"Doctor Avalina, could you please check him first?"
Verina announced as soon as they entered the throne room which had been turned into a makeshift clinic to help the vampires.
Avalina along with more than two dozen healers were looking after the injured, but Verina and Irina both were adamant that Avalina should be the one to check Ashton. Probably because she was a well-known figure when it ca to healing. It was also the reason why she had been nicknad the 'Fertility Goddess'.
"I heard you loud and clear the first ti, your highness. Please have him seated sowhere, I'll be with you in a mont."
Avalina was just as nervous to et her son, as Ashton was to et his mother. But that didn't excuse her from her duties. That was just one of her character flaws... she had a tendency to work herself to the bone and being a vampire only enabled her further considering she did not require to rest or sleep anymore.
Ashton on the other hand was still trying to digest the fact that her mother was indeed alive. Till now, despite Jonathan stating that his parents were alive, there was a small part of him that did not believe it to be true. In a way, Ashton had already made his peace with that fact and used it to feed his anger.
But now all of sudden, he could feel his anger disappearing. Maybe it was because, at that mont, the only thing he wanted was to hug his mother so tightly, that it would ss her insides.
"Ashton, you're shivering, are you okay?" Verina asked once again while Irina watched them from a distance.
"I'm fine..."
"Could we do anything for you?"
"I wanna be alone for a while. If you don't mind?"
"S-Sure. Co, Irina, we should probably check on father as well."
Irina nodded and left along with her. That being said, the sisters seed a bit taken aback by Ashton's words. But they accepted his request and left him alone, chalking it up to sothing he had seen within the dungeon.
"Could you show your left hand?"
The following mont Ashton heard a long-forgotten voice. A voice that had always protected him from the countless nightmares he used to have in his early childhood. A voice that he never knew he would hear again... and yet there he was... sitting right in front of the one that voice belonged to... in front of his mother.
Ashton placed her hands in hers, without ever lifting his face up. He was afraid the mont he would look at her, all of his anger would lt away. Regardless was that he was happy. Happy that he could finally feel her soothing touch again.
But her touch wasn't as warm as he rembered it to be. She was different but it was sothing Ashton had to make his peace with it.
"You have grown into a strong, handso and talented man, Ash... My baby Ash..." Avalina silently whispered.
Even at such an emotional mont, she had to restrain herself from doing sothing that would attract unnecessary attention. Despite the fact that rely not being able to hug her long lost son ripped her heart out.
"Hm..." Ashton nodded along but didn't dare to say anything more as tears welled up in his eyes and his throat got mysteriously heavy.
In his lust for revenge, he had long forgotten how it felt to cry and now when his body was reacting on its own, he didn't know how to process his emotions.
There was still anger seething inside him, but so was happiness. Ashton didn't know how to disassociate himself from the hurricane of emotions he was feeling at the mont.
He felt angry. Angry at the universe for everything turning out to be the way it did. And yet, he found himself thanking the universe for finally reuniting him with his mother under the sa breath.
"Hm... despite the bloodstains, you look just fine to ," Avalina said in between sniffing to hold her emotions together for just a little longer, "But I think I should check whether you are able to perform certain physical activities or not. Would you mind taking a walk with ?"
Ashton opened his mouth to speak, but realised not a single word would co out of it. Thus he shook his head instead, to answer her question.
"Good, let just inform soone and then we'll leave."
A minute later, both of them were outside, in the garden that was located behind the palace. Away from everyone else, a perfect place for the mother and son to talk. They walked around for a while, not knowing what to say to each other. After a while, Avalina broke the silence once again.
"You sure grew up to look a lot like your dad- oh..."
She had barely managed to get a phrase out of her mouth when Ashton suddenly hugged her. It was quite amusing to see 6 foot-sothing guy, leaning over a much shorter woman.
So far Ashton had been keeping his emotions in check and this defences up. But the mont Avalina began talking to him, his herculean defences turned into a thin sheet of paper, drenched in his tears.
As Ashton pulled her closer and closer, Avalina wrapped her hands around her son's broad torso, feeling his beating heart, before she broke down herself. mories from all of the years she had been away from him ca flooding back into her head. The overwhelming emotions forced her to cry herself.
As much as she hated herself for it, she pulled herself away from Ashton's embrace and wiped his tears off. The feeling of being able to touch her son again almost made her feel as if she was in a dream... and if it was a dream, it was one she never wanted to end.
p
Once both of them had cald down, she pulled Ashton's face down and planted a kiss on his forehead, just like she used to do back in the enclosure they used to live in, before finally pulling away from him.
"Co sit down, I believe we have a lot to talk about."
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