Diana's return

Camron stared at the two strangers in shock as the ballroom then erupted in gasps and whispers. 'Who dares to call the King by his name? Do they not fare punishment?'.

Stares were directed at the King, waiting to hear his response but before the King could respond Arch-Duke Marcus spoke up with tears in his eyes. "D-Diana is that you?" the man asked in shock.

Whispers erupted once more, 'Diana?' 'As in the Diana who's honor this ball is being held in?' 'There's no way right?' The whispers ceased as the audience waited on the female's response.

The Arch-duke has to be dreaming, that is the only explanation. Diana is dead, he saw her body. What was going on?

"Diana, is that really you?" he asked once more, this time a bit more unconvinced and in slight anger. "Wow, I've been gone for five years and this is how you treat me when you see me again?" she asked with much sarcasm.

'It's been confirmed'

'It really is her.'

'She's a legend and a Goddess amongst men.'

Her response was all Marcus needed to hear before he ran over engulfing her in a bone crushing hug. He then sobbed into her shoulder not caring about the audience they had. By this time the king had finally broken free from his shock and ordered that everyone leave.

The guests weren't happy as they wanted to continue to admire her beauty, but they knew better than to anger their King.

"Guards escort everyone else out now!" The guards did not waste time and immediately began ushering people out of the building and to their respective carriages.

The King finally sat up from his throne and made his way over to his childhood friends with tears in his eyes. "Diana, what happened? I-I thought you were dead. We-we saw your body. It's been twenty-five years." cried Caylus as he tried wiping his tears, but they just would not stop flowing.

"It's fine." she smiled waving her hand as if a simple accident had just occurred. "If you want to know the reason I'm alive, ask Drakkon. He's the one that kept me alive and has been running Monara all these years." she explained taking the glass of wine which Drakkon had brought over.

"What? He has been running Monara? I didn't hear of this, last I heard it was still in rubles after the attack. How is that possible?" asked Caylus. "You'll have to ask Drakkon for the details, as I had only awakened a few days ago, so I'm unsure of a lot of things."

The King looked at Drakkon and knew he wouldn't be getting a response as Drakkon didn't like him for some reason.

"Marcus, you know you'll have to move at some point right?" Diana asked with a melodious laugh. Marcus shook his head that was still buried in her shoulder and hugged her tighter.

The King around the ballroom, and noticed that his family was still there and also staring a bit intently at them. "How about we take this conversation elsewhere?" he asked, leading the way to the royal garden.

Upon hearing this Marcus decided it was finally time to get up off Diana's shoulder. The two followed Caylus, with Drakkon following them.

Once they arrived outside, Diana's face erupted in a large smile that seemed to light up the already lit area. She ran ahead, still smiling as she reminisced about the past. "Remember when we'd play hide and seek and freeze tag here?" she asked giggling as she touched the flowers she passed.

The males laughed as they ran behind her laughing and reminiscing with her of a past they all wish they could return to. "Remember when Caylus hit down the beehive then wet himself because he thought they were beeX." laughed Marcus causing Caylus's face to turn red.

"That was a long time ago, besides you were the crybaby of our group so you have a lot more embarrassing stories than I do. So think wisely if you want to keep talking." Caylus reminded, a bit mockingly.

…

Some time had passed since the friends came to the garden and Diana was contemplating whether it was time to leave. Diana looked at the sky before deciding. "It's already late, we should be heading back."

"Diana, you must stay the night." Caylus asked desperately, but Diana shook her head denying his request. "If I stay out my people will worry. Don't miss me too much, I'll visit soon." she smiled before standing up. Diana was making her way past the rose bushes and over to Drakkon.

She was beautiful in the moonlight. It seemed like an image from a fairytale. The males couldn't help but stare at her in admiration. The way she radiated power and dominance in everything she did was simply stunning.

"Are you ready?" Drakkon asked once he noticed that his Master had made her way over to him. Diana nodded with a slight smile in response to his question. Though Drakkon knew his Master well. He saw through her. He could see the tiredness in her sapphire eyes.

Diana being Diana, must've not wanted to seem weak in front her friends and use the guise of it being late as an excuse. Seeing as how she only recently awoken, she had little to no magic and her body was too weak for combat.

Drakkon's pupils sharpened like that of a cat's and the purple of his iris deepened. His dark skin became scaly as he began to transform and increase in size. Where Drakkon once stood was now a tall dragon waiting on his master to mount his back.

Diana gracefully mounted the dragon and whispered that she was ready, causing him to sail into the sky. Marcus and Caylus stared at the sky as the Dragon became smaller and smaller until it was no longer visible.

"I should get going as well." smiled Marcus. This was the first time since the ball that Marcus had smiled as this day was typically one of mourning for him. Not anymore. Now that Diana was alive, he'd make this day one of celebrating.

Marcus then left the garden through the back entrance leaving the king by himself, in his thoughts. Caylus then re-entered his palace with a smile on his face, she was really alive.