All I Need ✔️

Chapter 25

Third Person POV

Prince Cassius awoke to knocking on his bedroom door. "Your highness?" Eli called

The room was still dark. The guard had better have a good reason for waking him so early.

"Enter," he said while yawning.

Eli entered the room, looking nervous.

"Your highness, I...I wasn't sure whether to wake you or not," he stammered. "But you said if anything happened with Safania..."

The Prince immediately sat upright. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Eli said quickly. "I mean, maybe not nothing..."

"Eli, spit it out," the Prince said, annoyed. "Why did you wake me up?"

"I just...think she's having a nightmare? A pretty bad one. She keeps crying," he said.

Prince Cassius jumped out of bed and hastily grabbed his robe, which he pulled on as he walked down the hall with Eli towards Safania's room. They passed Emalina standing with a candle in the hallway.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Go back to bed," the prince commanded.

When they got to Safania's door, Cassius could hear her thrashing around and crying inside. Eli fumbled with the lock, finally opening the door. "Leave us," Cassius told Eli. He bowed in response and left. Cassius shut the door behind him.

Safania lay in the middle of the bed with the sheets wrapped all around her. Pillows were strewn on the floor, as was the large comforter, leaving only the sheets on the bed. Safania continued to whimper while tossing and turning.

Cassius felt a sharp pain in his heart. He didn't like seeing her like this. His Safania in deep pain, pain that he didn't know how to make go away. He walked over to her and sat by her side.

"Safania," he said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her from turning. "You're okay. You're safe."

Her breathing remained shallow and uneven, but she stopped twisting as much.

Cassius studied her normally tranquil and occasionally mischievous face, contorted into an expression of severe anguish. He brushed some of the hair from her forehead, finding it was stuck with sweat.

"You're okay," he repeated calmly. "You're safe here. I will keep you safe."

Safania woke with a gasp. Her head darted around, taking in her surroundings, confused.

"Safania," the Prince said. Her eyes locked in on him, but it was as if she didn't recognize him. "You're in Peria. You just had a nightmare. But everything is going to be okay. You're safe here."

Safania broke eye contact, and Cassius watched as everything came flooding back to her. Her breathing became more and more even, but tears started to form in her beautiful green eyes. Finally, she made eye contact with him again.

"Your highness," she began.

"Cassius," he corrected her gently. She paused.

"Cassius," she said finally. "I am so sorry."

"For what?"

"Waking you," she said, embarrassed.

Cassius shook his head. "Safania, do you not understand? I don't care about being woken up. I just care that you're okay."

Safania looked at the ground and nodded.

"Was it about Eir?" Cassius asked.

Safania nodded again. "I used to get them all the time. The nightmares. My aunt helped me and so they stopped awhile ago. But I think with your family talking about the war at dinner and being under stress...it brought it up in my head again."