6
“We need to leave now so we will be back by this afternoon,” Kate announced to the assembled group. “Michael and Lady Jennie will take the women. Jake and I will take the rest." Kate looked at these bright young people and she was filled with hope for the world. "Are we ready?”
“Yes,” was the resounding reply!
They all ascended to the top of the mesa where Jake and Lady Jennie were waiting. They were instructed on how to climb aboard the dragons. First the women were loaded onto Lady Jennie. Michael made sure Sally was directly behind him. "Hold onto my waist and you'll do just fine,” he reassured her. He saw to it that the rest had a good hold. Then they slowly rose into the morning sky and circled above Jake.
The men then climbed aboard Jake, each one finding a seat and a ridge to hold onto. Kate asked Jake if they were too heavy for him. Jake let out a chuckle, saying that they were barely any trouble at all. He then took off over the mountain and joined Lady Jennie and they headed out west, towards the newfound hatching ground. The flight took barely 40 minutes. Of course they were going at dragon speed, a pretty fast pace.
My Lady, there are no dragons in the vicinity, announced Jake, we can land safely and begin our task.
Lady Jennie landed first and the women got off. Jake landed just as she and Michael took off and the men jumped down and joined the women. Kate wished them luck, gave a wave to Daniel, then she and Jake took off. They would remain circling above while the small band made their way into the cavern.
There was a small opening towards the back of the mountain just as Collin said there would be. They all went inside, Daniel leading them. With Jake as the go between, they used their minds to communicate to each other in a limited fashion. It was a rather large cave, with a small archway that led to a larger chamber. They were trying to let their eyes adjust.
Remember what we were told; let your eyes adjust to the dark. Does anyone see a puddle of dragon piss? Daniel asked no one in particular.
Over here, Jerry had adjusted to the dark first; it’s over there, towards the sidewall, by that boulder.
Ok guys, let’s get this over with and go to the main cave. Daniel urged everyone.
One by one they rolled in the urine, the smell of ammonia so strong that Sally retched. But she continued anyway, determined to do this. They entered the main cave one at a time and immediately went to the back as instructed. They all went down to their knees and waited. Quietly they listened for any sound. Dripping water, plop plopping down, was the only sound they heard.
Hey there girl, I’m here! Come on, talk to me love. Where are you, how can I find you? Collin was calling his dragonet.
Collin? Is that you my friend? A tiny little girl-voice asked. You are here!
Collin’s hand went up; he moved forward and went like a shot to a small egg lying by itself. He hovered over it for a few minutes, and they all heard his side of the conversation; but not the replies. He picked it up and there was a slight electric shock and his body shook uncontrollably.
It’s her!
He turned to them and there was a look of such joy on his face, the transformation was striking. They all knew that they would soon be feeling that same joy. A few minutes later Collin tucked her under his shirt and slowly made his way out of the chamber.
Beth’s hand went up next. She did the same, moving forward slowly. She had some difficulty finding her egg; it was under a piece of shell. Once she lifted it, there was a moment of hesitation, then a spreading smile on her face and she too was engulfed by that joy of knowing she had found her dragon.
On and on it went, for 2 hours, one at a time, they all found their eggs, except for Daniel. He waited, but there was no sound. He called out with his mind, Queenie, where are you? Are you hurt? Lead me to you. Nothing; he was getting worried. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to find an egg this time. Then he heard her, from far away. His heart soared that this was all true. He could barely make out what she was saying, just a tiny, weak voice. She sounded like a very tired child.
Help! Please … so dark… I cannot see. He heard great sobbing that just wretched his heart. Please do not leave me here! Do not go, please!
Daniel had to calm her before she panicked. Baby, calm down, I am not leaving here without you. Got that? I will fight a dozen dragons before I let you go. Now calm down baby. I am going to throw a rock around the chamber. Now I want you to listen very carefully, and tell me what you hear and in what direction. He threw a pebble towards the far side of the chamber, nothing. He threw another towards his right, nothing. He threw one to his left.
Oh! That hit on top of me. Are you there? Daniel moved to the spot where the pebble had landed. There was a large pile of eggshells. He began to remove them one at a time.
I can see some light! Oh do hurry! They may come back!
He continued to remove the shells. At the bottom was a final shell fragment and as he removed it he saw a perfectly rounded silver egg. The light entering the chamber highlighted the egg giving it a luminescence of its own. He waved his hand over the egg.
Is that you? A shadow just passed over me.
Yes! I found you my sweet!
Daniel picked up the egg, and immediately there was a large electric charge that shot out of the egg and went directly into him. He shuddered violently for a moment and was knocked to his knees; and then his eyes grew wide as he felt something warm encircle him, his mind was filled with a strange new feeling of love. He felt it so strongly and was filled with wonder as they bonded as dragon and rider.
Yes, I can feel you my fearless friend, oh my, what a strong will! Ah Daniel, at last we have found each other! You have saved me, my friend, my companion for life; together we shall be unstoppable!
Daniel could not have imagined the emotions that engulfed him. He was so filled with a feeling of love and acceptance that his eyes filled up with tears. He held her up and beheld this little speck inside the egg. He stood there talking to her totally engrossed. Finally, he put her under his shirt and secured her to him. Tears were streaming down his face as he emerged from the cave. He looked up at Kate and nodded his head in a ‘yes’ to her unspoken question.
Jake let loose with a throaty roar that scared the hell out of everyone.
Kate calmed them all down and then Jake and Lady Jennie landed. Everyone mounted, and they all headed home. Several times during the flight back Jake turned his head and locked eyes with Daniel. What passed between them was never spoken of, but they were bound together as brothers from that day forward.
Once they landed they all took their dragon eggs to the hatching ground. Jeffrey was waiting for them; Jake had kept him informed of their progress. There they laid their eggs, turned and asked Jeff to guard their treasures. Then they all descended to the waterfall to wash off the dragon urine. After cleaning themselves up they returned to claim their lifelong friends. Each one sat down on the warm hatchings grounds with their egg and continued their conversations. Kate knew they were talking to their charges and would be unable to communicate with anyone for several hours. The rapture would last that long at least.
Jake, we have begun this day what may prove to be the salvation of the world. I am so proud of each and every one of them. Kate spoke with great humility what was in her heart.
Especially Daniel, My Lady, he received the charge, just as you did when we first met; she is indeed a Queen! And Sally did very well; she has a brown with a silverback. Well suited for Lady Jennie. I am pleased My Lady, well pleased indeed!
Sleeping bags had been brought in earlier as they knew these people would not leave their charges or this spot till morning. Kate and Jeffrey left the chamber quietly, their parting not being noticed by the others.
It was five weeks before Daniel returned to Kate’s bed. During that time they were very busy. Kate noticed that the pairings had already taken hold of the riders. Each pair had picked their cave and they began making it their home. There were several forays to the town for furniture and rugs, and household items. They were content, and each accepted their mate with great tenderness.
Lady Beth had finally gotten over her fear; and Jerry had listened to Jake’s advice, and took his time and showed her what pleasure there was in loving well. Beth found peace and trust in Jerry’s arms and they were very affectionate towards each other. It was sweet to watch them together as their newfound love blossomed. If this could be done for Beth, then there was hope for the rest of the women in camp.
The group of riders became a tightly knit group. They spoke among themselves quite a bit, and joked around with each other as brothers and sisters. Already the changes could be seen in these exceptional people. They had enormous energy for one; chores were done with great zeal, finished in half the time. Many of the riders could be seen walking the camp at night; they required less sleep. They seemed to seek each other out when in the Hall, a small little exclusive group, the fact of which was not lost on the rest of the camp
Sam had seen some resentment building and had spoken at length with Jake about it. He wanted to be the one to explain to the camp what was at stake. He called a meeting of the camp and excluded the riders. Then he began to explain that the care of the dragonets would take a great deal of their time, and they would naturally gravitate towards their fellow riders.
"You must understand that the future of our world is at stake. These men and women will be the first wave in a battle for our very existence. They willingly accepted the task that was asked of them," he explained to them, “understand this, they could all die in the process.”
He paused, looked at each and everyone, and then continued; “For you see it is they who will have to fight the black devils who took all our families. It is they who will face the brunt of the anger from the beasts that destroyed our world.” He looked about the room. “How easy do you think that will be?” Looking at the future riders now with new eyes, the camp gave them the respect that they deserved, and there was no more resentment.
The most noticeable change among the riders was in Sally’s appearance. She had grown about an inch, and she was loosing her chubby little girl face. It was being replaced by a much more mature face, one that did not highlight her scar. Her hair had grown long and the golden tresses were accented with a long white streak that framed one side of her face. Her body was blossoming also, the beginnings of ample breasts was evident. And she had gone to Lady Beth for advice when she got her first period.
Michael did not miss any of these changes in Sally’s appearance either. He watched her with growing eyes of love. He had gone to Daniel for advice on how to approach her and also, after much hemming and hawing about, how to go about making love for the first time. It was then that Daniel realized to his surprise, that Michael was a virgin. He never had any experience or knowledge in the art of lovemaking. Schooling him was something that Daniel was unsure of how to go about. He consulted with Kate, who reminded Daniel of Miss Susan. Of course! If she were willing, she would be able to teach him correctly.
So Daniel approached Miss Susan about it; and after much haggling and a promise of an introduction to Jeffery, the 'Professor' as she called him; she said she would be willing to 'start Michael off on the right foot'. After Daniel and Kate spoke, the deal was sealed and the deed was done. Miss Susan was true to her word; she taught Michael well. She took her time; taught him how to make love slowly, gently, tenderly, so that he wouldn't frighten Sally the first time. And Michael, new to the physical joys, strutted around camp like ‘king stud’ for several days, until Daniel pulled him aside and told him to cool it.
Daniel kept his word and played his part in introducing Miss Susan to Jeffery. Much to the surprise of everyone, they hit it off quite well! It goes to show that you never know about people.
The eggs now began to grow at an accelerated rate. The riders all spent as much time as they could with them. In several weeks time Daniel's queen was too heavy to carry any longer. Her shell was starting to harden. She was growing quickly, and the other eggs were soon following her example. Everyone thought that they would have to wait six months before the eggs hatched. At the rate they were growing it would be a lot sooner, maybe less than two months. During the day they kept in touch with their dragons using telepathy, strengthening their link with their dragons.
Michael said it was time to introduce the 'twins' to the rest of the gang. They came bounding into the chamber and sniffed and barked their approval over each egg. The dragonets were delighted, and began to keen, even in their eggs; but they were upset when they realized that they couldn't communicate with the large dogs.
Sally, on the other hand, had let Oreo stay with her and her dragon egg from the very beginning. They had all slept together in Sally's bed at night. The kitten had licked the egg, as cats are prone to do, and cared for it and purred over it. During the day when Sally was gone with her chores, Oreo had curled around it and slept with it. It was during this time that a bond developed between Oreo and Sally's egg. They communicated on some level unknown to humans, but it worked.
Sally was able to find out, thru her dragon that Oreo was very grateful that she had been saved by Daniel that day and brought to Sally. Her life was full; and she enjoyed playing with her ‘brothers’, Ash and Tabs. And the ‘mighty dragons’ protected her from the 'burning ones'. Sally was excited to learn this bit of news and couldn’t wait to tell the others. She was answered with a lot of loud ‘yea right’, and ‘sure’, until their own dragonets told them that it was true.
Beth, true to form, piped up, "Always said that cats were smarter than dogs!"