Firelight flickered in the draft, the candle spluttering before returning to its healthy height, the Princeling sitting at the table paying it no mind, his straining eyes fighting to focus on the pages of the book he was supposed to have finished by now. It drove him mad, how the letters on the page refused to stay in focus, blaming himself despite knowing that he should have retired to bed hours ago. He couldn't help it, truly. He thirsted for knowledge about everything, feeling as though he had to know every minute detail of every person, object, or occurrence in world. Such was the burden of the first child to the King, especially the Crown Prince.
He leaned back in his chair, fingers hooking on the edge of his glasses before tugging them off and lightly tossing them onto the desk in front of him. The same fingers caused phosphenes to dance behind his eyes as he pressed harshly into them, grunting at the sting that came from the dryness that his tear ducts tried to chase away. He wiped the excess away, wondering if it was worth it to continue pressing on for the night and finish the book, hoping that it would be over in time to catch at least a couple hours' worth of sleep before training in the morning.
The internal battle over catering to his desires versus his needs was swiftly rectified, the Prince hearing his door creeping open. His head whipped around, hand stretching towards his blade until he saw wide, crimson eyes peering back at him. A sigh escaped his lips as his hand fell, looking to his younger sister, a tired frown tugging at his lips.
"Kamui? What are you doing up at this hour, little Princess?" He spoke softly, knowing the child's tendency to spook, considering how she had belted out, not but a few hours earlier, that she thought Xander was 'scary'. The Prince liked to act as though the outburst hadn't affected him as much as it did, but he loved his siblings—to know one of them feared him upset him greatly. The child shuffled her feet at the door, looking behind herself into the pitch darkness of the hall leading to his room before stepping in and shutting the door behind her.
The Prince cocked a brow as the small girl crossed over to him, grasping tightly at the edges of her nightgown as she walked to him. He blinked, seeing the pearly tears that were gathering in her eyes, the little girl keeping her eyes downcast as she came closer. When she finally reached him, she climbed up into his lap, the boy freezing as his sister buried her face into his shoulder with a small hiccup. He wrapped his arms around the girl, lightly stroking her back. He opened his mouth to ask what was troubling her, getting a muffled answer to the question that lie on his lips.
"I had a bad dream…" Kamui hiccupped, and Xander sighed, giving the tiny Princess a sad smile before standing, walking over to his bed with her and settling down onto it.
"It's alright, Kamui. I'll make sure to keep the nightmares away." He said softly, trying to console his youngest sister. He expected a demure response, and to hold her until she had lulled herself with hiccups and sniffles to sleep, not for her to wrench away from him, smacking his chin in the process. He whined, bringing a hand up to cup at his face, the girl seeming not to notice that she had hit him in the first place.
"I knew it!" She exclaimed, face bright despite the tears that still covered her crimson eyes in a pearly sheen. His brow furrowed, giving his sister an odd look.
"You… I beg your pardon?" He asked, the little girl giving a fierce nod.
"I knew to come here—'cause the dreams were scary, but big brother is scary-er! If anyone could keep the baddies away, it'd be you!" She chirped, her mind making sense in the way only a child could, and the declaration stunned him for a moment before his face split into a smile, the Prince giving a hearty chuckle at his sister's antics.
"You confuse me sometimes, little Princess…" Xander sighed, shaking his head at Kamui. His heart was soothed some, knowing that Kamui felt safe enough with him to come when a nightmare plagued her sleep. He slid back further onto the bed before leaning back some, meeting his sister's eye. "Would you like to sleep in here tonight, that way I can keep away the, er… 'Baddies'?" He asked, giving another small laugh when she nodded her head sharply. She slid off of his lap, flopping onto the bed before turning and grasping his hand as best she could with her small fingers.
Xander allowed himself to be pulled down, moving away only to shuffle under the thick duvet, the little girl following suit before snuggling up to his side. Kamui pressed her head against his chest, giving a long decompressing sigh before looking up at him.
"Good night, big brother…" She yawned, closing her eyes with a hand grasping at his night shirt. Xander gave a small hum, leaning down to kiss his little sister's forehead, sliding an arm over.
"Good night, little Princess—sleep well."
Good ol' family values, I've always quite liked how Xander is portrayed in the game as the brother/psuedo-father figure for the Nohr siblings. He's just a great character in my opinion. Please check out my tumblr: grimlegate. tumblr. com for other stories and to leave requests for the next story I should do!