The Dragon's Kiss

The walk to the breakfast line seemed endless.

Every few steps, Kel recoiled as her shoulder brushed against the silver-haired boy's. Though they were part of a large meandering crowd, everyone else seemed to have ample space around them.

So why was this kid walking so close to her?

"I heard bedsharing will only last for five more days," the close-walking kid murmured above the hum of the crowd.

Kel blinked a few times in confusion. Was the boy talking to her?

"Uh..?" she grunted, glancing toward the golden stare.

"In five days, we won't have to share beds anymore," the boy repeated.

"Oh.. ok," Kel responded absently.

It was the first time she'd really heard this kid's voice aside from a few whispers, but all she could think was why was he telling her this?

Could it be that this poor child was actually just a shy kid who was feeling lonely now that his similarly-featured companion didn't seem to be around? Was he just trying his best to make small talk with the only other person he'd met before entering camp?

Kel suddenly recalled the image of the boy's burly bedmate forced to the ground for the night without a blanket.

Nope. Shy and lonely suddenly didn't seem like the right words to describe him.

"They don't check the beds again after the evening roll call," the kid spoke again. "Not even in the morning."

There was no reason for him to be attempting idle conversation. Was he trying to threaten her? That he could beat her up after roll call and the superiors would never know?

".. Why?" Kel finally responded.

Why was he telling her this?

The boy replied with a few quiet words before finally withdrawing his stabbing gaze and moving away.

As he did so, Kel stopped walking, unknowingly causing a train of stumbling behind her.

"Hey! Watch it, Kid!" yelled a disgruntled stumbler.

Falling back between the clumps of soldiers clambering around her, Kel stayed frozen until the group had passed her entirely.

As she let out a shaky breath, the kid's final whispered words replayed in her mind.

'You can switch with my partner.'

"Why.." Kel said again, this time her voice filled with uneasiness.

Raising her eyes to the crowd that had passed her by, Kel could no longer see the metallic hair bobbing along. For the second time, she had the unnerving feeling that this kid was dangerous.

Extremely dangerous.

The next three weeks of training passed by quickly.

Just as the silver-haired kid had predicted, the new recruits were finally given their own cots after five days of sharing. With her own bed and the strange staring boy (thankfully) assigned to a different tent, Kel finally felt like she was able to breathe.

At least a little bit.

Aside from that boy, and his similar-looking companion (who Kel discovered had been assigned to a support division), the only people she had to watch out for were the superior officers.

In order not to be noticed, just in case any of the officers had seen her face on a wanted poster or something, she developed a habit of staring at the ground when someone of higher rank was speaking to her. After the three weeks were over, she could better recognize most of her superiors by their voice and shoes than their face.

Fortunately, nobody seemed curious about the 'timid' farm boy from the outskirts of the North with an odd ground-staring tendency.

The biggest hurdle to Kel's quest to blend in, however, were the years of intense physical training ingrained into her muscles. The moment she picked up a weapon, her body moved on its own, remembering every single step. As a result, she easily rose to the top of her division.

Naturally, her performance led to undesired attention, but Kel was hopeful that it would all disappear when she left the training camp and she would soon be just another soldier in the black Serin sea.

And that would have most likely been the case… if it weren't for two major problems.

The first problem arose when Kel learned where she had been stationed.

As the top performer in the archery division, she had been assigned to the Dragon's Heart. This was the camp where the most prestigious of the Serin military gathered including, as the name suggested, the Dragon Emperor.

The second problem came about when Kel was informed who she would be traveling to her station with.

Very few new recruits met the standards to qualify for the Dragon's Heart, so it made sense that the group would be small. According to the assigner, it consisted only of an escort and two trainees: Kel and a boy named Taegus.

Admittedly, her mind was preoccupied with the first issue while she packed her new military issued uniform and bow in preparation to set off to her new station.

In fact, she hardly had a moment to wonder who the other impressively-skilled new recruit was before turning to find her escort waving her over and a silver-haired boy standing next to him.

Taegus.

So that was his name.

The one she had to worry most about out of the worrisome silver-haired, golden-eyed duo.

Why couldn't it be the other refugee who had traveled from Tael with them? The one who was entirely uninterested in Kel? Wasn't there some kind of measurement to determine the top of the support divisions? Surely they needed bookkeepers and cooks in the Dragon's Heart as well.

Still, regardless of Kel's futile grumbling to herself about her travel companion, the three of them set off.

An escort, named Gideon, who'd already had experience with the prestigious camp.

A cross-dressing ex-Mevani soldier with formidable archery skills and far too many secrets.

And a mysterious boy from an unknown background, whose presence was a threat to Kel's entire identity.

"I heard the two of you came from the same village," Gideon prattled as the three trotted along a particularly obscure forest path. "There must be a whole slew of talented warriors over there."

While Taegus remained silent, Kel shrugged.

"Everyone in that village has their secrets."