A little one shot I came up with while planning other Royal Tutor story. I figured the chapter worked well on its own and fleshed it out into a one-shot. Like my other story, its a bit AU as I added my own lore bits but hopefully it fits all the same. Anyhow, enjoy this bit of student-teacher, surrogate family fluff.

Tales Of Thunder and Lightning

It was a dark and dreary night outside when Professor Heine Wittgenstein had stayed up late to finish writing his new plans for the prince's lessons that week. Given he had to create and modify four different curriculum's to fit each of their individual lessons, the task had taken him a lot longer than expected and required a lot of reading material. Luckily Heine was up to the job and after putting his nose to grindstone for most of the day, was able to complete his work before the clock neared midnight.

"There. That should be the last of it." Heine said, setting down another pile of papers. "Hopefully this will adequately provide for the princes until I can acquire more reading material."

Since they were advancing so quickly in their studies, Heine had to work extra-long hours and read many books to keep up with the standard quality of learning material he gave them. As a result, he had to move his work station from his bedroom to the reception hall in order to accommodate the large amount of books and papers he had accumulated. Once he was done, Heine had piled all the books and papers together on a single table in an attempt to keep things orderly and tidy.

"I feel bad leaving all these books behind, but I simply do not have the energy to carry them all back with me tonight. Hopefully the servants will leave them be while they do their cleaning so I may deal with it tomorrow."

By the time Heine began making his way back to his room, a huge storm had begun brewing outside at an alarming speed. Soon Heine heard the sound of howling winds and heavy rain as it pounded loudly against the hallway windows. Looking outside, he noticed brilliant flashes of lighting out in the distance and heard the faint sounds of approaching thunder.

"What a terrible storm. I don't envy the unfortunate soul that has to travel out in this."

*BOOM*

A crash of thunder vibrated loudly throughout the hallway, making Heine jump a little. Just then a high pitched scream, even louder than the thunder, rang throughout the hall.

Heine turned sharply, taken back by the sudden noise. "What was that?"

Another loud scream followed. Suddenly a set of nearby set of doors flew open and a short, blonde haired girl in a pink nightgown came running out, screaming in terror. She turned and ran straight down the hall right into Heine, nearly knocking him and herself back. Luckily, Heine grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her from falling.

"Princess Adele?" He asked in surprise. "Are you alright?"

"Professor Heine!" Adele exclaimed as she quickly wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his cloak. "Oh thank goodness! Please, you have to protect me!"

"What's wrong? Is there something in your room?" Heine asked in concern.

"No! I mean, protect me from the big scary bird monster!" Adele cried out as she looked up at him with pleading in her eyes.

Heine paused in confusion. "Bird...monster?"

*CRASH*

Another crash of thunder and lightning occurred. Adele screamed and once again held Heine tightly as she hid her face in his shirt. "The scary bird monster that makes all that awful noise! Please don't let it get me!"

Listening to her words, Heine quickly figured out what was wrong and patted her head.

"There's no monster out there princess, it's just thunder. A common occurrence during any rainstorm. Surely you must've heard it before." Heine pointed out as he gently pulled her arms down. "I assure you, you're perfectly safe inside. Now why don't you return to your room and try to get some sleep?"

"But it's so dark and scary in there!" Adele said, looking up at Heine, her blue eyes wide with fear. "Please don't leave Professor. I don't want to go back in my room all alone!"

Heine paused as he pondered over his predicament. Naturally his first instinct was to find the quickest solution that would result in getting himself to bed, as he was quite tired from all work he'd done. However, the scared desperation on Adele's face squashed any possibility of that and Heine let out a reluctant sigh before taking her hand in his.

"Very well then princess. If it will make you feel safer, I will escort you to your room and stay until you fall asleep."

Adele's frown quickly turned into a bright smile as she once again hugged Heine tightly. "Oh thank you, thank you Professor!"

Heine winced slightly from the tight hug before once again gently prying Adele off. "Just remember, it's only until you fall asleep."

Adele nodded enthusiastically and quickly pulled Heine toward her bedroom.

"I never had anyone stay in my room before! Usually I go into Leo's or Liche's room when it rains and sometimes even Grandma's or Papa's room. But this is even better! Now I can be the one to run the slumber party for once!"

"Slumber party?" Heine asked.

As soon as she opened the doors, a giant shaggy dog burst through and jumped onto Heine, licking the professor's cheek aggressively.

"It seems you have your first party guest princess." Heine said, slightly annoyed as the dog continued to lick him.

"Nah, Shadow always stays with me. Usually he's the one that protects me at night. That is, until the loud noises start…"

*BOOM*

Shadow let out a yelp and quickly ran away from Heine, crawling under Adele's bed as it whimpered fearfully.

"It seems even the palace dog is scared of storms." Heine noted.

*CRASH*

Another crash of thunder caused Adele to let out a squeak and grab Heine by the arm, squeezing it tightly as she buried her face in his sleeve. Heine made no move to shake her off, instead putting a comforting arm around her until the thunder died down. Adele looked up once she thought it was safe and seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Heine however looked kindly upon her. "Let's light some candles. It'll make the room appear less scary."

Adele wiped her eyes and nodded, trying to smile. Heine took out some matches and lit a candelabra in the corner of the room, keeping it light enough to see but dark enough for Adele to fall asleep. He then pulled up a chair while Adele jumped into her rather large bed and got beneath the covers. Shadow poked his head out and sniffed around before joining Adele on her bed, curling up by her feet.

"Thanks again Professor." Adele said as she wrapped a blanket around herself. "With you here, that scary bird monster won't get me now."

"You keep mentioning this 'bird monster'. Exactly what type of creature is it?" Heine asked curious to her answer.

"Well, I haven't seen it, but Leo told me it looks like a big giant yellow bird with wings made of lighting and a tail made of sparkle dust. It hides in the clouds and goes around hunting children so it can eat them. It makes that loud awful noise to scare them so they run out of their homes and right into its big claws to be taken away!"

"I see." Heine said skeptically. "And Prince Leonhard told you this?"

"Uh huh. " Adele nodded. "Leo's just as scared of it too. We always hide together in his room so we'll both be safe. Sometimes my other brothers join us too, that way we can all sleep in a big pile and protect each other." Adele then looked worried. "I hope Leo will be okay by himself."

"I'm certain he will Princess." Heine assured her, thinking the prince must've been playing along for her sake. "After all he is fifteen and most fifteen year old boys aren't afraid of-"

*BOOM*

Another crash of thunder caused Adele to throw her blanket over her and Shadow's heads. As Heine reached over to comfort her, he heard a voice from out in the hall that seemed to get louder the closer it got.

"AdeleeeAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Just then the doors burst open, revealing Prince Leonhard in a similar pink nightgown with a panicked look on his face. He breathed heavily as he looked frantically around. "Adele, are you here!? Did the monster get you?"

"Leo!" Adele said happily as she threw the covers off herself.

"Oh thank goodness!" Leonhard said as he rushed over to Adele's bed and threw his arms around her. "When you didn't come to my room I thought something bad had happened. I'm so glad you're still safe-"

Leonhard then paused as he finally noticed Heine's presence in the room, his face paling. "Pro-professor!?"

"Your highness." Heine said bowing his head slightly.

"Wha-What are you doing here?" Leonhard asked nervously.

"Professor Heine's here to protect me from the bird monster! Isn't that great?" Adele said excitedly.

An embarrassed look spread across Leonhard's face as he glanced at Heine, who merely stared skeptically back at him before speaking.

"I must say, it is certainly a surprise to see you here Prince Leonhard. Your sister's been telling me quite a lot about this 'bird monster'-"

"Oh that, uh, ha ha! Yeah, nothing, it's nothing!" Leonhard squeaked out nervously. "Sorry for bursting in on you both like that! I was just uh, making sure Adele was okay! Now that I see she is, I can head right back to bed! Well good night all!"

"Don't you want to stay Leo?" Adele asked reaching out to him. "If you do, Professor Heine can protect both of us from the bird monster!"

"Bird monster? Don't be silly Adele! There's no such thing as-"

*CRASH*

Leo let out a scream and jumped under the covers with Adele and Shadow. Heine looked upon the frightened siblings with utter confusion.

"So Prince Leonhard has an irrational fear of storms as well? A fear he seems to have projected onto the princess. Something isn't right here."

Heine reached over and slowly pulled the blanket off their heads. Both Leonhard and Adele let out a squeak of surprise, with Adele hiding back under the covers. Leonhard didn't move to hide, only looking sheepishly at the professor.

"Alright Prince, let's talk. What's the story behind this creature you and your sister are so afraid of?"

Leonhard looked flustered and tried hiding his embarrassment. "I told you it's nothing! Really, nothing at all!"

"Clearly it's something if you're both this scared, especially at your age." Heine observed.

"It's…just a fairy tale I heard when I was little." Leo said, avoiding eye contact. "I know it's not real but…"

"A fairy tale?" Heine asked.

"Hey I'm not the only one who's afraid!" Leo exclaimed defensively. "Bruno, Licht and Kai are just as scared of the bird monster too! Frankly I'm surprised Licht isn't already here hiding under the covers with us."

Heine glanced at him skeptically. "While I can buy that you would believe in some made-up fairy tale creature Prince, I doubt your brother would be just as-"

Just then the doors burst open, revealing Licht in his pajamas. "Leo? Adele? Are you in here?"

Adele pulled the blanket off her head and smiled at her brother. "Hi Lichey! Come join our slumber party!"

"Oh good, you're both okay…" Licht said in relief before spotting Heine. "Professor! Fancy seeing you here."

"I could say the same of you your highness." Heine said, becoming more baffled by the moment.

"Professor Heine is here to protect us from the bird monster!" Adele said excitedly much to Leonhard's further embarrassment.

"Well in that case, I better stay too." Licht said, walking over and putting his arm around the professor's shoulder as he smiled coyly. "I'll bet the Professor could use some company while he watches over you two."

Licht then winked at him. Heine glared and slapped his arm off, looked apprehensively at the youngest prince. "Normally I wouldn't be inclined to ask Prince Licht, but I can't help but wonder if you're here because you believe in this 'bird monster' tale as well."

"What? Of course not." Licht shook his head confidently. "I figured out pretty quickly it was all made up. I just like to look out for my little sister and wimpy brother so they don't get too scared is all."

"Hey I am not wimpy!" Leonhard protested. "And anyways you're one to talk! You're just as scared of it as we are! You can't even get to sleep during a storm unless you have some stuffed animal to cuddle with!"

"I do not sleep with stuffed animals!" Licht shot back. "Big talk coming from a guy who still sucks his thumb like a baby!"

"I DO NOT!" Leonhard exclaimed nearly standing up on the bed.

"Alright settle down you two!" Heine said, getting between the brothers who were staring each other down while Adele hugged Shadow and watched worriedly. "It's late and you all need your rest. Prince Leonhard, you may stay if you feel safer here. Prince Licht, since you obviously have no problem with the storm, I ask that you please return to your room. That is, unless you really are scared and need to hide out with your siblings?"

"What? No, of course not!" Licht said quickly, waving his hands nervously. "Like I said, I'm not afraid of the storm! I could go back to my room if I wanted to-"

*BOOM*

All three siblings screamed and jumped under the covers. Heine looked in disbelief at the three shaking lumps under the blankets, four if he included the dog.

"This is getting ridiculous. How could all three siblings be this afraid of a made-up monster? I wonder if the elder two could possibly provide some insight-"

"Brothers! Sister! Are you in here!?"

No sooner did he think it, the doors burst open again and there stood Bruno and Kai, both in their pajamas breathing heavily as if they'd run several miles.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Heine thought in disbelief.

"I didn't see either of you in your rooms so I thought-" Bruno stopped short as he saw Heine there staring at them and quickly bowed. "Uh, Master! Forgive us! In our haste, we must have entered the wrong room!"

"It's okay Bruni. You're in the right place." Licht said as he, Leonhard and Adele came out from under the covers. "About time you both joined us."

"Let me guess." Heine said staring at the two older princes. "Your highness's are here just to check on the princess."

"Oh, well, yes of course!" Bruno said fiddling with his collar nervously. "I mean, what kind of big brothers would we be if we didn't check on the safety of our younger siblings?"

"That and we're afraid of the storm." Kai said bluntly much to Bruno's embarrassment.

"Brother please! Don't admit such a thing to the Professor. We're supposed to be more mature then that!" Bruno whispered harshly.

"Why not? He must already know by now. Why else would we all be here." Kai replied.

"I applaud your honesty Prince Kai." Heine said, nodding respectively to the second eldest prince before standing up. "Well then, since you're all here now to comfort and protect each other during the storm, I believe there's no further need for my presence. If it's alright with all of you, I shall be retiring to my chambers for the night. There is much I have to think about. Unless there are any objections?"

All the siblings exchanged looks.

Finally Kai spoke up. "Well actually-"

"Of course not Master!" Bruno interrupted, standing in front of Kai. "By all means, please get some rest. We'll be just fine on our own. Sleep well now."

"But Bruno, shouldn't we at least-" Licht began.

"Shut it Licht! We don't need him babysitting us!" Leo whispered fiercely before crossing his arms and clearing his throat. "Bruno's right, we'll be fine looking after ourselves and Adele, thank you very much."

Heine glanced at the blonde prince for a moment before bowing. "If that is what you all wish."

As Heine moved toward the door, he heard movement behind him and turned to see Adele jump off her bed and run toward him, grabbing him in a tackling hug.

"Wait don't go!" Adele pleaded.

"Adele!" The princes exclaimed.

"Princess, what are you-" Heine said in surprise.

"You have to stay Professor Heine!" Adele begged, holding on tight. "We'll all be much safer with you here! My brothers won't say it but they'd feel safer with you here too! They're just too afraid of being eaten by the monster!"

"Adele, don't say that! And stop clinging to Heine!" Leonhard shouted. "You're making a spectacle of yourself!"

"Leo please!" Bruno said before kneeling down and looking kindly upon Adele. "Dear sister, it will be okay. We've gathered together before the Professor came here and we were perfectly safe then. Why don't you let him return to his room so he can-"

"No! It doesn't count if we're not all here!" Adele protested. "Beside, Professor Heine said he'd stay with me until I fall asleep. And you don't break a promise, right Professor?"

Heine stared at Adele for a moment but before he could answer, another loud crash of thunder vibrated across the room.

*CRASH*BOOM*

All the siblings screamed. Bruno and Kai quickly backed away from the door and slammed it shut. Kai scooped Adele into his arms before he and Bruno joined the others on the bed. Immediately Leonhard and Licht rushed into their open arms and the five siblings formed a group hug, with Bruno and Kai shielding their younger siblings from the noise all while keeping their own heads down and eyes shut tight.

As he stared at the trembling group, Heine couldn't help but look upon them all with concern. Being a teacher and caretaker, Heine had encounter many children who were afraid of thunderstorms. However, most had grown out of it by their teenage years and even those who hadn't did not reacted as strongly in the way the royal siblings seem to. Even Bruno and Kai, who didn't react as badly as their younger siblings did to the thunder, still looked visibly shaken and distraught, even as they did their best to be strong for the others. As potential future rulers for the throne, their behavior was quite disconcerting and one Heine felt he needed to address.

Taking off his cloak, hat and shoes, Heine put them aside before walking over to the bed and climbing on. He put a comforting hand on Bruno and Kai's shoulders, eventually calming them down enough so they would stop shaking and ease their hold on the others. He then did the same for Leonhard and Licht and then finally Adele who was sandwiched between everyone. As the princess gazed up at the professor with pleading in her wide blue eyes, Heine couldn't help but be reminded of Viktor and how he'd stare in the exact same manner whenever he'd ask something of the royal tutor. It was something Heine was never quite good at resisting and here was no exception.

"Alright Princess, you win." Heine relented. "I'll stay."

Adele's face lit up and broke into a wide smile. "Really? Yay! Now we can really have some fun!" She cheered, hugging him quickly before letting go and turning towards her brothers. "Alright everyone, wait here while I get things for the slumber party from my closet. Bruni, Kai, you sit over there and Leo and Liche, you sit here. Professor Heine, you can sit by my pillow. Come on Shadow!" The dog poked its head out from under the blankets, let out a bark and followed the princess as she leaped off her bed and began rummaged through her closet.

As Heine sat comfortably by the princess's pillow, he noticed all the princes looking apologetically at him along with varying degrees of embarrassment.

"Is everything alright your highness's? That was quite a reaction you all had."

Bruno hung his head low. "Sorry you had to see that Master. We tried handling things best we could for your sake. But even our sister can tell when we're really afraid. It's regrettable that she roped you into our problem, but she can be rather…insistent when she wants to be. Especially when it comes to our well being."

"You mean straight up embarrassing." Leo said crossing his arms in embarassement. "She didn't have to say all that stuff about us being afraid."

"Now Leo, you know Adele means well." Licht said. "She just wants us all to feel safe."

"Adele is a good sister." Kai agreed. "Very caring and honest."

"It's alright your highness's. As far as my presence is concerned, I'm merely fulfilling a promise I made to the Princess. However, I am grateful to her for bringing such a serious matter to my attention. Keep in mind that as the Royal Tutor, my job is not just to educate you all, but to address any grievances or issues that may affect your mental and emotional well being." Heine said, pausing before he continued. "With that said, since we are all here for the long haul, I would very much appreciate an explanation as to why four princes in their teenage years are so afraid of thunderstorms, and by ways of a fairy tale bird creature."

The prince's all exchanged looks and frowned shamefully before Bruno spoke up. "It's…a little embarrassing to talk about…"

"I'm listening." Heine said sitting up straighter.

"Well…uh, you see…" Bruno stuttered.

"It was all Eins's fault!" Leonhard cut in.

"Leo!" Licht chastised.

"Well it's true!" Leonhard protested. "He's the one who was always trying to scare us!"

Heine looked at them in surprise. "The eldest prince is the reason you're all so afraid?"

"It wasn't just Eins." Licht explained. "That no good Count he always hangs out with would egg him on too. They'd always come up with these scary stories together, like the one about the Thunderbird."

"Thunderbird?" Heine asked.

"The legendary Thunderbird from ancient cultural myths." Bruno explained. "A made up folk tale of course, but Eins and the count would always add in many exaggerated details in order to make the creature sound scarier than it actually was. We know now that it's all fake but as small children, we couldn't help but be terrified by the mere thought of that creature."

"Eins would always tell us that story every time it rained." Kai said sadly. "Sometimes even when it didn't, and usually after we asked him not to."

Heine arched his eyebrow in confusion. "Why would the eldest prince go out of his way to scare you all so badly with such a creature?"

Bruno let out a sigh. "You see master…Eins never really liked any of us. Even when we were little, he was always studying or working on something and got irritated easily by our presence. We did try to get along at father's request. Whenever it rained and we were all stuck inside together, we tried to play games or tell stories to pass the time. As a result, Eins would always try to frighten us with the scariest stories he and his friend could come up with. Their favorite story to scare us with was of course about the Thunderbird. He claimed it would hunt down and eat us if we didn't stay hidden in our rooms during a storm. I guess he hoped it'd make us too scared to want to come out and bother him…and it sort of worked…that's why we usually gather together in our rooms during a storm, just to keep each other safe."

*RUMBLE*

All the brothers flinched, either covering their faces or looking away in shame. Heine couldn't help but feel sorry for the princes. Even if their fears were irrational, they came from a real place of rejection and terror by their eldest brother. It was no wonder they sought solace in each other's company.

"I believe I'm starting to understand your highness's better now. However, what still confuses me is why the princess shares the same fears as the rest of you. I would think Prince Eins would've been living outside the palace by the time she was born and have no reason to scare her in such a way."

"Oh, you can blame Leo on that one." Licht said glaring at his older brother. "He told her the story after accidentally running into her room instead of mine during a storm. She's been scared of it ever since."

"I didn't mean to scare her!" Leonhard protested. "I just thought I should warn her so she can protect herself during storms like we do!"

"Once again Prince, your rationale is flawless." Heine said in a dry sarcastic tone.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure she was safe!" Leonhard said before looking away in shame. "Although, I think she ended up comforting me more that night then I did for her. Especially once I told her about the games we play."

"Games?" Heine asked.

"Okay I found it!" Adele yelled out as she jumped onto the bed, holding up a stuffed animal that looked like a pink hippo with wings.

"What an odd looking creature." Heine noted.

"Alright, who wants to start the Story Circle first?" Adele asked.

"I do, I do!" Leonhard called out reaching for the hippo.

"Story circle?" Heine asked Bruno.

"Oh. Well you see-"

"It's like this professor!" Licht interrupted. "We pass around a stuffed animal and take turns telling the funniest or silliest stories we can come up with. It's a good way to pass the time and distract ourselves during the storm."

"Let's see..." Leonhard thought for a moment. "Oh I got one! Here's a story about a talking magic horse that wears checkered pants, bounces on a ball and yodels!"

"I see." Heine noted. "Quite an interesting ritual."

"It's something our mother used to do for us." Kai explained. "Whenever we'd get scared or upset, she's tell us funny stories to calm us down. We can't do it as well as her but we try our best for Adele's sake."

Heine said nothing but instead looked at the boys in contemplation as they listened to Leonhard's story. He had never really heard them talk about their mother before, but knowing they remembered her fondly for alleviating their fears and seeing the relieved looks on their faces gave Heine an idea.

"And then the horse flew off into the sunset and never yodeled again!" Leonhard said proudly before holding up the hippo. "Okay who's next?"

"May I tell a story?" Heine asked. The princes looked surprised while Adele looked ecstatic and took the hippo from Leonhard before placing it in Heine's hands.

"What are you gonna tell us Professor?" Adele asked excitedly. "Is it weirder then a yodeling horse?"

"Not exactly. This one isn't quite so funny in regards to what you are all used to. However, it is one I heard as a boy and used to tell the children while working at the church orphanage." Heine explained. The siblings looked upon him with intrigue, thus prompting Heine to continue with his story.

"Once upon a time, there was a little princess who was very afraid of thunderstorms. Every time dark clouds formed, the princess would run and hide in her room until the storm had passed, believing a creature made of lightning would emerge and summon birds to steal her away. However, what she didn't know was that the terrible monster she feared wasn't actually a monster that all. It was a fairy. A fairy of light who lived up in the clouds, whose job was to brighten up the dark skies so that the fairies of wind and rain could find their way to Earth to use their magic. This particular light fairy had taken a liking to the princess, having watched her play in the gardens from afar. For you see, despite her many brothers and sisters, the fairy was quite lonely and wanted the princess as a friend. Alas, as a being of light, she was unable to speak the word of man. However she could create pictures with her light powers. So when the time came for a rainstorm, the light fairy would try to get the princess's attention by spreading her light across the dark clouds, hoping to create beautiful wing-like patterns as she knew the princess loved birds. Unfortunately one of the light fairy's brothers, a petty and jealous sound fairy, would constantly pull pranks on the light fairy for fun. Sneaking up behind her, he'd cause a loud explosion whenever she would try to create her light patterns. This would often startle the light fairy, causing her patterns to distort and take on different forms. Some were beautiful while others were terrifying. And sometimes, her light would accidentally strike the ground, often resulting in devastation and sometimes rebirth. Yet despite her mean brother following her around, the light fairy continued to make her light patterns, hoping one day to impress the princess and finally gain the friendship she desperately yearned for."

As Heine finished his story, he noticed that all the siblings were staring at him in wonder and fascination.

"Was that story to your liking your highness's? I apologize if it was too far removed from your usual humorous storytelling..."

"Are you kidding? That was amazing!" Bruno gushed in admiration. "I never knew what a brilliant story teller you were!"

"That was so great professor!" Adele exclaimed. "I especially liked the part about the fairy!"

"I agree." Kai nodded.

"So is it true then? Is there really a light fairy up in the sky that makes pictures with thunder?" Leonhard asked.

"Don't be stupid Leo, it's the lightning she uses, weren't you paying attention?" Licht pointed out.

Just then there was a flash of lightning and a rumble outside Adele's window. Instead of hiding, Adele smiled widely and ran towards the window, pulling back the drapes to look up at the sky as a streak of lightning flashed across the clouds.

"I see it! Look brothers, it is a bird!"

"Let us see!"

Leonhard and Licht quickly raced to the window along with Shadow, looking up at the sky as another flash of lightning appeared.

"Look there it is again!" Adele pointed out to the streaks of lightning and covered the sky.

"Wow it is beautiful!" Licht said, looking admirably at the lightning patterns. "How'd we never notice before?"

"Wait are you sure that's a bird? It looks like some kind of cat creature to me." Leonhard noted.

"Don't be blind, it's clearly a bird." Licht insisted.

As the younger siblings bickered, Bruno and Kai sat on the bed with Heine watching in amusement.

"That really was quite a feat you pulled off master." Bruno said.

"What was your highness?" Heine asked.

"No one's been able to captivate our imaginations like that since mother used to tell her stories." Bruno said smiling sadly. "We've been so focused on not being afraid, I'd almost forgotten what it was like just to enjoy a story."

"It was indeed a nice story professor." Kai agreed. "I would like to hear more of them."

Heine looked at the two older boys in surprise and couldn't help but smile humbly. "I am honored to receive such compliments from your highness's. I didn't think my storytelling was anything special, but I'm glad it was able to make an impact on all of you."

"Oh but it is special! Everything you do is amazing master!" Bruno said quickly. "You must teach me your ways so that I may be as captivating as you were!"

Heine sighed at Bruno's over-enthusiasm and simply patted his shoulder. "I merely did what a teacher is supposed to do and helped my students see things from another viewpoint. Perception can be everything, especially to a young child. Showing them that something typically viewed as frightening can be seen as something beautiful is one of the first steps towards developing an open mind, and erasing unfounded fear."

*BOOM* CRASH*

As a loud crash of thunder vibrated throughout the palace, all the siblings let out screams as Leonhard, Licht, Adele and Shadow raced away from the window and jumped onto the bed. Leo and Bruno hid under the covers while Licht hugged Kai tightly, who himself was trying not to shake with fear. Adele meanwhile ran straight to Heine and clung onto his shirt, burying her face in his chest. After the thunder died down the brothers slowly emerged, once again looking embarrassed by their reactions.

"Ahehe…sorry Professor." Leonhard admitted.

"Guess the story wasn't enough to erase our fear of thunder." Licht said pulling away from Kai.

"It's alright your highness's. I wouldn't expect such a thing to disappear in an instant." Heine said. "It'll take some time but once I show you all some useful coping mechanisms, eventually you'll learn to overcome your fears on your own. That is of course, assuming it's something you'd want me to teach you in due time."

The brothers look between themselves before sharing mutual smiles and nodding.

There was some slight rumbling in the distance, causing Adele to whimper loudly into Heine's shirt as she clung to him tightly.

"It's alright Adele, the thunder has passed for now." Bruno said placing a hand on her back. "Why don't you let go of the Professor for a bit?"

Adele shook her head and clung even tighter to Heine, further burying her face.

"Come now, there's no need to-"

Heine then held up a hand to silence Bruno and looked down at the trembling princess. He then placed a comforting hand her back and began gently stroking the top of her hair until she started to calm down. Finally she looked up at the royal tutor as she tried blinking away tears.

"How about I tell another story?" Heine asked calmly. "Would that help?"

Adele wiped away her tears with her hand and nodded. Heine went to move but Adele still clung tightly to him refusing to let go. Kai then stood up and pick up both Heine and Adele, setting them in the middle of the bed before lying down beside them. The other three brothers soon join, all sitting very close to Heine and Adele so they were surrounded. Even Shadow jumped on the bed and curled up near Heine's feet so he could stay close to Adele. Seeing she was protected from all sides, Adele loosened her grip and sat comfortably on Heine's lap, looking up eagerly at him as he began a new story.

"Alright then, what sort of story should I tell next?" Heine asked.

"How about an action story?" Leonhard asked. "About a mighty group of warriors that go and beat up magical bad guys?"

"Yes!" Licht agreed. "A group of armor wearing, sword wielding warriors slaying a mighty evil as they go to rescue some gorgeous ladies!"

"Indeed." Heine said before looking at the others. "Anything else to add?"

"Well..." Bruno adjusted his glasses. "Maybe have the warriors use their intellect as well as their strength to outwit the villain and help them creator superior weapons and gadgets?"

"And a dog." Kai added. "All warriors should have a cute cuddly creature as their companion."

Heine nodded. "What about you princess?"

Adele paused for a moment as she thought then looked up at Heine. "Maybe...have the warriors led by...a queen?" Adele paused before continuing. "A big strong queen. With a giant magic lightning sword! Who isn't afraid of anything!"

Heine smiled as he patted her head. "All very good suggestions. Alright then, here's a story about four brave and intelligent warriors, their mighty queen leader and her trusty guard dog as they embark on a journey to slay the evil thunder wizard and free all the captive women in the land…"

It was past midnight when a carriage approached the palace gates amidst the heavy rain. Quickly it sped through the iron gates and towards the entrance, stopping just short of the front doors. Quickly two servants got out and opened umbrellas which they held up toward the carriage door. A blonde haired man in a royal uniform stepped out, staying under one umbrella while the servant holding the other opened the front door for him to walk in.

"Here we are your majesty, safe and sound." The servants said, gesturing him inside.

Once in the hall, Viktor removed his wet cloak and handed it to the servants, smiling gratefully. "Thank you both for escorting me back through this weather. Please inform your master of my apologies for not spending the night and feel free to lodge in our servant quarters before returning in the morning."

The servants bowed and promptly left through the door before returning to the carriage. As thunder rumbled in the distance, Viktor's smile was instantly replaced with worry as he looked down the dark hallway. Initially Viktor had planned on staying with a neighboring lord he had been visiting to discuss trade and business. Upon seeing the severity of the storm however, Viktor decided to head back to the palace early in order to check on his children. He knew how terrified they all were of thunderstorms and since his mother was away on her own visit, Viktor worried about them being able to get through it on their own, especially little Adele.

Quickly Viktor walked in the direction of her room, grabbing a candlestick along the way. Finally he arrived outside her bedroom door and carefully opened it up.

"Adele? Sweetheart?" Viktor asked softly as he stepped into the room. "Are you awake?"

What Viktor saw next not only surprised him greatly, but also melted his heart.

Laying together in a pile on the princess's large bed were Adele, Shadow, the four princes and Heine, all of whom were curled up next to each other, sleeping soundly. Viktor quietly shut the door behind him and approached slowly as he took in the sight before him.

Sleeping in the middle of the bed was Heine, who was still wearing his professor outfit yet looked as if he were having the best sleep of his life. Wrapped in his arms and snuggling peacefully on his chest was Adele, who clung to Heine the way a baby would cling to its mother. Curled up between his legs, Shadow snored away, his head resting on Heine's knee. To Heine's right, Leonhard slept on his side facing the professor, his head resting against the man's shoulder while he peacefully sucked his thumb. Below Leo was Licht, who was facing away from everyone with his back against Heine's leg while tightly hugging a giant pink hippo. On Heine's left, Kai was propped up against the headboard, his head resting on top of the pillow Heine was sleeping on. While his one arm was draped over Heine's pillow, his other hand rested casually against the professor's cheek, as if he had been stroking it earlier. Finally there was Bruno, who was clinging to Heine's other leg and as he snored somewhat loudly.

Viktor couldn't help but smile, his blue eyes misting up as he struggled not to cry.

Setting down the candlestick, Viktor went to Adele's closet and pulled out some spare blankets which he draped across each of his children. He put the thickest blanket over Licht, who appeared to be shivering, and stuck a pillow behind Kai's head so he wouldn't hit it against the headboard. He then gently pulled Leo's thumb out of his mouth and removed Bruno's glasses, setting them on the nearby nightstand. Finally Viktor took the last blanket and draped it over Adele and Heine. Adele stirred slightly and snuggled up against Heine, who seemed to instinctively tighten his hold around her. Viktor's smile grew as he leaned over and kissed the top of Adele's head. He glanced over at Heine, looking affectionately upon his old friend who continued to sleep peacefully.

"Thank you Heine, for protecting my children." Viktor whispered softly. "I hope you'll always be around to do so."

Viktor then reached over and gently brushed some hair out of Heine's face, causing the professor to tilt his head over slightly as if he were leaning into his touch. Carefully Viktor removed the man's glasses and set them down next to Bruno's. He then grabbed his candlestick and quietly made his way to the doors, pausing to look over the heartwarming scene one last time. With a smile on his face, Viktor blew out the candle before quietly closing the door.