You awoke with a start. A cold sweat coated your skin as you tried to catch your breath again. Salazar was woken up by your jolting up into a seated position. He grabbed is wand and pointed out in front of him.

"What is it?" He demanded, wrapping an arm around you to protect you from whatever scared you so much into a state.

"There is nothing," you assured him, your voice shaking.

"Lumos," he said, waving his wand to bring light back to the room in the middle of the night.

Salazar was able to see that there was no danger in the room but that didn't explain to him why you were shaking so violently or why there were tears falling down your cheeks.

"What is wrong, my love?" He asked, moving his hands to cup your cheeks.

"I had a nightmare," you admitted. "I am sorry for being so weak that I become so shaken by such a trivial thing."

He shook his head, pulling you into his bare chest to hold you close to him. Having your ear to his chest allowed you to calm down with only the sound of his heart filling the room. As you became calm and the tears seized, Salazar ended the embrace so that he could look you in the eyes once more.

"You are no lesser for being afraid," he stated. "No one is free of fear, some just handle that in a different manner."

"I do not understand."

"Being afraid doesn't determine who you are," Salazar said. "What really decides who you are is not what you're afraid of but how you handle it."

You raised an eyebrow at him, not certain how he could say such a thing. As far as you were aware, Salazar wasn't afraid of anything, so how he could tell you that you were of the same standard.

"You have no fear," you frowned. "How can you tell me I am not lesser because I do?"

Salazar shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone has a fear, but one may be able to hide it better than someone else is able to."

"What do you fear?"

He let out a laugh, not wishing to let you know that he did have a weakness in his eyes, that he did have a menial fear that he had done so well to keep unknown to anyone else.

"Bees."

~*~

Written by Charlotte.