Nightmares and Comfort: A Tale of a Princess and Her Knight

Draco was on his way back to his room when his senses picked up on something. Following his instincts he picked up speed and ran towards the source. He stopped just outside of Jinx's room and entered after punching in the code. After Rancid had assaulted her in the mall, she'd shared the access code into her room with Draco. She trusted him; there was no doubt about it.

"Jinx?" he called as his eyes focused in the darkness. "Daijoubu?" His eyes went towards the bed and she was tossing and turning. He jogged towards the bed to look at her. She was whimpering and talking in her sleep with a pained expression on her face.

"Please, stay away…" she begged. "Don't touch me. Please, go away. Leave me alone…" She was obviously experiencing the nightmare again.

She was also sweating and her long pink hair was a mess. "Jinx, wake up. You're having a nightmare," he said to her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, shaking slightly. She let out a scream and shot out of bed, tears streaming from her eyes which had opened big and wide.

"Jinx?" he questioned and then she suddenly grabbed onto him, burying her face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. "There's nobody here who's going to hurt you," he said soothingly. He stroked her hair softly.

"Just…stay here," she pleaded, trembling. "Please, don't go. Don't leave me."

"I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again," he vowed.

Kyousuke was staying over at Emiko's place for the night. She was his best friend and they'd been friends since kindergarten. They were inseparable and a lot of people often mistook them for a couple, though the two friends had claimed to only have nothing but a platonic relationship.

As he passed by her door, his sharp hearing picked up on something. It sounded like crying. Panicking, the dark haired boy burst through the door and ran to where his friend was. She was in bed, sleeping, but it wasn't a peaceful sleep. He could hear her words well.

"Kyo-chan…Kyo-chan…Please, don't leave me. Please…don't die…" she begged in her sleep, eyes seeping with tears. Kyousuke remembered it clearly. It was the day he nearly died fighting one of the Deathtrons. She'd been there to watch and record and he got hurt protecting her.

"Emi-chan," he said, softly, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Emi-chan, wake up." The girl's eyes opened and then when she focused her eyes on Kyousuke, she immediately latched onto him, crushing her face against his chest. She didn't want him to see her tears, which he'd seen already. He slowly placed his arms around her in a gentle embrace, comforting her as she cried. "You had a bad dream, didn't you?"

She looked up stared into his green eyes. He reached up to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "You got worried needlessly."

When Jinx was calmed down enough she smiled at Draco. He loved seeing her smile. She wiped away the remains of her tears, smiling a little, "You must think I'm being weak for crying."

"After what you've been through, I think that you should be allowed to cry," he told her honestly. 'I cried too when Tazuka-niisan died.'

Jinx giggled a little, "You know just the right thing to say, don't you?"

"I'm just being honest," he admitted. "Are you sure you are alright?"

"I'm fine," she told him, but he didn't believe her. Her hands were still shaking.

"I'm not going to leave your side tonight," he told her.

"You don't have to stay here with me all the time," she said to him, "I'm a big girl."

"I don't think it's needless to care for the people you love," Kyousuke said to his best friend. Emiko smiled a bit. He loved her, but not in the way she wanted. However, it was enough for her. She was contented with the way things were. Though, she did want it to change, for the better at least.

"You're always here for me, you know that," she said. "Since that day."

"Since that day those bullies tried to pick on you," he said, remembering. "It was their bad luck to meet me."

She laughed at the memory. To see those bullies being beaten up by a kid smaller than them but with moves that came from a kung fu flick. Their pride mad them keep silent about what'd happened and since Kyousuke was always with her, they didn't dare do anything.

"We became friends and we still are," she added, hugging him again.

"It's really funny how we met, huh?" Jinx asked Draco.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"You just came showing up after me and my old gang beat the Titans. You effortlessly defeat Mammoth and Gizmo but you refused to fight me," she reminded.

"I couldn't really do it, Jinx. I didn't think you were a bad person back then."

"You just didn't know me that well," she said, regretfully.

"I know enough to call you my friend," he said to her.

"I'm just a friend?" she asked.

"Well…you're very good friend," Draco told her. She cried further. "What's wrong?"

"But I'm bad luck!" she exclaimed. "Why do you even care?"

"Why shouldn't I care?"

"So, you want to tell me about the nightmare you had?" he asked Emiko.

"Remember when you fought that Deathtron that looked like a teddy bear?" she said in remembrance. "I thought you were dead that day."

"I was only petrified," he told her.

"I was still scared. The others were still fighting that thing while I tried to wake you up," she cried a little at the memory. "I've never been so scared in my life."

"You woke me back up, somehow," he told her. "My memory's still a bit fuzzy."

Emiko blushed. She'd kissed him to cure him. The power of love was powerful to say the least. "Um…I guess it was because of your powers."

Kyousuke gave her a quizzical look.

"I'm a criminal! I did a lot of bad things!" Jinx nearly yelled. She didn't want to elaborate on the things she'd done. The things she'd enjoyed doing with her old friends. The freedom of doing bad with her abilities.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked her. She was stunned.

"What?" she asked, wanting him to repeat the question.

He repeated, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

"No," Jinx shook her head. "I could never…"

"Then I don't see anything wrong," he said. He'd wanted to kill Rancid. It was as simple as that.

Kyousuke got up from the bed but Emiko grabbed his wrist. He looked to her. She had a pleading look on her face as she said, "Stay here with me tonight?"

Kyousuke lightly blushed at the request. They were 14 now. They weren't exactly little kids. If word got out that they were in bed together it could cause damage to her reputation. However, looking into her eyes, he couldn't simply refuse her. With a smile, he answered, "Sure." He got onto the bed and slid under the covers with her. He rested his head on the pillow as she did the same.

"Goodnight," they said to each other and closed their eyes. She inched herself closer towards him and snuggled into his chest, feeling his warmth. He looped an arm around her protectively.

A touching scene of a princess and her knight.

"Well, I should be going now," Draco said as he got up but Jinx grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down. She was stronger than she looked and managed to cause him to fall backwards onto the bed and land on his back. She leaned over his body, looking into his green eyes. He blushed slightly and so did she. She traced circles around his chest.

"Do you mind sleeping here tonight, with me?" she asked him, purring. He gulped. His heart was racing. "Please…"

Draco sighed. "I guess, it wouldn't hurt." He looked over her body. She was wearing a dark pink nightgown but the material seemed pretty thin and it hugged her body. "Until you stop having nightmares at least."

"I don't think we'll have that problem if you stay with me," she said as she rested her head on his chest.

They adjusted a little so now his head rested on the pillow and she used his chest as he own pillow. With a slight movement of his hand, Draco telekinetically pulled the blanket over both of them. The pink haired girl smiled a bit and cuddled the red haired boy.

A touching scene of a princess and her knight.

Across the world in Japan, Emiko Narukawa Hasuma woke up staring into the snoozing face of her reportedly departed husband, Kyousuke. He had come to her on one of his usual visits and since no one was home, they had the entire house to themselves and each other.

Their night of passion left Emiko drained and she woke up still feeling sore. Still, she recalled the dream where their relationship had started to grow. The day he truly started to become hers.

Her knight. Her lover. Her husband.