Prince of Dragons

Chapter Fifty-Six

I couldn't fall asleep, that night, and I'm sure you could guess the reasoning. After nearly dying over a dream, only to find out it may not have been the dream, but someone trying to kill me...sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. Sure, I laid there and acted as if I was settling down for Alaban's sake, but once the sun dragon was sound asleep, I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

I thought about the nightmare. The creatures. I even thought about my death four months ago. My mind was a muddled mess of thought and eventually I couldn't take it anymore and gently pried myself from Alaban's arms, before I left our room in order to find something to sate my parched throat.

I hadn't expected Narvi to be up, however, and upon seeing his silent form sitting on the windowsill—his gaze peering outside absentmindedly--I paused momentarily, seeing the thought deep within those light eyes. The moon dragon was still vigilant enough to have heard me shuffle inside, and he immediately turned tense as if he thought a repeat of last night was under way. He relaxed though when I gave him an awkward wave before shuffling to the open kitchen and lit the lantern there to see what I was doing.

"Sorry, I...didn't expect anyone to be up," I said, loud enough that Narvi could hear me. "You couldn't sleep either?" I glanced up towards the man in question as he shook his head slightly.

"I'm keeping an eye out," he mumbled, turning his attention back out the window, "for the person who is trying to harm you." He looked back towards me. "Did you have another bad dream?"

I pursed my lips and my eyes fell onto a jar of sunshine—as Narvi had called it. Feeling like it was a dumb idea, but much needed, I grabbed it and made my way over to the couch in the center of the living room, plopping down before I patted the space next to me. "No, I just...I don't know, after last night, sleep seems a little hard to come by, tonight." I unscrewed the lid and paused for a moment, staring down at the alcoholic beverage in my hands. "I'm too scared to sleep." And that was the truth.

I mean, someone was apparently trying to kill me, and I was at my most vulnerable when I was asleep in my bed. And that somebody was powerful enough to make it inside our home without alarming any of us. Hell, if Alaban hadn't been so skilled to sense the magic...would he have bought that what happened to me was a mere heart attack?

They got past me.

They got past Narvi.

And even Alaban hadn't even known they were there.

So yes, I was terrified to go to sleep at the moment, and after some more contemplation, I took a sip of sunshine, feeling the sharp taste of alcohol burn the back of my throat. I leaned my head against the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling as the space next to me dipped, a warm body settling next to my own.

"I'm scared to sleep sometimes, too," Narvi admitted, causing me to look at him in surprise. He continued to stare towards the unlit fireplace, a knee drawn up to his chest. He then looked at me, pale gaze searching my own, before he gently grabbed the sunshine from my hand and took a sip, his face scrunching in distaste. "I watched my papa die in a dream. Thing is, he had been dead before I had been born." I frowned and watched him fiddling with his fingers. "He fell off the side of a mountain, and mama could not grab him in time. Or so, that's how my dreams portrayed it, anyway." He looked back towards me. "My dreams have a habit of...being true? Accurate? I am not sure how to correctly word it..."

"Almost as if you're omnipotent I wondered aloud, causing the moon dragon to hesitate before nodding a bit. "See things even if you weren't there?"

"I...yes, I think so." Narvi leaned his head on his propped-up knee, light gaze looking a bit lost as he delved back into old, painful memories. "The one that follows me is mama's death. Because I saw it as a dream, right before it happened in real life. Mama and I were close, we only had one another. And living in a forest to fend for ourselves, we would often run into hikers, or travelers. They were usually nice to us, a bit caught off guard by our appearance...but kind overall. Sometimes they would give us stuff. Food, clothes...one person even gave us a tent, once."

He sighed and took another sip of sunshine before handing the jar to me. "One group stumbled into us...a few months before I met you and Alaban. At least, I think it was a few months. Its hard to tell the days apart sometimes. They seemed nice at first and gave us some clean clothes to wear, and at the time I noticed that the leader of the group seemed fond of mama. A little...too fond. I was naive to warn mama of my doubts, and that night I had a terrible dream of that same man taking my mama from me."

"I woke up to find mama, as she often comforted me after such horrible dreams, and I found them, the whole group gathered around her, as she laid curled on the ground. We spoke draconic very brokenly, so they didn't listen to her pleas." Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes, and I couldn't help the way my heart lurched at the sight of them. "Mama saw me hiding behind one of the trees. She...even without words, mama and I could read each other...she may not have spoken, but she told me to run. And I did. I ran. Like a coward, and mama died to those men."

He wiped the tears that began to spill down his pale cheeks. "I buried her body next to a creak. She liked the sound of running water." He sniffled and glanced at me. "So, I understand how you feel. I'm afraid to sleep all the time. I don't want to see the next person I care about be taken from me, not again."

"Gods, I..." I paused, not knowing what really to say. After all, both of my parents were still amongst the living, so what could I possibly say to someone who dreamt of and witnessed his own parent's demise? Not to mention I hadn't realized just how soon such a travesty took place either. "I'm so sorry," was the only thing I could really come up with—not that I had anything better to say. Feeling sad for him, and guilty for my lackluster come back, I took another sip of sunshine—wincing as it burned my throat some more.

But he still took it with grace as he shrugged and leaned against me. "I don't want you to die. You are very nice to me, and I care about you a lot. I care about Alaban too." I nibbled at my cheek, feeling the slow effect of the alcohol settling within my system as my heart began to race—the sincerity in his eyes honest.

"I have the two of you, you know." I spoke softly. "To protect me, I mean. I'm scared because I don't understand magic, however...Alaban does. He's amazing with magic and if anyone can sniff out whoever is trying to take my life, it's him. And you. You're lithe, and quick, more so than even myself. You're also incredibly vigilant and much stronger than you appear...so I have no doubt you could aid Alaban in finding my assassin. I trust the both of you, and that's the truth. I'm just a worry wart that worries over everything, and it's probably because of my traumatic past, but...I need to remind myself that I'm not alone."

Narvi stared at me in silence for a moment, the alcohol now pinkening his cheeks as those light eyes seemed to read right through me. He then shifted his weight, pulling his body more towards me...and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine.

A/N: Screeeeechhhh it's happeningggggggg! Hehehehee