While making my way into the woods and through the shrubs, I was hit by the heady fragrance of orchids.
The only wolves who smelled like orchids were the Lycans. This ability to tell Lycans apart from other wolves was bestowed upon them by the Moon Goddess. A fragrance as pure as that could only come from my family.
Over ten years ago, I lost my only child. My wife and I spent a lot of time looking for her, but we never found her.
My thoughts were occupied by a fantastical fantasy. My head was spinning now; the excitement and intoxication of a late-night party had nothing on this.
I followed the orchid's fragrance to the water's edge. As it prepared to charge the figure in the water, a hideous beast bared its teeth. Lacking the mental capacity to deliberate, I kicked it away.
The animal bolted, dragging its tail behind it.
My attention was riveted on the girl in the water. Her complexion was pale, and I could hardly detect her breathing. She closed her eyes, but her lips remained pursed.
I felt my heart racing. My daughter would be this age if she were still alive, and we could reunite.
Her body odor was fading, and I hurriedly tucked her inside my pack.
Please don't limit the only time a dad can embrace his daughter to the graveside, Moon Goddess.
With all my strength, I charged ahead. This level of exhaustion was unusual for me after the war. When the royal doctor finally set her down, I saw that my hands were trembling terribly.
The staff members looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Yes, I believe I was already bordering on insanity.
"Your Majesty," they said, "you might need to rest for a while." They then helped me change out of my wet clothes.
"Right now, you must inform the Queen... I shall inform Her Majesty upon her awakening. I don't want her to go through the hell of pretending to be happy. "
"Your Majesty, I apologize for disturbing you, but this girl showed up out of nowhere." Possibly, it's...
I took a deep breath and focused on the girl, whose appearance and aroma were strikingly similar to those of the Queen. The correct response seemed obvious to me. There was no room for doubt in my mind that this was, in fact, my daughter.
"Look at her, Tracy. Her perfume is the indelible stamp the Moon Goddess left for us, even if her physical form can be imitated. She is unquestionably my daughter.
Years ago, nobody could have predicted that an accident would take my daughter away from her parents. The daily ritual of wiping her cheeks with tears cleansed away the guilt I felt for failing to protect my wife.
But she returned. The event felt miraculous. Suddenly, she was standing in front of me. This has to be divine intervention.
The doctor's remarks shattered the idyllic scene: "Your Majesty, you might need to be mentally prepared."
I was so relieved that I failed to see that she still hadn't fully awakened and was engaged in mortal combat with the god of death.
In a quavering voice, I begged, "Please, save her."
I went from being a powerful monarch to a distraught parent at the loss of my daughter.
The doctor gave me some encouraging news after a long wait.
You need to rest and make space for Her Highness to rest, as the doctor angrily told me to leave with a tired smile on his face and assurances that "the princess is fine." She took a bad fall from up high, and she won't be getting up anytime soon.
I hated to get up and go. I still had a lot of things that needed my attention.
I was relieved I hadn't told my wife sooner, but I was also glad I hadn't. Perhaps she would have passed out if she were here now. Despite the passage of many years, she had never recovered from that dreadful nightmare; she had also never forgiven herself or taken it easy.
Lily Wayne’s POV
The agony in my brain was unbearable. I attempted to open them, but to no avail. All I saw was pitch darkness.
I thought maybe I'd hit my head on the edge of the cliff or a rock; after all, I'm just a feeble human being with no eyes. Robert must have been laughing at us, I thought.
After moving my fingers, I suddenly became aware of a plethora of voices saying things like "she's awake!"' and 'be prompt in informing...," phrases I had no idea what they meant.
It was very loud. To the best of my ability, I made a mouth movement. "Quiet!"
There was once again complete silence. I shook my head in agreement and went back to sleep.
I had fallen asleep in the middle of a lively conversation when I came to again. This voice wasn't really obnoxious, if you ask me. If I wasn't tired, I could go on and on about how lovely their voices are.
Unfortunately, the agony spread throughout my entire body. It felt like my insides had been pulled out and then pieced back together again. It seemed as if a heavy door had been slammed on top of my head and then fastened shut. I prayed that this wouldn't further diminish what little brainpower I had.
"Why am I blind?"
A woman's voice, soft yet authoritative, reassured me, "It's fine, Your Highness. When you fell, you banged your head and damaged your eyes. I hope you feel better soon.
Your Majesty? Who was it?
Where did all this happen? I felt pain throughout my body, but why? Even death seemed unable to release me from this torment.
The memory of that crazy night was still echoing in my head. My recollections are illuminated by the fire's warm glow, Robert's cruel rejection, and the chill of the river. I hoped I was dead, but the pain kept reminding me that I wasn't. It made me think that maybe some weird individuals had come to my rescue.
When I opened one eye, the world was still pitch black.
After hearing Robert turn me down, I felt like jumping off a cliff. When I slipped and fell into the river, the icy current carried me downstream until I collided with a boulder.
That was probably when I started having issues with my eyes, but why am I still here? Where did these angels come from to rescue a useless person like me? They must be shocked that I, a frail human, survived such a high-altitude fall.
I really should have passed away. A person of no value had no business being in the pack with them. I was unworthy of everyone's affection.
My head seemed to hurt worse, and I couldn't tell if it was real or an illusion. I'm still suffering from the agonizing dizziness and agony. It was like being dumped into a powerful washing machine, and the sensation caused me to grasp my head and groan.
I felt a cool hand on my head, and a soft voice whispered, "Sleep. Put your head down and get some rest. You'll feel better very shortly.
A person's reliance on others increases when they are physically or mentally weakened. This voice was all it took to put me to sleep.
Once I came back, I noticed a faint, warm yellow light.
At first, I could only make out the faintest of lights through my foggy vision. The thought that I had gone blind troubled me greatly. Thankfully, my blurry vision cleared up after a few rounds of blinking. The people around me were clearly visible to me.
They were all dressed identically in white, and their leader was clearly visible at the front. The girl was tall and slender, with a mass of brown hair atop her head. Her cheeks and lips were flushed with color. She was smiling and seemed quite kind. The other girls around her had arbitrarily positioned her in the center.
She smiled brightly, but tears welled up in her eyes as she said, "Your Highness, you're finally awake."
I went off the cliff and pleaded with death before a bunch of mysterious individuals rescued me. I told myself it must be a joke. Perhaps Anna came up with the plan. Anna was a buddy of mine who frequently pranked me with outlandish schemes. It's possible that after they rescued me, they came up with this joke on purpose just to mess with my head.
I apologize. Did you guys mix up their identities? I swallowed my fear and cleared my throat to inquire. I kept waiting for Anna to appear and exclaim over her brilliant notion.
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to persuade myself. The place was decorated with great care, and the clothes they wore were also not typical streetwear. No one would risk that kind of money on a complete waste of space.