▂▃▅▆▇█ I █ L █ L █ I █ A █ N █ T █▇▆▅▃▂

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Tᴇɴ﹕Ｎｉｘ， Ｔｈｅ Ｄｒａｍａ Ｑｕｅｅｎ．

When I awake I am back in the bed I slept in the previous night. My eyes focus in on the white ceiling and I groan softly. I tilt my head to the right and see Leon, Rein, and Merrick all in various places near the door in my room. Merrick is leaning against the left wall, left leg bent at the knee and propped on the wall. He has his arms crossed and resting on his chest. Leon sits on the ground on the right side of the door. His left leg us propped up and his left arm resting on his knee. His head is tilted back and resting on the wall. Rein has pulled up a chair from the nearby desk and is sitting on it. His back slumped and head hanging, he must be asleep. I feel my fingers brush against something when I go to move them. I look down and see Rein's pale hand holding onto mine. I smile softly and grip his hand in return to the best of my ability due to my sleep drowsiness.

Rein's head flies up and his eyes widen. "L-Lilliana!" He pushes himself out of the chair. The chair inches back and he practically crawls onto the bed.

Leon's and Merrick's attention both turn towards us both. Their eyes widen and they too gather them selves and rush to the bed. Rein pulls his hand back and throws his arms around my frame. I groan softly but hug him in return, a small smile on my face.

"You okay?" Rein pulls back and stares at me.

"Yes," I croak out, my throat feeling parched. "Can I sit up?"

He nods, "Let me help you." He rests his hand on my back and helps my push myself up. He pulls up the two pillows beneath my head up with me.

I lean back into the pillows and close my eyes again, already once again exhausted. I hear a chuckle and slit my eyes open again. All three of them stand next to my bed with grins on their faces. Or well a up turned corner of his lip for Leon and a smirk for Merrick. Rein has a full on grin plastered on his face. I know what that grin brings with it.

"Awwww is Lilliana tired again?" He coos in my ear.

I elbow his side and glare at him. Or try to do both. "Anything wrong with being tired? Or do I have to remind you of your daily naps?"

"Ooo, man she got you there." Merrick chuckles and slaps his hand onto Rein's back.

Rein shrugs Merrick's hand off his back, "Tch. Whatever."

Suddenly the door makes a noise and opens. I turn my head and look towards it, on the other side stands Charbel and Nix.

Nix walks in and looks at Merrick. "Take these two idiotic humans and leave."

Merrick nods frantically and grabs Leon and Rein's arms and quickly pushes them out the door, nearly slamming into Charbel. Charbel steps back letting them out and then walks in by the time their down the hallway. The door snaps shut behind him and he smiles gently at me. Nix grumbles and sits at the chair Rein was in. Charbel grabs the chair from the desk in the room and places it next to the chair Nix sits on. He sit down and looks at me, Nix's eyes also flicker over to me.

"Have a nice nap?" Charbel speaks first.

"Charbel," Nix is next, "She was unconscious for a week."

My voice manages to croak out. "W-What? A week?"

Nix nods but remains silent. Charbel sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose before pulling his hand back. He scoots the chair closer and gently take a hold of my hand. He rubs his thumb over my knuckles, a calming method. He traces his thumb over my dry and cracked knuckles. Dead skin be the death of me.

"Lilliana. We need to know everything that Araceli's hologram told you and did."

I watch his thumb keep brushing over my knuckles. "She was rolling the orb around and then she told me about how every Illiant has a capability for magic."