Birth of a Nightmare Man

Chapter Eighteen

The sounds returned first.

Fabrics rustling in the wind. Elise had wondered about 'curtains', and what part of the world they were from. The Nightmare Lord had no idea how to respond, as curtains had always been part of his vocabulary without him knowing why. No one else had them, but he liked it. Well, there were always drapes but they were more generally used to divide rooms. He preferred solid wood doors for that.

Then there were steps, which meant either Elise or Lucian. Dementors didn't exactly walk, or were heard walking like, say, humans, so he ruled them out. But Elise and Lucian usually didn't walk around in his room when he slept.

Finally there were the Dementors, their rattling breathing that reassured him his beloved children were near.

So yes, sounds came to him first, but what came second was Why am I even lying down?

His throat refused to work, and his eyes wouldn't open. His limbs wouldn't move; the sheet on top of him felt like lead but then again, so did his eyes and arms. For a moment, he feared he'd choke.

Then he swallowed, and his lungs continued breathing, a controlled motion that partly satisfied him, partly unnerved him. Same with hearing his own heart. It reminded him he was alive, and then it reminded him he was alive. Same words, two different mind-sets.

It took a while to remember. He had last felt grass underneath his hand; now there was only soft fabric. He had smelt blood, the overwhelming stench of gory death. Now there was a sweet scent, incense Elise had discovered he enjoyed from time to time. Where did she find where I hid them?

Finally he opened his eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't. The light stabbed into his eyes and his throat tore up as he screamed the best he could. His arms finally moved, if only to put his arms over his eyes.

Hands grabbed at him, he fought back but lost the struggle within moments, falling back into comforting darkness where neither scent nor sound reached him.

-o-

Waking up a second time, the Nightmare Lord managed to open his eyes without wanting to gouge them out, and he stared at the ceiling for a while. He was alone in the room now. The robes were light and comfortable against his skin and… yes, he had both arms. He raised his head, and saw the outlines of both legs. He was whole again. Hands began to move, slowly gaining feeling back and he felt his ribs, covered in muscles, flesh and skin. Normal, not broken. He breathed in, felt his lungs expanding and let his head fall back against the pillows. His entire body was sore, as if he had been lying down for far, far too long.

The door opened and both Lucian and Elise stepped inside, Elise holding a tray. Which she dropped when she saw him awake. Lucian stopped as well, and then to the Lord's horror tears sprang up in Lucian's eyes.

"Master…" Elise whispered.

Lucian didn't stop at saying that. He threw himself at the bed and before the Nightmare Lord knew what to do, he was being hugged. That alone was a strange feeling. It was the first time he had been hugged by anything else than a Dementor since… since a long, long time. He couldn't remember being hugged by a human, feeling their heat so close to him. Dementors weren't warm, and their arms were thin whilst Lucian's were softer.

Elise joined them, not caring about the crashed tray and took his face in her hands. Normally she would never even attempt that.