Elissa
***

It had been a couple days since the dinner incident with her mother and
father, and young Elissa couldn't get it out of her head. She tried to
mention it to her mother, but the woman clammed up and wouldn't say
anything. She was frustrated!

She sat in the front row of the school room, and tried to inconspicuously
glance back at the one boy she thought could help her. Byrin Barman. After
all it was his mother inn .. and if she was right, it was the man he'd been
with that had upset her mother so much.

"Elissa! Pay attention!" The teacher chided from the front of the
classroom. Elissa felt all eyes on her.. including those deep blue ones of
the boy in question. She turned quickly in her seat, "Sorry Mr. Truesdale."

"Now as I was saying in the year .." the teacher droned on, but Elissa's
mind wandered. She turned quickly back around, only to find Byrin's eyes on
her again, and she spun to the front, her cheeks burning red. She'd never
paid much attention to him before. After all his mother was a tavern owner.
Her father said that wasn't a respectable profession. He'd always closely
screened the children she was allowed to play with, and Byrin Barman wasn't
on that list!

She made an attempt to listen to the teacher for the rest of the history
lesson as she planned out how she would run into Byrin. She had to talk to
him. That's all there was to it!

The lesson seemed to drone on, and Elissa found herslef twiddling with her
think brown braids rather then learning what was being taught. Her mind
wondered back to her parents arqument .. She had a brother .. a brother who
was a dragonrider.. Byrin was with a dragonrider .. and seeing that man had
upset her mother ..

It had to be, she thought. Those two facts had to mean something, and she
was going to find out. One way or another.

When class finally broke and the kids were let out for lunch Elissa
followed the dark haired lad. He took a seat in the lunch room whern he
could watch the young ladies who brought in the food. She curled her lip in
disgust. Drooling was more like it! She'd watched him the last two days,
and he always did the same thing. He always watched the older girls. One in
particular with long straight black hair.

Well that didn't matter! She had to draw his attention away. She moved to
the food line and gathered her plate then headed off across the lunch room,
drawing ever closer to her quarry. Just as she reached him, she let her
napkin slide through her fingers, until it dropped on the floor next to
him. She stooped to pick it up and looked up at him.

He was looking at her questioningly. She cleared her throat, and whispered.
"I have to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Not now.. after school in the alley in back." Then she hurried on.

Byrin frowned. Why was she talking to him. Elissa Durrall had never paid
him any attention before. She was snotty and not very friendly. So why now?

He watched as she sat down with a group of her other snotty friends,
throwing him yet another sly glance. He shook his head, not having a clue
what change had suddenly come over the girl. He seen her watching him a lot
the last couple of days. Maybe she was just curious about where he'd been.
He shrugged. He'd worry about it later. For now ...

He turned his attention back to young Irina Quarryman. She always brought a
couple of dishes over from the Rest for the kids for lunch. Today was
Bette's special Blueberry Crunch .. One of Byrin's favorites! Though
Byrin's eyes were still more attached to the pretty young woman a little
over a year his senior. She was beautiful ...

Byrin
***

He was waiting outside the school for the girl. But he was getting
impatient! If she didn't show up soon, he was leaving!

"Byrin?" she whispered and he turned to look at her.

"So what did you want?"

She looked around, making sure they were alone. Byrin rolled his eyes,
wondering if she was worried someone would see her with somone who was
below her station? But when she turned her light grey eyes back on him, he
could see a real curiousity burning there.

"I wanted to ask you about that man you were with at the rest the other day."

"The man?" he asked trying to decide if she was talking about Saul or maybe
Toral, for he'd been spending a lot of time with his mother's new beau.
Toral promised to teach him about smithing!

"Who?"

"The dragonrider," the girl whispered her eyes wide.

"That's Saul, from Whiteriver," the boy told her.

"Whiteriver? That's kinda far away isn't it?"

Byrin nodded, "Yeah at least without a dragon. But I got to ride Saul's
dragon, Fayloth. And then it only took a second!"

The girl tuned him out, "But by carriage .." she whispered, talking to herself.

Byrin frowned, "Why do you want to know about Saul anyway?"

"Oh .. umm .. no reason. I gotta go."

Byrin watched in confusion as the girl dissappeared.  He shook his head and
shrugged. He would never understand girls!

Elissa
***

It had taken her several weeks to get up her courage and enough money to
run away. It wasn't so much that she was unhappy in Ralengarde. But sense
hearing the news that she had a brother, it had become an obsession with
her. She had to find out more about him!

So the day, she decided she finally had enough money and enough courage,
she skipped school and made her way to the coachlines, bying a ticket..
one-way to Whiteriver Warren.

Rebessa
***

Was at home, waiting for her daughter to return home from school so that
the two of them could go to the dress makers.  Gil had a special dinner
coming up. A dinner in his honor and his wife and daughter were expected to
attend. He wanted both of them to have new dresses.  But as time dragged on
and Elissa still hadn't returned home, she began to get angry.

The girl had not had her mind on anything lately! She was late getting
ready for school and now late coming home! This behavior had to stop.

She went to the front door and  stood on the porch of their large home,
looking up and down the street. Where was she? It was then that she spotted
the dark haired boy coming up to their gate and pushing through. She stared
at him in surprise. She was about to order him away when she noticed
something about him .. something that gave her pause.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Durrall .." he said looking up at her with his deep blue
eyes. Eyes that were just too familiar. "I'm a school mate of Elissa's. And
since she wasn't in school today Mr. Truesdale .."

"What do you mean she wasn't in school today! Of course she was in school
today, I sent her off to school myself this morning!"

"Umm.." The boy paused, "She .. she wasn't in school, ma'am .."

Rebessa's legs went weak and she grabbed the porch support, "Not at all .."

"No ma'am .."

Byrin
***

Byrin had been sure the older woman was going to fall over in a dead faint.
So sure in fact that he'd asked her where he could find her husband and
then set off in search of both him and a healer.

Now as he watched the man rush to his wife and the healer running smelling
salt under her nose that he decided maybe it was time to leave. He tried to
sneak out quietly, but Elissa's father caught his arm, "Where is my
daughter?"

"I .. I don't know, sir. She wasn't in school all day today. The teacher
asked me to bring an assignment home to Elissa .."

"You haven't seen her at all today?"

"No, sir. She and I aren't really even friends .. It's just I had some
other errands to run after school anyway, so I said I'd bring her
assignment."

The man threw the boys arm away from him, "Damn! Go on, get out of here."

Byrin turned to leave and then stopped, "Sir." he said hesitantly. "umm ..
well, if you think she's run away, I think I might know where she's gone."

"Run away! Who said anything about run away. Elissa would never run away."

Byrin shrugged, "Okay, it's just that.. well she's been asking a lot of
questions about  .. er," he paused not knowing how much he should say, "She
been asking about a dragonrider who visited theTraveler's Rest recently .."

"A what?" Gill said with a growl.

"A dragonrider, sir. Saul of Whiteriver."

Byrin turned as Elissa's mother let out a wail, and her father spun on the
woman. "You told her!"

"NO! No .. I didn't say anything.."

"We've got to check the coaches.. and I'll get one set up to take us to
Whiteriver right away."

"Can I help, sir." Byrin asked.

"No, you've done enough!" Gil stormed.

"Well, it's just that, well .. I've spent a lot of time there recently,
cause .. well Saul's my father."

Gil groaned as his wife paled. "Now you've done it, Bess! Not just missing
sons.. now you've got barmaid's having your grandchildren!"

Elissa
***

It was late when she arrived in the Warren and she wondered how she would
find her brother. It was so loud here too. Dragon's screaming .. people
laughing and talking. There was an air of excitment. She found herself
drawn toward a well lit area which was packed with people, who every once
in a while would cheer along with dragon roars.

She slipped through the crowd, wondering what kind of entertainment they
were watching.  He eyes widened as she spotted the large silver dragon
roaring louder then any of them each time an egg would crack.

She watched in awe as helpless looking dragon crawled out of claw cracked
eggs and often times fell into the arms of a waiting searchling. She'd
heard of the warren hatchings, but she'd never seen them. Her father wasn't
real keen on dragonriders.

Suddnely she realized if this was a hatching, surely her brother would be
here. She just had to search him out. She slipped to the front of the crowd
and began searching the rows of spectators for the dragonrider she'd seen
in the Travelor's Rest. But there were so many of them!  And she'd only
seen him once .. how would she ever find him! She moved to tap on a
dragonriders arm to ask if he knew Saul of Whiteriver when she felt her
skirts being pulled on.

She turned to see a pale yellow dragon chewing at the edges of her dress.
She screamed in horror and pulled away. But the dragon was persistant and
continued to follow her, "Get.. away ..." she cried ..

<I love you.>

She spun looking for who had said that, but there was not one looking at
her. She turned her attention back to the dragon still trying desperately
to get at her skirts, "Please .. leave me alone ..."

"I think she wants you," she heard a voice say.

"I don't want to be eaten .."

<I won't eat you .. I am Patinari .. and I belong to you.>

Regards,
Elissa & Patinari
***
NRPG: couldn't resist :) Do you know how long it's been since I've written
a joining! Far to long :)

I didn't specify who was helping her, so anyone who wants to, please feel
free. But it's not a big deal.

Ralengarde, since there's so few of us writing I figured it wouldn't be a
big deal to move things along with WR for the time being..  I'm sure Mery
and Toral won't mind their relationship continuing on a few weeks
undesturbed :)

Bio:
Elissa Durrall
Age: 14 (few months younger then Byrin)
Hair:  Dark brown, long an most often braided.
Eyes: Light grey
Height:  5' 3"
Weight: 115

Family: Father: Gilliard Durral, rich Ralengard resident
Mother: Rebessa Durral
Half-Brother: Saul of Whiteriver, Rebessa is his mother, his father is dead

She's a nice enough girl. Though she's always been a bit spoiled. She's
also a daddy's girl. She found out she had an older brother who was a
dragonrider and knew her father didn't want her to know about it. But she
couldn't help her self and ran away to find him, only to join accidentally
with a pale yellow dragonet.

Dragon: Patinari
Color: Pale yellow
Eyes: Black


------------------------------------
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/gant.htm