Story in a nutshell: Gabe finds Elena after a nightmare
Author's note: Happy new year, lovely readers! Hope everyone has a good 2017!
He was given a room. A nice one that gets the sheets changed nearly every night. That didn't stop the young lieutenant from patrolling the hallway that the young royals lived in. Isabel's bedroom on the far right and Elena's on the far left. Each person of the royal family was given a guard. Gabe responsible for the young princesses. Higgins for Esteban and Diego, head of the royal guards, for Luisa and Francisco. So he just moved around nervous for some kind of night attack. It wasn't going to happen but he liked to be prepared.
I will be fine, he told himself, I can do this and I will be a good guard. Eager to prove himself he didn't get much sleep for the first week. Gabe heard a squeak from his far right as he walked toward it and then nothing. Cautiously, he opened Isabel's door a little before closing it satisfied.
Turning away from the door and halfway down to Elena's room he heard it. Gabe heard a chocked out scream coming from Elena's room. Nearly dropping his sword, he ran down the hall to her bedroom that he was patrolling. His heart pounding reading to pounce on whatever tried to enter the castle on his watch.
"Princess?" he said opening the door to her room when he didn't hear a response from her. This was going to be his fault if something happened as he opened the door quickly. "Princess Elena?" he said unsheathing his sword from his belt, ready to fight. He turned quickly before noticing that nobody was in the room. "Princess?" Then he noticed it. The form of his princess on the floor of her bed. She must have fell out of the bed. He cleared his throat as he rushed over to her.
Elena thrashed against him as he backed away from her. Nightmares he was accustomed to and often enough one of his brothers ended up in his bed. He could tell that these were different from normal nightmares though.
"Stop being purple," moaned Elena. "Shuriki go away." So she was having nightmares about being in the amulet and Shuriki's attack. Cautiously, he saw that she was crying a bit in her sleep. What line was there between guard and friend helping her like this? Gabe did the best he could as he put his hand on her arm. Then gently he shook her a little trying to see how to help her.
"Elena, wake up, it's just a nightmare," he said as he tried to hold her steady. He wasn't supposed to wake her up. Just being there helping, thought Gabe, as he often would wake up next to his mother after his dad died. Elena jerked her arm from his grip as that reminded him that she could be violent. Okay, not a good idea.
Then he realized that she was awake. "Gabe what are you doing in here?" she asked looking at her guard in the dark. Then looked down at the sheets on the floor realizing that she wasn't in the amulet anymore. Nothing was purple and there was a boy in her room.
"I heard you scream a little from a nightmare," he admitted taking a step back putting a hand on the back of his neck. "Are you okay? Do you need some water or a hug or something?" Elena stared uncertain about him for a moment. At least he was attentive toward her. She never had a guard before though.
"Thanks, a hug would be nice I guess," she said giving him a bit of a nervous smile not knowing how he would react to that. He just smiled leaning in, like he was used to it, she seemed to reluctantly hug him back. Elena felt the tears come back as she sobbed on his shoulder. Gabe gave soft and good hugs, she thought, still crying.
"You're," he started unsure where this was going. He couldn't admit that she was going to be fine. Those nightmares could be haunting her for months even years. "You're going to be safe." Gabe was going to make sure of that. "I'm going to help you."
"I'm in the amulet," she admitted after separating from him. "It's nothing but purple around me and it's starts to drive you insane. Nothing happened to me when I was in it. I couldn't do anything anymore. I mourned my parents." At this she let out another sob on his shoulder. "I thought of everyone and cursed everything that ever happened to me. When I slept it was dreamless and deep as if I wouldn't wake up. I was able to watch everything and everyone. Charlotte, a girl my own age that liked pretty things. Tilly who traveled and never married, her mother, and then Sofia. It cost my freedom and I wanted to get out. I wanted to be a queen to my people, get married, have children one day."
"You'll be able to do that," he said comfortingly. "And-"
She didn't let him finish that thought though. "Thanks for coming in and helping." She smiled at him and Gabe took that as a cue to leave. He got to the door as Elena turned to him as she fixed her sheets. "Gabe can you not tell anyone? I don't need them worrying about me."
"Of course," he said thinking that was a bad idea. Talking about it worked if he remembered anything about nightmares, but didn't want to dispute her request. She would come clean about it eventually.
"Oh and Gabe," she said putting her comforter back on the bed. "If it happens again, you can come in again. You give good hugs."
He shut the door with a smile on his face, at least he was a little helpful.
