Surprisingly Royal

👸Chapter 27: Bad dreams

"Please don't take her away from me. Please don't!" I hear Mum cry out, jolting me awake.

I rush straight to her room.

She's tossing in bed, sweating and trembling uncontrollably.

Panicked, I rush to her side and try to wake her.

"Mum! Wake up! It's just a dream, wake up!" I say, shaking her gently but urgently.

Her eyes snap open, and she instantly pulls me into a tight hug.

"Ciara, don't leave me. Please don't go. I can't live without you," she sobs into my shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere, Mum. I'm right here. Please don't cry."

She slowly lets go of me, wipes her tears, and adjusts herself on the bed.

"You okay, Mum?" I ask, concerned. I've never seen her this shaken.

What kind of nightmare did she have?

"...Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing here? It's late. Go back to bed, sweetheart," she says, gently brushing my hair.

"You were screaming. I had to check on you."

"Well, I'm okay now, honey. You can go back to sleep. I promise I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Because from the look of things, you're clearly not."

"I am now. Just having you here calmed me down. But you need to rest too—it's way too late to be up, and I don't want to see dark circles under your pretty eyes because of me," she says, stroking my cheek.

"I couldn't care less about dark circles, Mum. I just care about you. But... if you really want me to go back to bed, I will. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything, sweetheart," she says, holding my hand.

"Promise you'll try and get some sleep too. I won't be able to rest unless I know you're resting as well."

"Don't worry about me. I'll sleep after I make sure you're sleeping first. Come on, let's go," she says, walking me to my room.

She tucks me into bed and pulls the blanket over me.

"Close your eyes and sleep. I love you," she whispers, kissing my forehead.

"I love you too, Mum. Now please, go get some rest."

"I will. Sleep tight," she says as she quietly leaves the room.

The moment she steps out, I sit up again.

There's no way I'm falling asleep easily after witnessing all that.

She was terrified... and she kept calling out my name in her sleep.

What's really going on with her?

I just hope she meant it when she said she'd try to rest. She looked completely drained.

Eventually, after lots of tossing and turning, I manage to drift off.

•••••

I wake up feeling better, hopefully Mum does too.

I get out of bed and head to the bathroom to freshen up, then wander into the kitchen in my pajamas to grab something to eat.

Mum's already there, sipping from a teacup.

"Good morning, Mum," I say, pouring myself a cup too.

"Good Morning, honey," she replies softly.

We both sit at the table in silence, neither of us sure how to start the conversation.

I decide to break it.

"Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

"It was just a bad dream, nothing important."

"It seemed pretty serious to me. You looked terrified."

"It's nothing, Ciara. Just a nightmare. Don't make a big deal out of it," she says as she places her teacup in the sink.

"If you say so, Mum. But I want you to know I'm always here for you... no matter what."

She turns and smiles gently. "That means a lot, Ciara."

"I need some fresh air," she says, walking out of the kitchen.

I sigh, watching her go.

She's clearly not ready to talk.

Is this still about the letter she got yesterday?

Or is it something else entirely?

Whatever it is, it's serious. And I need to figure it out before it gets worse.

I finish my tea and head back to my room to get dressed.
I clean my room and I take out my dirty clothes to the laundry basket.It's Sunday and I've got no plans. Maybe Mum has something in mind.

Once I'm dressed, I go looking for her hopefully she is back from her walk.

Her room's empty.

As I turn to leave, something catches my eye—a letter lying on her dressing table.

It must be the letter.

The one from yesterday.

Part of me screams not to touch it. That I should respect her privacy.

Maybe it's right. Maybe there's a reason she's keeping it to herself.

But... this might be my only chance to understand what's going on.

I tell myself I'll just take a quick look and leave before she comes back.

It can't be that bad... right?

I reach for the letter and slowly begin to unfold it.

My heart skips a beat as my eyes scan the page.

Whatever's written in there is definitely not what I expected.