Chapter 4: The Academy

“There really is no rain!” Ariella jumped out of the wagon, but before she could storm off to explore, Noah stopped her.

“You can’t run off just yet,” Noah said. “We’re responsible if you go missing, so you’ll have to stay in the wagon until we arrive.”

“How far is the school?” She asked while getting back into the wagon.

“It might take us just over an hour to get there,” Noah answered.

“There’s an education district in the east,” Dalton added. “The school takes up quite a lot of space, but it has everything you’ll need to succeed in whatever you pursue.”

“Can we explore when we get there?” Ariella’s eyes glistened once again.

“You’ll find out everything you want to know when you arrive,” Noah explained.

Arriving at the capital was one excitement after another. Ariella liked to think of herself as a sensible child. She did her best to act calmly and rationally whenever she could, but from the villages on the way here, to the barrier that blocked the rain and the lively streets they were traveling through. Everything was overwhelming in the best way possible. These new discoveries triumphed over everything the village had to offer and only cemented her thoughts on the dragons even more.

“Do the people of the capital hate the dragon?” Ariella turned to Dalton, her face showing a sense of maturity that surprised even him.

“Well, that’s a tough question to answer,” he looked over at the other three kids. All the soldiers knew what that village was like, and Dalton didn’t want to scare them anymore than they already were.

Catching on to what Dalton was worried about, Ariella moved over to Dalton and whispered. “If you whisper, then they won’t be able to hear.”

“Are you that curious?”

Ariella nodded. “To tell you the truth, I don’t like the dragons.”

“Oh, really?” Dalton raised an eyebrow at her declaration. Kids would rarely ever say such a thing, especially the ones from where she came from. They weren’t familiar with the complete concept of the dragons and didn’t understand the good and bad. However, Ariella seemed different. After all these years serving as the evaluator, Dalton could tell her hate wasn’t the same as the others.

“I don’t know why, but I never liked them, and it made me wonder if I was the only one.”

“And what would you want to do with the dragon?” Dalton was testing the waters.

Ariella looked around to make sure no one was listening, and in the lowest voice she could muster, she spoke. “I want to kill them.” Before Dalton could ask a question, Ariella continued. “The capital seems different. Everyone tries to avoid the rain.”

“It’s an enormous world with way too many people living in it, Ariella. Everyone has their own opinions on the dragons. That’s not to say any of them are right or wrong, but there are people who think the same as you.”

“But it’s not normal?” Ariella wanted clarification, and she planned to drill Dalton for answers.

“Normal is hard to define.” Dalton tried to explain. “Everyone sees the dragons differently. While some think they’re fine, others could be indifferent or even hate them. There’s no guarantee that-”

Ariella lowered her head, lost in her own thoughts as Dalton continued to explain things. She learned her thoughts weren’t normal, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t have them. Not everyone thought the dragon overlords were a good thing, and that’s all she needed to know. She just needed to find like-minded people. “Are you talking about more than just the royal capital?” Ariella interrupted him.

Dalton froze at her insightful deduction. The things she was curious about would be explained in one of the first classes she took, and while the kingdom thought of the dragons as pests that needed to be exterminated, they weren’t confrontational with the ones who thought otherwise.

“You’ll learn all of this from a proper teacher soon, so I suggest you save your questions for when classes start.”

“We’re here,” Noah yelled, causing Ariella to redirect her curiosity to the outside and giving Dalton the needed break from her interrogation.

“Can we get out now?” She asked Noah.

“Not yet. You’ll be handed off to the dormitory mother after we take you to the dormitory. There you’ll be shown your room and then taken to the welcome ceremony.”

“You know a lot,” Ariella said.

“Well, I was a student once, too.”

“How was it?”

“Fun,” Noah said with a smile. “Now then, let’s get you four to the dormitory. Oh, and you’ll each have a roommate, so prepare to meet someone new.”

“They won’t pair us together?” One of the three asked.

“I can’t say for sure since it’s completely up to the dorm mother, but it rarely happened during my time at school.” Noah redirected their attention to the older lady waiting outside. “It seems like we’re here.”

“Welcome,” the lady said with a gentle bow. “My name is Luna Woods. I’ll be taking care of you for your first year.”

“I have four. Are they the last ones to arrive?”

“They are, yes. Their roommates have already claimed a bed and are waiting for the welcome ceremony to start.”

Noah looked at the four kids who were now standing next to each other outside the wagon. Three of them had their heads down, unsure of what to do, while the fourth curiously looked around.

“I see we have an active one.”

“Indeed. With that said, is the dean available before the ceremony?”

“If you catch him fast enough, but you’re running out of time.” Luna turned her attention to the kids. “Now then, why won’t I show you to your rooms?”

When Ariella alone began walking towards the dormitory, Luna walked over to the remaining three and gently pushed them along. She was a veteran at dealing with the new kids. In her opinion, eight was far too young to rip them away from their families, so she always tried her best to be as gentle as possible.

“Before you go,” Dalton stopped Noah, but waited to speak until Ariella entered the dormitory and the door closed behind her. “She might be the one.”

“Might be the one?” Noah tilted his head.

“The one to kill the dragons.”