Two Voices

She silently drowns in her thoughts
On the surface, she's all smiles and laughs
In the back of her mind
a little voice whispers
cruel, horrible things

You're worthless
You have no purpose
No one cares about you
No one would notice if you disappeared

The lullabies never stop
Some days, she easily ignores the words
But others...

Other days, she will curl
into a ball and shed
her tears

She is tempted to give in
Often, she wants to fade away

But another voice, while soft spoken
speaks, she firmly tells her to STOP

Please don't
They see you, even if you don't believe it
You are loved, you are life
Don't give up

This second voice is a comfort
she is warmth and strength
Her love and guidance
keeps her charge safe

-ADF

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, while I haven't been diagnosed with depression, I do suffer some of the symptoms. Everyone goes through bouts of many mental illnesses, but depression and anxiety are the two that I suffer the most from. There are days where I don't want to leave my room, and I have been suicidal at various points in my life. Please know that you are not alone if you suffer the same way. One my triggers is self-harm and suicide, I can't watch it. I get knots in my stomach and my thoughts go down a dark road.

Even if you don't suffer from mental illness, please know that your words are impactful to others. Be kind in what you say. Treat all others with respect, because you don't know what they are going through in their own lives.

Avoiding Tomas

"Open the door, Ava," the angry voice of Tomas demanded, as he pounded on the door.

Inside the attached bathroom, Ava ignored her husband's demands, as she enjoyed her hot bath. The brunette Princess relaxed in the claw foot tub, breathed in the warm scent of peach and vanilla.

It had been a stressful day for Ava, she had been called in front of the court, her father-in-law had publicly reprimanded for leaving the previous night's banquet early. Embarrassment and sadness filled her heart at the harsh words directed at her, there was anger as well. Anger at her father-in-law for not chastising his own son, for his public incandescence at the banquet. There was anger at Tomas, due to his drunken foolery with every woman except for her.

Later in the day, one of the seamstresses had arrived to inform the Princess, that a dress she had been fitted for, many times, had somehow ended up destroyed. Ava's heart had broken at the news, the dress once belonged to her mother, and the Princess intended to wear it for a visiting dignitary.

Ava had taken a walk in the gardens, while on her stroll, she came across a conversation between Tomas, and his two best friends. The conversation had been about Ava, her husband had likened her to cold statue. His friends jeered that she wasn't a statue but rather a block of ice and even frigid.

Tears had flowed, a sob that escaped her mouth, gave away her location in the garden. She ran back to her chambers, Tomas followed. He had been at the door for some time waiting to be let in. Earlier, Ava dismissed her hand maidens, leaving the Prince with no way to enter his wife's private chambers.

TBC..

Finding a Mate

Kate stood beside Avis' egg, Troi and Riker were not far behind Kate and their unborn dragon child. The petite female warily eyed the group of male dragons and their riders; two months had passed since Kate had bonded with Avis, and there were still two more months to go before she hatched.

The sable haired rider easily found her parents, at the entrance of the hatchery. She could see the concerned frown that was on her mother's face. Laura's lips were pursed as she studied the various riders who were eyeing Kate. As a mother, she was concerned for her children, especially Kate, who was her only daughter and youngest child.

Riker stepped forward, around Kate and Avis. His deep voice echoed in everyone's head as he spoke, "Thank you for joining us in today's events. Hopefully, at the end of today, Avis will find a mate who will help her as she grows, upon her hatching."

Kate bit her lip, as she looked away from the crowd.

'Don't worry, Kate, we'll find a mate for you, too!' Avis' sweet voice chirped to Kate.

Kate turned her attention back to Avis, she smiled warmly at the scaled that was a gold and lilac ombre. Even though, Avis was still within her shell growing, she knew Kate inside and out, sometimes better than Kate really knew herself.

Before, Kate could thank Avis for her kind words, Riker stepped back and allowed the first dragon to approach Avis' egg.

Kate watched as the large copper scaled dragon, Morn, approached. His rider, Theo, remained behind to allow Morn to gently rest his forehead against Avis' shell.

The first few seconds were filled with anxious waiting, before Morn moved away. No words were spoken but it was clear that he was not Avis' mate. Kate smiled softly as Morn turned his large head to give a nod of thanks to her.

TBC...

Damian's Gift

Amy frowned as she looked her youngest son, he gazed at her with wide blue eyes and soft pout. She crossed her arms, as she moved her stern stare from Damian to Bruce, her glare intensified as she met her husband's blue eyes.

"No," she flatly stated as she looked between the father and son duo. "No, absolutely not, we have discussed this multiple times. And we agreed, Damian, no more more strays," she added with a finality in her tone.

"But أم (mother in Arabic 'um), we was nearly crushed by one of the Joker's goons," Damian explained as he looked at his step-mother, as he held up the pure white cat for her inspection.

Amelia could see the tears that were beginning to form in her son's eyes. She let out a huff of air, before she turned her attention to Bruce with a raised eyebrow.

"He's not wrong, Amy," Bruce said softly as he tried to avoid his wife's gaze. "Besides, Damian told me that this wasn't for him."

With a confused expression, Amy turned to look at her son. "I wanted to bring her back for you أم, I remembered you had once told me about cat you had been given as a child. I thought you would like a companion when you waited for us to return from patrol," Damian said as he looked at his mother with wide eyes.

Amy's heart broke as she looked at her son and the little bundle of fur in his arms. "Oh, Dami," she sighed as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around her son. Amy remembered to be careful of the kitten in his arms. "Thank you, sweetheart, how about after this, no more pets okay?" she suggested as she pulled away.

"Yes أم," Damian replied with a nod, as he passed the cat into this mother's arms.

Amy gently cradled the kitten, she gave it a quick look over. She could tell that the pet had been cleaned, and if she knew Bruce and Damian, then her new pet was already given shots and micro chipped.
-fin

Avis' choice

Kate stood in line with the group of girls, she gazed at the golden lilac scaled egg that stood in the sand. The egg had been hatched two months previously by Troi, a beautiful dragon that had scales in various shades of purple. Troi was bonded with Kate's own mother, the sable haired girl had grown up around Troi and her mate Riker, whom was bonded with her father.

The girl looked up to see Riker, his golden eyes studied the line of females from age twelve to even twenty-four. She caught the black and red dragon's eye, and sent a soft smile to him.

'You will be alright, Katherine,' the large dragon's voice resounded in Kate's mind. 

She took a deep breath before giving him a soft nod. Kate and the others watched as girls gently touched the egg of Troi and Riker's second child. But the egg did not react to anyone, soon it was Kate's turn.

The fifteen year old nibbled on her bottom lip, as she took a hesitant step forward. She bowed her head in respect to both Troi and Riker, before she gently reached out and touched the scaled egg. Upon Kate's touch, a warmth flooded Kate's head.

A soft voice cried out, 'Finally! I've been waiting for you Kate.'

Kate gasped as she snapped her eyes open. She looked at the egg in surprise and awe.

"I don't understand," she mumbled aloud.

'I've been waiting for you, Kate. You were meant to be my bond. You are the only one I want,' the same soft voice answered. 'I am Avis.'

"Avis," Kate said, as she looked at the egg.

Once the name had been uttered, both Troi and Riker began to hum loudly. Kate could hear the other dragons join Troi and Riker in song. A shadow came over the hatchery doorway. Kate looked up to see the blue and golden scales of Caspian, Troi and Riker's first egg, Avis' brother. She pressed herself around Avis' egg, as if to hide from Caspian.

'Congratulations Kate, my little sister chose well,' Caspian's timber voice called out. There was a hint of teasing in his voice.

Kate shyly peeked up over Avis' egg to meet Caspian's purple gaze. The large dragon flashed her a warm grin, or something equivalent in dragon facial expressions. She warily eyed the dragon, who had been known for taking her on random flights as a child.

"He won't do anything, Kate," Drake, Caspian's bonded rider, commented as he looked at the brunette.

Avis' egg shook, 'Caspian,' a voice shrieked in multiple minds. 'How dare you frighten my Rider?!?!'

Kate wrapped her arms around Avis' egg. "Avis, please calm down. Your brother was merely teasing," she soothed. "He never meant any harm, he only wanted to help with my aversion to heights."

-fin