Rosella had just started to drift off when a noise woke her. As she opened her eyes, trying to place it, she heard it again. A small cry of some sort. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall behind her.

The room there had remained empty her entire life - until a few hours ago. Her mother hadn't even had the chance to request the staff open it up; they had it done almost as soon as the announcement was made.

She sat up, torn between her worry for her brother and respect for his privacy. As she debated, she heard him again, louder this time. Shrugging on her robe, she walked quickly to her door and out into the hall.

The two men guarding her brother's door glanced at each other and then back at her as she approached. They were elite veterans - older, more experienced knights than typically would have been saddled with guard duty. Apparently, Captain Tamart wasn't taking any chances regarding the Prince. Rosella approved.

"Should you be in there? Is something the matter?" she asked.

They looked relieved to see her. The one on the left - Michael - spoke in a whisper, as if he were afraid of waking his charge. "It was the same last night, Princess. The Prince… well, he seems to be afflicted by nightmares."

Nightmares? She could empathize well, for the horrid things had plagued her own sleep over the past year. And she didn't expect they'd improve anytime soon - not after what she'd just been through.

She shook her head to rid it of the memories.

Another cry came, and Rosella pushed the unlocked door open. "Alexander? Are you all right?"

He was sitting in bed, the blankets and pillows tangled around him. His eyes were open but unfocused. Her heart hurt to see that same look from the day before on his face, the one of terror.

"Hey, I don't mean to be a bother, but I wanted to make sure…" She wanted so badly to curl up beside him and hug him tight, but this time shew knew it was better to leave him his space. She settled for sitting gently on the side of the bed, at a loss for what else she could do to comfort her distraught brother.

Alexander's mind finally cleared enough that he could focus on the person who'd entered and said something. Rosella. He must have woken her; he braced himself for whatever was to come.

"It's okay, it's okay, you're safe here. You're here now, in Daventry. Can you take a deep breath for me?" Rosella murmured, not even sure what she was saying, just trying anything she could think of that might help.

She wasn't angry with him? He tried to follow her instruction, but his breathing was still too ragged. He dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands, trying to distract himself from the last remnants of the nightmare.

It wasn't working; the more he tried to calm the fear and sorrow, the more it threatened to overwhelm him again.

He needed that mixture, the one the physician had given him; he was willing to try anything at this point if it helped him feel less miserable.

It was on the desk across the room, though, which felt as if it might as well have been on the other side of the castle. He pushed at the blankets and started to rise.

"Alexander? Uh, where are you going?" Rosella asked, unsure if he was in any state to be on his feet.

"Bottle… bottle on the desk."

"I'll get it, I'll get it; you'd best stay in bed." She shook her head as she walked over to grab it. Already she was starting to get the sense that her brother needed a serious lesson in asking for help when he needed it.

The bottle was easy enough to find, along with the spoon beside it; Alexander kept his room neat as a pin, unlike her room. From the looks of the handwriting on the bottle that she could barely make out, it had come from Ren. The dosage instructions she could at least make out.

She was relieved to see Alexander had listened and climbed back into bed. She poured some of the contents out. Based on the smell, she was glad she wasn't the one taking it. It didn't seem to bother her brother at all, however, as he swallowed it.

"There, that'll help, I'm sure. Do you want me to stay until it starts working?"

Alexander didn't respond at first. His thoughts still seemed to chase each other in circles. He hadn't wanted his sister to see him like this; he had hoped he could keep the nightmares secret.

As she had said, he was safe now. Manannan, Davis, the dragon - all were gone. Why was he still so afraid? How long would it take for the nightmare of the past seventeen years to be over?

"Alexander?"

He looked at her. His initial impulse was to say no; hadn't she seen enough already? But she knew now; strangely, her company was comforting, at least a little. Seeing her sitting on the edge of his bed reminded him that this was a big, too-soft bed in Daventry, not the tiny cot he'd spent so many nights on. That there was someone who cared that he'd been crying out in his sleep, instead of yelling at him for it. That he wasn't alone, not anymore. Made him feel… safe?

"If… if you don't mind."

"Of course not. You know, I get nightmares, too."

"You do?"

"Yep. Mostly about the dragon, but other things, as well. Do you want to talk about yours?"

He shook his head. That he most definitely did not want to do. "I'm feeling a lot sleepier now, actually. I'm good, now."

Rosella nodded; his breathing had finally evened out, and he did look drowsy. The medicine must be kicking in. "All right. Sleep tight, little brother."

"I thought we were twins…" Alexander managed to say, even as sleep started to take over.

Rosella smiled. "We are, but I was born two minutes earlier than you. So, I'm the elder twin."

"Two whole minutes, huh?" Alexander turned over in bed and said, "Well then. Good night, big sister," and then he was out.