Natalie fell into the main hall of the crystal palace, Edward clutched tightly to her. Neo Queen Serenity was sitting there and was quite surprised when she appeared, covered in blood and holding a young man.
“Please Neo Queen Serenity, you have to help him, please, please I beg you,” she pleaded, the skin around her eyes so red and puffy from crying, her eyes dry and blood shot now, no more tears left within them. “You’re the only one…”
The other scouts came running in hearing Natalie’s panicked voice.
“Natalie!” Jupiter yelled as she was the first to get there. “What happened?”
“There will be time for that later,” Serenity said as she motioned for the court guards to come get him. They quickly did as the Queen had bid though Natalie didn’t let go of him easily. “Please, Natalie, if I’m going to help him…”
Natalie was in shock right now. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Once they had taken him from her she just collapsed completely to the floor. Her body was entirely exhausted. Jupiter went over to her and picked her up. “I’ll take care of her.”
“Thank you Jupiter,” said the Queen as she went with guard and Edward.
A few hours later, after Jupiter had managed to get Natalie cleaned up and had convinced her to rest at least a little; she brought Natalie down to the palace’s equivalent of a hospital. When she came into the room, Edward was laying on a table encased in crystal. Natalie ran over and put her hands against it. “I’m so sorry Ed, I never…”
Serenity went over and put her hand on her shoulder. “He’s still alive Natalie, barely, but he is. The crystal will heal his wounds but…”
Natalie turned to look at her. “But?”
Serenity sighed. “He’s unconscious, in a coma. As I said, the crystal will heal his wounds but it will be up to him if he wakes up.”
“He’ll wake up, I know he will,” she said softly.
“What happened? I thought I told you to never take anyone from their world. You’re lucky he even survived the trip.”
“I didn’t have a choice. It was either take the chance or let him just die. I couldn’t let him die; it’s my fault he’s like this. He was trying to protect me but he shouldn’t have. I’m the one that pushed Sebastian’s buttons; it should have been me…”
Natalie started to cry again. She rested her head against the crystal, her tears running off of her cheeks and down the smooth surface. She could see his face; it looked like he was somewhere she couldn’t reach, somewhere far away. Her heart broke even more.
Serenity understood this feeling completely. This had happened to Endymion long ago when she’d just learned who he really was and who she really was. “You love this young man don’t you?”
Natalie didn’t look at Serenity. “Yes, but I wasn’t going to take him with me when I left his world but just as I was leaving he jumped into the portal with me, he wouldn’t let me leave without him.” She completely broke down again, falling to her knees beside the table, her face buried in her hands. Jupiter got down next to her and hugged her. “If we hadn’t stayed in that other world, if I had made him go home, if I hadn’t toyed with Sebastian because I wasn’t in the mood for him to tell me what to do…”
“Come on Natalie, you can’t beat yourself up about what should have been or what could have been or whose fault it is. All you can do now is hold strong and be here when he wakes up OK?”
Natalie nodded allowing Jupiter to help her back to her feet. He would wake up, she knew he would. She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he didn’t. “How long before the wounds heal?” she asked. She knew that didn’t mean he’d be all better by then but she wanted some idea.
Serenity thought about it for a moment. “I should be only a day or two. They are not large wounds but they were near fatal.”
Natalie nodded. “OK, then I’m going to stay here until then. I want to be here when he wakes up. Will the crystal go away once the wounds heal or when he wakes up?”
“It will go away once his body is healed but if he wakes up before then he’ll still have to stay there until he’s better.”
“But Natalie…”
“No Jupiter, if he’s in pain then I don’t have the right to be comfortable either. I’m staying right here,” she said, putting her hand against the crystal as if she were placing her hand on his cheek. “Besides, after all we’ve already risked for each other, I’m not going to abandon him now.”
Natalie was true to her words and stayed by his side. The entire first day she sat there talking to him, telling him whatever he mind could think of. She apologized hundreds of times. Finally after the first day she had to give into the exhaustion and fell asleep with her head propped against the crystal.
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