than a normal mammal, but that’s beyond the point. Nothing viable should come of that.”

“Well, something did,” Oola pointed out.

“Obviously,” he said. “And even if something did come of it that could function in the world it shouldn’t be able to reproduce either. So, that just really begs the question of how and why?”

“Why what?” Mack asked.

“Why the elves and dragons can’t reproduce. If humans can breed with them and have viable offspring then they should be able to breed together.”

“Uh huh,” Oola said.

Greg sighed. “I’m just saying it shouldn’t be possible for one of not the other.” He sighed again. “I guess humans are just the cockroaches of the universe.”

“Cockroaches?” was the dubious response from everyone.

“Little bugs that can survive a nuclear explosion? You’re all hopeless.”

“Well, excuse us for not knowing everything about where you come from,” Oola snapped.

“Will you please just stop talking like that to him all the time, Oola?” Mack asked. “Do you have a crush on him or something?”

Both Greg and Oola blushed hotly and Pandora was thankful to be out of the center of attention. “It’s not like that,” Oola said. “He’s just frustratingly ignorant.”

“And so are you about his world,” Mack said reproachfully. “I wish you two would just get along and stop being such asses to one another. It’s annoying and it creates too much tension for me to have to deal with.”

“No one asked you to—“

“He’s my roommate, Oola. I’m his friend. Do you want me to stop talking to you?”

“No,” Oola said and sat quietly and settled back down in a guilty sulk.

“This dinner is too dramatic,” Diajeer said. “I think I’m going to return to my quarters and study.”

“I think I’ll leave, too,” Pandora said and started to get away from the bench.

“What else did she say to you?” Oola said quickly.

It made both Pandora and Diajeer pause and turn around. “I do not know myself,” Pandora answered and then turned and walked away. Oola said nothing to stop her.

<First><Chapter 31><Chapter 33><Latest>

Chapter 27

by Amanda Cast

Induendo?

Pandora no longer made the pretense of going to class. Those days ended briefly. Instead she took lessons from Serene when she had the strength, but mostly she took walks and tended to the hatchlings. Her strength was returning, but it was slow and tedious.

Oola greeted her warmly at the garden square. “Hey there,” she said. “What are you up to? Taking the hatchlings for a walk?”

“It’s nice outside,” Rubio said. He was practically glowing.

“It is,” Star agreed.

Emerald looked at the shade under a tree longingly. Pandora followed her gaze and sighed. She wanted to rest in the shade too.

“I was going to practice some, but I thought I would try and find you instead. Lucky me, I didn’t have to look far,” she said with a wide grin. It seemed to take up half of her face. “Would you like to sit down and talk then?”

Pandora’s face relaxed and she nodded. “I would,” she agreed, though she doubted she would talk much.

Emerald led them to a secluded place where there was plenty of shade and thick grass. She stretched out and Pandora sat down and propped herself up against the green dragon.

“They are so beautiful,” Oola sighed wistfully. “You are lucky to have them with you.”

“I think we’re lucky,” Emerald said loyally and yawned wide. She laid her head down and closed her eyes.

Topaz patrolled the perimeter for a little bit and then joined Pandora and Emerald. He laid his head down across Pandora’s lap and closed his eyes as well. Star and Rubio played a clumsy game of tag.

Oola sat beside Emerald’s head. “So are you feeling better then?”

Pandora nodded. “I’m not entirely well, but I am feeling better. It is hard sometimes though. I am used to strength and power. Now I feel week and cumbersome.”

Oola frowned sympathetically. “You should have just let Chloe die. She was a regular pest about everything. She didn’t deserve your help at all.”

“I know,” Pandora agreed. “But it is not my way to just let someone die.” Pandora sighed. “It would have been easy enough, I suppose, but it just isn’t me.”

“You strike me as prudent, usually,” Oola said warily. “I just don’t see why you can’t always be prudent.”

Pandora shrugged and closed her eyes. “Will you sing for me, Oola? I love to hear you sing.”

Oola looked pleased for one brief shining moment before giving Pandora a suspicious look. “Is this your way of changing the topic of discussion?”

“There is nothing to discuss, Oola. What was done is done. Please, I would like to hear you sing.”

Oola opened her mouth to say something more but must have decided that it was a pointless endeavor and closed it again. She shrugged helplessly and then smiled at Pandora. “You’re hopelessly stubborn,” she said and then was silent for a short time. Then she started to sing. It was in her own tribal language, but the melody and tone sang to Pandora as a heroic ballad. Oola’s voice always managed to carry her away.

She let the magic of her friend’s voice envelope her. She could feel it rolling over her. It was not like Chloe’s magic. There was no sticky and obtrusive about it. It was soothing and kind. She could feel the foreign power seeping inside of her skin pleasantly. When the song ended the magic slowly faded away, but a small portion of it seemed to stay within her flesh.

“Pandora? Are you all right?” Oola asked worriedly. She sang with her eyes closed.

Pandora opened her eyes and blinked. “Oola?” she asked uncertainly, “Is something wrong?”

Oola blinked and jerked back. “You were just… in a trance or something. I don’t know!” She leaned forward but did not try and touch her.

Pandora looked around to see Star and Rubio watching attentively, but not with hostility. They seemed enraptured. After a moment they shook their heads and blinked just as their mother had.

“Your magic is powerful,” Pandora said and sat up for a moment.

“It is,” Emerald agreed.

“You feel…warm and kind,” Pandora said inadequately.

Oola frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Pandora was uncertain. Emerald nudged her with her nose gently and Topaz snorted. “It is all right to tell her, Mother. I am sure she would be pleased,” Emerald said gently.

Pandora pat the young dragon’s head affectionately and nodded to herself. “Most mages have a sticky feeling to their magic. It clings and is uncomfortable. There is hostility or the will to control or discover. I don’t know. I just… I don’t like it.”

She shrugged helplessly.

“I have felt it too,” Star said, slowly advancing on Oola. She reached out her nose, her neck drawn taunt as she tried to close the distance between them more efficiently. “I too have felt the mage’s touch of magic.”

Rubio made a disgusted face behind her and sneezed as if he had just smelled ground peppers. He shook his head and followed behind Star, but was more intent on Pandora than Oola.

“I don’t understand,” Oola said.

Topaz nudged her side gently and she stroked his head obediently. Thankfully, Oola had no fear of dragons as other students did.

“You are a rarity among your kind,” Topaz told her. “I can tell.”

Emerald rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Topaz turned a hostile glare toward her. “What would you know?” he asked.

“What would you know?” Star said, defending her quiet sister. “You only know the mages here. You know nothing of her people.”

“Hush,” Pandora said softly and the dragons quieted. “We will not fight over this. Oola is indeed special for many reasons—not just her ability to sing magic into the very air.”

“What do you mean?” Oola asked. She was, comparatively, at a loss for words.

“You are full of love and compassion,” Star said, “Even if you did want to kill Chloe.”

“I wanted to kill Chloe,” Topaz reminded Star.

“Well, you’re a hostile little shit,” Star said scathingly. Some of the grass turned to ice shards under her feet.

“Stop this,” Pandora said with more force this time. “Topaz, Star, if you have nothing helpful to say do not speak.”

“I’m trying to explain,” Star said and twisted her head away in a sulk.

“That is fine, dear, but please, do not upset Topaz in the process.”

“I’m not upset,” Topaz said. His nostrils flared out.

Pandora gave him one of her stern looks, but he looked defiant and ready to argue this one out. “It is not important, Topaz. You need to take a moment and think about your next actions.”

He curled up into a little ball.

Oola looked from Pandora to Topaz skeptically before finally settling on Pandora. “What are you talking about?”

“It is most unusual to me,” Pandora said. “My knowledge on magic is limited and I’m sure you know more about your abilities than I do. I am simply making an observation. I hope that you do not mind.”

“I just… What do you mean you feel kindness?”

“Well, your magic lures me. It calls to me, I suppose. I do not understand what it means. I do not understand what you do to me.” Pandora shrugged. “I think your voice is addicting.”

Oola blushed. “You’re sweet,” she said and leaned forward and gave Pandora a quick peck on the cheek. “I think that is why I like you.”

“I think you like me because I cannot resist your music,” Pandora said.

Oola looked hurt and embarrassed. She moved away from Pandora and looked at a tree in the opposite direction. “I am sorry you feel that way.”

Pandora frowned and thought clumsily on how to fix her mistake. “I only meant,” she started and then stopped when Oola looked back at her with a bewildered expression.

“You don’t know what to say?”

“I rarely do,” Pandora admitted. Her face was flushed hot and her heart ached with the embarrassment and her body ached with guilt.

“You always seem to say the right thing,” Oola told her.

The compliment only made Pandora feel worse. “I’m not smart enough for that,” she said. “Usually I am silent when I am speechless.”

Oola laughed a grating laugh that made Pandora flinch. “You are not speechless then?”

“I said usually,” Pandora said softly. “I did not mean to hurt your feelings. It just… struck me that you are attracted to me because of my attraction to your voice.”

“You think I’m attracted to you?” Oola asked, appalled.

Pandora’s negative emotions were overwhelmed by confusion. She did not understand Oola’s reaction. She stared at the older adolescent. The dragons watched. Star’s tail snaked across the grass—back and forth.

Oola blinked. “Oh,” she said, blushing under her tanned skin. “I… wow… I’m sorry, Pandora. This conversation is getting out of hand.”

“I guess,” Pandora said uncertainly.

“I’m sorry, Pandora. I over reacted. I thought you meant something else. I just want to be friends with you. That’s all. I hope you aren’t put off by that.”

“Why would I be?” Pandora asked with genuine confusion lacing every sound her mouth uttered.

“I… oh never mind,” Oola said, looking away. “I guess it is just my singing you are attracted to. I’m sorry, Pandora. You’re not normal.”

“No, I’m not,” Pandora agreed, but she did not understand what Oola was trying to say.

“I know that you mean well. I’m glad my magic does not bother you as others does. Does Serene’s magic bother you?”

Pandora shook her head. “Serene loves me, for some reason. I do not know why. I do not know if she can help but to love me any more than I can help to love her. We are all things that the other lacks. We are all things that the other should be.” Pandora frowned. “Do you understand?”

Oola looked as though she wanted to withdraw again but only nodded. “I think I do. You are soul mates.”

Pandora rolled this idea over in her head and shook her head. “No, it is not that. I think it is simply something far greater than all of us that binds us together.”

“You mean, like the gods?”

Pandora shook her head. “Something far more powerful than gods,” Pandora told her. “Even the ‘gods’ are bound to fate.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It is something my mother always told me,” she said. “Even the gods cannot fight it, for it can end the life of even the most powerful being at the hands of the weakest. It is a force to be respected.”

“Do you worship fate?”

Pandora frowned and shook her head. “No, you do not worship something such as that. You respect it and do not tempt it unless it is necessary.”

“I… well, I guess it isn’t that important then. It just is. But why would it bind the two of you together?”

Pandora shrugged. “That hardly matters. I was drawn to Serene the moment I saw her, and she was drawn to me the moment she saw me. We could not be kept apart by any power.” Something suddenly dawned on Pandora. “That… that is why.”

“Why what?”

“I finally stood up to my mother. I would always stand quietly while she ranted and raved. It was the best way to have her temper subside quickly. I never…” She stopped and touched Rubio’s head gently. “I never talked to her in such a way before.”

“I don’t understand,” Oola said with an embarrassed tremor in her voice. “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. If you say you are bound, then you are. I just hope it doesn’t destroy you. You’re special too, Pandora.”

Pandora was pleased. “Thank you,” she said with a small smile.

“Do you… do you think my magic binds us, Pandora?” she asked.

Pandora thought this over, testing the ideas slowly in her head. The dragons fell asleep before she answered, “I think you are part of my destiny and I am part of yours. How long we play our roles, I do not know, but I hope we will always be friends.”

“I am sure we will be,” Oola said and lulled Pandora into her trance with another song.

<First><Chapter 26><Chapter 28><Latest>

Chapter 20

by Amanda Cast

Amazon

Pandora and Serene were late for dinner. Serene waited by the mirror while Pandora scanned the crowd for Oola. It was Oola who spotted her and waved to get Pandora’s attention. The girl gave a genuine smile in Oola’s direction. “Come meet her before you go with your friends?” Pandora asked.

Serene thought about this for a moment and gave her friends an anxious look before she agreed. Serene and Pandora approached Oola and her friends. “Hi, Oola,” Pandora said with a shy smile. Anxiety suddenly gripped her. What if Oola’s friends didn’t like her?

“Hey, Pandora, we were starting to wonder if you didn’t want to eat with us.”

“Oh, there was an emergency with the hatchlings. Oola, I’d like you to meet my cousin, Serene. She’ll be eating somewhere else, but I thought…” Pandora frowned at herself. She was babbling just like Serene.

“Hello,” Serene said with a bright smile and a small curtsey. Her eyes were still red and her nose still a little worse for the wear from the crying, but Pandora thought she was still beautiful.

“Hi,” Oola said kindly. “Are you all right?”

Serene nodded. “Like Pandora said, there was an emergency with the hatchlings. Anyway, they’re waiting and I promised. I’ll talk to you later, all right?”

Oola smiled at her and nodded. The group of quiet onlookers waved too.

“She’s very pretty,” Oola said.

Pandora nodded. “She is. She looks very much like my mother.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice. I’m sure she takes something from her father,” Oola remarked. “Anyway, let’s introduce you, shall we?”

Pandora nodded agreeably.

“Everyone, this is Pandora. She and Serene are Speakers. Isn’t that amazing?” she asked. Some of them smiled and one of them looked baffled. “Anyway, sorry… Pandora, this is Mack—or Mackendean—as his mother named him.” Mack made a disgusted face. “You can see how he gets made fun of.”

Pandora nodded solemnly and gave Mack an apologetic look.

“That is Diajeer. He is tribal too, but he’s from a different area than me,” Oola explained. He gave a small salute by pressing two fingers to his lips. He was much darker than Oola, almost distractingly so. He reminded her a lot of the Underdark elves except that his hair was dark and curly instead of flowing and white. He also appeared much more civilized. Underdark elves were often described as feral, and Diajeer was one of the most cultured people she had ever seen. The only thing that made her look twice were the puckered half sphere scars that decorated his brow in one line.

“This is Greg,” Oola said with more reserve. “Greg White, actually.” She gave Pandora an uncertain smile. “He’s not from around here.”

Greg gave her an appraising look and nodded to her.

“He can be a bit grumpy,” Mack explained. “He’s only been here for a couple of days. Most people think he’s insane.”

“I’m not insane,” Greg said. “I don’t belong here.”

“Neither does she,” Oola told Greg. “The mages forced her to be here.”

Diajeer eyed Pandora and leaned closer as she was piling food onto her plate. She hesitated in her actions and looked at him uncertainly. He said in a heavily accented voice, “Is this true?”

Perhaps Oola exaggerated a lot. Pandora nodded. “My cousin and I were both…coerced into attending the Academy.”

“That is a shame,” Diajeer said. “I was much pleased to be here.”

“I imagine most everyone is pleased to be here.”

“I’d rather be home,” Greg grumbled and pushed around some noodles on his plate.

“It isn’t that bad,” Oola said as she rolled her eyes. “I mean, your world doesn’t even have magic. How could it possibly be as awesome as this one? I bet you don’t even have dragons where you’re from.”

Greg frowned. “Dragons are mythical creatures,” he told her.

“No, they aren’t.”

“Look, you might believe the story some guy told you that he is a dragon and that shit, but he isn’t. Even if they were real they wouldn’t run around in human form. That’s just stupid.”

“Tell him,” Oola demanded.

Pandora frowned, knowing that she was speaking to her. “You’re wrong, Greg,” Pandora told him quietly. “I currently have four dragons in my care. They are a bit unique, but they are still dragons.”

“Whatever, you’re all crazy.”

“Could you introduce one of them to him, Pandora?” Mack asked. “Just to make him shut up. Oola has been arguing with him about it since he first arrived. He stubbornly won’t believe anything we told him or that the mages told him.”

Oola whispered into Pandora’s ear, “He was made Mack’s roommate.”

Pandora made an understanding noise and said, “The hatchlings are currently in trouble and aren’t allowed anything that might be construed as fun. We’re going to have to get their food and take it up to them because of their behavior.”

“What did they do?” Oola asked.

“They destroyed most of my clothes and half of Serene’s. They also dug through our jewelry boxes and almost destroyed Serene’s enchanted box. A lot of it was her mother’s and she’s quite upset.”

“Enchanted jewelrybox?”

“Yes,” Oola snapped suddenly. “It’s enchanted so that it can hold more, you twit.”

Greg glared at her. “You don’t have to be a rude bitch.”

“You’re not supposed to use that kind of lewd language,” Diajeer said with a frown.

“I don’t care. I’m sick of how she’s acting.”

Mack rolled his eyes. “Just relax. She’s very empathetic and between you and Pandora you’re making her upset and edgy.”

“I don’t mean to upset anyone,” Pandora said.

“No!” Oola exclaimed, “It’s just that you’re hurting from what the dragons did and that’s bothering me. It’s not you, honest. “

Greg rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“If you don’t like us why are you sitting with us?” Oola asked.

Pandora took this time to eat in peace since she was not the center of attention. She watched with mild interest.

“I am sitting with you because I have no where else to go,” he said. “What do you want from me? I don’t belong here.”

“Well, boohoo,” Oola jeered. “You think you’re the only one with problems in this world? You’re lucky that the Academy took you in. They could have left you on the streets.”

“All their going to do is run experiments on me,” he told her. “That’s what my people would do if magic using freaks like you showed up.”

“That is uncalled for,” Mack said warningly.

Obviously Greg was in the mood to ignore warnings. “What? You think I’m a freak. You think I’m a freak because I don’t have any of this ‘magical’ energy that you guys talk about. And what is with this ring?” he asked flashing it around that table. “I have to wear to understand I word you freaks say.”

“Stop calling us freaks,” Oola half shrieked causing some of the surrounding people to turn and stare at them.

“Well, you are freaks,” he said hotly. “Look at you and Diajeer here. You both have some freaky tribal markings all over you that you cut into your bodies. Look at that girl. She looks like a fuckin’ Amazon.” He motioned to Pandora emphatically as he said it.

“What is an Amazon?” Pandora asked.

“An Amazon, you idiot, is a woman warrior.”

“Then I suppose I am one,” she said with a pleased nod. “Well, I will be when I’m technically a woman.”

“What the fuck ever,” he said and rolled his eyes. They were brown, but different from Pandora’s. “You probably can’t even fight.”

The people at the table went still and stared at Pandora with wonder. Greg looked shaken. “Whatever,” he whispered. “I’m out of here.” He struggled to get his legs free of the bench and then stormed out of the room.

“Adolescence,” Oola said grimly. “I really can’t stand him.”

“I think he has a lot of aggression to get out,” Pandora said.

“Well, I don’t know what they want of him here, honestly. I can’t cast magic. He has no power or ties to the magic. Not everyone has it. People like him aren’t even permitted to enter the tower unless they’re someone high up, and even that is rare,” Mack mused.

Pandora shrugged. “He’s probably right. They probably want to find out how he ticks and where he came from. It is a bizarre story, but I believe him.”

“You do?” Oola asked, shocked.

Pandora nodded. “He was upset. I don’t blame him. Mack, perhaps you should talk to him. There are things for him to do and play student that don’t involve much magic. I’m taking combat classes. I’m sure he could do that same, but I would imagine that he would need to go somewhere else and get away from the mages.”

“Why?” Oola asked.

“I don’t trust them.”

Diajeer shrugged. “I don’t trust them much either. You hardly touched your food. You should eat.”

Pandora nodded and focused on her food. She listened to the people around her talk about their lives. She found it interesting to hear about the lives of the tribal people. Unlike Oola, there were no dragons living with Diajeer’s tribe. There were plenty near, but they were mostly earth and fire dragons. The more interesting dragons tended to live within the dragon culture, and earth dragons rarely ventured forth from the ground.

“Once, long ago there was a dragon that felt compelled to meld into the world. She and her mate left the eggs with my tribe and we raised them the best we could in the ways of the earth, but that was long before I was born, and the younger dragons would come up to help. Earth dragons are much different than Kilooli is.”

Oola nodded. “Earth dragons feel bound by duty and honor to always tend to the land. They give themselves wholly to it when the time to do so drives them.”

Pandora vaguely remembered Serene mentioning something about earth dragons and their devotion to the land.

“I think I should go talk to Greg,” Mack said. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you should probably tell him what Pandora said,” Diajeer said. “I’ll go with you. They’re about to clean up. It was a pleasure, Pandora. I hope to see you again.”

Pandora smiled at him.

When the boys were gone Oola said, “Aren’t they something else? Anyway, I’m glad you could make it. Do you need any help getting the food up to the hatchlings. I would love to help.”

“I’m afraid you might fawn over them,” Pandora said, “And they are being punished. Perhaps another time?”

Oola looked disappointed, but nodded. “All right. Anyway, is that all you’re doing?”

“No, I took their gold away from them,” Pandora said.

Oola gasped. “You didn’t!”

“I did,” Pandora said somberly.

“Kilooli loved his gold. You couldn’t have him part from it,” Oola told her. “I mean, he was always drenched in it. His bead was made out of it.”

Pandora gave a small laugh. “Well, I got the idea because they were trying to take our gold. We can’t permit thievery.”

Oola nodded. “It is best to nip it in the bud now. Anyway, I think Serene is waiting for you. You’d better go.”

<First><Chapter 19><Chapter 21><Latest>

Chapter 18

by Amanda Cast

Chloe and Oola

Pandora took a shower after oiling the hatchlings. She felt much better. Her lung still had the burning sensation of being healthily worked and her skin was clean. Her muscles were loose and ready for anything. She gave each hatchling a kiss on the head before she left the room to go to lunch. She didn’t have much time left.

“Pandora.”

Pandora turned to the sound of the voice and saw Chloe. “Hello, Chloe,” she said mildly.

Chloe stared at Pandora for a long moment and jerked her leg uncertainly. “How are you related to that half elf?”

“Our mothers were sisters,” she said, purposefully ignoring the pointed comment about her cousin.

“I see she’s abandoning you for those bitches.”

“I wouldn’t call them that. Retarji seems nice enough. Maybe not brilliant, but she seems nice enough. Look, I need to go down and eat.” Pandora turned away from Chloe, but she wasn’t done yet.

“What are you going to do if she likes them more than she likes you?” she asked.

Pandora turned and stared at her. “You’re a very sad girl, Chloe. I feel sorry for you.” She stepped through the mirror.

Chloe followed after her. “I was Terabeth’s roommate once, you know. She abandoned me for them.”

“Who is the ‘them’?” Pandora asked. “They’re a group of friends. That’s that.”

“It’s more than that,” Chloe insisted. “They’re the prettiest girls in the class. They’re the smartest or at least get the most help. They rule everything. They’re all little pretty rich girls.”

“Then it might be good for Serene. She’s pretty, smart, and rich,” Pandora said without ire. “Those are things in common that I cannot give her.”

“How can you be so calm?” Chloe screeched. “She’s going to abandon you!”

“No, she won’t. She can’t. We’re bound together by destiny. She might be friends with them and do things without me, but that’s just fine. I’ll do things without her too. She loves magic and I love fighting with fists, wood and steel. We’re incredibly different, she and I.” Pandora sighed. “She’s my cousin and my only friend. I’ve gone most of my life without a friend and if she doesn’t want to spend time with me, that’s fine too.”

Chloe looked near to tears. Her enchanted black eyes were watery. Pandora gave a heavy sigh. “Tell me about it while I eat. I’m ravenous.”

“All right,” she agreed.

When they were seated in a secluded area of the dining hall and Pandora’s plate was sufficiently full Chloe was given a silent go ahead.

The girl took a deep breath. “Terabeth and I were friends since we were five. We both wanted to go to the Academy. We both knew that we had the power. I was a plain little girl and she was so pretty. I adored her and she loved me for it, I think. Anyway, she was the only real friend I had.” She gave a longing sigh. “Now she won’t talk to me anymore. She met… she met Britlyn and Jankyla and forgot about me. They didn’t want me around because I was plain.”

“Were you doing that thing with your eyes and hair?” Pandora asked.

“Well, after a while. I thought it looked neat and it was good practice for illusions. That’s what I’m going to be mastering in.”

“Well, it looks weird. It might have creeped them out,” Pandora supplied.

Chloe’s expression was one of shocked hurt, but Pandora was not apologetic. “They didn’t want me around before that. You know they don’t want you around either.”

“Serene does not love me because I love her Chloe. We’re family and friends, but mostly family first. Please, don’t worry so much. It isn’t all bad. I promise. So Terabeth decided that she didn’t need you. One day she’ll probably realize what kind of people she’s with now and want you back. Now, you have to decide if you’ll take her back. Stop worrying about things you can’t control. If you’re going to be bitter about it you’re never going to make friends.”

Chloe frowned. “I have friends.”

“Then why are you so hung up on Terabeth?” Pandora was irritated because she had to do a lot more talking than she liked.

“Because she hurt me!”

“Forgive and forget, Chloe. It isn’t for her. It’s for your sanity and piece of mind. You can’t go along hating someone just because they grew up and changed too much for you. You’ve probably changed a lot as well—or were you always this bitter and hostile to innocent people. Serene has done nothing but been accepted for what she is. Do you know how hard that is for a half breed? My mother called her filth and wouldn’t let her in her home. Her own niece, Chloe. I’m a bit of a freak myself, but at least I’m completely human.”

Pandora set down her fork and folded her hands in front of her and leaned in closer to Chloe. “You go out of your way to look different and be different. Serene and I are different. We’re set apart. I’m unnatural in my strength, speed, and agility. Serene is a half breed who, I am certain, will prove to be a more powerful mage than many of our teachers. We take care of four dragon hatchlings. We speak Draconic in a way that no humanoid mouth should be able to speak it. We are not accepted often. You have not accepted us. You were cold and rude when you could have been kind and generous.” Pandora leaned back.

Chloe had the good grace to look abashed.

“You want me to listen to your warnings? I listened. I feel for your loss in the best way that I can, but you have friends. Enjoy them and cherish them. Do not let your jealousy destroy you.”

“This isn’t how this conversation was supposed to happen,” Chloe told her. “I had it all planned out.”

“I’m not a normal human girl Chloe.”

“I can see that,” she snapped and then looked away. Her enchantments were starting to fade. Her eyes were the same boring brown as Pandora’s and her hair the same boring brown as well. Pandora could almost see why she wanted to stand out so much. It wouldn’t be boring if so many people didn’t have the coloring.

“If you don’t want me to reach out to you and be your friend than I’ll just leave,” she said and stood up so fast the bench rocked backwards. “You can eat alone and be alone all your life.”

“Oh, I’ll never be alone ever again,” Pandora said. “I am a mother of children whose childhood will outlast my life.”

Chloe looked as though she was about to explode and then she stormed out of the dining hall. Many of the students stared hard at Pandora’s back. She simply picked her fork back up and started eating leisurely.

When the meal was over Pandora decided to explore the campus. She entered a random mirror and heard music. It was a chaotic jumble of notes and clashing rhythms. It was almost enough to make Pandora go back into the mirror, but then she heard a voice that rose above the rest of the noise.

It was clear and solid, but it could be off pitch and Pandora would never know. She had no ear for music or at least making it. She edged down the hall, peering into the clear squares that revealed the contents of each room. Only a few of them were empty. Most of them were filled with blue robed students playing stringed instruments. Some of them looked as though they were singing.

She focused on the one voice and attempted to block out the other noise. She found it in the third door from the end. The wide room contained a girl with shortly cropped brown hair that was streaked with blond. She had a dull tan that was lined with thin white scars. Her eyes were shut, but her mouth was open wide. Pandora had never seen such a large mouth on a human before.

Pandora stood there, staring rudely into the window. She focused entirely on the sound of the girl’s voice. It captivated her and when the song ended she was rooted in place. She simply stared until the girl’s eyes opened. It felt as though something hit in between the eyes. She blinked and took a step back. The girl looked shocked to have a listener.

Pandora turned on the ball of her foot and started to hurry away. The door flew open. ‘No, don’t go!” the girl said in a desperate voice.

Pandora stopped and turned to look at her. She was terribly embarrassed. It was not a common thing for Pandora to be embarrassed. “I’m sorry I was spying on you.”

“It’s all right. Come inside, please,” she said holding the door open.

“I don’t know,” Pandora said as she twitched between obeying and fleeing. She obeyed. She walked into the room and noticed a stool by the door just out of the window’s sight. She claimed it and sat down.

“Um… wow… this is much more awkward than I thought it might be,” the singer said with a laugh. She had perfectly white and straight teeth.

“I guess,” Pandora said. “I liked your singing, but I couldn’t understand the words.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed and blushed. “It’s an ancient song from before the Empire.”

“Oh,” Pandora sounded. “I’m Pandora.”

The girl let out a loud, nervous laugh. “I’m Oola,” she said.

“That is an interesting name.”

“How familiar are you with the outside world?” she asked.

Pandora frowned. “Not much, really. I know a little about the elves and considerably more about dragons, but I don’t know much about other human cultures.”

Oola clapped her hands together. “So you’re not biased against us. That is wonderful!” Her expression went from radiant to wary faster than a blink of an eye. “You’re not biased right?”

“I don’t know. I guess not.”

“I mean, you think of dragons as people right?”

Pandora nodded. “Very interesting people, but people.”

Oola laughed. “I know a dragon! He sings beautifully. When I was a girl he taught me how to gather power through singing. I can cast spells with my singing too. That’s why I take music classes.”

Pandora shifted uneasily. “Is that what you were doing? Casting a spell?”

Oola nodded. “I was. Well, it was more like gathering power or energy to cast spells. It is something that I have to do after all of my subtle casting classes. When I don’t cast a spell with my singing I have a lot of difficulty.”

“Oh.”

“Well, anyway, usually people don’t notice it all that much. I mean, I was singing loudly, but I’ve never seen anyone respond like you did.” Oola gave her an eager smile. “Do you think I really sing that well?”

Pandora nodded.

“Thank you.” Oola gave her a bright smile. “Have you ever heard a foreign language before?” she asked.

“You were singing one.”

“I mean, other than that.”

Pandora thought of this for a moment. “Well, not as such, no,” she said honestly. “I am bilingual though.”

“Really? I can speak my native tongue of Joolinian, Imperial, and some Draconic,” she said proudly.

“I can only speak draconic and Imperial,” Pandora admitted.

Oola said something in draconic that Pandora could not quite understand. Pandora shook her head and said in Draconic, “I do not speak as mages speak. I speak as a dragon.”

“Oh,” she said with an appreciative nod. “You speak in music.”

“I… don’t understand.”

“That’s what we said about the Speakers. They speak Draconic even more beautifully than dragons do. That’s what Kilooli always said. I never thought I would get to hear it. You sound more beautiful than any song.” Ooli smiled brightly at her. “I miss Kilooli. He was so wise, but he will be there when I go back home. He will always be there.”

“Why does Kilooli live with your people?”

“He likes it with us,” Oola said wistful smile. “He does not like living with the dragons. They are always fighting with one another. They fight more with each other than they ever did with mankind. It is sad, really.”

“I can imagine.”

Oola gave a somber nod.

“I tend to four dragons,” she told Oola. “Perhaps you would like to meet them sometime. They are very small right now and cannot yet take their secondary form.”

“Oh, I would love that. What are their names?”

Pandora was not certain if she wanted to say, but after some thought she said, “Emerald, Topaz, Star, and Rubio.”

Oola seemed disappointed. “How did they get their names?”

“By the color of their shells,” Pandora admitted. “They look just like them.”

“You had their eggs?” Oola asked, utterly amazed.

Pandora nodded.

“That is amazing. Hey, Pandora, what year are you?”

“Oh, this is technically my first year, but I’m living with the third years since that’s my age group.”

“Oh, nice,” she said approvingly. “I’m year four, but hey, you can always come eat meals with me if you see me, all right?”

“All right.”

She pulled back her blue robe and looked at a time piece on her arm. “Well, I have got to be going.”

“What time is it?”

“It is about two.”

Pandora felt a sudden wave of dread. “I have to go.” She threw the door open and fled down the hallway, straight for her room.

<First><Chapter 17><Chapter 19><Latest>