Nightmares and a Dream Come True

Brightwall Academy was the last place Milena was expecting to find her lost captain.

… And the fact that she was calling him that was slightly unnerving, yet oddly fitting.

Each person she'd asked had told her that he'd gone there the previous night and hadn't come out since. Some people were worried, but most thought it was only natural.

"It's been eight years since he was last in there."

Milena frowned. "He's been here before?"

"Oh yes!" the villager exclaimed, "He used to work here, saving up his coins to go on those adventures he was always dreaming about." The woman smiled, "He's grown into a fine young man that one has. I've never known a soldier to be so polite! And handsome too! What I would give to be held by those strong arms of his…"

Milena blushed as she remembered how he'd protected her in Aurora. "Um… yes… uh, thanks. Thank you very much. I'll uh… bye!"

She ran up the hill to escape those curious eyes, trying to think of anything except the way she felt safe in his…

Stop it! You're angry at him. Remember? He left without so much as a 'by your leave' and he's spending his time reading books and playing catch up with the locals!

As he passed the fountain, she paused to straighten her clothes and pull her long, chestnut hair back behind her ears, and opened the doors.

The numerous candles around the various book shelves made the place look eerie in the night's light, casting wavering shadows on the floor and walls. She had forgotten how different the atmosphere was here when the sun had set.

"Your majesty?"

Looking up, she found Samuel staring at her, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"Samuel."

He put the pile of books he had in his hands on the desk and walked over to her. "What… What are you doing here? I thought-"

"Where's Ben Finn?"

He blinked, his mouth gaping like a fish for a few moments before he found his words again. "I really wouldn't disturb him at the moment. He'd been awake for almost thirty hours straight! Or at least that's the impression he gave me anyway."

"He…?" Milena shook her head, forcing the pity out of her heart, "Where is he Samuel?"

"Please, your majesty! Just let him rest for, another hour or two!"

She was about to reply when the most earth shattering, heart wrenching scream came from the rare books room… and there was only one person it could have been…

The darkness surrounded him, hiding the world from his eyes, just as it had done in that cave in Aurora. He felt the warmth drain out of him as it enveloped him.

"The children have missed you."

No! It couldn't be back. Not now. It was too soon! They weren't ready!

"They are angry. They must feed."

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his head, and he screamed.

He tried to lash out at the monster, but his hands were empty and weak. He couldn't move. It was as though something was holding him down, but he couldn't see anything, only the darkness.

"We are coming, and we will take everything that is rightfully ours."

No…

"We will destroy the light, and everyone who holds it."

No.

"It will die, and we will bring a new world. A world of darkness. A world of death."

No!

Ben woke to the feeling of cold water on his face that someone had probably used to wake him, his body hot and sticky from sweat, making his clothes stick to him. It was only then that he realised that it had all been a dream.

He tried to move his hand up to his head which was still pounding from his nightmare, but he found that it was attached to something. Something… familiar.

He felt his cheeks heat up as he realised what it was.

"Oh thank Avo!" Milena cried, smiling at him and squeezing his hand, "I thought you'd never wake up!"

"M-Milena!" he exclaimed, sitting up, blinking his eyes to clear the spots from the sudden vertigo, "What are you doing here?"

One of her eyebrows rose, "Looking for you, of course. What were you thinking, going off like that?"

"I was-"

"And what was that? Since when did you have nightmares that bad? You had me seriously worried!"

"Um…" he cringed as he felt her fingers tighten around his, "princess-?"

"You should have said something! Why didn't you tell me? You could have been anywhere! In a ditch by the side of the road for all I knew! Never do that to me again, do you understand me?"

She looked at him in earnest, eyes pleading with him.

Was this really how she felt about him?

He smiled, "I understand."

Milena returned his grin and helped him to his feet, the books that had fallen onto his lap slamming shut as they hit the ground.

They stood there for a few moments, just staring into each other's eyes, before Samuel coughed, ending the moment. They both turned to look at him, faces red from embarrassment, and dropped their hands to their sides, Ben shaking his to try and get some life back into his crushed fingers.

"I'll uh, just get back to looking for those books shall I?" Samuel said, looking slightly guilty for his disturbance.

Ben nodded, not quite trusting his voice to keep how his heart was racing a secret. And it wasn't from fear any more.

As the Librarian raced off, the captain let his gaze return to the Queen.

"So…" he rubbed the back of his neck, "You were that worried huh?"

Milena lowered her eyes.

"You know, if I had known you would worry about me," he continued, lifting her chin up so he could see her beautiful eyes, "I would have waited."

For a moment she was lost for words, but then she drew back again, rubbing her arm, "What just happened… has it been happening a lot recently?"

Ben sighed. He knew he was going to have to tell her at some point. "It only happens when I sleep at night - and it's not usually that bad – but the nightmares just get worse every time." He sat down again, wiping his hand through his damp hair. "That's why I sleep when the sun's out. The sun keeps them away. But… Every time I have one of those dreams, I feel like I lose a part of myself… to the darkness inside of me."

She didn't know what to say.

Ever since they had escaped the Crawler, his dreams had been infected by that evil. He'd had to change the way he lived just so he could keep it at bay. It hadn't even been two months yet, and the darkness was already this strong inside of him.

It chilled her to the bone to think about what he must be going through.

Sitting down next to him, she put her hand over his again, just as she'd done when he was tossing and turning in his disturbed slumber. "You know what you need?" she asked, pulling his arm around her shoulders, "You need someone to talk to," she squinted at him, "And some fresh air. Come on!"

Pulling him back onto his feet again, she lugged him back out through the library and through the doors, a soft, cool breeze greeting them… and a rather excited dog.

"Hello Tyson," Ben said, patting him on the head, "I've missed you."

The dog barked at him, his tongue sticking out at the side in delight.

"Looks like he's missed you too," Milena said as the canine ran circles around them, barking happily, "Quiet boy, people are trying to sleep!"

The captain laughed when he continued to bark, ignoring her commands.

Soon, they reached the bridge that was overlooking most of the town, by which time Tyson had calmed down and was now padding his way along next to his master, and leaned on the stone wall, looking over the sleeping village.

"What were you looking for?" Milena asked finally, keeping her eyes focused on the one or two figures stumbling home from the tavern so as not to get distracted from the topic. No matter how hard she tried, whenever she looked at him, whatever she'd been thinking would just slip away, as though it didn't matter.

She felt his eyes on her, "Well, back when I stacked books here, Sammy used to let me read a few on my breaks," he said, turning to face the river again, "As long as I returned them anyway." She could hear the smirk in his voice and could tell that there were some very fond memories here, "I can remember coming across one book that said something about the location of an ancient artefact that was hidden by a Hero several centuries ago."

"An artefact?"

Ben nodded, "I believe it's some kind of statue, but I'm not one hundred per cent sure. If I had the book I found it in, I would be. But, of course, since I've left the library, your brother ended up banning the use of the place and it's become almost impossible to find anything!"

Their eyes met for a moment, and Milena could see the annoyance he felt in them, though there was a hint of that obnoxious playfulness mixed in there too that made her smile. "And why exactly are you looking for this artefact?"

He frowned. "Well… for you."

Suddenly, she found herself blushing again – something that seemed to be happening more and more frequently recently – and looked down at her hands as she twiddled her thumbs.

"I know how hard you're working," he continued, "News travels fast. Everyone respects how much you're doing for them. I'm sure they'd help you if they could, and that got me thinking. There was no way I was going to be able to do anything to help on the salary I'm getting. Now don't get me wrong, it's enough. But it's not enough to help the Queen raise an army.

"And that's exactly what I want to do, princess, and this is the only way I know how besides some rather… unsavoury things that I didn't even want to consider. Probably wouldn't have considered had it not been for that shadow inside of me."

Milena gave him a rueful smile and sighed.

Okay, that's enough sorrow for one night!

"Why do you still call me that?" she asked.

"What? 'Princess'?"

She nodded, "Mm."

The captain shrugged. "I suppose it's because… I've always called you it. You could say it's a nickname."

"It's not really fitting any more, is it."

"Oh? Would you much rather I call you 'Queeny'? Or 'Ruler'?" he asked, a big grin spreading across his face, "Or maybe even 'your highness'."

How did…?

"How did you know I didn't like that title?"

Ben's grin widened, "Does that mean 'Princess' can stay?"

"But… But how?"

His eyes sparkled. "You're easy to read, sweetheart."

Milena gaped at him, but then squinted her eyes. "Walter told you."

He laughed. "A few weeks ago in one of our meetings. Said something about you threatening to throw something at the next person who said 'your highness' to you."

She shook her head, "That man…"

"Did you do it?"

"Huh?"

"'Huh'? That doesn't sound very queen-like. Did you throw something at them?"

She hit him lightly in the arm, "Shut up! And yes, I did."

His eyebrows rose, "Now this I've got to hear!"

They had spent the rest of the night swapping stories. Milena's were mostly about how she was getting fed up with all the 'royal treatment', and Ben's described his year in Brightwall.

He told tale after tale of his journey from being a seventeen year old orphan to the grand stacker of books that resided within the majestic halls of the Academy. He may have exaggerated one or two little details, but she seemed to enjoy the story all the same.

Before they knew it, the sky was beginning to turn orange as the sun was beginning to push its way over the horizon.

Grasping her hand in his own, Ben looked Milena in the eye.

"I've got to show you something," he said excitedly, and began to pull her through the steadily filling streets, apologising to anyone he accidentally bumped into.

Soon, they were stood on the bridge just outside of the village, looking towards the East.

"Ben? What are… oh my."

Suddenly, the sun peeked over the mountains, its light spilling into the valley, reflecting off of the river's water, sending millions of scattered images across the landscape.

"It's… it's beautiful," she said, her face filled with awe and wonder.

He smiled softly at her, "A beautiful thing for a beautiful lady."

For a moment, she didn't seem to react, and Ben thought she hadn't heard him, but then she turned to face him.

He could see in her eyes how much she wanted what he said to mean more, to mean exactly what he'd intended it to. He watched as she licked her lips, and it only made him want her more.

He leant in, and for the first time, he felt her soft lips on his, and he wished that this moment would last forever.

AN - :O I wasn't expecting that to happen at all!

Well, this was the moment I'm sure you've all been waiting for! Sorry if it's not the romantic scene you were hoping for, but this is my first time at romance, so give me a bit of a break!

It's going to get a bit more interesting from here on in I think...

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

And, as always... Until next time!