The night was long, as Queen Rosa lay on her throne, awaiting her husband, King Cecil, who had left on official business to Mysidia that week. He was announced to be coming home soon, and Rosa could hardly wait. However, her nights without him were troubled. Within her first sleep that week, Rosa was visited by an unseen enemy, with no one to protect her. That night she dreamt of a horrible cataclysm befalling the blue planet, as threats in the form of armoured monsters raided the kingdom of Baron, burning houses and slaughtering civilians, including Rosa's own mother.
The fiends then chased after the unarmed Rosa, who rushed to the castle seeking Cecil's comfort. Bravely, the king raised his sword of truth and fought off the monsters who invaded his kingdom, whilst Rosa used her white magic to protect him. Cecil could only hold the monsters off for so long, however, as soon the leader came through the door. He was a giant of a man dressed in dark armour, and a cold laugh as he approached Cecil, sword in hand. When Rosa looked up, she had a great shock to see, it was Golbez, reversed to his former corrupt mind, as he faced the king.
With a brief laugh he said to Cecil, "So, Baron has a successor. And who is it but the brave Cecil Harvey, who was once a dark knight? I'm guessing that would mean that…" Golbez paused briefly as he looked over to Rosa who tried to breathe calmly, before continuing, "Yes… So, the beautiful Rosa is your Queen, just as I thought. Now tell me, Cecil, what would you do for your wife? How would it make you feel if I did this to her!"
But as Golbez raised his weapon to threaten Rosa, Cecil cut in. "Don't you hurt her!" He yelled, "Golbez, just tell me what you want, and stop it!"
Golbez lowered his sword and turned to the king, saying, "Cecil, all I want is the crown of Baron, nothing more… Do this and your wife shall be spared. What say you?"
Cecil looked to Rosa, then to his throne in silence. The last thing Rosa could recall was the shocking sight of her husband dropping his sword in submission, the sound of metal clinking on the ground, and a tear formed in Rosa's eye. When she awoke, it was already morning, and Cecil of course was nowhere to be seen in their bedroom. Rosa wept from her solitude and quietly pleaded, "Cecil, oh Cecil please come back! I need you…"
She remained in bed for half the morning, as though in waiting for her husband, but no matter how long or how patiently she waited, he didn't come, so Rosa made the effort to leave herself. She was given the news that Cecil was doing just fine on his business trip, which gave Rosa some relief, though none that would be long-lived. That night again she had the dream, though this time, Golbez threatened Cecil himself. She woke up earlier that morning and wasted no time in getting out of bed, away from the source of her nightmares.
Every night, Rosa had the same dream, and each night it got worse. One night, it was particularly horrible, in which Cecil had refused, and it had been in vain. Golbez snatched the king's throat and killed him in right in front of Rosa's eyes. The Queen woke up in horror and saw the sun was still asleep. It was almost as though the nightmare had come true. There was still no Cecil to comfort her, and now Rosa could sleep no more, and the temptation became greater, to send Cecil a letter, begging him to come back. It was either that or to go to Mysidia herself, she thought, how she longed to be back in his arms.
She sat in a chair by the table, and with a quill in her hand, she tried to think of what to write. The words didn't come easily to her, as she attempted many openings, such as Dear Cecil, I'm in grave danger, or Dear Cecil, I'm being haunted! of which one wasn't true, and the other was only half true. She tried to think and wrote: Dear Cecil, please save me, I've been having an awful dream lately and now I'm afraid to fall asleep. I need you by my side to be certain that you are unharmed. Sincerely, Rosa.
Although it sounded as though she were being overly dependent on him, Rosa knew it was the best she could do and addressed it to her husband in Mysidia. The letter was taken by a carrier pigeon, the most trusted in all of Baron, who never failed to send a letter. Said pigeon flew from the window at high speeds into the horizon, whilst Rosa watched. She didn't return to bed that morning and made her way down into the main hall of the castle, where she would wait for news of Cecil.
All day she waited for his reply in any way, shape or form, to be back in Cecil's arms, safe and sound, but Mysidia was nowhere near Baron enough to get a reply straight away. All Rosa did that day was have breakfast, lunch, and dinner all alone, as she sat on her throne, but in vain. Eventually, her fatigue overtook her, placing her into a half-sleeping state, one which Rosa could not fight back but tried. Fatigue had restrained her and brought her into the place she dreaded most at that very time, and soon, her mind too began to sink into the dreaded state of unconsciousness.
The last thing she remembered before she entered her dream was the feeling of a pair of arms curling around and under her body, and being lifted, as though to take her away. Rosa thought nothing of it and submitted to the force of fatigue pulling her away from reality.
In Mysidia, King Cecil received word from a carrier pigeon that Rosa was in distress. As he read her words, his lips started to tremble, and the king began to deliberate. He then turned to Cid and told him, "Cid, we need to go, now! Rosa needs me!"
"Needs you? Your majesty, what's wrong?" Cid asked, "What about your business in Mysidia?"
"They can handle the rest," Cecil said, "For now, Rosa needs me."
"Understood!" Cid said. The two made their way to the airship, where Cid quickly started up the engine and flew towards the castle. There, Cecil gave Cid the details and showed the letter as proof of his claim.
"So, a nightmare, is it?" Cid said, "I wonder what it could be about. Why don't you go ask her when you come home?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Cecil said, "And in due time I shall. Onward!" The ship continued its assault in the direction of Baron throughout the day, even as the moon sunk into the horizon. By the late hours of the evening, Cecil made his way into the throne room where he found Rosa asleep. Slowly he approached her, so as not to scare her, and put one arm around her back and the other under her knees.
Carefully, Cecil lifted her up and walked up to their bedroom. Along the way, Cecil made comforting gestures towards Rosa, such as rubbing her when she shuddered or holding her closer when she whimpered, also prompting a 'shush' from Cecil's lips, as he told her, "We can talk about it in the morning if you'd like."
At last, when the couple made it to the bedroom, Cecil pulled out the blanket and laid Rosa down. He then leaned down to take off her shoes and lifted the duvet over her body. Cecil then turned to change, but in the middle of this, he heard a violent cry and turned to see Rosa violently tossing and turning in fear.
"Cecil, please, don't die!" She cried, followed by a shriek. Cecil rushed over to her side immediately and held her in his arms. Soon she woke up and shouted, "No, don't hurt me!" but when she properly regained consciousness, Rosa saw her husband without his shirt on, and tugged him in her arms.
"Oh, Cecil!" she said in heightened adrenaline, "Cecil, is it really you? Am I still dreaming? Did I wake you up?"
"Rosa, I came as soon as I received your message," Cecil told her, "Don't worry, my love, I'm here now, you've nothing to fear. What happened? What did you dream about?"
"Oh, Cecil!" Rosa repeated, "It was awful… Baron… Baron was on fire, and soldiers were burning down the village. They killed people, even my mother, and the leader was… It was Golbez. He came into the throne room, seeking the throne from you in exchange for…"
"In exchange for what?" Cecil asked, calmly.
"In exchange for my life; my safety…" Rosa said, "The first night, you only dropped your sword, but over time, it got worse. Tonight, you were murdered, and Golbez's minions then knocked me unconscious. Cecil, I'm scared, that if I go back to sleep, the nightmare will come back."
From this, Cecil gave Rosa's lips a kiss, "There now," he said, "Rosa, you needn't worry anymore. I'm still here, and Golbez won't harm us." Cecil paused, as he laid down beside her, and took her hands in his, continuing, "I'll protect you… I promise."
Cecil kissed Rosa's lips again, and told her, "I love you, Rosa."
"I love you too, Cecil," Rosa said. Cecil held Rosa close to him, as she fell asleep on his shoulder. Soon, he too closed his eyes and told her, "You can come with me on my business trips if you'd like." Though he didn't know if she could hear him.
That night, the same dream came back, but with a different outcome. Cecil had detected the invasion and prepared his troops. Not even Golbez could penetrate Cecil's armour, as he took him down with ease, and the kingdom of Baron was saved, with both the king and the queen remained unharmed.
The morning came and Cecil still held her securely. Rosa leaned into him and kissed his lips, saying, "It worked. Thank you, Cecil."
When Cecil woke up, Rosa gave him the details, from which he told her that he was glad to be able to help. And Rosa would go with him on every trip of his since.