Fear

"Okay all done"

Caelum and Enid stood in the middle of the now clean cabin. They had managed to tidy it up and make a small space to call a room for Berry to recover.

Caelum had taken off most of his clothes, now standing in his pants no shirt, he had to move a lot of furniture to elevate the place, his skin was glistening with sweat and he was still trying to catch his breath a little.

Dragons were strong species and a little moving of furniture was not enough to make him feel tired.

"Thank God I had my brother fix up the tap before leaving"

Caelum looked at her curiously, "you have a brother?"

"Yeah, he'll be here sometime soon, hopefully"

"Hm, Is this where you two live?

"What? No! Of course not we won't stay in a dump, I prepared this place because I knew shit would go south and Berry would need a place to hide"

"You really did plan it through"

"Yes but you weren't supposed to be here, I even set up a trap in case you were to chase us"

Caelum scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Probably would have failed" he muttered.

Enid rolled her eyes at his cocky remark but if she was being honest she was worried that the trap would not work if he were to chase them, thankfully he was on her side.

"Whatever" she muttered with an eye roll.

The room fell into silence once more, both their thoughts occupied by Berry who was looking better but still unconscious.

A question popped into Enid's mind and she turned to Caelum with her arms crossed and spoke in a low voice, "what's a dragon like you doing away from the mountain anyway? I thought you're supposed to be glued to your throne"

Caelum stayed quiet, not sure how or if he should even answer that question but nonetheless he decided to tell half the truth, "I guess I just wanted a moment of peace, in the palace there are so many eyes on me, watching and evaluating my every move but when I am down here, with humans…with the Runes, I feel more at ease and it helps me think better".

She hummed at his answer, taking it in, "I guess it isn't easy being the center of attention, the one everyone looks up to for guidance, must be overwhelming".

"It is"

"Hm…how did you meet Berry?"

"I should be asking you that question, rather how did you know about him and his powers? And the fact that things would end up this way?"

Enid chuckled and rolled her eyes, "like I said Your Majesty, there are some things I cannot tell you but I am on your side, that is all you need to know".

"Well you can't exactly fault me for being curious now can you?"

"I guess not, but when it comes to satisfying your curiosity, I am sorry I will not be able to do that, at least not yet".

"Hm…well before that time comes, know that I take your words warily and I still suspect you, make any moves that will endanger Berry and I will not hesitate to end your life, but for now, thank you for saving us".

Enid smirked, "I don't know whether to be afraid or amazed but you're welcome Your Majesty".

Caelum gave a small nod and went to sit beside Berry, he placed the back of his palm on the Rune's forehead, feeling his temperature. It seemed to be normal and his breathing was also steady but he didn't wake up and that worries Caelum.

Enid had reassured him that Berry would be fine and that he needed no other intervention, he just needed to rest and he would heal on his own. He did not fully trust her but he had no other option at that moment.

The scientists could not treat him anymore, he wouldn't even let them near him after that stunt and Sepehr, only the gods knew what happened to Sepehr after the explosion.

He knew he would have escaped but what then? Would he still want to continue the experiments? Or has he finally come to his senses?. But nonetheless, his desperate face during the experiment still flashed in Caelum's mind every now and then. Why did he need Berry's powers so bad?.

He tried to brush it off but he bugged him every time. He did not have clear answers as of that moment but he could only hope that with time things would reveal themselves.

The other dragon bodies must be looking for him too, wanting to know why the king of dragons sided with a Rune instead of his own people, they would want answers. The ones Caelum could not provide. For now he would try to lay low and avoid anything unnecessary. All he wanted to do was to make sure Berry was okay.

He looked down at his soft face, his unconscious form was innocent looking and still as ethereal as ever.

Caelum found himself reaching out to brush the strands of hair away from Berry's face. His touch was soft and his gaze was fixed on his face, never wavering.

What if he never waked up?, the thought instilled fear in Caelum's heart.

Fear…that was new.

Caelum had been stoic and strict his whole life, when it comes to matters outside of his throne, like personal emotions, he had handled them with indifference or just dismissing them all together.

But here he was, feeling this emotion that made him rigid to the bone, all because of a Rune.

A Rune of all creatures.

May the Jury not hear of such abomination.

He internally face palmed but deep down he knew the truth, he cared about Berry, he cared enough to go against his friend, to go against almost everyone and the realization of that alone was driving him crazy, why did he care? Runes were a danger to the world, the last thing he should do as a king was to attach himself to one of them.

This was risky, getting close to Berry like this could be destructive to their future and would only cause trouble for both of them.

He pulled his hand away from Berry and placed it on his forehead, letting out a deep sigh, he felt like the weight of the world was crushing down on his shoulders and he ultimately decided to forget those thoughts for the moment and focus on the present.

He needed Berry to wake up to ease his mind, he needed to see those pink orbs wide open again, at that moment he was ready to give anything up to make sure Berry was okay.

He looked down at the Rune, his eyes filled with sadness, guilt and regret, he blamed himself for Berry's current situation and he so badly wanted to fix it, but there was nothing he could do except pray that he would wake up soon.

He touched Berry's face gently again, his fingers running along his soft cheeks, he whispered softly, his voice barely audible, "please come back, I'll do better next time, please?"

The emotions he felt in that moment were deep and frightening but as scary as they were, he allowed himself to feel them. Maybe the state of his heart would make his wishes come true and he would see Berry smiling soon.