There was too much blood.

It was all I could see.

Nohr's dark red blood, almost black, covering my shirt until it soaked through to stain my skin, I scrubbed and scrubbed to get it off until my skin started to scratch and bleed.

"Hayden?" My mother knocks on the door. "Do you need me to help you?"

I choked back a sob as I put my hands against the wall of the shower, counting down to ten until I couldn't hear my heart beating loudly in my ear drums, until the room no longer felt like it would swallow me whole.

"N-No." I clear my throat. "I'll be out in a minute, mom."

I heard my mom leave my room and close the door quietly behind her, I could hear voices in the hall, recognizing two of them as my mom and dad, and my grandmother, Sora.

It's been three hours since Nohr has been in surgery, with absolutely no word about how he's doing, and with each passing minute I feel him slip from me, it's excruciating to my very soul to witness him get to the point of death at the hands of someone who was supposed to be family.

It's only gotten worse since Nohr won and Titar died, the whole Titus has been quiet, which isn't a good sign, soon... soon someone will come to The Vale for Nohr, I knew that the moment I saw the look in that Titan's eyes.

Like he was looking at a future King of Titus.

I couldn't focus on that though, Nohr was in such bad shape I am almost sure he's lost his eye from the force of Titar's thumb, and his leg... it didn't look so good, the images of Nohr struggling play over and over in my head, like a movie in rewind, I felt helpless over and over again.

I needed to find out more, I needed to be with him, even if for a moment, being close to him will help him recover faster, he just needs to fight... only one last time.

Once I left the shower and had gotten ready into some fresh clean clothes laid out by my mom, I tied my hair up and left my room, ignoring the two guards stationed outside my room, and as they followed me down the hall.

I could sense my family close, so I went to them until I saw them all gathered in front of the palace, my dad- the King was talking to a man who was I recognized as one of the palace surgeons, making me pick up my pace until I reached them.

"Thank you." My dad said, before the doctor bowed and went back inside the palace.

"Where is he? Where is Nohr?" I asked, staring at the faces around me, all sharing the same look.

"He's in theater, he's going to be okay." My mom said, coming to stand next to me, putting her hand on my back comforting me.

"Can... when can I see him?" I forced out, a lump in my throat.

"He's still in surgery." My mom said.

"Honey..." My mom starts before my dad looks away as I notice something catches his eye by the gates and that someone was mind-linking him.

"What is it?" I asked, grabbing hold of his arm to get his attention.

"There are currently thousands of Titan's passing through the portal to The Vale and heading towards the palace, hundreds of civilians are marching here... for Nohr."

"Unarmed?" Kane asks, focusing his eyes down to the city down below.

Why would they come here? And unarmed, it doesn't make sense.

"The crown." I then realize.

"Nohr..."

They were here for him...

It falls silent around me just as a crowd of voices reach my ears coming from the gates to the Palace, and once I see just what my dad was talking about, I couldn't believe my eyes at what I was seeing.

Titans had come to the gates, stretching out until as far as I could see the gates surrounding the palace, but not with weapons, but bearing gifts, and flowers in their hands, all with the same flower native to Titus.

Amaryllis.

Strength... pride and determination, the royal saying of house Thur'ai.

They had traveled here to show that they accept Nohr as their King.

I have never seen so many Titans in one place like this before, I only wish Nohr was here to see this with me, it's all he's ever wanted.

The crowd before me didn't look like one that hated half blooded species like King Titar so passionately preached, no- these people wanted Nohr to survive.

"This is... unheard of." My mom whispered out, as we all stared at the crowd as they begun to throw the Amaryllis over the fence.

My dad whipped his head around and looked at me with wide eyes, just as I see the gates down below open and in walks two Titan's, female and male, whom I have never seen before.

The two Titan's had not moved since the gates closed behind them, but I knew they were looking at me.

"They are representatives from house Thur'ai, they wish for an audience with you." My dad told me as I stared at them.

What, why with me?

I had to know why... why did they come and why now?

"I'm going to meet them, don't follow me." I told my family, who nodded their head, with pride on their faces. 

"They won't hurt me."

I didn't know how, perhaps a feeling, but what I was seeing was something that had never been done before, and I was now part of history, and as Nohr's mate I wanted to keep his honor alive as he fought for his life in surgery.

I walked down to the two Titan's, seeing that the female one was pregnant, and still holding on to her Amaryllis flower in her hand.

Reaching them, I almost forgot how tall they were, I always felt small around Nohr, but with two full blooded Titan's in front of me, I felt dwarfed in their presence.

They both bowed to me as I took a step closer, grimacing whilst waving my hand in the air.

"Please, raise your heads- there is no need for that." I hated when people bowed to me.

"Our apologies Princess." The man spoke first. 

"Let us introduce ourselves."

"I am Teon Bu'alk, and this is my wife, Tifa Bu'alk, we come to show respect and honor to Nohr, son of Tiras and Miranda Thur'ai."

My eyes widened as I looked at them, did they know Nohr's parents?

"Did you know them?" I asked, looking past them to the faces of small Titan children behind the gates, waving their small hands at me.

"Nohr's parents?"

"Yes, more so than most, Tiras was an honorable prince and dear friend... his death was most tragic to me, more so when we heard Miranda had also passed with our prince." He spoke politely, as his eyes lowered to the ground.

"It is the peoples choice now Princess, and Nohr is the only one and true King of Titus..." The woman, Tifa said, stepping forward and holding her hand out that gripped the flower.

"We do not wish any harm to fall the son of Tiras, we had failed once before, and many still follow the late King Titar Thur'ai, we who came here today come to swear our allegiance and undying loyalty to your house and to our King savior Nohr Thur'ai."

"Please accept our humble offering, on behalf of my people." Tifa held the flower in front of me, as she lowers her head.

Once Tifa and Teon lowered their heads, a movement in the crowd had left me speechless as it caused a chain reaction to the hundreds of thousands of Titan's standing behind the gates of the palace.

"You want Nohr... to be King." I couldn't believe it.

Each and every one had lowered their head, respectfully and honorably towards me, those who did not throw their Amaryllis over the fence raised their hand holding the famous flower of Titus and raised it to the sky... for Nohr.

"Yes, it has always been rightfully his." Teon spoke gently, with pride at the mention of Nohr.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I reach and and accept the flower from Tifa. 

"Thank you." I held back the tears threatening to fall. "Thank you for coming here."

They both raised their heads, as did the crowd, then they spoke words I had never heard spoken before, but I had known what it meant... and it was like so;

'Lon lorv hase erivk, vine bretth lon lorv!'

The King is dead, long live the King.

Titar was dead.

Things were changing in front of my eyes.

Something impossible had happened, the people of Titus had named Nohr their Crown Prince, a title that was taken from him.

The people Nohr thought had abandoned him had come to show their support for the King they chose to rule over them, what we could only do now was pray... and wait..

A familiar soft voice inside my head tells me 'everything is going to be alright now' and that the worst is already behind us and that we should look to the future, I took comfort in those words and the words of Nohr's people.

Our story was far from over, it was only just beginning.