Kessa trotted from her bed chamber, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She continued buttoning her shirt, stiffling a yawn. A slight noise from behind told her that one of the flits was awake. Kessa turned, and saw the small green dragon stretching her wings.
"Mornin', Croon. Where's Tet?" A chirp from the other side told her where her other flit was. She turned to see her beautiful white, which immediatley started trilling and chirping, demanding food.
"Honestly, I don't know how I impressed you. Nothing's ever good enough for you, is it?" she mumbled grumpily. The white immediately ceased its urgent chirping, and began to purr apologetically. Kessa sighed.
"I know, I'm sorry. You know I'm not a morning person, and I'm very nervous about tonight...The first formal gala." Kessa peered into a looking glass. She looked herself up and down. Her black curly hair shone brightly and shimmered in the sunlight streaming from the windows. She liked her big, brown eyes, and light brown skin. She then looked down at herself. She was skinny, too skinny in her mind. But her arms were strong, and her legs. She was short, shorter than most of the girls in the surrounding Weyrs. She glanced over at the dress she was to wear to the gala that night. It was a pale, light blue colour that was beautiful on her. It was low cut and fit to compliment her modest bust. The skirt was long, but not poofy like some of the other girls'. Kessa despised dresses, and only wore them when absolutely necessary. It was nearly impossible to run in then, and you had to be careful how you sat, and how you walked...Kessa believed that once you put on a dress, you were expected to be proper with exquisite manners. She made a face in the mirror, and heard a laugh behind her. She turned to see Giden in her doorway.
"Giden, don't you know how to knock? I could've been standin' starkers in the middle of the room!" Kessa scolded. Giden crossed to her and held his arms out to her. She melted and walked into his warm embrace, inhaling his scent.
"Are you ready for the gala tonight? I heard there are gonna be some searchriders there, looking for candidates," said Giden. Kessa stepped back and stared at him.
"Search- searchriders? Looking for...candidates? Like...like, to impress a dragon? Oh great." She collapsed on a couch. Croon and Tet perched on either side of her. They crooned, trying to cheer her.
"Kess, you impressed these two beautiful girls." Giden rubbed Croon on her eye ridge and she trilled contendedly.
"I guess you're right, Gid. But I'm still nervous. Do you remeber how I was before I impressed these two?" Giden patted Kessa on the shoulder.
"Don't remind me," he said with a grin.
Kessa grumbled as she struggled with her silky new dress. She yanked and tugged and finally got it to fit right. She peered into the looking glass once more, and ran a brush through her thick spiral curls. She looked herself over, and noticed something was missing. She crossed to her jewel chest, dress swishing softly, and opened a tiny wooden drawer. She pulled out a delicate silver chain and hooked it around her neck while Croon held her hair for her. Kessa looked at the small silver heart. It was a token of love from her Giden, a present for her sixteenth birthday. A minute later, there was a knock at her door, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Tet, can you..." The white firelizard chirped happily and the door opened.
"Kess...Are you ready?" Kessa checked herself one more time, and then went to Giden. He was very handsome with his nicest breeches and a tunic the same blue as her dress. His dark blonde, slightly curly hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck in a short ponytail, and held with a badn that matched the tunic. Kessa smiled shyly at him, and he grinned back at her, showing her the gap in between his front teeth that she found adorable. He offered his arm, and she took it. Then he swept her away into the night, her dress swishing as they went.
The gala was beautiful. It was brihgtly lit, with some harpers playing their music. There was a large table in the center of the room, set with many, many wooden chairs. The soft sounds of clinking glasses and murmured voices echoed in Kessa's ears. It was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen. She leaned in to Giden.
"I don't see any searchriders or dragons. Do you think it was just a rumor?" Before he could answer, there was the sound of large gusts of wind. A green dragon came spiraling in through the opening in the roof, and landed, peering around at the wide and hopeful eyes. A girl slid from the back of the dragon, but was barely noticed. She cleared her throat several times before the murmers died down.
"Please form a line to be Searched. I am Searchrider Adlan, rider of Green Rarrath. We are of Valley Weyr." Immediately, the talking began, and a line formed. Giden pulled Kessa into the line, nearly yanking her arm off. They stood nervously, not speaking. A girl ran by in a fit of tears, and Kessa's mind went into overdrive.
"What if the dragon takes one look at me and rejects me in a second? Or what if she searches me for a really long time, and then rejects me? Or worse, what if I am picked, but I'm left standing on the sands? Ohmygosh, what am I DOING here?!" Suddenly, they were in the front of the line. Kessa turned, with all intentions of running back to her weyr and hiding. But Giden grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"You're staying here. And you're facing this dragon. And I am, too." With that, Giden was face to face with the green.
Giden froze, gazing back at the green with hope on his face. Kessa's mind raced, hoping with all her heart that he would be accepted. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, the massive green uttered a trill that sent a ripple of wind through her hair. Giden was searched, and now it was her turn. He was pushed into the group of male candidates, turning to give Kessa an encouraging wink.
Kessa found her mind in complete turmoil. How was she supposed to convince this dragon that she was worthy to join with one of his kind? Was there anything she could do? This was it...possibly the only time she would ever have the chance to be searched. She watched the vast faceted eyes carefully as they whirled from green to blue, and then back to green again. Without warning, the dragon gave a sudden jerk, and Kessa felt a stab of cold fear in her gut. Had she been rejected? But no...the green lifted her majestic wedge shaped head and bellowed with all her might. Kessa felt herself being shoved, and ended up mixed in with a cluster of anxious girls like herself.
"Good job," a voice whispered in her ear, "you're a Candidate at Valley Weyr."