Eri stirred, her brows scrunching up as she came to. Her first greeting back was her head immediately pounding. It only worsened as she attempted to open her eyes, not that it mattered anyway. All she found during her attempt was a blurry ceiling.

Shutting her eyes tight, she tried to lift her hands to massage her temples. But there too, was resistance. Her entire body felt stiff, as if she had laid in this bed for ages. It took all her concentration to get her left arm to move.

And her right arm? There was something else holding onto her hand…

With her mind slowly trying to make sense of everything, she turned her head and dared to crack her eyes open. Another blurry scene, but this one had enough detail to make out that someone was slumped over her bed.

With her free hand, Eri wiped at her eyes. The scene cleared after a few attempts, yet the haze in her mind and the pounding of her head remained. It took her several seconds to register the person.

Felix…

A light snore was the only response she received.

She decided to trace her trapped arm down to her hand. There, he had it gently, but stubbornly, gripped within his. Seeing that he was not going to let her go, she returned to staring at the ceiling.

Canvas… Strange… She didn't remember the manor having canvas for a ceiling. But, then again, everything felt…strange. Nothing seemed right, like she was trapped within a dream.

She looked to her left, finding Felix's room to be smaller than she remembered. There were other beds too, that wasn't quite right. Something of a new addition, perhaps?

No… This isn't… This isn't his room. It was starting to dawn on her, but where she laid was still a mystery.

With nothing making sense, she remembered one crucial thing. The bond…

Closing her eyes, Eri sank into the haze and fog. She stepped into puddles of water, still steaming and misting, until she came to it. And, peering into the spot that connected her to her family, she felt a wave of emotions roll over her.

There was concern, fear, frustration, and more. It was all to do with her.

But, through it all, she felt something else, something radiating from everyone. She felt dedication. She felt their commitment, their love. For her.

She mentally recoiled and gasped. The intensity coming from them was overwhelming, even from Felix as he slept. What…happened?

The question rang in time with the thudding of her head.

"Eri?" A slurred voice spoke from her right.

She opened her eyes and did her best to give Felix a smile. "Fe…lix." Her own voice came out hoarse and tired.

He blinked before jumping to his feet. "Eri!"

Before she could even think to respond, he had her wrapped up in his arms. To make matters worse, Kyrith and Zira took notice.

ERI?! Kyrith yelled, taking her headache to new levels. A heartbeat later, his snout pushed through the flaps of the tent– Wait… Tent?

She wasn't given time to ponder that as Kyrith's head was suddenly next to her and Felix, knocking over several chairs.

ERI! The relief in his tone matched the volume of his voice.

P-please! Not so… Not so loud… she begged, turning her attention to the man who held her tight. Too tight, in fact. She was struggling to breathe.

"Fe…lix. C-can't breathe…"

Instantly, she felt relief as he slackened his embrace. "Sorry… But– God's! How are you feeling?" he asked, still refusing to let go entirely.

"Water," she whispered, barely audible.

"Oh! Right. Give me a moment." He reluctantly let her go, softly settling her down back into the bed.

Eri… Kyrith whined, seemingly needy for her attention. I was so worried about you!

Awe… Come…closer, she raised her, now freed, arm and her partner lowered his snout until they touched. She proceeded to give him scritches while he began a rumbling purr. As that happened, Felix produced a small, wooden cup of water.

"Here you go, careful to not drink too much." He hovered the cup in front of her.

"I…know," she said and opened her mouth…

A few gulps later and she was already starting to feel better. The fog was nearly gone from her mind and the torturous headache slowly receded. All the while, Kyrith's purr calmed her, and relaxed her into a soothing bliss.

Unfortunately, her arm grew tired and she had to stop her affection. Her partner let out a whimper and gently laid his snout upon her chest, pushing Felix out of the way.

There, there, she responded, patting his snout.

Felix, realizing he wasn't going to win against the dragon, made his way to the other side of her. He grabbed one of the fallen chairs in the process and sat down.

"So… How are you feeling now?" he asked, subtly trying to reach for her left hand. She noticed and instead grabbed his first.

"Better, I think." Her voice still sounded harsh, like she was on the verge of losing it. However, just having Kyrith and Felix next to her was enough to make her forget most of her problems. At least, for the moment…

And I know you are out there too, Zira, she added through their bond. Too bad there isn't enough room for two dragon heads!

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Zira gave her a mental grin. Just wait until Ashtia comes back, she's going to be pissed at Kyrith.

That caused her to blink. Ashtia– Oh, I'm in the Healer's tent!

Indeed. And Kyrith has torn several of its support posts from the ground. His body is the only thing holding it up currently.

She craned her neck and peered over to the entrance of the tent. It was as Zira said, several posts were lifted from the ground and there was even a tear in the canvas.

Uh-oh… Eri decided to look away, hoping to ignore the problem for the moment. She was enjoying her partner's company and didn't want to force him out yet. It'll be fine, we can have it repaired–

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GODS! YOU BIG IDIOT! GET OUT OF THERE!"

The shouting from outside startled them, especially Kyrith. He immediately jumped, and with that, brought the tent down upon them…

***

Eri let out a sigh as she was slowly let down into a bed. She and Felix were now back in his room after being stuck under the collapsed tent for a while. Her poor partner was still being chastised for his carelessness.

Don't worry Kyrith, I don't blame you, she whispered to him over the bond. In reality it should be her taking the blame, she should've known that would happen.

Really? I was just so glad to see you…

She smiled and shook her head. I know, and I was glad to see you as well. The sound of Felix sitting down into a chair distracted her. He was sitting next to bed, fidgeting in place.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes met hers and what she found was a longing, worried look in them. "I am," he lied, his deception evident. She didn't need to peer into his mind to know that.

"What's wrong?" she pushed, attempting to lift herself out of the bed.

"No! Don't… Please, you need to relax." Felix looked away. "It's those…feelings again. They've been building up all day but I can handle it, I just need a few moments."

She stared into his eyes and gave him a look. "Felix. You don't need to hold everything in."

For a moment, he opened his mouth as if to speak but then closed it. She decided to change the topic…for now.

"Did you sit next to me all day?" It was already late evening and she hadn't been awake for more than an hour now.

Felix suddenly went rigid, a guilty look upon his face. "N-no…"

She raised an eyebrow. His demeanor was definitely suspect. "Oh? And what did you do?"

"Well… I sent Kyrith and Zira off to practice their little performance. And–"

"I thought you didn't want them to do that today?" she interjected.

"I didn't– At least, not until I spoke with Oralyn and Aluin." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "You see, we came to the decision that we would not delay the wedding or coronation. And, with you recuperating, I decided to take your place for today's meetings. I didn't want them moping either…"

She leaned her head back into her pillow, taking all that in. "And I'm guessing you convinced them?"

He nodded. "Kyrith surprisingly agreed with me. It was Zira I had to convince."

That caused her to let out a tired chuckle. "Honestly? I'm glad. I'd hate for everything to be ruined just because I had a…incident. Tell me though, how did the meetings go?"

Once again, he tensed up. "Well…"

She listened patiently as Felix filled her in on everything. A part of her was disappointed about missing Hargoth's progress, but Felix shared his memory of it with her and the plan he and Oralyn chose for the town.

It…wasn't exactly something she would have gone for, preferring something more practical for a town's design, but Felix's vision of the future sold her. Maybe it was for the best that I couldn't go?

However, as he moved on to the meeting with the Chief's, the mood quickly changed…

"What?!" Eri shouted.

Her outburst caused Felix to once again try to calm her down. Unfortunately, there was no way she could. She was floored and for several good reasons. She knew the Chiefs were squabbling and vying for positions. That much had been obvious to her. But, what she didn't know was that Oralyn was the one truly getting things organized and moving.

She was furious. Oralyn is supposed to be my aide, not theirs! To make matters worse was their lack of decorum they showed in front of Felix. Clearly, they did not respect him in the same way they did her.

Sensing her fury, Felix swiftly continued in hopes of calming her down. "I dealt with it. Though, I did have to lie. I apologize for that."

"Lie?" She gave him a confused look.

"Yeah… I said I had your authority to make decisions, that you gave it to me in a moment of clarity. Oralyn even covered for me– But don't blame her, I put her into a tough spot."

Eri felt as if she sank deeper into the bed, her headache returning. "I'm not mad…at you. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for having to deal with that– Actually, what did you say?"

"I threatened them."

That caught her off-guard. "Come again?"

He took a deep breath, his expression serious. There was no sense of humor in his voice. "I threatened them."

She massaged her temples. "And… And how did you threaten them?"

"I gave them a warning. If they ever cause you stress, I would personally see to it that they never get a title. Period. And that's if Kyrith doesn't beat me to them first."

The thought of Kyrith and Felix teaming up to exact revenge was as humorous as it was scary. And Kyrith would definitely not let anything like that slide. "I take it they quieted down after that?"

"Hah! Let's just say their tune changed instantly. The rest of the meeting went rather well– And I almost forgot! Your dress should be ready tomorrow, but Haldria will want to do a test fit."

Eri perked up at that, her anger diminishing. The dress was something she was actually looking forward to. "Really? I can't wait to see it! Will you come?"

Felix looked taken aback.

She gave him a curious expression. "What's wrong?"

"Would that be okay? From what I remember, at least for humans, tradition is that men don't see the bride in their dress until they meet before… Before the priest." His face soured.

"That's an interesting tradition," she said, deliberately ignoring his expression. "It's different for us elves. But, then again, we really haven't talked about traditions before…"

"No, no we haven't." He smiled. "I suppose that is something we should probably figure out, you know, before the big day. I'll start, what are your traditions in regards to marriage?"

Eri peered up to the ceiling as she contemplated the question. A mischievous thought came to her, one that she hoped would inject some humor into their conversation.

"Let's see now… Usually, after the wedding, they bring a bed out and an elder must witness the consummation," she said offhandedly. "Though, we've sorta already done that. Perhaps we can have that wavered?"

Felix's jaw dropped. "W-what?!"

Despite her exhaustion, she fell into laughter. "I'm joking! I'm only joking!"

He slumped into his chair with relief. "Thank the Gods… Wait. Which part?"

Slowly calming down, she raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Which part was the joke?" he asked in a hiss, his cheeks slowly turning red.

Another wave of laughter hit her. "I guess you'll have to find out!"

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