BloodyCrystal: Hey, everyone! This is the fourth part to my Nightmare series. I hope you enjoy this one as much as the others.
A bit of background for this fic: it takes place after the game. Since I have not actually seen the ending to the game, it will probably differ slightly from what one might expect. Also, there is another "enemy" that has risen. No one is sure of his goals, but Archsage Athos has summoned Eliwood and company, and so they go. This time, they are traveling to the legacy left by the berserker from the legend-you know, that island place mentioned in the intro to Eliwood's/Hector's quest.
So far, they have made good time, traveling overland to get to a port city. From said port city, they will find a boat-or boats-to take them to the island. They are currently at a wayside inn.
Everyone from the game-and I do mean everyone you can get except Hannah-is there, but some might not show up until the sequel, and some might only be mentioned and not show up other than that.
As always, I own pretty much nothing except Lani, the plot, and, now, the bad guy, his henchmen, and any other names you don't recognize, unless I specifically say otherwise. Enjoy.
A heap of blankets lay on the double bed. To the trained eye, it is obvious that there is someone there. To an especially observant person, there are two people that make up the heap under dark blue cotton.
One shifts, slightly, and the other seems to move with them. They are entangled in each other and in the blankets, a tangled mess clumped together.
The room itself isn't anything extraordinary, and, at first glance, neither is the hand visible from under the dark blue covers.
It is a masculine hand, well defined and muscular. The color is a suntan brown, and it is covered with calluses that could only come from the use of weapons.
There is slight, almost fussy, movement from the bed's other occupant, but, all in all, it is a tranquil scene of two-supposed-lovers.
The tranquility is shattered by loud knocking, and the cries of "Lani! Lani, get up already! We have a meeting, remember? Lani, get up!" The man bursts through the door, only to be brought up short at the sight of two bleary pairs of eyes staring at him. "What in the name of Archsage Athos is going on around here?" the man roars.
The girl blinks, slowly, uncomprehending. She is never aware just after waking, and does not understand the problem her friend has.
The boy, however, realizes the problem immediately, and glares at the other male. "Turn around, Lord, and Lani'll be out in a minute."
The man nods, looking more than a little surprised. He leaves, a thoughtful and stupefied look in his dark blue eyes.
The girl-Lani-blinks again, and looks up at the sitting boy. "What just happened, Heath? Why was milord Hector so upset?"
Heath stares down at her, surprised until the memory of Lani's dulled senses reminds him why his friend is so surprised. "The Lord didn't expect to find me in here, Lan'. He wants you for a council meeting, I think."
"Turn 'round, then; I ain't changing in front of you."
"Of course, Lan', of course," he replies, gathering up his blanket and leaving the room. He passes a grinning Lord Hector on the way. Heath merely nods, unknowing of the thoughts the lord entertains about what he just witnessed.
Lani grabs her lunch, looks around, then plops down next to Lyndis. Nervously, she asks, "Milady Lyndis, why is everyone grinning like cats with canaries? Did somethin' happen?"
Lyn raises an eyebrow, but she agrees with her friend's description. "You don't know? Hector came out, ranting about you and Heath being lovers." Lyn lets a grin cross her face as Lani turns beet red.
"We ain't God-damn lovers! Why in th' sev'n hells would milord Hector think that we are?" she screams to the room at large.
"He said you were sleeping in the same bed when he went in to wake you up," Wil tells her. "That means that you're lovers, Lani."
Lani gapes at this answer, then turns and flees.
Heath stares at Lani, uncomprehending what his friend just told him. "They think we're lovers?"
"Yeah, and, unless we wanna go blabbin' the real reason, we're stuck wi' it," the girl says, frustrated.
"I just realized something about you, Lani; you talk like a noble-normally-, but when you get angry, you start speaking all weird, kind of like a peasant. Does it have to do with your story?"
"Not my dream, Heath, just my story," she replies, calm again. "Now, what are we going to do about our other problem, hmm?"
"We could tell them the truth," Heath begins.
"Except..." Lani prompts.
"Except then they'd want to know what our dreams are about," he finishes.
"And when we don't even tell each other..." Lani trails off, not needing to finish.
"Exactly. So, do we just let them go on with their misconception?"
"No; we should trust them."
"Then we'll call a meeting tonight, and tell everyone then."
"This is the best way to present disaster..." Lani murmurs, deep in thoughts of a far-off time and place.
"Listen. There's a misconception going around, and Heath and I are going to clear it up," Lani announces to their traveling companions.
"This morning, Lord Hector walked in on the two of us in the same bed, and drew a conclusion that almost anyone would have-Lani and me are lovers. But that's not true," Heath says.
"Heath and I have nightmares, terrible ones that wake us up at night. We discovered, quite by accident, that the other also has terrible nightmares. We also discovered that, when we're near each other, we don't have them."
"We tried sleeping in the same room as various others, but no one has the same effect that the other does. So, we started making sure that at least one of us doesn't have a roommate. We still try to stay apart, but now we have a back-up system that we always have to use," Heath continues when Lani falters.
Lani gathers in breath, then picks up the telling: "We're sorry we didn't tell anyone, but it is rather embarrassing to admit to having a nightmare that scares you half to death."
"That's all," they both concluded.
Everyone had a good laugh at Hector and themselves, for Lani and Heath didn't seem involved at all, now that they thought about it.
Marcus, who was normally in charge of arranging rooms, jotted down a note that Lani and Heath were roommates until otherwise noted. That way, they didn't have to move in the middle of the night.
BloodyCrystal: How was that? I know it's short, but it sets up the next story, which is a lot better-and longer-, as well as a multi-chapter fic. So, please review, even if it's just constructive criticism or "update faster". Everything except flames is welcome; flames are used to keep me warm and to toast marshmallows. And feed my bad guy, who will show up next fic.
Also, romance shall join the next fic, and the nightmares will be explained.