Curse-Breaking Nightmare
Summary: Rod dreams of the night that he broke his curse. He leaves to find his girlfriend sleeping on her room.
Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.
Words: 1000
Notes: I mean, out of all curses, that one seems to be the harshest, though the wish was also the grandest.
Lucette is having a quiet, tranquil dream. Those where nothing in particular never happen, but rather a sequence of calming images mumbled together in a dark picture, more of what the concept of relaxed muscles would be if they were sensible to the eye.
Then, she is awake.
"Huh?" She groaned, more in surprise than in annoyance as her bedroom flooded with light.
A quick glance at the pendulum clock resting on one corner of the room pointed that it was 2:13 on the morning, a rather odd time for someone to come into her chambers, regardless of the reason. It is then that her body tenses up and she jumps to see who it was, lest it is an assassin sent for her head.
The princess turned her squinted eyes towards her open door, where a tall silhouette was stood, hunched over in its frame.
As the light hits the platinum blond hair on their head, Lucette can recognize this figure to be her boyfriend, though it was worrying as to why he would show up in the dead of night. He usually slept just fine, going to bed and waking up in inflexible hours.
He is well-disciplined even when unconscious, the red-haired princess notes with mirth.
“Is there anything on the matter, Rod?” She asked, her throat still a little hoarse from sleep.
"Can I please…?" Rod croaked out, his voice breaking off before he could even finish speaking.
Instinctively, the girl shifted over in her bed, redistributed the pillows and patted the new space next to her. Her unspoken invitation led him straight under her covers, his arms instantly winding around her waist as he pressed his forehead into the crook of her neck.
The young princess knew better than to pressure him into speaking, so she simply lets him lay against her, her hand soothing up and down his back in an earnest attempt to help slow his breathing and calm his restless spirit.
"I just had to make sure you were safe." He murmured, tensing his thin arms around her as if she would disappear at any moment.
His position effectively hid his face from view, and the darkness of the moonless sky would banish any possibility for her to see his face in any turn that she can make. Nevertheless, the feeling of his warm tears slipping onto her skin betrayed his deception.
"Of course, I am safe. I am perfectly fine." Lucette reassured him calmly. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Rod only hummed to confirm her suspicions, but she could feel his breathing even out slowly.
“I dreamt about the day we broke the curse. I dream about that much too often, to be completely honest.” He muttered. “I dream that I kill you under that spell, or that Emelaigne convinces me to kill you out of my own will. It is terrifying and I always wake up drenched in sweat. Crying, too, most often.”
“Rod, I don’t…” She begins to respond.
“Don’t.” He cut her off. “Do not say anything of it. I do not want to hear your pity, so do not waste it on me. Just stay there.”
After a small pause, he shuffled around to be eye-to-eye with his stepsister, with the side of his face pressed into the side of her pillow. She could feel the warmth of his body due to the small size of the bed, and he was sure she would be able to hear his racing heart.
Lucette notes with a chuckle that her father probably never bothered to commission her a larger bed in fears of having her a guest on it. Now, the narrowness come as a feature, not a bug, when it comes to his stepson.
The orange fire light from the torches under her window crept through the windows and illuminated his face ever so slightly and the small, comfortable smile that was on it.
"Are you alright?" She whispers, resting a palm on his cheek.
The girl brushed away a few damp tear-trails from the soft skin on his face, which made his eyes flutter shut in content. He found comfort in her steady presence.
She is glad that the boy came to her this time. He usually bottled everything up or resorted to anger to deal with everything, and if the debacle with his curse comes to prove anything, it is that this is hardly constructive behaviour.
Rod nodded, moving a hand of his up to his face to hold hers, "Yeah, thank you for letting me come in here."
"You are always welcome here." Lucette smiles back. "I love you, remember?"
"I love you too." Her boyfriend smiles back, then seals his words with a soft kiss to her lips.
It is remarkably chaste, and it only lasts for a couple of seconds, but when he pulls away, he lays an arm over her waist and gently tugs her figure, pressing closer to him. Now, her head is buried in the crook of his neck, with his arms delicately but securely wrapped around her, holding her firm in position.
"I am not going to die. I am not going anywhere, Rod, and I am certainly not leaving you behind. You out of anyone should know that." she mumble.
The blond prince could not help but smile at her. Even whilst half-asleep, even when he does not want it, she managed to reassure him. It is difficult to believe that he once thought that she was completely incapable of kindness and solidarity.
Before he could even reply, Lucette succumbed to her tiredness again and had fell asleep against him. All he could do was press a light kiss to the top of her head, trying to be as still as possible.
He kept she in his arms, now confident that his nightmare scenario was only in his head.
"Goodnight, my love." Rod whispered, nuzzling his face into her hair.
In the morning, she was alone in her bed.
*_*_*_*_*
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