"Liora! You'll be late if you don't get up right now!"

I sigh and slowly crack open my eyes, wincing against the harsh sunlight drifting in from an open window in my caravan. Today is another Choosing Day. I get to watch 5 more boys meet their destinies as dragon riders while I'm stuck here, becoming the 'perfect housewife'. In my village of San Marral, sons were valued over daughters because they were able to provide for their families and men could do the hard labor associated with my rural agricultural village.

I dragged myself out of my warm, red, woolen blankets and over to the small wooden chest at the end of my bed. The trunk contains all of my belongings, 2 rough tunics, 2 pairs of pants, and a pair of soft ankle boots. At the bottom, my hands found the soft, stretchy material of my performance costume. Dyed a psychedelic mix of green, yellow, and red, the costume was my favorite of all my clothes. It made me feel a sense of pride to see the handmade cloth wrap around my body though it showed a great deal more skin than a normal outfit. The colors represented on the cloth match the beads and ribbon carefully braided into small sections of my golden hair. The organization of the decorations show other performers who I am, what I can do, and what group I belong to.

I grabbed my stretchiest pants and the top of the costume. Sliding into the clothes, I was satisfied that the outfit was comfortable enough for me as a performer as well as not too 'scandalous' for people in the village, I walked over to the small white clay pitcher of water by the mirror on my wall. A small splash of water over my face serves as a good wake up call to the importance of the day. Choosing Days only happen once a year and it's mandatory that everyone in each village attends. Walking out of my caravan I stretch, feeling satisfied with the pops in my shoulders and back.

The frigid morning air is refreshing as I walk along the caravan circle. All performers live in one as it allows us to have the greatest amount of flexibility for living arrangements when traveling. Quickly moving to the middle of the dirt circle I call home, I find my family eating breakfast around a small campfire. Hearing boisterous laughs coming from the circle, I smile myself and sit down on the end of a log near my adoptive parents. I don't have any memories of my real parents but Kate and Roe have treated me well. The two women are the leaders of our performer group and their love for one another is what I imagine fairytale love looks like. Even at the age of 40 and having been married for nearly 20 years, they still look at each other with as much love as the first day I met them.

I accept the offered bowl of rough porridge flavored with cinnamon, honey, and milk. The honey is a rare treat reserved for birthdays, anniversaries, and Choosing Days. I eat fast, finishing before most of the others and setting the bowl down in a wooden pail filled with water. Our group takes turns doing chores and I'm lucky to have today off. I nod to the group before starting the walk to the town. We choose to live away from the hustle and bustle of San Marral, instead of living near the edge of a forest backed by a stream. My large steps quickly cover the 1/2 mile to San Marral and I'm soon faced with the busy streets of the village.

In the town square, I can see the village men have erected a small, wooden, stage-like structure with a podium in the middle.

Every year, all the village's boys between the ages of fifteen and eighteen come out on May 17 to the Choosing Ceremony. An official dragon rider will also be there. With him, he will have Paragorn's Stone. Each boy will touch the stone in turn. If the stone lights up, they have magic. Green is a nature-wielder, blue is a water-wielder, red is a fire-wielder, and purple is an air-wielder. Those are the most common. Yellow means a wizard, orange is a shapeshifter, and white is a mind-wielder. The rarest is gold. If the stone shines gold, you are a dragon rider. There has never been a female magic-wielder, much less dragon rider. Well, there might have been but no girls are ever tested so no one knows. The ceremony takes place in all the villages and cities of the world. Five boys are selected from each as dragon riders.

The town square is filled with children of all ages and I mingle freely. I get a lot of stares from people who notice my strange outfit and the small braids that line my face, tangled with beads and ribbon. The bell tower chimes seven, and the ceremony begins.

Our village elder, the leader of the village, a tall thin man by the name of Elias walks up the wooden steps and to immediately the entire audience falls silent. Elias clears his throat and begins the customary speech. I zone out for much of it, having heard the exact same words many times before. The only thing that changes is the official dragon rider's name. This year his name is Hunter. Hunter steps up beside the elder and brings out Paragons Stone. The stone never fails to take my breath away. It looks like a large gray egg, small pebbled scales fill its surface and it seems to pulse with a barely noticeable holographic glow, rainbows filling an aura that entrances your eyes. Hunter's low, gravelly voice begins to call the list of boys in his hand.

The first boy's name is called and he looks extremely nervous. He slowly walks up to stand beside Hunter and Elias. His hand reaches out touches the textured stone and it seems like the entire village holds their breath. The stone glows an eerie blue and the boy sighs in relief. In most towns not having the stone light up is a huge dishonor.

The ceremony moves more quickly, and soon there are only two boys left. So far, there are three dragon riders, one water mage, one fire mage, one shapeshifter, and two Earth wielders. These last two boys must be dragon riders and everyone in the audience is smiling in anticipation.

The second to last boy's name is called and he touches the stone. It glows gold and there is cheering from the audience. The last boy walks up and his palm hits the stone. Everyone leans forward and the entire crowd goes silent, waiting for the tell-tale golden glow.

Nothing happens. The stone stays silent, a gray blob on the podium. Everyone is tittering silently and the poor boy looks confused. Who is the last dragon rider?

Elias walks onto the platform and says in a shaky voice, "Um... On account of this, strange event, the last dragon rider has yet to be found." he looks around nervously, searching for any help. Finally, Hunter steps in and starts talking.

"We'll test the women. Same age group."

All the girls begin walking slowly up the stairs. I march up to the platform and I can feel the eyes of Hunter on me. Since my last name begins with an M, I will go towards the middle of the group. The first twenty or so girls touch the stone, to no avail, before my name is called.

"Liora Morgan." calls the mayor. I go up to the stone, eager to see what it feels like. I reach towards it, my hand moving with its own mind. The stone pulses with energy beneath my palm and heats up ever so slightly on contact. I wait for a moment before I have to look away. It's pulsating, flaring up wildly, and the people in the front row shy away from its heat. The lights are a bright golden and it looks like the sun has exploded in the tone. As suddenly as it started, it stops. The golden glow is still present, flaring very so often. For a minute everything is silent. No birds chirp, no trees rustle. 

"Alright!" The leader gets back up onto the stage. "Everyone can go. The fifth dragon rider has been found." You can hear the question in his voice, but everyone walks away to begin the daily chores, shaking their heads. Has the stone made a mistake? Why is the last dragon rider a girl?

As the crowd clears, I see Kate and Roe in the back. Their eyes are glossy with unshed tears and I feel the inexplicable urge to go collapse into their arms and cry my heart out. Roe looks at me with her shiny eyes and I break. Running as fast as my feet will take me, I fly into her waiting arms, the enormity of what happened hitting me.

As her comforting smell of mint and tea tree oil surrounds me, I take in the events of today. Getting chosen means going to the academy. Going to the academy means leaving Roe, Kate, and everyone else. It means leaving the life I've always known. Part of me rejoices in that fact, ready to take on the world and fight for my spot in society. But another, slightly smaller, part of me wants to go back to my caravan, hide under the bed, and pretend none of today ever happened.

Hunter clears his throat, interrupting my thoughts and the embrace. "Excuse me, ma'am. I have orders to take the chosen to the Academy as soon as possible. We need to cut this short." His words are harsh, his tone cold and unpleasant.

"We weren't expecting this." Roe straightens herself and pretends to fix part of her shoulder-length brown hair. "Can she at least pack her stuff?" Hunter hesitates for a second before answering with a firm nod. I thank him before running home, my family hot on my heels. I reach my caravan and pull out a travel bag to throw my belongings in. All my clothes make their way into the bag and my family helps me. Kate adds a hairbrush and leather tie, Roe grabs a bar of our homemade soap and various other performers add their own belongings to supplement mine. Eventually, my bag is bulging and I struggle to close it. The cloth sack is gently plucked from my hands and I look up into the blue eyes of Remy, one of the resident strong men. His eyes are soft as he carefully tightens the straps, his large hands succeeding where my small ones failed.

On my way out of the caravan circle, I have a private goodbye with Kate and Roe. We don't say anything, just stare at each other for a second in understanding. 'Be safe' their eyes say, 'Come back one day. And until then, never forget where you came from.' I nod, my eyes swimming in tears. They hand me another cloth sack, this one slightly smaller but much heavier than mine. I look at them in confusion but it's Kate who answers my unspoken question.

"You'll be gone for a while, don't get rusty on your skills. They may come in handy one day." The pair pulls me into a hug and Kate whispers softly into my ear. "Also remember that every girl needs something a little sharp." I pull back from their warmth and nod in understanding. This has always been our code for when one of us believes danger is coming. I have no doubt they slipped something dangerous into this bag under the guise of performer equipment.

With one last look back at the place that was my home for nearly all my life, I head forward, walking confidently towards my new life.