Right on cue, as Jasper reached the edge of the trio’s unofficial Dragonguard training ground, Eden cried out.

“You’re late!” 

Eden was much shorter than Jasper, with dark brown, choppy hair that bounced with her as she ran to greet him. Her small stature was not to be mistaken for weakness, as she could easily take down some of the toughest knights in training. 

Judging by the amount of sweat coming off of her brow, Jasper could tell she and Cora had been doing plenty of work before he arrived. Eden’s white, half-sleeve tunic was already dirtied with mud, and the knuckles on her hand that formed a fist to punch Jasper in the arm were already raw. 

“Why are you late today, of all days?!” Eden jabbed Jasper three more times in the arm to accentuate her point. 

“Leave him alone, love,” Cora shook her head as she made her way to the other two soon-to-be-knights. Her long, blonde hair was tied back in a high ponytail with a few stray strands stuck to her forehead. The black headband she wore to keep her bangs from falling into her face only did so much during their training sessions. 

Cora placed her hands on Eden’s shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. 

“We’ll have plenty of time to kick his ass before we all have to prep for our departure.” Cora’s voice was quiet and dry, similar to the way Jasper generally spoke. She gave Jasper a wink while Eden leaned back against Cora and giggled.

Jasper chuckled a bit as he rubbed the spot on his arm that Eden had turned into a punching bag. 

“Gee, thanks.” 

Eden wiggled out of Cora’s hold and hugged Jasper around the middle. Jasper returned the affection with his empty arm over her shoulder. Cora threw her arm over Jasper’s shoulder as well when Eden stepped away. Hugging Cora was very different, as she was roughly the same height as Jasper.

“Throw all of your stuff down already! I say we spar first before we work on swords,” Eden hopped back and forth on her toes and rolled her shoulders. Cora rolled her eyes and huffed a gentle laugh before holding her hands out toward Jasper. 

“She’s in the zone today. Took me down twice already.” Cora opened and closed her hands a few times, indicating she wanted Jasper to hand her a few of his items to ease his load. Jasper removed his belt and handed it over as the two of them walked a little ways to set the items in a safe place out of the way.

A usual session between the three of them started with practice sword work, both solo and all together. They worked on their form, speed, and footwork as they dodged attacks from two different sides. Dragonguard knights were called upon to be diligent fighters. Jasper was not the best at sparring, but he did pride himself in his swordsmanship. After they spent hours perfecting their sword skills, they would move on to one-on-one sparring. The winner of two of three rounds would spar with whoever sat out. 

Training to fight without weapons was not mandatory to become a member of the Dragonguard, but Jasper, Eden, and Cora found that it helped their stamina and speed in other areas. Plus, it gave Eden an excuse to show off. Of the three of them, Eden was the best at hand-to-hand combat. 

The moment Jasper’s belongings were out of the way, Eden leapt onto Jasper’s back and wrapped her muscular arms under his armpits to better immobilize his upper body. Caught completely off guard, Jasper stumbled forward in an attempt to keep upright. 

“Eden!” Cora scolded as a wild grin ripped across the smaller girl’s face. “That’s cheating!”

As Jasper struggled to fight back, Eden let out a roaring laugh in his ear. 

“C’mon Jasper! Don’t go easy on me!” Eden dropped her legs onto the ground and pulled Jasper down with her. One of her signature moves was to use her enemy’s height against them, and Jasper certainly had his height working against him. 

“You don’t fight fair, Eden!” Jasper shifted his body weight so he could maneuver out from under where Eden had him pinned. 

“Dragons definitely won’t fight fair!” Eden jumped to her feet and held up her fists as Jasper managed to give himself some distance from the feisty fighter. Cora jogged over to Jasper’s side and crossed her arms in front of her. 

Shaking her head in disapproval, Cora called out to Eden.

“Jasper isn’t a dragon, babe!” Eden shuffled forward and swung a right hook at Jasper’s cheek, which Jasper was able to block with his arm.

However, his blocking arm swung a little too quickly and knocked into an unsuspecting Cora who had done nothing but defend his honor. Jasper and Eden both stopped their match for a moment as Cora gasped as dramatically as she could muster for her usual reserved self.

“That’s it. This is a free-for-all. Every knight for themselves,” Cora playfully hissed as she lunged toward Jasper. 

What was assumed would be a typical training day turned into hours of laughter and messing around. It was apparently what they needed, as the three of them were on the cusp of heading out to fulfill their duties to enter the Dragonguard. 

Once the friends had expended every last bit of their nervous energy, the three found themselves sprawled out on the lush grass. The unspoken worry of the unknown hung between them for what felt like ages, until Cora spoke up. 

“Everything is going to change starting tomorrow.” Her normally steady voice cracked just a bit, but it may as well have been louder than a thunderstrike. 

Cora was the calmest of the three; the one who could always be relied on for her level head and dependable rational thinking. She was able to compartmentalize her personal emotions for the sake of a job. For her to voice apprehension on the eve of the biggest adventure of their young lives shook both Eden and Jasper in an unexpected way.

Eden sat up and reached her hand out for Cora, who grasped it with no hesitation. 

“Nothing’s going to change, silly. We’re going to go out there, slay our dragons, and then all three of us will finally get what we’ve been dreaming of for so long.” 

Cora shrugged and focused into the distance.

“Eden’s right,” Jasper added. “We’ve prepared as much as we can. We’re all ready for what’s next.” 

“Not everything goes according to plan, Jasper. Especially when dragons are involved. That’s the very nature of becoming part of the Dragonguard.”

“Let’s focus on one thing at one time, like making sure Jasper knows how to read his map,” Eden teased, breaking the veil of anxiety that Cora had brought down around them. 

“I can read a map just fine!” Jasper squawked in protest. 

“Not true! You’ve gotten us lost every single time you were on map duty!” Eden argued. Jasper waved a dismissive hand at his friend who in turn, rolled her eyes at him. 

“You two are children,” Cora chuckled. “Are you sure either of you are ready for tomorrow?” 

“Well, I’m leaving tonight,” Jasper reminded his friends. 

“Yeah about that, why are you leaving tonight instead of tomorrow like we are?” Eden asked, handing Jasper his canteen. 

Jasper twisted the lid open and looked up at the sky. 

“My dads think it’ll be better for me, especially with my being able to read the stars and all.” The cool water felt good on Jasper’s dry throat as he took a swig. 

“You’re such a nerd,” Eden giggled. 

Cora swiftly and gently smacked her on the back of the head and stood up from where she sat on the ground. 

“Be nice, Eden.” 

“Yeah, be nice,” Jasper parroted.