The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (30 page)

“What is that?” Abigail
asked
as she felt excitement stirring up from
deep inside of her.

Cassy held out her hand.

“Oh my, that’s the stone
from
my Grandfather’s book. Why did you take
it?” Abigail felt her heart break at realizing that Cassy had
disregarded her wishes to leave the book alone.

“Please give me your hand,” Cassy asked.

Abigail looked at Cassy, wondering why the
strange request. Deciding to see what Cassy would do, she held out
her open hand.

“This will answer all of your questions,”
Cassy said as she placed the stone in the palm of Abigail’s
outstretched hand.

Abigail felt a strange and familiar
sensation consume her. She looked at the
stone
, which now glowed and vibrated in her hand. “Oh my,
it’s the Blood Key! I remember. I remember everything,” Abigail
cried out with joy.

Cassy watched as Abigail held the Blood
Stone to her heart and cried then she found herself thinking of
Frier
and wanting to share this
moment with him.

“How did you know? I don’t understand any of
this,” Abigail said through tears of pure joy.

“I know because Aaron and I just returned
from Walandra.”

Surprise filled Abigail at hearing Cassy’s
confession. “How is that possible, unless…”

“The Blood Key chose me as the new Champion.
It took Aaron and me to Walandra where I was forced to face the
Evil Queen Alona.” As Cassy said the words, she could barely
believe them herself. She knew that she would laugh at the story
had she not lived through it.

“You’ve returned. Does Alona still rule?”
Abigail held her breath and awaited the answer.

“No, she is banished to the Land of Shadows.
All is as it should be in the kingdom. Even King Ashlym has
returned to rule with Queen Privlana.”

“So, you were able to complete your quest?
How
wonderful
, did anyone help
you?” A look of sadness suddenly filled her eyes, as she struggled
at how to ask the question burning in her mind.

“Yes, the three Lillients helped me, Othan,
Frier, and….Roupert,” Cassy waited for the question she knew would
surely
come.

“How are our little friends; Arianna, Syrea,
and Brianna doing?” Abigail smiled at the memories of the three
little fairies.

“They are doing well. I don’t think I could
have done it without their help,” Cassy grinned, waiting for
Abigail to ask of Roupert.

“You said Frier helped you? I was wondering
when he would emerge from the egg. I bet he’s
a wonderful
young man.”

Cassy fought back her tears, not wanting
Abigail to know how she felt about Frier. “Yes, he was wonderful.
At first I thought of him as a silly, little Dragon, but once Queen
Privlana’s spell was broken, I realized what an exceptional person
he really is.”

Abigail watched as Cassy spoke of Frier, and
she could not help but notice a hint of sadness and longing in her
voice. She looked
carefully
at
Cassy and saw the emotions playing out on her face. It was then
that she knew. “You’re in love with Frier, aren’t you?”

Cassy sat in stunned silence, not sure of
how to respond.

“Does he return your feelings for him?”
Abigail looked deeply into Cassy’s eyes.

Cassy turned her face away and looked out of
the window, searching for the best words to respond.

Abigail gasped as she covered her mouth with
her hand. “Oh my, you do understand what it means when a Dragon
gives their heart in love, don’t you?”

Cassy nodded her head, not wanting to meet
Abigail’s gaze. “Yes, I understand.”

Cassy rested her hand on the amulet, hidden
under her pajama top, feeling the warm sensation caressing her.

“I don’t understand. You banished the Evil
Queen, fell in love with Prince Frier, had the chance to live a
life that most would only dream of, and yet, you still came back?
Why?”

Cassy turned and looked at Abigail, unsure
of how to answer the question. She knew what she wanted to say, but
thought better of it. “I had to come back. I needed to bring Aaron
home, and I promised to bring you the Blood Stone.”

Abigail shook her head in disbelief. “I can
understand bringing Aaron home, but why leave just to bring the
Blood Stone to an old woman who is in her final days of this life.
My dear, you have your entire life ahead of you. You have a
Dragon,
who has given you his
heart, and that is something special. If I had the chance to be
with my true
love,
I would go
without a second thought.”

“But you do have
the opportunity to be with
your true love. In fact, he
waits for you in Walandra,” Cassy said with a smile. “Why haven’t
you asked of him yet?”

Abigail looked at Cassy, surprised by this
statement. “Are you speaking of Roupert?”

Cassy nodded her head.

“Are you saying that Roupert remembers me
after all of these years? How is that possible? I was sure that he
had moved on with his life.”

“How could he move on with his life when you
had his heart with you?” Cassy smiled when she saw the look of joy
appear on Abigail’s face.

“I just assumed…” she wiped tears from her
eyes.

“I had to come back to bring you the Blood
Stone so that you could return to Walandra. Keira said that you
would know the proper time as the Blood Stone would let you know.
Roupert is
a wonderful
man
so I can see why you love him. I’m sorry
that you have spent all of these years alone,” Cassy brushed her
hand across the amulet again feeling the same soothing warmth
emanating from it.

Abigail leaned forward and hugged Cassy
tightly. “Thank you. I can’t begin to tell you how happy this makes
me. I would often dream of Roupert and Walandra, but once I awoke I
believed it to all be the longing of a lonely woman.”

Cassy rested her head on Abigail’s shoulder.
She was glad to have given her great-grandmother hope for the
future, but a small corner of her heart ached for her own loss.

Abigail stood and took Cassy by the hand.
“Come on, my dear. I smell our breakfast and we want to get there
before your little brother eats it all.”

Both women laughed then headed to the dining
room.

The rest of the week went
uneventfully
. Cassy and Abigail had spent hours
talking. Abigail shared stories from her life, as well as her time
as Champion in Walandra. Cassy enjoyed this opportunity to get to
know her great-grandmother better, and when the time to go home
arrived, she found herself sad to leave.
Melissa,
on the other hand, was thrilled to be going
home.

“I can’t wait to get home. I cannot believe
that she didn’t have any television or internet. How is that even
possible today? She’s nice, but a week was too long,” Melissa
groaned
as she shoved her last
pair of shorts into her suitcase.

“Maybe you would have had a better time
if you
weren’t just sitting around
and doing your nails all the time. Sheez, Melissa, there’s more to
life than getting a mani and
pedi
.”

Melissa looked at Cassy and rolled her eyes.
“Not everyone strives to be a
social
zero
. I have an image to live up to.”

Realizing that she might as well be talking
to the wall, Cassy decided to leave Melissa to finish her packing.
Before she had gone to Walandra and faced everything there, she
would have argued to make her point with Melissa. Yet, now she
realized there was no point in fighting. “Okay, I’ll see you
downstairs.”

As Cassy walked toward the door, Melissa
looked at her and shook her head then she realized there was
something different about her sister. “Thanks. Do you need any help
packing?”

“No, mine is already done and downstairs by
the front door,” Cassy smiled as she walked out to the hallway then
went down the staircase.

“Hey Cassy, we’re in here,” Aaron shouted
from the library.

Cassy walked into the
library
and found Aaron and Abigail sitting at
the reading table with a stack of books sitting in front of
them.

“What are you two up to?” Cassy laughed when
she saw the looks on their faces.

“Queen Abigail said that I can take any of
these books home with me.” He pointed excitedly to the stack of
books.

“Oh my, so you’re planning to read all of
those?”

“I sure am. She told me there are adventures
of knights, dragons, and magic in these. I told her those were some
of my favorite things. Isn’t she cool?” Aaron grinned as he leaned
his head on her shoulder.

“Well, we better get those packed in
something for the trip.” Cassy looked around the room, hoping to
find something to use.

“Don’t worry, my dear. Mr. Saunders has gone
to get a case to pack these in as we speak,” Abigail chuckled when
she saw the excited look on Aaron’s face.

Mr. Saunders walked through the door
carrying a large leather case. He set it on the table next to the
books
and began packing them
inside.

Abigail stood and looked at Aaron and Cassy.
“Come, let’s go wait out on the porch. It’s a lovely day, so it’s a
shame to waste it by staying inside.”

Aaron jumped to his feet, “I’ll race you
outside.”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Cassy laughed as they both
rushed to the door with Abigail following them.

The long black limousine pulled up in front
of the house and stopped. Mr. Saunders stepped outside pulling a
small cart with the suitcases and the leather case with Aaron’s
books.

Aaron jumped to his feet. “Do you need any
help?”

“Thank you, but no. Please sit until it’s
time to leave,” Mr. Saunders said flatly.

Cassy and Abigail exchanged glances as they
watched a disappointed Aaron return to his seat.

“Don’t feel
bad
, Aaron. He’s grumpy with me as well,” Abigail grinned
when she saw the surprised look on Aaron’s face.

Once Mr. Sanders had the luggage in the
trunk, he waved for the children to join him. “You will need to let
Miss Melissa know that it’s time to leave.”

“I’ll get her.” Aaron jumped to his feet and
went inside of the house.

“Well, I guess it’s time for you to go. I’m
going to miss you terribly,” Abigail said with tears filling her
eyes.

“I’m going to miss you too. You’ll let me
know before you return to Walandra, won’t you?”

Abigail reached into her pocket and pulled
out the Blood Stone. “As soon as this tells me it’s time, I’ll let
you know.”

“Gosh, Aaron, I was on the phone with
Jennifer. You don’t have to be so rude,” Melissa huffed as she
followed Aaron outside.

“Hey, I told you that it was time to go.
It’s not my fault you kept talking,” Aaron teased.

“You just wait until we get home and I tell
Mom about what a brat you are,” Melissa groaned as she walked down
the steps to the waiting limousine.

“Dang Melissa, you’re the one who’s being
rude,” Cassy said as she followed Aaron down the steps to the
limousine.

Mr. Saunders held the door open, allowing
Melissa to get inside and sit on the other side next to the window.
Aaron stopped before getting in, and then waited for Abigail to
join them.

“Thank you for letting us come for a visit.
I love you, and I hope we get to come back soon,” he said as he
hugged her goodbye.

Abigail held him tightly. “I love you too,
and I hope you come and see me again soon.”

Aaron jumped
into
the limousine and sat across from Melissa, making
her complain when he accidently kicked her foot.

“Ouch, watch where you put those huge feet
of yours.”

Aaron laughed when he saw the look of
disgust on her face. “Hey, maybe it’s your feet that are the big
ones.”

“I can’t wait to get
home
so that I can get the heck away from you.” Melissa
crossed her hands
over
her chest
and glared out of the window.

“Ma’am, we need to get going. The pilot is
scheduled to leave in thirty minutes,” Mr. Saunders said in a firm
voice.

Cassy looked at Abigail and smiled. “Well, I
guess it’s time to go. I’m going to miss you, Queen Abigail. I hope
you don’t mind if I call you from time to time?”

“Oh, that would be lovely. I miss you
already,” she grabbed Cassy and held her close.

Cassy pressed her cheek to Abigail’s cheek
and whispered in her ear, “If you need me, I promise to be there
for you. I love you.”

Abigail pulled Cassy closer. “I love you
too. Thank you for everything.”

Mr. Saunders cleared his throat. “Ladies, we
must get going.”