This is the first Amulet fanfic I wrote. I only recently started to read the books. I've noticed that no matter what Trellis does (attacking someone, saving someone, being nice, sparring with Emily, being an innocent bystander…) he always gets hurt.
This takes place either very shortly before or after the end of book five.
Trellis rolled onto his other side, trying to get more comfortable. Why couldn't he sleep? He had used his stone a lot that day by going into the Void twice. Once alone had been exhausting, but after Emily had come and saved him she was still inside, and he'd gone back in to save her. He had also used his stone to create a protective sphere to save Emily, himself, and Vigo from a long fall from their damaged airship. It was the first time he had done something like that and something that strong, so it alone should have been enough for him to fall asleep.
Maybe a walk would help. He got up and quietly left. Even though Lugar's bed was closer to the door, Lugar could sleep harder than Trellis. It was often a mistake to trust that fact, though, as he'd seen Lugar wake up at the tiniest sound.
He didn't need to take a light source with him, as elves could see in the dark better than humans. He walked down the short hallway, stopping in front of Emily's room. She didn't sleep with the door open. She was still sleeping, but looked distressed. …Something was wrong… She didn't….? He walked into her room, hoping Emily was a hard sleeper so he wouldn't scare her if she woke up.
Emily tossed and turned, occasionally mumbling a few words. She didn't go back into the Void, did she? No, her stone wasn't glowing. She was just having a bad dream. Trellis gently shook her. "Emily, wake up. Emily-"
Emily bolted awake, jumped when she saw him and slapped him across the face. She turned on the lamp next to her bed. "Trellis? What are you doing here?"
He didn't look at her, wincing. "I couldn't fall asleep and you looked like you were having a nightmare." He turned to her. A red imprint of a hand was across his cheek.
Emily leaned forward, looking concerned. "Let me see that." She gently touched below where she had slapped him, turning his head so she could get a better look. Trellis forced himself to relax. Normally contact of any kind was him getting beat up. Emily frowned. "That looks like it's going to bruise." Because Trellis didn't have a lot of pigment in his skin bruises showed easily. "I'm really sorry about that."
"It's my fault, I scared you," he sat on the edge of the bed next to her, "Can I ask what it was about?"
Emily looked away, sounding slightly embarrassed. "You know… what nightmares are usually about…."
"It couldn't have been that bad, then."
Emily glared at him and shoved him off the bed, her stone flaring with energy. "Get. Out."
He stood up. "Emily-"
Visible streams of red energy that flowed from Emily's stone pushed him out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Maybe it had been that bad…. He could apologize to her in the morning by making breakfast for her. Something with chocolate. Yesterday after he had annoyed her Vigo told him it would be a good way of apologizing to her.
He returned to his room, quietly closing the door behind him. Hopefully-
Lugar slowly sat up and watched him for a moment. "Trellis?" He frowned sleepily. "What happened to your face?"
Trellis lied down on his bed, his back facing Lugar. "Nothing. Go back to sleep." He hoped his older brother didn't notice how fast he said that.
"If it meant Emily never having a nightmare again would you let her slap you every night?"
Trellis sat up, threw his pillow at Lugar and quickly liked back down, bumping his head against the headboard. "Don't. Tell. Anyone."
And he had thought Lugar didn't know him that well…
