"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.

Seeing that Leonie was a bit calmer, back to her old loving self, Amitola decided that it would be as good time as any to explain as much as she could. They were always hoping that they would be able to do so together, but the Fates had different plans, and Amitola was left all alone, to explain things that defied explanation.

"The reason he did not choose to share this part of who he was with you and your brother was because he wanted to protect you. It was already difficult to be a child of a Hunter, he did not want you to worry about him connecting with a dragon and leaving us, as well. Honestly, he was unsure of how frightened of that whole idea you would be. Also, he was pretty sure that nothing like that would ever happen, that he or you would never make a connection with a dragon. After all, it was a thing so rare that not many even knew about it." Amitola said.

Thinking about it, Leonie realized that perhaps she was too young to understand all of that when her father was alive. Even in that very moment, the only reason she understood what it meant to connect with a dragon was because she had made a bond with one already. If she had been told about that possibility earlier in her life, she was sure she would have been terrified.

Even though Rim was a wonderful dragon who obviously loved her, Leonie was still somewhat scared. She was not frightened of him, but of what it all meant for her. It was difficult for her to discover who she was because, after her father's death, a change had started happening in her.

It was such an unexpected change that she could only notice it as she thought through her mother's words. In the time after her father's death, she grew from a young sapling into a strong tree that could endure the harsh winds of life much better than the girl Leonie was ever could. The most shocking thing was that the change had happened so quickly that Leonie did not have enough time to adjust her sense of self to match the person she had become.

"I understand. When I think about it more, I feel like it would have been terrifying for me to know. Unable to understand that type of connection, I think I would have spent a lot of time worrying about it. It's better that I didn't know the truth. Still, what does that mean for me now, that I've bonded with Rim? What am I supposed to do?" Leonie asked.

Leonie saved the dragon because she felt like it was the right thing to do at the time, but she had no idea how that would influence her life. What was especially worrisome for her was the fact that she did not actually know how to take care of a dragon, how to provide the best possible conditions for him.

"Honestly, I do not fully understand the bond that was created between you and Rim. I do not believe your father was able to comprehend it either. You must understand that we never thought it would come to this, we weren't prepared, not yet. Maybe if we had had more time..." Amitola said.

After saying that, her eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall. Her main goal was to stay strong for her children, and she planned on doing that no matter how much effort staying strong required.

Noticing her mother's struggles, Leonie did not use words to comfort her. There were no words that could do so, but she hugged her with all her might. It was a hug that was able to convey all the love and appreciation Leonie felt for her mother, for the one who was ready to go through unbearable pain silently just so that her children would be okay.

"I am sorry, I am okay," Amitola said after a few moments spent in her daughter's warm embrace.

"You don't have to go on if you can't. It's okay." Leonie said.

"No, no. I am perfectly alright. Besides, there is only one more thing that I can say for sure. The village mage is the only person I can think of that has the knowledge and the skill to explain all this to you. However, I did hear that you need to be as close to the dragon as possible during this young and sensitive age for the dragons. Why don't you spend the night with the dragon in the stables? The hay can be quite comfortable, and you can bring your own bedsheets and blankets. Tomorrow when we finish the crucial chores you can go and see the mage. How does that sound?" Amitola asked.

"That sounds great! Thank you so much! I worried about him spending the night alone and how well I would be able to take care of him without anyone's help." Leonie said.

Once again Leonie hugged her mother tightly, knowing how much it cost her to allow her daughter to sleep in the stables. Amitola would worry about her being comfortable and safe. Also, she knew that they had a lot of things to do and the fact that her mother would probably do a part of Leonie's chores so that she could go and see the mage meant the world to her.

Finally breaking the hug, Leonie hurriedly went to her room to gather the necessary things and then went to the stables to join her sleeping friend. She snuggled in close to the dragon covering him with her own blanket although he did not seem to need it since his scales were quite warm.

That was how Leonie fell asleep next to her new friend who kept snoring quietly.