Tate-Pandemonium and The Prince

It was pure pandemonium after that. The roar of the crowd was defining especially after the moments of unnatural silence. Tate heard some people talking excitedly with exclamations about the beauty of the ancient dragonling. Others were angrily muttering or outright shouting. These were mostly from the line of nobles and their children who had been waiting all morning for their chance to hatch an egg. Even though they would have to face the fact that an egg will only hatch to its rightful partner, it would take a while for them to calm down enough to think about this. For now, this grubby girl had "stolen" an opportunity from their precious noble children.

Someone liften the girl and dragon from his arms, he almost held onto her before recognizing the person as a member of the Imperial Knights. Tate didn't know his name but knew that he had an upright reputation and had to be acting on the Emperor's orders. The men nodded at each other and the girl and her dragonling were taken away from the scene. Tate presumed she would be taken to the palace for now until this mess could be settled and people calmed down. He could tell the commoners were elated, this was the most amazing thing to happen in living memory. The nobles, however, were furious that this common girl had dared to touch an egg and take something that in their minds was rightfully theirs.

It was a long time before crowd control was truly reestablished and the emperor insisted that they complete The Choosing. The line of noble young hopefuls reformed and boys and girls ranging from thirteen to fifteen were allowed to approach the two remaining eggs and touch them one by one.

At the very end of the line was one very important child. He was Cade the emperor's seventh son. He was a good kid that Tate liked very much. He was not alone in his approval for the boy, most of the Dragon Corps knew Cade and liked him. They all secretly hoped an egg would hatch for him. Being the seventh son he had no role to play in the Imperial family. He was a surprise baby to the royal couple and was pretty much left to raise himself. Having far fewer restrictions on him than any of his older siblings had ever enjoyed, he'd become a regular at the Dragon Corp's training hall. He watched the training and over time had even received some training with the Corps. He had one wish in life and all the Dragon Corps members knew it, he wanted to be one of them.

It was finally time for Cade to step up and Tate could feel his many of his former comrade's breath catch. Cade looked at him nervously for reassurance. Even though Tate wasn't a member of the Corps anymore he and Cade had an even longer-standing relationship. Cade viewed Tate as more of a brother than his own brothers by blood. Tate nodded at him encouragingly and the boy gave him a wane smile. Tate watched him square his shoulders and with a decisive move, he put his hand on the first egg, a light green one.

Nothing happened.

His shoulders dropped in disappointment and this time his hand shook as he reached for the second and last chance he had. The dark blue egg and his hand made contact. For a moment nothing happened again. He was about to pull his hand away when a light flashed. It was nothing like the previous spectacle, but this was normal. Cade flinched and tried his best not to scream or cry as the runes spread from his right hand and ended almost at his shoulder. That was a very good sign, his dragon was powerful.

The egg burst from the multiple fissures that had been created. The fragments joined the white and silver shell on the ground beneath the table. The dragonling that got to its feet was a shimmery dark blue. Tate grinned with approval at Cade, this dragonling would be a great asset to the Dragon Corps. Dragons that were this dark were in the minority and if it and Cade had the aptitude they would be perfect for reconnaissance and stealth missions. There was an elite order in the Corps called the "Shadows" but they hadn't had anyone qualified to join their ranks in over ten years since Tate had been admitted. Cade and his dragonling would be a huge boon if it worked out.

Cade bowed to his father who gave the boy a nod of approval which was the most emotion Tate had ever seen the Emperor grant his youngest child. Cade looked stunned that he'd received what to his eyes was a huge gesture of approval from his father. He was so used to the indifference and neglect that being acknowledged at all was surprising.

With that, the Choosing was over and the sun was getting low in the sky. The event that usually lasted the morning had turned into an all-day affair with the unexpected circumstances. Tate clapped Cade on the back since his new scaley companion was already wound around his shoulders. Cade beamed at him while at the same time many of the Dragon Corp came to give the boy a handshake or a hug as people dispersed to their homes. Tate and Cade said goodbye with waves of their hands and small smiles to each other as Cade was whisked off by a few Corps members who insisted on escorting him to his new home in the Academy dorms.

Tate sighed as he found himself alone. Lou had returned to the academy for curfue and most of the spectators had dispersed. He turned to begin packing up the last egg to put away in his family vault until the next Choosing when he almost jumped out of his skin.

Jillian laughed. "I didn't mean to scare you, Tate."

He glowered at her. "You didn't."

She laughed even harder. "You should have seen your face! I don't think I've ever seen you make that expression."

He just gave her a look and said nothing. He pretended he was going to ignore her and turned to the egg. "I haven't seen you much these days. How are things at the Academy?" She asked jumping up to sit on the table by the remaining egg.

He didn't really want to talk about it but he knew she wouldn't leave him alone unless he talked to her. "It's the same as always, boring."

She nodded. "I guess it would have to be for someone like you. I, on the other hand, can't wait until a position opens up! I'm so tired of traveling all the time and I just want to teach and stay here."

He nodded. They were childhood friends and he knew very well her personality. He had been shocked when she was thirteen and had hatched a very nice red dragon. She just hadn't seemed like the type who would be a dragon rider. She was very girly and didn't like dirt. She wasn't a huge fan of exertion or roughing it but she'd been selected for that life anyway. He really did hope her dream of becoming a teacher came true soon so that way she could lead a life that better suited her and her dragon. He felt a twinge of guilt because he knew he was a part of the reason she was still in a position in the Corps she didn't like. If he hadn't lost Aqua and the Empire hadn't scrambled to find something for their "hero" to do she probably would have gotten the position.

Instead, their roles were reversed. They were living the life the others wished to be living. She wished for a quiet life of purpose and luxury in the capital and his only wish was to be a dragon rider again.

He sighed at his foolish thoughts, for the second time that day he was lost thinking useless things. His dream was forever out of his reach. Once you hatched a dragon that was it, you couldn't hatch another one. A human went on living when their dragon died, but if a dragon's human died the dragon died too. Sometimes he wished he'd been able to go when Aqua went. He felt incomplete without her, she'd been by his side for almost his whole life, she knew everything about him and he knew everything about her. She was his lifeline, his rock, his joy, his very best friend, and she was dead while he had to live.

He shook his head knowing those thoughts were useless. Feeling sorry for himself didn't fix anything, not for him or Jillian. "I hope something opens up soon." He said finally.

Jillian gave him a small appreciative smile but he saw the sudden sadness behind it. "You were thinking about her, weren't you?"

He didn't say anything, just placed the egg inside its silks and then down into the padded, reinforced box it would be transported in. "Aquana would have wanted you to keep on living, to find something to live for again."

"You don't know anything!" He snarled, surprising even himself. He immediately regretted lashing out when her face turned pale.

"I'm sorry, I overstepped. I'll go see you later, 'night." She said it all in such a quick rush as she was already walking away and he could hear the tears threatening in her voice.

"I'm," she was gone, "sorry." he said to the cold night air.