Jakob woke up in a panic, a sense of urgency and fear rushing through him, but he didn't know why. He sat up, and then he heard it again, what had awoken him.

Lady Corrin screaming.

In night shirt and trousers, he burst from his room where he slept next door. Dagger in hand and terror clutching his heart, he burst into Corrin's private quarters, violet eyes searching the darkness for some intruder. But there was nothing. No one, and Lady Corrin lay in her bed, screaming and crying.

Jakob ran to her, dropping the dagger, and kneeling beside her, shaking her awake as his heart tore in two at her pitiful cries.

"No!" She screamed, and her eyes opened. In the darkness of the room with the nightmare still chasing her, she tried to pull away from Jakob, not recognizing him.

"It's me, Corrin! It's Jakob. You're ok! You're safe!"

In the small light the moon cast into the room, Jakob could see the terror disappearing from her eyes as she realized it had all been a dream. She suddenly sobbed, and wrapped her arms around him, clutching him so tightly, he had to slide onto her bed. "You're ok!" she cried through her tears. "You're here!"

His own arms slid around her to comfort her as she cried into his chest. "Sh, of course I'm ok. I'm ok; you're ok. It was just a nightmare. I'm here," Jakob murmured in a continuous string of reassurances.

With Corrin shaking in his arms, Jakob suddenly realized their closeness and their lack of dress, himself in nightshirt and trousers, and his lady in nothing but a crumpled shirt and shorts, and he glanced behind him to see if anyone else had been woken by her screams. Fortunately, the door was closed, and other than Corrin's diminishing tears, all was silent.

He knew he should move back, regardless of whether they were being watched. She was a princess, and he was her butler. He swallowed and decided she needed him, and he wasn't going let her go until she wanted him to. He tightened his grip on her.

A few moments more, and her sobs had calmed to silent tears, and she was barely trembling. "Lady Corrin?" He murmured cautiously.

"I'm-I'm alright…" She didn't let go, didn't even loosen her grip, so Jakob didn't either.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I—Yes. No!" She let out a shaky breath against his chest. "You must think me ridiculous, turning into a mess of tears over a nightmare."

"Never, Corrin! I could never possibly think you ridiculous."

"You mean that, Jakob?"

"Of course, I do." She took another breath and pulled from him. Immediately he released his hold on her, though he wished he could take her back and hold her close once more.

"I—I dreamed that we were in battle." Her voice was low and small, and Jakob leaned closer, watching her face in the moonlight. "We were ambushed, taken by surprise, and we were all in dire straits. I fought off a soldier, only to turn and find another standing before me, his sword raised in the air. In that instant before he struck, I knew I wouldn't be fast enough to deflect his sword. I knew I was going to die."

Jakob's heart tore apart. "My Lady, you needn't fear that any more, for in battle, I will protect you. I will lay down my life if necessary—"

"No!" Corrin cried, suddenly grabbing his arms and looking at him with tears in her eyes. "No, Jakob, you must never ever die to protect me! You must promise me!"

Taken aback, Jakob stuttered, "I—I can't—I can't promise that."

"No, you must!" and Corrin's voice broke as another sob hitched in her throat. She looked away, "Jakob, you died!"

"I—What?"

"In my dream!" She explained. "In my nightmare, before the swordsman could make the killing blow, you leapt in front of me, you took the sword through your chest, and you died in my arms!"

Jakob was stunned. Lady Corrin had been having a nightmare about him dying? She had been screaming and weeping in her sleep… because she thought he had died? "M-My Lady," he murmured, moved and at a loss for words.

Corrin shook her head, fighting back tears, then looked at him once again. "You must promise me, Jakob. You must promise me you will never die to save me. I-I could not bear it! I could not survive without…" her eyes flickered down, then up once more. Her voice went low, "without you, Jakob."

Jakob tried and failed to calm his racing heart. As unemotionally as he could, he replied, "I cannot make that promise to you, Corrin." She looked down, her expression turning into misery and hopelessness. His voice faded to a whisper, "I cannot make that promise, because I could not survive without you." She glanced back up at him, an unidentifiable emotion on her face, and he couldn't stop himself from saying, "You're—You're everything to me."

Corrin looked at him. Searched his face as a light shined in her eyes. "Well then," she murmured. "I'll just have to be there to protect you when you try to protect me…"

Jakob gasped, then suddenly realized their proximity. They were so close, he could feel her breath on his skin. "You can't do that…," he said. "You mustn't."

A small laugh escaped her lips, and Jakob glanced down her face, leaning forward unconsciously. His eyes returned to hers. "You'll find, Jakob, that I can do what I want…" she paused, slightly breathless. "I can—I can do what I want because I'm the princess. And—And" mere inches away, she looked at him, clearly losing her train of thought. Remembering what point she was trying to make, she finished, "And it isn't fair that you can protect the person who means everything to you, but I can't."

It took a second for the meaning of these words to pierce Jakob's dazed thoughts. When it did, his eyes widened, and he lost his breath completely. "Lady Corrin—do you mean—could you possibly mean—?" he didn't know how to finish his sentences.

"Jakob," Corrin stopped him. "I love you! I—I" she swallowed. "Do you—care for me?"

He looked at her tear-streaked face wondering if this were at all possible or whether it was some incredible dream. "How could you ever doubt it?!" The words tore themselves from his lips, and he found that his hands had somehow moved to her delicate shoulders. "My Lady—My Corrin—I've been in love with you for—for—forever!" His palms touched her cheeks. "Never did I think I would—I would have the chance—" he stuttered, as Corrin's expression twisted in his hands to tear-streaked happiness. "Never, but in my dreams did I think I'd hear those words from you! Of course I love you!" He cried. Then he moved towards her, and in just a whisper, "of course I love you."

Then he closed the small space that remained between them, and he pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her passionately, desperately, while his heart pounded in his ears, his temples, and he could feel Corrin's through her mouth every time their lips touched. His thumbs stroked her cheeks, and she leaned into him. He pulled himself closer to her, breaking the kiss for just a moment while one arm went to her back, the other sliding under her bare legs, and he scooped her up, holding her in his arms, placing her in his lap. He kissed her again, this time with his arms about her, and hers looping around his neck, her body forming against his until there was very nearly no space between them at all.

His mouth moved to her chin, to her jaw, while she kissed his nose, his cheek, whatever she could reach. When he pressed his lips to her neck, he forced his trembling desire down and lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I—I should go before I lose myself entirely."

"Don't go," Corrin muttered, her eyes half-closed. "Just stay. We'll just—we'll just sleep, Jakob, and you can't refuse to stay. I need you with me. I need to know the nightmare is over, and the dream is real."

"Corrin." Jakob kissed her, ignoring the voice in his head telling him he must leave... Breathless, he pulled back. "Marry me, Corrin."

A deliriously happy giggle bubbled from her lips, and she tightened her embrace on him. "Of course, I'll marry you, Jakob."

Indescribable joy washed over him, and he just stared at her for a moment, stunned and amazed, not fully believing that this could be true. She returned his look, smiled at him. "I love you, Jakob."

He crushed his lips to hers, moving across them, his tongue slipping into her mouth, and when he was completely breathless, he kissed along her face and whispered in her ear, "I love you back, Corrin."