Nightmare

Late at night, while everyone was at rest in their own rooms, one child awoke, looking frantically around her room while tears stung at her wide, fearful eyes. She wasn't long scooting herself out of her bed and scampering to her door, opening it and slipping out silently. Her rose-tinted tresses flowed behind her while the hem of her silken, white nightgown ruffled about her silver-tinted calves softly. She had to see for herself. If he was there, then everything would be alright; it just had to be. She'd make sure not to leave his side.

Meanwhile, Diente slept quite fitfully in his own bed, and, for once, he was alone under his white, cotton sheets. That was a rather rare occasion for him, with that libido of his. However, it wasn't long before he was stirred awake by the sound of his door creaking slowly open. He was a light sleeper, after all, which caused him to nearly jump, thinking that perhaps Gwyndolyn had come in to play a prank on him, or some such thing. He was surprised, however, when his baby sister stepped into the room, looking as if she'd just seen a ghost.

The drow sighed softly as he watched her walk slowly over to him, remembering that he was nude under his sheets. He bent over the other side of his bed to find a pair of boxers, slipping them in under the sheets and pulling them on as quickly as he could. He didn't want Mauve seeing anything she shouldn't. She was only twelve, after all. "What is it, Petite?" he whispered as the child climbed upon his bed beside him.

Mauve looked up into her eldest brother's lazuline gaze, instantly feeling better upon being near him. Not a second later, she threw her arms about his neck, holding on as if her life depended on it. "I can't sleep. I had a bad dream."

Diente pulled the girl into his lap after a moment, easing back her pink tendrils of hair from her bright, erubescent eyes as he looked down at her adoringly. "A nightmare, hm? And you've come to me in hopes I'll make it go away?"

The child nuzzled her brother affectionately and closed her eyes. "You always make it go away..." she replied, pausing for a moment before continuing. "But I don't want to go back to my room this time," she whispered. "I want to sleep with you."

A single brow arched upon Diente's dark features as he heard his sister's words, thumbing her cheek tenderly. "Are you sure that's such a good idea, Petite? I doubt our parents would approve of that. I can just check your room and make sure it's safe..." He trailed off as he watched Mauve start to shake her head wildly.

Tears started to sting at the young girl's eyes as she shook her head, her silken, rosy tresses flying every which way about her frail form. "No!" she managed before her voice became lost within her sobs. She held tightly to Diente, her eyes squeezed shut as her face became wet with her tears. "If I don't stay with you, I might lose you forever..." she whispered through broken sobs.

Again, Diente's brows arched as he held the child tightly against him, rocking her back and forth and humming softly to silence her sobs. "I'm sorry, Petite. Forgive me? Just stop your tears now, alright? Tell me about your nightmare."

Mauve eventually calmed from her brother's words, laying her head against his shoulder as she ran her fingers through his silver tresses thoughtfully. "I dreamed that...if you ever left me, you'd never ever come back," she whispered. "They said that you took an...overdose..." her face screwed up into that of confusion before shaking her head. "They said it was at Daddy's club. I didn't know what it was...and Daddy told me in the dream that you weren't coming back..."

After a moment, she dared to look up into Diente's cerulean colored eyes once more with fear in her own erubescent ones. "I don't want to lose you, Diente. Not because of anything." She threw her arms about his neck once more, her sobbing renewed. "Don't...make me leave...D-Don't leave me..."

Diente sat motionless for a long while, staring out into nothingness as he held his young sister close to him. An overdose? She dreamed he'd overdosed? Perhaps it was a sign that he had been taking too many drugs lately? He shook his head, utterly dazed by such a prospect. He knew Silaquil had the ability of future sight at times...but Mauve? Could she have it when it came to matters of life and death in the family?

The drow began stroking the child's back soothingly, rocking her once more as he thought upon it. He promised himself then, that he would be more careful...at least for a few weeks. He didn't want to die, and he certainly didn't want to make Mauve think he'd ever abandon her. He would never let that happen, if he could help it. "Shh, Petite. I won't make you leave, and I'll not leave you either. Calm down now, and try to get some sleep, hm? I promise that this 'overdose' will not happen to me. You have my word. I would never leave you and not come back. I'll always return to you, no matter what. I promise you, Mauve...I'll never go away forever."

Mauve settled down within her brother's lap with some effort, looking into his pained eyes for a long while and knowing his words to be true. She still held onto him, however, closing her eyes and laying her head against his shoulder once more. She smiled soon after, rather content where she was, feeling the safest she'd ever been. "Diente, I love you more than anyone...You're the best big brother ever..." she said softly as she drifted off to sleep.

Diente smiled rather adoringly down at Mauve's sleeping form as he heard her words, giving her a chaste kiss upon the lips as she slept, before kissing the top of her head. The girl couldn't have known how much that meant to him. If only she'd been older...