Year 3134 of the Troll

What his father meant when he had said he would take Joseph under his wing again was not what he had made it sound like. The King was probably under the impression the father decided to take training matters of his son into his own hands again as it had been once, before the ceremony, before the Wyvern. That, unfortunately, or not, was not the case as Joseph got assigned an even worse task than cleaning out the Dragon stables. The more he thought about it, that first job here had not been that bad. It actually had been amazing compared to everything that had happened after. Now he was working day and night scooping stupid Wyvern dung. His father must have thought it to be fitting, Joseph assumed. 

Fourteen hours a day in those stinky, small, dark stables. They made the Dragon stables look like a darn grand palace. It was a good thing Joseph had isolated himself as much as possible from everyone already otherwise his dearest father might actually have to break a sweat to do the same. No, being alone was his own choice. Eldon, Sorsha, they both could eat Rocknuts for all he cared. They both had played and used him. Well, not anymore. 

Joseph stared up at the blue sky as he pushed himself back further in the shadows of the slender tower that peaked over him. It had been a week since he had discovered this small rooftop area and it was his sanctuary. He watched the colorful dots in the sky dance as they practiced fighting. The Dragons and their rider were blissfully unaware of the human boy observing them and commenting on their actions. He had watched their fighting styles, learned from it, and could now tell who was who just by color and way of flying through the air. When the Gold Dragon appeared, Joseph sat up straight and watched how it moved through the fake battle with the Red Dragon. 

Sorsha and Eldon. 

Joseph could easily discern the riders sitting on top of their dragons in the harness. Their legs clipped against the saddle so they would not fall off when fighting while it gave them as much freedom as possible to move. From what Joseph had seen and heard from other riders, riding a dragon was never an easy task as the beasts were so big, it was almost impossible to find a posture that would comfortable in the long run. As such, the saddles were made in such a way, the rider could switch leg positions depending on what they were doing. For fighting, they sat almost in a kneeling position only with their legs wider apart. They could push up and almost stand upright if needed that way. Outside of battle, with a small pull on the edge of the saddle, they could release the legs and place them more forward, stretching the knees in a more relaxed position. Still, it was not the best position to sit in, so most riders would switch between the two positions while flying long distances. Joseph had even seen a special saddle where the rider could lie down on their stomach on the back of the dragon. It was just a glimpse though. 

Sorsha smoothly moved together with her Dragon. Joseph had nicknamed the creature 'The Red Fury' for obvious reasons. They were one, obviously communicating with each other and swiftly going from attack to defense in a fluid motion. There was some improvising when needed to seamlessly lace the attacks together. She was beautiful... She was at fifteen and she still was. Joseph groaned and shook his head to break the spell he seemed to be caught up in by just watching Sorsha. He turned his attention to Eldon and Goldie for some distraction and raised a brow. They did not seem in sync. Eldon was often off-balance as Goldie moved through the air. He flew brilliantly, his golden scales reflecting the sun everywhere blinding everyone, but he was flying to show himself, not flying to fight. Eldon tried his best to work with it. They performed the 'standard' attacks as they were taught, but there was no life behind it. Sorsha could easily block or avoid them, counterattacking straight away. She was toying with him, and Joseph could practically hear her scream at the Golden pair to get their act together. If they were supposed to go into a real fight, how were they supposed to survive?!

Joseph turned his gaze away from the training Dragons and up to the blue sky. He only had moments left before dinner was served for the servants. Eldo and Godie were no longer his concern. They never had been, and never would be. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth as he pushed himself up and descended through the narrow dark staircase. He knew the steps by heart now, had counted them every time he went up and down. The reason why was something he didn't know. It just gave him a sense of fulfillment; that at least something wasn't changing. The room where the stairs ended was still vacated, but Joseph always listened closely at the door to make sure it was empty. Once in the room, he would do the same with the door to the hallway. Despite the fact he had never even seen someone in the hallway, Joseph figured you could never be too careful. If he was caught and his father was to find out, Joseph dared not think of the consequences.

He slipped through the dark hallways, old paintings the only silent witnesses of him ever being there. He turned corners, descended staircases he had descended countless times now all the while keeping his head down, but his ears wide open for anything unusual. When he came close to the dining area for servants he lifted his head again but avoided meeting other people's gazes. A few steps in was when he stopped. Hairs on his arms raised up when he felt a pair of eyes burn into his back. 

"Joseph Knight! I've been looking for you for days!" A female hand on his shoulder forced him to turn around and look at Hazel. Her blonde hair was braided on one side and let loose on the other. A strange hairdo for women in the castle, but this was Hazel. Her dress again seemed a tad short, as usual.

"Leave me alone, Hazel." Joseph swatted her hand away but she grabbed his in a strong grip straight away.

"No! You owe me an explanation! For Rocknuts sake, you and Eldon just simply disappeared off the radar, avoiding me like crazy, and meanwhile, I get sent to work in the kitchens cleaning dishes?! And then I have to hear from the kitchen staff Eldon is going to fight in the Northern region and is leaving tomorrow?! And let alone with some kind of another girl as an expert as she is the battle master, or whatever she is?! I've heard she's been walking around acting like she's all that as she is apparently is the daughter of the high chief that arrive..." Hazel passed mid sentenced and stared at Joseph as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Wait..." She continued, "that high chief... He's.. your father isn't he? So... that means... the meeting you guys had a while ago did not go so well?" Concern filled her eyes as they softened. She let go of his hand and started fidgeting with the hem of the white dress she was wearing. Sunlight caressed her blonde hair, making it look like she had a halo around her head. 

"Didn't Eldon tell you he was being sent off to battle before the meeting? Why are you so surprised?! What does it matter anyway?! He's the rider of Golden Dragon, he's the prophesied one, he'll be fine and we need to live our own lives." Joseph tried not to focus on her radiant hair or beautiful eyes and thus lowered his eyes till he realized the place he was looking at was not appropriate either. 

"He told me... And I knew your father was here. That doesn't explain why I am suddenly placed on kitchen duty and you... on whatever it is they have you doing! We should be with Eldon, be at his side in that battle! I'm the best healer in the darn palace for Rocknuts sake! Placing me in the kitchens... bah..."

"Wyvern stables..." Joseph muttered.

"What?" Hazel cocked her head to the side.

"Wyvern stables," Joseph repeated a tad louder. "My father decided it would be fun to punish me with cleaning the wyvern stables. He has that girl now, Sorsha. She isn't my sister or his daughter. She is the child my father always wanted, not a loser like me. To him, I'm nothing and thus he treats me like nothing and parades around with her as the one who will be right next to Eldon the whole time. And guess what, He's right. She is an amazing fighter and one of the strongest warriors around here! I don't even have my own Dragon! I'm of no help to Eldon, and frankly, I don't even care anymore! And regarding you... Well, there are plenty of healers. Why have one in their ranks who's as hotheaded and cross as you are? You think too much instead of blindly following orders. You don't fit their picture."

Slowly closing her agape mouth, Hazel's arms dropped next to her lank body as her shoulders sagged forward in defeat. "I thought we were friends. The three of us... Now I see, you only care about yourself. Well, Good luck with that!" From stunned to angry, her voice and stature changed as she spoke. "I'm going to support Eldon and I don't care how I'll do that! You just stay here and scoop poop the rest of your life!"

 The fire behind her eyes as she almost yelled at him was amazing. Joseph could not enjoy it for long though as Hazel barged off leaving him in a daze. Only when his stomach grumbled he blinked and made his way to the dining area.  He didn't need her, he didn't need Eldon, he didn't need his father.

╠═══╣

Joseph glanced at the few Wyverns that were currently stabled. They were quiet, waiting patiently for their riders and the new orders. The dragons had always been much louder when stabled, Wyverns were more docile and meek like dogs, waiting to serve. There was nothing appealing about them and Joseph loathed the fact he had been paired with one. He had done the only right thing for sure. 

Since the talk with Hazel, he had not seen her anywhere. Neither had he seen Sorsha or Eldon in the sky when he took his break. For two days straight, the skies around the palace were empty. Not that he cared. He just enjoyed watching the practice battles, no matter who was up in the sky. Although he had to admit, Goldie had been a formidable dragon to watch. 

With a sigh, he scooped up another big fresh pile of dung and tossed it in the wheelbarrow before walking to the place where they kept the fish. Right before he could open the door to the coolest area of the stables, two wyverns flew in together with their humans. Joseph groaned, knowing he would have to help them and be treated like crap again. Dragon riders treated Wyvern riders like nothing, but Wyvern riders treated the servants, and especially him, like absolute garbage.

"Have you heard? The Golden Dragon left for his first battle!" The younger of the messengers spoke loudly, oblivious to the fact Joseph was there. Joseph stopped dead in his tracks and pushed himself against the wall in the shadows hoping not to be seen.

"Really? Hmmpff. I doubt he will do much good." The older of the two answered. "Prophecy my ass. People just want something to hope for but he won't make a difference. Where did they send him?"

"Up North I heard. To Nanthgarth and Lanslow I've heard." They lead their Wyverns to an empty stable and placed the brown beasts within. "Where is that stable boy anyway?" The young one glanced around irritated.

"Nanthgard?! Are you sure you heard that correctly?! How many did they send up there?!" The older one had paused, color drained from his face.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's nothing big. Last I've heard, there were just a handful of the Other Dragons. Apparently, they took the Golden Dragon, that new red one, and just a handful of warriors. Should be more than enough."

"It's not enough..." The older messenger whispered. Joseph could barely hear it. "I just came from there, had to fly the fastest I've ever done to save my skin and scales. There are... hundreds, if not more of those Others out there!"

Joseph's blood seemed to still in his body. Eldon was flying right into a trap. There was no way he would make it out alive. He wasn't thinking as he emerged from his hiding spot and started to run. He heard the shouts of the two messengers in the distance fade as Joseph let his body take control for once.