Key:

Normal speech

Thoughts/emphasis

Dragonese

Telepathic communication

Chapter One: The Wrong Era

Have you ever wondered if you had been born in the correct era? As if your birth has been prolonged for centuries and you just happened to appear at the wrong time?

Well, that's pretty much my life. I just can't seem to be able to grasp the concept of any electronic devices or any type of modern technology. No matter how many times my little brother turns on the TV or my so-called mum works on the laptop or 'Dad' sorts out our...whatdoyacallit... radio I am always fascinated at what they do. Could something be wrong with my brain or something? The doctors say otherwise but I am absolutely positive that I've got a mind defect that just hasn't been discovered in the scientific world yet (not that I understand much of that either). To be honest, I stink at almost every subject at school except history where I'm top of the class. I'm not too bad at sports either - I'm extremely strong for my size.

Who am I? The name's Valkyra - Valkyra Rhinestone. Okay, the last part isn't my real name but Valkyra is. My friends call me Kyra - well, they would if I had any friends. I just happen live with a family called Rhinestone and have done since I was found abandoned on the shores of their little island just off the mainland when I was merely an infant. What am I? Well, it depends who you ask. Michael calls me weird, 'Mum' and 'Dad' call me strange and 'they' call me freak. In other words, I'm an outsider.

Since then I have become their adoptive daughter but I reckon they think I am as much of a freak as everyone else says I am. They ignore me every time I ask a question such as: "How does this work?", "How does that work?", "How did you do that?" (you get the picture) and my foster (I refuse POINT BLANK to call him 'adoptive') brother, Michael, seems to find it funny to snipe at a couple of weird marks that I've got on my hands, feet and head.

"Did you know that tattoos look disgusting?" he would say. I would retaliate by saying that they were odd birthmarks but even I wasn't too sure. "You're weird, you know that?"

At the word 'weird' I would often go berserk. I'd growl at him and if things went too far I would sometimes throw him into the garden pond. Then I'd go and sulk in the nearby woods and refuse to return until way after curfew. 'Mum' and 'Dad' never minded, proving my theory that everyone thought that I was a jerk. We weren't even allowed near the forest. The only thing that has kept my calm during times of stress is escaping to the world of my most favourite movie of all time - Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon. I simply love that film and I have just about every bit of franchise to do with it. I've got the figurines, the cuddly toys - I've even got the game! The only problem is that I've got to ask for help setting the console up and I need the instruction manual with me at all times. If none of these work (which is highly unlikely) I either get the books out or I play with my little black cat, Toothless. Yes, I am that much of a fan. Toothless in the film reminds me of an oversized cat with wings anyway.

I live with my adoptive (said reluctantly through gritted teeth) family on a small island off the coast of England. I go to a comprehensive school on the mainland but most of the kids say I need to go to one of those 'special needs' schools. Unfortunately, the nearest one is Thor-knows-how-many miles away. Oops, sorry about that Viking god reference, I slip into that often. I am fascinated by the ancient Viking world, which is probably why I love How to Train Your Dragon so much. I study their history in my spare time and I pretty much know the runic alphabet off by heart. Back to my school, I suck at almost everything. My maths is awful, my English is appalling, my foreign languages stink and I am absolutely PANTS at ICT. But like I said before, I'm top of the class in history and I'm not a bad sports person either. In fact, when it comes to sports, everyone's attitude towards me changes completely and I am always the first to be chosen when we are doing team activities. Come to think of it, I'm also pretty good at Design technology when it comes to wood/ metal work and needlework (as long as I don't use one of those sewing machine thingies I get along fine). Graphics and cookery are not my strong point but that seems to make me even weirder. I'm a great cook when it comes to campfires and barbeques (once 'Dad' has them set up) but I can't use a microwave, I can't figure out what to do with an oven; I can't even manage the hob!

So there you are - what my life is like today. But let me tell you a bit about how I came into this life of technological confusion, oddity and 99.8% rejection.

I never knew who my real parents were. My earliest memory of this life was waking up in this strange room which I had never seen before with two grownups leaning over me. It was a memory of bewilderment. Where was I? I knew from the look in their faces that they weren't my real family but I accepted that my real parents had left. But what I couldn't accept was that I was clearly, from the moment I was found on the rocky shore of Rhinestone Isle, different. My strangely shaped birthmarks (?) singled me out from everyone else immediately. They weren't ordinary marks, I'll tell you that. On my forehead is some sort of mark in the shape of a fireball that frames my oval face and stretches just beneath my mud brown hair. On my back (from what I've seen in the mirror) is what looks a lot like a lizard with its tail stretching up my neck and on my hands and feet I've got what looks like streams of fire that stretch to the back of my knees and elbows. Even I can't explain any of it! One of the only things I do know is my age - 14. Most people who don't know me blame my oddity on hormones. Sometimes I wish they were right.

Apparently I was found wrapped in a rough sheepskin with ancient Viking runes embroidered inside. After consulting some archaeologists on the mainland, my adoptive parents figured out that my first name was Valkyra and the name stuck. Next to me was the staff type object which when unfolded formed some sort of glider and around my neck was a silver chain necklace with a pink gem with a crown of smaller gems on top. I'm not entirely sure what type of stone it is but I think it's beautiful anyway. I've never taken the necklace off and have kept both the sheep skin and glider hidden under my bedroom floorboards my whole life, ready to take them out in case I should need them.

And something told me that time would be very soon...