A Fifth Daughter [Book 1: The Dragon Rider]

Birthdays haven’t always been a big thing with my family. I don’t remember them when I was younger but if we had them they weren’t much of a celebration. However we do give Going Away parties. So, when I looked through the window of the house and saw streamers and balloons I thought it was for Genny Grace, who is going to Earth for college so she can become a teacher. I guess you can imagine the way my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I opened the front door and my family yelled out “Happy birthday!”

I about close the door in their faces, but I’m too frozen to make my limbs move; proving that my fight or flight instinct is broken in the face of my family.

From behind Chase’s arms grapple me and push me further into the house. “Happy Sweet Sixteen, sis!” He yells in my ear, laughing. Apparently last night’s craziness wasn’t enough for anyone.

I don’t get Sweet Sixteen. There’s nothing really sweet about it. Maybe to others there’s some importance; like being given your Choice which typically has kids flying to the moon with happiness, but not me.

I have nothing against Dragonmage. Nothing against dragons or the men and women who ride them. I just really wish I wasn’t among them. Perhaps my mindset will change overtime, but for now I will glare at the concept of riding a dragon or any other flying creature.

Chase pinches my side. “Glare-thinking is not allowed at your birthday party. Cheer up.” He snaps a pointy hat to my head, making sure that I feel the string bite my chin.

I shoot him a look that he laughs at. Glare-thinking is what Chase calls a certain distant look I get when I’m thinking too particularly hard on something. Apparently I glare at random things. For reasons Chase keeps to himself, he titled the look and likes to remind me that he can read my expressions like a rule book.

Ryler is in the middle of the living room and Chase drags me to stand beside him, while my family and a few family-friends wish us happy birthday. A pointy, party hat rests among his shaggy blonde hair announcing in colorful letters and numbers that it’s his birthday. I have a feeling mine says the same.

“They got you too,” Ryler says poking my side, but then fixes the uncomfortable string under my chin. “I came through the back trying to avoid everything, but apparently, we’re predicable.”

I try to glare at my family, but their broad grins and uncontrollable happiness barely take a second to rub onto me and then I’m smiling and laughing too.

Mom and Katie are in the kitchen, smiling and preparing something that smells an awfully lot like pork loin and vegetables – which, in case you don’t know, is one of the best meals every created. Genny Grace is talking with a girl that I should know the name of with how many times she’s been over, but I can’t remember it right now. Tempest is nowhere to be found and Alice is crowding a corner with her black cat Shallow. She is sort of smiling while Chase tries to engage her in conversation, but Alice doesn’t like smiling… or talking… so Chase is fighting his typical losing battle. Carter King, Carma’s fiancé, is trying to sneak into the kitchen like the little kid he is at heart. I should probably explain that he’s a Vampire Prince, but Chase will most likely get onto me for Glare-thinking.

Carma isn’t in here either. Which has me worried. Tempest and Carma are the masterminds behind anything we do. They’re really good at planning, but sometimes I worry about what they can get us into.

I shake my head. Stop ruining the mood with over excessive thinking.

So, I turn to my twin brother and say, “Happy birthday, Ry.”

He laughs. “I hope you don’t expect an answer, you know I hate being called that. I grew out of nicknames a couple years ago.”

I shrug and flick his cheek, “Too bad.”

He smirks and gives my cheek a pinch. “Happy birthday to you too, Coke.”

I hate that nickname. It started out as a joke because Chase and Tempest used to call me Oke (pronounced sort of like oak). Well, Ryler would say it wrong and so ever since then it’s been Coke, about a year ago I got him to stop, but he likes to remind me of it.

I grin in response, even though I feel like smacking him.

“Alright, everyone move, cake coming through!” Katie’s shouts fill the air as her dark head moves through the Green family to the table where Ryler and I have been commanded to sit and not move. The cake is a chocolate circle with no frosting and thirty-two candles topped with their glowing flames. It must be nice for Mom to have twins who have the same favorite tastes. Pork loin and chocolate cake are on the top of both mine and Ryler’s ‘Favorite Foods List.’

I glance at him as the cake settles before us with the same playfulness that he looks at me with.

“One.” I mouth.

“Two.” He whispers back.

“Three!” We exclaim out loud and blow at the candles. I barely beat him to blow out my sixteen, and everyone laughs as his cheeks flare red when the last one holds onto its flame and won’t go out. It finally gives up with a hiss and his head drops to the table where he breathes hard and laughs harder.

Everyone gathered around us is laughing and joking like one, big happy family. Well, I guess we really are a family, no matter how much we don’t show it to everyone else. We love each other and I know I can trust these guys to be there for me when I need them.

Katie cuts the cake and hands me a thick slice. I smile at the gooey goodness of it and stand to take over my corner of the couch. After some delicious bites, Carter joins me with his own slice. He might be a Vampire, but he sure doesn’t eat like one. Side note: the fact that Vampires can only live off blood – human blood – is a myth about the size of Fantasy: all the little islands included.

“How’s yours?” I ask. I compare our slices, mine’s slightly smaller now that I’ve divulged into its deliciousness.

“Tastes like my favorite thing,” he looks at me, a glint to his blue eyes, highlighted by his very shaggy black hair. He needs a haircut and soon. Hopefully before the wedding. Whenever that happens. “Chocolate.” He appears almost childish. Like if you gave him a rattle he’d make as much as noise as possible just to play with it.

“Yeah, chocolate’s good.”

He hums his response as he takes a huge bite and rolls his eyes to emphases its goodness.

“You don’t have to be so graphic.” I tap his shoulder with my knuckles.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He obviously does, but I’ll leave him be… for now.

“So,” I draw out to get his attention. When he refocuses on me, I spill; “When is this wedding going to happen?”

He shrugs and glances at Carma. “Hopefully not much longer.”

“Where is it going to be?”

“Well, I was thinking –” He snaps his mouth shut on whatever was coming after that and clears his throat. He avoids my gaze as he continues, “I don’t know honestly. We still haven’t really talked about it.”

“Do all Vampires’ ears turn red when they’re lying?”

He smiles cheekily and the flush spreads down his jaw. “No, that’s normally a trait to when we’re embarrassed.” He answers quietly, but honestly.

“What are you embarrassed about?”

“Nothing that can’t be dealt with later on.”

Carter stands and walks away. I frown after him. There’s something going on. He, Carma, and Mom have been avoiding my questions about this wedding. That’s the most I’ve gotten out of any of them since he proposed back in June.

Of course, maybe it’s nothing and I’m over thinking again.

Yeah, that’s it. I’m thinking too hard on why my Mom, my sister, and my sister’s fiancé are keeping all the mushy details of this wedding to themselves.

I shrug and return to my cake. As long as I don’t have to be in the wedding they can have it on the moon for all I care.

Smiling to the point that your jaw aches and your cheeks are sore is not something I advise you to do. It hurts about as bad if someone were to slap you – just without the red hand print left over. I’m putting myself through this pain because Ryler is acting like a normal teenager on a sugar high. Of course it is all explainable. A few minutes ago it was ‘How many cards can I stack?’ before that it was ‘How many Dr. Peppers can I drink?’ and now it is ‘How many times can Chase beat me at Uno while I shout out random things about dogs?’ To answer all of those questions; apparently, he can do quite a bit. I’m not even going to try and explain all that has happened, because, honestly, I’m not too sure of all that myself.

Finally, shaking my head and rubbing my jaw I leave my brothers and their weirdness to find Mom washing dishing in the kitchen. Tempest, Carma, Carter, and Genny Grace are playing a card game at the table and Alice is petting her black cat in the corner. Katie said good-night an hour ago.

“Are the boys still at it?” Mom asks.

“You mean you can’t hear Ry?”

She smiles. “I figured. Ryler has been challenging Chase at games since he was able to talk. Guess tonight is their catchup night.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. I try to remember a Ryler that wasn’t annoying, but I come up blank. It must be a guy thing.

“How was your day?” Mom turns off the water and grabs a stool from the island. “We haven’t been able to talk since this morning.”

“It was… interesting.”

“Really? Did she tell you?”

I pause in answering, “You’ve known all along, haven’t you?”

“For the most part, yes. Tyra and I were friends before your father died, and well, secrets get spilled between two old women.”

“Are you confessing to gossip?”

“Maybe,” she draws out with a laugh, her violet-gold eyes sparkling in the dim kitchen light; the blue of her blouse bringing out the gold dusting in the purple, and knowledge that only comes with age hides there in-between the colors.

“I’ll find you later and we can talk about it, alright?”

I smile tightly and nod.

The only problem is that I really don’t want to talk about it. I just want to get it over with, and yet I still have two more days until the Accepting.

Oh, joy.

Mom steps out into the yard where I’m stargazing. I know it’s her by the slight jolt in her right leg. I don’t know what happened, but she’s always had a slight limp as far back as I can remember.

With a sigh she takes a place by my side. “It sure is beautiful tonight.”

I smile faintly. “Yeah, it is.” The end of August seems to always bring out the brightest stars. I don’t know why, but it never seems to be overcast on the last few days of my birth month.

“When I was younger I would sneak onto the roof of our house and lay below the stars.” I glance at her slightly surprised. She never talks about her past. “It was so peaceful. Sometimes I would name them. Other times I would pretend they were my friends. I was always jealous of stars, they are never lonely.”

“Are you lonely still?”

Mom shakes her head. “No. I’ve got you and your brothers and sisters.”

“Don’t forget Katie, Shallow, all the cows, Rash… well, you can forget about Rash and Dell for all I care.” Rash and Dell are the Pegasi Chase and Tempest were given after becoming Novices in Battlemage. I still remember nearly screaming when Tempest brought Rash home. It was bad enough that Dell had been the one to buck me off, and now we had another Pegasus to add to the trouble.

Mom laughs softly. “I can’t forget about them… any of them. They’re part of the family too.”

I grumble a complaint, but let her have her laughs. It’s nice to hear, and to know, she’s happy. “What Choice did you get?” I ask, breaking the comfortable silence.

“I didn’t get one.”

I frown. “Why not?”

Mom sighs. “There was no reason to. I met your father and just didn’t.”

“Do you think I should take the Dragonmage Choice?”

“I believe that is up to you. Whatever you choose I will be happy with.”

“I was kind of hoping for some helpful advice.”

“Well, what do you think?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, but humor me.”

I puff up my cheek and exhale. “I think I’m a turtle stuck in the middle of a busy two-way highway and I’m suddenly regretting everything, plus the slowness of my own legs.”

Mom huffs a chuckle. “You’ve always really liked similes.”

“They help me think things through.” Sometimes.

“Well, what are they helping you with right now?”

“Regret.”

“What do you regret?”

“Going to see Mother Tyra this morning.”

“The Choice was going to happen one way or another.”

“I know. I just wish it was still a year away.”

“Hmm… you’d say that again next year.”

Probably.

“What has you second guessing all of this?”

“Flying.”

“Yes, that is understandable. But Smoke, you could be missing out on something amazing.”

“Maybe…” I fiddle with a thin blade of grass, tying it in knots.

Mom sighs contently and stands. “You’ve got two days to think it over.”

Two days to decide. Two days until my life is set on a path I either enjoy or despise, love or hate. Two days.