Chapter Twenty-eight: Nighttime pain

I woke up to pain and a strange heaviness that seemed to hold me down. It was hard lifting my head so I let it lean against the fluffy pillow as my room slowly came into view.

In the dim light, I could see the two flowers in my hands and started to remember the pain of removing just one before I quickly pushed away the memory.

"Ha..."

I pause at the sound and look over to see Papa sleeping with a frown, his arms crossed as he sits in a chair. I scootch up, wanting to see his face a little more.

Papa is handsome; even to me. I have heard maids talking about what a 'catch' he is and how they will be so sad once he gets married. His hair seemed to glow in the shadows and gave him an unreal feeling.

I kept staring at him until I realized that he was staring back at me.

"How are you feeling?"  Papa stretches a little before leaning over to brush my hair away from my face.

"Fin-" I started to say but paused as I saw the look on his face. "It hurts a little and I feel heavy."

"That is to be expected." He says as a shadow across his features for a moment. "I'll have Dr. Strom come and-"

"No, You don't have to wake him."

I glance over to see the moon high in the sky through the window.

"It doesn't bother me much." I half-lied since the pain dulled a little. "I know everyone is tired."

I met his eyes and gave him a smile that only deepened his frown.

"Soraya..."

"Please Papa?"

Papa goes silent before sighing. "Alright, but you must get some more sleep."

"Okay." He helps me to lay back down and carefully tucks the blanket around me.

"um..." I started to say but stopped as Papa settled back into the chair.

"Yes, Soraya?"

"Are... Is that comfortable?"

"A bit."

His gaze searches my face for a moment.

"You need to rest too, Papa." I finally say after our stare down.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" I protested a little too quickly, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "I-I..."

I wasn't sure what I was trying to say.

Papa chuckled a little and waved his hand; the chair below him changed to become a long lounge chair with pillows and a blanket.

"Is that better?"

"Yes." I smiled as he lay down.

"Close your eyes, daughter." His order was soft as he leaned against his hand with a smile that lit up his face. "I'll be right here."

I couldn't help but stare.

"What?"

"I like your smile, Papa." I giggled a little.

"Should I smile more?"

"I'd like that."

"If it's my daughter's request- then I will happily comply." Papa reaches over to pat me on the head. "Now sleep."

I obediently closed my eyes but sleep stayed out of reach.

A few minutes passed as I tried my hardest to dream but nothing I did seemed to help.

"Are you having trouble sleeping, Soraya?" Papa asks, noticing that I still haven't fallen asleep yet.

"A little Papa."

"Hm... Would a lullaby help?"

"You can sing Papa?"

"Just a little."  He sits up and clears his throat before humming a little then he starts to sing.

His voice was deep and soothing as I listened to him and felt my body relax. Though the song itself seemed to be simple and only a few verses; it was strangely soothing as the melody lulled me to sleep.

~~~~

"Hmm." Sunlight warms my face as the smell of breakfast draws me away from the world of dreams.

"Good morning Dear!" Mimi's face appeared once I opened my eyes, tiredness still evident on her face. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, Mimi. Thank you." I felt better having something in my stomach. I glance over to see the lounge chair empty.

"His Majesty had to attend a meeting." She reassures me as Magic picks up the tray from my lap then she pauses for a moment. "He will come back as soon as possible."

"Okay."

"May I come in?" Dr. Strom's voice comes from the other side of the door.

"Of course." I greet him as Mimi puts a shawl over my shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Strom asks as he takes my temperature. "I was informed that you had some discomfort and pain last night."

"Yes." I wince a bit when he presses down on my arm, feeling my muscles all sore. "I'm feeling better now."

"That's good." Dr. Strom did a half smile that surprised me a little since I've never seen his face be so expressive in the 3 years since I've been here. "Once His Majesty arrives; we will discuss removing the last two flowers."

"You want to remove them already?" Papa magically appears, still holding onto a pen. " We just removed one yesterday."

"I understand your concern Your Majesty- but it is better to remove them as fast as possible since a longer exposure to the pollen can be extremely dangerous to the princess."

Dr. Strom fixes his monocle.

"We should finish this while she is still feeling well."

They have a stare-down as Mimi gives me a sad smile.

"What do you want to do Soraya?" Papa turns to me after sighing. "We will do whatever you wish."

I looked at the concerned faces around me and then at the last two flowers in my hands.

"I..." I start to answer as the door opens once more with Aidan and Nadia entering.

"Hello, Princess!"

"Hi!"

"You have some color back in your face." Nadia's smile wasn't able to cover up the fact that her face was pale. "How are you feeling?"

A memory flashes in my head, showing them crouching on the ground the day before as well as the pain I felt. Since we now have the bond- I knew that the pain was significantly lower than what I would have felt without it and shared between the beastkin twins.

"I think I should be asking you that question."  Was my answer as Aidan patted me on the head. "Have you even slept?"

"Sleep is for the weak Princess." Aidan winks. "So of course I did."

"Pfft!" I couldn't help but smile at his silliness.

"Forgive him, Princess." Naida sent a glare in his direction as Aidan quickly retreated. "He insisted on staying in bed until the last minute; which is why he is so untidy."

"It's alright."

They fall silent as everyone stares at me, waiting for my answer.

"Can... we remove both flowers?" I finally ask.

"You want to remove both?" Dr. Strom's voice showed how shocked he was.

Papa wasn't much better. "Soraya! It's too dangerous!"

"Dr. Strom said that it would be too dangerous for me to keep the flowers near me and I've already been exposed for 7 months."

Papa opened his mouth and closed it multiple times but he couldn't say a word because he knew I was right.

"That is true Princess." Dr. Strom sighs. "But this could be more dangerous if we are not careful."

"Don't worry about us, Princess." Naida and Aidan nod. "We'll support you. You won't be dealing with this by yourself."

"Are you that this is what you want?" Papa's hands caressed my face while his was full of concern.

"Yes. I'm sure."

"When is the best time to do this?" Papa directs his question to Dr. Strom.

He looks at me; seeming to see through me as he did, his eyes shining.

"Now would be best." Dr. Strom finally says, the strange light disappearing. "Princess?"

"I'm ready."

"All right." Dr. Strom held his hands over mine, wrapping his slightly shaking fingers over mine. "Take a deep breath and let go."

Nadia and Aidan smiled while Mimi held her hands together. Papa was half up out of the chair with a muscle twitching in the corner of his jaw, his hands on my shoulder; a reassuring warmth.

"One... Two.. Three!"

I released the flowers as Dr. Strom plucked them from my grasp and quickly retreated with them.

For a few seconds, nothing happens. Surprised I look to Papa and start to say something when I feel something in my throat.

*cough!*

I stared in shock at the dark blood on my hands as intense pain suddenly appeared. I try to curl up while struggling to breathe but Papa and Dr. Strom hold me down, their words turning into background noise.

I couldn't understand what was happening.

Papa's face started to swim as uncontrollable tears formed in my eyes.

"!!!" He says, purple magic surrounding him. "Br!!!"

I try to focus on him, feeling him squeeze my hand.

"Breathe!!" Papa looked like he was shouting but his words were so quiet. "Breathe Soraya!!"

'I'm trying!' I wanted to answer, but more blood came out every time I opened my mouth.

"Breathe for me!"

'Is Papa crying?'  I wasn't sure at first since his tears were not clear like mine but gold; shining liquid gold flowed down his face. 'Oh Papa!'

I started to cry more at the realization that Papa was crying for me; the first person who ever had.

"We need to keep her awake!" Dr. Strom started pushing on my stomach, causing me to puke more blood. "She needs to get all of this out of her system!"

"You can do it."

"We're here Princess!"

"Stay with us."

I focused on everyone's encouraging words as the pain grew.

"It's going to be okay." Papa's voice was firm though his hand was trembling in mine. "You will make it through this."

It felt like the pain would never stop but it began to ease itself slowly over time and it got easier to breathe.

"The princess is through the worst of it." I finally hear Dr. Strom say. "She can rest now."

I felt him slide off the bed and the murmur of words as he spoke to Nadia and Aidan but Papa continued to hold my hand.

"Are you tired?" He asks once our eyes meet. I could barely nod my head but it was easy for him to understand. "Go ahead. Let yourself sleep. I won't be going anywhere."

Papa was the last person I saw before I let myself fall into the clutches of sleep.

Hello! How is everyone doing? I made this chapter nice and long for all of you so I hope you enjoyed it!

I meant to post this a little earlier but I didn't like the original ending I had, so I rewrote it to be much longer than I originally intended. 😅

Thanks for Reading and Love all of you!!!🥰😘