Rose's POV

I stare at the stone in shock. I begin to doubt that the stone was accurate, but ever since we were able to understand the ceremonies as a whole, it has been instilled in us that the stone makes no mistakes. Everything is silent, no one utters a peep. Of course certain people thought that I may be able to wield a single element, as all female chosen ones have, but I can sure as heck guarantee that nobody expected that I would be a dragon rider as well.

I shift my gaze from the stone to Two Colors, hoping he understands what I am implying. Thankfully he does, and with a nod, he goes to retrieve a different specialized stone to determine what element I shall be able to wield. This will determine whether or not the stone makes no mistakes because it is common knowledge to all beings in the magii community that the stone will only respond with a glow if the person touching the stone is a true dragon rider.

He replaces the 'ancient rock' with the new stone and places it on the pedestal. He hands over the ancient stone to Blondie to put safely back into its place. Once he returns, I then take a glance at the stone before me, only to realize that it is not a stone. The 'stone' is actually a refined and defined shape of imperium.

"Imperium." I identify. The dragon riders gaze at me curiously, as do the elementals.

"What is imperium?" The older dragon rider from the beginning of the ceremony asks, testing out the word. I look at them in slight embarrassment.

"I named this material imperium because I did not know what it was at first. I saw it about to be trashed in my village's blacksmith shop and I felt this overwhelming aura of power coming from it. Thus, imperium, the literal translation of the word power in Latin." I respond slightly embarrassed for speaking out.

"Interesting." He comments, motioning with his hands for me to put my hand on the imperium made stone. I do as he says and assume that I am supposed to do what I did when I wanted to craft my sword.

So, with the utmost concentration, I let all of my worries and thoughts slip out of my mind and leave my head blank of thought. I instinctively tune in on my senses, more aware than before. I can sense a light thud of vibration reaching the ground in the woods. Based off of the frequency and force of vibrations, it makes me believe that the vibrations are being caused by a deer. I can feel the minuscule difference in breeze, as the air blows around the deer. Against its fur, the winds flows around the deer, weightless and free. The difference caused when the deer is non-moving, then returns to walking along the river bank. The force of the water makes me feel tranquil as a miniature waterfall meets the mouth of the river, an undercurrent present. I can also feel the humidity hanging in the air. The air opposite of dry yet unchanging in its ways, showing the strength it takes for leaves to dance elegantly along the breeze without allowing gravity to immediately act.

I feel as if I have been meditating for hours on end when the silence is broken by an uproar of applause. I open my eyes after gathering myself for a moment only to see the the imperium made stone is glowing all four colors. I look into Two Colors' eyes, to make sure my brain is not playing mind games.

"Holy Goddess." I mutter, becoming slight nauseous. Two Colors slightly grabs ahold of my elbow, steadying my wavering form. He looks astounded, in awe. The others on stage are just as shocked at the relegation as I am, if not more. I then notice the crowd.

I gasp. My whole village just witnessed one of their own be chosen as both a dragon rider and magii user. Not just any magii user, I am able to wield all the elements, nonetheless am a female. I tune into the crowd, my ears searching for the familiar voices of my family.

"YAYYYYY!!!" I hear the twins and Autumn.

"Oh my goddess ..." I hear Colt stutter out.

"I knew she could do it! I KNEW IT!" I hear Jason shout in happiness.

" Мой ребенок счастлив. " I hear Mrs.Lucia choke out among the cheers of her husband. [ T : My baby is blessed! ]

I lightly chuckle at the pair, like anyone would be able to understand them. I hear Nicholas and his wife cheer happily for me, the Wilson's just clapping like crazy people. After what feels like eternity, the cheers died down and Two Colors announces his final part of the speech, not needing to announce my status.

"With the last 15 year old in line finished, this brings a conclusion to the ceremony. Before you disperse, I would like to say that I am extremely proud of this year's chosen ones and expect nothing but greatness. Nonetheless, this village should feel immense pride for housing some of the strongest magii users that are soon to be or are already apart of our community. Thank you once again for attending this years ceremony and I look forward to seeing the chosen ones around during the Dragon Fest." With that, all the villagers go in different directions. Oliver sprints to me and pulls me into a bone crushing hug, pulling me out of my shocked state.

"Oliver!! You're a dual wielder!" I whisper to him in his embrace. This is a huge accomplishment for him, and is somewhat rare to come across in the magii community.

"What about you? Miss I-can-wield-all-elements-AND-ride-dragons." He jokes with a hint of seriousness in his tone. I just shrug in response, still trying to wrap my head around everything. Oliver and I part ways to speak to those who wait for us. I immediately see Mr.Lucia waiting with the rest of our crew, excitement seeping from his expression. I rush up to them all pull them all into a tight hug. When they pull out of momentary shock, Stacy starts kissing me all over with her scarlet red lipstick surely leaving trails. Jase just ruffles up my hair while Mr.Lucia pulls my into a fatherly hug of comfort. Just as we go to pull away he whispers in my ear,

" I am beyond proud of you miele." Tears gathering in both of our eyes. I just hug him tighter, the emotions I'm feeling preventing me from speaking.

Mr.Lucia just smiles at me knowingly. When our moment is over, they tell me to go back to the orphanage to pack my stuff and meet them at the Fest. Now that the ceremony is over, the Dragon Fest will begin. Basically, we are to hang out and have fun so that we can say our goodbyes and leave at 6. It is about 3 in the afternoon right now, so I head off to find everyone so we can all walk back to the orphanage. It doesn't take long for me to find Oliver, so I go to see if Colt is around while listening for the twins.

Not too long after, I feel myself being pulled into an enormous hug. The girls all hug me, as all the boys do their bro hugs. Then I hug the boys and the girls hug Oliver. We all begin to chat on our walk to the orphanage and before I realize it, I am back at the house I have spent the past 15 years living in. I tell Texas that the twins know the basics of cooking and that she just needs to supervise, meanwhile Luke and Colt will both help clean the bathrooms. I step into my room and begin to pack, as does Oliver. It doesn't take long for the girls to shuffle into the room, helping me out.

After all is packed, I have one large suitcase filled with clothes, jewelry and shoes. I have a duffel bag carrying all of my crafted weapons that I don't plan on carrying on hand, along with my sketchbook, oils, charcoal, and other paints. Lastly, I have a backpack filled with some of my more prized possessions. Looking around at my blank room, I change my outfit to a nice-form fitting long sleeve with tights, keeping my combat boots and current jewelry. I put my dress into my suitcase and then start to add the familiar weight of my weapons to my look. I put my twin daggers on my things where they can be grabbed if needed, I put my handmade bow & arrow and quiver on my back as well as my imperium sword, in reach to where it is accessible but will not cause distraction. I put two of my knives in the back of my combat boots, where I had made an extra pocket perfect for carrying throwing knives. In similar fashion with the daggers on my things, I add my handmade, customized throwing stars to the mix, making sure they are safely where they are supposed to be.

After I finish redressing, an hour has passed and I bring all of my belongings downstairs. Oliver is already waiting by the door, and with everyone double checking that we have all our possessions, as a group we head out to town center for the second time today. I take one single glance at the place I have grown love for, where I grew up. I turn my attention back to Colt who is absentmindedly surveying our surroundings. I nudge him and say,

"Are you alright?" He gives me a forced smile.

"It's going to be hard without you here." I understand what he has been upset about, I too am sad that I won't be able to see him until the holidays. After all, we have known each other for well over a decade. I stop walking and embrace him in a much needed hug of reassurance. When we let go, we just catch up to the others in front of us, savoring the comfortable silence until it is no more. Oliver and I head off in direction of the dragons to bring our belongings. I hand over all of my bags except my backpack, because it is tradition in our village to give something meaningful to a chosen one if you have developed a bond. So, I, like every other chosen one right now, is carrying an extra bag just in case if anyone's gifts me something.

"I might as well get all the tears over with now." I mumble to myself, making my way to say goodbye to everyone I love—my family.

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