Once again, I'd like to start by thanking EVERYONE who reviewed. I'm really pleased with your comments, you're all so kind!

I want also to apologize, because this chapter is shorter than the others -well, it does not mean it is not full of events, oh no!-, but I'll explain why in the next chapter. For now, I wish you a good reading!

Chapter 11

Veronica was the liar. It was the only possibility left.

"W-who..."

Flora lifted her head up again to look at him. His eyes had darkened –maybe because he had lowered his head- but what surprised her most was the fact he was biting his lower lips in an embarrassed way.

"W-what?"

"W-Who is she?"

"Prince Helia?!" One of the guards exclaimed after he took a glance at the young man leaning on a tree, his glance turning into a shocked stare. Helia looked at him, but did not understand what was going on as he and other guards knelt in front of him, while their comrades took care of tying Veronica and her henchmen up with Felicia's and Layla's help –but still lowered their heads in respect-.

"Welcome back, prince Helia!"

"It's good to see you again, sire!"

"W-Who?" Helia asked as he looked at Flora with wide eyes; which squeezed the fairy's heart painfully. He was asking her through a shocked and desperate look; she couldn't help replying. "Your s-soldiers Helia. You are their Prince."

The three guards who had knelt stood up quickly to help Felicia, Layla and the others tying up Veronica with the new invention, anti-magic ropes, while the Witch and the two others tried for the first time to fight back. They really did not have thought they could lose… Flora thought as she took a very short glance at them before turning back to Helia. He had one hand in front of his eyes, trying to avoid the sight of Veronica glaring at him. Flora wanted to slap her for that, for hurting Helia more than he was already hurt, but the nature fairy was well aware that Helia needed her more at this moment. His eyes widened noticeably and Flora could not hide her shock in front of such a situation.

"P-Prince? I-It was true?"

Flora could not say anything; she just weakly nodded with her head. She feared that he would break and start crying; and the result was way worse than she could have imagined: this only resulted on upsetting Helia even more. He did not know what to think… What was true? What was false? Was all he was told lies?

Helia fell onto his knees and grabbed his face between his hands, as Flora tried to catch him by his shoulders, but he was too heavy and failed; falling onto her knees next to him. "I-all-They… They all seem familiar but… I can't! I can't remember them! W-Who are they?!" Flora did not know what to do at first; but he made her feel so sorry that she had no other choices: she wrapped her arms lightly around his shoulders, and he -involontarily?- let his face fall under her neck; he needed to be comforted and not by words this time; Flora was so familiar and he felt so good with her: he needed her warmth. Flora blushed lightly –she had forgotten this feeling of having him so close to her for so long- and hesitantly placed one of her gloved hand behind his head. She was unsure on what to do… "D-did she only told me lies? W-What's the truth?!"

"Helia…"

"I-I… There's nothing! I can't remember!"

"Helia, please-"

"I-I even believed t-them… W-and-they kept lying to me! Or did t-they?"

Flora kept rubbing his head tenderly with her hand; his state saddened her. He looked so desperate, so upset, and so sad, that the pieces of her already broken heart shattered again.

"I-I… I can't-"

"Shhh… C-Calm down honey…"

Helia finally breathed deeply and tried to follow her advices, to take in this sweet nickname she gave him, but it only ended in him breathing her scent. She smelled like roses, but more like a flowerbed, a garden of roses only in her scent; he felt transported. And this also felt familiar… He knew he already had smelt this scent. And this time again… his answer was holding him in her arms.

Flora…

The brunette was holding him with such tenderness, such gentleness that he couldn't push her away. He felt so comfortable in her arms. He lifted his look up and caught the fairy's gaze. She had such beautiful eyes… they were like a pair of emeralds sparkling, but they were wasted by her tears. She seemed to feel so sad, so destroyed… and no matter what, he started to feel guilty. His mind told him it was not his fault, but his heart told him to feel guilty… because she apparently was crying because of him.

Veronica had told him she did not care about him. And there she was, crying rivers, holding him and caressing his head with her tender hand, comforting him. This devastated him even more; he made this beautiful fairy cry, because of Veronica; because of what this Witch had told him. What she had told him were all lies. Flora did care about him.

With Veronica and the others, he had to keep reminding himself they were his friends to trust them. Here, in the arms of such a sensitive and nice woman, he had no reason to do the same. He trusted her. He did not even know why, but he trusted her.

"H-Help me…"

"W-what?"

"Help me remember, please…" Helia begged in a whisper, staring at the beautiful brunette who was holding his shoulders tightly. Tears were still cascading out of her so beautiful emerald eyes; and his sentence seemed to have shocked her more than anything.

She did not reply. Instead, she brought her face closer towards his. His mind did not tell him what to do… that was why, for the first time; he did not decide to follow his mind: he decided to follow his heart.

And his heart told him to trust her.

Her lips collided with his, so tenderly yet so passionately, and Helia couldn't refrain. He returned the kiss. This feeling was so familiar; this tenderness, this passion… this love. Helia felt it. He felt loved.

Flora loved him.

And Helia loved her.

That was all he needed.

I remember.

He remembered.

He remembered Flora. He remembered how much he loved her. He remembered how much he had loved her since their teenage years. He remembered how much he wanted a life with her, no matter if they should live in royalty or not. He remembered how she had accepted to be his Queen so they could share a whole future together.

He remembered the sadness and despair in her eyes when… When he sacrificed himself when Veronica was about to kill her.

As they pulled back, Helia kept staring at her. "Flora…"

The fairy seemed shocked. "Y-yeah?"

"Love." A smile slowly began to appear on the young man's face, and it was enough to fill the silence between them –despite the noise caused by the army behind them- that Flora thought had lasted for too long. Despite the fact that she had seen Helia smile (for the first time since what she thought was… forever?), something gave her could not believe what he had heard… "Love" This was the nickname he used to give her when they talked, and she felt so much shivers each time, and this time was not an exception. That was the reason why at this moment, more than shivers, she felt hope.

He brushed away one of the strands that had fallen on her face with the tip of his fingers and whispered in her ear: "I believe you."

Flora gasped and felt like she did not hear properly what Helia had just said to her. She couldn't have heard right. "W-What?"

"Flora." Helia said as he grabbed her shoulders too. "I remember."

Flora's eyes widened. "F-for real?"

"Yeah. I remember everything. I remember you Flora." He smiled at her. "I love you."

Then, a heavy silence fell between the two –despite the noises behind them of Veronica pushing the guards away-. Helia was smiling brightly at her while brushing her hair and her tears away from her so beautiful face, while she could not make a single move nor produce a single sound.

"More than everything." Helia added.

"W-W-"

"I will never be mad at you Flora. This was none of your fault." Just like before, he had read her thoughts and knew exactly what she was thinking.

"She never prevented me from remembering you, love." Helia whispered. "I dreamt of you, but she tried to keep me away from you. But I remember everything. I love you, Flora." He said as he grabbed her right hand and rubbed her middle finger with his thumb. "I want to live with you, love. My future princess." He approached his mouth to his ear once again. Flora felt his hot breathe running over her skin as he spoke. "My future Queen."

And what followed was silence. For seconds, which turned to minutes, Flora thought she was daydreaming, that Veronica had casted a spell on her and that she had collapsed; that the Witch had not been arrested and she was still on her bed imagining how Helia would react if he saw her; how he would admit he hated her.

But this was not the case. Helia was there; holding her in his arms, staring at her with so much love like he used to do, giving her his warmth the way he used to do when they shared romantic hugs in the past. She could not believe it.

Helia was back; the man she loved more than anything, the man who was everything to her, the man who she had always wanted to share a future with, was back to her. Her whish had come true.

Flora couldn't react otherwise. She jumped into his arms. She hugged him so tightly that the others thought she would never let him go, or either would choke him. But he returned her hug with the same strength; he felt so guilty, he could not believe he had done this to her. Forgetting her was the worst thing he could have ever done to her.

"I-I-I thought I'd n-n-never see you a-a-again…" Flora tried to say in between panting; she was crying so hard that it almost chocked her. She tried to make sure she was fully awake; that she finally had a chance to return to happiness; that her life had returned. "I-I can't believe you're h-here Helia… I-I m-missed you s-so much… I-I couldn't l-live without y-you Helia…"

"I'm sorry." Helia whispered in her ear while breathing the scent of her hair; honey, just like before. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" What he had done to her was the worst thing he could ever have; forgetting her, be mad at her, hating her for … for nothing, made him feel guiltier than ever. He could not believe he had done such horrible things to her…

He was never going to let her go, to let her be hurt again. Never.

But then, Flora's breathe was cut off in a gasp. Pain overwhelmed her whole body from the tip of her hair to her toes starting from the middle of her back; right between her two wings. Her sight stared to blacken…

Helia, after hearing her gasp opened his eyes again and saw that her wings had disappeared from his sight, that she had detransformed, and felt her body slowly collapsing into his arms. When he thought it was because he was holding her too tightly, he loosened his grip… then caught her falling body. Blood was spilling out of her back and falling into drops on the ground. When he looked up, he saw Veronica mouthing to him "we cannot live in the same world…" while the guards had finally managed to carry her away. When his look came down at his Flora again, he noticed the knife stuck on her back, in between her wings; the weak spot of all fairies.

"N-No…"

"H-Helia…" Flora managed to whisper; but she was already falling into unconsciousness.

"D-Don't…. don't leave me love…" Helia replied. No. It couldn't happen. It was not possible.

Why was fate so terrible?!

There were only two things she remembered from this moment. The sound of her friends' voices calling her name while running towards them, and his face covered with worry.

"FLORA!"


"Oh god…" Layla muttered when she took a look at her friend's body lying on the hospital bed. Her tan skin was paler than the snow, her hand joined to a machine with threads, and her face was covered with an oxygen mask.

Helia was sitting on a chair next to her bed, staring at her; his face was full of worry and guilt. Felicia and Colin -who had waken up after hearing his friends' screams and had rushed towards his sister to help- were on the other side of the room, and their faces were covered with this same emotion.

He could not believe it. He had not kept his promise. He had sworn that nothing would ever hurt her again, and there she was: fighting between life and death, while all her friends were staring down at her, knowing they could do... nothing except watch her and hope she would get better. Was it possible to feel more useless than at this moment? Than at this moment when he was watching the love of his life, his everything, the reason why he had finally came back, and the one who saved him from... from these bastards being in such a state?

Why was Flora so unlucky in life? Why did not destiny stop taking it out on her? Why couldn't he protect her the way she deserved to be protected?

Wake up love... Please...


It was very hard writing this chapter... I'm sorry everyone! Yes, I know they got reunited and get parted again but it is something necessary for their futures. The two or three next chapter will focus on FxH's relationship, from how they met to the fateful battle against the Black Rose Group.

Kisses everyone! And thank you again for your reviews!