"Mother, can you move in with me?" Dylan asked Sarah the moment they were alone "no son, I can't but, you're always welcome to come by anytime you wish to see me or your brother" she replied him "mother, father really misses you, please don't leave us again, now that we found you" he pleaded even though he wasn't sure if Richard missed her at all while holding her hands which she squeezed with her little ones "relay my greetings to the Emperor, but I can't go back to the empyrean cloud palace" she replied "I'm sorry you had to leave mother" he said "once I succeed father, I would bring you back to the palace and you wouldn't have to worry about your life being in danger" he added.
"Dylan son" Sarah called out to him "yes mother" "I hope you don't take Riley as a rival to the throne, he isn't at all interested in such things" she said "you both are crown princes, and he's the older of you. In such case, physical strength is weighed and being your mother, I can tell you're equally strong" she added "you have been a royal all your life, so you're surely going to succeed your father" she assured him, not wanting her sons turning against each other over a mere throne. "I understand mother, I have no such plans" he said "mother, do you practice water magic as well. I see Riley practices fire magic just like father and I practice water magic" he asked "yes, I'm a swan" Sarah replied.
"Does my son have a woman in his life" Sarah asked and Dylan looked nervous to answer "I hope you're not like your brother who's been avoiding women all his life, but he finally fell in love with someone" she added "I actually spend time with concubines unlike Riley who completely stays away, but I met a woman recently" Dylan said nervously and saw his mother shaking her head, smiling "I have been thinking about her, I think I have fallen for her" he said realizing what he said after he said it "that's good, can I see her" Sarah asked and Dylan swiped his right hand in free space and an image of Maya appeared "she's really beautiful" Sarah said "yes mother, she is" he said and smiled.
'Mother said Riley just fell in love, if she doesn't recognize this woman then that means Riley has nothing to do with her. If that's the case, then what was Riley doing with her when he stays away from women?' Dylan thought and shook his head to dismiss it "what's her name?" Sarah asked "I don't know mother, we met by accident" he replied "there's no problem, I hope you meet her again soon" she said and he smiled at her. "Do you always smile like this?" Sarah asked him "no mother, on rare occasions I do but, I can't help it when I finally meet my birth mother" he replied "you have a lot of similarities with your brother, he also doesn't smile much" "I see".
"Mother, can I stay with you tonight, I'll return to the palace tomorrow" Dylan asked "I can't bring myself to leave you yet when we only just met" he added and Sarah moved forward to hug him "you can stay for as long as you want, if I could have my way, I'd keep you here forever" she said "but, I can't let you abandon your duties as crown prince" she added "I'd willingly abandon my duties as crown prince in order to fulfill my duties as your son" he said and Sarah smiled against his chest "I love you Dylan, I say this everyday but it feels better when I say it to you directly" she said "I love you too mother, so much" he said and they stayed like that, enjoying each other's company.
...…
"Is there anything between you and Riley?" Maya was questioned by Elena the moment she and Ava got to where Elena was "no your highness, he's just a friend" Maya replied "it better be" Elena said then headed towards her bedchamber. When they got to the bedchamber, Maya was asked to prepare a bath while Ava arranged the bed for Elena, a short while later, Maya returned to inform Elena that the bath's ready "okay, Ava, I need to take this off" Elena said referring to her dress "yes, your highness" Ava said and helped Elena changed into her bathrobe.
After helping Elena take a bath; Maya combed her hair and dressed her in a comfortable nightgown then Elena sat on the bed and stared at both the girls "you can leave for today, I'd like to be alone for the rest of the evening" Elena said and the girls looked at each other "your highness, we're meant to stay here until you go to bed" Ava said "I am tired and would like to go to bed, so you're free" Elena said "yes, your highness" they both replied bowing before teleporting back to their place.
"I'm so weak, Ava" Maya said to Ava the moment they reappeared in front of their cottage "I haven't completed my revitalization for three days straight and I feel I would lose consciousness anytime soon" she added looking drowsy but Ava failed to see that "it's not my fault you make friends with a handsome man and you neglect your daily rituals" Ava said but got no reply from Maya which she found absurd because, Maya would have countered or hugged her from behind while pouting "so, you decide not to reply me, hmm" Ava said but still got no reply and that prompted her to look back only to see Maya laying unconscious on the floor and she started to panic.
"Maya, Maya!!!" Ava called out shaking Maya but the latter didn't budge "Maya, please wake up" Ava repeated as she started to feel scared and didn't know what to do. She paced around for a while thinking of what to do when she finally decide to take Maya to the peace garden, she sat on the floor beside her friend and placed Maya's head on her lap then, they were out of the place in the blink of an eye.
.....
Riley lay on his bed when he got to his bedchamber and smiled to himself "I'm glad mother's getting along well with Dylan" he said to himself then closed his eyes to think about Maya. He started to feel uneasy and an image of Maya's unconscious state appeared in his mind which caused him to jump out of bed, he ran to the garden to inform Sarah that he had to do something somewhere so she wouldn't be worried "okay, take care son" she said and he teleported to the peace garden.
.....
"Maya please wake up" Ava said almost crying when they reappeared in the peace garden, she thought of how she could transform her friend into her true form so she could resume her meditation and revitalize her energy. All of a sudden, she felt someone's presence then looked up only to see Riley running towards them "what happened to her" Riley asked when he got to them "she lost consciousness because she couldn't complete her revitalization process for three days" Ava, who was already crying replied him.
"Is that a part of her nature, I mean the process" he asked her while he crouched down to check Maya's pulse "yes, if she doesn't resume the process soon, she'll wither away for good" Ava replied and Riley's heart sank at the thought that he would never see her again if she doesn't resume the process soon, no he wouldn't let that happen "if you don't mind, I'll take her to my mother, she knows a lot about flowers especially rare ones like Maya" he said to Ava who stared at him blankly with eyes still wet with tears "she might be able to help" he added and Ava nodded in affirmation, Riley then picked Maya in his arms and the trio teleported to meet Sarah.
.....
"Mother, please I need you to save Maya" Riley said loudly the moment he appeared in Sarah's garden where she stood with Dylan by the lake, startling her "what's wrong son" she asked him "it's Maya, she lost consciousness due to some incomplete revitalization or something" he said "I hope there's something you can do to save her" he added "yes, I might be able to help" Sarah replied "let me check her" she added and Riley gently laid Maya on the floor, revealing her face which was buried in his chest all along making both Sarah and Dylan look at each other with puzzled expressions.
"What exactly happened to her?" Sarah asked Ava "she hasn't been completing her revitalization process for the past three days" Ava replied her "but why, if she knows the consequences?" Sarah asked "from what she tells me, it started two days ago, when mister Riley tried to uproot her thinking she was just a flower" Ava said "and since then, one thing or the other makes them meet during the process and she can't complete it. I witnessed it today" she added and Sarah looked at Riley "I knew nothing about the process, mother" he said shaking his head.
"That doesn't matter anymore mother, we need to save her" Dylan said to Sarah "Riley do you still have that petal she gave you" she asked Riley "yes mother" he said and opened his right palm then the petal appeared, floating on it before stretching out his arm to his mother. Sarah took the petal from him and crouched down beside the unconscious Maya, she then placed the petal on Maya's forehead, and the moment the petal touched Maya, pink lights spread through her body and she stirred a little before the lights as well as the petal slowly disappeared and Sarah stood up.
"The petal has given her a little bit of energy, once she wakes, she has to resume the process to fully revitalize her strength or she'll wither away for good" Sarah said "is she still unconscious, mother" both Dylan and Riley asked Sarah simultaneously with the same worried tone and they looked at each other "no, she's only sleeping" she replied and they both breathed out sighs of relief.