Elias groaned as he heard his door creek open and small footsteps cross the floor. He waited for the bed to shift. Two small bodies climbed onto his bed. Without words he shot his arms out and wrapped one around each of his four year old cousins. If you boiled it down to family he only had seven cousins, that of his Aunt Samantha and Uncle Alex. However, growing up as the son of the Dragon General, any Dragon's family was like his own.

"He's got us!" Anastacia giggled as she tried to free herself.

"I'll save you!" Deion said, trying to help his cousin free herself.

Anastacia scoffed. "Daddy says I don't need no man saving me. I'll do it myself," she said, pulling free of Elias's hold and jumping onto his stomach.

Elias grunted as her body crashed into his. His eyes opened to see Anastacia laying with her elbows on his chest staring up at him while Deion had freed himself and sat crisscross beside him. "And what pray tell brings you two in so early?" he asked.

"Aunty Freya, mommy and the littles went to see baby Hope," Deion said.

"And we didn't want to go," Anastacia added.

"So we were going to run the obstacle course with the rest," Deion continued.

"But we changed our minds," Anastacia said.

"Uncle Erik said you didn't have much to do today," Deion added.

"So he told Uncle Kole and daddy that you could watch us," Anastacia ended.

Elias sighed, connecting all the dots. He loved his cousins, but their energy first thing in the morning for who knows how long could be draining. His father was smart when it came to punishments. He knew what each child dreads most and used it. Elias sat up knocking Anastacia into Deion. "You two head to the living area. I'll get changed and meet you down there in a moment," he said, shooing the two four year olds out. Once he was dressed he made his way downstairs. Anastacia and Deion had found the blocks that Uncle Aaron had made for him when he was about their age. He watched for a moment to make sure they were behaving before peeking his head into his father's office. "How long am I on double trouble duty?" he asked.

Erik looked up from his desk with a smile. "They found you already?" he asked, laughing as Elias yawned and nodded. "Until lunch. The women are spending time at the castle with Sam. James and Kole need a bit of time to train without those two. The olders can manage but we all know what happens when double trouble goes unsupervised," he said.

"I'll keep them busy until then," Elias said, then turned and walked back into the living room where each four year old had built a wall and were now preparing to throw the jacks as projectiles at one another. "How about we go brush some of the horses," he called, before they could start the attack. The two quickly dropped the jacks and ran for the door. Elias sighed as he jogged after them. It was going to be a long morning.

At lunch Elias was more than ready when Anastacia and Deion spotted their fathers and took off for them. James grinned as Elias followed the two little ones. "Have a rough day?" he asked.

Elias shook his head. "I don't get how you can have six children and still have a brain at the end of the day," Elias said as he fell in line with his uncle as they walked towards the dining area.

"Well when he's just as much a child as the children it isn't that hard," Rowen said walking up. "I really pity Freya who has to deal with all seven children."

James rolled his eyes at Rowen's comment.

After lunch Elias found his way back to his father's office. He knocked and entered. "My charges are back in the care of their fathers. Do you have something else I need to do?" he asked.

Erik shook his head as he stood up. "Not right now. You can have some time. However, I did want to talk to you about something," he said, rounding the desk. He smiled at his son. "It's not bad. Actually it's going to be good. T'Trerio has volunteered to train you an hour before dinner each night until the apprentice trials start in two weeks," he said.

Elias froze. The apprentice trials were in two weeks... there would be thirty youth joining together for two weeks to fight for the eight apprentice spots. He and Serenity were old enough. Serenity had declined when they had talked about it. She had no interest or obligation. "Isn't that considered special treatment?" Elias asked, trying to figure a way out without making it seem like he was. His father was so excited that his oldest was at the age of apprenticeship and he didn't want to let him down.

"Not at all. I can guarantee you that the majority of youth will have extra training in the weeks leading up to the trials," Erik assured his son. "Let's get some lunch. After that you can have an hour then I'll have a few things for you to do," he said, dropping an arm around his son's shoulder and leading him to where lunch was being served.

"How'd you get stuck on training duty?" Elias asked T'Trerio as they headed for the training grounds an hour before dinner that night. Elias had thought he'd have another day or so to figure out how to get out of the training, but when T'Trerio caught him that evening he knew that he'd be stuck training for the meantime.

T'Trerio laughed. "I didn't get stuck. I enjoy training. Right now we don't have any apprentices in our group so I thought I'd offer my time," he said grabbing two training swords and handing one to Elias. "Plus, this way I get out of an hour of my own training," he grinned.

The two trained until dinner. "How'd it go?" Erik asked, as they were putting away their swords.

T'Trerio smiled. "The boy is a natural. He really doesn't need me. In fact I'm not sure if he is the one gaining new knowledge or I am," he said.

The look on Erik's face made Elias's stomach drop. His father was thrilled that his son was a natural and in their eyes already set on the path of Dragonhood. "Thank you for your time T'Trerio. I'm going to go get cleaned up for dinner, mom will kill me if I come to the table like this," he said, nodding to his sweaty and muddy clothing.

Erik and T'Trerio nodded and laughed. "Yes, your mom would not be thrilled to have you trekking all that into the house," he said, then watched as his son walked off. "Do you really think he is a natural?" he asked.

T'Trerio nodded. "Yes, I do," he hesitated before continuing. "However, there is something missing. He knows the steps, can predict my next few steps and has the right stance... but there is something missing. I'm not sure what it is. I hope that spending the evenings with him I can figure it out," he said.

"Huh. I'll watch him as well. Let me know if you figure anything out," Erik said, clasping a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Thank you again for helping him out," he said.

"It's the least I could do. The Dragon's provided for me when I had nothing," T'Trerio said.

Erik nodded as they both remembered the path that T'Trerio had taken to get from the life of a Moshadian mercenary's son to that of a Red Dragon. "We are glad that we have you as one of our own. Now, before I have to face the wrath of my wife I should get to dinner as well," he said with a grin, before walking into his home where his wife and daughters were waiting at the table for him and his son.

"He lives!" Talleigh cried as Elias walked through the door the first day of his freedom from the compound. "How'd the punishment go?" she asked as she sat at the bench cleaning the quills from the morning work.

Elias took a seat beside her and picked up one of the quills that still needed cleaned. "Not much different then a normal day. The only part that was rough was when father told me that T'Trerio would be giving me special training to prepare me for the trials," he sighed.

"When are you going to tell him that you have no desire to be a Dragon? I mean I'd suggest doing it before you stand on the platform as one of the chosen," she said.

Elias shook his head. "There is no promise I'll be one of the eight. I don't think I ever can... you haven't seen the way he looks when he talks of his son becoming a Dragon and one day taking over as general just as he did," he said, his shoulders dropping under the weight he'd put on himself. "I'll simply do what is expected. When I get time I'll come here... however that will lessen greatly once trials start."

"Only if you go. I know I haven't really had conversations with the general, but I've seen him around town. I've heard story after story of his character. It all points to the same thing... if you are honest with him; he'll be fine," she said.

"You haven't grown up watching him and seeing the pride he takes in his family's legacy as Dragons. It's fine. I'll be fine," Elias said, then turned to the work to distract him from any thoughts that were trying to push their way in.

The following week went about the same. In the mornings Elias would sneak off to Talleigh and Victor's place. He'd spend a few hours there before going back to the compound making sure that he wasn't late for anything. However, the week after was his downfall. Victor had just gotten a new shipment of books from Nivetara that were to be translated into Aurojain. Elias loved any scribe work, but his favorite, by far, was translating. To figure out what the original passage meant and translate it to make sense was his forte. They were just finishing unpacking the Nivetarian writings when Elias happened to glance at the clock. His lesson with T'Trerio started ten minutes ago and it took at least ten to make it back to the compound. He hoped that T'Trerio would be caught up, but when he jogged into the training circle his father and T'Trerio were both standing there. His father's eyes narrowed on him as he approached.

"I thought we'd discussed the importance of punctuality," Erik said, with arms crossed.

Elias stood with hands behind his back looking at his father. "We did, sir. I apologize for being late. I got caught up in some new reading materials," he said.

Erik shook his head. "It's not me you should be apologizing to. T'Trerio is giving up his time to help you and you are wasting it. Tomorrow you will stay at the compound to make sure you aren't late."

"Yes, sir," Elias said. He then waited as Erik and T'Trerio had a quick exchange of words before his father walked off. Elias turned to T'Trerio. "I do appreciate that you are willing to help me train. I'm sorry that I was late. I'll do my best to make sure this was a one time occurrence," he said.

"Were the books worth it?" T'Trerio asked as they started to stretch out.

Elias smiled. Although training was not something that brought a good time he did enjoy spending time with the Dragons. They were his uncles, not through marriage like Nikolai, but still family. "They were Nivetarian. I didn't get the chance to dig into what they actually were before realizing I was running late," he said.

T'Trerio shook his head. "Why you and Louis enjoy reading outside of your native tongue is beyond me. It's a struggle to read words you understand but then to have to translate them before comprehending... you are a strange child," he said.

"You really need to stop getting into trouble," Talleigh said three days later as they sat working on the Nivetarian translations. Elias didn't respond. He simply kept his attention on the passage he was currently working on. "I mean if you want to help around here you actually have to be allowed out of the compound to do so. Or! Here's an idea... tell your father you don't want to be a Dragon and you could apprentice here!" she said.

Elias sighed as he finished the paragraph and sat his quill down, turning to Talleigh. "Leigh, we've been through this how many times? Father is set on having me be a Dragon. As you have pointed out, I am skilled enough. I'll come here in my spare time. Just as Uncle Louis spends his spare time at the castle library, so I will be here."

"Talleigh, leave the boy alone. He is making the choice to honor his father. It's a respectable path that he is choosing," Victor said from his bench on the other side of the room.

"How can you say that? Sure, I understand the honor thy father part. However, you, yourself have said that he is the most talented scribe you've seen and he has no training. How can you let talent like this go?" she questioned.

"Because it is his choice. I'd love to have Elias as an apprentice, but it must be something that he choses. If he wants to honor his father by becoming a Dragon and be here in his spare time, I will have open arms when he does," Victor said, then turned to Elias. "I will support you either way. I will stand beside you if you want to tell your father that this is where your heart is and I will also stand beside you if you continue on the path you currently walk," he said.

Elias nodded his thanks. "For now this is what I need to be doing. Maybe someday that will change," he sighed, then turned back to his work letting himself get lost in the translating and tranquility of the quill sliding across the parchment.

"I should head out. I was nearly late yesterday and don't think father will take it well if I am late today," Elias said as he cleaned his quill and stood to his feet. He silenced Talleigh's argument with a quick look.

"Mind if I walk with you back to the compound? I could use an excuse to stretch my legs and free myself from this room," she said with a grin as she stood and stretched.

Elias shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. "Sure, but you aren't coming to the training. Nora nearly got her head chewed off when she brought a friend in to see the training without clearing it with father first," he said.

Talleigh scoffed. "Like that's the reason I want to walk with you," she said, nudging his shoulder.

Elias smiled, but said nothing. He then turned to Victor and gave him a quick thank you before he and Talleigh headed out of the shop and through the streets of Jarrow.

The two were halfway to the compound when they ran into a small group of boys who would also be at the Dragon trials; Gerg, Tim and Oscar. "And I thought you were making it all up," Gerg, the boy in front, said to Tim.

"Nah, I knew I saw them together. I thought I was mistaken when I saw the General's son coming from the scribe's house," Tim said. A smirk slowly crossing his face. "But when it happened again and again, I knew I was on to something."

"The General's son has a name... and it's really nothing you stumbled onto," Talleigh said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Is that so? I mean if it is a man you're looking for I'd suggest someone more like myself or even one of these two," Gerg said, nodding to his two friends. "Tim and Oscar are strong, but if you want the full package, muscles and looks then I'm right here," he said walking forward. "You don't have to go for someone like him... he's getting by only because of who his father is, he has no talent," he said.

Talleigh stiffened and went to argue, but Elias's hand on her arm stopped her. "My father might be the general, but it is my brains and skills that will get me places. One needs more than muscles to get by and unlike you three I have both," Elias said. He put his hand on Talleigh's elbow and went to guide her around the trio. "Now, if you'll excuse us we need to be on our way."

Before he could go far he was jerked back. "Are you calling me stupid?" Gerg asked.

Elias shook his head and righted himself. "No, I never called you anything," he said. He sidestepped as Gerg lunged at him trying to grab him. "Now isn't the time. We will have two weeks to fight one another and best each other at trials. For now, I need to get home before I get in trouble," he said.

"Oh, you are already in trouble!" Gerg cried, grabbing him by the back of the shirt and yanking him back. "You act so high and mighty; you are nothing without your father!" he spat shoving Elias in the chest. "And you know that or else you wouldn't be hanging out with someone as lowly as the scribe's daughter!"

"Watch yourself," Elias warned, narrowing his eyes on Gerg. He could put up with the taunting when it was aimed at him, but to belittle Talleigh, that wasn't going to settle well.

Gerg laughed. "Or what? You talk of talent, but you have none! You can read all those books and still know nothing. You two were meant for each other. The sorner and the churl!"

At this, Elias could contain himself no longer. "Imbecile!" he cried, clinching his first by his side. "You talk of being the whole package, yet you lack it all. You only thrive off of tearing others down! You think you can be a Dragon? You think because you can hold a sword that you will gain a spot? Dragons are more than muscles. You will never succeed, you will never make it through the first week you dullard!"

"Rrrrr-Yahhhhhhh!" Gerg cried as he lunged at Elias bringing both boys to the ground.

At first Elias tried to deflect without fighting back, but as they fought Gerg continued to throw insults at Talleigh and himself. He finally gave in and started to fight back, not just to defend, but to win. Both boys were sweaty, bruised, and bleeding, yet the fight continued. Elias could vaguely hear Talleigh yelling in the background, but he did not stop.

That is until he was hauled to his feet. Both arms were pulled behind his back without the use of his hands, he used his head. He sent it back hoping to collide with whoever was holding him, but his captor knew that move and kept his head away. Elias felt his legs kicked apart and nearly stumbled back to the ground. "That's enough," a voice called, it did not yell, but the commanding tone brought both boys to a halt. Being brought from the fight, Elias surveyed his surroundings. He knew right away that his future was not bright. Holding Gerg was his Uncle Kole. The commanding voice belonged to his Uncle Rowen who stood between the two with his arms crossed. He tilted his head back and saw the grim expression on his Uncle James' face.

When Gerg went to plead his case Rowen silenced him with a look. He walked over and stood in front of him. "What's your name and who's your father, boy?" he asked.

"My name is Gerg," he responded right away. He hesitated with the next answer, knowing the trouble he'd be in trouble with his own father. When Rowen stepped closer he quickly answered though. "My father is Lord Chavin, the Armorer."

Rowen nodded and pulled Gerg from Kole's hold. "Kole, please go inform Lord Chavin and Lord Bonswa that their children will be at the compound and their presence is requested immediately."

"Talleigh had nothing to do with this!" Elias argued. Lord Bonswa was Talleigh's father's title. "She shouldn't get in trouble for Gerg and I's actions."

Rowen turned his attention to Elias. "Did I say she was in trouble? No, General Erik will simply want to hear her story and then make sure she goes straight home. However, the conversation between the rest of you will be longer," he said. He held Elias's stare for a moment and looking into those eyes Elias knew that any further comment would just be stupid. "Let's go. A conversation with the general awaits," he said, giving Gerg a shove, none too gently, to get him moving. Elias quickly fell into step not needing the shove.

The group walked in silence. Neither Rowen nor James let go of their charge. Talleigh walked beside Elias, keeping her head up as they walked. As the compound came into sight Elias's stomach dropped. Not only was he late for his training with T'Trerio, but he was being escorted back to the compound by two Dragons after being caught in a brawl. Rowen and James both released their hold on the boys as they walked through the entrance of the compound assuming they would continue to walk. However, when Elias saw his father, his flight or fight instinct kicked in.