Disclaimer: OH BOY, EVERY TIME I DO ANOTHER CHAPTER, I HAVE TO DO THIS! HAVEN'T YOU GUYS GOT THE MESSAGE? I DON'T OWN DRAGON KNIGHTS, 'CAUSE IF I DID, I WOULDN'T HAVE KILLED SOME OF THE MAIN CHARARCTERS LIKE SHE DID! HMMPH!

Ch.1.GO TO SLEEP! please?(T_T)

It was a windy and snowy night that the Dragon Castle lay under. The moon was playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds and mild breezes whipped through the open air, growing stronger and as they did, swirling snow around like a whirlpool, giving off a warning that they might become more fiercer.

No one in the palace was worried over the weather, however. Everyone was lying snugly in their beds, sleeping peacefully. All, that is, but one.

A figure stood on the open terrace of his room, overlooking the quiet, white-covered grounds of the Dragon Castle. The moon, peeking out from behind a cloud, bathed the figure with its soft glow, exposing the figure's feature's to become distinct: long, gleaming blond hair which was being tossed about by the wind, tall pointed ears, and eyes which held within them many different emotions. Worried? Wondering? Sad?

The newest acquired member of the Dragon Tribe, Rune, sighed, gazing up at the sky, trying to sort out all that had happened in the past few weeks which had been hectic and seemingly unreal.

Being chosen as the Dragon Knight of Water by the Water Dragon himself, thus ending his Faerie life and peaceful ways.

Taking on the Demon King, Lord Nadil face-to-face, almost getting himself destroyed in the process of trying to seal the demon-fish Varawoo away.

His, love, Tintlett sacrificing herself for him and sealing herself away with the demon-fish, asleep in a deep trance.

Tintlett…he thought. Gods, if anyone had told him what was going to happen to his near future awhile back, he would have laughed insanely and think they were possessed by a demon. How much things had changed.

The wind outside where he was standing was blowing fierociously. Snow was falling more swiftly. The elf shivered. It was quite cold out here-he should be in bed, not standing in this weather pondering the fates of life. The wind gave an almighty howl, tossing up large buffs of snow, as if agreeing.

Rune backed up into his room, closing the terrace's doors from the harsh cold. Heading across the floor, he made it over to his bed and slipped into it, lying down uncomfortably on the soft matress, unused at not feeling the regular tickle of grass beneath him. The elf sighed, knowing he would have to get used to a great many different things, and turned over…right next to…SOMEBODY ELSE?!?!

Rune let out a high-pitched shriek of surprise-much resembling that of a girl's-and hurled himself backwards away from the person, resulting with him tumbling head-over-heels out of bed, and landing painfully on his rear.

The elf quickly leapt to his feet and hurriedly jerked the covers off his bed to reveal the uninvited quest who had come unwelcomed into his room.

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The storm outside frightened Rath. With the wind blowing strongly and the snow falling heavily, it reminded him of the Snowy Mountains…and Kharl.

Bad things happen when it snows…

The child shivered where he stood in his room, too afraid to climb into bed, thinking that something would crawl out from under it, snatch him up, and take him away…back to the Yokai. As if summoned, the face of the smiling white-haired man appeared in his mind, still fresh in his memory.

The black-haired boy stifled a sob and bit his lip, nervously glancing around the darkened room. The shadows seemed to be moving…and Fire and Crewgar weren't here to protect him this time.

Bad things happen when it snows…

The wind gave an a horribly loud and dreadful moan outside, and the windows in the room rattled loudly, snow blowing heavily on them as if someone was trying to reach in and grab him…

Rath bolted from the room.

The child raced down deserted hallways, heart pounding furiously, running on terror-stricken legs. Finally, he stopped, leaning on his knees, breathing heavily. The boy grasped a nearby door-frame tightly, his thought flashing through his mind wildly.

He wasn't going back to his room! Not tonight! And he couln't stay here either. But where could he go? He didn't want to disturb the Dragon Lord and Queen-he still wasn't comfortable around Lord Lykuleon and probably never would be. He most certainly didn't want to wake Alfeegi. He'd probably get his head whacked to a pulp with his mallet. The White Dragon Officer didn't like being disturbed.

The child wrung his hands nervously and in fear, wondering what to do next. A gust of cold wind drifted past his cheek. The boy looked around him, searching for its source. The door on which his hand rested on was slightly ajar. Pushing it more open, Rath peeked through it. Across the room, on the open terrace, stood the elf who had come to the Dragon Tribe a few weeks earlier. The elf who was a Dragon Knight just like him. The young boy wondered vaugely if all elves were as crazy as this one. Why would anyone want to stand in that freak storm out there?

Suddenly the wind let up an almighty unearthly howl, interrupting the child's thoughts and making his blood run cold. Rath gave a small squeak of fear and without thinking raced into the room, scurrying into the bed, and under the covers, trying to will his frantically beating heart to calm down.

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Rune blinked, still holding the blankets high over his head. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but this…child…hadn't been it. There, curled up in a little ball, lay a small shaking black-haired boy, with his face buried in the pillow. When the covers were yanked off him, the child pulled away his face from the soft cushion enough so that he could peek with one eye and see the gaping elf above him. Slowly, the child sat up.

Rune let the covers drop to the floor and stared at the small black-haired boy in front of him at a loss of words for some time, before regaining the usage of speech.

"Umm," he began not really knowing what to say, "I don't believe this is your bed."

The child simply stared at him, unmoving. The elf began to sweat. Was this kid normal?

"This is my room," he started over, "I sleep here. You should sleep in your room," when the boy still didn't answer, he went on, "Do you have a room?"

No response.

"Do you know where your room is?"

No response.

Do you value my sanity? Rune thought strained, This was getting rather tiresome.

And he had begun to run out of questions.

"Crewgar is with Kai-stern on his trip."

The voice was so soft, even the elf's delicate ears almost hadn't caught it. "What?" he said, starting, looking at the boy.

"Crewgar's with Kai-stern," the child repeated sadly, "And Fire's in my sword, but Alfeegi took it away."

"Wait," Rune said thinking hard on what he had just heard, "Alfeegi…Crewgar…Fire…You're Rath, aren't you?"

The child nodded wordlessly.

The elf remembered when he had first come to the Dragon Palace and had been walking with Ruwalk, after he had agreed to find the Water Dragon…how a small black-haired child had tried to sneak past them and go outside. And how the Yellow Dragon Officer had admonished him for trying to escape again. The boy had had the Fire Dragon and the white demon-dog with him then.

"Well, Rath," Rune asked, still quizzical of exactly why the young boy had hidden in his bed, "I'm sorry your friends aren't here, but why aren't in your bed sleeping?"

Rath turned and buried his face into the pillow clutched to him as if he were embarrased, "It's scary in my room," he finally said, his voice sounding muffled.

"Oooh," the elf said realizing, then looked around helplessly. What was he going too do now? He wanted to go to sleep, but he couldn't toss a frightened child out in the cold. And it seemed that he probably wouldn't be able to pluck him up from the bed even if he wanted to.

Rath affirmed this when a particularly violent gale of wind shook the castle and the hallways seemed to moan. The boy gave a terrifying squeak of fear and scrunched down lower on the mattress.

Rune sighed, giving up. There was only one solution left now. Bending over, he picked the blankets up from the floor and started to get into bed. The child stared at him puzzled.

"Well, move over," the elf ordered, "Obviously, you're not going anywhere, and I need some sleep."

Rath sidled over to the right, allowing Rune to climb in and draw the covers over both of them. The elf settled his head on a pillow, then turned to the boy and said, "Now close your eyes and go to sleep."

The child nodded and turned on his left side…then on his right…then on his stomach.

First he lay low on it, then moved higher up the bed, so it rested partly on the pillow. Then he pulled the blankets up so covered all of him, then pushed them down so they only covered him half-way. Then he kicked them off completely.

And tossed himself on his back.

"WOULD YOU STOP?!" Rune yelled, very irritated at all the restless movements.

"Sorry," came a soft, trembling voice and the elf saw the boy's lower lip was quivering.

Oh, no, he thought as he heard a great sniffle. Already, the elf felt sorry for shouting.

"Look," he said, reaching out and patting the child's back awkwardly, "I'm sorry. It was just a long day and I'm tense from it, that's all. Now why don't we both relax and go to

sleep, O.K.?"

The boy nodded his black head and Rune gave a relieved sigh and turned over, his back to the child and started to drift away.

"Mr.Elf?"

Rune was awake in an instant, his delicate nerves, on the breaking point. It was bad enough that the kid was keeping him from much-needed sleep, but to call him that as well-it was quite infuriating. The elf checked himself quickly. It wasn't the boy's fault-he didn't know his name. Well, better see what he wanted.

Sighing, he turned over so he was facing the child, "What is it?"

The boy cupped a hand on the side of his mouth and said in a low whisper, "I think there's a monster under the bed."

Warning bells tolled in the elf's mind. Oh, Dusis, if he didn't discourage this train of thought, the child would never let him go to sleep!

"My name's Rune," he said, "And what makes you think there's a monster under the bed?"

"I can hear him breathing," Rath stated, his eyes wide.

The elf gave another sigh, "Do you want me to check?" he said tiredly. The boy nodded vigorously.

Rune flung the blankets off him moodily, got out of bed, and squatted on the ground peering through the inky blackness underneath. "Nothing's here," he said and started to get up.

"It's an invisible monster," came the reply.

The elf stared hard at the child for several long moments. "An…invisisble…monster?"

He inquired incredulously.

The child nodded vigorously, his eyes growing even wider, "Yes. It has furry green fur with two sharp horns and red eyes and it drools purple slobber."

"Really?" Rune questioned unbelievingly, "Tell me-if it's invisisble, how do you know what it looks like?"

Rath had to stop and think about that one.

The elf sighed stressedly, "Look, I'm certain that there are no monsters under the bed-invisible or not, now why don't we-"

"NO!" the boy cried fearfully, pulling the covers over him, "Don't go to sleep! That's when it comes out and eats us!"

Rune felt like banging his head on a wall. This kid was NEVER going to go to sleep! "What do you want me to do?" he inquired blearily.

"You have to get rid of it!" the child called out from beneath the heavy material.

Obviously, the elf thought. But he only said, "How?"

Rath threw back the blankets and stared at him as if he had never been asked something so ridiculous in all his life. Rune raised an eyebrow at the child's scrutinizing. Finally, the boy opened his mouth and answered, "You have to say a chant."

"A chant?" Rune repeated stupidly. Where had this kid been that he knew about chants?

"Yes, chants," the black-haired child restated firmly, sitting up, "Here's how it goes: 'O…Wuh…Tuh.." he said slowly.

" 'O…Wuh…Tuh?'" the elf asked questioningly.

"I'm not done!" Rath said, glaring at him, then went on, " 'Sil…Eee...Ehl…'" here the bot stopped to see if the elf was listening. Rune gave him a weary nod, and he finished with, " 'Fyam'!"

"That's it?" Rune inquired, expecting more.

"Yup," the child affirmed with a bob of his head and said, " 'Cept that when you say it, you gotta squat on your knees and poke your head in and out underneath the bed."

The mental picture of that, was enough to make Rune's head spin. However, if he ever wanted to get this kid off to Slumberland- "Alright," he sighed, and when the young boy beamed at him questioned, "If you knew what to do to get rid of it, then why haven't you tried it before?"

Rath bowed his head shamefully, "I was always too scared to get on the floor."

With that last statement on his mind, the elf lowered himself to the floor once more next to the bed. Above him, he heard the child scuffle under the shelter of the covers again. Rune peered into the dark bleakness and a little thought began to dance around in his head. This chant thing sounded pretty real. The boy was genuinely concerned. What if there was an invisible-STOP IT! He shouted to himself, Don't let the imaginings of a small child get to you! So taking a deep breath he poked his blond head into the black space and began the chant:

"O…Wuh…Tuh…" he said, taking his head out, "Sil…Eee..Ehl…" he stated next, putting his head back in, "Fyam!"

"You have to keep doing it a few more times!" called a frightened voice over him.

"O…Wuh…Tuh…"-(out)-"Sil…Eee…Ehl…"-(in)-"Fyam!"

"Faster!" cried the child.

"O-Wuh-Tuh!" Rune shouted, pulling his head out, praying feverently that no one would come in to see him doing this, "Sil-Eee-Ehl" he poked his head back in, "Fyam!"

"Oh-Wah-Ta!"-(out)-'Sil-E-El!"-(in)-"Fiam!"

"Oh What A Silly Elf I Am!"

Rune stopped in mid-poke out, realizing what he had just said. From above him, came a muffled snort. The elf jerked his head up abruptly, forgetting he was half-way under the bed, thus snagging his long hair in the wire supports for the mattress.

"Aaaaaaggggghhh!!!" he yelped, struggling to extricate himself from the tangled situation. It wasn't going very well. Some muffled snickers reached his pointed ears. Finally, freeing himself from the mess, the elf emerged, breathing heavily, hair asunder and eyes blazing at the twitching bundle on the bed in front of him.

Rath peeled back a portion of the blanket to see a very ticked-off Rune standing in front of him.

"Well, did you think that was funny?" the elf asked, practically spitting out the words. The boy nodded, eyes crinkled up in mirth, and trying desperately not to laugh.

"Well, I'm glad somebody does, because I MOST DEFINETELT AM NOT AMUSED!!!" Rune yelled, a vein pounding in his temple.

The grin was knocked off the child's face instantly. The corners of his mouth turned downwards and he blinked his eyes several times before speaking in shaking voice, "I'm s-sorry. I was o-only t-trying to…to m-make you l-laugh…"

Rune's conscience immediately admonished him for screaming at the boy. He was younger than he was, and little children, after all, felt horrible when yelled at. Seeing the small child gulp in several large amounts of air and rubbing at one of eyes, wasn't helping either. Sighing for the umpteenth time that night, the elf ran a hand over his face tiredly and said apologetically, "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get mad at you. Like, I said before, it's been a very tiring day."

"I bet it's 'cause you had lessons with Alfeegi today, right?"

Rune stared down at the black-haired boy amazed, "How did you know that?"

Rath let out a final sniffle and sat up, " 'Cause whenever I get a whole day with Alfeegi I usually conk out during dinner. It's sort of hard to stay awake after he's been pounding you with rules of Dragon Knight conduct and etiquette and how-you-should-manage-a-crisis-situation into your head."

The elf nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it is."

"Especially when you know if you haven't memorized something or don't remember what you're supposed to, he'll take out his mallet and whack you a good one."

Rune glanced at the child incredulously, "He has a mallet?" he asked nervously.

Rath nodded vigorously, eyes wide, "A big one!"

The elf thought back on to how many times he hadn't known an answer or had been too exhausted from the previous sword lesson with Tetheus to give a reply and gulped.

The boy nodded his head, noting this, "He doesn't whack new people with it until they've settled in. Then he unleashes his rage."

Rune wasn't sure if the kid was making this up on the top of his head or if it really was true, but he did know that he was going to keel over right there on the floor if his eyes didn't close very soon. But this child was seriously denying him that every spare moment!

"Listen," he said, folding his arms on top of the bed, staring intently at the boy, " This goes against my usual conduct. I mean I usually don't lower myself like this due to my pride and delicate ego, but as this is the only solution I can come up with in my dimmed state of mind-"

Rath suddenly found the front part of his nightshift grasped tightly and the elf's bone-weary face up close to his.

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!" Rune begged, shaking the boy a little,"PLEASE, LITTLE CHILD, GO TO SLEEP!!! OH, PLEASE, OH, PLEASE, OH PLEASE!!!"

The young boy's face stared back blankly at his. Oh, it was no use! This kid was going to be up all night! The elf let go of his grip on the child's shirt and slumped downward onto the mattress, burying his face in his arms.

Rath laughed from somewhere above his head, "You're funny! I like you!"

Oh, great, Rune thought not looking up, Now I'll be labeled as 'Weird-but-cool' in this kid's head forever!

He felt a light tap on the head and glanced up. The small black-haired boy was smiling down at him, "I'll go to sleep," he offered and Rune stared up disbelievingly, "If you tell me a story!"

Rune really did bang his head against something this time. Of course, this kid will go to sleep! He thought, plummeting his head into the mattress several times, But there's a catch! Why is there always a catch?!

"Rune?" the elf brought his now reddened-forehead up to see the child nestled securely under the blankets, waiting expectantly. Sighing, he got up from the floor and crawled achingly into the bed. Settling himself into a somewhat comfortable position, he let his mind race wildly. What kinds of stories did children like? What kind did Rath like? Was he, Rune capable of telling stories?! Finally he decided to just open his mouth and go with the flow.

"O.K.," he began, "Once upon a time there was a little girl who was very nice and gentle but had an evil stepmother who-"

"Wait!" cried Rath interrupting, "Is this the one where her fairy godmother turns her into a pumkin and changes some mice into demons and they eat the pumkin whose really a girl?"

Rune stared at the boy awhile before answering, "I believe the fairy godmother turns a pumkin into a carriage and the mice into horses, but…you heard this one have you?"

"Yup," Rath nodded, "Tell me a different one."

Letting out another heavy sigh, the elf started again, "Once upon a time there was a king and queen who wanted a child very much. Finally their wish was granted, and a girl was born to them and they held a great celebration, inviting all the fairies in the land except one-"

"Wait!" Rath interrupted again, "Is this the one where the fairies were really demons in disguise and had come to kill everyone partying, eat the baby and then rule the country once the king was dead?"

Rune resisted the urge not to let out a scream of exasperation. Demons disguised as fairies?! A LOATHSOME INSULT! Getting himself under control, the elf asked the boy, "Fine, since you have obviously heard both those tales, what should I tell you?"

"Why don't you list off the stories you know and I'll say if I've heard them or not," the child suggested.

Great, more time trying to get my battered mind to think, Rune thought as he began naming off some.

"Snow White."

"Heard it."

"Rumplestiltskin."

"Heard it."

"Three Billy Goats Gruff."

"Heard it."

"The Frog Prince."

"Heard it."

"Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

"NO! I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT ONE YET! TELL ME. RUNE! TELL ME!"

Rune winced at the loud excited cry and tried not to let the bed's movements-which was caused by Rath who was bouncing up and down happily-disturb him.

"Alright! Calm down!" he said and the boy immediately lay still, "O.K., Once upon a time there was a little girl people called Goldilocks because she had long golden hair. She was walking through the forest one day and-"

"Why was she walking through the forest, Rune?" Rath interrupted for the third time that night.

"I don't know," the elf replied continuing on, "She was walking through the forest one day and-"

"Aren't girls supposed to be afraid of walking in the woods?" the child asked inquiringly, "Why wasn't she? Was she really a demon-hunter disguised as a little girl so demons would attack her thinking she was defenseless only to get sliced open?"

Sweet Dusis! WHAT IS IT WITH THIS KID AND DEMONS?! Rune thought.

"Ruuuuune," the boy drawled out whining, "Why was she walking through the woods?"

"BECAUSE SHE WAS ON THE WAY TO VISIT HER SICK GRANDMA!" Rune shouted exasperated.

Rath blinked, "I thought that was Little Red Riding Hood who did that. Is Goldilocks a cousin of hers?"

The elf pounced on the extra help he had received, "YES! THAT'S WHY! Now…she was walking through the woods and came upon a little house-"

"What was a house doing in the middle of the forest, Rune? Isn't it hard to get supplies?"

Rune moaned silently. He was never going to finish! However, all he said was, "It was the family's summer home. They went there on vacations and holidays, but they had another house that they lived in the winter. It was in the city."

"Ooooh," said Rath.

"So," Rune went on, "She came upon a little house and decided to go in-"

"Why did she want to go in? It wasn't her house. That would be like…breaking and entering!" the black-haired boy gasped, "Goldilocks is a thief!"

The elf decided that if the child wanted to come upon his own conclusions of why Goldilocks did certain things, then he was quite welcome too. Rune cleared his throat and went on, "The girl went inside and looked around-"

"Probably to see which valuables were worth taking or not," Rath grumbled to himself.

"The girl looked around and discovered no one was home. As she explored the interior of the house, an arousing aroma came to her nose. The girl went into the kitchen and saw that the table was set for three and three bowls full of porridge had been placed out on it-"

"I thought you said no one was home, Rune," Rath accused.

"I did," the elf said, now quite accustomed to the boy's frequent interruptions.

"But if no one was there, why was the porridge left out? Wouldn't it get cold?"

"I believe that's the reason they left in the first place," Rune stated dryly, "To give the porridge a chance to cool before they ate it."

"Well, that's stupid," Rath declared stoutly, "Letting the food rule their life. I wouldn't have made the porridge from the start. I would've just ordered a pizza!"

"Ahem," Rune coughed, "Yes, well, this family wasn't as rich as you, so-"

"Not rich? Boy, is Goldilocks in for a surprise. All that work breaking in and not getting any profit out of it."

The elf coughed again and continued, "Yes, anyway, seeing that no one was at home and the porridge just laying there, she decided to go eat it, because she was very hungry."

"Why was she hungry? Didn't she eat before she left home?"

"No, Rath, she didn't. In fact, she totally missed out on the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet special her mother had prepared for her," Rune replied sarcastically.

"And now, she's stuck with porridge," the child gave a sigh equal to the one Rune was feeling right now, "Well, I guess she deserves it after preparing to rob someone's house."

The elf felt a rather large headache coming on, but opened his mouth and spoke, "So she sat down in front of the first bowl, which was rather large, and tried that one out but it was too hot! So she went to the next bowl, which was medium-sized, but it was too cold! So, finally she went to the last bowl, which was the smallest, and tasted that one and it was just right!"

"Why'd they all had different temperatures? Shouldn't they all be the same? Are you sure you're telling the story right Rune?"

Now, the elf had several things which he tolerated even if they annoyed him to no end, but one thing that he absolutely abolished was someone questioning whether or not he had done something right!

"OF COURSE I'M TELLING THE STORY RIGHT!" Rune screeched, his nerves quite ruffled.

"But a little girl being a thief and all?" Rath asked, "That's sort of not realistic, isn't it, Rune?"

The elf flung an am over his face to hide his irritation. He felt the need to tell the child that it hadn't been him to judge that Goldilocks was a thief, but that would just make the story longer, he was sure. So he ignored the comment and went on.

"After eating all the porridge in the smallest bowl, she wandered into the living room to look for a place to sit down-"

"Why does she want to sit down, Rune? Isn't she going to look for what to steal next?"

Aaaaaaaaaaagggh!!! The elf screamed silently.

"Well, why is she going to sit down, Rune, there must be a reason!" the young boy demanded.

"SHE WAS GOING TO SIT DOWN BECAUSE IF SHE CONTINUED WALKING AFTER EATING ALL THAT PORRIDGE THEN SHE WOULD GET INDIGESTION AND CRAMPS!"

"Oooooooh," said Rath.

"The girl spotted three chairs in the room and tried the largest one, but it was too hard! Then she tried the next chair but it was too soft! Then last, she tried the littlest chair and it was just right!"

"Oh, I get it!" Rath cried excitedly, pumping his fist in his hand, "She's testing out each piece of furniture to see which is the best to sneak away with!" Then the boy's face grew puzzled and he looked at Rune confusedly, "How is she going to carry the chair away through the forest? It'll probably be too heavy for her."

"SHE CALLED HER ACCOMPLICE WHOSE BRINGING A TRUCK!!!"

"Hey, I bet it's her cousin, Little Red Riding Hood! Thieves always work with their relatives to steal things!"

The elf at this point was wondering if the story should go on, half-fearing what Rath was going to unravel next, but nevertheless, he continued.

"So just when Goldilocks was about to shout for her cousin to come help her load the chair up in the truck, a loud crack split the air, and Goldilocks fell through the bottom."

"Busted," the child shook his head sadly, "The probably only good piece of furniture in the house and it broke. Bummer. How much porridge did she eat?"

Rune decided it was best to ignore the boy and went on, "Goldilocks decided to go upstairs to see if there were better things to steal up there and entered into a bedroom where there were three beds. She tried the first one out, which was the large one, but like the chair, it was too hard. Then she tried the middle one, but it was too soft. Finally, she tried the last one which was just right and fell asleep instantly."

"Why'd she fall asleep like that, Rune?" Rath asked, tugging on the elf's sleeve, "Was she tired from walking up all those stairs?"

"No," Rune replied, letting his imagination run away with him, "The owners of the house had placed a sleeping spell on the bed which made anyone who lay in it go out like a light. Sort of like a trap."

"To catch thieves like Goldilocks!" Rath crowed excitedly.

"Yes," Rune said, feeling quite elated, "Anyway, as she lay sleeping, snared unsuspecting in their trap, the family came home."

Rath gasped and the elf flew on enjoying himself throughally now, "they discovered quickly that someone had gotten into all their porridge and had eaten all that was in the last bowl, and had tried out all their chairs, and had broken the last one. Knowing that there was no where else to go but upstairs, they journeyed to their bedroom to discover the sleeping thief caught fast in their trap!"

"What happened?! What happened?!" Rath squealed, bouncing up and down enthusiastically.

"The three bears-who were really demons in disguise-"

There came a: "I KNEW IT!!!" from Rath.

"-Quickly gobbled up Goldilocks before she could wake up and steal anymore things, then hurried outside and ate her cousin up, inviting the Big Bad Wolf over for the occasion, then made the get-away truck into a fruit cart, so they could take stuff from their garden and sell it in the city. The end!"

The elf's ears were met with wild applause as Rath clapped happily stating, "WOW! THAT'S THE BEST STORY I'VE EVER HEARD! THE DRAGON QUEEN NEVER TELLS STORIES LIKE THAT!!!'

Rune laughed weakly, the adrenalin leaving his system and realizing what he had just spouted out. Was this kid's character infectious? The child probably forgotten about his promise too. But to the elf's surprise, the boy settled down on the mattress and pulled the covers over him. He seemed to be trying very hard to keep his eyes open. Rune's heart raced-could it be?!

"Good-night, Rune," the black-haired child murmured sleepily, "Thank you for the story." Then there was the sound of soft, quiet breathing.

The elf just lay there for awhile, breathing the sweet sound of silence. The storm outside had died down; now, the wind blew calmly and the snow fell gently. It was warm inside. Rune eyelids began to droop, but before he could drop off to go to sleep, the child rolled over and scooted closer to him until he was up against the elf's chest. Rune glanced down at the snoring child beside him and smiled, putting an arm around the small body and placing his blond head near to the boy's unruly black one. If something this cute was next to you, how could you not cuddle it?

The last thought on the elf's drifting mind was, Alfeegi says Rath can be trouble. He's…not…really…that bad….

Then Rune fell away into the deep fathoms of sleep and dreamed.

COOL! The first chappie of my new fic up! YEAH! :does a dance: I hope you all will like this one as much as the last! OH, and if you think this chap's a little on the GUSHY side, just wait until the next one for the chaos! Rune is gonna get a little surprise when he wakes up! See if you can guess-it's not what ya think!: maniacal laugh: BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! O.K., BU-BYE! :scratches head: There was something else. What was it? Oh, yeah: PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASSEE REVIEW!!!!!.