Counting down the days until you see that I'm eternally yours...

Chapter 9 | Cryptic Warnings

Your eyes snapped wide open and you found yourself gasping for air.
"It's alright. I'm right here," JR's sweet voice seemed to instantly calm you and for that, you were mostly grateful.
"Wh-what..."
"It was just a dream," He was holding you in his arms, stroking your hair gently whilst wearing a worried expression upon his face. "It was all just a bad dream."
"It seemed so...real..." You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself.
"What...did you dream about?" he asked carefully, unsure if he was allowed to ask you such a question.
"...Fairies and...goblins..." you told him, noticing how he tensed up at the mention of the goblins. "Are fairies real in your world, JR?" you asked, trying to distract him from thoughts of the goblins.
"They are," he replied, after a long pause. "Did the fairies speak to you in your dream?" You nodded. "I see..."
"How did you know they spoke to me?" you asked him curiously, noticing how he was trying to find a way to answer the question in a way in which you would understand.
"To have a fairy appear in your dream is rare, so when a fairy does appear in your dream, it signifies the beginning of an end. To have a fairy speak to you in your dream is even rarer." You waited for him to continue and when he did not, you asked him, "And what does a fairy speaking to you in your dream mean?" His grip on you seemed to tighten.
"When a fairy speaks to you in your dream, it is a warning of what is to come in your future." There was silence between you both as you continued laying there in his arms, both of you lost in your own thoughts.
If what JR said was true, if the words of the fairy in your dream was a warning then it was a bad omen. She had asked you to save JR yet had not disclosed from what. You could only assume she meant the goblins as it was the most obvious answer, but nothing about the situation was obvious or predictable in the slightest. When the time is right, you will know what to do. Those were the words she had spoken to you, but they were just riddles which you could not solve. All you were sure about was the danger that both you and JR were in, him especially.
All this time, you had been so guarded, you had failed to realise what JR was enduring. He was here, in your world, trying to accomplish a task greater than you had come to realise and all you cared about was your own life when his was apparently hanging in the balance. His survival was not just a selfish whim, he had said it himself that he had a greater burden to bear. There was a whole other world waiting for his return, to create a more peaceful kingdom. It was a lot of responsibility for one person, especially for someone so young.
When you looked up at JR, you noticed the look in his eyes and saw reflected back a panicked little boy, frightened out of his wits. Your heart sank. How could you have been this selfish? JR was walking blindly in the dark, he was trying to grip tightly on to any physical surface but all he was grasping was thin air. He was alone in this fight and he had come to you, asking for your help. Yes, he had been trying to convince you of marriage, but right now, that was not the issue. The issue was how you could help JR to survive and succeed against the goblin prince. Even now, you were not sure if you could manage this, after all, it would be much easier to just wrap yourself in a blanket and hide in your bed forever, but how could you abandon him at this point?
"I'm scared JR," you began, your voice shaking a little. "I've never been this scared before my entire life, I really think it's important that you know that." He nodded, taking your hand into his and gently squeezing it in reassurance. "But if you need my help, then-then I should at least try..." In one swift movement, he had pulled you into a strong embrace, burying his head in your shoulder. "JR..."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me just yet," you told him, whilst trying to tame your pounding heart. "There's a lot I'm still clueless about and-and as for you wanting me to be your Queen..."
"Do not worry. I will not mention it again for now. It is enough to know that you have made the decision to help me try to fulfil the legend of my people. Thank you."
There was something about what he had just said which began to bother you, but you could not quite figure out what that was...