Kozantei, Fourth Quadrant, Andromeda Galaxy.

"Hey babe."

Zogan looked up from the hologram before him. He'd been logging his reports from the mission to Seethkar in the palace's council room. Trying to get work done before the ceremonies his parents had organized for later.

"Esaie." he smiled, made to stand but winced and Mya's face morphed into concern.

"Don't stand, I brought you lunch." she placed a platter filled with side dishes orbiting a main of his favorite meats. The smell enveloped him, and he was suddenly ravenous.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he asked. Truly wondering at the question.

She sat across from him and grinned. His hearts stuttered. Her hair was loose and wild, framing her oval face, her eyes shining at his question. She was dressed in the blue of the royal household, the color causing her brown skin to glow. Her coverings were draped across her shoulders and around her body beautifully. A glinting black stoned diadem shone in her hair.

His Queen.

"Nothing." Her voice low and teasing. "Nothing at all."

"So, you're a gift then, what should I do to show my thankfulness?"

"There are so many things my love, we'll discuss it tonight, when your work is done."

Her gaze raked over him, and he shook his head, his locs tinkled. She was insatiable. He pushed aside the flat projectors on the table and they both ate in comfortable silence. The smacks of Mya's lips filled the room.

"Ready?" she asked, pulling out a flat disc that housed a short sharp point in its center when they were finished eating.

He sighed, tongue flicking out in frustration. Fllt. He nodded.

She reached over and held it to his neck, where the scales were the most delicate and pushed the glowing button on the other side. The sharp point snapped forward, penetrating his flesh beneath. It stung but quickly ebbed. The pain that had begun to grow in his abdomen eased.

"Thank you." he muttered.

"You would not have taken it if I didn't bring it." Mya's words were sharp. He looked away from her. It was the truth.

It had been three solars since the battle on Seethkar had ended the war. Zogan's severed organs were still healing and re-growing, the damage having been so extensive that he'd been bed ridden for a long time after he awoke. He'd only just been allowed to begin moving around freely with the medications being forcibly prescribed to keep his pain in check as he handled his duties. He hated the injections, hated that he had been marked by the corrupt elder and that he had many painful solars of healing ahead of him.

He looked at Mya once more. But he was glad that he was alive and here with his mate and his people. Finally safe and free from the bondage of war.

************************

When he woke up in Kozantei's medical facilities, he'd seen Azazel and Mara sitting near his bed and though he was glad to see them his first words were, "Mya."

It was the first time he'd seen such joy on his older sister's face as they pressed foreheads together for a long time. Azazel told him that she was away, forced to sleep because she'd been running herself ragged looking after him. He was glad then that someone had told his stubborn mate to get some rest. He would see her soon enough. His next question had been about the supreme and the red eyed elder, Vitri. Azazel's expression had darkened as they informed him that he had escaped under the darkness that washed over the elder's sanctuary during their cold season. They were still searching for him but there were no clues of where he had thought to go or what he planned to do next.

The supreme had grown suspicious of his disappearances from the sanctuary and had asked him about them when the Kozan and allies had all sailed for Seethkar. It was that very same night that he had disappeared without a trace. Zogan sighed, but he wasn't too worried. The elder's days were limited, they would find and execute him for his treachery. Soon.

Zogan had fallen in and out of sleep, always having a different visitor when he opened his eyes. His parents, Yavik, Nezerra, Ravanna, his warriors, his closest ally officials, but it seemed an eternity before he saw the one his hearts longed for. When Mya had come in, he'd been trying to release his liquid waste, struggling to realign his excretion apparatus properly against his length to urinate into it. It wasn't exactly the reunion he'd hoped for. She'd sucked in her lips, helped him fix it and leaned in to kiss him. Tears streamed down her face while she laughed at his pouty expression. He'd filled with warmth at the sight of her, joyful that she was unharmed and whole. His family had assured him of her safety, but he'd needed to see it with his own eyes.

**********************

Mya looked at him in the council room, her expression softening, "You need to take them to help in your healing, you know that it was the only way that Yavik agreed to you going back to your duties."

Zogan nodded, contrite. "I will esaie. I promise."

She leaned back in her seat, looking relieved. The timekeeper chimed and Mya straightened.

"Let's go before your mother comes back and drags us in there."

Zogan laughed and slowly rose from his chair. Mya reached out to him and slid her arm around his waist as much as she could. He slipped his arm around her shoulders holding her close. They moved forward slowly by his standards. The injections worked but could never take away all his pain. His organs reconnecting and nerves rejoining sent pangs of stabbing pains through his mid-section now and again. The medication did nothing to prevent those. He gingerly got into the hovercraft with Mya wrapping herself around him when he settled. The ride was spent with Mya telling him about the things his mother had made her do in preparation for the ceremony. He laughed so hard at her theatric descriptions his vision swam.

Zogan could hear the soft music coming from the doors up ahead. His parents had planned a ceremony to celebrate the ending of a sorrowful era and the beginning of another. This was to be his first public appearance since he'd woken up. The guards up ahead genuflected with a curled fist to their chests and an incline of their heads and opened the heavy ornate entrance to the gardens.

Mya gasped.

Zogan scanned the group of people before him. His hearts lifted. All his family, friends and thankful citizens were gathered. They raised their arms saluting him. The gardens were impeccably decorated and filled with food and drink. But it was the sight of them. The people, the ones in his hearts that filled him with awe. Those gathered stood in silence and solidarity for those who had been lost during the anums of fighting. It lasted for ten spans. Then a slow cacophony of ululating and calls grew from those gathered. He silently thanked whatever fates had allowed them to return safely. They'd been able to end the suffering that had plagued his lands and the three remaining quadrants for so long and for that he was grateful. Mya shifted in his arms, and he pulled her to him, her back was pressed against his front. This was what he and his warriors had fought for. This peace, this celebration, this happiness.

Zogan stood and reveled in it.