It was late night when Alexander heard a knock on the door to his bedchamber. He dismissed it at first, but whoever was at the door knocked again, a bit more persistent this time. Hesitantly, he got up, the bones in his legs protesting. When he opened up the door, he saw Daniel, his guest, standing in front of the doorway. The man had Brennenburg just a week ago, seeking help and information about an Orb he had discovered.
"Daniel?" he asked "What is it that you need?" The baron had grown accustomed to having the man visit his study in the week past.
"Well…I had another nightmare…"answered the man before him. For some reason, Daniel did not look at Alexander; he would either stare at the floor or around the study.
Alexander replaced the questioning look on his face with his usual unreadable expression. Every night since Daniel had arrived at the castle, the Englishman would suffer horrid nightmares whenever he slept. It became common place for Alexander to have Daniel knocking on his door in the late hours of night, having experienced a new nightmare at the Guardian's hand.
"Should I brew you some tea?" Alexander queried
"No thanks" Daniel answered, with a shake of his head. "I do not feel like having tea tonight. Besides, you do realize what hour it is, right?"
"I do, though you have woken me up much later for assistance" Alexander replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, right" Daniel stared down at the floor again, as if there was something interesting at his feet.
"Do you want me to put some laudanum at your bedside?" Alexander questioned, the corners of his mouth turning up a bit.
"No!...I mean, no." Daniel answered, composing himself.
Alexander allowed his lips to curve into a small smirk. At the beginning of his stay in Brennenburg-the first time Daniel had a nightmare- Alexander placed a vial of laudanum on his nightstand. The next morning, he saw Daniel asleep under one of the tables in his study. When he had woken up, he braced himself against the nearby wall, clearly embarrassed that the baron had found his in such an odd position, especially after taking laudanum for the first time.
Alexander was running out of suggestions or Daniel's situation.
"Well, is there something you want me to do to help you?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"Um…could you possibly…lay down with me?" Daniel queried, the last few words quickly falling out of his mouth.
Alexander, having had some surprise at Daniel's response, began looking at the other man with a questioning expression. He had visited Daniel's room a few times earlier in the week, to help him with the nightmares. Although, the Englishman had never explicitly asked Alexander to lay in bed with him.
"Very well, if that will help you with falling asleep again, I shall." Lifting a candle he kept at his bedside, and lighting it, he began walking with Daniel over to the other man's room. It was not a long trip, although Alexander brought the candle due to the Daniel's fear of the dark.
A couple of minutes later, the men had made it to the guest rooms, Daniel entering the room first as the get in bed. Alexander chose to sit in a chair nearby the bed, so that he could observe Daniel as he slept. He knew that the man would not fall sleep for some time, but he wanted to be prepared.
About half an hour later, Alexander noticed that the man had begun to fall asleep, as his breathing had slowed. Not long after, it appeared that he had begun to have another nightmare. Daniel had begun to fidget around more, his breathing sped up, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Standing up, Alexander got out of his chair, and walked over to the bed. Although Daniel was lying down on the other side, he didn't quite know what to do. But he could not just wait there for Daniel to wake up screaming again. He sat down on the bed, slowly making his way over to where the other man was laying.
At that point, Daniel had rolled over in his sleep, giving Alexander an idea. Reaching out, he placed a palm on Daniel's back. The man tensed in his sleep; Alexander had not tried to touch the man, whether he was sleeping peacefully or having a nightmare. Slowly, he began to rub circles on Daniel's back, attempting to calm him down. After Alexander started, Daniel had stopped his panicked fidgeting, and gradually, he showed signs of having ended the nightmare.
Alexander didn't stop for a short while afterwards, as he did not want the nightmares to return as soon as he ceased. But after a few minutes of not rubbing the man's back, it appeared that they most likely would not come back for a while. Preparing to get off of the bed, Alexander felt a slight tug on his wrist. He looked back to see that Daniel had grabbed onto it, probably unconsciously. Slowly, he pulled his wrist out of the grip of the other man, and made his way over to the door of the room. Looking back one more time before he left, he was assured that the nightmares were still not there, and-for once-Daniel was sleeping peacefully. He allowed himself a smile, a true one this time. He would have to make a note to visit the man more often.