I Will Protect You - BxB (BBC Merlin)

Chapter Twelve

Leo's P.O.V

Tristan leaves without another word. I look at Alex who is silently crying so I sit next to him and put my hand on his back. 

"She's really gone isn't she..." he asks through his tears. 

"Yes..." I tell him sadly, "but we still have each other. As long as we stick together, we'll be alright." He looks over at me and nods. We both stand up and I pull him into a hug which he returns. 

"Get some sleep. I'm going to talk to Tristan but call me if you need anything," I say when we pull apart. He nods and makes his way over to the small cot. While he lays down I head outside to check on Tristan. I get outside to see him caring for the horses so I go over to help. 

"Hey... How is he?" he asks, gesturing towards the door. 

"He's really upset but I think he'll be okay. What about you?" I ask. He turns away from me and doesn't respond at first. 

Finally he says, "I'm alone... My mother was the only family I had left and now she's gone... I wanted to heal her but I knew it was too late... Besides, I had to get you both to safety because that was the last thing she asked me to do..." I'm lucky enough to have my brother... I don't know what I'd do if I lost him too...

"You still have us. It might not be the same but you do still have us," I say and he turns to look at me. He gives me a sad smile and says he knows and he's grateful for that. His smile drops and he walks over to me. 

"What happened?" he asks, touching my neck. Before answering I get a realization. She was going to strip him of his status because of what he did to me... This is my fault... 

"What are you talking about? This isn't your fault. It's King Soren's," he says taking his eyes off my neck to look me in the eye. I didn't mean to say that out loud but I suppose he's right. He asks again what happened. 

"It's not important..." I say not wanting him to know the truth. 

"Okay. You don't have to tell me. Can you at least tell me what you were dreaming about when I came to get you guys? You seemed scared and afraid until you saw Alex," he says putting his hand on my cheek. Should I tell him? I close my eyes for a second and put my hand over his. Slowly I pull his down and shake my head. No. He doesn't need to know that. 

"That's okay. Just remember that I'm here if you ever need to talk about anything," he tells me with a sweet smile. I nod and he kisses my cheek. 

"Hey lovebirds," Alex calls, "you two need sleep more than I do. I'll keep watch." He doesn't give me or Tristan a chance to argue so we start to head inside. 

"Don't get too excited now that you two have a bed and alone time," Alex says to me with a smirk. He's obviously trying to lighten the mood. 

"Ignore him," I say when Tristan asks what he said.

"Wake up," someone says. I shoot up and frantically look around for Alex. When I notice him sitting at the table I take a deep breath and tell them I'll be right back before heading outside. Damn nightmares. I feel more tired than when I went to sleep. We've been here for two days and nights and I have nightmares every time I go to sleep. 

"Pull yourself together Leo. He's going to be fine..." I tell myself. 

"Leo? Is everything alright?" Alex asks. 

I turn around to see both him and Tristan standing there. I nod with a smile and tell them it's nothing they need to worry about. The two look at each other unsure and then back at me. Alex asks if I'm sure.