Chapter 39

Less than an hour after falling asleep, Adema was awake again. Sobbing quietly, tears streamed from her large, glassy eyes, leaving wet trails down her cheeks until she felt the slightly salty taste on her lips. Hesitantly, she pulled back the heavy blanket and cautiously slid out of bed, clutching her well-worn stuffed animal tightly in her hand.

A light breeze blew through the half-open window, causing the curtains to whisper as it stirred the darkness in the room. Adema shivered slightly and listened to the eerie sound of the creaking floorboards as she took delicate, careful steps toward the door.

She had another nightmare, one of those nightmares that made her small shoulders tremble and shrouded her thoughts in darkness. With trembling fingers, she carefully opened the door, which creaked softly as she slipped into the hallway. The long, dark corridor that separated her from her parents' bedroom seemed like an endless tunnel.

Adema knew the way to her parents' room well, but in the darkness, the familiar corridor suddenly seemed strange and haunting. The torches on the walls flickered restlessly, casting long, trembling shadows that seemed to move along the walls like living creatures. Every step she took echoed in the silence, and it felt as if the floor was giving way beneath her small feet.

Her fear grew with each step and weighed on her chest like a heavy burden. It became harder and harder to breathe.

Suddenly she heard footsteps in the distance. The soft clatter of boots on the cold stone floor made her heart beat faster. Panic overcame her and she held her breath as she tried to walk backwards as quietly as possible. Her eyes were fixed on the dark corridor where the footsteps were coming from, as if an invisible shadow was moving towards her.

Without noticing, she suddenly bumped into something soft. Her breath caught in her throat and for a brief moment she was overcome by pure panic. She spun around, her heart pounding in her chest, and her grip on Snowflake, her trusty stuffed animal, tightened even more. As she bumped against the fabric of a soft robe, a small cry escaped her. Fear held her in its grip until she realized who it was.

"Ady? What are you..." Seraphine gasped as she saw her little sister's tear-streaked face and before she could finish the sentence, a silver blur of hair slammed into her legs. 

"Sera," the four-year-old sniffed.

"Hello, baby girl," Seraphine said, sitting down on the floor and lifting Adema into her lap.

She sighed and took a deep breath, burying her face in Adema's hair while gently drawing circles on her back to help her relax."Come on, Adema...Please stop crying. You are going to make yourself sick."

"I had a nightmare," the little one confessed quietly, clutching her sister's clothes and refusing to budge.

"Will you tell me about it?" Seraphine asked and felt Adema's head shake gently from side to side, a very clear no.

Seraphine smoothed Adema's hair, "That's okay. You don't have to, but you can if you want," she waited until Adema nodded her head. "Now, how about you stop crying? Those tears are ruining your pretty little face, and I don't think Snowflake likes wet showers, cats are known to dislike them."

Adema giggled and shook her head, her nightmare and tears all but forgotten now that she was in the safe arms of her sister.

The footsteps grew louder and louder until Seraphine finally caught sight of the Harkonnen guards on patrol. When the guards saw Seraphine and Adema in the corridor, they immediately hastened to their side.

"Lady Seraphine, is everything all right?" one of the guards asked, his deep voice sounding cold and distant despite the question.

Seraphine, who had just gently stroked Adema's head to calm her down, looked up at the guards: "Get me a glass of warm milk right away," and a guard immediately set off.

Little Adema had always had a weakness for warm milk and liked to drink a glass of it before going to bed.

Seraphine glanced down at the adorable four-year-old "You want me to carry you?."

"Maybe" Adema nodded, tilting her head slightly. She squealed cutely when she was lifted into Seraphine's arms and wrapped her legs around her waist.

Back in her room, Seraphine tucked her little sister gently into bed, but Adema clung to her and murmured softly, "Don't go."

Seraphine gently stroked a strand of hair from her face and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll stay with you. I'm not going anywhere tonight." With these words, she lay down in bed with her sister to give her the reassurance she needed.

Adema immediately snuggled up to Seraphine, her small hands clutching the fabric of Seraphine's dress as if she wanted to make sure her big sister really stayed with her. Seraphine put an arm around Adema and pulled the blanket over them both.

"Ēngos hen zaldrīzī, ñuha byka,"

"Hen Āeksio Arrax."

"Nyke ūndoso, bē vali syt,"

"Yn hēdrȳ dōrī jāhor."

"Ēngos gūrogon, gevie iksā,"

"Hen Lentys Arrax. "

"Skorion jāhor jorrāelagon,"

"Lītsos zȳho ñuha byka."

( Dream of dragons, my little one,)

(In the arms of Arrax above.)

(I will guard you through the night,)

(For the dawn will always come.)

(Sleep soundly, you are safe,)

(In the embrace of Arrax.)

(Whatever may come, know this:)

(You are loved, my little one.)

Seraphine was humming softly to the two of them, a song that their mother used to sing to Seraphine when she was a little girl, and that she still sings to little Adema and Dona.

It wasn't long before the little girl was half asleep. With her thumb firmly in her mouth and snuggled up close to Seraphine, she curled up into a little ball.

Seraphine smiled lovingly and let out a soft giggle when the door suddenly opened quietly. A guard entered cautiously, a carafe full of milk in his hand. But before he could take another step, Seraphine caught his gaze. Her intense gaze warned him that should he dare to wake up Adema, he would pay for it with his life.

The guard paused, still holding the carafe of milk in his hand, and nodded quickly before gently setting the carafe down on a small table nearby. He stepped back quietly and left the room with as much deliberation as he had entered, closing the door carefully behind him.

Seraphine exhaled softly when she was sure that Adema hadn't woken up. She gently stroked her little sister's hair and felt the girl drift fully into sleep.

It didn't take long before she, too, was lulled into the gentle embrace of sleep. When she awoke, the sun had already risen high above the horizon, its rays pushing aside the moonlight that had once filtered through the window.

Slowly, Seraphine sat up, careful not to disturb Adema, who was still curled up beside her. As she glanced around the room, she noticed her mother, Lysara, sitting in a chair not far from the bed.

Lysara smiled softly. "Don't let my presence disturb you, dear. Go back to sleep."

Seraphine yawned and stretched her arms. "Don't worry, I didn't wake because of you," she reassured her mother. "But why are you here?"

Lysara lifted a cup of tea to her lips, taking a delicate sip before replying. "I heard whispers that Adema didn't sleep well, and I wanted to check on her as soon as I could. But when I saw you two together, it was such a beautiful sight that I couldn't bring myself to leave."

Seraphine smiled warmly at her mother's words and glanced down at her little sister, still peacefully asleep. "She had a nightmare, so I stayed with her."

Lysara let out a soft sigh: "Hopefully that won't happen again in the next few days, now that he's back."

Seraphine glanced at her mom, confused. "What do you mean?"

Lysara smiled sweetly. "What do you think? There's only one person Adema never cried around or had trouble sleeping when he was there."

It clicked and she wanted to jump out of bed excitedly, but she held herself back so as not to wake Adema. She carefully pulled away from her sister's embrace, but Adema clung to her tightly. Seraphine looked around the room and spotted Snowflake, the stuffed animal Adema had let go during the night. She picked it up and gently placed it in her sister's arms. Adema immediately hugged Snowflake and let go of Seraphine.

"Kael's back?" she whispered.

Lysara nodded. "Yes. He arrived last night. Your father is with him at the moment."

That was all Seraphine needed to hear before she gave her mother a quick good morning kiss on the cheek and headed for the door.

"Are you sure you didn't forget something?" her mother asked with an amused look as Seraphine went to open the door.

"Um, no?" she replied uncertainly.

Lysara just raised an eyebrow, pointing at Seraphine's disheveled hair and sleepy appearance. Seraphine blushed slightly as she realized that she couldn't face Kael in her current state. She quickly changed her mind and went back to her room to freshen up.

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Slice of Life here we go.

Good or nah?

Yours,

Jasonenrick!