Chapter 21

Having no reason to refuse her insistence they walked together and she told him about drawing energy of the world in. They made their way slowly outside the city. He learned more about her at the same time. It was apparently her mother who taught her how to use magic. Her father who she lived with now was the one who was continuing to teach her.

"Your parents didn't live together?"

"I'm a Halfling, and I went to live with daddy when mamma passed away."

"Oh." Acnologia didn't know what having parents from different countries had to do with anything, but he could relate to losing a mother.

"My parents are gone too. Slave traders came after they were killed and so now I'm a slave. My only shot at being considered a person again is if I'm freed or escape somehow."

"Slave traders sound like really bad people."

"They are. You should be careful you don't run into any. Not all slaves do only the sort of work like fetching water and chores. If someone as pretty as you gets caught they might make you do far worse."

Arra blinked in surprise. "You think I'm pretty?"

Acnologia realizing what he said blushed bright red all the way to his ears and looked away. He felt a small hand reach out and grab his. He turned and looked down at her his face still flushed. Arra giggled up at him, causing him to blush a little deeper and look at his feet in embarrassment. He gripped her hand back. This started a routine between them. Acnologia every few days would meet her at the lake to retrieve water. He would then spend half an hour learning to draw in energy. The way she explained the energy was all living things had it. They could manipulate the energy using their own. It was referred to her by her mother as world energy because the world itself was alive. She told him to reach and feel the energy and draw it into himself like breathing. A glow formed around his body one day as he did the exercise. He opened his eyes amazed.

"I did it!" he said grinning at her.

"Yep." Arra said suddenly hugging him. His face turned to shock for a moment before he smiled and hugged her back.

"I guess this makes me a wizard now right?"

"Not yet, my mamma always said you can't call yourself a wizard until your first spell is cast. So you just need to think about what type of magic you want to use?"

"Mmmm, I don't know. I'll have to think about it for a while"

"I'll help whatever you pick ok?"

"Thanks…um, what made you pick what you have?"

"Oh, I didn't pick mine. Magic like mine is inherited so I leaned what I was already suited for. That just happened to be healing magic since an ancestor of mine was a great healer."

"So the magic someone uses is hereditary?"

"Sometimes, it depends entirely from person to person. For example my ancestor was a great healer, but my grandmother and mamma used plant magic, so it sometimes skips generations or is influenced by the person's environment."

"So when I try to figure out what magic I want to use I need to think about not only what I like, but things where I'm living too?"

"Not just that, but what you really, really want to do with it too."

Acnologia said goodbye to Arra at the outskirts of the city. He made it back to the barracks and was walking over to the barrels when he spotted a red haired woman and a large dragon. Bile rose in his throat as he looked at the creature. Swallowing it down he continued his work. The woman was talking with several of the captains about something. He looked away and focused on dumping the water in. A hand suddenly grabbed his making him shout and jump in surprise. A prickling sensation went across his skin. He eyed the owner of the hand warily, but she just smiled coolly at him.

"Boy, what's your name."

"Lady Irene that child is just a slave most certainly not worth your time."

"Really now, what do you say Belserion."

The dragon turned his head and examined the small child.

"I say he definitely has great power within him. Seems like it was activated just recently as well. I can't help but wonder who taught him though. He seems more at one with it than most dragons can claim."

"You heard him gentlemen. This child will be a soldier in our war so I'll be taking him off your hands. Since he's a slave I'll look through your others tomorrow and test their worth."

"Yes Lady Irene." The soldiers said as they bowed.

"Now boy, again what's your name?"

"Acnologia." He said hesitantly.

"Congratulations Acnologia, you're free now, and you're going to be a dragon slayer."

He thought he had misheard her at first. A dragon slayer, he knew full well only a dragon could kill another dragon, yet here was a woman who was saying he would be able to kill the monsters which had stolen so much from him. Such a power would be perfect for him. Not only that he was no longer a slave thanks to just activating his magic within. He could hope to have a future all thanks to one person. After years of suffering as a slave Arra in a few short weeks had turned his life around for the better. Mentally he then began to worry. If they were making him into a dragon slayer soldier just for activating his power, what would they do to her? He didn't want her going near a dragon. He then swore to himself that no matter how much they pressed him he would never reveal who she was and that she had been the one to teach him.

Belserion looked at the child. He could smell something familiar on him, but he just couldn't place it. He would try to have a chat with the child privately later before introducing him to his draconic teacher. Two days later he got that chance when he caught the small child trying to sneak out.

"And where do you think you're going little one?"

Acnologia tensed and eyed the dragon suspiciously.

"What do you care where I go?"

"I'm wondering if its where a particular scent I picked up off you a few days ago is from."

Acnologia flinched looking slightly flustered. Belserion thought to himself bingo.

"Are you going to visit the one who taught you magic?"

Another flinch.

"Mind telling me who that person is, I want to have a chat with them sometime. If you don't tell me I can always follow their scent and chat with them later."

Acnologia tensed up showing a bit of open hostility.

"Don't get her involved she has nothing to do with your war."

So it was a girl. He seemed to have become quite fond of this person. Maybe he could weasel a bit more information out of the boy.

"Your little girlfriend knows magic; if her magic is a battle type like yours then Irene might order her to join."

"She's not a battle type. She's a healer." He said clearly getting angry.

"As long as she's a member of this country Irene might order her to join, unless there's a good reason for her not to."

Acnologia looked a little smug this time like he finally had something to up show the dragon's goading.

"She's not from this country she said she's a Halfling."

Belserion froze for a moment. There was only one Halfling in existence and that Halfling was related to that person. He might be dying of old age, but no dragon wanted to provoke him. He absolutely needed to be sure. If that child was involved he needed to make sure no one recognized her existence. He knew from the words Acnologia said that he thought that he was talking about a person who had parents from two different countries, but Belserion knew Halflings meant something different to an currently near extinct race. He would let the child go meet that person whenever he wanted and confirm who it was from the sky. If it was that child he absolutely would make sure Irene steered clear.

"Alright, you win, as a reward I'll tell you this. As long as you study hard with the dragon teacher your assigned you can go play with that person all you want in your free time. I'll introduce you to your dragon teacher tomorrow. So today you can go tell your friend the good news. OK?"

Belserion watched as Acnologia looked at him suspiciously then ran off. He then turned and took off into the skies keeping a distance to the child as he met up with his friend. Spotting them together only confirmed his suspicions. He absolutely had to keep that girl from being involved. They were going against all of a hostile dragon group they didn't need that person's parent turning on them.