"How did this happen?", the tone of your mothers voice gave away how displeased she was. "You were sleeping in these for so long, how did you get hurt this bad?!"

Smiling apologetically, you sat on the edge of your bed and shrugged.

"The covers are quite rough.", you pointed at the bloody sheets. "Maybe the fabric?"

She looked up from your feet, the bandage halfway wrapped around your leg.

The cracks that danced through your (S/C) skin weren't deep, but numerous, enough to make you look like a broken piece of pottery. They burned whenever air touched them and made your skin go so dry that it felt like it would fall off your bones.

Frowning, your mother let her hands stroke over the pillow and blanket before gifting you a look that seemed anything but convinced.

"You never had problems with this.", she tapped the blanket, touching directly into a spot of blood. "Why would it be a problem now?"

You shrugged and started wrapping the bandages by yourself.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"(Y/N)."

You looked up. A dark shimmer was hidden inside your eyes. You felt annoyed already, but fighting her wouldn't make anything better.

"I wasn't outside.", you said, so confident and without hesitation that it made her eyebrows rise in surprise.

But it faded quickly again. Instead, her eyes darkened as well and an expression appeared that was nothing but suspicious.

Without a word, she reached out and grabbed your hand to check your nails.

Rolling your eyes, you shook your head. You weren't stupid and knew her methods. If you had expected her to do anything from her it would have been checking your nails for dirt. But you had been smart enough to wash them before slipping back to bed.

"Why do you mistrust me?", you asked, knowing damn well that this time her mistrust was reasonable.

She let go of your hands and gifted you a soft smile before wrapping the rest of the damage into soft cotton and sheets.

"I just want to make sure you're safe.", she said with a heartbreaking voice.

You sighed. Only listening to her made you feel bad.

"I'm sorry.", you moved your toes to see if it was a good day for walking. "You treat me like a child. Again. Always."

"You act like a child. And I have to keep you safe."

"You have to let me see things on my own."

"You'll die. Gods, look at you! You almost died from sleeping. Sleeping!"

Pushing her aside, you got up and walked a few shaky steps before seeking support on the table. Every inch of your body started aching for a moment. Blood soaked through the bandages on your feet.

"Shit.", you cursed and sat back down on the floor.

The cold wood soothed the pain a little, but not enough to help you get back on your feet again.

Shaking her head, your mother crossed her arms in front of her chest and wanted to help you.

But you slapped her hand away and forced yourself back on your feet. It felt like as if your joints were made from stone, scratching each other and making the rest of your bones go stiff.

"I'll sit outside.", you huffed and pulled yourself along the table until the door was in reach. "Don't try to hold me back. If I die, I want to at least die outside. I'm sick of seeing the wooden walls."

Your eyes locked with hers, hard and not willing to give in.

For a long moment she just stared at you, her lips pressed into a thin line. Finally, she closed her eyes and swallowed another complaint before shrugging.

"If you must...", she mumbled and turned to the beds to grab the bloody sheets. "If you want to ignore my advice I'll let you die on this hill. If that's what you want."

A low hum escaped you.

"I wouldn't mind...", you whispered with a bitter smile and slipped outside.

The day was different from the night, pleasantly warm with soft breezes that felt like kisses instead of knives.

With a sigh, you closed your eyes while taking in the soft touch of the tulips blossoms that stroked across your legs. The smell of rain filled your nose and mixed with the sweet scent of the pine trees needles.

As you opened your eyes again, your gaze fell onto the spot between the trees, where the stranger had been hiding the night before. From the distance it looked like nothing had happened. The flowers seemed untouched and there was no sight of damage, caused by the creatures hot breath.

"Strange...", you mumbled and took a few steps into the direction to get a better look.

But the spot still seemed untouched.

Had you just imagined the stranger?

Maybe it had been a fever dream?

But no, it had felt too real. And your body was marked from the meeting. The stranger could have been an illusion of your mind, but the pain and injuries weren't. And they had been caused by something else than hard bedsheets.

Frowning, you endured the pain of your aching body to walk down to the lake and checked the ground.

But again, there was nothing to be seen.

"I didn't imagine it...", you whispered and squatted down to get some rest at the shore. "Am I going crazy?"

"I don't know. Are you?", somebody suddenly asked.

Struck by surprise, your head snapped around. But there was no one standing behind you.

"Who?", you asked, looking around.

But there was no one to be seen.

A chuckle filled the air. It was scratchy, amused but also a bit mocking.

The tips of the trees moved.

"My dragon liked you a lot yesterday.", the voice said.

Your eyes jumped up to the trees.

"Are you up there?", you wanted to get up but slipped and slid with one foot into the cold water.

A soft scream escaped you as the cold stabbed your flesh. Quickly, you crawled up to the grass again to rub the burning skin.

"What are you doing?", the stranger asked.

A hiss escaped you.

"Suffering.", you joked and took a sharp breath in.

"I know about that. But you sound weird."

"I'm in pain. Constantly."

"Pain... I don't know how that feels. Not anymore."