The Dragon Bond

Chapter 27

Alan awoke next to his dragon's side. As his vision cleared, he could see that the wound on Luna's neck was bleeding again. Grunting with effort, he scooted over in the grass and pat his dragon's head soothingly. She lifted her head shakily and looked over at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," he answered, "I'm worried about you."

"We made it."  Was all she said and Alan turned his head to finally take in his surroundings. They were outside of the dragon's den, several men were running around, shouting different orders. Alan looked to his right and saw Fuego's body lying limp on the ground. 

"How long have I been unconscious?"  He asked his dragon.

Luna let her lead lower to the ground, too tired to keep it up any longer. "A few minutes, not long. They're bringing Ariana over on a stretcher right now."

Alan perked up at the mention of his love. Sure enough, he could see a couple of men wheeling a bed up the hill from the castle. He gave his dragon one last pat on the head before using all of his strength to stand up. He could wait no longer to see Ariana and he wanted to be there in case this worked. 

He knew it was foolish to get his hopes up and believe that a miracle would happen, but nonetheless he could not help himself. He simply could not imagine life without Ariana.

As the others moved Ariana closer to her dragon, Alan hobbled over to where they were. Once he reached her bedside, he leaned against the bed, putting all of his weight onto it to save his own energy. 

Alan wasn't sure what he expected to see. He thought maybe once Ariana was reunited with Fuego that their bond would magically fix everything. Maybe she would wake up immediately and all would be well.

Instead, nothing happened. The men around him looked at each other expectantly, wondering if all of this effort had been for nothing. He forced himself to take a deep breath, weeping in front of his men would only make him, the future king, look weak. 

This was easier said than done. After another minute of silence and no movement from either Fuego or Ariana, Alan was becoming a reck inside. He grabbed hold of Ariana's cold hand, hoping this would comfort him. 

"Patience, young King." He recognized Fate's voice once again. He was surprised she was still here. She typically wasn't one to stay around for long. 

He looked at her empty face, wishing he understood the meaning of her words, her visions. She had said it might work, maybe it still would. Maybe he did just need patience. After all it had only been a few minutes. 

His gaze shifted back to Ariana's face. Her skin was so pale, so delicate. With his other hand he carefully brushed a strand of hair from her face. 

Then, miraculously, Alan felt one of her finger's twitch in his hand. He gasped and his heart skipped a beat. Could it really be possible? As if in answer, Ariana's chest moved, a sign that she was breathing.

Alan could not contain his joy, he gave her hand a light squeeze and kissed her forehead, which was already warming with life. He glanced over to where Fate had been standing, but she was gone. 

For the rest of the night Alan stayed by Ariana's side. After making sure that both Luna and Fuego would be alright he then helped wheel Ariana's bed back to the castle. Once there, he carried her up to her bedroom, wanting her to wake up in a familiar place. 

When his mother entered the bedroom, he smiled over at her and the queen expressed her joy as well. When the queen asked if she could do anything, Alan requested a small favor of her. He would have done it himself, but he didn't dare leave Ariana's side for one second until she was awake. The queen smiled at his request and promised to have it done within the hour. 

When morning came, Alan opened the curtains and let the glorious sunlight stream into the room. Then he returned to Ariana's bedside and once again took hold of her hand, rejoicing in the fact that it was no longer corpse-cold, but warm.

Movement caught his eye as he noticed Ariana's eyes were fluttering in wakefulness. When she opened her eyes he watched as it took her a moment to adjust. With those beautiful green eyes she looked over at him and Alan's heart caught in his throat. The familiar sense of giddiness overwhelmed him at the sight of her. She was beautiful, as always, but today she was ravishing. 

They were content to look at each other for several more minutes, but Alan could tell Ariana had questions. She licked her lips and tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse. After a moment she managed to say, "I saw you."

He took one of her hands in both of his and leaned forward to hear her better. "Saw me where?" he asked. 

She gave a small smile. "In the room. You were...," she struggled to grasp the memory, "you were holding my hand and brushing my hair. You...you never left me."

A tear slipped down his cheek. She was describing when he had been by her side the day before, but how had she seen him? He shook the question away, realizing that life was too short to ask silly questions, questions that could never be answered. What mattered was that she was here and alive and looking up at him with those gorgeous green eyes. 

"I will never leave you," he said quietly. He kissed her forehead and she squeezed his hand. 

On impulse his other hand reached for the pocket in his shirt. He pulled out the small silver ring and held it before his love. 

"Ariana I promise I will never leave you. I love you with my entire being and when I thought you were dead, I died as well. I can't imagine life without you, I can't imagine ruling this kingdom without you." His words were making Ariana cry and he struggled not to cry as well. "Will you be mine forever, will you be my queen, will you marry me?"

She laughed with joy, nodding her head yes, unable to speak. Her laugh was the most amazing sound to Alan's ears and he wished to hear that laugh every day for the rest of his life. 

Carefully, Alan slid the ring onto Ariana's outstretched finger. Then he leaned forward and kissed her, savoring the moment and wishing it would never end. 

Then, remembering his request to his mother, he stood up. 

"Where are you going?" Ariana's voice was suddenly worried. 

"Don't worry, my love, I'm just going to the door. I have a surprise for you." He gave her hand a kiss and then rushed over to the door.

With a grand gesture, he opened the door and ushered several people inside, including his mother, Alexia and Elizabeth, and Sofia. 

The expression of pure joy on Ariana's face was priceless to Alan. He could tell she wished she had the energy to stand and embrace all the precious people in her life. But for the moment they were all content enough to stand near each other and treasure the moment while they could. 

~~~~

Shortly after King Alan's coronation, some trouble appeared with news of Jordan causing chaos throughout the kingdom. With the recovery of his love, Ariana, Alan had momentarily forgotten of Jordan's existence. When he heard news of Jordan's disturbances, he knew something had to be done. He sent his best men to find Jordan and put a stop to his madness.

However, despite weeks of searching it seemed as though Jordan had suddenly fallen of the face of the earth. After months of no word of him or his whereabouts, King Alan gave up his search altogether and soon forgot he even existed. Besides, he had other matters to worry about, like wedding plans.