'Why is he staring at us?' The figure asked, purple engulfing his face. Fuck should I know? Nightmare replied within his head. He felt his own face heat slightly from the way Dream was appraising him, but luckily it wasn't obvious.
Nightmare looked at Dream--or more specifically, where Dream was. In Cross' arms, and that fact made Nightmare's corrupted soul churn, although he couldn't place why. It was an odd burning sensation, and Nightmare resisted the urge to rub at his sternum where the feeling was concentrated.
Killer looked up to where Horror and Cross were looking down on him, then quipped, "I lay myself at thine feet, o' knight in shining monochrome--it appears you have already rescued the princess from her castle."
"Shut up or I will stomp your skull in," Nightmare growled, not wanting to think about Dream as Cross' princess--or a princess at all. "I am revoking your talking privileges--I'm sure it was some patronizing remark that got Dust to chase you."
Unceremoniously, Dust and Killer were dumped at Horror and Cross' feet. "What is the rule with fighting in the hallways?" Nightmare prodded, his arms crossed over his chest as his tentacles lashed behind him.
"Not to do it," the knights replied monotonously.
"And yet you continue to do so," Nightmare mused with an annoyed lilt in his voice. "You make me look bad in front of the kings of the realm--I have already heard them speaking of me going soft on all of you for allowing you to sit closer to me than the highest of the visiting aristocrats at my table.
"I had the practice rooms made specifically so your petty squabbles would not wreck the manor and traumatize the staff," Nightmare continued.
"We know," the knights responded in a practiced manner.
Nightmare sighed and rubbed his temples. "Then use that knowledge and apply it. Seriously, three of you have PhDs in theoretical quantum mechanics, and you still cannot follow a simple order."
"Sorry, boss," Dust said quietly, getting up to stand beside Horror.
"Yeah, sorry, Boss," Killer repeated after getting up. He leaned on Cross, smiling widely. "Did our Little Light get tired?"
Dream's bones already had a slight yellow tinge, but his cheekbones began to flush slightly with the saffron color of his magic.
"I seem to recall revoking your speaking privileges, Killer," Nightmare said, trying to avoid looking into Dream's bright eyelights that were staring at him. "Although I am curious as to why Dream is in Cross' arms."
"He's getting the same feeling I had after my injury, Boss--the tingling, burning, disconnected one," Horror answered. "I'm not a doctor, but I know straining the injury can make it worse, and I didn't want him to have to go through any magical retraining of his legs, so Cross decided to carry him so he wouldn't have to put any pressure on his spine."
"Shit," Nightmare muttered, repressed concern spiking in him. "Get Dream into his suite. I am going to fetch Rose."
Cross adjusted his hold on Dream and began to walk quickly through the hallways, navigating the fastest route back to Dream's suite.
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Well, that happened. If Dream was allowed to move, he would have smacked himself over the head repeatedly for staring at Nightmare the entire time he was scolding the boys. He wished he could justify his staring, but he honestly couldn't other than the fact that he looked good in formal clothing--the style suited him and his mannerisms well.
When he had been set down upon the bed he was currently reclining on, he had noticed that his room had been cleaned: the sheets, bedspread, pillows, and many other things in the room had been changed from darker hues to lighter ones, and anything that had gotten marrow on it had been cleaned or replaced.
"How are you feeling, Your Grace?" Rose asked after securing Dream in place with pillows. She wanted to make sure she had gotten the sedative and pain reliver's dosages correct--Dream was unique and therefore the amount she gave was mainly guesswork.
Dream smiled up at her. "I'm quite alright, Rose. I'm sorry I took you away from Ash."
"Don't apologize for being injured," Rose replied. "This is my job, and Ash was just as worried when they heard it was you I needed to tend to."
Rose extended her hands and began to pour healing magic into Dream's spine, shifting her fingers in an attempt to coax Dream's magical flows to properly connect.
As Rose healed his spine, Dream took to looking at Nightmare, who was reading a book in the corner of the room. Dream smiled at the softened expression Nightmare wore as he read--a stark contrast to his usual smirk or scowl. Cross, Killer, Dust, and Horror had been dismissed by Nightmare to go and do what they normally do--with a reminder to not wreck the manor.
Rose's shoulders dipped slightly, and the strain on her face was obvious. "Rose, you don't need to push yourself--I'm fine."
The healer shook her head. "You are not fine, Your Grace. I wish I could do more to heal the fracture, but at the present moment the only thing I can do is keep your magic topped up and try to coax it to flow properly."
"Rose," Nightmare spoke, his voice drawing Dream and Rose's attention easily, "if you have done all you can, it is best you rest."
"Is that an order, Your Majesty?" Rose inquired, pushing a bit more magic into Dream's bones.
Nightmare looked up from his book to lock eyes with Rose. "I will make it one if necessary."
Rose sighed and pulled her hands away from Dream. "Yes, Your Majesty, I will go to rest." She turned to Dream and re-buttoned his coat, making sure no bone was visible. "I apologize for being unable to do more, Your Grace. As soon as I am able I will return to heal you more."
Before Dream could protest that that was unnecessary, Rose shushed him and moved to the door. "Hush, Your Grace, you require constant healing to make sure that you heal properly. I will leave you now in the care of His Majesty--have a goodnight, you two."
Dream's face flushed again, and he watched Nightmare dive back into his book. Dream wanted to start a conversation with him, but the two of them weren't on anything like speaking terms--Nightmare had saved him for the sake of self-preservation--and they had been fighting on opposite sides for thousands of years. Dream did want to talk to Nightmare, however, so his mind came up with the great conversation starter, "what are you reading?"
Nightmare startled a little, but continued reading as he responded, "Pase Lo Que Pase--it's a fantasy."
"Can you read it to me?" Dream blurted out, face flushing yellow moments later. Rose had told him not to move at all, so he couldn't cover his face with his hands. He tried to justify himself, "I-I mean, you used to read that book to me all the time, and--"
'Hell yes, we will,' the figure said, moving into Nightmare's field of view. The ghost was flushed purple, and Nightmare could feel his own flush rising. He looked to where Dream laid, propped up in a position that would put no stress on his spine. "Sure."
"I--what?" Dream asked, watching as Nightmare drew a stool up to Dream's bedside.
"Sure," Nightmare repeated as he sat down. "I'll read it to you."
As Nightmare began to read the book aloud, Dream felt himself drift closer to sleep. Perhaps it was the stress of the last two days and the medicine Rose gave him catching up to him--perhaps it was the slight sitting position, reminiscent of the position he would sleep in when defending the tree--perhaps it was listening to words being read to him. Or, perhaps, it could have been Nightmare's presence at his side that was urging him softly towards sleep.
The story Nightmare was reading was about a group of knights and a war between kingdoms over land. In his sleepy stupor, Dream commented, "y'know, the 'knight in shining armour' thing fits the boys rather well."
The same burning feeling from earlier reared its ugly head, and Nightmare was about to comment how, despite knights being their official title, none of the boys were gallant, noble, or chivalrous enough to be knights in shining armour, when Dream continued, "I think it fits you best though."
Nightmare was happy Dream had closed his sockets--because the other couldn't see the bright blush he induced. 'He- We- I- Augh!' the ghost exclaimed, covering his flushed face despite the fact that only Nightmare could see him. He tried his best to recover his composure and continued reading to Dream.
At the chapter's end, Nightmare took a moment to assess if Dream was still awake. His emotions hadn't gone neutral--the most obvious indicator of sleep--but Dream was also the Guardian of Positivity, meaning his emotions generally skewed positive.
"You have the perfect storytelling voice, Night," Dream said softly, his inflection displaying his drowsiness. "It's deep, rumbling, and sophisticated--the ideal voice for fantasy--it's really alluring, honestly."
Nightmare's face went full teal, and he put his book up to his face instinctively. He honestly wasn't used to praise--he didn't need nor want it--so he had no idea how to respond. 'Thank him, you idiot!' The figure in his head yelled, trying and failing to smack Nightmare upside his head. Nightmare pulled the book away from his face and kept his gaze locked on the book. "Thank you."
"Your blush color is pretty," Dream said, startling Nightmare into locking eyes with his dual-guardian--who had opened his sockets and reactivated his eyelights at some point. "The teal suits you, although I do miss the bright violet you would flush--it was cute."
The remnant of Nightmare's previous conscience's face went entirely violet, and he started sputtering. Nightmare's blush had begun to calm down, but Dream's assertion that the teal fit him smacked him with another wave of embarrassment.
"You look good in that, by the way," Dream added, his eyelights fuzzy in his half-asleep state. "I didn't get to say so earlier, because you were too far away, but I like the outfit."
"W-why are you complimenting me so much all of a sudden?" Nightmare asked, taken aback and more embarrassed than he would like to admit.
Dream replied with, "I'm just stating facts. We've always been fighting, so I never got to say them. Before, I didn't think to say obvious things to you."
"...are you implying I'm unintelligent?" Nightmare asked, confused by the things Dream was implying.
"Quite the opposite, actually. I didn't think to point these things out because I thought you would obviously know them. I guess it's better to hear things aloud sometimes..."
"I have no clue what you're speaking of," Nightmare said, marking his page and closing his book. "How much did Rose drug you?"
"You're a horrible liar, and not that much," Dream turned to gaze into Nightmare's eyelight with his own fuzzy ones. "You aren't evil by nature nor practice, Night. You aren't the source of all suffering. You deserve to be loved. You're strong," he listed. "Things like that--things I thought you knew and believed, but it's obvious you were convinced of the opposite."
Nightmare's face darkened. "I disagree."
"With which part?" Dream inquired, sensing the negativity swirling in Nightmare's emotions--however, he was too tired to sort through them.
"All of it," Nightmare responded simply.
"Well, believe it or not, it's true," Dream said with a yawn. He turned off his eyelights, closed his sockets, and rested back into the mountain of pillows he was surrounded with. "Could you keep reading to me?"
Nightmare exhaled slowly. "Sure."
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Hi! Sorry this chapter is a lot shorter than the others, but I'm planning on switching up my writing style from huge chapters to short ones so I can publish them faster. Usless you all prefer the longer chapters with bigger gaps?