RISEN: THE AMETHYST PRINCESS

Talia POV I can't believe my family! They made me leave the hospital to attend Arman's coronation… I know it is a huge milestone in the life of my brother, whom I adore, but can't they see I need to be here? For weeks, my Mother came by, nagging about me being unable to be apart from Adam… She made stupid arguments that really pissed me off… Starting from the status argument… “You are a Princess, you should not be guarding a simple warrior…” Then the emotional blackmail, “I can't believe you have us worried sick about you… Don't you care about your father and I?” Then she jumped, to extortion, “If you come to the coronation, I will ask your Aunt Charmaine to come again to check up on him…” That one was the most convincing of all of her strategies, but deep down, I knew they had done as much as they could, and now it was a matter fo time. In the end, it was Arman the one who moved me to be there. “Sis, I love you and I understand if you wished to stay here with him… I won't hold it against you, and no matter what Mom and Dad say, I've got your back and respect your decision…” He said, and at that very moment I saw how wonderful and how lucky I was to have a brother like him… That made me decided I would do my best to endure the ceremony and be there for him, just the way he has been there for me… Unconditionally, without prerogatives, no questions asked… So the day of the coronation, to my utter dismay, and feeling as if my heart was being ripped away from my chest… I finally moved from his side. My mother was kind enough to have a beautiful purple gown ready for me to wear. After all, I had to fulfill the role of the Pendragon princess. The dress was a work of art, a bodice embroidered with crystals, and a layered flowing skirt that accentuated my shape. It was purple, as if my mother could sense that my very second nature held that color. I have been so detached from my family and friends, that nobody knew I had an amethyst dragon, one you could only read in legends… The most popular one, even turned into a kid's fairy tale… The Amethyst and Emerald Dragon. Every step I took around the coronation was tearing me apart. No one seemed to notice, I was a shell of the girl I used to be, and the kidnapping I suffered had nothing to do with it… It was the outcome, the cost of my freedom, the one that haunted me. “How are you?” the deep voice of Matei, my powerful cousin, broke my reverie. He was holding Aurie, his daughter, and one of my hostage partners in our recent kidnapping. I guess that is the price you pay if you come from a powerful family… there is always evil lurking around the corner… “Holding in there…” I said, and he gave me a small nod. “You know that Iris has done as much as she can… She is pregnant, and she can't over-exert her energy trying to find him…” He said and I nodded…. “I know, and she told me that it was as if he didn't want to be found…” I sighed, feeling my heart break a little bit more. Why wasn't he fighting to see me? Can't he feel the connection? “All in due time, Tally… and in the meantime… you have us…” He said and held me with his available arm. Feeling his warmth, and the love my family had for me, was something that felt comforting and, at the same time, broke me a little bit more… I am putting them through hell, but I don't think I can avoid it… my dragon doesn't want to be apart from him. “Thanks, Matty…” I said, wiping a lone tear from my eyes… “By the way, you look beautiful…” This time the female voice behind me made me turn around. Iris was there patting her big pregnant belly, looking radiant, and her eyes sparkling when she met Mats… The amazing part of belonging to my family was that every single couple was a vivid example of what a mate bond should be… magical and powerful… the downside, was that every single couple was a painful reminder of what I currently lack, my mate… “Thanks, mom had it ready for me… you know my head has been somewhere else…” I said, and Iris shook her head… “Not only your head, honey… your heart is still there sitting in that chair… hoping for him to come back to you… patiently waiting...” She spoke the truth. I was physically at my brother's coronation, but my heart stayed behind. “That's true…” I mumbled and then she continued, “But I know that deep down your brother sees the love you have for him, even when he knows you would rather be somewhere else, you decided to be here for him…” Iris patted my shoulder and I nodded. At least, someone was noticing the huge effort I was making. Don't get me wrong, under different circumstances my presence here wouldn't be such a big deal… it was a must and a given… but under my current predicament… it was almost painful to be here. I gave them a small nod and left the area. I needed air, in fact, I needed to go back to the hospital. I looked around and saw an opening. People were busy with their casual conversations, and I decided to slip away… I almost made it out when I heard a baritone, warm and very familiar voice behind me… “You don't need to sneak out…” I slowly turned around to meet the golden wise eyes of my father. “Daddy…” I muttered, my chin trembling with all the bottled emotions. He opened his arms, and like a little girl, I ran into his embrace. “It's alright, little one… everything will be alright…” he said in a comforting voice, one I knew very well. “Why is he not waking up?” I said while burying my face into my father's pristine white tuxedo shirt, certainly ruining it. “Why is he taking this long? Medically, Darius said he should have woken up a week ago…” I protested, while tears kept staining my dad's shirt. “I know, sweetie…. But maybe he needs a bit more time… hang in there… whatever is going on, you will figure it out…” Dad said in a confident voice, one that made me almost believe that everything would solve itself like magic. “Thanks, Daddy…” I muttered, and he kissed my temple… “Now, there is a car waiting for you to take you back…” He said, and my eyes snapped open. I was certain he was here to prevent me from leaving… “Just don't tell your mother… or I will be sleeping with the pets for a month…” He laughed and I rolled my eyes… “Mom would never do that to you…” I said, and his face contorted as if remembering a similar experience with the outcome he suggested… “I wouldn't be so sure, sweetie…” He paused, and then he decided to make me cringe, “But the make-up s*x…” He said, while I covered my ears, and started yelling over a loud “La, La, La” I looked at him appalled, and I am certain my expression amused him because he broke out laughing almost hysterically… I slapped his chest playfully, noticing he wanted to get a reaction out of me, and Oh! Boy, he indeed got it. “I will see you around, Daddy…” I said, kissing his cheek, and walking towards the gate where my father had a car waiting for me to return to the hospital. I didn't even bother about changing. I walked towards Adam's guard and sat in the same chair I had been sitting for the past month or so… I looked at his resting pale face. He seemed peacefully sleeping, several machines hooked up to his body, only to monitor his steady vitals, he was breathing on his own, and he had an IV to help him replenish fluids. He had lost weight and a lot of muscle mass… something I was sure, he would recover as soon as he woke up… I closed my eyes, and tried to relax… the dress was a bit uncomfortable, but I didn't want to bother with it. I dozed off, and woke up with a jump when I heard the voice of Amethyst, my dragon, saying ´It is time, Kiss him¨