Prince of Dragons

Chapter Forty-Five

Sometime after Alaban and I had fallen asleep, I was awakened. Laying there, eyes still closed, I was conscious enough to feel a warmth slide onto the makeshift bed with me from behind. Thinking it was Alaban, I felt a tired smile split across my face as I opened my eyes to ask if he was alright, only to pause when I saw Alaban's dark, sleeping face...in front of me. Not behind me where the warmth was.

But strangely...I wasn't weary. I wasn't scared, and I didn't think whoever joined us, did so with nefarious means, and when I turned to look over my shoulder to see who it was, I saw none other than Narvi snuggling close to me, his face hidden in the center of my back.

Something was wrong...I could sense it, and for a moment I wondered if Evander had done something to him. That thought had worry immediately swell within me, and I carefully turned to face him—causing him to peer up at me with tear stained cheeks. My heart grew tight at the sight and I frowned, saddened by those tears.

I shot a quick glance behind me to make sure I didn't wake Alaban, as I carefully sat up and placed a hand on the moon dragon's shoulder. My worry only grew when I felt him shaking, and with a tightening jaw, I gently beckoned him to follow me so I could ask him what the matter was. He did so silently, his face reddened from what looked like a long night of crying, and I led him to a small table with a water basin sitting on the surface—dipping a small, clean rag within the water before turning to face him.

"Are you alright, Narvi? What's wrong?"

Narvi glanced to the side and wrapped his arms around himself, before shaking his head—as if he didn't want to tell me.

This caused my frown to deepen, and I gently began dabbing the rag against the tear tracks on his cheeks, trying to wipe them away. "You can tell me, you know. I care about you, I don't like seeing you upset." I tilted my head so I could meet his gaze. "What's going on?"

Narvi nibbled at his bottom lip, and glanced up through his lashes. "Bad dreams." He said simply, not elaborating any further than that.

But he didn't need to. I knew what it was like to have nightmares, and I knew better than to push someone for details when they were not ready to reveal. So I merely nodded and moved to wiping the sweat off his brow, my gaze filled with sympathy. "You're safe here, Narvi. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, ok? You're safe." I then paused. "Was that why you climbed in bed with me and Alaban? Did you feel safer with us?"

Narvi hesitated, but nodded slowly, causing my heart to clench even tighter. "Momma also bad dreams," he muttered, holding himself tighter. "I comfort."

His mother? It was certainly the first time he ever spoke of her, and it made me wonder if she was amongst the living still, and if she was...did he want to go back to her? If she wasn't...

My heart grew heavy, and studying his face I could tell that my second theory was probably right. Could his nightmare have been about her? But he said she had, had nightmares

as well, and that he was her comforter. Did he see us as his comforters? Because he felt safe with us, as his mother felt with him?

I sighed and pulled Narvi towards me, giving him a warm hug as I rubbed soothing circles onto his back. "Well, Alaban and I are always here to comfort you when you need it, Narvi. I have no objections to you laying with us when you have those bad dreams, ok?"

I felt Narvi nod against my chest. "Safe," he whispered against my shirt—his breath warm.

I nodded and gave him one more comforting squeeze before pulling away. "Yes, you're safe. Would you like some tea to soothe you? I might not know how to cook, but I can sure as hell make some tea—if you want some."

"Please."

I gave him a small, reassuring smile and made my way outside to the campfire, which was out—though it didn't take me terribly long to get it aflame once more. Finding tea was admittedly a little hard, but there were thankfully some sun dragons—who seemed to be kind of...guarding the makeshift camp—pointed me in the direction of some chamomile tea, which I thanked them for. I then boiled up some water, grabbed a couple of cups, and within minutes I gave Narvi a steaming cup of tea—with which he took graciously.

We sipped in silence, just basking in the sounds of the nocturnal creatures doing whatever they were doing beyond the trees. Twigs snapped, crickets sounded their symphonies, and it sounded like the wind was beginning to pick up as it rustled leaves and ruffled our hair.

It had been about twenty minutes of sitting there, enjoying the subtle shift in weather, when I finally gathered the courage to ask Narvi a question that was burning in the back of my mind—although, I hoped this didn't bring forth any bad memories for him.

"Narvi...I know we've known one another for a small while...but today is the first time I've heard you speak about your mother. I understand if the topic is too sensitive to talk about—and if it is, feel free to tell me to just shut up or something...but is your mother...is she alive? Did Alaban and I accidentally lead you away from her? Because if we did, and you want to be reunited, I have no problems helping you two get back together..."

"Gone. She...gone." Narvi whispered, pulling his knees to his chest, and causing me to feel like I've been kicked in the gut.

I turned my gaze away, mad at myself for bringing it up. "I-I'm sorry, I-I thought...I'm sorry, I have no idea what I was thinking even asking that."

I looked up when I felt a small hand on my shoulder, and Narvi's light blue eyes peered into mine as he patted me. "Not recent. Long ago."

I frowned. "Oh, ah...she died a long time ago?"

Narvi nodded, then looked towards his feet—his arms tightening around his knees.

I felt sad for him, my heart heavy with sympathy for him. After all, the loss of a parent was a devastating one—though I was lucky to still have both of mine. I could only imagine what he had gone through when she perished. It also made me wonder if he had a father somewhere out there, but deep down, I didn't think that was the case—not with how rare moon dragons were. At least, I had a feeling that he wasn't alive either, which meant Narvi had been completely alone for gods knew how long, and I felt for him. It made me want to protect him even more, and sure, it might be that "older brother" instinct in me to take care of others, but I was more than ok with that.

Eventually, we had made our way back into Alaban's tent, the both of us tired as the night grew thicker around us, and after a while—or it could have been mere moments—the both of us laid on the makeshift bed with Alaban, and fell into a much needed sleep.

A/N: Ooooo shnapppp, we learn a little more about our little moon bean!!!! Though, I wanna pull the poor baby into a hug Q-Q

Anywhoooo, hope you all enjoyed the chapter!!