It started with her hand slowly clenching, then her chest rising from a deep breath, and finally her eyes opened.
After the Millennium Puzzle vanished, they didn't have to wait long to see if Magnus's hard work paid off. Her wolves were the first to notice a change in her, their tails wagging at the almost unnoticeable change in the Imperial Princess. Lorgar had still been holding her hand when he felt her squeeze his. Once her eyes opened, Horus immediately stepped out to call for the Apothecary.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, sis," Mortarion said as their father nearly crushed her in a massive hug.
Alesia struggled to pat his back, and when she tried to speak she croaked and coughed violently from the horribly dry state of her throat.
"Easy there, little sister," Magnus stepped into view, his appearance haggard yet he was smiling in relief to see her awake. "You've been in a coma for close to a month."
"You had us all worried, Sleeping Beauty," Mortarion gestured to Lorgar, his voice warbling. "Especially the cry baby here."
"Pot calling the kettle black much, Morty?" Horus teased him as he stepped back in following the Apothecary.
"Alright! All of you out!" the most cantankerous sounding man that fit the bill of an experienced doctor said and began shooing out the Primarchs, not at all phased by their protests nor by the fact the wolves refused to budge until Lorgar managed to call them out of the room. Once her brothers were out of the room, the Apothecary quickly got to examining her and gave her the most awful concoction to sooth her throat. "Everything looks good. You will need to go through some physical therapy to regain your strength, but you'll be running circles around the Palace in no time. I'll have your chefs prepare your new diet until you can handle normal foods again."
With that, the Apothecary left and Magnus immediately returned.
"Mortarion had to return to his Legion, and the other two are keeping an eye on your furry companions," he scarlet brother explained. "Anyway, how are you feeling, sis?"
"Lethargic," she managed to say with some difficulty. "Everything feels…heavy."
"That's to be expected," their father spoke. "I think I can safely say for all of us: we're glad to see you awake again."
"More than glad you mean, Father. Mortarion and Lorgar were bawling their eyes out after they got kicked out, and Horus was holding back his relief."
"And you?" She asked. He sniffled and a tear rolled down his cheek.
"Glad to have my best friend back," he said and gave her a crushing hug.
Three months passed in a blink of an eye for Alesia after she woke up. So much had happened, mainly reconciling with her brothers Lorgar and Horus.
The Lunar Wolf Primarch at first gave her an awkward apology, but he stepped up to the plate in helping her through her physical therapy and let his actions back up his words. He greatly supported her and encouraged her to push her limits safely. He never compared her to his Legion, nor tried to fit her in any cookie cutter plan to get her on her feet. If anything, he was nearly overly cautious with Alesia's safety.
Lorgar ended up taking an interest in the Elysian Project and had kept it going during her absence. They had a heart-to-heart talk where they both bawled their eyes out and practically made up. He got her caught up with everything that transpired during her coma, refusing to tell her the number of lives lost during the initial disaster, and kept her from going stir crazy when she was stuck in bed during the first few days after she woke up. The Primarch of the Word Bearers gave her a full update regarding the Elysian Project, mainly covering worlds beginning to take part in the project and reports regarding the current state of already existing greenhouses.
"I have to return to my Legion soon," Horus said during dinner. He, Lorgar and Magnus shared a meal with her everyday, normally in the evening, since she was mainly stuck to a small portion of the Palace and had just gotten a clean bill of health that day. They were seated in a small dining room, lit by a small chandelier that gave off enough light to be reflected off of the golden decorations.
"Yeah, I figure Father will kick you out before long," Alesia jested with a slight smile and got her brothers to chuckle. "Seriously though, big brothers, thank you for staying for so long. I missed you two."
"Of course, Alesia," Lorgar said with a genuine smile and patted her head. "We'll keep in touch too. Maybe you can join us on Discordia on discussion night?"
"As well intentioned as that is, brother, consider the lack of filter most of our brothers display when they…debate something," Horus pointed out. "Perhaps some games instead?"
"Games are good," she agreed and Magnus nodded. "We could play Vermintide or Smash Bros."
"Maybe not Smash," Magnus chuckled. "There's Among Us or Halo."
They continued to throw around suggestions for activities to bond over well into the night until Alesia's former nanny came to usher her away to rest. For the first time in a long while, the Imperial Princess felt at peace with her siblings.
Mortarion munched on his store of colkane mushrooms as he read over reports from his Legion. He made a mental note to ask his little sister how she managed to get these monstrous fungus to grow in one of her greenhouses; he had never been able to get his favorite treats to successfully grow on his own.
The familiar chime from Discordia let him know he had a message from his siblings waiting for him. When he opened the app, he saw it was Russ trying to get ahold of him.
"Yo! What's up, flea bag?" He said once the call connected.
"Hey, stinky! Nekona says her home world managed to restore another old anime," Russ wasted no time in telling him. "Apparently this one is called Soul Eater. You up for a marathon?"
"How many episodes are there?"
"Fifty one I think."
"Alright, I'm down for that."