I travel on with the trio as we press forward to our next destination. Soon I will be leaving them. I'm nervous as to what I should expect from my hometown, if I even have a place there. I look to each of them. Aladdin, who has never given up on me. He showed me my true worth and always motivated me to keep going. He's a good person and most importantly a good friend. Alibaba, who often screws things over and looks down on himself a lot, but he has a strong sense of what is right and always fights for his personal values and his friends. He seemed like a jokester and pretty average at first, but he has very strong willpower and is serious when it comes to what's important. Lastly, I look to Morgin. He's quiet but strong. I didn't know much about him, but I really admired him. To me, he just is perfect.
As I return from my daze, I notice red eyes staring back into mine. Realizing he has caught me staring, I blush and look away. Thinking back to a few months ago when I had first met those gorgeous red orbs. I'm very grateful to him, especially since it brought me to get to know these three incredible boys.
I smile to myself as we come across some flowers in the forest we're traveling through. I'm especially excited to see some (f/fl). Yes, it is fate that I'm here traveling with these three. I stop for a moment to look at them before running to catch up again with the others. Playfully joking about how they left me behind.
But there's a seriousness behind that joke.
The night is quick to settle in, forcing us to stop. We all set up to sleep in a clearing. Aladdin and Alibaba are exhausted, passing out just moments after laying down. I can't sleep though, my mind is in a loop and my heart is beating rapidly. Nervousness. Fear. Hope. A mix of emotions have flooded me more and more as we grow closer to our destination. I roll over to see feet and look up to see my mother. I'm caught off guard. I must be asleep, or maybe everything else was a dream. She frowns down at me before turning and walking down the hall. 'Mother?' I try to call out, but no sound comes out of my mouth. She closes the door. I fall back into warm arms, my brother. Blood drips down my shoulder as I realize he's dead. Screaming, I shove him off of me. Blood pooling out and under the door as he sinks into the floor. I bang my fists on the door, 'Let me out! Let me out!' I'm back in the closet. 'I'm alone again..' The voices that haunt my mind are back, reminding me of the fears and regrets that control me. The ones that ate at me day after day, night after night. I don't think I'll ever wake up.. because it feels so real.
Suddenly, my eyes burst open. I'm panting and my heart is thumping. Loud, louder than any other sound around me, it races. I see Aladdin and Alibaba asleep, then notice Morgin is missing. My fears begin to overtake me. 'What if he left us? What if he's dead? What if he doesn't come back?' I quietly get up. It's dark, and I'm scared. But I go and search for him. Quietly, tip toeing through the trees. I hear a rustle behind me. Turning around, I hold my knife out to the sound as I come face to face with the fanaris boy. He takes the hand that holds the knife, removing it and replacing it with some flowers, (f/fl), as I stare at them in wonder.
"How did you..?" I state, confused at the blossoms in my hand.
"These were the ones you were looking at earlier, right?" He asks shyly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. I nod, smiling at the softer side of this lovely red boy. "I was going to give them to you when you woke up, but when I got back to the camp you weren't there." I smile down at the flowers in my hand, avoiding his gaze.
"Th-thank you." He nods in reply. Grabbing my other hand, he tugs me along gently to the side of the forest and points up. The sky is filled with stars. Without any lights around it looks absolutely breathtaking. We lay in the grass, looking up as we admire the sight in the quiet peace of the night.
"When I left you were stirring in your sleep.. what were you dreaming about?" I'm surprised by his question. But this isn't the first time I'd told someone what happened, though that time didn't end well.
"Just a little nightmare," I say, shivering as the night gets cooler.
He wraps an arm around me, pulling me close to him as I huddle in his warmth. "(y/n). What are you worried about?" 'Is it written on my face? Is it so obvious, despite my attempts to mask it under my optimism while distracting myself from it?'
I tell him how my brother and I had been locked in a closet. How he died and that I thought I was going to too. There's a pause as I remember it. "One day a stranger opened the closet, telling me my parents had been arrested and I was free to go. I've been rejected and abandoned by so many people since then... I guess," I start to cry, "I was just thinking about if you and the others would leave me too."
He lets me latch onto him as I quietly sob against his chest. He runs his fingers through my (h/c) locks as he looks down at my shaking form. "Everyone has something they can't escape from, my memories of my master still haunt me. Dreams that I'll never escape being a slave.." he pauses remembering the nightmares he too had to face. "Fear is a powerful thing, it often seems as if it'll never let go. I'm free though. I still hear the voice of my savior reminding me that when I fall prey to those fears again." Looking up at him, I don't know how to respond, instead just hugging tighter to him. "I didn't think I'd ever be free, but I'm glad I let myself escape. I've met so many wonderful people.. and I met you. A beautiful (h/c) haired girl with the brightest (e/c) eyes and a smile that makes my day. One that makes the battles through those nightmares worth it. I wouldn't abandon that girl, never in an eternity." He places one of the (f/fl) behind my ear as he presses his lips against my forehead.
Lifting my face up to meet his, he makes sure I'm not feeling uncomfortable by his affections. Then, once he can tell I'm not, he presses his lips to mine. He smiles into the kiss as I kiss back, my arms squeezing tightly around him. His affections and words are genuine, and it makes me happy. Holding me in his arms I fall back asleep. He comforts me as I fall back into the nightmare, but this time it has a happy ending. He is there to open the door, promising to never leave my side.