Dreamtale: Origins

Chapter 10: Danger Rising

And so the fall begins.

TW: Violence near the middle-end.

Also, super-long chapter, woohoo!

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Edited

:):

'However, bit by bit Nightmare started to change, he was afraid, he started to think that everyone was bad, that everyone wanted to hurt him.'
~Dreamtale AU (Joku) Pg 13

:):

Nightmare had never thought that the rainy night full of magic and wonder and happiness would be the last day of true happiness that he would ever have.

The next morning, since both of them had fallen asleep at the foot of their beloved tree, Nightmare woke up alone. He figured that Dream had already headed out into the village, being the little kind spirit he was. But then something else came crashing down on him like a bucket of freezing water.

If Dream wasn't here, that meant that he was alone. If he was alone, that meant that the villagers had a large window of opportunity to hurt him. Nightmare had a feeling that the townspeople knew about his vicious cycle. He assumed that they were smart enough to figure out why Dream hadn't realized exactly why Nightmare had all of those bruises.

As Nightmare sat up, he felt his crown slip off of his head. When he picked it back up, he took a moment to inspect the symbol. A silver moon embedded into a frame of gold. A long time ago, the voice had told him that it fit him just right. The moon was a sign of both darkness and mystery, but it was also a sign of comfort in the night hours. Nightmare remembered that he had once questioned his name.

"Mother?"

Yes, my child?

"Why did you name me Nightmare? It sounds... kinda bad. Like I'm going to hurt someone."

No! No no no, never assume that. We both know that you'd never hurt anyone. The only reason why I named you Nightmare is because you are the exact opposite of Dream soul-wise. He is made solely of positive energies, you are made of negative energies. That is the only reason. Never assume that I named you Nightmare because I thought that you would harm someone. There is no need to have Atelphobia or Philophobia. There is no need to worry, little one.

"Mother, what is Atelphobia?"

'You'll have to find that out for yourself, young one.'

And Nightmare did find out for himself what Atelphobia was. It was the fear of not being good enough. A fear that he knew that described him. Of course, the voice had been right. It was almost always right when it came down to himself and Dream.

The voice had created them, after all.

Slipping the crown back on his head, Nightmare climbed back up into his side of the tree, dark fruits shaking gently with every movement. As he made it to his spot, Nightmare took a quick sweep around the branches.

All of the books that he had been keeping up here, all of the books that he had held so dearly, everything-- he had read them all. It had taken him an excruciatingly long time, but he had done it. Every single word, every single page had been read over at least twice. Nightmare had savored the escapism that came with the books, most of which were gifted to Dream. 'Great Expectations,' 'Black Beauty,' 'The Secret Garden'—Nightmare had read them all.

That was the exact thing that Nightmare had been trying to avoid.

It may have sounded ridiculous, but Nightmare had been trying to hold onto the escapism that came with the books like someone trying to hold onto a wonderful dream as they come back into harsh reality.