Chapter III

When Ailia got home, all she wanted to do was lie down and think. She had to figure out what Sky was talking about. It was going to drive her mad. She was ready to flop head-first on her bed, but was stopped by her father before she had made it to her door.

“Ailia, I need to talk to you,” he said. “You know I trust you, but I don’t like you going out in the streets all day when there’s wanted posters out for you.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but with a few connections and favors,” he paused, a smile growing. Ailia looked at him with concern and confusion. “I was able to get you a job at the dragon cages.”

“You what?” Ailia said through a dropped jaw. She had always wanted to work with dragons, but someone from the slums getting a job there was practically unheard of. Save for a few exceptions. “How?”

“Your dad is awesome, that’s how.” Ailia wrapped her arms around her dad. Thinking could wait. “You should look in your room, there’s something in there I think you’ll like.” Ailia released her grip on her dad, turned, and threw open her door. There, lying on her bed, she saw a full dragon trainer uniform. A crystal-infused, dragon-leather shirt and pants with a dragon-scale vest, all of which fireproof. She nearly screamed in excitement before carefully moving the uniform off her bed and to her closet, pushing all the hangers to the side to give the uniform its own place.

“You start overmorrow,” he said as he stood by her door frame. She giddily wrapped him in another hug.

“Thank you so much Dad,” she said, muffled by her dad’s shoulder. “Do you think I could be a dragon racer one day? Maybe I could be as good as mom.” He pulled out of the hug to look her in the eye with a smile.

"It won’t be easy, Kiddo,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “And remember, right now, you’re just a cage hand.” He moved a piece of hair out of her face before reaching up to mussy her hair. “You know, you look more and more like your mother every day. Now, get some sleep, it’s getting late.” Ailia thanked him once more before he left the room. He quietly shut the door behind him. Ailia giddily flopped down on her bed. She was tired, but she was too excited to sleep right away. She laid in her bed for what felt like hours, thinking. Soon, she fell asleep.



~~~~~



Ailia didn’t dream often, and when she did, she could barely remember them. But tonight was one of the few nights where her dream was too fantastical to forget. She dreamt of one of her earliest memories. She was with her mom, riding her dragon Aridyne. Talen, or Spitfire as many knew her, took Ailia through the dragon racing course. They spun through holes dug out of stalactites, dived at incredible speeds, and flew faster than any other dragon rider could ever go. Ailia loved it.

Soon enough, maybe too soon, the morning bells chimed through the kingdom. When Ailia woke, she felt a longing she hadn’t truly felt in seven years. She wanted to ride with her mom one more time.

When she was alive, Talen and Ailia would spend every moment possible together. When they weren't riding Aridyne, they were reading about the ancient times. Life before the move to the cavern and The Closing of the Earth. It fascinated them both. While her mother had an interest in old tech and machinery, like the Spitfire plane she had named herself after, Ailia had taken a liking to nature. Animals like giraffes, capybaras, and lions, and insects like the praying mantis and dragonflies had always fascinated her. The only animals and insects down in Ohhalador were the dragons and evolved types of ancient bugs that made it in before The Close.

Ailia looked to the calendar on her wall. There was only one month until this year’s New World’s celebration. She had great memories of past celebrations. She loved making Krackel Quartz Tea and staying up to hear the music of the kingdom horns.

One night, her mom had taken her to the dragon cages to celebrate with all the dragon riders. Once the distant horns began, each dragon rider pulled out a small whistle and blew. In turn, all the dragons began to let out low growls and roars, almost like they were singing in a language only they could understand.

Ailia looked back fondly at her memories, spacing out for a moment before remembering what had happened just before bed last night. She jumped out of bed, ran to her closet, and pulled out the dragon trainer uniform. She quickly changed, wanting to see what she looked like in it.

After Ailia finished putting the uniform on, she ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror. She loved it. The way the dragon scales reflected in the low light of the house with a range of dim colors. How the crystal infused leather sparkled. How it wasn’t too tight or suffocating, but strong enough to not tear. All of it was perfect. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow. She was giddy, almost knocking a bar of soap off the small counter. She made her way back to her room and put on some of her normal clothes. She was excited, so she decided to tell her friends. She returned to her room and threw her cloak over herself, covering herself completely. After telling her dad goodbye, she shot out the door, before turning around and running back in to grab something she had forgotten.



~~~~~



The walk to the house was calm. Very few people were out other than the occasional stand with someone pedaling their wares. Ailia greeted one of the stand workers she knew as she passed.

"Hey there baby, you sure lookin' happy this mornin'," The stand worker said with a smile.

"Sure am, Miss Magnolia, my dad gave me some awesome news last night. He got me a job at the dragon cages," Ailia responded excitedly.

"Well now, that's some mighty fine news indeed. I've got some good news for you too. I've got about a half batch of apples that didn't sell that I saved for you." She turned grabbed a bag half full of apples. Ailia eyes widened slightly.

"Wow, thank you Miss Magnolia, you didn't have to do this."

"Well now, I wasn't just gonna let 'em go to waste. And I done told you, you ain't gotta call me Miss," Magnolia said with a chuckle. Ailia thanked Magnolia again and set on her way.

When Ailia made it to the house, she found no one inside, their usual meeting time an hour from then. She was so excited that the concept of time eluded her until she got to her destination. She flipped her hood off with a slight huff, annoyed at herself for leaving so early. She took off her cloak and hung it on the old hat rack they had snuck in the house, then put away her bag of apples. While she was there, she decided to do some clean up and reorganization. She spent what felt like hours there, sweeping, dusting, checking for anything missing; then Kie arrived. Through a window, as always.

“A-Ailia?” He said as he stumbled through the window, landing on his face. Ailia winced. “Wh-what are you doing here?” He said with a nervous chuckle, lifting his head. Ailia gasped slightly when she saw his face. His forehead was bleeding.

“Are you alright?” She asked, rushing over to the cabinet where they kept a few old first aid boxes. She pulled out some gauze, a rag, and some antibiotic ointment. She went back over to him and sat beside him. She dabbed his head with the rag before putting some of the ointment on the gauze and carefully placing it on the gash.

“Uh, A-Ailia I-” Kie said quietly before being cut off.

“Hush,” Ailia responded. “Don’t move your face.” She continued to examine his head, making sure he wasn’t injured anywhere else. “You’re all red again,” she said, placing a hand on his cheek. “Are you ok?” Kie squeaked in response before he cleared his throat.

“Y-yeah yeah, I’m fine. I just uh, wasn’t expecting you to be here.” Kie said quickly, fidgeting nervously.

“Kie do you,” Ailia started before pausing, thinking of how she should word her question. “You don’t hate me, do you?” She asked, looking away and picking at her short nails.

“What? Hate you? Why would I hate you?” Kie took Ailia’s hands in his. “Ailia, I definitely do not hate you. Why would you think I do?”

“Well, you’re always so fidgety and nervous when I’m near you. It’s like you don’t like being around me. And Sky said I was oblivious to something about you but wouldn’t tell me what.” Kie visibly stiffened at that.

“What all did they tell you?” He asked slowly, cautiously.

“That I’m oblivious, an absolute idiot, and that they’re concerned I haven’t ‘figured it out yet.’ They also said it wasn’t their place to tell.” Ailia took a deep breath, taking her hands back to run them through her hair. Kie pulled his hands back quickly. “Are you sure I didn’t do anything to upset you?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong.” Kie said quickly, raising his voice slightly.

“Then why do you always avoid me?” Ailia asked, a bit louder than intended. Kie squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out the answer.

“Because I have a crush on you!” Ailia’s eyes widened and jaw dropped when she realized what he said.

“Well, homeboy finally said it.” Unakite said as he walked through the door, Sky’s arm wrapped around his. Both were wearing hoods, faces hardly visible.

“You,” Ailia paused, eyes looking back and forth between Kie’s. “You have a crush on me?” She asked. She sat there dumfounded for a moment. She stood, nervously putting her hands together as if she were about to crack her knuckles and twisted her fingers. “I, have to go.” She said slowly, slight pause between each word. She walked out slowly. Her eyes were slightly shifting, never locking onto one thing. It was as if she saw nothing but Kie’s eyes.