Safehaven

Chapter 30

Wake up, chum. I moaned and swatted blindly at the voice. It was too early to get up. Nothing would get me out of bed. I'll sit on you. My eyes shot open and I bolted upright. The sun had hardly made its way over the horizon, and stars shill shone in the sky. At the foot of my bed, Gwindol frowned. It is kind of hard to tell when a dragon smiles of frowns, but I was pretty sure that the face he was making right now was not a smile. You were supposed to be up an hour ago. He whined, though it was a big improvement from not even talking to me. Ignoring the dragon, I lazily stretched, taking my time. "You know," I yawned. "You shouldn't EVER threaten somebody like that." I smiled and slid out of bed. Gwindol just sighed and rolled his eyes. Is that an offer? I changed into school robes and began to smooth out the wrinkles. "Again, why are we up so early?" I rubbed the bleariness from my eyes. Sandman had a little too much fun last night. Gwindol waited by the door, his eyes glistened with early irritation. You're supposed to be entering for the Games. He sounded bored, but I guess nobody besides me could really make out what he was saying. It probably just sounded like a little snuffling and some spit flying. But to me, let's just say I wished that I sometimes couldn't talk to the beast. If I had learned anything over the past few weeks, it was to NEVER upset a dragon. I shuffled over the door and swung it open. The dragon and I both exited and proceeded to stumbled down the stairs and into the gathering area. Everyone was already there, present and accounted for. Though Quinton and Felix looked like they were on the verge of passing out. Their eyes kept drooping ever so slightly. And they would lean one way, before catching themselves and jerking back upright. Thankfully, the rest of my friends were bright eyed and bushy tailed. We all greeted each other with good morning's and all the stuff like that. But then we all got down to business. I don't have a clue who officially decided that we were going to do it, but now we were going to enter our group into the Games. I had tried to postpone it, especially with my little revelation last night, but nobody would listen. I guess that it was in inevitable, though. And so there we were, marching down the school corridors before the sun was even awake. What a great way to start a lovely day! Together, the 6 of us and soul mates made our way to the announcement wall, where the sign-up sheet was posted. We were the only ones there. But, come to think of it, we were also the only ones up at this early hour. Holly slipped a golden pen out of her pocket and wrote down our team name. The entire group had opted that Holly write, since she had the neatest writing. Mine would have looked like chicken scratch. After a few seconds, the girl stepped back and examined her work. On the last available slot at the bottom of the page, the name "Ember Keepers" gleamed in gold ink. It had taken my friends and I a while to come up with a good team name that represented us, but we had eventually found one. The inspiration had come from the hearth. We had called the gathering well into the night, and the flames in the fireplace had been low. Only the glowing ashes and embers had been left. Only when Sage stoked, did a thought form. Embers were pieces of forgotten wood. They had been neglected by the main fire, and cast to scatter the floor. By themselves, the coals could do little. They were insignificant. But if they were stoked, it only took a little time before a raging inferno rose. All alone, my friends and I were small, unimportant. But one day, we could be the saving grace of Safehaven. Keepers came from the prophesy. It said that we held the fate of the school in our hands. It was up to us to save, or destroy. We were the keepers of hope and faith, which embers represented. So the name Ember Keepers sounded perfect. We were the embers of tomorrow, the new future. I glanced around at my friends, as we all circled the sign, admiring our name on the sheet. Just standing there, I felt proud and in awe. In just weeks, my friends had become warriors of old. Long gone were the kids we used to be. We had new hearts in our chests that beat with courage and love. We were no more the scared, helpless children hiding in the shack from the Vanishers. Now, as one, we were seasoned veterans ready for war. I smiled to myself, as new hope surged through my body. Who said we didn't stand a chance in the world? If you look around, there isn't one type of victor. Everyone is different and unique, using their skills to their advantage. And that was exactly what we were going to do. At that moment, the breakfast bell rang, and a wave of chattering washed over me as students were coming out of their rooms for breakfast. Soon, the halls went from quiet and still, to bustling and loud. But my friends and I, along with Gwindol and everyone, still stood in the middle of the hall, staring at our name. It didn't matter if we lost or not. We had to courage to at least try. Besides, the Games didn't matter to us. Our real test was the final battle with Morian, and that was a little further on in our future. We had time. I turned to my buds, and chuckled. "So who's up for breakfast?" Everyone laughed heartily, and we started towards the mess hall doors, stuck in the stream of fellow students and not a care in the world. Yes, we had a fate decided for us, but didn't everyone? What was in the future was yet to come. So why panic until it does? No matter what you do to try to prevent it, it still comes. And with that, I strode into the mess hall with my friends, smiling so hard that I thought I might split my face. We all sat down at our usual table and waited for the morning announcements, so we could eat after. Around me, everybody snorted and chuckled in each others company. This, I decided, was true family.