Dragonsoul

Chapter 9

"What is it, mother? Is everything alright?" Leonie asked the moment Nald was gone.

She could feel the oncoming wave of fear bristling on her skin. A shiver ran down her whole body in anticipation. So many terrible things had happened in such a short time that Leonie feared what her mother had to tell. It felt to her as if it might be the last drop in the bucket full of milk.

"No, no, do not fret, my dear. What I am about to tell you is neither good nor bad, it is just a fact of life." Amitola said.

It was obvious to her, as Leonie's mother, that the girl was anxious about the news, scared even. When everything that had happened to them was taken into consideration, it was no surprise that Leonie's first reaction would be fear.

Life was sometimes cruel. It didn't even allow the families who experienced a loss to grieve before it set out new challenges in front of them, things that had to be accomplished to continue one's life in health. Amitola found it cruel that she could not give her daughter enough time to let the pain wash out of her body in the form of tears but some things needed to be said.

"I know that your whole life, you have felt a special connection with your father and I am here to tell you that it is even more special than you thought. You are much more like your father than Nald would ever be. I am not saying it to be cruel, that's just another unalterable truth of the world that has to be accepted.

Another important thing for you to know is that you have what we call singing blood, you are just like your father. He also had this rare type of blood that was imbued with ancient magic that was long forgotten. That does not mean you can do magic, but that you are made of magic. Your blood is special. It can sing to the blood of a dragon, attracting them your way. It is making them know that your blood, your soul, is easy to connect with, that it was made to be connected with the young dragons.

That in itself is a thing so infrequent that only the rare few are aware of it. Even they do not wish to discuss it because they fear something that they are unable to understand. It makes them question everything they had ever known about life. That is why the ones who have the singing blood rarely tell anyone about it except the closest members of their family." Amitola said.

Upon hearing what her mother had to say, Leonie was left speechless. Whatever she might have expected, it was not that. Shock was the strongest emotion that took over her heart, and then her old friend, pain reared his ugly face.

"Why didn't he ever tell me about this? Didn't he trust me?" Leonie asked.

Just like that, in an instant, her pain was turned into anger. She could feel it, churning deep down at the core of her very soul and she wanted to scream. It was like a nightmare in which she wanted to scream but had no voice. The only thing that came out of her mouth were soundless screams of agony.

The only way for her to find relief would be to scream her heart out, to let all the pain, anger, and confusion leave her body, to explode like a volcano. However, the problem was she could not do that. She had to be strong for her mother, no matter how she felt and how much she just wanted to run away and yell at the world and everyone in it, as well as the ones behind the veil of known existence.

"Of course he trusted you, my dear," Amitola said.

Her hand gently brushed Leonie's hair in a soothing gesture. That seemed to chase away some of the anger and pain which were trying to conquer the little girl's heart and soul. What the village mage once said about mother's touch having healing powers might have been true since the moment Leonie felt her mother's gentle caress she calmed down significantly.

Leonie's stiff posture relaxed. Her heart stopped hammering away like a hummingbird. Her head stopped hurting from all of those painful doubts. The fog in her heart started clearing out, and she could see clearly once again that she was loved and cared for, no matter what.