It was on the fifth night in a row, that Esme finally decided to do something about the sleepless nights.

Almost every night this week, Esme had been woken by her twin's frantic whimpers and thrashing on the other side of the tent.

"No… no!"

His voice, usually so steady and self-assured, always woke her up instantly, but this time, she rolled out of bed and slowly made her way over.

"No! NO!"

Clopin was out for the night, so it was just them.

"Saphir! Saphir!" She pushed at his shoulder, trying to wake him up, yelping when he shot up with a gasp, "Saphir… are you okay?"

"I-I- "He shook his head, "- I just had a bad dream. It's nothing."

Esme winced in sympathy, pulling her twin in for a hug, "Well… how about we share a bed for the night. I'll keep you safe."

She knew that he wouldn't tell her what the dream was about, so she simply held his hand and made sure he was safe and warm beneath the covers. She murmured reassurances, hearing a storm brewing up above.

Eventually, Saphir calmed down again, green eyes so similar to her own staring at her, guileless and trusting. She wrapped her arms around him in a loose hug, humming the old lullaby that Clopin used to sing to them when they were really little.

It didn't take long for Saphir to fall asleep, Esme joining him soon afterwards.

…

"He's having nightmares?"

Esme nodded furiously, staring up at her older brother as the young man frowned.

"Are they bad?"

"Very." Esme nodded firmly, "So, you need to help him."

"I will. I promise."

…

Clopin kept a careful eye on his younger brother for a few hours.

It was clear Saphir wasn't getting as much sleep as he should have been. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and he wasn't as energetic as he usually was, often stopping to watch the other children play.

It was very out of character.

"Saphir!" He called out, silently gesturing for his brother to come over when the boy glanced over. Slowly, Saphir made his way over, not looking his brother in the eyes.

"… What's wrong Saphir?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me Saphir." Clopin looked away from the child, glancing around to see curious looks aimed in their direction, "Follow me."

It was best this didn't happen in front of others.

He led Saphir into their tent, before motioning for him to sit down.

"What's wrong?" He asked again, a little more gently, "Esme says you've been suffering from nightmares."

"Esme needs to learn to keep her mouth shut." Saphir pouted, "It's nothing I can't handle."

"Those circles under your eyes would disagree." Clopin shuffled a little closer, wrapping an arm around his younger brother, "What's been keeping you awake."

There was a moment of silence, before Saphir sighed.

"I-I… I heard about what happened to Dad." He eventually answered, "Is that…. Is that going to happen to you?"

Clopin winced, "Well… they'll have to catch me first."

It was clear that that wasn't reassuring.

"Saphir." He sighed, "What happened to Father… I can't promise that nothing bad will ever happen to me, but I swear, I will do everything in my power to make sure that it doesn't."

"Promise?"

Clopin pulled his brother into a full hug, feeling the smaller body shudder against his as Saphir fought to keep back his tears. "I promise. I will everything in my power to protect you, me, Esme and everyone else."

They sat like that for a few moments, before Saphir pulled away, a worried look on his face. "if you don't have any children… will I have to do your job?"

Clopin was definitely caught off guard, "Ummm- "

"- Because I don't think I can do that."

Silence.

Sighing, Clopin pushed himself to his feet and took Saphir's hand. "Come on… I think it's time I showed you and Esme something our Papa once showed me a long time ago."

They headed out of the tent, with Clopin cutting off any questions Esmerelda might have had by taking her hand.

They walked until they were on the streets of Paris, heading up some steps until they were looking down on the city and the flickering candles coming from various windows.

"Something our Papa once told me…" He began slowly, "… was that the role of the Gypsy King was not just to care for those who lived under his reign, but for anyone who needs helps. A strong leader thinks of others, not just themselves."

The twins nodded in understanding.

"One day, one of you may be the new King or Queen, so you need to remember this. If you see someone who needs help, I expect you to help."

"But… Esme can be the leader if I don't want to be, right?" Saphir piped up, a small frown on his face as Esme straightened up proudly.

"I'll- " Clopin glanced down at the pair of them, not able to imagine either of them running the place…. Did his Dad think the same thing about him?

"I'll leave that up to you two."