Stay With Me (Part 1)
1264 Words
Darkness.
It was no longer frightening.
It was peaceful.
For the first time in what felt like forever, there was no rejection, no betrayal, no hunters chasing me through the forest. There was only silence.
I floated in an endless sea of black, weightless, as if the world had forgotten I existed.
Then a voice cut through the darkness.
"...Ava."
Soft.
Gentle.
Broken.
It sounded familiar.
Another voice followed.
"Your Majesty, you have to rest."
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"I'll stay."
Silence.
A sigh.
"As you wish."
The voices faded.
Had someone... been talking to me?
I tried opening my eyes.
Nothing happened.
My body felt impossibly heavy.
As though I had sunk beneath an ocean and every drop of water refused to let me rise.
Then another voice reached me.
One I hadn't heard in years.
"My little moon."
A lump formed in my throat.
That nickname...
Only one person had ever called me that.
"Mama?"
Warm light spread across the darkness.
It was faint at first, like the glow of the moon through morning fog, but it gradually grew brighter.
A woman stepped into the light.
Silver hair flowed down her back.
Gentle blue eyes smiled at me.
She looked exactly as I remembered.
Beautiful.
Kind.
Safe.
Tears instantly blurred my vision.
"I knew you'd find me."
My voice sounded like a child's.
She smiled.
"I've always been with you."
I rushed toward her.
The moment she wrapped her arms around me, every fear I'd carried for years disappeared.
I buried my face against her shoulder.
"I missed you."
"I know."
"I tried to remember your face."
Her fingers brushed through my hair.
"You never forgot."
"I thought I did."
"No."
She kissed my forehead.
"You remembered with your heart."
The warmth of her embrace almost convinced me none of this was a dream.
Almost.
Then I remembered.
The attack.
The assassin.
The dagger.
Lucien.
My breathing became uneven.
"I died... didn't I?"
Her smile faltered.
"No."
"Then why are you here?"
She gently held my face.
"Because your soul is standing between two paths."
I frowned.
"I don't understand."
"You've been sleeping for three days."
Three days?
"So much has happened while you rested."
"What happened?"
Pain crossed her face.
"They're afraid."
"Who?"
"The people who love you."
Love.
The word sounded foreign.
Nobody had ever loved me enough to fear losing me.
Not since her.
"I don't have anyone."
She looked behind me.
"You do."
I slowly turned.
At first I saw nothing.
Then shadows began taking shape.
One figure stood apart from the others.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Silver eyes.
Lucien.
He wasn't looking at me.
He was kneeling beside what looked like a bed.
His head was lowered.
His hands were clasped together so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
He looked...
Broken.
I had never imagined the Lycan King could look broken.
"He hasn't left your side."
My mother spoke quietly.
"He blames himself."
I stared at the image.
"He barely knows me."
A sad smile crossed her face.
"Sometimes the soul recognizes someone before the heart understands why."
My heartbeat quickened.
"What does that mean?"
Before she could answer, the entire dream began to shake violently.
The ground cracked.
The light flickered.
Her expression changed instantly.
Urgency filled her eyes.
"You have to wake up."
"What?"
"They're coming."
"Who?"
"The people who destroyed our family."
Questions flooded my mind.
"What happened to you? Who killed you? Why was I taken?"
"I wish I could tell you."
She cupped my face.
"But the answers must come from the living."
The dream began collapsing around us.
"No!"
I grabbed her hand.
"Don't leave me again!"
She squeezed my fingers.
"My brave little moon."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"When you see the silver wolf..."
Her voice began fading.
"...follow your heart."
"Mama!"
Everything shattered.
Pain exploded through my body.
A sharp gasp tore from my lips.
Air rushed into my lungs.
The first thing I noticed was the ache in my side.
The second was the scent.
Pine.
Rain.
Cedarwood.
Lucien.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
The ceiling above me was carved from white stone, painted with silver moons and wolves.
Elegant curtains drifted gently in the breeze coming through an open balcony.
Sunlight poured into the enormous bedroom.
I blinked.
Where...
Then memories returned.
The Lycan Palace.
The assassin.
The dagger.
I instinctively reached for my side.
Bandages.
Fresh.
Professionally wrapped.
"You'll reopen the wound."
The deep voice came from beside me.
I turned slowly.
Lucien sat in a chair next to the bed.
His elbows rested on his knees.
A thick book lay open in his hands.
Or rather...
It had.
Because the moment my eyes met his, the book slipped from his fingers onto the floor.
For several seconds...
Neither of us spoke.
His silver eyes searched my face as though making sure I was real.
Then something extraordinary happened.
Lucien smiled.
Not the confident smirk he usually wore.
Not the cold smile of a king.
A real one.
Small.
Relieved.
Beautiful.
"You woke up."
His voice was softer than I'd ever heard it.
I swallowed.
"My head hurts."
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"The healers said it would."
I frowned.
"Healers?"
"There were seven."
"Seven?"
"You kept frightening them."
Despite everything, I laughed.
It came out weak.
But genuine.
Lucien looked frozen.
"What?"
"You laughed."
"So?"
"I wasn't sure I'd hear it."
The room became quiet again.
I studied him more carefully.
His hair was messy.
Dark circles rested beneath his eyes.
His clothes were wrinkled.
None of it suited the perfectly composed king I'd met in the forest.
"You look awful."
His eyebrow lifted.
"I stayed awake."
"For how long?"
He hesitated.
"Three days."
My eyes widened.
"You didn't sleep?"
"I did."
"When?"
He looked away.
"...briefly."
"You've been sitting there this whole time?"
"It seemed practical."
I stared at him.
"No."
He looked back.
"It didn't."
A tiny smile tugged at his lips.
"I suppose not."
Something warm settled inside my chest.
This powerful, intimidating man...
Had sat beside my bed for three days.
Waiting.
Watching.
Making sure I lived.
Why?
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
"Why?"
His expression became unreadable.
"You saved my mother."
"I would've saved anyone."
"I know."
Silence.
"That's exactly why."
I frowned.
"I don't understand."
"You will."
Before I could ask another question, the bedroom doors opened quietly.
An elderly healer entered.
The moment she noticed I was awake, her eyes widened.
"Moon Goddess be praised."
She hurried toward the bed.
"Princess Ava!"
Princess.
The title still felt wrong.
She checked my pulse, examined the bandages, then smiled with obvious relief.
"The fever has broken."
Lucien stood.
"Will she recover completely?"
The concern in his voice surprised even the healer.
She smiled knowingly.
"She will."
He released a breath so quietly that he probably thought no one noticed.
I did.
"So..."
The healer looked between us.
"I'll prepare breakfast."
"No."
Lucien answered immediately.
"I'll do it."
The old woman blinked.
"...Your Majesty?"
"I said I'll do it."
She looked absolutely stunned.
So was I.
The King of Lycans...
Wanted to bring me breakfast?
The healer slowly nodded before leaving the room.
As soon as the door closed, I couldn't stop myself.
"You're bringing me food?"
His expression remained perfectly serious.
"You need to eat."
"There are servants."
"They're busy."
"Serving who?"
"You."
I blinked.
"...What?"
He walked toward the door.
Without turning around, he said calmly,
"The palace has spent three days worrying about you."
Then he left.
Leaving me completely speechless.
- Writer
