Elara's mind was a blur as she drifted in and out of consciousness. The world seemed to dissolve around her, leaving only fragments of images and sensations. At first, she could feel the gentle sway of the carriage, the warmth of the cushions beneath her, and the soft hum of voices murmuring in the background. She blinked, the edges of her vision hazy, before her eyelids grew heavy once more and she slipped back into the darkness.
When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the carriage. The cool, fragrant steam of a bath surrounded her, and the tender hands of her handmaids worked carefully to wash her, their soft voices whispering words she couldn't fully understand. She tried to speak, to ask what was happening, but her body felt too heavy, as though the very air weighed her down. And before she could voice a word, the darkness claimed her once again.
The next time Elara awoke, she was in a soft bed, the sheets cool against her skin. Her body ached from the exertion, her muscles sore, but there was a comforting warmth that surrounded her. She blinked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light as they swept across the room. The familiar faces of Theron, the Queen Mother, Lyric, Evelyn, and Given hovered nearby.
Lyric was the first to speak, her voice filled with relief. "Thank God," she breathed, her expression softening when she saw Elara's eyes flicker open.
Elara turned her gaze toward her, her vision still a little blurry. Lyric was sitting beside her, her face and neck marked with small cuts, and a bandage wrapped around her hand. Despite the weariness in her eyes, she managed a smile.
Elara's thoughts began to slow, a strange sense of familiarity washing over her. The bond between her and Lyric wasn't the traditional mother-daughter relationship that most would expect, but something more... friendly. More equal. It was odd to think of it that way, but as she stared at Lyric's smile, she couldn't help but think that it was something she could treasure.
A fleeting thought passed through Elara's mind, one that she could barely grasp. She thought of how worn out she was of a single werewolf draining her blood when she has once once fought a dragon and came back home with enough time for a dance and celebrations .She didn't know why or how, or even which dragon it was, but the memory felt true—yet so distant, as if it belonged to someone else, someone she could no longer recall.
Just as quickly, her thoughts turned sluggish, and she blacked out once more.
When Elara regained consciousness, the voices of Lyric and Given floated to her ears, gentle but firm. "You need to go rest," Given was saying, his tone soft but insistent. "Apply some ointment and lay still in your room, Princess. Play with Maximus, you two haven't played enough since we've been gone."
"Play?" Lyric scoffed, her voice tinged with humor. "I'm too old to be playing, Given. And don't call what me and Maximus have 'play.' How could you call the time we spent together 'play'?"
"My apologies," Given said, his voice dry. "But you need rest. The Queen is resting, and you should too. We've all been through a lot, but you're not on your deathbed, so you should appreciate that and take the time to spend with Maximus."
Lyric gave him a playful look. "Why guilt-trip me, Given? In so many ways, too. Yes, I'm alive, but the Queen needs our support. And Maximus is a rabbit—I'm sure she's hopping around the yard, doing rabbit duties."
Maximus . The name settled in Elara's mind, and she couldn't shake it, despite the haze that clouded her thoughts. The thought of the bunny : 'Maximus seems too real for a simple pet's name .' It lingered like a memory she couldn't place.
Her mind turned quiet, and she found herself drifting again, lost in a peaceful, fleeting thought when she finally heard her own voice. 'You don't like it ?'
His blue eyes filled her vision, his pupils dilated as he stared at her, a look so intense it felt like the world stood still - the type of look a starved man gave a juicy steak ; the type of look a young girl gave the Princess's dress while passing the tailer shop ; the type of look an elderly couple that have been married for fifty year and still inlove give on another ; and the type of look he gave her .
'I like the bunny , and I love you .' His words rang clear in her mind, though she wasn't sure if they were a memory or a dream. They echoed through her thoughts, comforting yet distant, as if they belonged to another time, another place. Her heart fluttered at the tenderness in his voice, but the confusion of it all left her with an uneasy feeling, unsure of where reality ended and her dreams began.
But before she could fully grasp the moment, darkness came again, and she was once more pulled into unconsciousness.
When she awoke, her eyelids heavy and the dull ache of exhaustion weighing on her, she wasn't sure how much time had passed. For a moment, everything was blurry, and then, through the haze, she saw him—Darius.
He stood at the far end of the room, his figure still and silent, like a shadow in the dim light. He was dressed now, no longer the bare-chested, warrior figure she remembered from the battle. His clothes were dark, fitting, and he looked different—less menacing, perhaps, but no less commanding. His eyes, though, held something she hadn't expected. A raw emotion danced in them, something soft and almost... vulnerable. It was there and gone in an instant, and before she could fully understand it, he turned, stepping away, his presence leaving the room as quickly as it had arrived.
Elara's breath hitched, her mind spinning. Was it a dream ? Or was he really there ? The question lingered, unanswered, as her eyelids fluttered once again, pulling her back into the black void of unconsciousness.