Treasure Of Dragons, Royal Dragons Book 1 Chapter 91

Ria

I watched my daughter in my lap as she gently squeezed my hand in response to Brand, and his Dartanian. I felt a tear escape and ran down my face, knowing she was hearing us, and she could know she was safe here at home with us. 

We just sit peacefully and listen to the other kids out here running around and playing. Listening to their laughter has always been therapeutic for me. Eventually, we take her in, Brand is big enough now, that he can carry her with no problems. He takes her in and lays her on the sofa in the family room. 

I get Nicholas to help me take care of any physical needs she might have, and he seems hopeful when he tells me she’s a bit more responsive about actually helping us do this than before. So, that’s another good sign. I tell him about her squeezing Brand’s hand just a bit, and I see his eyes get watery. 

We make sure to include her as much as we can in just everyday life here, like what she had always been used to. I don’t like that at night she goes back to be with her mates, and I have a feeling that might actually be counterproductive, especially being near a bed and them. We eventually come to the conclusion, that she should stay in her old bedroom alone for right now. They do spend time with her and us in the garden, and just throughout the day off and on.

I know that my mates are working with the Diamani’s to keep their things running smoothly though they are here with us. Nicholas has to fly back home for a couple of meetings, then he returns a couple of days later.

I am seeing more and more responses from her, as little by little she seems to become more and more aware. Then finally one day, about 3 weeks after she came, we were sitting in the garden, as we have been basically every day, with her lying with her head in my lap. Suddenly her eyes blink, she looks up at me and croakally whispers, “Mom?”

I let the tears fall down my cheeks, “Yes, baby, I’m here. You’re here at home with us. The Diamani’s brought you to us, and they are working with us to help. I have you right now, your family is around you right now. You just concentrate on that.” 

She blinked, still seeming confused, then she closed her eyes, and she fell asleep. I let the tears fall as I watched her face as she slept. When Drago came out he looked alarmed when he saw my tears running to us.

He got close and I told him, “It’s fine. She woke up today. She talked, Drago. She fell asleep right after I told her she was here at home with us, and she was safe. I did mention the Diamani’s had brought her. I didn’t say anything else though.”

He went to his knees and ran his hands through her hair, he had a couple of his own tears that 

streaked down his cheeks. So, maybe there was hope for him and the other guys, that they didn’t have their heads still buried so far up their own asses. Perhaps we could make some good come out of all this shit after all. 

After he gets home, the second she hears Brand’s voice, she opens her eyes, “Brand? Am I really home? Is this a dream? Was it all a nightmare?”

He lies on the blanket facing her, and holds her hands, “You are really at home, this isn’t a dream, it’s real. No, it wasn’t all just a nightmare, although I am sure it felt like a nightmare. You went with the Diamani’s and evidently, things went very badly. You needed to protect yourself, and so you went away somewhere safe inside your head. Mom made them bring you home to us, so we could help. They are here, watching over you, but I don’t know how any of that will pan out. You are still their mate, but they wanted you to get better, so they brought you home to us. We will worry about everything else later. Just know we are here with you.” 

I watched joy, horror, fear, uncertainty, and confusion cross her face in waves, back and forth from one emotion to the other. I just watched as Brand talked to her, and I combed my fingers through her hair. She looked up at me and I just smiled at her.

“We will figure things out hon. I am here, you are here, Brand is here, let’s just concentrate on that for right now. Know that you are safe, right here, right now, you are safe. Don’t worry about anything else.” She blinked and nodded, still very confused, then she just watched Brand and then slept again. 

That night Brand and I got her to eat with us, just the three of us sitting at the family table on the sun porch. I thought all of the normal boisterousness of the kids would still be a bit much right this second. We would move in that direction. 

“Why do I feel so weak, Mama?” She looked at me as I helped her to eat.

“Think of it as if you have had a very long illness. You weren’t moving your muscles around on your own, so now, they are sluggish. You just have to work to get your strength back. It will take a bit of time, but don’t push yourself. Like we keep saying, just take it one step or one day at a time.” she nodded after that. 

I saw Nicholas watching from a distance to the side. He had tears flowing down his face at the fact that she was awake, talking, and trying to feed herself again. I nodded to him, he nodded back, and then left, to make sure she didn’t see him yet. They had been around in the garden, I had thought maybe she had seen them once or twice, but they all kept their distance, just watching over her and us. So, I was encouraged by their level of commitment, to not only bring her, and let us deal with this, but to watch over her, without demanding that she acknowledge them in any way, or push the whole she’s our mate thing. 

Now, we were playing the game of wait and see.