Chapter 10

It was late in the night four weeks after Serenity sacrificed herself for her daughter. Her whole family was either out on the balcony or in her room. Chris had fallen asleep in his chair with his head on the bed. Serenity finally stirred. All she felt was pain in whole body. Her eyes fluttered and opened. She blinked a few times and tried to get her bearings. She could see the moonlight on the ceiling of the room. She turned her head to find Chris sleeping near her. She smiled and gently ran her fingers through his hair. She winced when smiling made her face throb with pain. Chris stirred and sat up. When he saw Serenity awake at last, he looked like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.

"Thank goodness you're okay," he said, tearing up. He hugged her and she hugged him back best she could.

"I'm so sorry Chris," she wheezed, her beautiful voice was broken and hoarse. "I didn't know what else to do."

"Don't worry about it," Chris said. "You're okay and that's all I care about." He sat back in his chair.

"Is Edelweiss okay?" Serenity asked.

"Yes she's safe," Chris said. Serenity sighed with relief.

"How long was I out?" she asked weakly.

"About a month," Chris said. "You got beat pretty bad. Tenor took care of those monsters." Suddenly Serenity started coughing. Chris poured water into a goblet and helped her drink it, she didn't feel strong enough to hold the goblet by herself. She drained the whole goblet then Chris put it down.

"Are you in pain anywhere?" he asked.

"Everywhere," Serenity said, her voice a bit smoother. It hurt her to even blink. Some of the bruises had gone away but she had been hit so many times that the bruises were stacked on top of each other.

"You'll be okay now though?" Chris asked. Serenity nodded, wincing. Chris held her hand in both of his. He said a quick, silent, prayer of thanks do Draco.

"I'm so glad to have you back," he said. "I thought for sure I was going to loose you." Serenity gently pulled her hand out of his and put it on his face.

"I'm here Chris," she said gently. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere without you, I promise." Chris put his hand on top of hers, holding it to his face. He leaned in and kissed her. She didn't care that it irritated her throbbing face, she wanted him to kiss her no matter how much it hurt.

"When did you get so brave?" Chris asked, after a while. Serenity smiled.

"I don't know," she said. "It just happened."

"You're not going to have anymore nightmares, I'm sure of that," Chris said.

"I'll still have them but they won't scare me," Serenity said. She kissed him again. Then he sat back in his chair again and she laid against her pillows. She saw all the dragons spread out on the floor. She smiled, touched.

"You've all exhausted yourselves," she said.

"We all missed you," Chris said.

"You should go back to sleep," Serenity said. "You look pretty tired."

"I'm okay," Chris lied. Serenity put her hand on his face again.

"Chris, I'm right here," she whispered. "I'll still be here in the morning." He sighed and held her hand to his face.

"Alright," he said.

"Besides, I'm probably going to go back to sleep myself," Serenity said. When she saw the worried look on Chris's face she smiled. "I'll wake up in the morning, I give you my word."

"Very well," Chris said. He kicked off his boots and got into bed beside her. Serenity scooted close to him and fell asleep again. Chris soon followed suit.

True to her word, Serenity woke up the next day. The dragons were up by then and Chris was back in his chair. When they saw her eyes open they all beamed.

"Good morning my dear," Aurora said. "How are you feeling?"

"My face hurts," Serenity croaked. It did hurt, stung really.

"I'm not surprised," Re said. "You got beat really bad."

"Where's my bag? I might have something," Serenity said. Tenor went outside and came back in with the medical bag. He handed it to Serenity and she put it on the bed next to her. She opened it and pulled out a vile of painkiller pills. She took two out. Chris gave her more water in the goblet. She popped the pills into her mouth and washed them down her throat with the water. She put the vile away and closed the bag.

"You should eat something, get your strength back," Aurora suggested.

"Okay," Serenity said. Aurora left the room. Serenity sat up slowly and leaned against her pillows.

"It's good to have you back," Tenor said, nudging her hand. She stroked his snout. "I'm really sorry I didn't stop it."

"It's okay Tenor," Serenity said. "Edelweiss would have been killed if you did anything. I know it was hard." She hugged his head. "I still love you."

"I've never seen you do anything like that before," Tenor said.

"Well, this time was different," Serenity said. "It hurt a lot but it was worth it."

"What I want to know is why?" Re said. "Why would you almost get yourself killed?"

"Pain goes away," Serenity said. "One way or another. Love last forever. I love Edelweiss and would take all the abuse in the world so she can live a full life devoid of it." No one could argue with that.

"When you've eaten something we should get you on your feet," Re said. "The sooner you're back in the saddle, the sooner we can go home."

"Ah, home," Serenity said dreamily. "Everyone's favorite place."

After Serenity ate the chicken sandwich Aurora made her, she felt restored enough to try to stand up. She didn't know if her legs could support her weight. Re told her that her legs were beaten up bad but not broken. She took a deep breath and pulled the blanket off her. She slowly sung her legs onto the floor. Her family was close by, ready to catch her if she fell. With her feet flat on the floor Serenity took another deep breath. Her legs and feet were just as bruised and cut up as her face. She hoisted herself onto her feet. It was like standing up for the first time in her life. She wobbled dangerously. She took one step, then another. It was more of limp as her legs hurt so bad. She took a few more steps and all seemed to be going well. Then, suddenly the room spun before her eyes and before she knew it she hit the ground before anyone could catch her. When she landed on the ground a tsunami of pain shot through her whole body. She couldn't move, she could only cry out in pain. Chris knelt beside her.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"It hurts so bad," Serenity whimpered. "I can't move." Chris rolled her onto her back and helped her sit up.

"Do you want to try again?" Chris asked. Serenity focused on her breathing for a few seconds.

"One more time," she said. "To that chair." She pointed to the chair Chris had sat in while Serenity was still unconscious.

"Will you help me?" she asked.

"Sure," said Chris. He helped Serenity get back up on her feet. The way that she was breathing told them all she was in excruciating pain. Re and Aurora put pillows on the chair so she would be more comfortable. With Chris's help Serenity walked to the chair and sat down.

"That's better," she said. Chris handed her more water and she drank it. Chris got another chair from outside and set it next to hers. At that moment Edelweiss came running in from playing with the dragonets. She ran to her parents.

"Hi Mommy," she said. Serenity ran her fingers through Edelweiss's hair, and smiled at her.

"How are you today my flower?" Serenity asked softly.

"Good," Edelweiss said shyly.

"Where are your friends?" Serenity asked, forgetting her pain for the moment.

"Outside," Edelweiss said. She reached her arms up wanting a hug. Serenity picked her up and hugged her.

"You're getting heavy," she said.

"Is that bad?" Edelweiss asked.

"No," Serenity said. "It means you're growing up."

"Oh," Edelweiss said. She grabbed hold of the dragon scale locket around Serenity's neck.

"She'll be learning to ride next year," Chris said.

"Yup," said Serenity. She reached behind her neck and unclasped the locket. She put it around Edelweiss's neck and secured it.

"Thank you," Edelweiss said.

"Take good care of it," Serenity said. "It's very special."

"Yes Mommy," Edelweiss said.

"Good girl," Serenity praised fondly. She gave Edelweiss a quick kiss on the cheek and set her down. The child ran back outside to play with her friends.