The forgetfulness I had was like a plague on my brain.

I was standing in front of a wall full of mirrors with maids rushing around me in a frenzy. Although I disliked when the women pulled at my hair and poked at my face, I couldn't help but admire the enormous mirrors in this room. I had never seen such things before. In Acrine, my home, mirrors were a rare thing because of how expensive they were. However, my mom had a small, hand-held mirror surrounded by pure silver that dad had gifted to her. When she wasn't using it, she kept it in a box to keep it protected. She told me how much she cherished the gift, and one day, when I was older, she would gift it to me.

As a younger girl, I fawned over the object, always wanting to see it. I understood the value of it was not because of how expensive it was. The simple act of giving a gift like that held sentimental meaning behind it.

Looking at myself now, I did not recognize the grown woman before me. I had caught reflections of myself in the rippling waters while I was on the island of Aeberuthey, but they were distorted and did not capture the whole image. Here, I could see how much my figure and appearance had truly changed. I was scrawny before and lacked muscle. Now, I could see the toned definition of my hard work paying off as my skin pulled tight around the newly formed muscles covering my arms. I was nowhere near as muscular as the men in this Academy, but I had enough to let others know I was not a fragile woman. The blue in my eyes that surrounded the brown glowed deeper with an ancient power. I thought I had received half of my mom's eyes, but I know now that I held half of Naxan's eyes. They glowed brighter than I have ever seen eyes do so before.

My whole appearance had changed, but I still looked like me. Just with a little more spice added into the mix.

Naxan stirred in my mind as he heard my thoughts. "Twoleg," He hummed.

"Nax."

"Bustling dragon's den," Naxan said. Through his eyes, I saw him watching the Academy. People were sifting in and out of the open doors, moving around in a hurried yet precise way. I would have compared it to a beehive.

"Tonight is a fancy event that these people put on every year. There's going to be a lot more people than this."

"Swarm."

A sudden worrying thought crossed my mind. There would be a lot of people here, and it would be crowded. Would Nax become overwhelmed?

"Malady, you must be still." One of the housekeepers said beside me as she put something onto my face. I learned her name to be Evangeline, but she told me to call her Eve. I watched in the mirror as she put on what I would call makeup onto my face.

I pulled back, shaking my head. "None of that, please. I don't want to look like a fool."

Eve clicked her tongue as she scowled at me. "A little bit then?"

I pursed my lips, deciding on whether or not I should allow it. I hope Eve's definition of "a little bit" was close to mine. Nodding my head, I closed my eyes and kept quiet even when I thought there was too much being put onto my face.

Once I no longer felt brushstrokes or odd liquids layering my skin, I opened my eyes. My eyelids felt heavy as I stared at myself in the mirror. I refrained from making a face of disgust as I saw the person staring back at me. She was unrecognizable. The skin on her face looked flawless, lacking the blemishes the sun had freckled her skin with. Her eyelashes were longer and darker, illuminating her eyes to look brighter than they were already.

I'm sure other girls would love to look like this, but I disliked it immensely. I looked like someone I was not, a doll made of porcelain that could easily be broken.

"Shapeshifter," Naxan spoke as he saw what I looked like through my eyes. He then proceeded to complain about my terrible eyesight and how dragons were superior in this sense. "Stronger, faster, can fly. Twolegs are puny and weak."

I rolled my eyes, forgetting that Naxan was still looking through them. He hissed in displeasure. "Sick." I could sense that made his stomach upset.

"Weak in the stomach, are we?" I smiled, almost laughing out loud, but I kept my mouth tightly closed. I'm sure these girls were used to having dragon riders communicate with their dragons, but I still couldn't get over the idea of how we looked to them, talking to ourselves out loud or laughing randomly. In any other case, that person would be labelled a nut, and people would stay clear of that kind of crazy.

What came next was equally, if not more, as horrifying. A long dress with a wide skirt was brought out of hiding and held out for me to observe. The fabric and design looked expensive. Too bad it didn't appeal to my taste.

"This is mine?" I asked with hesitation. The one holding the dress nodded eagerly, moving closer to me so I could get a better look. My fingers lightly skimmed the fabric, and as I did so, the dried skin my hands were flecked with snagged the material. I pulled my hand back, grimacing. Something as expensive as this should not be worn by someone who could easily ruin it.

The women surrounded me, and with little of my cooperation, they put me into the dress. I was glad the corset was not uncomfortably tight around me, but it still felt odd to have my figure pressed into a smaller form. The dress slimmed down my upper body, pushing up certain aspects of my female characteristics, and the skirt widened at the waist, fanning out until the fabric touched the floor. I was used to wearing clothing that was loose-fitting and easy to move in, my figure being left to the imagination.

"Now, what are we going to do with that?" One of the women spoke up behind me. I turned to observe what they were looking at and saw their eyes pointed at my shoulder, where the fabric did not cover. A white scar that disrupted my tanned skin was on clear display for all eyes to see. I had acquired this scar when in the hunter's camp where they were trapping dragons on Aeberuthey. The captain had attacked me with his sword, cutting open my skin in more than one place.

"Leave it." I straightened in the mirror as I observed the battle wound. One woman began to protest, saying that a lady should not have battle scars shown on her body. I cut her off by turning around where I stood. I held out my arm where the black markings of my rider's mark imprinted on my skin. "I'm a rider, not a lady."

They were silent as they stared at the marking on my arm. I was glad this dress did not cover my arms, as I enjoyed showing off my mark to those who were skeptical.

I turned around and observed myself in the mirror. My rider's mark was on clear display, the black matching with the dress. Whoever came up with my outfit must have done this on purpose. I was thankful for the lack of colour. I would have disliked the idea of being in bright, colourful clothing.

The women got to work on my hair, pulling it up with pins. I was hoping this was the last step as I stood there in discomfort. I had been standing for some time now. My feet were aching in the uncomfortable heels I was placed in.

My hair took the longest to do. I normally had trouble doing anything with my hair, so I pulled it back into a tie for the day to keep it out of my face. They had the same idea with my hair but put it up in an elegant fashion. A couple of loose pieces fell around my head, but the vast majority were tucked away.

Now, I believe they were done with me. Finally too. I wasn't sure how much longer I could last. I watched as all three women took a step back to admire their handy work.

"You look very elegant, miss," Eve spoke as she took in my appearance.

I forced a smile, making my voice sound sincere. "All thanks to you." I did, however, feel slightly bad for them. They worked hard to make me look good, and I wasn't giving them the praise they deserved. Even if I did hate being dressed up like this, I should recognize their efforts.

They bowed their heads slightly, moving to clean up the room. When they weren't looking, I kicked my boots under my dress.

"Everyone will be meeting at the main entrance, miss. I suggest you hurry." I nodded my head in thanks. As I turned back to the mirror, the door shut closed. Now alone, I breathed a heavy sigh. I felt crowded with the attention I was receiving. This room was small, and with the number of mirrors lining the walls, it felt like dozens of people occupied the space instead of just four.

I kicked off the heels from my feet, which decreased my height a couple of inches and got to work on lacing up my boots. They were already sore from standing in them for a short time. There was no way I was to last the entire night with shooting pains rushing up my legs.

Feeling more comfortable in my boots rather than heels, I walked around the room. The fabric of the dress swished silently around me as I watched myself in the mirrors lining the walls. I was still in awe of how expensive this room alone was. One small mistake and this room would turn into a bunch of shards littering the floor. Realizing I shouldn't be in this room alone, I decided to leave before I was the one to make that mistake.

I closed the door behind me as I left and walked in the direction I remember taking while coming to this room. I wasn't sure if anyone else had this issue, but I found this place to be a maze.

My sense of direction was not nearly as horrible as I thought it to be once I heard the distant sounds of bustling commotion become louder. As the noises grew as I came closer to where everyone was gathering, for some odd reason, my hands became clammy. Was I nervous? For what reason?

"Mate will still like you even though you shapeshifted."

"Oh hush, Naxan," I grumbled, not finding his tone amusing. I was seriously not nervous about that, was I? I continued walking as I shook my head. No, there were many reasons as to why my nerves would be rattled.

One moment I was looking into an empty hall, and the next, I was in a room full of my fellow rider companions. Multiple words were being exchanged on the topic I had just walked in on.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Tomi. Your mom is a good-looking woman." I heard Fin's voice above the rest. He was sitting on the couch beside Baylen, who was choking with laughter.

Tomi scowled at Fin as he grumbled something incoherent. The group's laughter rang through the large and open room. Boys. Of course, this would be the topic I walked into.

I caught Baylen's eye as he looked over at me. He stopped laughing immediately, his eyes widening slightly. Yes, I was in a dress. Get over it. I wanted to scowl at him, but instead, I gave a small wave. Little by little, the laughter in the room died down to a still quietness as the riders turned to view what had caught Baylen's attention. The pairs of eyes made me feel smaller than ever as I was placed in this uncomfortable situation. I watched as Baylen stood from his seat and made his way toward me. He grasped my hand in his and bent very low to the ground, producing a kiss on the top of my hand. "Malady," He spoke with a hint of laughter in his tone.

I ripped my hand away from his and smacked him on the head. "You are insufferable." I wanted to sound angrier than I was, but I ended up laughing instead. I was thankful that he had broken the uncomfortable aura the room held because others behind him softly laughed as well.

Kayne came towards us, his eyes burning into me with that familiar look I'd come to know. My breath nearly hitched in my throat. Handsome he was, his suit fit his form perfectly. The golden tie he wore was the perfect pop of colour his attire needed. His hair, untouched by gel, made him look devilishly rugged. I refrained from analyzing him too much, not wanting it to be noticed.

He stopped in front of me, his fiery gaze staring deeply into my eyes. "You look beautiful," He said softly, wrapping my arm into his grasp.

"Well, look at you," Fin spoke up as Baylen and Kayne led me to the group of people. "First time I met you proper was when you were covered in demon guts. You've come a long way."

"You should've seen her when we were on the dragon island. Hair everywhere, dirt-covered face, just a complete mess!" Aleric laughed.

"You sure know how to make first impressions," Baylen chuckled as he made room for me on a couch.

"I'd take dirt and guts over this any day," I sighed, kicking my dress.

Tomi leaned forward, giving my feet a scrutinizing glare. "That is totally not fair. You get to wear boots while we have to wear these uncomfortable shoes."

I hurriedly tucked my feet under my dress, looking around for any oncoming housekeepers who overheard our conversation. Not finding an angry woman carrying those god-awful heels, I narrowed my eyes at Tomi. "If you rat me out, I'll castrate you."

He raised an eyebrow in a challenging manner, his face producing a mischievous grin. "Oh, housekeeping!" He sang.

"If I had something to throw at you..." I shook my head, smiling slightly. The group conversed until Colin walked into the room, gauging us with his owl-like eyes. The boys stood as he came toward our group. I quickly stood as well, watching as he stopped before us. He gave every one of us a glance before speaking.

"I expect everyone to behave accordingly tonight. We have important people coming to the Academy, and I would like them to be impressed with our future riders." Colin's eyes landed on me as he finished speaking. I kept my face blank, not showing him what I was thinking. I didn't trust him anymore, but I think he knew that part. "Your parents shall be arriving soon as well as all other guests. Enjoy yourselves." Colin left with one final nod of his head. I watched as he walked around a corner and was gone from sight.

I sat back down on the couch, breathing in deeply. Kayne grasped my hand in his as he occupied the seat next to me. "Ready for tonight?"

Was I ready? Appearance-wise, maybe. Emotionally ready? Definitely not. I hadn't seen my parents in over a year. Both of them had lied to me my entire life, and the other wasn't even my parent. I wasn't sure how I would react when I saw them. Would I hate them for the lies they built my life on, or would it all be forgotten once I saw their familiar faces?

I nodded my head and smiled at Kayne. I was going to ignore that question until I laid my eyes on them.

"Are you?" I asked.

Kayne shrugged his shoulders. "I've been through this a few times already."

They all had, which made me feel even more anxious. Kayne and the rest had experience with talking to these types of people. The only knowledge of proper social etiquette I had was a few manners that my parents taught me. That could only go so far. I was doomed for tonight.

To make matters worse, an angry woman holding a pair of black heels came into my line of view.