LUNA: The Witching Hour

45: Last Night and Today

The scream that tore inside the house had Midnight moving from the chair he was sitting a few seconds ago to rush his way to where Sahar was supposedly sleeping soundlessly inside her room. Arius, who had been with them ever since the witch requested to have him train her again, was as alert as His Majesty. Both males entered the room without delay and saw the unsettling image of the witch screeching like a madwoman in her sleep. Nails sharped as a cutting knife dug deep into her already worn-out sheets as she squirmed on her bed as though she had been in chains and was trying to get out. Another disturbing scream hit their eardrums and Midnight was right not to stop.

"Get out" the command was delivered too strong for Arius not to flinch away from.

The dragon tried, "Pero si Sahar—"

"Get out" Midnight repeated, settling himself beside the witch's bed. The skirt of her nightdress had been crumpled up onto her belly and she was drenched in sweat. "She wouldn't want you to see her like this. Lumabas ka na at ako na bahala dito"

He felt the skepticism coated Arius's whole presence. "Don't ask her what her nightmare is"

As soon as the door shut close, Midnight calmly placed himself beside the wilding Sahar. Sitting on the edge of her rocking bed, he gently reached to cup her face with a hand and used the other to check for the drawers. Sahar screamed again. He willed himself not to bulked down for her struggle had somehow affected a part of him. She was sweaty all over. And her sweat was cold. Midnight could feel it under his touch. He was careful to manipulate the flow of her blood. Warmth that would calm her down.

He pulled a drawer open and scrambled the things inside, only to find the bottle unopened. She didn't drink the potion. Her scream this time was enough to make his chest heavy. Followed by a stung of pain around his forearm, a liquid so sticky and dark and warm rolled down his skin. Sahar had scratched him. Deep enough that blood dripped.

"Sahar," he whispered as he moved her head gently onto his lap. She thrashed. And screamed. He soothed her like she wasn't scratching him. The last time she marked him he hadn't tried fixing the scars she gave him. Not before and not even now. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay. You're okay"

As he witnessed her witch struggled with her nightmares, he pushed more of his powers to hers. Stronger this time. He might not have the power to erase her nightmares but he knew what she had always asked for silently. In the dark. When no one was there to listen to her.

She wanted to be pulled out. She didn't just want help, Sahar wanted someone to hold her up.

She was asking the same thing he did when he was younger. He knew exactly how terrifying it still was to live in the darkness despite befriending it to survive. No monsters would be kept silent forever. They'd come back. Over and over again. To hunt you down. To pester you until you break. To eat you alive. He believed no one had ever come to the point of overcoming their monsters, they'd only learn how to live with them.

Sahar eased down a little, heart calming into a steady pace. But Midnight had seen it. Saw how her hands trembled in the slightest way as she curled up in on herself as though she was petrified of something. Saw the way her lips paled and most definitely, saw how those delicate sad tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Love," The pet name he had given her was supposed to be a way for him to tease her but as the days stretched longer, he didn't know what was the purpose of it anymore. No, it wasn't only just to tease her. It was no longer used for mockery. "I need you to wake up. Can you do that for me?" he wiped a tear from her eye and she buried her face into his stomach. "Wake up, love"

What she did next caught him off guard. Midnight froze solid as a rock when Sahar's hand sought for his hips, wrapping him close for a tight hug. He got too distracted that he didn't know what to do next but stare at the witch who had all the guts to do this to a demon that could decapitate her in an instant.