Have a Heart

Ellona tossed and turned in her sleep. Sometimes she would let out small cries, others a small tear or two would be shed. It was obvious she was having a nightmare.

Daniel was too caught up in his own shadowy nightmares to notice Ellona's. Flashes of childhood, the ceremony, the Clarent, then sinking into a deep dark abyss.

Suddenly Ellona sat up with a startled cry, startled from her nightmares, her hand smacking Daniel hard across his chest. Her own chest heaved breathlessly and tears glistened on her cheeks. Her eyes were wide and unfocused.

Daniel sat up immediately, swiftly scanning the area for threats. When more common sense had returned he noticed Ellona's miserable state. "Are you alright?"

Ellona didn't respond, her small fame quivering, no, trembling still with the aftermath of her nightmare.

Carefully he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's alright."

Ellona's trembling seemed worse than it looked. She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes.

Daniel gave a sigh of pity and held her, unsure if this would calm her or make things worse.

Still lost in the after-throes of her nightmare, Ellona clung to him lightly, still trembling like a leaf. Even though she put up a strong, calm and collected front, she was still first and foremost a young woman who lost someone very dear to her.

Daniel continued to embrace her, staying silent.

Eventually Ellona slipped back into her slumber, having never fully woken. She remained clinging to Daniel, though more peaceful.

Daniel remained sitting up, not wanting to shift and wake her. He could and would sleep like this if he needed to. Heroes didn't always have comfy beds to sleep in.

He didn't know what the nightmare was about, but he had his suspicions. Had the loss of her previous fiance hurt her that badly? He had never fallen in love himself, though there had been plenty of crushes and sowing-off and occasional humilations. He laid his head on top of hers and tried to get some rest.

Ellona was normally an early riser. When she woke at dawn and found herself being held as she was she immediately jerked away, blushing a healthy shade of red.

Daniel was jolted awake. Once again he hastily scanned the area for threats before coming back to reality.

"Oh, good morning," Daniel greeted sleepily. "Do you have nightmares like that often?"

Ellona glared at him. She turned her back to him and crossed her arms.

"That a yes?" asked Daniel.

Ellona practically threw herself back down onto the bed. She gave an angry grunt.

"Yeah, not really ready to get up either," replied Daniel, plopping back down on the bed himself. He was usually a early riser (his training didn't give him much choice), but he had slept poorly the previous night and wouldn't have minded slumbering some more.

"...If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." Ellona stated suddenly and coldly.

"I won't," Daniel replied, and he meant it. His uncles might consider her bad night episodes as a sign of poor breeding and cancel the engagement. But he didn't want that, at least not on those terms.

Ellona curled into a tighter ball and her crossed arms turned into a self hug.

"It's isn't disrespectful to have nightmares," said Daniel. "Everyone person has them at some point or other."

"Shut up!" Ellona snapped. "I don't want to hear it from you!"

"Why not? I have nightmares too," Daniel grumbled back.

Ellona curled into a tighter ball. "You've never lost someone" she stated coldly.