The Villainess Just Wants to Study

Chapter 28 ~ Caspian's Dreams

The stars didn't shine quite so bright that night when she returned to the academy. As the carriage rattled, Dylan sketched on a piece of paper, scrunching her eyes deep in concentration. Her charcoal glided across the paper like it was muscle memory. Before she knew it, she had sketched the man from the bakery. 

Dylan always had a knack for art. When she was younger, she made homemade paints out of weeds or flowers she found outside. She painted on anything and with anything she could get her hands on. 

"Are we back yet?" Dylan asked, leaning out of the carriage window.

"Milady, please don't lean out like that!" scolded Jessie. 

Dylan closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cold wind sweeping over her. "Why?" she asked. "I feel free."

She opened her eyes, admiring the passing scenery. The academy was truly beautiful even in the darkness. Dylan rather liked the night. The sweet smell of rain washed trees and the sky freckled with stars had always been beautiful to her. 

The darkness cloaked her imperfections and the enchanting glow of the moon allowed her to see the world faintly. Only the parts she wanted to see, of course. Dylan allowed the parts of the world she hated to dissolve into the darkness of the night. The world was prettier that way. 

"Milady," Mina said, eyeing the drawing in Dylan's hand. "Who was that man at the bakery?"

Dylan took a deep breath and plopped back down in her seat. "He looks like someone I used to know," she said, holding up the drawing. "Someone I once loved."

Soon the carriage turned into the academy gates. As Dylan descended the carriage steps, she caught a glimpse of the leaves of the big oak tree fluttering slightly in the nighttime wind. 

"I'll be right back," she said, clutching Caspian's book tightly against her chest.

"Where are you going?" Jessie asked with a worried expression. "You shouldn't walk around at night without a guard."

"Don't worry," she replied as she turned toward the tree. "I won't be long, Jessie. I just want to check something."

Dylan giggled slightly as she spotted Caspian dozing off underneath the tree. Caspian always looked tired, but the novel never mentioned why. His chest rose and lowered with steady breaths as she approached him. His dark hair and dark lashes looked remarkably ethereal in the moonlight. 

'You're too handsome for your own good.'

She kneeled beside him, gently stroking his soft dark hair. "How troublesome," she muttered to herself. The sound of his breathing was oddly comforting.

His long eyelashes fluttered open slowly. "Is this really happening?" he whispered.

Dylan blinked at him. "What?"

"You look so real," he said. "I want so badly for this to be real."

'Does he think he's dreaming?'

"This is real," Dylan spoke in a whisper as she poked his cheek. "Wake up, I need to ask you something."

He sat up, staring at her with tired eyes. "You mean I'm not dreaming?" he asked.

"Do I appear in your dreams?"

He took a tight breath. "I normally have bad dreams that keep me up," he whispered. "But whenever I dream of you, I sleep peacefully."

Dylan's heart was starting to flutter. "Here," she said, desperately trying to change the topic. "I annotated the book just like you asked me to."