Dullahan

5 - Bedtime Story - 3

Eldred didn't stop moving until he was back inside the small room, light from Leola's lantern illuminating the space as she reached the top of the stairs. Ness stood just behind him, a wall of metal between himself and the old woman, and one that made him feel just a little safer. He heard the old woman pause outside her own room, her shuffling footsteps halting. But she said nothing, and a few moments later the hallway was plunged into darkness again as the door clicked behind her.

He stood there for a few moments, blinking to try and get his eyes to adjust to the darkness, trying to let his eyes adapt once more. The room seemed much darker than it had when he had woken up earlier, the corners shrouded in more shadows, the space under the crude bed a deep abyss that could hold anything. The window's faint light seemed pitiful against the overwhelming black that had consumed the small house.

When he didn't move, Ness spoke. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice quiet. The sudden sound made him jump, and he glanced up at her.

He considered the question, looking back into the room. "Yes," he said after a while, and after steeling himself for the task, he stepped deeper into it, making his way back over to the bed.

Ness lingered in the doorway a few moments longer as he slid back under the covers- still a little warm from earlier. She waited until he had pulled them up under his chin before she shut the door gently, and he heard her return to her post outside the door, armour scratching against the floor as she sat.

The room only seemed to get darker. He shrank back into the covers, burrowing down and pulling them half over his head. He felt as though he was being watched, as though something might reach up from beneath him and pull him into the darker spaces beneath his bed. He felt as though someone would add his skull to the collection Leola kept beneath him.

But he tried to push these thoughts away, to cleanse his mind of anything that might keep him awake. All he needed to do was fall asleep- Ness wanted to leave tomorrow anyway. He just needed to get through tonight, and they would leave and go... somewhere else.

What felt like hours later, but was likely only about 30 minutes, Eldred was still wide awake. He had pulled the covers up further, the only thing peaking out now his eyes and nose. He shivered, despite the warmth of the blankets he was wrapped in, and he stared pointedly at a shadow he was certain hadn't been there when he had climbed into the bed. Fear made his breath shallow and quiet, and he dared not move lest whatever hid within the darkness take it as a cue to attack.

The house was silent again- he heard nothing from the hallway, and nothing from the rooms beyond. Even the garden seemed quiet, whatever creatures roamed the night either keeping their distance or staying very, very quiet.

There had been occasions back home when he had struggled to sleep. Times where he had been certain there was something waiting for him in the darkness, something lurking in the shadows until he made the mistake of falling asleep. Those nights had, inevitably, ended with him finally plucking up the courage to dart from his bed, to sprint from his room and find comfort in his mother's presence. He wouldn't look back as he would fumble with his door's latch, stumbling out onto the landing and through into his mother's room in mounting panic. She would wake upon his loud entrance, sitting up and beckoning him toward her. She would hold him for a while, assure him that there was nothing in the house waiting for him. She would tell him that no harm would come to him, that he was safe and she would protect him. She would take him back to his room after he had calmed down, and she would show him that there was nothing to fear, and then she would sit with him until he fell asleep once more. He felt a swell of grief and homesickness at the memories, and for a moment the fear was replaced with sorrow.

He pulled himself in closer, legs curling up beneath him and his arms hugging the blankets even tighter around his torso. He felt the sting of warm tears and the threat of overwhelming emotion. A deep, shuddering breath brought him back to calm, however fleeting, and he decided to take his chance.

The blankets fell away again, his bare feet resting on the cold wooden floor once more. He hesitated just a moment, as though testing to see if his fears were correct. When nothing lunged for him, he pushed himself to his feet, lifting an arm to wipe the half-formed tears from his eyes. He halted again as he stood, swaying a little in the darkness. Doubt tugged at his thoughts.

He pushed through it, starting a hurried walk toward the door of the room. The fear was pulling at him again, paranoia warning him not to look behind him, not to make a sound as he opened the door. He winced as the latch scraped, the hinges creaking as he pulled it open.

His room had been dark, or so he had thought, but it had nothing on the landing outside. This time, however, he could see the glint of metal.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. "C-can you sit inside?" he stuttered, his voice loud in the silence.

At first, he wondered if she slept, sitting as she did. She did not move, or at least he could not see the glint of her armour shifting. Then he wondered if it was actually her, or if she had removed the armour, of if it was something else entirely sitting outside his room. She responded before his thoughts ran away with themselves, and the relief just to hear her speak surprised him.

"In the room?" she asked, confusion lacing the words.

He lowered his eyes in embarrassment despite the dark of their surroundings, suddenly conscious of how childish he was being, his doubts proving themselves to be correct. He didn't want to fall asleep in an empty room again. He didn't want to be alone in there, and he didn't think he would sleep if he was. Still, he debated telling her that actually, he was fine. The fear won out. He started to nod, a quick, small movement, before he added words to the affirmation. "Yes."

She started to stand, the dark shape before him rising up, the surface of her armour glinting as it caught light from the window. "If you want me to, I can," she said when she once more stood before him, and he nodded to the darkness again. With another person behind him, he felt more confident as he turned back toward the room. He hesitated only a moment before he stepped back over the threshold, once more confronting the darkness within. Ness, after only a brief pause, followed behind him. He scanned the walls and corners, searching for the shadows he had been certain had appeared before, but found only shadows cast by trees or furniture.

The door clicked as Ness shut it, and she stood beside him for a minute before she spoke again. "You should sleep," she said again. After a moment's hesitation, she added, "I'll be over here if you need me." The shape beside him moved toward the corner of the room, settling back down into a sitting position, one leg bent as though crossed, the other upright and leaning against the wall.

He hesitated only a moment longer, hoping the last of his fear would dissipate. Then, he returned to his bed, clambering back upon the stiff mattress and burrowing back into the blankets.

He couldn't remember falling asleep again.