Treasure Of Dragons, Royal Dragons Book 1 Chapter 146

Ria

The buses were indeed waiting there for us when we landed. They were actually nicer than any chartered bus I had ever seen, so I was glad about that. We had gotten all of the bags loaded, and then we took a vote with the kids. They had wanted to start in the UK, so that’s where we are heading now, 

When we stop in Birmingham, I actually have more of a reaction than I thought I might. Right now, this isn’t so much about me, this is a totally different trip, and a totally different thing. So, that needs to stay in the past where it is, and it needs to fuck the hell off and stop messing with me.

David has been watching me for the last couple of hours, so no doubt he can tell something is off. I am trying to keep my shit straight and sorted, I have also noticed Brand watching me, and with what we had talked about earlier on the bus, that’s not a good thing. 

I am sitting in the seat at the very back. We have the car seats buckled in back here, so Sarah is in hers on one side of me, and Hope is in hers on the other side of me. We are planning to stop at a really big shopping market in about 20 minutes. I look up when Drago sits down in a seat across from me, and he turns to look at me. 

“Hey you, it seems to me you are a bit sad, care to talk about anything?” I can tell he honestly doesn’t get it. I take a deep breath and let it out.

This is one of the times that my super great, never forget memory, bites me in the ass. They may not remember every single second, every mile, every stop of that trip so many years ago, but I do. So as I see things, memories and images pop up and I can see them and practically taste them. So, the overwhelming feelings from back there are trying to swamp me as well. 

I look down and then look at him, “Not really honestly. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

He tilts his head and scrunches his eyebrows. I have been much more open and talkative to them about what I was thinking and feeling, so I know this confuses him. The problem is, for me with this damn memory hanging over my head, it gets hard sometimes to separate out all of the feelings of then with now. I can hammer those ideas into my head, but my fucking heart has trouble. 

“Did we do something?” He seems genuinely upset that they may have.

“Not this time you haven’t.” Right then it clicks for him.

“Oh, fuck, you remember every single second don’t you? I sometimes forget about your memory, and I can’t even imagine what that must be like to have all of that information stored somewhere in your head. I’m sorry for what it’s worth. I wish to hell those memories were good ones, and I can’t ever tell you I’m sorry enough for the fact that they’re not.” 

I nodded but I was trying to hold it together, and I think he knew that, so he didn’t say anything else. He just stayed close to me, trying to offer support, I knew, but I was just trying to separate things out in my head. 

When we get to the market I make sure I am surrounded by children. That is completely and totally different than anything before. What we are working on is totally different, so those things help. We are stocking stuff for 2 huge coolers for snacks and drinks. Then we are going to another store across the street so we can procure a huge amount of camping gear, so if we decide to camp out and get a break from the buses we can do that, and I can promise we are going to have to do that.

We’re not sure how much or who might be following or looking for us. So, we are trying to keep the credit card use to a minimum, plus, with this many kids, if someone saw us, like at a hotel, we would be memorable. So, we have talked about doing some camping out while traveling around. That is something that is different, so I’m all for that personally. 

The kids seem to have a more split opinion on whether that is good or not. So, we let them pick out their own sleeping bags, and flashlights. We let them help pick out tents and all kinds of shit, and then we load up the cargo holds under the bus, and talk about where we are going. 

“I think we should head to Greece, as we’ve never been there before.” I hear Drago say as he looks at me. I see David looking between us as well.

“That would be fine with me, and there are supposed to be beautiful ocean views from there. So, that would be cool.” Eventually, that’s what’s decided, and we head away from the familiar to me, and the memories that have been haunting me for days. 

The further away we get, the more relaxed I feel. With that Brand relaxes, and then the rest of the kids relax more. Eventually, David comes and sits by me again. He just looks at me for a few moments. I know what he’s doing. He’s allowing me to decide whether to talk to him or not. 

“Back when I was pregnant with the girls, Drago decided we needed a family vacation before we became parents. So, we went all over Europe, because once I mentioned to Natalia that I had a dream of traveling all over Europe. That wasn’t really the dream, and there was all sorts of shit tangled up in that. During that trip was the one and only time back then I had decided to give us a real try, and I had really thrown myself into being their mate. Then when we came back suddenly, that was when all of the other dragon families came to the castle, and then I learned about the agreement, and it all crashed and burned, and I felt like a fool. So, there were a lot of tangled up memories in all of that area. So, with me not forgetting anything, sometimes those details hop up and say hello, kicking my ass in the process. So, that was the whole deal. Now, we are heading somewhere I have never been and have no memories associated with.” 

He didn’t really say anything, he just nodded, then he reached out and grabbed my hand squeezing, and we stayed like that for a while, just my dad, giving me a little nudge to let me know he was there.