Two of a Kind

I wake up the next morning to some kind of commotion. When I open my eyes, I hiss at the sunlight, but quickly shoot my eyes open when I hear something squeal. I feel pain shoot through my chest, and I instantly know what's going on.

"No!!" I yell as I quickly stand up, and spin towards whoever it is that is causing my dragon distress.

*Help!* The baby mentally yells. I run blindly towards whoever it is, and run into them. I feel all the air escape my lungs. They catch me, and hold me close to their chest.

"Not a very smart move." The stranger whispers into my ear.

"Who are you? What are you doing in here?" I question. Then an even more important question pops into my head. "What were you doing to my dragon?" I question, venom coating my words.

"I wasn't doing anything to it. Merely trying to get it out of my way." He says...at least I assume it's a he by the depth of the voice.

"Why were you trying to get past him?" I ask, still blinded from the light.

"To get to you." He answers. I instantly stiffen. "I'm supposed to train you." He explains once he felt my response to his words.

"Train me for what?" I ask.

"War." He says simply. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"Why....may I ask...are you training me for war?" I ask.

*Be careful of him. He's not trustworthy.* I hear my dragon's mental caution.

*Very well.* I respond.

"Well, we may be sent to battle before long...so the king wanted me to have you ready....just in case." He says.

"Are you planning on telling me what your name is?" I ask, frustrated that he had managed to sidetrack me from the question.

"My name is Claydon." He says simply.

"Thank you." I say, feeling myself smile.

"O...kay.....anyways, shall we be going?" Claydon asks me. When I turn around, I feel him put an arm on my shoulder. "Why are your eyes closed?" He asks.

"Um....I kind of got blinded by the sun when I first opened my eyes..." I say, embarrassed.

"How come?" He asks.

"I haven't been in a room with sunlight for half a year..." I say, scratching the back of my head.

"Do you want to open them?" Claydon asks. I hesitantly open my eyes, and smile when I see a extremely handsome guy standing in front of me. I see him smirk.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"No, it's nothing." He says, turning to the door. He looks back at me, and when he sees that I haven't moved, he sighs. "You coming?" He asks while motioning towards the door.

"But...I was told not to leave this room unti-"

"Until someone comes to get you? Who do you think I am?" He asks, motioning towards himself.

"Oh...sorry." I say, taking a step towards him. We walk down a corridor, and come to a huge door.

"W....where does this door lead to?" I ask, both excited and scared.

"Out through these doors is the combat arena." He says while pulling the door handle. It opens, and we walk outside.

"I'm out....side?" I ask, looking around the deserted lawn type thing.

"Yes." He says.

After standing there for almost half an hour, Claydon grabs a hold of my upper arm, and pulls me out, into the grass. I look around, and smile when I see my dragon running around in the grass.

"He looks happy." I mutter, not really talking to anyone.

"Yeah." Claydon says. I look up, and see him watching my dragon as well. "So, what's his name?" He asks.

"I'm....not sure." I mumble, guilty. "I haven't asked."

"Maybe you should." Claydon says, never taking his eyes off the playful dragon.

*Hey.* I mentally whisper.

*Yes, rider?* I hear his voice ask in my mind.

*What's your name?* I ask.

*Adrik.* He says with pride.

*Very nice name. It suits you.* I say with affection in my voice. He stops playing, and looks into my eyes.

*I thank you, rider.* Adrik says, and goes back to chasing the grasshoppers that were trying to escape from the 'big monster' that's chasing after them.

"So?" Claydon says. I turn to him with a grin.

"His name is Adrik." I say proudly. He thinks for a moment.

"That's a strong name. So, it's a male?" Claydon asks, watching Adrik again.

"Yes, he is. Why do you ask?" I ask, worried. He looks at me, and smiles.

"There's nothing wrong with that. It's just that there's only one female dragon hatched...so...." Claydon says, trailing off. I look at him in confusion.

"How do you know about that?" I ask, suspicious.

"I think everyone here does. The twins walk around complaining about it constantly." He explains. I think about it for a minute.

"Who are the twins?" I ask. He looks at me, and sighs.

"Might as well tell you." He says, turning away from me.

"Tell me what?" I ask. He looks directly into my eyes.

"They are double agents. They spend most of their time in the Varden's hideout. The only time they come back is to report what's going on." Claydon says, walking past me.

"What!" I whisper, breathless.

"It works out pretty well." Claydon says with a smirk. My eyes narrow.

"They betray the ones they've sworn to protect!" I hiss, looking towards the east.

"No. They swore to serve the king before they went to that bunch of traitors." He says with visible hatred. I look at him, and sigh.

"Claydon?" I say, barely more than a whisper.

"Yeah?" He asks.

"What made you hate the Varden so much? What happened?" I ask, gently.

"They killed my mother." Claydon says, eyes burning with anger.

"I.....I'm sorry." I whisper, looking into his eyes.

"For what? You didn't kill her." Claydon says, picking up what looks like two sticks.

"That may be, but I still brought it up." I say as I catch the stick that he throws at me. "What's this for?" I ask, gesturing towards the stick.

"Training." Claydon says.

"With a......stick?" I ask.

"Practice. We'll be using swords tomorrow." Claydon says, watching me inspect the stick.

"We could use swords today." I say, looking at him. He shakes his head.

"Don't think so. You're a novice." He says, looking away from me. I see my chance, and dart towards him, knocking him to the ground.

"A novice, am I?" I ask with a smirk as he looks up at me, shocked. "I know a lot more than most do." I say, still holding him down. He smirks, and with one quick movement, I'm on my back with him on top of me.

"Very well. We can speed training up a bit." He gets off me, and walks towards a tree. I gasp when I see him turn around holding my blade.

"My sword!" I say with a smile. He throws it, and I grab a hold of the hilt.

"Alright." Claydon takes a defensive stance. "Lets see just how good you are!" I close my eyes, and take a deep breath.

"You asked for it!" I say as I open my eyes with a smile on my face.

"We shall see." Claydon says as I take a step towards him. He smirks as I launch myself at him. Before I know what's going on, I'm on the ground with his blade pointed at my neck.

"Damn!" I gasp. He smiles down at me.

"You caught me by surprise earlier. Don't think that's going to happen again." He removes his blade, and grabs my arm.

"How the hell did you do that?" I ask, flabbergasted as he pulls me to my feet.

"Years of practice." He says with a shrug.

"Can you teach me?" I ask, embarrassed. He looks at me, and smiles.

"Sure, this is training after all." I smile, and examine my blade.

"Well." I sigh. "Apparently it hasn't had very much attention since I was captured." I mutter, running my finger down the blade that has turned dull and began to rust in the time since I have left Carvahall.

"It'll be fine once it gets cleaned up a bit." Claydon says, examining the blade.

"Yeah," I sigh, and take up a defensive stance. "but in the meantime...." I say as my sad expression turns to one of excitement. He also takes up a defensive stance.

"You completely sure about this?" He asks me. I smile, and nod my head. "Alright." He runs at me, and I barely dodge before the blade hits my shoulder.

*Holy shit!* I mentally shout in surprise.

*I told you not to underestimate him! Now, look what almost happened!* I hear Adrik’s mental voice growl at me.

*I'm fine! He just took me by surprise!!* I respond. When I refocus my attention to my fight with Claydon, I yelp as I feel his blade make contact with my side.

"Pay attention, Kayashi!!" He says as he jumps back to avoid my blade. I glare at him.

"I'm trying!" I yell, narrowly avoiding his blade.

"No, you're not! If you were, I wouldn't have hit you so easily!" He says in a commanding voice. I look at him with defiance in my eyes. "Look at me like that all you want, but you still need to concentrate more." Claydon says, sidestepping my blade.

*He's kind of commanding, isn't he?* I hear Adrik ask in my head.

*Yes.* I respond with a sigh.

*Then why don't yo-* Adrik’s voice suddenly disappears from my mind, along with his presence.

"What the hell!" I screech, looking around. "Why can't I hear my dragon anymore?" I ask no one in particular. I hear laughing, and spin around. "YOU!!!"