That Night

Title: That night
Theme: #13 Nightmare
Series: Akagami no Shirayukihime
Disclaimer: All characters of the following story belong to Akizuki Sorata.

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…It was that night again. Each and every time he knew what was going to occur next— he knew he was reliving a memory, that he was stuck in a nightmare, but it still left him shaken every single night. Watching them scream at each other, seeing her slap him, watching as the anger flared up in his eyes and the metal of the knife reflect in the light, right before he brought it down to his mother's face. Blood-curling screams ripped through the night and that man would run away, casting a last hatred look at him. And God, here was so much blood.

He would then feel his legs free themselves from paralysis and run up to his mother with an outstretched arm. She was kneeling on the floor, screaming in pain, covering her eyes that she had just lost.

But this dream… for once, it felt different. As he ran, he saw his arm get longer and his hand grow larger— and he slowly saw everything from a different perspective.

His mother's hair seemed to become shorter as well… Also her light brown wavy hair faded to a darker color. He grabbed her petite shoulders and hastily turned her around.

Utterly shocked, his breath was caught in his throat.

'Shirayuki!'

With a dart Obi's eyes shot open and took in a short intake of air. His dark hair stuck to his glistening forehead and with a groan he sat upright and brought a hand to his throbbing head. The beat of his heart raced non-stop, nearly bursting in his chest. He flinched as he pushed the re-experienced memories of his nightmare back into the darkest corner of his mind, not wanting to be reminded of it. And yet it haunted him again and again.

Unexpectedly the door to the next room then burst open, making him cringe a little. As soon as he looked up in surprise, his red-headed mistress stumbled in with a wild look in her jade-eyes that darted around frantically. Her hair was tousled around her head. Obi stared at her for a long time, making sure was fine and nodded to himself.

'It was just a dream after all,' he told himself. Next he wondered why she was here. Had he unknowingly shouted? He couldn't find any other reason for her emergence.

"Obi… Are you alright?" Her voice was soft and filled with concern. She advanced to his bed in worry and reached out to him, carefully resting her hand on his shoulder. …It was a warm touch. He wanted to relax and lean into it, but caught himself before he actually did.

"I'm fine, Young Mistress," he said politely, but his voice was a little on edge. And she didn't fail to notice his sweat-covered face and felt him shake a little under her hand. He noticed that she did and scowled at himself for being vulnerable. Ah, damn… He pushed the covers away and swung his legs to the side, attempting to get up when she surprisingly sat down beside him on the bed.

"Liar. " She didn't believe him. She had heard him shout and she knew something was wrong. And she guessed it had been a nightmare.

He wanted to give her a look that said 'What? Are you kidding me?' when he saw how she looked at him. It was those caring, sympathy-filled eyes he remembered from his mother—

'Stop now.' He gulped and didn't say anything.

She rose her hand and he kept a close watch to it until she let it rest on his head and began stroking it softly, combing his slightly damp hair through her fingers. When she noticed he didn't move or push her back, she placed her other hand on his and squeezed it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

A thin eyebrow rose to that question. "…Talk about what exactly?" Of course he knew what she meant, but he didn't wish to share with her. It was something he preferred to bury, not spread word about.

But she just smiled at him encouragingly and said. "From time to time you're the one who should be protected too, Obi."

A small, yet precise stab stung in his heart. How was it that she always kept surprising him?

…And then he recollected something about his mother. Her eyes… He remembered her bright blue eyes and how they shone lovingly at him whenever he walked towards her. Those eyes that displayed so many emotions… And he would never see them again, because it was his father who had taken away her sight that very night.