Author Comments: Quick comment here. Any stories that I do that have numbers attached to the title, are part of a 1000 prompt challenge I saw on Deviantart. I don't think I'll ever finish the challenge but you'll see random stories pop up from time to time that are from it.
314:Worry
There was nothing but complete silence in his room that night. If it weren't for the soft rustle of bed sheets as Enrico shifted in his sleep, no one would have been able to tell that a human was even present in the room, blanketed in complete darkness as it was. Drapes drawn tightly, it was almost as the outside world was cloaked in total night as well, all signs of nightlife blocked out and seemingly non-existent. His golden hair was unbound, spreading over the pillows like the feathers of an ornate, exotic bird. He was a silent sleeper, breaths coming out in soft whispers between partly opened lips, and undetectable unless one was very near to his resting form.
The sound of a door clicking open caused Enrico to mutter something incomprehensible, moving around again in response to the disturbance upsetting the room's heavy stillness. Whoever it was entering the room, he made sure to close the door behind them as gently as possible, worried that he might rouse the sleeping man further. Heavy footsteps resounded through the room as he dared to cross it, despite the man's best efforts to conceal them, walking pace slow and tentative. If it were not for Enrico's sensitive ears, he would have gotten by unnoticed. But he was not so lucky that night. Grumbling, Enrico began to stir, and the other man froze in his tracks.
"Che?" Enrico sat up, rubbing his sleep-clouded eyes, blinking groggily as he at last set eyes upon the benign intruder.
"Anderson?" He wiped the drool form his mouth with a swift sweep of a hand. "What in God's name has possessed you to be up this late? And wake me up no less?"
"Ah dinnae mean tae wake ye oop, boot Ah cuidn't sleep."
"Did you have nightmares then? Afraid the Boogeyman might get you?" Enrico teased.
"Nae," Anderson walked at his usual pace over across the room, grabbing and pulling a chair up to Enrico's bedside. "Ah've been worried aboot ye." He eased himself down into the chair, settling into a comfortable position before meeting Enrico's confused gaze.
"Worried? Well if it requires you intruding into my room at this hour than please, do tell me what's on your mind, then I can go back to sleep once it's settled." Yawning loudly, he leant over and went to flip his bedside lamp on, but Anderson's gentle grip halted him.
"Nae need, this won't take laeng. Nae point en bothering yer eyes."
Enrico, suddenly intrigued, withdrew his hand at Anderson's strange request and rested his back against the bed's headboard.
"I'm waiting."
"Ah was worried aboot ye being alone en 'ere taenigh'."
"What? When has this ever been an issue before?"
"Ah'm nae done. Joos' let meh finish, please." There was sternness in Anderson's voice, but not the kind that came from anger, or used to lecture a child. It was the type that stemmed from intense anxiety and concern that the stalwart man had kept contained within, until at last it became too much of a strain to withhold.
Enrico snorted in contempt at being told to hold his tongue, but grudgingly complied only out of increasing curiosity as to what was making the mighty Sword Dancer act so strange.
"This isnnae the safest o' places, ahn weh're nae 'ere fer purely diplomatic reasons. Ahn Ah doubt that group o' heathens is unaware tha' weh wuid coom."
"That rarely happens."
"Boot et has, ahn Ah rather nae risk et happening again. Ah'm staying en 'ere taenigh'."
"Excuse me?" Enrico jolted forward. "And what gives you the idea I'm going to let you entertain such an unnecessary and absurd request?"
"Ah'm nae asking fer permission, mah mind es made oop, Ah'm going tae keep watch en 'ere taenigh'." He was set in his decision; even his body language affirmed his determination, unmoving, solid, and staying that way even under Enrico's protests.
Enrico growled, hackles rising at the insult. How dare his subordinate ignore his objections.
"And who are you to demand this? Such a right was never yours and never will be! Or do you forget your place Alexander?" His eye twitched violently from the indignation, hands clenching the bed sheets in wrathful fists, but under cloak of darkness such shows went by unnoticed. Anderson, on the other hand, was visible, visible enough at least for Enrico to discern his undaunted and unresponsive silhouette.
"Nae, Ah dinnae. Which es why Ah'm 'ere. Tae ensure yer safety and keep the Church safe from the disbelievers ahn heretics."
"And does that mean watching me sleep? Disturbing me in the middle of the night just to stalk me? Insubordination? I won't have it!" He yelled, slamming his hand upon the nightstand. "I refuse to let you infringe on my privacy and order you to return to your own quarters!"
"Nae."
"I AM NOT ASKING YOU I'M ORDERING YOU!" Enrico roared shaking with rage.
"AND FER OWN SAKE AH'M DISOBEYING THEM!" Anderson roared back with matching intensity, nails digging into the wooden armrests as he struggled to remain seated.
Nothing but silence followed the outbursts, only sounds of chests heaving as their owners struggled under the weight of their respective emotions.
Shocked, angry, and unable to stand the darkness anymore, Enrico flipped the switch, illuminating the room with piercing brightness, attacking their eyes and forcing both men to recoil.
Enrico recovered first, lowering his hands to finally see the stubborn man that was aggravating him so. He wanted the power to read people back, not obscured by the nebulous night. At last, he internally rejoiced at regaining his vision, and looked upon the other man's face to find-
Strain. Worry. Heaviness. Pain.
No anger, no wrath, no rebellion present on that weathered face as the man rubbed his eyes, still adjusting to the sudden piercing light assaulting his senses.
His eyes were weary, face showing the obvious signs of a burdened mind. One that had suffered silent distress as morbid concerns and scenarios constantly buzzed and replayed in his mind over and over again as he suffered in solitude within the oppressive darkness of his own room. He was fully dressed, just as he would be on any mission or in any battle, fully prepared for any threat that could possibly threaten them that night.
Saying that Enrico was a bit taken aback would be an understatement, and in a rare instance the man was struck silent, not knowing how to continue while so confused by Anderson's current persona.
Anderson lowered his hand away from his face, meeting Enrico's stare head-on, and stress-ridden features glaringly visible now that there were no obstructions.
The fervor that had consumed them only a few moments ago now seemed far away as they watched one another, stuck in an ethereal world and not sure how to escape it.
Anderson shifting in his seat for the first time that night broke through the veil and returned them both to reality.
"Ah, ah'm saerry fer tha'." He lowered his head, covering and massaging his face with a large hand. "Boot sae mooch can happen, en joos' ae few moments, ye dinnae even ken. Whit if Ah dinnae hear or they got ye before Ah cuid git 'ere."
"You're right in the other room, and you have the capacity to move surprisingly fast for your size."
"Soomthing cuid still happen!" He lifted his head up suddenly, voice heavy with anguish and hands shaking.
"Stop this-"
"Ahn whit wuid Ah dae then?"
"Anderson-"
"Ah cannae lose ye!" Anderson cried out, fraught with pain.
Those words. Heavy with sincere and heartfelt meaning, pierced not only the still air, but like an arrow shot through the icy walls covering Enrico's heart, stunning and leaving the man paralyzed where he sat. All anger melted from him, replaced with a sense of something he couldn't place his finger on. Surprise? Concern? Affection? Warmth? He could decipher the feelings of others with ease and manipulate them to his will, but his own had always remained a strange and foreign concept. All he knew at that moment was he was suddenly much less opposed to Anderson's desire to stay.
"This, wasn't just a spurn of the moment decision was it?"
Anderson shook his head exhaustedly, emotionally drained. "Nae, been bothered fer ae while."
"How long?"
"All night."
Enrico made a small noise of surprise. "And what on earth has caused you such sudden anxiety about my well-being?"
"Ah've been bothered fer many nights."
"Wha-Why? Nothing has happened lately."
"Boot et cuid."
Enrico sighed, looking upon his beleaguered guardian. He had been noticing over the couple of days how different Anderson seemed, more tense and clingy, shadowing Enrico wherever he went and keeping watch with utmost vigilance at every moment. And the stress of his constant uneasiness was catching up to him, ending up with him in Enrico's room late at night, face hidden in his hand, and close to breaking down, if that was even possible for someone as strong a man as he.
"Will it truly make you feel better to stand vigil tonight?"
"Aye."
"And would you finally relax for all days and nights after? I'd feel much safer if you got some rest, it would be good for you as well. One would be a fool to not recognize how on edge you've been the last few days."
"Ah've joos' been sae worried, Ah dinnae even ken where et came froom."
"Hush. You can stay, but I need to get back to sleep. Buona notte Alex." Enrico turned the light off, taking away his ability to see his knight and returning the room to darkness. He curled up against the pillows, bunching the sheets up around his body tightly. He let out a contented breath as he settled quite comfortably into the warm cocoon. All seemed to return to how it was before the night's events, quiet and peaceful. A soft scratch of wood against wood was heard, but before Enrico could voice a complaint, soft lips had pressed against his forehead tenderly.
"May the Lord keep ye." Whispered words floated across his ears as lips left skin, staying with Enrico as Anderson sat back down at his post. Anxieties calming, Anderson took to his self-appointed duty loyally, keeping watch over his charge as he slipped back into his restful repose.