Snow woke up with a startle, his eyes suddenly wide open.
"Hey, you ..." a soft voice greeted him, and he immediately looked up to see a pair of bright blue eyes, tinged by the warm orange light of the fire silently burning in their bedroom.
They were both lying on their sides, facing each other, and, for a moment, Snow couldn't help feeling confused, as if he'd suddenly been thrown into a completely different world. And then an inexplicable overwhelming sorrow squeezed his throat, filling his eyes with unshed tears.
"Hey! What happened? Had a bad dream?" ZaiWin asked, clearly worried, and the familiar, warm hand that covered Snow's head only made him feel sadder.
Still, he shook his head. It wasn't as if he'd had a bad dream. Quite the contrary. In truth, he couldn't recall ever having such a warm, pleasant dream. But the sadness that had remained, even though it made no sense, was painful and quite real.
"Did you remember something ...?" ZaiWin insisted, his tone cautious, almost as if he dreaded hearing the answer, but Snow shook his head again.
"I dreamed I was me ... but wasn't." Snow replied in a small voice. "And there was someone else. Someone I've never met before ... And yet ... It fell like I've always known him. And it felt so real … Almost like I was really there. I wish I could have stayed there a bit longer, and spoken with him some more …"
ZaiWin took a deep breath, propping himself up on an elbow, and rested his head on one hand, looking down at him.
"Maybe you'll dream about it again …" he suggested, gently straightening Snow's hair. He couldn't help wondering if Snow's memory of what he'd seen when he'd activated his marking was already coming back to him. ZaiWin knew it would, sooner or later, but he couldn't help wishing it would be later. He doubted Snow would share ZenTar's biased opinions regarding that matter, that he would see him as just an innocent child that had no idea of what he was doing. Above all, he didn't want to see renewed distrust in those pale eyes when Sbow looked at him.
Snow took a deep breath and nodded. And then silently scooted closer, wrapping an arm around ZaiWin's waist and leaning his forehead against his chest.
For a moment, ZaiWin could barely breathe. Snow never initiated such intimate contacts, unless he was either asked to or skilfully led to do it. And the cool hand that touched his back sent shivers running down his spine.
For an instant it was almost as he were back in that forest, the agonizing pain of his shattered leg flooding his entire body, threatening to stop his heart at any moment. And then a pair of small, cold arms had suddenly hugged him, a sweaty forward pressed against his belly as the small child in front of him tried his best to keep him standing.
Back then ZaiWin had been too small and too powerless to hold him back. Even though that small child had done his best to protect him, even going as far as innocently sharing his precious, miraculous blood and saving his life, ZaiWin hadn't been able to protect him back at all. He was probably the worst Chosen One in the History of the Empire. But not anymore.
Placing a hand over Snow's head, ZaiWin gently caressed his soft hair.
"I'm right here. No matter what, I'll always be right here. Even if you tell me to go away, I'll still be here." The arm surrounding his waist squeezed him a bit harder. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together. All right?"
Snow nodded, his forehead still glued to his chest. And ZaiWin sighed, lying down and holding him back, patiently giving him the reassurance Snow was silently requesting. Whatever he had dreamed about, it had clearly disturbed him a lot.
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If ZaiWin even dreams about the nature of Snow's dream he will never allow him to sleep again! 😊