Rose's POV

I put the thought at the back of my mind, choosing to get my food first. There is a wide selection of foods I can eat, but I choose to stick with a salad, a bowl of soup, and a slice of bread. I grab my food and place it on my tray, walking towards the Level 1 eating tables. I hear a few whistles as I pass by, followed by some laughter. I turn around and see Iverson, 3 of the fire wielders from that obnoxious group, one dragon rider, and one nature wielder.

"I would appreciate it if you could keep your hormones in check." I say, rolling my eyes. I guess nobody really speaks up to them because they look surprised and the eavesdropping tables go silent.

"Stop dressing like a tease." Iverson says, looking directly into my eyes.

"I can choose whatever clothes I want to wear, it is you who has to learn to keep it in your pants." I argue, not trying to let my emotions control my words. There is an uproar of laughter aimed at Iverson and his friends.

"You don't get to speak to us that way little girl." The dragon rider spits out. The nature wielder nods his head in agreement. I can feel the energy in my aura crystal shift around, this is going to be bad if I don't stop it.

"Look," I sigh. "Just leave me alone and we can go our separate ways." I say, finishing the altercation. I sit down at an empty table with my lukewarm food. I begin eating my salad, aware of the few lingering gazes. I see a flash of red and blonde to my right. I turn to look at the person and see it's Joel. I also see Trevor and Gabriel coming this way, along with Clay.

"Hey blondie." I say.

"Blondie?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's the nickname I picked for you." I mutter sheepishly. "I can call you Joel though if you don't like it." My face a little red from embarrassment. I look up and see that Joel has a wide smile on his face.

"It's fine." He smiles. I greet everyone else at the table.

"I want you staying away from that group. They are the pompous asses I told you about before." I nod to Joel's statement, remembering our conversation atop of Oceanus.

"What's that on your neck?" Clay asks.

"Oh, it's the sapienti est aura crystal. Mr.Monroe gave it to me when I accepted his words of wisdom rather than whine about it, after he told us he had a surprise for the 'winners' of a meditating exercise. The crystal has accepted me and now I am it's protecter and bearer." I explain. The boys look at me wide eyed.

"You mean ... that's an actual aura crystal?" Trevor asks. I nod. I also tell them how if the aura crystal gets a bad feeling, it emits it's power and harms the negative energy source. They nod in awe.

"That's so cool!" Gabriel excitedly says. I laugh at his enthusiasm.

"Anyway, how have your other classes been going?" I ask them. We dive into conversation from there. It's nice to know that they sat with me knowing that they could have been sitting with their other friends. Suddenly, an alarm like sound is rung throughout the cafeteria. We get up and set down our trays, knowing that it is the sound of the 2 minute warning.

"Nice piercing by the way." Gabriel comments.

"Thank you, I didn't want a standard piercing or water item. But it didn't even hurt, I was about to ask why he hadn't started yet when he told me he was finished." I tell them.

"Really? I remember my piercings hurting like crazy." Clay tells me, I am glad he is beginning to open up to me.

"Yeah, it looks good. But I rather not the whole male population of this school be looking at your midriff. Especially when you are super toned." Joel says, being all protective. I just smile at his want to shield me from the boys at this school.

We separate from each other after saying goodbye, turns out that I have Clay, Joel, and Aiden in my combat period. I walk towards the stables where I am supposed to meet Marcus and Trent. Because Lucas is the only other Level 1, the training is more one on one. I see Lucas at the front of the stables with my two instructors.

"Ah, now that you have joined us, we will be able to go to the hatchery." Trent says.

"Can I get Belvedere first?" I ask.

"I don't see a problem with it. I can also go see Oceanus, they are stable mates." Marcus says. I thank him and walk towards the back to get my dragon.

'Belvedere, oh Belvedere.' I sing in my mind.

'Little one, oh little one.' He laughs, mimicking me. I open his gates and give him a hug.

'I have a name Belvedere.' I smile.

'Yes you do and it is little one.' He responds, showing a mental image of him smiling. I just roll my eyes. Ever since I personalized his stable, he has been opening up to me more.

"Wow." The others stutter out.

"You did this?" Lucas asks.

"Yeah, I personalized it because I knew that it would make Belvedere feel more comfortable." I smile at them.

"It looks great!" Lucas says.

"You are spoiling him." Trent bluntly states.

"He deserves to be spoiled. Dragons are very under appreciated, so I am doing all I can to show my companion how much he means to me." I say, a little confused at his bluntness.

"He's just sour because his dragon has been complaining about how he wants to be treated like Belvedere. Oceanus has also mentioned it to me, but hasn't been pestering me about it like his dragon has." Marcus responds. I now notice Oceanus in the second largest stable.

'Hey Oceanus.' I chirp.

'You can speak to me?' He whips his gaze to mine.

'Remember when I told you to enter my mind when I first got here, it turns out that when I allow dragons into my mind space, I am able to communicate with them.' I explain. He nods, absorbing the information.

"What is your dragons name?" I ask Trent.

"Nightshade." He responds. I look around the back area only to see about 4 dragons are currently here. I recognize Belvedere, Oceanus, and Star, meaning that the other must be Nightshade.

"It's nice to meet you." I wave to the dragon. He snorts in amusement.

"Alright, shall we go now?" Marcus asks. I nod, beckoning Belvedere to follow me.

'I want you to know that I will always care for you. Just because I will get another companion does not mean I won't make time for you.' I tell my dragon.

'I know that. I am kind of excited, I can help coach the youngling with you.' He says, looking for the positives. I raise an eyebrow, usually he isn't this optimistic. 'Plus, I would just kidnap you and force you to spend time with me if I felt lonely.' He states, I chuckle.

'There he is. I was beginning to get worried.' I tease Belvedere. He poked his tail gently against my upper back. I continue walking with the three boys, Oceanus, Nightshade, and Ampiere, who we picked up on the way out.

'I am quite jealous of you you know.' I hear Oceanus say.

'Why is that?' Belvedere asks.

'The dragons around here don't usually get shown affection. That may be because all the riders are males, or they just don't think about it. But, I'll let you know that many dragons are jealous of you and your riders relationship. That doesn't mean that we all don't love our riders, we just crave the attention that you are shown.' Oceanus says.

'It is true.' I hear a feminine voice chime in. 'Although Lucas is among the more caring riders, he has never shown me as much appreciation as you have received since you met the girl. You truly are blessed to have Rose as your rider.' The voice, I assume is Ampiere, tells Belvedere.

'Yes. My rider is more uptight, and I can hardly get him to spend time with me now a days. I was trying to convey to him that I miss all the time we used to spend together, but he thinks I am just whining.' A dark voice adds, probably Nightshade. I feel bad for the dragons, I know that they are under appreciated. All of the riders should be making more of an effort.

'I see, thank you for telling me this. When I first saw the stable, I didn't realize that it was so bare and empty. It made me feel like I was alone again, but then Rose was there. She came back with her supplies ready to spend the night if it meant making me more comfortable. I now see her in a new light.' My dragon concludes. I could have tears coming out of my eyes from his confession, but I don't want to alert them that I was listening the whole time.

"I noticed the tattoo on your back, when did you get it?" Lucas asks me. The dragons have stopped talking, now paying attention to Lucas and I's conversation.

"Oh! It's my companion mark, it showed up last night. It's a tattoo that you receive somewhere along your body that is personalized to you and your companion when you accept each other. It only happens for companionships that are fated, not born from the start." I tell him. "And if I am being honest, even with all of the troubles, yesterday was probably the best day of my life. It's because yesterday was the day that Belvedere and I became bound together forever." I add in wholeheartedly, smiling wide. I look up at my dragon and send a feeling of love through our bond.

'She has stars in her eyes whenever she talks about you. She loves you very much.' Oceanus sighs out. I feel sympathy for the dragon, already thinking of ways I can cheer them all up.

"Alright. Because you are the only one, we will walk with you as you find your egg. You should know it's your egg because you will feel a natural pull to it. Then, when you touch the egg shell, it glows. The glow symbolizes that a dragon has found their rider, and the egg will hatch within 2 days. The faster your egg hatches, the more powerful the dragon." Trent tells me. I nod, walking into the hatchery.

'Don't pick out an evil one.' Belvedere 'reminds' me.

'I'll do my best not to.' I joke. I realize that my dragon refers to me as Rose when talking to his friends, yet only calls me little one when we are engaged in a private conversation. I guess he just does that to get a rise out of me.

The three experienced dragon riders follow my steps. I immediately feel a strong tug to a direction in the back of the hatchery. I increase my strides, the pull getting stronger as I approach. I reach a wooden door in the back.

"You can't go in-" Trent starts, but I don't let him finish, as I am anxious to meet my baby dragon. I open the door and am faced with two eggs on pedestals. One of them is a golden scale like egg, the other is a black egg with white whisks on it, much like a night sky. I strangely feel equally strong pulls to the two eggs so I reach out my hands and touch both of the egg shells. The three males near the door remain quiet as I feel a stirring movement underneath both of my hands. Glows emit from the shells, on the left is a bright golden one, reminding me of the sun, and the other is midnight black, reminding me of the dark evening. Lucas gasps.





"This shouldn't be possible." Trent mumbles.

"Oh my goddess!" Marcus gasps as well. I pick up my two eggs when their glows die down. Both are quite heavy, I must have some big baby dragons on my hands.

"Ready to go?" I ask the trio. None of them respond, so I make my way out of the room towards the hatchery entrance. "Trent, why were you going to tell me to not enter the room?" I ask.

"Well ... er.. As you may know, dragon eggs remain dormant until their rider is found. We have had those eggs since the beginning of the school. They are twin dragons, both of unidentifiable breeds. We know that they are extremely powerful, so we kept them in the back room, waiting for their riders to attend the Academy." Trent explains. I just nod my head, acknowledging what he said. I can strangely hear the dragon's conversation again, so without directly speaking to Belvedere through bond-link, I get his attention.

'Belvedere, oh Belvedere.' I sing once again.

'Little one, oh little one.' I laugh as he responds to me. 'Is this going to be a constant thing?' He asks.

'Probably. Now, you may be surprised at first, but I promise you it will all work out in the end." I tell him.

'What is it?' My companion asks. I can feel the presence of the other dragons listening to our conversation, probably because I interrupted their mind-link.

'I got twins, so we are a family of four. Surprise!' I say, coming out of the hatchery, bearing my twin eggs. He is shocked, as are the other dragons.

'I promise you that this doesn't change anything. In fact, it means that we will get to spend more time together because you get to train two dragons instead of one.' I tell him. He just nods, still in shock.

'Belvedere, I don't want to cast aside your feelings. I need to know how you feel so we can work around it if we need to.' I sigh to him.

'I am just shocked I guess. I know that we will have plenty of fun when they are trained, but I'm more concerned about where they are going to stay. I would rather watch over them near my stable than have them causing misfits in the regular stables.' Belvedere informs me. I sigh out in relief.

"Hey Marcus, can the twins stay in the stables near Belvedere? I know that they will be big based on how much their eggs weigh." I ask him.

"Okay, it will probably be best for all of your companions to be near one another." He responds after taking a moment to think. I thank him, walking back to the stables with the other dragons behind me. I find two empty stables that are across from Belvedere's but still next to each other.

"I will bring my supplies in here later I guess." Mumbling everything I would need to myself. Aware that everyone is watching me, I look around the two stables, deciding who will get which. I keep the two eggs in the basket I have in the corner of Belvedere's stable. I look at Belvedere, asking him to watch over the eggs and alert me when they hatch. He nods. It isn't until I get a good look at my companion that I realize that his scales aren't as white as they could be.

"Belvedere, when's the last time you bathed?" I ask aloud.

'Dragons don't bathe.' He tells me. I gasp.

"So none of you have actually washed your scales, you just wait for the rain?" I ask aloud one again. All the dragons nod.

"That is not acceptable." I pause, thinking for a moment. "Belvedere? How good are you with water on a scale of 1 - 10?" I ask him.

'Maybe like a 3.' He responds.

"Well you are going to have to suck it up because you, my companion, are going to be washed today." I tell him, knowing that the others are listening to our conversation. 'That is final.' I tell him through bond-link before he can begin refuting. He just huffs and look away, I roll my eyes at his behavior.

"Why are you going to bathe your dragon?" Lucas asks confused.

"One, his scales are dirty, and because he cannot wash them himself, I will do it for him. And two, you literally have a female dragon. You should be pampering her, it is honestly sad how you have never thought to clean her scales." I tell him.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm busy and can't find the time for it." Lucas replies relaxed.

"Then make time." I shrug, pretending to come off as indifferent but secretly upset that he has never though to put in the effort.

"Okay. So tomorrow, you and Belvedere will begin your training. When your eggs hatch, Belvedere can train them in the beginning because you need to learn how to ride Belvedere first. Other than that, you have the rest of the class to spend time with your dragon." Marcus says. I nod, thanking him.

"Can Belvedere and I go out to the field? The other dragons can tag along too since they are more experienced." I ask Trent. He hesitates at first, then nods. I thank him, making my way towards the field with 4 massive dragons following me.

"Ampiere, Nightshade, I want you guys to enter my mind." I tell them. Soon, I feel two presences at the back of my mind. I allow them to enter my mind and bear with the pain. When it stops, I sigh in relief.

'That's much better.' I say to nobody in particular.

'Why did she let us do that?' Nightshade asks.

'I don't know.' Ampiere responds.

'I let you into my mind so that I can talk to you both.' I tell them.

'Can she understand us?' Ampiere asks Belvedere.

'Yes, I can understand you.' I respond. Now Belvedere turns to me.

'How did you do that?' My dragon asks.

'What do you mean? You know I can talk to dragons.' I say confused.

'She asked me that through mind-link.' Belvedere clarifies. I just shrug, not really knowing the answer.

'What are we doing here Rose?' Oceanus asks.

'You have been cooped up in the stables all day, I thought you lot might like some bit of sunlight. Maybe even stretch out your wings.' I tell them. 'Plus, I want to learn how to ride Belvedere.' I add in.

'Shouldn't we wait for Trent and Marcus?' Belvedere asks.

'Oceanus, Nightshade, no offense, but I feel somewhat resented by the two. More so by Trent.' I tell him.

'None taken.' The two dragons addressed say in unison.

'Plus, you can always heal me if I get seriously hurt.' I tell my dragon. He just sighs in defeat, knowing he won't get his way. He lowers his back, allowing me to climb on.

'You don't even have a saddle.' Ampiere remarks.

'I read that saddles can be uncomfortable for dragons, especially those of larger size. So I was going to learn how to ride Belvedere without one anyway.' I respond. I climb my way onto Belvederes back, finding good gripping spots for me to put my hands.

'Alright. I trust you Belvedere, so stop worrying. Let's just start slow.' I tell him, feeling the worry being sent through our bond. Belvedere does not respond, rising from his low position. When he gets to his full height, I reaffirm my grip on his scales. He lets out his huge wings and begins to flap. I hold on tightly to Belvedere, making sure I won't fall. He rises in the air slowly, I know he is holding back for my sake. When we are a good amount of feet off the ground, he levels out and begins soaring through the sky. Once I am comfortable enough, I lift my head and look down. I see the Academy, but cannot find the other dragons.

'We are right beside you young one.' Nightshade tells me, reading my thoughts. I look around and see that Ampiere and Nightshade are on both sides of Belvedere, Oceanus next to Ampiere. With my hands still gripping Belvedere's scales, and a little more confidence, I shout aloud.

"I AM THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!" I yell happily. The dragons next to me snort in glee as I send waves of happiness, love, and appreciation through Belvedere and I's bond. Belvedere replies with a mental image of him smiling. We continue to soar through the air, gliding along the wind. I laugh with how much joy I am overcome with.

'Sit altius imus?' I ask via mind-link. [ T : May we go higher? ]

'Always a polite one.' Oceanus chuckles, yet they oblige. We stay in the air for around 10 more minutes before we need to head back down.

'That was amazing!! We will definitely have to do that more often. Oh my goddess! Belvedere, you are the best!!' I continue on with my rant. 'All of us should do this more often. Goddess that was thrilling!' I sigh happily. I give each dragon a hug, saving Belvedere for last. My hug with him lasts a few more seconds and I kiss his forehead when I tell him to lower it.

'You did extremely well for your first time flying both lead and solo. Also without a saddle, very well done. I remember Lucas screaming his head off the first time we took flight.' Ampiere tells me, showing me a mental image of Lucas's face. I laugh at the picture.

'Marcus literally threw up when we landed. Not his proudest moment.' Oceanus adds, mentally replaying the scene for me. I cringe while laughing harder.

'Trent clung to me for dear life. I would say you have had the best reaction to flying by far.' Nightshade adds in. I thank them all, noticing I only have about 7 minutes left of this class.

'Can one of you show me what my hair looks like? I want to fix it before I get to combat.' I ask nobody in particular. I am shown a mental image of what I look like, and based on the positioning, I can tell it was Nightshade's point of view. I thank him, patting down my frizzy hair. I walk the dragons back to the stables and wish them farewell.

"Don't forget Belvedere, be ready to bathe in a couple hours." I call out to him, making my way out of the stables. Now that I have had my fun, it's time for combat & weaponry. Because it's the last class on my schedule, the class is only 50 minutes. I walk with a smile, greeting people left and right, both instructors and students. I find Tony and he joins my side.

We get to the combat field and wait for class to begin. As more and more people are arriving, I see a familiar frame in the distance. He has dark brown hair with tinted red streaks in it, and his eyes are ... forest green. There is only one person in the whole world who I know can fit this description to a tee.

"Roman?"

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