Shallie's Story The young girl looked up only briefly from her jar of numbweed at the dragon, then turned back to work, purposely spilling the hot wax over the lid.  Watching it as it cooled, she gently lifted the jar to her nose, sniffed slightly, and sighed.  This was not working, and it never did.  Looking jealously over at her older brother, Shamcril, who was sealing his glass jars perfectly, Shallie knocked the candle over with one hand, trying to make it appear an accident.  "Shards!" She cursed softly, for the hot wax had spilled on her hand, and she was anxiously trying to soothe the pain.  "Here," Shamcril said, opening one of his jars of numbweed that he hadn't sealed yet, and gently dabbing some where the hot wax had spilled.  Smiling at his little sister, he asked, "Is that better?" "Yeah," Shallie muttered quietly, brushing her light brown hair out of her eyes, angry at herself for this; now she couldn't finish wrapping the bandages that the Journeyman had told her to!  Shards!  "I'll do it, Shallie," Shamcril reassured his little sister, patting her softly on the head (she hated that) and picking up the rolls of bandages.  His quick, nimble fingers quickly rolled each one up into a tight cylinder, and he sealed it by tucking the end into the side. Wishing that she could of been more like her brother, Shallie began to do the best she could, carrying the jars of numbweed back to her room. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Did ya hear, Shallie?  Did ya?" Shamcril asked excitedly of his little sister.  "Did you hear who's names got picked  by the Searchrider Cheche?" "Let me guess.  Your's and...  Probably Gashla, she's a pretty good Candidate for a dragon," Shallie replied, taking no interest. "Half right, Shallie," Shamcril replied.  "Me and you!  You got Searched!" "This is a mistake," Shallie replied, not even bothering to get up, because she knew that it was a mistake.  "A total mistake.  Since when did I ever do anything right?" "Let me think, Shallie," Shamcril replied, pretending to think hard.  "When you got Apprenticed, when you gave Inresh that black eye, even though you got punished for it, and when you got promoted.  Not to mention now, and all of the things that you've done for other people." Chuckling at the memory of giving her snotty older brother the black eye, Shallie also tried to forget being locked in her room for a long time.  It had been worth it, though, and Shamcril had smuggled food into her room.  "So you are serious?" She asked. "Serious."   Smiling in a not-so-happy way, he added, "Zabolon isn't sure if he wants you to go or not.  You are one of his best apprentices, despite what you say.  Not to mention that if you don't Impress, it's going to give the crafthall a bad name, or so he says.  I don't believe him, because if he's not taking the chance with you, he shouldn't be taking the chance with me." "I'll talk to him and see if I can convince him that I really want to go." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leaning backwards against the wall, Shallie threw a bandage at the opposite side of the room.  "It's not fair," She muttered.  All of the female slots had been filled by the time that Zabolon had gotten around to deciding that she could go.  Inresh had been Searched, too, and the fact that he wouldn't be Impressing with her did make Shallie feel slightly better. Two weeks later she received a letter from Shamcril. Dear Shallie, It read, The hatching occoured today!  I have some wonderful news, and some not-so-great news, but I'll start with the wonderful! You see, you can no longer refer to me as Shamcril, because I'm now Sh'cril!  I Impressed a gorgeous blue dragonet named Azuth, and he is more beautiful than you'd ever believe!  I'd elaborate, but I don't have the time. The not-so-great news: Inresh Impressed.  I guess that since it helped a dragonet, it's all right, but I guess I feel that...  I don't know, nevermind.  He Impressed.  The Senior Queen Yukith should be flying sometime soon, and I wish you luck at her hatching (Zabolon is going to let you go, right?) With love, Sh'cril and Azuth Smiling, and thankful that Sham...  No, Sh'cril had Impressed, Shallie looked at her trunk, knowing that it was all packed and ready for the next clutch... Next Page Return to Shallie's Weyr