I shut my eyes closed as my heart felt it was ready to explode.
“Bear!” Dad’s voice came.
“I can’t do this!” I yelled and ran out of the simulator. My entire body trembled and when I reached my room, I fell on the floor and cried.
The smell of urine hit my nostrils, and I discovered I wet my pants. I literally pissed myself.For the love of blueberries, how was I going to process the beast?
I couldn’t. My mind refused to process him.
I took a shower and wanted to burn my pants. I was so ashamed that I wet myself.
When I got out, Ben and the queen waited for me.
“Don’t, please.” I closed my eyes and sobbed my heart out. It was only a simulator. What the hell was it going to be like in two months?
Warm, motherly arms wrapped around me. “Shh, it’s normal, Elena.”
“It’s not. I struggle to process the fact that they are real.”
“Your experiences with them weren’t positive. None of it was, so I’m thinking that we are looking at all of this the wrong way.”
“Meaning?” I stuttered and dried my tears with the top of my hand.
She touched my face gently. “Meaning, you do not know how amazing they can be. You need to see that part too. I want you to get dressed. Your father is waiting for you outside.”
I nodded.
I did not know what she meant by the negative experiences, but she was a wise woman. Being two hundred years plus made her wise.
I got dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt. I grabbed my hoody and put my feet into sneakers.
I walked to the entrance and found the queen waiting. She had two pairs of goggles dangling from her fingers.
“Remember, he loves you and he will do anything in his power to protect you.”
I squinted and nodded as she led me through the door.
A mother of a dragon that Dad fought inside the simulator stood gigantic in front of King Helmut in the courtyard. I froze as my muscles slightly trembled.
“Elena, breathe. He is your father. I’ll fly with you to translate, but you need to experience the other side of them.”
My feet took a small step, followed by another as Queen Maggie walked with me toward the copper beasty.It’s your dad, it’s your loving dad. He loves you.
He spoke in Latin.
“He said, now that wasn’t so hard, bear,” the queen said.
It was really him. I wanted to touch him, but I was afraid.
He brought his face down to me, and I could see my reflection inside his vertical slits.
He spoke again.
“Breathe, Elena,” the queen said.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Images of a ten-year-old girl screaming her head off standing in front of him flashed behind closed eyelids.
I opened my eyes as I gasped.
