Angel Monarch

It's been a week since Sera had come back, but not much had changed around the place.

In the past week, she hasn't left her room once. She does mainly two activities each day, sleeps and cowers in a corner.

She can't even sleep properly, since after an hour, she wakes up from a nightmare. After the first night, they decided for someone to always keep her company.

This was to keep her calm and help her in healing. They were also afraid the trauma would overwhelm her and she would harm herself. There was no evidence of that, but they didn't want to chance it.

There were only a few people she wasn't afraid of. Bran and Melinda, obviously, but she also accepted Cass, Agnes, Lilith, Adam and, weirdly enough, Kim.

They didn't quite figure out how Sera's brain worked, but the main consensus was that her guilt overruled her trauma, so she remembered Kim.

It was a strange theory, but that's what Lilith had come up with. Each day, she spends a few hours with Sera. She usually sends her to sleep and explores her mind.

After the first attempt, she realized how dangerous it was. Sera's nightmares aren't real for her, but when Lilith enters her mind, they can hurt and even kill her.

The first attempt was a close one. Her mind is full of unimaginable terrors that are extremely dangerous.

She was afraid to do it the second time, but after a referral from Bea, Lilith asked for Will's help. His ability was focused on water manipulation, but after becoming an Ascended, he gained the ability to control mind waves.

With his help, she had a bit of protection inside Sera's nightmares, and she actually began to make progress.

After a week's treatment, she could give one-word answers to a few of their questions.

Bran was really excited by this. He spent most of his free time with Sera. She felt the most comfortable with him, and they usually just cuddled throughout the day.

She can only sleep peacefully when someone is holding her, which is both cute and disturbing. They need their leader back as soon as possible.

The fighting on the western front had become a stalemate yet again. They still could not retaliate for the uprising, but David judged that by New Year, the first of the attacks would be launched.

They were all curious if the Aegis System would work properly, but they would rather not find out.

Another issue was Bea. After their successful rescue, she only saw Sera while she slept.

She spent most of her time either alone in training, or with her daughter crying.

Many people were like them. They all wanted to rescue Sera, but they weren't prepared to find her in this state.

They didn't stop supporting her, though. In solidarity, everyone higher ranking person had moved into Sera's mansion. There are dozens of rooms, so the space wasn't an issue.

Vicky and Bea took the room on Sera's left, while Bran took the one on the right. The three of them were cordial with each other. They tried to be nice, but it wasn't easy.

This was yet another problem. Bea had to find a way to tell Vicky that her mothers might not be together anymore, but she didn't want to admit that herself, so instead, she waited.

Her hope was still burning with full power. Until Sera doesn't explicitly say that it's over, she will refrain from telling anything concrete to their daughter.

It was hard to keep Vicky away from Sera. They had found her on multiple occasions, watching her mother sleep.

She was mostly there when it was Kim's turn to watch over her. Nobody else let her stay inside after an incident. Sera woke up from a nightmare once, and she began screaming when she saw Vicky sitting near the bed.

It took them a few hours to calm Sera down and bring her back to sleep.

But these were the better parts of taking care of her. It was much more difficult to get her fed.

She would refuse to eat anything until another person hadn't eaten from the same dish. It was like she was afraid of getting poisoned.

But the worst issue was her bowels. In the first few days, she simply couldn't hold herself, and they needed to change mattresses each day.

Even after gaining control, someone had to escort her to the bathroom, which was really awkward, especially since the person had to clean her after.

Bathing her was very easy. Each night, they filled the large bathtub in her bathroom. They then put soap inside the water, which made it all bubbly. She then usually spent an hour playing in the water.

Sera's mentality was currently stuck between a toddler and a full-grown adult. It has gotten better each day, but even after a week, she sometimes acted like a child.

Luckily, her memories were starting to return, and with them, her emotions waned. It was like her hollowness was connected to her memory, so the more she healed, the less she felt.

This was good and bad at the same time. Her trauma had less effect on her, since she didn't feel fear, regret, or sadness. But because of it, she felt less happy and satisfied.

In the beginning, they thought Sera would regain all her personality, with her emotions intact, but now they faced the ugly truth. She would never be the same after this.

They didn't give up though, and just continued to take care of her, like nothing had changed.

It took Sera another week of treatment to finally leave her room. Beforehand, everyone left the mansion, so they wouldn't scare her. Only Bran was left to support her.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

They walked around the mansion, and she even talked a few sentences. Afterward, they went out to the back of the mansion, where a large garden had been set up by Bea.

Sera loved it and spent hours smelling the flowers. It was the first time since their arrival that she smiled. It was the most beautiful thing Bran had ever seen.

They chatted for a bit longer, but then a raven flew to a fence's post, and it loudly croaked.

It scared Sera, and she sprinted back to her room, where she started to have a panic attack.

Bran quickly ran after her. He calmed her down, and they continued to have idle conversation.

They stayed away from serious topics. Sera asked a lot of questions about how everything was around the city, how all her friends were doing, and eventually came the dreaded topic...

She asked about Bea and Vicky...

"What do you remember about them?" asked Bran, his voice not showing the worry in his eyes.

Sera just shrugged as she huddled close to Bran. Her arms were around his torso, while her head rested on his chest. Bran's hand made idle strokes along her long golden hair, and she made purr-like noises now and then.

"Not much. I remember what Kastral said about them... That Bea was my past lover, and Vicky was my daughter... I also remember the long notes of information on my watch... I can't recall anything from that past life though..."

She sounded sad and confused. Deep down, she wanted to know more, but she also feared to learn anything else. Currently, she was content with Bran, but she wasn't sure if that would stay the case if she remembered everything.

Right now, she could remember most of the past two years. There were still a few gray areas, but those were getting filled in after each session with Lilith.

"Do you want to remember?" asked Bran with a voice full of fear.

He had the same concerns as Sera. With those memories, she would change, and he was afraid she would send him away.

Sera moved away from his chest and looked into his hazel eyes. She noticed the emotions he was trying to hide, the same ones that ate her mind away. Read latest stories on empire

She leaned in closer. Her face burned from a deep blush, and Bran couldn't help himself. He smiled gently and put an arm around her waist.

"I do want to remember. I have to remember. I feel broken without those memories. I have a constant feeling that something is missing... But rest assured. Even if I remember everything, there will always be a place for you in my heart."

After saying that, she leaned in close and kissed him deeply.

They were both afraid of the future, and didn't know where this path they had chosen would take them. But right now, in that moment, they let all the worry go and just enjoyed each other's company.

They kissed for a long time, then cried a bit, then laughed and finally they fell asleep.

On the balcony's railing, a raven perched itself. It watched with great interest as the two of them slept, then, without warning, it flew into the sky, disappearing from view.