>>No!<< She said firmly. >>I have failed.<<
With eyes blinded by tears and a mind bent by sorrow, Philaea ran from the hatching grounds and to the courtyard beyond. She was not paying attention in her pain, and she ran right into the bronzerider who stood outside the entrance. He caught her, and shook her, snapping her out of her daze.
“You are Philaea, the one who can speak to dragons?” He asked, and Liae nodded mutely. “Good. Come, we shall leave for Keandyn Weyr immediately.”
Philaea’s mind was in such turmoil, that she could not understand what the rider meant. It was his dragon who answered her question.
<<Philaea, there is a clutch at Keandyn which needs your attention. You would make a wonderful candidate. Please come. I am bronze Flurath, and my rider is Br’jon.>>
So distressed was Philaea, that she lashed out at the bronze who was only trying to help. >>What do you know? They all said I would impress. They promised! And the queen turned and left me!<<
<<You must come,>> the bronze replied. <<We need you. You need to go. Never can you be happy until you succeed.>> Even as he said it, Philaea knew it was true.
“Alright.” She said, pulling away from the bronzerider. “I’ll come.”
“There we go!” He said with a grin. “I’ll tell the Weyrwoman, and you can get your belongings.”
“Don’t bother.” Philaea said, placing a hand in front of him to stop his pursuit. “I will tell her.” She turned her back, and walked up into her room. She stood in the center of it, staring around, and trying to decide what to bring. “Only the clothes on my back,” she muttered to herself, and changed into the outfit she had worn earlier. She also picked up her nightgown, and candidate’s robe. She glanced around the room one last time. What else? Something small and fuzzy brush against her legs, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Of course. I wouldn’t forget you Rier! I suppose Dorra and Glasn will find their way to Keandyn, won’t they?” She allowed herself another brief smile. The Weyrwoman had tried her hardest to get her daughter a gold firelizard, and she had succeeded. The other, a brown, had been found by Philaea on a midday walk. With a satisfied nod, Philaea left the room which had been her home for 17 turns.
When she approached the bronzerider, he was leaning against his dragon. “I am done. Let’s go.”
<<You did not tell the Weyr,>> Flurath said with a note of reproach.
>>I will tell them when I see fit.<< And for some inexplicable reason, the bronze did not protest again. The bronzerider climbed aboard his lifemate, and offered Philaea a hand. She gave him the basket with her kitten a few belongings inside. He balanced it in front of them, and then offered a hand again. The other demurred. “I know how to mount a dragon, Br’jon.” With that sentence still resting between them, she clambered aboard Flurath. Br’jon smiled appreciatively.
“Nice to meet a candidate who knows how to deal with dragons.”
<<She has been dealing with dragons since she was born, Br’jon. Longer than you.>> The great bronze spread his wings, and lifted off from the bowl. Philaea felt the thrill she always felt when flying. That unmeasurable exhilaration that just seemed to fill her up. She had almost forgotten why she was leaving, until the voice of the young queen caught her off guard.
