~
Two tiny eyes fluttered open revealing an icy blue gaze. Milliardo sat up and looked around the room noticing a bit of the morning light creeping through a rip in the curtains. He laughed, remembering the day he had accidentally ripped it. His mom was going to have the curtains replaced but he insisted they stay. The rip was shaped like a lightening bolt, and Milliardo liked to see it when he woke up. Crawling out from beneath his heavy comforter he slid off the bed and onto the cold wood floor.
Blonde strands of hair fell in his eyes and he pushed them away. He followed the light towards the window, the floorboards creaking as he tip-toed across them. He reached out to the velvet curtains and stroked them with one finger, feeling the soft texture. The fabric bunched up as he clenched his delicate hands into tight fists, flinging the curtains to the side. The bright light hurt his eyes as it poured into his room. The world outside looked like a piece of heaven dropped into a world of ordinary. The sky was as blue as the lapsing waves, and the trees were filled with birds each singing a song of serenity.
Slowly he walked towards the doorway, a strange feeling growing inside him, a feeling he couldn't explain. The warmth of the sunlight faded as he walked into the shadows of the dark hallway. The air was suddenly thick and made it hard for him to breathe. He could feel the aching inside him telling him to turn back, but it wasn't strong enough to fight off the curiosity, begging him to go on. Carefully he put one foot in front of the other in an endless pattern down the long corridor. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the two large doors leading to his parent's bedroom. With two shaking hands he reached for the knobs and turned them, so afraid of what may lay behind them. The heavy doors moved slowly drifting away to reveal a silent bedroom.
Milliardo walked into the room on the balls of his feet, trying hard not to make any sound. Slowly approaching the large elegant bed in the center of the room, he listened to the soft breathing of his mother and father. Ever so carefully he climbed up on the bed beside his mother. He stared closely at her golden brown hair, at her soft features and serene expression. With one finger he gently brushed back a golden lock from her face, but as soon as he touched her cheek, her skin turned icy and cold and all the color drained from her face until there was nothing left. Milliardo jumped back in fear and hit the floor sliding back away from the bed. He shook his head in disbelief, crawling around the bed to his father's side.
"Father, father wake up! Mom, she's… she's…"
Milliardo scrambled up the side of the bed to wake his father. When he reached the top he could see that his father looked the same way his mother did. He grabbed onto the sheet to stop himself from falling again, but the sheets slipped and he slid back down to the floor. The young prince scrambled to his feet and ran back out to the hall. He quickly shut the doors to his parent's room afraid of what had happened in there, not wanting to accept reality. He dropped to his knees and tears began trailing down his face. Remembering his one last hope he stood and wiped the tears away, running off down the long hall.
All he could think about was his little sister, Relena, if she too was… he didn't even want to think about it. So many thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to make sense of it all, not really wanting to accept what he knew was happening, and at the same time not understanding how. Finally he reached the door to the nursery and he was nearly too afraid to open it. He gathered up all the courage he had left and pushed the door forward, slowly approaching the white lacey bassinet in the middle of the room. A bad feeling was already tearing at his heart; the room was silent. He swallowed his fears and walked as fast as he could towards the crib. Finally close enough he leaned over the side, and he saw what he feared most. Sightless eyes, frozen in time with the innocence of a pale, fragile china doll. He couldn't take any more, he ran out of the room and down the hall stopping at a large window that caught his eye.
The once peaceful kingdom Milliardo had always known looked as though a shadow had swept over it and left them in darkness and chaos. He pressed his hand against the glass as he stared in horror at the scene that lay before him. He didn't want to accept that it was all happening… it just couldn't be real.
He looked down at the floor and tears began rolling down his cheeks. "I'm… I'm alone. I'm all alone here in my kingdom," his knees buckled and he fell to the floor. He narrowed his eyes staring off into the darkness. "I don't want to be alone!"
Milliardo's eyes flashed open, but he could see nothing. He sat straight up and felt around in the darkness; his bed, he was in his bed. Sweat poured from his brow and fresh tears ran down his face. He looked around his room, lost and confused, but all he could see were shadows playing tricks on his mind. The dream seemed so real he couldn't decide whether it had happened or not… must have just been another one of his nightmares. He swallowed hard and climbed out of bed; he had to be sure. Slowly he made his way down the hallway once again, this time he was not as afraid but still he had to know for his mind to be at peace. The door creaked open a crack and he slipped through, he stopped and listened, he could hear their breathing… He crept up to his mother; the sight of her chest rising and falling with each breath calmed him. Reaching out with one finger he touched her hand… he waited and watched, but nothing happened.
Silently he backed away and slipped out into the hall, leaving the door open a crack. Letting out a sigh of relief, he headed back to his room, beginning to feel a bit childish for believing it all to be true.
"Just a dream…" he smiled slightly and pushed the curtains open. His eyes moved back and forth glinting in the moonlight, searching the velvet sky for his star. Finally he stopped, fixed on a tiny fleck of silver shining brightly among many. Suddenly he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, looking up he saw his mother, concern in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling down beside him.
"I'm fine now… it was only a dream… just a dream," he smiled at her. "Mother…. I won't ever be alone… will I?"
"No Milliardo… though it may seem like you are alone at times, as long as you can see the stars in the sky you know we are watching you. You'll never be alone, I promise. You are in my heart, so I will always have you near, am I in yours?"
He nodded and buried his face in her shoulder, "I don't want to ever be alone here."
She wrapped her arms around him, "You aren't alone my young prince, you aren't alone. Come now, back to bed, you need your sleep." Milliardo ran over and hopped into his bed, she followed and pulled the covers up to his chin. "Sleep well, and sweet dreams my son, I love you." She leaned over and kissed his forehead.
"I love you too Mother," his eyelids became heavy as he watched her leave the room. Everything would be okay, she said he'd never be alone… he didn't have to worry anymore. He let his eyes close, freeing himself of the world, slipping away to a realm of dreams.
Two tiny eyes flashed open, revealing pitch-black chaos. As he adjusted to the darkness, he only wanted to shut them again. He was no longer in his bed, but lying on the floor, half buried in what once was his furniture. He could hear loud crashing noises in the distance and was too afraid to move. Like an idle finger, a trickle of liquid wound its way like a snake across his skin, and with shaking, dust-coated fingers he briefly touched it. Brows drawing together, he squinted in the dim light, eyes drinking in the tint of crimson mingled amongst the vibrant dark drops brushed across his fingertips. Blood...
He pushed away the rubble and tried to sit up, the pain in his head growing and the room began to spin. "It must be another dream… I just have to wake up… everything is gonna be okay." He tried to swallow but began to cough, the air was thick and heavy, every breath hurt to take in.