Cristine
Flashback from fifteen years earlier...
The night was dark as always like in the day, but the storm was much stronger than before. The thunder was louder, the wind was much stronger, and the rain was heavy. The sound of the raindrops made it almost impossible for me to sleep.
But the wind and the rain were never the problems why I could not sleep. It was lightning. One of my earliest memories of a storm that involved thunder and lightning was when I was no more than three years of age. A time when my mother was still alive and my sister was still with me. My sister and I shared the same bedroom, she never had a problem with lightning or thunder. She thought of them as intriguing and strangely relaxing to listen to. I found it uneasy.
The moment after a bolt of lightning struck I cried out," Mummy!". My sister groaned in annoyance as she woke up.
" Crissy, why must you always shout when a storm happens?", she asked, looking at me with her ivory-toned tired, and almost angry expression. Her wavy dirty blonde hair was a mess, her brown eyes narrowed at me, and she was sitting on her side with a hand as support. She was nine years old at the time but her mind was already practically an adult. Mother said that she was a prodigy in a "special" way, meaning that she was a "child genius", but I was never told what thought. Which was something that frightened our mother due to what horrible things the Church had done to people like that, including children.
" I didn't mean to wake you, Rosie. I just hate the--", before I could finish another lightning struck which made me cry out " Mummy!" again. She came to the door not long after that one. She was standing in the doorway, holding a lit candle. I looked at her with teary eyes.
She was in her late twenties to early thirties, with tall, long dirty blonde hair that was tied into a messy braid, skin that was pale as the snow, and eyes that were green as tree leaves in the spring. She wore a green robe with yellow trim and tie. I held up my arms as I whimpered to her" Mummy...". She gave me a soft smile as she went over to my bed, sat down then held me.
" Mummy the lightning scares me.", I sniffled into her chest. She gently rubbed my back in small circular motions while her free hand held my head closely.
" I know it does, my little fawn.", she told me in her soothing and bird-like voice," The lightning can be scary for many sometimes. ".
" I, however, find it fascinating and relaxing. It's practical music to my ears.", Rosella commented. She was usually called by her pet name "Rosie" rather than "Rosella" unless our mother was being strict with her. This ironically happens quite often since Rosella tended to get in trouble despite her being the oldest and mature one out of both of us.
The lightning then struck again for the third time, as always I cried again." Oh, calm down, Cristine. This happened many times before, you should be used to this--"
" Rosella, hush!", my mother instructed my sister. She only rolled her eyes then laid back down and pulled the covers over herself. Mother still was holding me close.
" I can't stop the thunder, my sweet. Would you like me to sing you to sleep?", she asked. I looked up at her and stopped the sniffling. I nodded my head yes.
She laid me back on the bed and tucked me in. She looked down at me with the same smile on her face as before. She then began to sing in her angelic tone:
"Little child, be not afraid
Though rain pounds harshly against the glass
Like an unwanted stranger
There is no danger
I am here tonight
Little child, be not afraid
Though thunder explodes and lightning flash
Illuminates your tear-stained face
I am here tonight
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
The same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
On forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see
In the morning
Little child, be not afraid
Though storm clouds mask your beloved moon
And its candlelight beams
Still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight
Little child, be not afraid
Though wind makes creatures of our trees
And their branches to hands
They're not real, understand
And I am here tonight
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
The same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
On forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see
In the morning
For you know
Once even I was a little child
And I was afraid
But a gentle someone always came
To dry all my tears
Trade sweet sleep for fears
And to give a kiss goodnight
Well now I am grown
And these years have shown
That rain's a part of how life goes
But it's dark and it's late
So I'll hold you and wait
'Til your frightened eyes do close
And I hope that you'll know
That nature is so
The same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
On forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see
In the morning
Everything's fine in the morning
The rain will be gone in the morning
But I'll still be here in the morning."
I don't remember which part of that song I fell asleep in at the time, but when I did I did not hear a single strike of lightning, not even as I heard my mother sing. I was sleeping dreamlessly that night.
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Present-day(1476)...
My eyes began to open wide from the dream. It was either the middle of the night or a few hours before sunrise, I could not tell, all I knew was that it was still dark out. I sat up on my bed and held my legs against my chest. Thoughts of my fond memories of my mother filled my mind after waking from the dream.
My mother was always my protector and light when in the darkest moments, she even was the same to Rosella. She loved us both regardless of how different we were from each other. I never understood why anyone would accuse her of a witch or anything awful, as far as I knew she never harmed a soul. I missed her so much, including my sister. She was a bit harsh but she was probably hurt from when our father left us. She knew of him more than I did, they were probably close before I came along. But I wouldn't know, I never really asked and I was only told that he never was the type to stick around long.
Wanting to clear my head from the unhappy thoughts, I removed the covers from my body then got off the bed. I walked to the wardrobe and opened it to search for a robe. I found one that was maroon-colored and put it on. I tied it together, tightly but not to where it would hurt me or make me uncomfortable. I walked to the door, opened it, then walked out.
I thought that a small stroll would help clear my head. I walked from hallway to hallway. I went to the library to read for a short period of time before I walked back to my room.
I stopped in my tracks and gasped as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I quickly turned to see who it was and it was Adrien. I placed a hand on my chest and sighed in relief." You scared me.", I almost smiled at him.
He smiled back at me as he said," I apologize for doing so. I was just wondering who was wandering in the halls.". His long blonde hair was a bit messier than usual, he wore a large white shirt that reaches down to his knees, his usual black pants, but did not wear his boots." You had trouble sleeping too, didn't you?", I asked after observing him.
He lifted his shoulders slightly as he responded," How did you guess?". I couldn't tell if he was asking, joking, or being sarcastic. So I didn't respond to that.
" What kept you from being unable to sleep on a lovely night like this?", he asked.
" I--", I began to say but it began to be hard finding the words for it. Any thought of my mother had often made me upset, even if it's one of my fondest memories of her. I never had gotten over her death even after all these years.
" I dreamt of my mother.", I answered him truthfully," Before the Church had come and before my sister had left.". I then looked down with a mildly sad expression on my face.
" Oh... Was it a good dream?", he asked me in a gentle tone.
" It was lovely.", I told him. I then looked back at him. He had a calm expression on his face as usual. Out of curiosity, I asked him in return," How about you Adrien? What kept you up this night?".
" I just couldn't shut my eyes or at the very least keep them shut for a second or even pretend to sleep.", he answered.
" Hm... I can understand that.", I responded. I could understand. There are some nights where I could shut my eyes, while half the time I couldn't. Whenever I couldn't, I could never understand why though.
" So, what were you doing in the halls, anyway?", he asked.
" I was just taking a small stroll through the halls to distract myself from the thoughts I have been getting since I woke up. I was just on my way back to my bedroom. I never intended to wake you.", I explained to his first then the second question that he didn't even ask," I am sorry for disturbing you."
" No, no, there's no need to apologize. I was only curious.", he told me then asked," Mind if I escort you to your bedroom? If not, then I won't mind."
" I don't mind at all.", I told him with a smile on my face," I enjoy your company.". A smile formed on his face. He lifted his hand slightly towards me. As our fingers intertwined, our eyes never separated from each other's, that was until he walked me back to my room.
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Although it wasn't long until he took me back to my bedroom, every second with him felt like forever, but in a genuine way. As we got to my door, I released his hand and told him," Thank you, Adrien, for the talk and for taking me back to my room. I hope you sleep well tonight.". As I turned away to open the door, I felt his hand back on mine. I turned my head back to him.
" If you ever have trouble sleeping again for any reason, you are welcome to come to me. I won't mind if you have to wake me up for it.", he told me.
I smiled again and nodded my head with an " Okay, I will.".
A small smile formed on his lips again. He then placed his free hand on my cheek and held it. He pulled me in delicately and only enough to be a little closer to his masculine form. My eyes looked up at him widely with a confused expression on what he was doing. That was until I felt his lips gently kissing my forehead for two seconds. He still had the same soft smile on his face as he pulled away and removed his hand from my cheek.
I couldn't help but blush a little as I tried to hide the smile that was forcing itself to form on my face. He chuckled at my response to his kiss." Goodnight, Cristine, do sleep well.", Adrien told me as he began to walk away.
" Goodnight.", I returned as I watched him walk away with the smile still on my face. I quickly entered my room, shut the door, then leaned back on it. My eyes were half-closed as I stood there with a dumb look on my face. Thoughts of Adrien were filling my mind, repeating the same scene of just happened between me and him. His kiss may not have been on my lips, but my heart couldn't help but flutter since that was the first time any male had kissed me before. I felt almost as if I was in love, but I couldn't be since neither of us really had talked on the subject and the idea of it was still new to me.
After a minute and a half, I stood up straight then made my way to my bed. I climbed onto the bed and laid my head on the pillows. Soon, my eyelids slowly lost their strength to keep open, shutting my eyes allowing me to drift back to sleep.
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Author's Note: The lullaby does not belong to me. It belongs to a singer named Vivienna Tang called "Lullaby for a Stormy Night".