Myshe sat up, gasping. There was that dream again. She whimpered to herself. It was always scary when that fae female came and chased her with that magic. Myshe rolled over, trying to fall asleep.
After a few minutes of fruitlessly trying to shove thoughts of the female out of her head, she pushed her legs over the edge of the bed, her feet dangling above the edge. Mysh dropped to the ground, her feet hitting the cold floor. She shivered, feeling exposed. The Crown Princess of Terrasen crept to her door. She knew she was supposed to go to her nursemaid first if she had nightmares, but when she asked why, her mom just coughed and dropped her eyes, telling her daughter that she would tell her when she was older. That was always the answer. "I'll tell you when you're older." Myshe didn't see any reason as to why she couldn't go to her parents, so she decided to do so. She walked down the (despite the fact that this was the Royal Family's quarters) drafty hallway, getting closer to her parents' room.
That was when she heard a noise. She had never heard that sound before, but her mom sounded...hurt. She ran the rest of the way to the door. Suddenly, the noise stopped, and was replaced with frantic rustling. She opened the door, and a smell slammed into her face. Myshe wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Mama?" she asked quietly, her eyes unable to pick out her parents' bed in the dark.
"Yes, Myshe?" came her mother's voice. She sounded as if it was taking all of her effort not to sound irritated. Suddenly, the courage that made the princess walk into her parents' room faded.
"Umm...Ihadascarydream," she mumbled. She heard the queen exhale softly. Myshe was finally able to pinpoint the bed. Her mother was sitting up, her shoulders bare. The covers covered her chest. Myshe's father was sitting up, too, his chest bare, but the covers were concealing his waist.
"I'll come to your room in a minute," her mother sighed.
Aelin watched as Myshe walked out of the room. She exhaled through her teeth and flopped down on the bed.
"Are you going to go to her?" Rowan asked, doing his best, but failing, to sound like he wasn't annoyed. Aelin turned and looked at him. Her face must have been contorted into some ridiculous expression, because he snorted. "We'll finish after you calm her." Aelin traced the tattoos on his chest.
"Yeah," she murmured. "I'll get dressed." Aelin got out of bed, and moving slowly and seductively to drive Rowan insane, she went to the closet and slipped on a (concealing) nightgown. The queen heard a growl from behind her, and smirking, turned around to see Rowan. He reached out and grabbed Aelin's shoulders, pulling her towards him. She purred as his lips found her neck, but she pulled away quickly. "I have to go to Myshe," she whispered. Rowan stepped away quickly and went back to the bed. Aelin rolled her eyes. He was so afraid of Myshe smelling...things...on them, but at this point, there was no way she hadn't smelled it yet.
Aelin slipped out of the room, closing the door gently behind her. She walked to Myshe's room. Past the dining area, past the living room, all the way to the end of the hallway. Aelin knocked at her daughter's door.
"Come in," Myshe's small voice called. Aelin walked in and saw Myshe curled up against her headboard, blankets around her. Suddenly, Aelin felt bad about lingering with Rowan. Myshe looked so helpless. So alone. Aelin held out her hand and tendrils of warm fire hovered above it. Myshe snapped her eyes to it, her eyes widening. She was mesmerized. Aelin smiled, despite herself.
"You like the fire, sweetie?" Aelin asked. Myshe nodded excitedly. Aelin walked over to her daughter's bed and sat down on the edge. She moved her hand down, keeping the fire a few inches from Myshe's face. Aelin stroked the top of her daughter's head. The small fae stared at the fire, amazed.
"Can I do fire, Mama?" Myshe asked excitedly, turning to look at her mother. The question hit Aelin hard. She wasn't sure what magic Myshe possessed. She had to have some, though. Her and Rowan were both very powerful fae, but Aelin felt doubts creeping in. By the time she was Myshe's age, she was accidentally setting buildings on fire. Myshe never shifted into...anything, and she had never showed any signs of magic. Perhaps she was just a late bloomer.
"I don't know, Myshe," she muttered. "Probably. Maybe you can do wind or ice."
"When grown-ups say maybe, it means no," she pointed out. Aelin snorted.
"When Daddy says maybe, it means no. When I say maybe, it means maybe."
"Well..." Myshe pondered, clearly not convinced.
"Do you think the scary dreams will come back?" Aelin asked her quietly, allowing herself to think that the princess would be alright for a while. Myshe went rigid. Aelin silently cursed herself. She shouldn't have mentioned anything.
"There's a...a female," Myshe whispered. "She doesn't have a face...and...and she has magic...I don't wanna talk about it. It's really sc-scary." A sob escaped Myshe's throat. Her face was contorted into a pained expression. It killed Aelin to see her like this. Her daughter usually kept up a tough facade, even if it wasn't always convincing.
Aelin thought back to about a month ago, when Myshe had skinned her knee on the floor after sliding around on her socks. She had heard her bawling from down the hallway thanks to her fae hearing, but when she went to see what was wrong, only the scent of tears and a fresh wound remained. Myshe had acted like she was fine.
Aelin wrapped her arms around her daughter. She was so small, so fragile.
"Shh..." she murmured. "It's all right. It's not real." Aelin hated the words that spewed from her mouth. She remembered when it was her who was sobbing and Rowan who was comforting. When it wasn't all right. When it was real. "Did you know sometimes I get scary dreams?" Myshe looked at her through her tears.
"R-really?" she blubbered. Aelin nodded. "D-does Daddy get scary dreams, too?"
A soft knock came from the door. Aelin whipped her head around. Myshe protested as Aelin's hair whipped her in the face.
"Sorry, sweetie," she muttered. Ugh. How had Rowan approached without her noticing again? The door creaked open. Rowan slipped in.
Looks like you still haven't completed your training, his eyes smirked. Aelin rolled her eyes.
"Out loud," Myshe demanded, her brows scrunched in annoyance. Aelin gave Rowan a warning glance. Myshe was already upset.
"Hey," Rowan said softly, looking into Myshe's eyes. She stared back. "I do get scary dreams sometimes."
"When?" she asked. "I thought you never got scared." Rowan walked over to the other side of the bed and lied down beside Myshe. Aelin remembered that she liked being between the two of them-it made her feel safe. Myshe snuggled into Rowan's chest, and then switched to Aelin's. She seemed torn. Aelin bit her lip to keep from grinning.
"I get scared when I have dreams that you or Mama gets hurt," Rowan said softly. "One time, before you were in Mama's tummy, she got really hurt, and I got really scared." Aelin swallowed. She slid her eyes to Rowan's face. Flashes of memories from the iron coffin came back. Rowan winced, feeling her emotions through the bonds that connected them.
"Oh," came Myshe's soft voice.
"Myshe, sweetie?" Aelin asked quietly. "Did you know that when I get scared, I say 'My name is Aelin Galathynius, and I will not be afraid'?" Rowan's head turned. Aelin didn't acknowledge it.
"No, but I wanna try," Myshe said, her eyes bright. "My name is Myset Galididius and I will not be afraid." Aelin snorted.
"Gal-ath-in-ee-us," she offered, not bothering to correct Myshe on her first name, as she still couldn't make a "sh" sound.
"I said that. Galiddidius," she argued, brows narrowing in frustration. Aelin bit her lip to keep from laughing. Myshe flopped down onto her pillow.
She was on the verge of falling asleep. Aelin ran her fingers through the princess's hair until she did so. Once her breathing steadied, Aelin allowed her muscles to relax. She glanced at Rowan and slid off of the bed, Rowan following close behind. They slipped out, Rowan closing the door behind them. Aelin silently padded down the hall, Rowan's arm around her waist. When the finally made it to their room, Aelin flopped down on the bed, sighing.
"Are you alright?" Rowan asked after a moment. The Queen of Terrasen took a shuddering breath.
"I'm fine...it's just...she's so young..." Rowan walked over to his mate and lied down beside her, sliding his arm around her middle.
"She'll get through it, Aelin. We all will."
AN: Hi. I'm not dead. Sorry.
Soon I'll write a ToG and ACOTAR crossover, possibly other Sarah J. Maas crossovers, too. jUsT yOu WaIt (NO, THAT WASN'T A "HAMILTON" REFERENCE)
Please review. Thank you to the people who took the time to review so far.
I usually don't respond to reviews, but I will if you ask me to-don't take it personally if I didn't respond.