"Since you are all here, I will show you the premises," the wizard started, walking towards the hangar room's inner doorway. The last rider dismounted and came over as well. She was a good foot shorter than me, slightly lighter-skinned than Tawny, and had light brown hair.
"My name is Sarafin, and I am your skills teacher," the wizard continued, "for the majority of your time here, you will follow this schedule." He pointed at a sheet of paper tacked to the wall next to the room's interior doorway. "And the rules," he added. The list of rules was five pages long and hung next to the schedule. "I would advise you inspect the schedule and rules later in depth, but there are several things you should know now. Breakfast is at 6:30 sharp, so do not stay up late. There is a strict dress code that must be followed at all times when outside of this house. Your dragons are not allowed in the downstairs as they will not fit.
"Now for a tour of the house. Follow me." He went out into the corridor, and we all followed him with our dragons. To my surprise, the hall was more than large enough to accommodate them. It was so big that two class 8 dragons could've walked side by side without touching each other or the walls.
I turned my attention back to Sarafin as he gestured to a door to the left of the hangar room.
"That is my room. If you have any questions for me, I will most likely be there." He moved past us to stand at the top of the stairs. "On the bottom floor, there are restrooms, exercise equipment, a lounge area, and a kitchen." He continued walking down the hall, pointing out our rooms as he went. We four girls had the only four rooms to the right of the hangar room. Mine was the farthest one on the right. Sarafin stopped at the end of the hall and asked for questions.
"Where are our dragons going to sleep?" The last rider asked. I was curious about that as well, seeing as he hadn't pointed out any stables during our tour of the island.
"Your dragons will sleep in your rooms," Sarafin answered.
"What do you mean in our rooms?" I asked, "isn't that dangerous? They aren't exactly kittens." He stared at me for a second, then seemed to find his voice again.
"It's perfectly safe. A dragon would never intentionally hurt their rider, and they are careful enough to avoid doing it on accident," he assured me. I nodded, but I wasn't so sure.
"If there are no other questions..." He paused, but no one said anything. "Then I am going to prepare dinner. It will be ready in the kitchen in an hour." Sarafin headed downstairs, and his dragon went into his room, opening the lever-like handles of the double-doors with his claws.
"I'm Liz. What are your names?" The last rider asked as soon as Sarafin and his dragon were out of sight.
"Ella," I answered.
"Raven."
"Mine is Tawny."
"Aren't you excited?" Liz asked. "We're really riders!"
"Yeah..." Raven commented with a glance at me, "all of us." She turned and went into her room with her dragon. My mind immediately jumped to the possibility that she might know that I was a paltor, but that didn't make any sense. If she'd known, she would've told the enforcers.
"Did I say something wrong?" Liz asked. I shrugged in a way that I thought was nonchalant, then Tawny answered.
"Raven is under the impression that Ella may have had some part in the mind-jinking of Leera," She explained.
"What?" I asked. It was a relief that Raven didn't know the truth, but mind-jinking a dragon wasn't exactly a small crime. If she managed to convince an enforcer that I'd committed it, I'd still end up in jail. Liz furrowed her eyebrows.
"Why would she think that?" she asked.
"You are aware how mind-jinking collars function, correct?" Tawny asked.
I nodded. "They're used before the Ceremony to make a dragon think they want choose a specific person, and the magic wears off after a few hours."
"My sister was told by a source she believes to be reputable that the collars are able to control even more than just the dragons' choice of rider and can cause them to act as if they have dispelled the magic of the collar. She was told that this would keep all possible suspicion off of the rider who is eventually chosen in the case that someone discovers the fact that their dragon was collared at one point," Tawny explained.
"I would never mind-jink a dragon," I insisted.
"I believe you. However, Raven is somewhat paranoid."
"I believe you, too," Liz added. I glanced at her but didn't comment. It was strange that she would say that, seeing as we'd hardly known each other for a few minutes, but at least she hadn't sided with Raven.
"I think I'll go unpack. Could you tell your sister I'm not a criminal?" I asked.
"I will attempt to convince her," Tawny answered. I nodded in acknowledgment and turned towards my room as they started to leave. Leera rushed past me as soon as I opened the large double-doors, and I fell on my tail. A few scales cracked, but I was more worried about what the others might think of her odd behavior. Luckily, when I looked up, they were already in their rooms. I stood with my trunk and went in after Leera. She had made herself comfortable in what looked like a huge, shallow depression carved into the middle of the stone floor. The room was so huge that there was plenty of space for her to stretch out.
I marveled for a second at the size, then at the furniture. Each piece looked skillfully carved out of expensive wood, from the mahogany bookcase by the window to the high-backed chair and gleaming desk next to the door. Not to mention the canopy bed, which rested against the right wall and looked grand enough for a queen. I could hardly believe this was all mine.
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