My mother raised a hand to my cheek and smiled. "You really have changed." My father spoke confidently as he approached us. "If the stone believes that you are what's best for this world, then I have no doubt that you have learned what it means to truly be a king." I had never heard my father direct pride my way before and the feeling of it made me speechless. I had finally gained the power that I had set out to find, but now my greed had vanished.
I had no idea why the stone chose me, especially after I decided that I didn't need to be king anymore. But now that I was chosen I promised myself that I would use this power to benefit the world instead of destroying it like I had selfishly planned before. 'I will not be a victim of my curse any longer.' I thought. My brother then did the last thing I expected and removed the crown from his head to hand it to me.
I looked at him with surprise and he avoided eye contact with me as he awkwardly smiled. "I believe this belongs to you. I'm sorry for uh, trying to kill you." I laughed as I took the crown from him and pulled him in for a hug. "Ah!" I let the crown levitate beside me so I could put him in a headlock and give him a nuggie. "I should be the one apologizing for that!" I let him go and he rubbed his head with his palm as he gave me a freaked-out look. "Who are you, and what did you do with my brother?!"
I laughed again and my parents were just as confused. "What happened to you that could've caused this drastic change?" My father asked. I crossed my arms and continued to smile. "It's more of a who than a what." I then turned to see May standing next to the chair she was tied to and watching us from a distance. Her chains must've disappeared when Theodius lost his power, and my smile softened as I realized that she was still crying.
I gestured for her to come closer. "You can have that hug you've been trying to get from me now." May laughed through her tears and then ran to me. She jumped into my arms and wrapped her own around my neck, tightly. I spun around happily, finally enjoying her embrace and I continued to hold onto her after I stopped. I kissed her cheek and shut my eyes as I enjoyed her warmth. "I'm sorry May, I love you so much."
May squeezed me tighter and pulled away enough to face me. "I love you too! You scared me to death, Dedrin! Don't ever die! Never ever never!!" I laughed a little and leaned closer. "I'll never leave you again." I then kissed her lovingly and she returned it just the same. When we pulled apart I remembered that my family was standing next to us. I ignored their shock as I spoke to them. "This is CherryMay. She's the one you should thank for showing me that there is more to life than a crown."
My mother held a hand to her chest with a smile. "How romantic." My father raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "You fell in love with a fairy? That is against the law you know..." I continued to hold onto May as I responded to him with a smirk. "No, it's not. I just changed it. I'm the new king, remember?" My father shook his head slowly and smiled. "Foiled again. This world owes you a great deal of debt, CherryMay." May returned his smile and Dymas suddenly jumped. "Oh, crap! We left Alexra back at the castle! She's probably worried sick!"
I gave him a curious look. "Is Alexra your wife? Uh, you think she'll take the news that you're not king anymore well?" Dymas nodded. "Oh, absolutely. She'll be delighted to be a princess again. She always wanted to get away and live a peaceful life on the seashore. I'm a little disappointed that I won't be king, but I'm excited that I can give that life to her now." I was still comprehending that my baby brother was married and it disappointed me that I was too busy being an idiot in the woods to come to his wedding.
My father then turned to me with genuineness in his eyes. "Are you ready to come home?" I didn't think I would ever hear those words and I nodded. "I'll send you back first. I need a moment. I'll catch up with you." Dymas crossed his arms. "See you there." I then raised a hand towards them and surrounded them in light.
They disappeared a moment after and I walked over to the wall I was pinned to by the arrows and picked up my sword. I continued to hold May in one arm as I returned it to my sheath and she gave me a curious look. "Are you going to put me down?" I turned to walk back to Razerous as I answered. "Never ever never." She giggled and I noticed that the crown was still floating next to me.
I stopped and took it from the air as I hesitated. "...Do you think I'm worthy?" May nodded and took the crown from me by its sides. She then placed it on my head with a bright smile. "It doesn't surprise me at all. I told you. You just needed to get through that hard shell of yours." Suddenly, the crown's metal became black and the gems became rubies. I only noticed when May gasped and I made a mirror appear next to us. "Now that's more like it!" I laughed as I saw my reflection.
After I made the mirror disappear I stepped in front of Razerous. "You know, I could see about breaking your curse if you want." Razerous smiled and shook his head. "Before I met you I would've said yes in a heartbeat, but, you've taught me that a curse doesn't have to be a limitation. Sure, I look like the product of a dragon and a human getting it on, but this curse is a part of me now. It's been so long that I don't know if I could handle going back. I thought I didn't belong to either dragons or humans, but now, because of you, I realize that I can belong to both. Thank you for opening my eyes."
I nodded. "Cursed freaks should stick together, anyway." Razerous laughed for a moment before noticing May with confusion in her expression. He then held his hand out to her. "It's nice to finally be able to introduce myself. I'm Razerous. I hope Dedrin at least mentioned me. I was the one who helped him take care of you whilst you were a rose?" May gasped and shook his hand in delight. "Oh yeah! I recognized your presence but I couldn't place you! It's so nice to meet you!"
Razerous's smile brightened. "You as well, sweet rose." I started to feel the emptiness of the room weighing on me and walked to the door once they stopped shaking hands. "Now, let's get out of here." Razerous caught up close behind me. "Yes, we have a lot to tell Saniel."
I then remembered something and my face fell serious as we left the castle and walked over to where we left Saniel. The sun was setting and it set the sky a blaze. Saniel raised his head as he noticed us, and I finally set May down and started taking off my boot. "What are you-?" Before she could question further I then chucked my shoe at Saniel. It bounced off of his scales and I started yelling at him. "You could talk this whole time?! What the fuck?!"