Jilsea sighed, rubbing her aching back, feeling as though she could not wash another floor if she tried. It wasn't fair, her father had seen fit to hire her out as a maid. Ithamar had been furious, but he'd never been able to beat Ceavar, and, between the eldest son and his father, he'd lost. She missed her lessons with the soldier, she'd not seen him since that night a quarter turn ago. When she finished her work each day, which usually consisted of the worst jobs that the fishermen's wives could find for her, a drudge came to retrieve her. Everyone in the village knew what had happened, though the part about the soldier being involved had been left out when Ithamar had been forced to tell the whole story. He'd had a hard time telling their father what they had been doing, that they had to be alone for. That had not painted a pretty picture for Hailar, and he'd not allowed them near each other since.

Jilsea had cried herself to sleep that first night out of pain from the beating she'd received. She knew that, though he was male, Ithamar had shed tears as well, for his back, like hers, had been torn open as well. Their backs had healed, but Jilsea had found that a resentment had begun to cloud her vision, and, without Enol and Latice, she would have had no reason to smile. Those flits were indeed precious to her. Enol was always trying to find ways to amuse his mistress, whether that meant pretending to fall off a perch, finding a shiny piece of metal on the street, or simply chattering nonsense in her ear. Latice was more serious, never leaving Jilsea's side, always needing to hear the girl's voice, not at all a normal gold flit. Her little gold tail could usually be found curled around Jilsea's neck. Her father, though he'd tried, had been unable to take the flits away from his daughter. Everytime he got near them, they would squack and bite, and the one time that he did catch Latice, Enol had tried to peck his eyes out. After about a month, the man had given up on trying to catch the annoying pests as he'd begun to call them.

Jilsea walked behind the drudge that had been sent for her that day, a young man, who, though age wise could have been no more than twenty at best, looked to be about thirty turns or older. He had little personality, and for this reason had he been chosen to gather her for the most part. She trudged home behind him now, wishing to Faranth's egg that she could die, or be taken away from this. Her mother had thought that two months worth of labor was enough to last a lifetime, but Hailar had no intention of allowing his daughter any free time, now that his son had ruined her, as he didn't believe that Ithamar was telling him the truth about teaching Jilsea how to fight. In his eyes, Jilsea and Ithamar had been together, by themselves, for too long, and he had lost most hope of ever finding someone to take her as a wife. Though, in his mind, he couldn't see feeding her if she wasn't earning her keep, and so, without so much as a thought to her health or otherwise, had decided that she would make money for the family, in an honorable way.

Jilsea had been listening to Enol chatter, obvious to the rest of the world, when she slammed into the drudge's back, bounced hard, and landed on her backside. Shaking he head, she looked up to see what had made the drudge stop so suddenly, and let out a gasp. She hadn't seen a dragon for at least a turn, and now, here was a large blue one.... That was odd. There was what appeared to be a man astride him, only it couldn't have been a man, for he was.... he was BLUE! Jilsea watched the drudge muttering furiously, but she could only stare in amazement. The dragon landed in a field across the way from where Jilsea and the drudge stood, and the girl took off running, though her body ached, after the dragon. When she arrived, she saw that the man had dismounted, and she stumbled to a stop. He was completely blue, her eyes hadn't been mistaken!! The man was tall, about 6'4" or taller, he towered over her, and his eyes were squinted slightly. His face had lines, and he wore no shoes, and, as she looked closer, she noticed that he had but for toes, and three fingers with a thumb on each hand. When he spoke, his words were deep and quiet as he spoke to her.

"Can you tell me where I am, Miss?" he asked. She looked hard at him, blinked, and softly said, "Sea Ridge Hold, sir." The blue whom he'd ridden in on watched Jilsea, his eyes whirring, changing colors quickly. Jilsea watched, fascinated, and then, as though she felt a pull, walked up to the large beast, who lowered his head, so she could laid a hand on a part of his large cheek. "Beautiful," she murmured. The blue man watched her, not sure what to say for once, and then the dragon spoke. You should stand, m'dear. Jilsea backed away quickly, stunned, and heard the dragon's rumble of laughter. "I believe that you've been Searched...." Jilsea turned to face the man. "M'name's Jilsea," she spoke, her voice soft, full of awe at the thought. "Searched as in, I have a chance at impressing a... dragon??" The blue man laughed. "Yes. The name's Shard, and this big guy is Jeremoth. He knew that there was someone around here, perhaps more than one, he's not sure, but there was at least one person here who had potential." Jilsea shook her head. I don't believe it. I've been searched. This isn't possible, is it?? Me, a dragonrider?? No way!! Shard was speaking again, and Latice, usually so quiet, now chattered in her ear as Enol flitted around Jeremoth. "How soon could you leave?? The clutch at the Healing Den's due hatch any day now." Shard repeated himself, and this time, Jilsea heard.

"Whenever you wish, sir." Shard eyed her, raising an eyebrow. "There's no one who needs to know.... that you're going with me??" Jilsea nearly said no, but, at the last minute, thought of Ithamar. "Yes, there is one person. My brother. Perhaps you could Search him too-" Shard interrupted. "Let's do this one at a time, I'll come back for him, alright?? Run along, get whatever you need, say goodbye to whomever, and be back in an hour. Is that enough time??" The girl nodded, smiling, knowing that someone had heard her wish. Now, as she ran back to the house to get her things, she sent up another wish. If there's anyone listening, please, if it's at all possible, send someone for my brother, Ithamar. Get him outta here, away from Dad and Ceavar. She found her beloved brother mending nets, and, checking to be sure there was no one with him, skirted up to him. "I've been Searched." By now, the dragon had a small crowd around him, but Ithamar hadn't been allowed to leave his spot. He looked at her, wide-eyed. "Jill, don't kid about something like that. If dad finds you here-" Jilsea shook her head impatiently. "He won't find me here. You said that you would find a way to get me outta here, and a way's come. I've been Searched, I'm telling you, I have, and I'm going to some place called the Healing Den, wherever that is."

Ithamar smiled. His sister deserved it. He knew that he probably wouldn't see her again for a long time, but he would handle that. What mattered was that she was happy, she was away from here. He stood, and the two hugged, Jilsea with tears in her eyes. "I.... I gotta go pack," she whispered. Ithamar nodded, and watched as she left, missing her already.