Chapter 917: Finally, I’m going to meet Dad?!
Snow fell continuously across the vast northern plains.
The sky remained covered by dense, gray clouds, forming a huge blanket that completely hid any trace of the sun. Gusts of wind swept across the frozen fields at constant intervals, lifting small spirals of pulverized ice that danced through the air before disappearing again among the flakes that continued to fall unhurriedly.
It was a scene that normally conveyed silence.
Calm.
Immobility.
But, on that day, none of that existed.
Because there was a small creature completely destroying any possibility of peace.
"Mom!"
The child’s voice echoed across the frozen landscape.
"Mom!"
The same voice echoed again less than three seconds later.
"Mom!"
The Ice Monarch closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath.
Then opened them again.
She was trying.
Sincerely trying.
But with each passing minute, that task became more difficult.
Much more difficult.
Beside her walked a small, human-looking girl, appearing to be about ten years old. Her extremely light hair swayed behind her as she ran through the snow without any concern for the region’s absurd cold. Her eyes shone almost supernaturally, charged with an energy impossible to contain.
Because she didn’t walk.
She ran.
Jumped.
Spun.
Slid.
Fell.
Got up.
And repeated it all again.
Without stopping.
Never stopping.
"Mommy!"
"Yes."
"Why does the snow make that sound?"
"Because you’re stepping on it."
"But why?"
Mercedes took a deep breath.
"Because of the compaction of the ice crystals."
"Oh."
The girl fell silent. For exactly four seconds.
Then her eyes shone again.
"Mommy!"
The woman already felt a vein throbbing in her forehead.
"Yes."
"Why do the crystals compact?"
Mercedes looked at the sky.
For a brief moment she considered faking her own death.
It seemed like a reasonable alternative.
"Because there’s pressure."
"Why?"
"Because you’re stepping on them."
"But why?"
Mercedes squinted.
The girl tilted her head.
Curious.
Completely innocent.
Extremely adorable.
Which unfortunately made it impossible to be genuinely angry.
And that was part of the problem.
Because every time Mercedes felt like screaming, the girl would simply make some absurdly cute expression and all the anger would immediately disappear.
It was unfair.
Deeply unfair. The girl ran a few meters forward.
Then she stopped.
Then she ran back.
Then she moved forward again.
Then she went back again.
All in less than ten seconds.
"Mom!"
"Yes."
"Why do wolves have four legs?"
"Because they were born that way."
"Why?"
"Because the species evolved that way."
"Why?"
Mercedes felt a small twitch in her eyelid.
The girl continued walking beside her.
"Why are mountains so big?"
"Because of tectonic movements."
"Why?"
"Because the world works that way."
"Why?"
"Just because."
"But why?"
Mercedes closed her eyes again.
Her self-control was being slowly destroyed.
Not by wars.
Not by monsters.
Not by ancient demons.
But by a child.
A single child.
She had faced entire armies with less difficulty.
The girl then ran to a nearby ice formation.
She climbed a rock.
She jumped off the rock.
She spun in the air.
She landed in the snow.
She got up immediately.
She smiled.
She ran back.
"Mom!"
"Yes."
"Did you know that rabbits make holes?"
"I did."
"I found one."
"Congratulations."
"Do you want to see?"
"No."
"Why?"
Mercedes took a deep breath.
Very deep.
Deeply deep.
She needed to stay calm.
She was a Monarch.
A ruler.
One of the most powerful entities in the world.
She could handle this.
Probably.
Maybe.
Who knows.
The girl then pointed to the horizon.
"Mommy!"
"Yes."
"What is that?"
"A mountain."
"And that?"
"Another mountain."
"And that?"
"Yet another mountain."
"And that?"
Mercedes squinted.
"That’s a mountain too."
The girl became thoughtful.
For about two seconds.
Then she smiled.
"There are many mountains."
"Yes."
"Many."
"Yes."
"Many indeed."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Mercedes felt something die inside her.
Slowly.
Silently.
Irreversibly.
She ran her hand over her face.
The girl didn’t even notice.
She was already running again.
At some point in the last few months, Mercedes had discovered a terrifying truth.
Dragons learned fast.
Frighteningly fast.
Absurdly fast.
But the problem was that they were also curious.
Ridiculously curious.
Especially when they were young.
And that girl seemed to have turned curiosity into an art.
She wanted to know everything.
Absolutely everything.
Without exceptions.
"Mom!"
"Yes."
"Why is the sky gray?"
"Because of the clouds."
"Why?"
"Because there’s moisture."
"Why?"
Mercedes felt the beginning of a headache.
The girl continued.
"Why do fish live in water?"
"Because they breathe in it."
"Why?"
"Because they’re fish."
"Why?"
"Because fish were born."
"Why?"
Mercedes began to seriously consider digging a cave in the ice and living alone for the next hundred years.
It seemed like a wonderful prospect.
Then the girl stopped suddenly.
Which immediately made Mercedes suspicious.
Because silence was dangerous.
Silence meant she was thinking.
And when she thought...
The questions got worse.
Much worse.
The girl tilted her head.
Thoughtful.
Curious.
Dangerously curious.
Then her eyes shone.
Mercedes almost wanted to cry.
"Mommy."
"Yes."
"Why do I like to fly?"
The question made the woman hesitate.
Finally.
A different question.
An important question.
She calmly replied:
"Because you’re a dragon."
The girl blinked.
"Even in this form?"
"Yes."
"Even looking human?"
"Yes."
The girl became thoughtful.
"So I am a dragon."
"You are."
"A real dragon."
"Yes."
The girl smiled broadly.
Proud.
Happy.
Radiant.
And at that moment Mercedes felt that terrible problem again.
It was impossible to stay angry.
Completely impossible.
Because all it took was for the girl to smile like that and all the exhaustion disappeared.
For a few seconds.
Then it returned.
With full force.
"Mercedes!"
The woman almost tripped.
"Yes."
"When I grow up will I be bigger than you?"
"Probably."
"Bigger than the castle?"
"Maybe."
"Bigger than the mountains?"
Mercedes sighed.
"I hope not."
The girl seemed genuinely disappointed.
"It would be amazing."
"It would be a problem."
"But it would be amazing."
"Yes."
"Then it’s worth it."
Mercedes put her hand to her forehead.
The girl’s logic was terrifying.
Because it made sense.
An extremely dangerous sense.
But it still made sense.
They continued walking through the snow.
Or rather.
Mercedes walked.
The girl performed an incomprehensible sequence of random movements around her.
Running.
Jumping.
Spinning.
Sliding.
Singing nonsense.
Talking to herself.
And periodically returning to ask more questions.
Many questions. Too many questions.
"Mom!"
"Yes."
"How old are you?"
Mercedes froze.
The girl tilted her head.
"Mom?"
The woman looked slowly ahead.
Then to the horizon.
Then to the sky.
Trying to decide whether to answer honestly.
"A few."
"How many?"
"A few."
"How many?"
"More than you."
"That doesn’t answer it."
"That was the intention."
The girl crossed her arms.
Clearly dissatisfied.
Then she ran off again.
Mercedes took advantage of those rare seconds of silence.
Just to think.
And to realize something terrifying.
She was tired.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Emotionally.
Spiritually.
The girl wouldn’t stop.
Never.
Ever.
It was like taking care of a small, intelligent hurricane.
An extremely powerful hurricane.
And absurdly adorable.
Which made everything much harder.
Then the girl ran back to her.
Her eyes shining.
Smiling.
Clearly ready for another question.
Mercedes sensed the despair in advance.
"Mommy!"
"Yes." "When is my father coming to visit me?"
"Mom!"
"Yes."
"When is my father coming to visit me?"
The question came out accompanied by that same innocent glint that always appeared in the girl’s eyes when she talked about the subject.
During the last few months, that had become one of the most frequent questions.
More frequent than the mountains.
More frequent than the wolves.
More frequent even than the endless questions about snow, wind, clouds, and fish.
It always ended up coming back to that.
To him.
To the father she had never known.
Mercedes opened her mouth to answer.
She intended to say something like "soon."
Or perhaps repeat one of the careful answers she had been using in recent weeks.
However...
She couldn’t.
Because at that exact moment something crossed her perception.
A feeling.
A presence.
An aura.
The woman froze mid-stride.
Her ice-blue eyes slowly lifted to the distant horizon.
Then to the sky.
And immediately a small smile appeared on her face.
A genuine smile.
Rare.
The kind that few people in the whole world had the opportunity to see.
The little girl noticed immediately.
And that was worrying.
Because Mercedes almost never smiled like that.
"Mommy?"
The girl tilted her head.
Confused.
"Mommy, what happened?"
Mercedes continued looking up for a few seconds.
Feeling that presence approaching.
She knew that aura.
She knew it extremely well.
The overwhelming pressure.
The unmistakable magical signature.
The ancient feeling.
Primitive.
Monstrous.
But, at the same time...
Strangely familiar.
The woman let out a small laugh.
Something that confused the girl even more.
Because Mercedes almost never laughed either.
"Mommy?"
"Come here."
The girl blinked.
Then she immediately ran to her.
Without any hesitation.
Mercedes bent down and easily picked her up.
The girl wasn’t exactly small for her apparent age, but that meant absolutely nothing to someone like the Ice Monarch.
She gently lifted her.
Then she pointed to the sky.
"Look there."
The girl immediately followed the indicated direction.
For a few seconds she saw nothing.
Only clouds.
Snow.
And the enormous gray blanket that covered the North.
Then it happened.
The clouds began to move.
First slowly.
Then quickly.
As if something gigantic were crossing the sky above them.
The wind shifted.
The atmospheric pressure changed.
And the entire region seemed to hold its breath.
The girl’s eyes widened.
Because the clouds literally parted.
They split in two.
Thousands of tons of frozen vapor were pushed aside as a colossal figure emerged from the depths of the sky.
First a silhouette appeared.
Then wings.
Gigantic.
Monstrous.
Covered in scales that shimmered between pure white and silver.
Then came the rest.
A dragon.
No.
The dragon.
A creature so enormous it seemed to be part of the sky itself.
Its body cut through the clouds like a spear piercing silk.
Its wings stretched for hundreds of meters as each beat produced waves of wind capable of altering the very landscape below.
The pale light of the North reflected off its scales, making it seem like an entity made of living silver.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Absurd.
The girl stood completely still.
Her brain simply stopped working for a few seconds.
Because it was much bigger than anything she had ever seen.
Bigger than mountains.
Bigger than castles.
Bigger than any monster.
Bigger than any child’s imagination.
The dragon continued to descend slowly through the clouds.
Elegant.
Imposing.
Like a king returning to his own territory.
The girl felt her heart race.
Too much.
Too fast.
She pointed to the sky with both hands while trying to form words.
But none came out correctly.
"It’s..."
She swallowed hard.
Her eyes remained fixed on that colossal figure.
"It’s-it’s..."
Mercedes watched this with amusement.
Because, for the first time since she had met that girl...
She was speechless.
Hypnotized.
She had no questions.
No answers.
No words.
Just staring.
Hypnotized.
"It’s-it’s-it’s..."
The girl began to stammer even more.
"It’s..."
Her small body trembled with anxiety.
With expectation.
With excitement.
With nervousness.
All at the same time.
Mercedes then smiled again.
This time more clearly.
More warmly.
More maternally.
"Yes."
The girl immediately turned her face towards her.
Her eyes shone.
"Yes?"
Mercedes gently stroked her hair.
Then she looked back at the sky.
"It’s your daddy."
The world seemed to stop.
For a few seconds the girl simply didn’t react.
As if her brain was processing the information.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Then her eyes widened even more.
Something Mercedes didn’t believe was possible.
"My..."
She pointed to the sky again.
"My daddy?"
"Yes."
"My daddy?"
"Yes."
"MY DADDY?!"
The scream echoed through the snow.
The birds hidden among the mountains took flight in fright.
The girl began to struggle in Mercedes’ arms.
Not because she wanted to run away.
But because she simply couldn’t contain her own energy.
"MY DADDY!"
She pointed repeatedly to the sky.
"MY DADDY!"
Mercedes almost started laughing.
Because that was exactly what she imagined would happen.
The girl seemed about to explode.
Literally explode.
"HE’S HUGE!"
"Yes."
"HE’S ENORMOUS!"
"Yes."
"HE’S ABSURD!"
"Yes."
"HE’S AMAZING!"
Mercedes nodded.
"I think so too."
The girl continued staring at the sky.
Her eyes shone so brightly they looked like stars.
All the childish enthusiasm that was normally distributed among thousands of questions was now concentrated on one thing.
On that gigantic figure descending from the heavens.
"IS HE REALLY MY DADDY?"
"Yes."
"REALLY?"
"Really." "YOU’RE NOT LYING?"
Mercedes raised an eyebrow.
"Do I look like someone who’s lying?"
The girl thought for two seconds.
"No."
"Then that’s it."
The answer was apparently sufficient.
Because immediately the girl looked up again.
Completely fascinated.
Meanwhile, the dragon continued descending.
The clouds continuously parted around it.
The magical pressure spread for miles.
But it wasn’t aggressive.
Nor threatening.
On the contrary.
There was something strangely comfortable about that aura.
Something the girl recognized without understanding.
Something familiar.
Something instinctive.
She placed one hand on her chest.
Confused.
"Mercedes?"
"Hmm?"
"Why..."
The girl continued watching the dragon.
"Why do I feel like I know him?"
Mercedes was silent for a few seconds.
Then she answered calmly.
"Because you’re a dragon."
The girl continued listening.
"Because part of him exists in you."
The girl blinked.
Mercedes continued.
"Even without knowing him."
Another pause.
"Even without seeing him before."
She smiled.
"Your instinct recognizes who he is."
The girl remained completely still.
Processing it.
Then she looked back at the sky.
And, for the first time in a long time...
She fell silent.
Not for lack of curiosity.
But because there simply weren’t enough questions to express everything she was feeling.
Anxiety.
Joy.
Excitement.
Nervousness.
Happiness.
Fear.
Expectation. Everything mixed together.
All at once.
Mercedes watched in silence.
And honestly...
It was strange.
Because for months she had cared for that little creature.
Taught.
Protected.
Guided.
Corrected.
Comforted.
Listened to thousands of questions.
Answered tens of thousands.
And now...
Now that girl would finally find someone capable of answering the questions Mercedes couldn’t.
Someone who understood what it meant to be a dragon.
Someone who could teach her what she could never teach.
The Ice Monarch let out a silent sigh.
Part of her felt relief.
A very large part, in fact.
But another part...
Another part realized something unexpected.
She would miss those days.
The questions.
The rush.
The chaos.
The absurd energy.
Even the endless "whys."
Because, without realizing it, that small, hyperactive creature had occupied a huge space in her life.
Much bigger than Mercedes wanted to admit.
The girl, however, wasn’t thinking about any of that.
Because at that moment there was only one important thing.
The enormous white-silver dragon that kept descending from the heavens.
And the fact that, finally...
She was about to meet her father.
