The Spider

Chapter 5: Dreams

I awoke from my nightmare with Leon's hand on my arm, shaking me. Fear was in his eyes, and a lone tear rolled down his cheek. I felt feverish yet cold at the same time and my head was pounding. It was still pitch black outside of the prince's windows, and the fire had long gone out. It was eerily still as we sat staring at each other, myself confused and Leon seeming horrified. He was breathing heavily, long ragged breaths that seemed painful.

"You..." Leon trailed off, running a hand through his wavy brown hair and shaking his head.

"What is it? Was I talking in my sleep?" I asked, concerned now. I was used to having nightmares, perhaps not as intense as the one I had just experienced, but I still didn't understand what had scared him so.

"No- Well, yes, you were, but that isn't what frightened me," he stammered. "You were writhing in the bed, clawing at yourself and making these strange noises..." he trailed off. I hadn't noticed the scratch marks on my back and arms until now, but slowly the pain rose. Red blood trickled from a few particularly deep cuts. I ran my hands over them, watching the blood smear across my arm. I was entranced by the oddly beautiful shade of scarlet as it dribbled down my body like a lace made of blood.

"I- I had a nightmare, perhaps that was the cause," I said, looking at the pieces of my own skin trapped beneath my fingernails. "I was burning. That would explain the writhing about I should think."

"Even if that was just a nightmare, it was like no nightmare I have ever seen," Leon said. "Something is wrong. I don't find myself to be a believer in the mystic, yet there are happenings that can no longer be ignored."

"Such as what?" I asked. He scanned my bare chest up and down, observing all the claw marks I had given myself.

"The attack on Siggūo, the never ending blizzards, you scratching at yourself and screaming in your dreams the night after I expose you to a place drenched in old magic," Leon responded. "There have been so many signs of a storm on the horizon, and I fear it will be terrible."

"And what kind of storm do you suppose that would be?"

He looked at me sadly before responding, clearly having thought about this very intensely.

"War among the six kingdoms, a war more horrible than any before it," he said grimly.

"Let us not be rash," I said. "I had a bad nightmare, that is all. Battles between kingdoms come and go just as the moon and sun do, this altercation with Palupi and Siggūo shall be no different. And the north is known for how cold the winters are, this is just a particularly harsh year."

Leon nodded his head half-heartedly, as if he was trying to convince himself to believe my reassuring words.

"Perhaps you are right," he said. "Still, I am not convinced. Too many terrible events have taken place in such short succession. Anyways, enough of superstitions. You need medical attention."

I scoffed at him. "While I appreciate your concern, a few scratches are something I believe I can handle." Leon furrowed his brows in disapproval.

"John, you are bleeding quite badly, look at yourself," he pointed out. Glancing at my body, I could see that he was right. Some of the gashes were quite deep, and the blood that steadily leaked showed no signs of stopping. The pain was also starting to become more severe as the shroud of sleepiness faded from my senses. I hated being wrong, especially if it made Leon right, but there was no avoiding the truth.

"I believe you are correct," I told him. "Let us go to the infirmary now then, so I can get these stitched up before daybreak. I slid off of the bed and onto my feet. I wore only my trousers, so I attempted to reach down and retrieve my tunic from the ground where I had left it. As I went to do so, a dark red spot filled my vision and I felt immensely dizzy. The spot began to spread until my vision went completely black. I could sense myself losing my balance and falling to the ground, the last thing I did before hitting the cold wooden planks being to whisper Leon's name.