The healer had been silent for most of the trip back. She had insisted on being the one to hold the egg, under the suggestion she would be the one to help hatch it. A task she believed I could not do, and something I agreed upon. I felt if she was mistaken as the hatchling’s mother, then it was better than the hatchling assuming I was.
I hadn’t expected the healer to suddenly turn and flee with the egg in hand. She had known full well that she couldn’t outpace me in a direct confrontation, or flee from me while I was fully aware of her doing so.
I had been foolish to believe they would readily hand over one of their own or leave the egg in my care. I sighed as I glared in the direction she had flown, while several ice dragons tried to hold me in place.
With my plans for peace, I knew I couldn’t just kill them or deal too much damage to them. My guards had their hands full trying to battle the few who had snuck up on us, but they knew my p
A small, dark shape covered what little of Annwn’s sun that I could see from my spot on the ground. I had half expected another few shapes to join the first one, but they never came. To my surprise, the healer landed beside me with an expression of sorrow and regret.She sat, unsure of what to do for a moment. It wasn’t until I felt so uncomfortable by her staring at me that I cleared my throat, which caused her to startle and stand up again, her wings outstretched. She looked about ready to flee but had changed her mind.“Y-you’re alive after all that?” She asked though it was clear from my movement and breathing that I was still alive. “You… risked your own safety for the egg…” she pointed out the obvious.“I told you, this egg is important to me,” I replied curtly. “More than you can ever understand,” I added. “If you wish to kill me now, I suggest you do so while I catch my
Returning home feels like a massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I allow my guards some rest while I show the healer around. There is no danger at all now, so I feel far more comfortable with the female being around my home.Shifting back into a more human form seems to throw her for a moment, as it is rare for our kind to take this form in Annwn. I’ve grown so accustomed to being in this form now, and miss Max’s touch when I was in this form.I allow her room in the hatchery. The only eggs here currently are the ones near to hatching and the egg in my hands. Although I have many healers, only a couple are here right now, one of which is my mother.She looks up at me and the ice dragon with a polite smile. “You were successful then?” She asks, but continues, “I was worried something would go wrong… but welcome, dear. My gratitude goes out to you for helping with the hatching of this egg.”“It i
A little over a month later…My feet pound on the stone floor as I make haste towards the hatchery. I can’t believe it is finally time. I thought the egg would never hatch, but now it was finally time. My days have been filled with wondering when this day would finally come.As I entered the hatchery, my feet skidded across the ground until I found my balance again. Most of our eggs have hatched now, but Max’s egg was finally ready. I stared at the door to the cold room. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I could handle what might be a disappointment if who hatched was not Max at all.Shaking my head, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. I absolutely must find out who it was that had been reborn. So far, no one could sense the one inside of the egg. It was agony not knowing, but I busied myself with my duties.Opening the door, I felt the coldness hit me. It was like a freezer in here, and only Healing-Frost and the egg could ha
With time working differently here than on Earth, it felt like no time had passed at all since Max and Hafgan, who we had renamed Harri, had grown up. I had spent as much time with them as my duties had allowed, and trained them in the ways of dragon-kind, along with Healing-Frost. She had been a wonderful surrogate mother for the twins, and with her on my side, the other ice dragons seemed more at ease and followed her suggestions to work together towards peace. I couldn’t have asked for a better helper than her. Thankfully, Harri had never questioned his new name or brought up any memories from his past life as Hafgan. Both me and Healing-Frost had been keeping a close watch on him and his mind, just to be certain. I wasn’t sure if the phoenix had planned for the two souls to be split into twins, or for Harri to not have his memories, but I was thankful. Harri had his own body once more and had no drive to forcefully take the throne, and that was all that m
It had taken me most of the night to get the message across to the group I had planned to meet us. When I had finished, I went to bed, not knowing how long Max would give me before he decided he had waited long enough. I must have been in such a deep sleep when Max showed up, as I didn’t hear him enter my bedroom. It wasn’t until I heard some faint whispering in my ear that I knew anyone was there. My eyes snapped open while my body went into fight-or-flight mode. Had I not realised who it was, I know I would have lashed out. “S-sorry,” Max softly apologised. “I called your name outside several times, King Arwen, but you were still fast asleep.” With a long sigh, I shook my head. “It’s fine, just be careful, Max,” I replied and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “It took a little while to get our guides to agree to our visit, so I was awake late.” Max nodded slowly. As I sat up in bed, he twisted around so that he couldn’t see my half-naked body. I rarely
As soon as I stepped through the portal, I spotted Max being swarmed by those who had tried to help us before. I wasn’t sure how they would feel about Max being almost as old now as he had been when he had ‘died’. The last they had seen him, he was nothing but an egg. Yet time hadn’t been so long for them. Zach and Rem’s daughter was still relatively young in comparison. However, she was walking now, at least. She was bright-eyed and full of wonder and if I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t have known she was a born Spirit. I wondered what her future would be, but with how safe things seemed, I was sure she had a bright life ahead of her. “I can’t believe how big he has gotten already,” Zach said as our group showed Max around various locations around Cardiff to see if any of them sparked any memories of his. “Loona has skyrocketed, but she is only slightly above human average,” he added as he pushed her along in the pram. She might have been old enough to walk, but
I never thought this day would come. I could feel the wave of emotions drown me as the tailor forced me to stand perfectly still while they dressed me for the occasion. All that was now left were the last few preparations, but it seemed like it was taking forever to get them all done.Harri was in the room with me so that the tailor could do the last few adjustments on his clothes, too. He was utterly silent, despite how joyous the occasion was. I tried to reach out to him through my mind, but he shut me out easily. Ever since he and Max had reached maturity, he had become much more standoffish with me.Once the tailor had finished, I ordered them out of the room so that I could speak with Harri privately. If he didn’t want to converse through our minds, then perhaps the issue was something that could only be handled with no one else around.I glanced at the door briefly. We had a little time before we needed to go, so if I was to find out what the issue was, then it had to be now. Tu
As I wait at the royal altar, I gaze over at all the different people standing at the pews. Although I would have not minded making this a small wedding, my father and mother both handled everything. From the location, to how close to old customs we went and to the dress code.To my surprise, even the phoenixes had come to see me marry Max. Thankfully, nothing had gone haywire between our three groups and we were now on decent terms. I wouldn’t say we were friendly, exactly, but everyone was slowly coming around.Harri stood next to me. He looked more nervous than I was, yet I was the one being married. Anything could happen, or could go wrong, someone might have an objection to the union, or someone might try assassinating someone. There were so many variables that could go wrong.As the organs started playing, my heart pounded rapidly against my chest. This was actually it. I had waited so long for this moment, and now it was here.There have been times I thought I would never get m