"Cora wake up!"
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The blonde was awoken by a familiar voice followed by a loud beeping sound.
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"I always believed you'd be able to defeat the King of Shadows and I was right," her grandmother boasted.
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Cora wondered if her ears deceived her. "But I wasn't really the one who defeated him technically it was Scarlet and the Tibicenas," She argued.
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"Maybe the Tibicenas delivered the final blow, but everything was made possible by you,"
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Cora raised an eyebrow in confusion.
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"You're the one who brought all these people together. You're the one who inspires the people in your life to become someone better. Not to mention you tamed the Blood King. What I'm trying to say is I love you and I'm so proud of you."
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She couldn't control the tears rolling down her cheeks somehow she knew this would the last time they ever spoke. "I love you too."
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"It's time for you to go. They need you back."
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Her sapphire eyes shot open. She was lying in a bed that wasn't her own. The steady beeping continued. Her body ached as she sat up. Her abdomen was wrapped in thick bandages, suddenly all the memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. She got stabbed! The steady beeping persisted to aggravate her. She realized the noise was coming from the heart beat monitor she was hooked up to. She glanced out the window and sure enough all of the dark clouds had cleared and all she could see was clear blue sky. She let out a long sigh hoping it would ease the pain.
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A nurse popped into to the room and beamed when she realized Cora was awake. She proceeded to ask Cora a bunch of questions, most of which Cora answered to the best of her abilities even though she was still pretty out of it. Then the nurse ran out of the room and returned with her parents.
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"What the hell were you thinking?" her mother exclaimed with teardrops in her eyes. "You could've been killed out there!"
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Cora scoured through her mind looking for the right words to comfort her mother, but none came to her. "I'm sorry." Were the only words she managed to utter.
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Her father tightly wrapped his arms around her. "I know I should be furious right now, but I'm just so happy you're alive," he whispered in her ear.
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"What happened?" Cora asked wearily.
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"You were stabbed!"
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"What happened after that?"
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"Your friend, I think her name was Val, called the authorities saying something about an evil wizard disguised as the prince," her father explained. "They assumed this was some kind of prank, but decided to send a few men down there just in case, and sure enough there he was. They saw him stab you from the far side of the arena, but couldn't stop him from hurting you in time. They brought you to the hospital and took him into custody."
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"How long have I been unconscious?"
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"They rushed you into surgery about six hours ago and you've been out since."
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She let out a long yawn.This entire experience had exhausted her and right now all she wanted to do was fall fast asleep.
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"Enough talk about that," her father tried to change the subject. "Do you want me to get you some tea?"
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The thought of tea made her stomach churn. "No thanks, I'll have a hot chocolate, please."
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After her parents left, she napped for the rest of the afternoon. She felt much better apart from the stabbing pain in her gut. She needed a distraction. She turned on the tv.
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"This just in: DNA testing proves that our beloved Prince Lyon has been replaced by a look alike. The police have taken the perpetrator into custody for identity theft and violently attacking a young woman named Coraline Bowman. The victim is currently recovering at Clearview General Hospital. Thessionia's finest warriors are searching for our lost prince. The question on everyone's mind is, what does this mean for the monarchy?"
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That was an excellent question and one she didn't have an answer to. What would happen now? For some reason her heart broke just thinking about Price Lyon. She never knew him, not the real version of him anyway, but she still mourned the loss of him. She switched off the tv and rolled over trying to fall back to sleep.
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A loud knock sounded from the door and Val, Zyler and Ray promptly entered the room.
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"Hey," she said with what little the enthusiasm she could muster. It's not that she wasn't happy to have company, she was just flooded with emotions at the moment and didn't know how to cope with them.
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"I thought you'd be more enthusiastic considering we just defeated the King of Shadows and all," Zyler pointed out.
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Cora rubbed her eyes. "I'm tired, that's all."
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"Perhaps these will make you feel better." Val handed her a box of chocolates. "I'm really sorry I didn't stay for the final fight. I didn't think I'd be of much use on the battlefield so I decided to go fetch the authorities instead."
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"Don't apologize, I probably wouldn't have made it out alive if help arrived any later."
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"I've got BIG news for you guys!" Zyler pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and proudly showed it off. "The Thesonian Guild Association heard about our work taking down the King of Shadows and they want to make us an official guild." Sure enough, the paperwork in his hands was legitimate.
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Cora ran her fingers over the emblem stamped on the papers. "Are you serious?"
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"Of course I'm serious!"
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Cora forced a small smile.
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"Are you not excited?" Val asked.
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"I am excited, but I'm just kind of upset at the moment."
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"What's wrong?" Ray asked. This was the first time he had spoken since he entered the room.
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"The King of Shadows has taken so much away from everyone and so many people have died by his hands. I'm so unsure of what will happen next. Since Prince Lyon is dead there's no heir to the throne." Cora said defeatedly.
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"Maybe he had a long lost relative or something." Zyler suggested.
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Val quickly checked her phone. "Zyler and I have a meeting with the Prestige Program's science division about some new ideas I've been working on," She set the papers from the Guild Association down next to Cora. The top page contained the signatures of Scarlet, Val and Zyler. "If you decide to join all you have to do is sign here then turn these papers into the Thesonian Guild Association if not just give them back to me."
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Cora nodded. "I'll think about it."
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Zyler and Val said there goodbyes and then promptly left the hospital room leaving Ray and Cora alone.
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Ray stood shyly in the corner of the room holding a stuffed lion with a big blue bow tied to it and a card that said. "Get well soon, Cora."
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She pointed at the lion. "Is that for me?"
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He nodded enthusiastically and hand it to her. "You're father said you like them."
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"You talked to my dad?"
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"He found out I've been living in your guest house. I told him that I didn't have anywhere to live so you said I could stay there and he said any friend of yours was a friend of his. We talked for a long time and he said I could stay as long as I was willing to do chores."
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She hugged the stuffed lion tightly. "I love it! I'm gonna name him Ray Jr."
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Ray chuckled. "If that makes you happy. Ray Jr. it is."
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She rested her hand on top of his. "I'm happy to see you."
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He kissed her forehead. "I'm happy to see you too and I want you to know no matter what happens I'll be here for you and protect you with my life, always and forever."
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She squeezed his hand. "And I promise I'll always be by your side to comfort you and keep you sane when you feel like falling apart." She pulled him into a kiss that felt like, for a few minutes, it stopped time itself.
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Cora made a strong recovery over the few weeks, so strong in fact she was released from the hospital sooner than previously expected.
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She knelt beside her grandmother in the resting grounds. The grass was soaked with dew which made her pants damp, but she didn't mind. The sky was the most vibrant shade of blue with light fluffy clouds scattered throughout. A cool summers breeze washed over her. She placed her grandmother's sword down in front of her remains. Several people had left flowers beside her to thank her for her service as a warrior. "Thank you for believing in me," Cora whispered. "I promise I'm going to make you so proud, even though, I have a feeling you already are."
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Her grandmother rested in her case of crystal. Cora could almost feel her presence beside her and she knew she was never alone.
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She stood up and returned back to the car where Ray was waiting for her in the driver's seat. She hopped into the passenger seat beside him.
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"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
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Cora took one last glance towards the resting grounds then nodded.
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"Why don't we go get lunch, on me?" He asked trying to lighten the mood.
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"Do I want to know where you got money from?"
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"As a matter of fact a recently acquired a job at the museum," he stated proudly.
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"Seriously?"
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"Well, no one knows more about the Blood King than I do, plus it's helping me catch up on everything I missed."
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"In that case, lunch sounds wonderful," She said with enormous smile.
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Ray began to pull out of the parking lot.
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"Do you remember everything I taught you about driving"
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"Let's hope so." Ray said with a mischievous grin.
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Shortly afterward the couple arrived at the restaurant and Ray exited the car. He gently knocked on her window "Are you coming?"
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"In one second," she responded raising her index finger. Cora glanced at the folded guild papers in her pocket. "Hey, can we make on more stop after this?"
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"Sure."
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She promptly pulled a pen out of the glove box and added her signature to the list. Then she took Ray's hand and the happy couple entered the building together.
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No matter what happens next Coraline Bowman will be ready for whatever life will throw at her.
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