Rose's POV

I am surrounded by lavender plants, the fresh flowery smell calming my relaxed state furthermore. I am under the shade of a large oak tree, a few meters away from the poor dragon assigned to carry all of my belongings. I had to make sure that they carefully secured my package from Mr.Olly and Olsen because the two of them told me that whatever was in the package was fragile. I smell the oak wood scent invading my nostrils, being carried by the breeze. I can feel the bark of the century old tree rubbing against my back, each tiny splinter of wood waiting to prick my skin.

I continue to calm myself and relax my muscles. Of course I have always been around boys, but this will likely be the first time I am without constant female presence as I attend the Academy. Unless I stop by the maid quarters, I will not be seeing too many girls. There is nothing much wrong with it, it's just that growing up with Stacy and Mrs.Robin as the closest people to having a mom, after Adele's passing of course, it would be nice not to be left without female interaction. Goddess only knows I do so well with making friends with girls my age. My peaceful state of mind is interrupted when I hear the familiar voices of the golden boys shout in unison.

"ROSEEEEE!! WE'RE SO GOLDEN- "

"YOUR LOOKS BLIND ME TIL' DAWN!" I finish the chant. The boys walk over here as if nothing happened, everyone else who is not from our village looks at us questioningly. The chosen ones from our village are probably used to the way our group finds each other if we don't know where the others are, overlooking the occurrence as a whole. We talk about what we think the Academy will be like and what classes we have to take.

"We are going to have to protect you y'know." Tony says to me. Ever since I befriended him, he has taken it upon himself to be like my best friend/bodyguard.

"Why?" I ask, knowing that I can take all of them down if I wanted to. Although Tony is strong, I bear the same muscles with agility and skill on my side.

"Everyone at the Academy will be looking at you like a fresh piece of meat. Maybe if you were ugly we wouldn't have a problem, but you are literally like the walking form of an angel." Tony responds. They all got over the crush phase very quickly in primary school, and now they are most definitely my brothers. The good thing about it is that they aren't afraid to compliment me on my appearance, as I them. We all know that we are a relatively attractive group.

"Aw man, I forgot about that." The twins whine in unison. Ryder nods his head gruffly, not liking the fact that other people will be looking at my body in a not-so-appropriate way.

"May we have everyone's attention." One of the riders announces. The talk immediately dies down, everyone anxious to hear what they have to say.

"Thank you. We will all introduce ourselves, then we will give you a brief run down as to what is to be expected when we arrive at the Academy. Starting with me, my name is Aiden. I am 18 years old, a dual wielder of both nature and water, and am a year 4 at the Academy." Two Colo- I mean Aiden states.

"Hello everyone, my name is Joel. I am also 18 and these two knuckleheads' best friend," He says, motioning to Aiden and the other magii user. "I am a fire wielder and am a year 4 at the academy." Joel finishes.

"Hi, I am Clay. I am 18, an air wielder, and am a year 4." Clay shortly explains. Just as I predicted, he is the more reserved type, probably not too big of a fan of crowds while Aiden is a natural leader.

"I am excited to get to know all of you, especially the dragon riders. My name is Marcus, I am 36. No, I do not attend the Academy, I help out with some of the dragon training courses at the school since I have graduated. Over there is my dragon companion Oceanus." Marcus excitedly says, pointing to the beautiful aqua blue dragon that has me wanting to ask many questions. One question I just cannot shake off. Before the next rider introduces himself, I raise my hand. Marcus motions for me to speak.

"Is your companion named after the titan-god who represents the sea, as well as controlled river Okeanos that encircled the world, connecting earth to the underworld and the heavens?" I ask him, immediately regretting it. Goddess, I sound like such a nerd.

"Uh..er- .. um.. Yes, yes he was." Marcus stutters out. The dragon snorts aloud, making me giggle. If I am being honest, Marcus is a pretty bad liar, and I am unsure of his answer. So I look to the fascinating dragon. There are a few moments of silence.

"He says that he is named after Oceanus, and that he is also able to predict someone's power level because of the way the titan god regulated heavenly bodies which rose from and were set into his waters." Marcus says, regurgitating the dragon's words. I nod and clamp my mouth shut. The next ride introduces himself.

"My name is Justin, I am 22, and am freshly of out Stone Heart University. This will be my first year mentoring other students, so dragon riders, we will be learning together in a way. Lastly, my dragon companion is Beau." Justin kindly says, pointing to the lizard green dragon from the ceremony.

"I am Alex, I came here without my companion but he is here now to help us fly you lot to the Academy. His name is Axel, while I am 22. I am also fresh out of Uni, but I plan to have fun with you all while giving you guys the best dragon riding experience." He says energetically, pointing to an emerald green dragon.

"I am Lucas, 18 years old, and am a year 4 student. My companion, Ampiere, and I are top of our class, so we will be able to give you guys some present day pointers." He says, receiving glares from the older dragon riders. "Not saying that anybody is like ancient...well, maybe you Marcus." He hurriedly rushes out, then adds as an afterthought. Marcus just grumbles under his breath while us 15 year olds laugh at his joke.

"Because their riding companions are not here, I will introduce the other five dragons. Starting off with second in line over there, next to Axel, is Lidia. Next to her is Rocco, then Emil, Daisy, and lastly, Scar." Justin says. Everyone just nods their heads.

"Alright, now that the introductions are over, this is what will happen when we arrive at the Academy. You will all be directed into a line where you will state your name, village, and status. This is so that the living quarters coordinators can room you together with another student. After that, you wait to the side until your name is called. You will walk with your roommate to your dorm, using a map that will be provided to you. We will call you down to meet in the canteen, just follow the crowd of students. You will be given a late dinner, instructions for tomorrow and a basic run down of things. That is pretty much it, now that it is almost a quarter past 6, we must leave. I predict that we can get their by half past 10 if the dragons stay at a consistent pace with help from Clay. Now, let's get moving!" Aiden states.

We all begin making our way towards five of the dragons who have saddles on them. Only 6-8 people are allowed on each dragon, including the experienced seven. I walk my way towards my dragon preference, Oceanus. I tell the boys that we can meet up when we reach the Academy grounds. The twins make their way towards Scar, probably finding his name cool. Tony goes to Ampiere, probably looking for less interruptions as people will be looking to ride the larger dragons. Ryder just looks at Lydia in awe, standing by her. I take my spot next to Oceanus, admiring his aqua blue scales. I slowly reach out my hand, looking to touch the beautiful dragon. Oceanus looks down at me, contemplating, and that's when I remember.

"I mean no harm, I am not a threat to you. I just want to admire your beauty up close if that's okay with you." I say to the dragon, my hand still moving towards him. He makes no move to push me back or allow me to touch his scales, but I know that it is in his natural instinct to want to assess everyone who comes close to him as a possible threat. Just as I am about to drop my hand, Oceanus lowers his head, bringing my hand to his forehead. He looks in my eyes, his piercing gaze looking to see if I will betray his trust. I slightly move my hands in a soothing motion, feeling the rough exterior of his scales. I lay my hand there for a moment before I hear Marcus shouting at me to get back. I lean closer to the dragon, touching our foreheads together.

" Tibi gratias ago pro tui confidunt. Non est facilis." I whisper in Latin, only for his ears to here, pulling away after. [ T : Thank you for your trust in me. It mustn't have been easy. ]

Marcus approaches. "Why would you do that! Do you know how dangerous that could have been?!? I do not care for your status, just know that you should never touch a dragon without their rider's permission. What you just pulled could get you killed! You are lucky that Oceanus has experience with you kids, because if he wasn't, you wouldn't have an arm!!" He scolds.

"Noted. I apologize for my actions, I will not do that in the future." I calmly respond, not caring that he was practically screaming at me. He was just worried about me and for the safety of his dragon, I do not take it personally. Everyone else from my village just looks confused, the golden boys looking pissed off that he yelled in my face.

It is not everyday you see me getting scolded by my elders in such a 'harsh' way. I pay no mind to it, returning my gaze to Oceanus beside me. I try to convince him with my eyes that I would never lay a hand on him or put him in danger. I think he understands because the dragon slightly nods, just enough for me to notice. My sensitive hearing slightly affected by the loud portrayal of Marcus' voice, I guess I will just have to get used to it. As most other kids are already on the saddles waiting for us to take off, I hear 5 boisterous voices coming my way. I inwardly groan and turn towards the group of guys I intentionally try my best to avoid.

They are the sexist, egotistical pigs I mentioned earlier. I have always beaten them easily in battle and weaponry, not even breaking a sweat in most of our training fights. John, their ringleader, pushes past me, making me lose balance for a split second before I return to my regular posture. I am about to ask what he is doing when he answers for me.

"Hello Rose," He spits out my name like it's venom. "It looks like you won't be able to ride this dragon. I mean, only 8 people max per saddle, and my group plus the 3 seasoned magii users equals eight, incase your tiny brain couldn't comprehend." He begins.

" Oh per favore." I say in Italian. Getting into an argument right now is the last thing I want to do. [ T : Oh please. ]

"I believe I understand quite well John, thank you for your consideration though. But I must say that I was here first, and am quite fine with riding Oceanus here. There are still 2 open seats on Lidia, 1 on Ampiere, and a few on Axel and Emil. I think you would do just fine on those dragons." I respond politely, doing my best to hold back my anger. Goddess how these boy irritate me to no end.

"Ummmm, no." John replies.

Breathe Rose, do not throttle him. I repeat in my mind. He takes a threatening step towards me thinking I would cower back.

"I believe you are mistaken, for you to think I would ever cower back when all you really are is just a big bully is a huge misunderstanding. Also, if I remember correctly, the last training session, or for an accurate reoccurrence of events shall I say every training session, has not ended in your favor when paired with me." I remark, barely restraining the anger from clipping my tone. John takes another step forward.

"Don't think you are so great. You are weak, a pathetic girl. You probably aren't even that special, I know for a fact that the stone has made a mistake choosing you!!" He angrily shouts. I stare in shock, as does everyone else. The dragons threateningly growl at the boy before me. By saying the stone made a mistake, he practically insulted the goddesses, who gifted us the stone. As if realizing his fault, he is about to stomp the rest of the way over to me when a familiar rough exterior grabs me by the waist and pulls me back.

When I come to my senses, I realize that Oceanus has his tail wrapped around my waist, pulling me towards his warmth, protecting me. All the while growling at John and barring his teeth, more so than the other dragons.

"You would do good to tread carefully boy, you are this close to getting your status revoked." Marcus threatens. I gasp, to get your power revoked permanently after the choosing ceremony is the worst kind of shame anyone could bring to their village. Before John says something he will regret, I voice my words to him.

"John, as much as I do not like you, I do not want to see you shunned from your family for carelessly saying things. Think about your sister and just take one of the other open seats." I sternly say, leaving no room for discussion. John angrily stalks off to Axel, waiting by the dragon for a rider to assist him onto the saddle. Axel himself looks displeased to have John riding on his back, and I can't help but empathize with the dragon. John's little minions scurry off to the other open saddle spots as Oceanus loosens his grip on my waist.

"Thank you Oceanus." I say in response for his move to protect me. I look at Tony, then the rest of the golden boys, nodding my head to show that I am alright. Marcus just walks over aggravated, as Oceanus lowers his back. I see the places I can fit my feet and estimate the amount of strength I will have to use to hoist myself up. Without Marcus's help, I gently grab Oceanus's wing, stepping onto his leg in one motion. After I confirm my grip on the wing, I use a little force and jump onto the back of the dragon, barely finding myself in the saddle. Marcus just gets on his companion effortlessly, amusement showing in his eyes.

"You are independent it seems." He states.

"You could say so." I reply with a shrug of my shoulders. When everyone is safely in a saddle, we depart from our village. Thankfully, the little stunt John caused did not delay us much. I can see lots of people gathered in a crowd in town center waving to us as their figures grow smaller. Soon, the village is just a lit up place surrounded by roads and woods, the dragons gracefully flying through the sky. Rocco and Daisy left before us because they had to carry everyone's luggage back. I make a mental note to thank them for that later, it must be quite heavy. Hearing the shrieks of others close to us as I close my eyes and let myself enjoy the ride.

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