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Jette’s Egg
Under cover of darkness the trees outside Jette’s window seemed foreboding. Jette could feel their disapproving glare as she stepped off the trellis and shimmied down the stone wall holding her breath in anticipation of discovery. The young girl’s leather clad feet hardly made a sound in the dew soaked grass as she slipped away from the Grove and any adults who could stop her - or keep her from this night’s venture. She shivered slightly in the light breeze, whether from the cool damp or from nervousness she couldn’t tell.
For a moment Jette was tempted to go back and forget what the cook had told her about the cave. Doubt was brushed aside as she heard hushed voices calling her name near the creek bridge leading to the forest. The familiar sound of her friends arguing lifted her tension. Jette grinned, slipped and slid her way down the slope to where Kayla and Garrett were waiting for her.
Garrett’s teeth flashed in the dim moonlight as he grinned at her. “We thought you chickened out and weren’t coming!” he said. “It took you long enough.”
“No I just had to wait for everyone to go to sleep so I could get out.” Jette told him.
“Hush Garrett, stop giving Jette a hard time. It was her idea after all.” Kayla looked even more pale than usual under her light hair. You know Jette, I’ve been thinking maybe we shouldn’t do this. What if there’s really a real dragon in there?”
It was Jette‘s turn to grin. “Now who’s chickening out? Besides everybody knows all the dragons have just about all died out or been killed. There’s probably nothing down there anymore but the crystals and the money bags Draco left there.” Jette laid her small pack down and began rummaging around.
“Are you sure? Draco’s a slimeball and I don’t trust him. Besides if his money’s down there why hasn’t he gone to get it himself?
“Don’t know.” Jette replied. “ Maybe he just hasn’t had a chance. He’s pretty busy most of the time in the kitchens - ah here.” Jette held up a set of striking tools. “Did you get the torches”
“Right here.” Garrett said. “I’m ready to go. We need to get back before mom finds out we’ve gone or we’ve had it.”
“O.K. lets go.” Jette shouldered her pack again and took a torch which she used to help feel her way in the dark. Kayla hung back a moment then followed them up the creek bank and across the bridge. They hadn’t gone far when Jette located the footpath from the road that Draco had told her led to the abandoned cave. It was darker under the canopy of trees and Jette again felt the sense of foreboding that she had as she left her room. She fought the urge to start her torch. They had a way to go and she didn’t want to waste her light. She found herself wishing she were far enough advanced in her magickal training to use magelight. She knew that wouldn’t be a good idea either in this wood at night. While some nocturnal creatures avoided light some would be attracted by it.
Jette led the way gradually uphill with only the half-moon casting light through the shadowed branches. She’d been this way before but Draco had told her about a second little known path at the base of Ice Mountain that led around into a private valley and the mouth of a cave.
Jette’s legs ached and her breath was coming in short gasps by the time she found the valley mouth. As she stopped to relieve the stitch in her side she heard Kayla let out a startled gasp behind her. “What was that?” Jette jumped as Kayla grabbed her shoulder.
“What?” Jette asked. “I didn’t hear anything.” Kayla whimpered as she crowded close to her friend. “That, that thing that just flew across the sky. It was huge!”
“What, where? I don’t see anything!” Jette craned her neck staring above them and didn’t see or hear anything. “It was probably just an owl or something. Stop being so nervous!”
Garrett who had fallen behind trudging up the hill had caught up with them. “What’s wrong?” he asked. He was puffing slightly with exertion. “Kayla thought she saw something big flying.” Jette answered.
“Well we’re almost there aren’t we?” Garrett wanted to know. With a glance at the sky and back to Jette he sat down. “Whatever it was it’s gone, besides it must be getting close to midnight now. Let me rest a minute and we’ll see if we can’t find that cave.”
They had almost given up and turned back by the time that they finally came across the opening in the rock face that allowed them to enter. They paused long enough to light their torches and in contrast to the dark Jette felt nearly blinded. She shone her torch into the mouth of the cave and her shoulders slumped in disappointment. To come all this way for nothing was nearly more than she could bear. The opening was twice as high as she was tall, just large enough to admit a very tall fully grown man and a damp red clay floor ended up on either side surrounded by dark gray moss covered rock. It was all she could see as far as her light reached.
Jette almost turned away to head back down the trail when a glint just out of reach of her torch caught her eye. She stepped forward into the corridor and found it much larger than what it appeared at the entrance. Several other corridors sloped off and downward to either side. She continued ahead and sighed with disappointment again as the shiny object proved nothing more than a small vein of iron pyrite. She heard an exclamation behind her and turned. Kayla and Garrett had followed her in.
“Wow, this is great!” Garrett shone his torch around the walls. Tiny sparkles of light shone and flickered as he moved. “Is that gold?”
“No, it’s not.” Jette said as Kayla joined them. “It’s iron and not gold at all. It is pretty though isn’t it?” Garrett nodded. “Yeah, lets see what there is further in.
The three kids cautiously stepped forward holding their torches high. Further on the corridor shifted and split then came out into a room large enough that their light barely reached the ceiling and their voices echoed in the chamber. Jette could hear the sound of falling water and she followed the noise down another split and stopped short when she saw what was before her.
The walls and floor were covered in quartz crystal formations. A riot of purple, white, pink and yellow assaulted her eyes and gleamed in the light. In the very center of a clear waterfall that splashed and bubbled into a pool that took up over half the room a large crystal grew out of the wall that looked longer than she was tall and nearly twice as big around. As she stared at it Jette became aware of a low humming sound barely in range of her hearing. Even Jette’s rudimentary training and knowledge of magick recognized this as an object of power. She strained to hear and understand what it was saying but she couldn’t grasp the flow of it. The girl shook herself. That crystal wasn’t for the likes of her she was sure and there was certainly no way she was going to be able to get it loose or carry it out. Jette looked more closely at the walls. Some of the smaller crystals appeared loose.
The girl searched, running her fingertips lightly across the crystals she could reach, just as she’d been taught, searching for the right resonance. As she searched, Kayla and Garrett explored the far reaches of the cavern. Finally Jette chose a large deep Amethyst nearly the size of her hand and tapped it loose. As she placed the crystal in her pocket Garrett whistled from the far edge of the room. She looked up and saw that he stood frozen, torch held high and wavering.
“J-Jette, you need to see this.” Garrett half turned to her as she came up behind him. “What is it? Jette wanted to know, “Another crystal?”
“No, better - er, worse!” He looked at her. “We better go now.”
Jette held her torch up and looked beyond him. She didn’t think after the crystals anything would surprise her. What she saw there made her forget to breathe for a long moment. “Wow.” she mouthed.
Draco’s money bags were there, but so were at least a dozen blue white eggs - larger than the size of her head. Without thought Jette crept forward, inexplicably drawn to the smallest egg. It was silver blue, darker and half the size of the others. It looked small enough for her to pick up. She’d nearly reached the nest. She turned to see her friends staring at her with wide eyes and looking like they’d bolt any moment. She reached down and picked up a bag and tossed it to Garrett while she tied the second one onto her own belt. It was heavy. Heavier than the crystal. Jette laid her torch aside and noted it was half burned down. If there was anything else she wanted she would have to get it and go. She opened her pack and crept closer. Jette looked nervously around for the mother but picked up the egg. It was much lighter than it looked. She examined it and discovered that the shell rather than hard was thick and soft but firm. The egg was cool. Carefully she placed it into her pack and tied the straps down. She took her torch and rose to rejoin her friends and discovered they were no longer behind her. The light from their torches were fading in the other room as they left. She heard a faint tense note in Kayla’s voice as she called to Jette that it was time to go. Jette agreed.
Distracted as she was Jette failed to hear the rush of air behind her as she stepped through the crevice to the crystal chamber. What she didn’t miss however was the furious growl. The girl whirled to find herself facing a silver white reptile of towering proportions. Jette couldn’t find the breath to even squeak she was so terrified. The dragon’s crystal blue eyes were blazing with light and their intensity rooted her where she stood. In a few moments Jette realized that although she was facing the biggest creature she’d ever seen (and guiltily) with her young strapped to her back, surprisingly she hadn’t been eaten yet.
A silky voice entered her head. Jette looked wildly around before she realized it was the dragon talking to her.
“I’m Sylbronyth.” the dragon said. “What do you here woman child who would be mage?
Jette started in shock. Could the dragon read minds? “I, I - I’m sorry.” Jette said. “I didn’t know you were here and we were exploring.” Jette realized she was shaking in reaction.
“So, you were stealing, you mean.” The dragon’s gaze turned more intense. “If you were more than a child I would kill you now.” With a sigh the dragon settled over her eggs. “And, were I so disposed against my own child to ignore his desire I would do so anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Jette asked. Impossibly she was growing more afraid by the moment. Jette’s bold nature overcame her fear enough to ask another question. “And how do you know I’m studying magick?”
Jette nearly fell over with the power of the dragon’s silent laughter. The blue gaze came closer and she nearly caved and ran. “Because little one, it’s written all over you is how I know. My son also senses it. He wants to go with you.”
“You’re son?” Jette was shocked so entirely she forgot to be afraid at the dragon’s last statement. She looked around the room wildly. “I don’t see anyone else here!”
“In your pack girl, in your pack! Did you think I wouldn’t know? Did you think I couldn’t miss him or speak with him?” Ah, but I forget. You are of mankind, and men possess few of the gifts. I see it in you, though. Hear it more strongly than in these many years but barely awoken. I can see...... but no, these are things you yourself must discover.” The dragon settled herself more deeply on the nest and stretched her enormous wings. “I will allow you to walk out of here child but there are conditions.”
“What are your conditions?” Jette asked. She was beginning to think she would get out of this alive.
“I have three conditions.” The dragon told her. “The first is that you must hold this in debt until I should call upon you for need, never speaking a word of me to anyone. The second is that you must return here once for your own need in time of grave peril, and the third is that today you may only carry one item from this cave besides the clothing on your person.”
Was it possible the dragon was grinning?
“Make your choice child and begone.”
Jette thought a moment and under the gaze of the dragon removed her pack and everything in it but the egg, untied the money bag and dropped it and removed the amethyst crystal. Leaving everything behind she carefully shouldered her pack with its living cargo and turned to make her way out of the cave. At the entrance Jette realized she was completely alone and that the moon was setting. She would have to hurry in order to arrive before anyone discovered her absence. She hurried down the trail and hiked back toward the Grove and her bed.
Sounds of crickets gave way to chirping of day insects and birds overhead in the treetops began to rustle the leaves. Clouds on the horizon were beginning to glow pink by the time Jette made her way back up the trellis into her room. On her back the loaded pack seemed to weigh her down and she barely had the strength left for climbing.
Jette sat tiredly on her bed. It was as rumpled as she’d left it only a few short hours before. Gathering light enabled her to see as she opened her dew soaked pack to gaze at her wondrous gift. Carefully the girl lifted the silvery blue egg and laid it on her bed beside her. What was she to do with it? Jette wondered. More to the point, how would she hide it? Pondering the dragon’s words she examined the egg again. It shone with a silver brilliance and as she looked closely she could see faint color patterns of blue, lavender and white. On the edges of her awareness she could almost catch a hint of emotion and soundless words. It was very warm in her hands.
As Jette looked around her room she realized she had no real place to put the egg for safekeeping. She would have to ask for help. The breakfast bell was ringing. Yawning Jette quickly made her bed and propped the egg on her bed behind the blankets and changed to her white apprentice robe. She ran downstairs to eat as others joined her.
Regular morning activities seemed to take an interminably long time with the egg constantly in her thoughts. During morning break the girl ran upstairs to check the egg. It had shifted from where she had put it but was otherwise unharmed. Relieved she started back out of her room but hesitated. Perhaps she could ask for help from her mother’s friend Gizelle who also happened to be mentoring Jette here at the Grove so Jette could be taught the arts of magick and be groomed for the priesthood like her older sister Raina. Gizelle would know what to do. The school’s headmaster and former librarian might know how to care for a dragon. Perhaps she would ask him first. She walked back downstairs carrying the egg. Jette knew she’d have to come up with a story about where she got it and fast.
Master Terrel’s rooms were in the eastern wing of the school near the chapel. This time of day there were relatively few students in this area. Jette knew Terrel usually ate lunch with the rest of the students but some days he would eat lunch in his office as he worked. Jette was hoping this was one of those days. Smiling in what she hoped was an innocent manner, Jette rounded Terrel’s open office door to find the room empty. Uncertainly she walked in and saw a steaming lunch tray sitting on a roll table beside his desk. The girl knocked but with no answer.
Jette nearly changed her mind and turned around to take the egg back to her room when she noticed it began to heat in her hands. Blankly she stared at the egg and it began to glow. She could see tiny cracks begin to form along the middle of the egg. Frantically Jette knocked on Master Terrel’s door again. The egg was becoming too hot to hold. A slight breeze stirred Jette’s hair and she noticed his bedroom door was open. Not knowing what else to do the girl set the egg which was becoming uncomfortable to handle on his bed. For a few seconds she stared at the egg then turned and ran to find an adult. Gizelle, she thought. I must find Gizelle, fast.
Two hallways and three left turns later Jette ran panting into the common eating area. Jette saw the teachers sitting at their usual table at the front of the room. Several older students were sitting and talking with Gizelle as Jette stumbled to a stop beside her. Grinning Gizelle greeted Jette but her smile faded when she saw the panic on the girl’s face. Jette was barely able to stammer out an explanation and begged for help. Gizelle didn’t seem to understand but the girl got enough out that the older woman knew this was an emergency. Together they hurried out of the room with a couple of the other students following at a slower pace. However, everyone sped their footsteps as they heard shouting then several screams from the end of the hall by the chapel.
“By the Lady! What’s this?” An angry deep voice boomed out of the Master’s rooms. Smoke drifted down the hallway. Several crashes and more smoke accompanied a liberal amount of swearing.
Gizelle came to a halt to view the carnage. Her mouth dropped open when she saw what flitted around the room with Terrel ducking and throwing books. Finally the man stopped and began to chant. Jette shouted “no!” and burst into the room as Terrel threw a magick bolt at the creature. Jette’s disruption made the spell miss it’s target and flash another shelf of books into flames. She called the young hatchling and tried to catch him before another spell ricocheted around the room. Badly frightened the newly hatched white baby dragon flew from the room.
“You!” Master Terrel had never looked angrier that Jette could recall. He glared at Jette. Terrel turned then with a swirl of robes and exited his rooms. More terrified screaming from the Chapel told Jette her dragon had gone in there. She ran past her startled mentor and past Terrel into the chapel. The dragon was too frightened to come to her as now seven or eight people chased it around the room. It lit on the curtains and another spell bolt startled it into flaming the tapestry on the wall. Flames spread quickly as it flew again around the room. Soon almost everyone was chased into the hall by thick smoke. Only Jette and Terrel stayed, both attempting to catch -or squash - the hatchling.
The news spread as quickly as the fire and the corridors were choked with people crowding in to find out what was going on. Gizelle was forced to turn her attention to keeping onlookers back. She ducked as the flying hatchling dragon flew low above her head, it’s wings flashing silver blue and lavender against its white body. At that moment the side entrance to the chapel hall opened and two teachers entered. They too ducked as the dragon flew over their heads and out the door.
Jette cried when she saw her dragon fly out. She cried harder with Master Terrel’s next words.
It had taken hours for the fires to be extinguished. Now Jette was before the school’s board for misconduct.
"Get her out of here right now!" Terrel yelled at the top of his voice. "Of all the irresponsible, stupid and dangerous things for anyone to do, she has to go and pick my quarters for her pranks! I won't stand for it!" Master Terrel was just getting warmed up. Jette, meanwhile, was terrified. Her face felt as if it was on fire and she couldn't say anything. It echoed the smoke still drifting out of the Master's room and boiling from the main chapel. At least the physical fires are mostly out, she thought miserably.
"I tell you right now, it's either her or me! I won't put up with this any longer from that brainless twit. Imagine! Putting that monster in my bed and then attempting to burn the whole place down!"
“Now Terrel, can’t we ask the child first what she was doing?” Gizelle was fruitlessly trying to help her but seemed as bewildered as everyone else. “I for one would like to know where she got that dragon in the first place.”
“What does it matter! She’s destroyed the whole place! All my books, papers, records, everything is gone! And look what happened to the chapel! I’ve never seen one person so able to cause so much destruction all at one time! She’s dangerous and we don’t need her!” Master Terrel looked around at the others. Many were nodding in agreement. “I vote we expel her and have done.” Jette’s heart sank. She looked to Draco who was sitting in the back of the room. His face was stormy but otherwise unreadable. Perhaps he was angry she hadn’t brought him his money. It made Jette feel even more miserable. She couldn’t do anything right.
As Jette listened to the conversation going on around her she sank into a deep despair. It wasn’t her fault! She raged silently. Still, no one asked her and didn’t seem to hear her mentor’s suggestion to ask Jette what she was doing. They were deciding her fate and she had nothing to say about it. In her mind she felt buffeted by a strong wind, confused and without hope. She knew it was all over but the packing. What had the dragon meant? She was special? Jette hadn’t even had the care of the dragon for a whole day before she lost him. For that, Jette was deeply ashamed. She was sorry she had been the cause of the school burning. If only they hadn’t chased the hatchling! Jette felt sure she could have gotten him to come to her. It was too late now.
Tears ran unheeded. Jette’s thoughts were interrupted. The council had decided. Jette was now and forever more, no longer a student of the Grove. She looked at her robes in shame. She would never wear white again she vowed to herself.
She was fourteen.