MINE.

Chapter 6: Sleeping Beauty

-Dion-

"Hmm." I groan as my consciousness returns me. My head..it throbs. I reach up to massage my temples as I attempt to open my eyes. I'm relieved to see my mom.

"Hello baby." He says sadly from beside the bed. I look around and realize I'm not in my room.

"When did you come?" I ask Mama.

"Just shortly. Do you remember what happened?" He asks and my head throbs worse. I wince from the pain and realize I'm laying on my hair so I attempt to sit up. My head is instantly woozy and I fall back.

My mother leans forward against the bed, "Don't try to get up. You have a fever. If it hurts too much to think don't."

"My head hurts." I whine pitifully.

"I know. The physician is preparing something that will help."

I try to recall the last thing I remember and my head throbs worse. Why can't I think? I want to ask my mother but even that feels exhausting.

"Just rest dear. You'll feel better soon." My mother's words echo as once again I'm swallowed by darkness.

-Swari-

"That cannot be true!" I snap at Dr. Jashi.

"To be frank I don't know if it's true without a doubt. I just have the journal of the former physician and his and my research."

"Mates?" Amani parrots my thoughts.

"He was a child." I say the only words that repeat themselves in my head as envision Dion back then. The idea sickens me.

"Calm yourself both of you." My father commands.

"But father it's repulsive he was eighteen and Dion was ten and hardly the size of an eight year old." Amani once again parroting my thoughts.

"To my limited understanding nothing salacious happened. Kingston states he realized they were mates but he did nothing to encourage it."

"He's a liar and a beast. How do you take his word?" I snap.

"Are you being fair?. He was raised as your brother does that not buy him any faith?" My father asks as his eyes dart between us.

"That was eight years ago. How do we know him? We don't even know his eye color. What's happened to him?" Amani continues reminding me of this strange occurrence.

The young boy we knew as Kingston was a tall lanky boy with green eyes. He looks nothing like the boy who Amani and I would spar with.

"Kingston was a child that I offered sanctuary after his father the king passed. Unfortunately he always had a very rare feature only shared with two others I knew of at the time. One was his father, another his brother. To protect his identity I had a special indigo henna prepared. The blue colored eye drops made his eyes appear green."

"Is that it." Our mother mutters as he stares out of the open window.

"Yes. I wanted to tell you back then but-

"Did you know that they were mated?" My mother interrupts.

"Don't be cross. I didn't know for sure. The physician suspected as much. I didn't want to worry you. Back then you were already in shambles."

"My baby was suffering!"

"Yes, and me telling you maybe they were mates. How would that have changed anything at the time."

"It would change my husband having lied to me."

"Please my love." My father implores as he reaches a hand to my mother from his seat at the table.