I pulled her closer, sighing softly as she was pressed up against me.
“And how do you propose I do that?” I murmured, breathing her in deeply. The fact that she smelled like me made me satisfied. She was mine. She was in my bed, in my arms, in my clothes. She used the same shampoo as I do—I was practically all over her, both literally and figuratively. It drove me crazy.
“Use your imagination…” I murmured, burying my face in the crook of his neck. “Mm, I’m sleepy….”
“You know, these words of yours always end up having a suggestive meaning,” I mumbled with a chuckle, closing my eyes. “Sleep, love.”
“It’s not on purpose,” I mumbled, pawing weakly at the bedsheets, but I was already falling back and into the unshakable embrace of sleep.
I pulled the blankets over us, wrapping her tighter in my arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Sleep well, my love.”
Hours later, a whimper escaped my trembling lips. I curled up into a tiny ball, violently shaking, but despite the protective arms around me, I was unable to wake up.
Fire. Fire everywhere.
My breathing quickened.
Tearing my flesh from my bones, roaring all around me, an inescapable maze.
Another whimper slipped from my mouth.
But I'm not tied down. There are no ropes around me, nothing binding me to a wooden pole.
A familiar cry shatters the air. My blood turns to ice.
"Colton? Colton—Where are you?"
I sprint forward, through the flames, through the pain. My entire world is orange and yellow, encased in thick smoke. Weakened, I fall to my knees.
There he is—up ahead. Chained to the ground. A faceless knight holds a sword high, brings it swinging down—
Quiet whimpers filled my ears and I shifted a little. Elle curled up in my arms and for a second, I almost went back to sleep when I heard cries and whimpers escaping her mouth.
“Colton? Colton— where are you?” Her helpless cry for me shook me awake and I immediately opened my eyes, taking my beloved into my arms.
“Elle?” I whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “You’re okay. Wake up—I’m right here. I’m okay. You’re okay.”
"NO!"
I awoke, shaking and sobbing, to the sound of my own screams. "No—No—Colton—" He enveloped me in his strong arms, but all I could do was grasp his face between my hands, scanning it with desperate eyes. "Y-You're alive—You're—" I inhaled sharply and choked on my own sob, bile rising to the back of my throat.
I took her face in my hands, wiping her tears, kissing her cheeks. The desperate way she looked at me and sobbed broke my heart. I rocked her back and forth, whispering gently in her ears.
“I’m okay. You’re okay—everything’s fine. We’re both safe,” I whispered, kissing her again, squeezing her hand gently.
I pulled myself forward and buried my face in his chest, letting myself break, letting myself cry my heart out. Showing my weaknesses yet again, the things I couldn't afford to expose.
"I—I'm sorry. I–I need to pull myself—pull myself together."
But I couldn't scrub my mind clean of the horrific images. His head, rolling to the ground at my feet. The blood drenching my shoes. His lifeless eyes. His body, slumping to the ground. My stomach churned.
Before I knew what I was doing, I had run to the bathroom, pushed my hair back, and emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
One second she was crying her eyes out while clinging to me and the next, she ran into the bathroom. I was next to Elle side in an instant as she threw up, rubbing her back gently, soothingly. My eyebrows furrowed worriedly. What did she dream about to have such a bad reaction? What happened to me in her nightmare…?
I kissed her head again, and once I was sure she was done, I pulled her towards myself again, rubbing gentle fingers on her head. “Take your time in pulling yourself together,” I whispered to her. “I’m here.”
Key stepped into the bathroom, ears dropped, eyes worried. He padded over to Elle and gently nudged her before flying on top of her, rubbing against her cheek. I would have smiled at the sight if not for the situation.
"Colton—I'm gross and sweaty and–and I just threw up—I don't want you to—" I pulled away, wiping my mouth. "Y-You don't have to–You don't have to comfort me when–when I'm this disgusting. I'm sorry—I'm sorry for the mess I made."
Scylla, alerted by my sudden spike of self-loathing, materialized beside me and wrapped herself around my shoulders. "I–I'll clean it up, I promise."
I cupped her cheeks gently in my hands and kissed her forehead before pressing it together with mine.
“I don’t care if you just threw up, or are sweaty,” I said calmly. “I’m going to stay here until you feel better. And you don’t need to clean up after yourself. It’s okay. Don’t call yourself disgusting again, all right?”
But I am, I protested internally, trying and failing to stop my body from trembling. "I—Thank you. I–It was just a bad dream. I'll be fine."
I pressed her to my chest, holding her tightly, taking deep breaths.
“We’ll stay here until you feel better,” I said to her softly, squeezing her arms gently. “And we can skip morning training. Don’t force yourself, okay?”
I shook my head, sinking gratefully into his embrace. "We skipped practice today, we can't do it again. I don't—I don't get a pass because of–because of a stupid dream. I–I'll be fine."
I chuckled softly, sitting down comfortably on the floor and pulling her closer. “You’re right,” I agreed with a small nod. “You don’t get a pass because of that. You get a pass because you’re my girlfriend and I’m worried about you. We’ll skip morning training.”
"But—But I'm fine," I insisted quietly, but I wasn't sure which one of us I was trying to convince anymore. "Honestly, Colton. I'm fine. Just a dream." My hand went up to Scylla's head, rubbing circles behind her horns.
I responded by hefting her up in my arms, resting her head on my shoulder. “It’s okay to not be okay, Elle,” I said to her. “You don’t have to pretend when you’re with me. I’m your boyfriend. I’ll never think less of you.”
I screwed my eyes shut and pressed my face against his shoulder. "Fine. I–I'm not okay. I'm afraid. Of so much. Of losing you. But I need a sense of normalcy in my life or I'm going to go absolutely insane. Unless you don't feel well enough to train tomorrow morning, can we please just follow the schedule?"
I felt my eyes soften. I set her carefully on the bed and bent down to her level, running my fingers through her soft hair.
“Anything normal, right now, is out of reach. Elle, nothing about us is normal. You’re a female under the guise of a man and I’m hiding the darkness inside of me from the court. I mean, that’s crazy, right? How much more can us seventeen year olds handle?” I shook my head, letting out a chuckle. “Things are hard right now, and they’re only going to get harder. But I’m here with you. Key and Scylla are here with you. And no matter how crazy things get, we’ll always be by your side. No matter how harsh things get, I’ll always be protecting you whether it’s out in the open or in the dark.” I pressed a kiss to her mouth, keeping my eyes closed. “If you really think you’re okay practicing, then we won’t skip. But if I feel like you aren’t doing all right, I’ll cancel training.”
I relaxed against him, allowing his gentle touch to send waves of calm over my body.
"I can never thank you enough….." My hands found his cheeks, his jawline, drawing him closer. "You're amazing. I don't think I'll ever meet someone like you again…"
I took her hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her touch sent shivers down my spine and as always, I welcomed the feeling. "I'd like to think I'm this way because of you," I murmured, breathing her in deeply. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be the same cold, brooding prince everyone's so afraid of."
"You were always like this…" I whispered, placing my palm on the centre of his chest and spreading my fingers wide. "You just kept it hidden. There's no way I changed you—I could never do that.."
I frowned, opening my eyes to look into hers. “If I was keeping it hidden, I must have done a good job because I was unaware, too, myself,” I took the hand on my chest in my hold. “Elle, you’ve done so much for me. You’ve brought colors to my world and showed me that there are things outside of my royal circle. I would have grown up to be far more heartless than I already was, but you changed that. You brought warmth. You changed me for the better, and there’s no way I’m going to let you forget that.”
I bumped our noses together; a gesture of affection.
"I'm……..I'm eternally grateful for that. For everything. For you. I won't forget, I promise, as long as you acknowledge that you've done similar things for me."
I kissed her nose, a smile on my features at her affectionate action.
“What things?” I tilted my head innocently, trying to lighten the mood. “Since when did Elle need a man to help her?”
I scrunched up my nose, laughter dancing in my eyes.
"Since the heir to the throne pinned her to the armoury floor and told her not to scream, silly."
I smiled at the light look in her eyes. She looked amazing no matter what, but her beauty amplified whenever she was happy.
“Ah, is that so?” I bumped our noses together. “I suppose that explains why she told him to kiss her, too.”
How on earth had he managed to lift my spirits so effortlessly? I smiled faintly, suppressing a quiet laugh. "I suppose it does. It's also the reason she's going to go rinse her mouth now, so he can kiss her again."
