Weiss slowly opened her eyes, embracing reality. While her movement was sluggish at best, she could feel her heart pounding inside her chest, reminding her of what just happened. Nightmare. Not the first and most likely not the last. Yet it was the fact that she had one every night since that day in the inn. They weren't like that one dream though, the one that engraved itself inside her mind. Those were more... Normal? Normal because they faded away from her mind like any other dream. Maybe a detail she held onto, but it quickly lost context, thus becoming little more than a useless shell of the source material. At first, Weiss wanted to keep a dream journal, but the idea that the dreams would form a pattern terrified her. While usually, she was far from being paranoid over things like this, ever since meeting Ruby, she was more eager to believe them. If a year ago she was told about meeting a dragon and falling in love with it, she would laugh at that idea. Yet here she was.
She glanced at her side, laying beside her was Ruby. While it was explained to her how dragons don't have to sleep, they still need to rest and the process is very similar to how humans slept but not really. That was the gest of it, which confused Weiss, but she just shrugged and accepted it. Ruby wasn't the best teacher about dragon-related topics, although she did try her hardest
Not wanting to wake the other girl, she sat up on the bed. The moment she uncovered herself, she could feel the chill of the night biting at her skin. For once, she accepted that with a smile. It assured her this was reality. It calmed her, at least to some degree. Standing up was a different story, as even she had to wince as she felt the cold floor under her bare feet. Still, she slowly wandered towards the window, glancing at the night sky over the orchards.
Nights were always so mesmerizing to her. Perhaps part of the reason was that at night she was left alone, away from the duties of a princess. Even then, there was serenity in it. Quiet beauty. As seductive as dangerous. Weiss chuckled at that, how poetic. Or lame, most likely the latter, considering her poetic skills.

"I won't let anyone but me see you like this." These words came from behind Weiss, as the girl could feel the quilt from the bed surround her body once more. Oddly enough, even if she did not see it coming, she wasn't surprised. As if part of her brain was aware that Ruby was moving behind her. Maybe that was the case? Who knew what it meant to have part of a dragon merge with your own soul.

"I apologize, I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you up with tossing around." Weiss felt the other girl wrap her arms around her, which she accepted, grateful for the gesture if anything. This was the best remedy for her bad mood right now.
Noticing something in the window, she rolled her eyes. "Should I allow others to see you like this, though?" Weiss moved her head to nudge it gently against that of Ruby.

The dragon girl simply buried her face against her neck, murmuring as she responded. "Are you inviting me inside?" She asked, clearly meaning the cover that Weiss had around herself.

This made Weiss blush, as she shook her head. "M-Maybe some other time." As sad as it was, Weiss was simply too exhausted for any kind of... This. This hand-holding, what else.

"I noticed you were tired ever since we came here. Even if your sleepless nights would go past me, I would still figure out something was wrong" Ruby's words, more serious this time, got Weiss' attention.

The human girl let a small sigh, of course, Ruby would notice. It was a week since they arrived here, and while settling in they had plenty of free time. Most of that time was her just yawning and shambling around. Perhaps Ruby wasn't the only one that noticed, yet they all ignored it for the sake of being polite. The question was, how long till even they would have to question it. How long till it would become so apparent, that even the servants would start asking if she was alright.

"I'm having nightmares." She began. Should she tell about the dream from the inn? Would Ruby get mad for lying to her?

"Mmm..." Ruby nodded, gently resting her chin on Weiss' shoulder.

"I...I..." Weiss bit her lower lip. "I lied." She closed her eyes. There, she did it. She admitted to it.

"You were scared, weren't you?" Ruby asked softly, her hands moving under the sheets that Weiss was surrounded by. They felt warm, Ruby's hands always felt warm. It never felt bad to feel her touch, although it always made Weiss worry if her hands seemed cold against the dragon's skin.

"I was." Weiss nodded and hang her head in shame. She was a coward, there was no escaping that.

"I figured. I knew you were hiding something, and before you get any silly ideas, no I can't read your mind. I just knew. I simply waited for when you would feel comfortable to tell me." Weiss gasped as she was suddenly spun around to face Ruby. It took her a moment to orient herself, and once she did, there was a moment of hesitation before she glanced up. She was used to looks of disappointment. People looking down at her because of who she was. High expectations and the chance to show some disdain to the crown. It was always there whenever she did something bad. It didn't matter how big it was or if she admitted to it or if she was even aware. No, it was part of her heritage.
This is why when she looked up, she couldn't understand. She expected to see disappointment, but she saw none. Then her brain caught up and thought that Ruby would never be like that. That there should be a smile and understanding. Even that wasn't present. Not exactly what she would call a smile. What painted Ruby's face, was a grin. There was no sadness, no disappointment. There was... Confidence? Was this it? Weiss was baffled by the dragon girl, not the first and most likely, not the last time. The confusion had to be plainly written on her face since Ruby giggled and took hold of Weiss' cheeks and leaned in. Silver eyes were all that Weiss could see at the moment. "I love you, and I trust you. Have some trust in me as well."

Overshadowed by everything else, this sudden confession made Weiss lose her balance. Physically. As she stumbled back a step, her cheeks ablaze as she took the extra effort to push the other girl away, with however meek her attempt was. "Dolt!" The redhead laughed as she herself took a step back if only to play along with the little push she received. Weiss turned around, wanting to hide at least part of her embarrassment, reaching for the cover that was put around her earlier, she noticed it was no longer there. Did she drop it when she was spun? Maybe. Picking it up right now would just show that she was troubled, as such her stubbornness made her simply stand there with her arms crossed.

Soon she felt something wrap around her, to no surprise it was Ruby, hugging her from behind. "I'm glad you're feeling better." Ruby spoke with a husky voice, nuzzling into Weiss' neck.

The human girl had to curl her toes to stop herself from giving off any signs that Ruby's actions were affecting her in any way. "You're awful."

"That's me, a big awful scary dragon, rawr!" Ruby announced proudly and bit into her neck, if it could even be called that, as the redhead's teeth barely grazed the skin, still, it made Weiss jump, although not much as her toes never left the ground. After she regained her composure, she remained in Ruby's embrace, leaning back against her. She remained silent, announcing in a non-verbal way that while it was fun, she no longer felt like continuing this... Game, for lack of a better term. Ruby had to get that, as she leaned forward to nuzzle against Weiss' cheek. "I think we should go to Winter tomorrow, and there you should tell us about this dream."

Weiss wasn't too surprised by this suggestion, although it was odd that Winter had to hear about it. Perhaps she was too exhausted from... Everything tonight to even be surprised at this point. "Why?" She simply asked.

"It might be important. I think she should know. As your sister and an important figure in your human society." Ruby explained in a calm voice.

"Right, as someone important." Weiss nodded bitterly. Would Winter even care? Or would this be treated as her complaining to her about a nightmare, like she was nothing but a scared little girl?

"For now we should go back to sleep." Ruby said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the bed. That broke her chain of thoughts that started to form inside her mind.

"Right. If I'll be able to." Weiss let a sad, tired sigh. Maybe telling Ruby about it would help? Hopefully.

"I might have a solution for this, at least for tonight." Ruby announced as she turned around and winked.

"You know a magic trick to help with nightmares?" Weiss' eyes grew wide as hope started to fill her heart.

"Not exactly magic, but I know something that should help, at least for tonight. Starting tomorrow, we'll find a proper solution." Ruby explained as she led her towards the bed. Weiss wasn't sure what the plan was, but just like she was asked to earlier, she trusted the dragon girl. Although the length of said trust would be tested, as Ruby laid down on the bed and reached invitingly towards her. "Here, I promise your nightmares won't appear tonight."

Weiss was confused at first, although it didn't take long before she understood. "Wait, you... I mean, it will get uncomfortable for you after a bit." She shook her head.

"It's fine, I'm sturdier than you think, so it won't affect me as much. Besides, it's just one night, I can manage. I promise." Ruby explained as she kept her arms stretched towards her. Those words were so much like a sweet promise, that Weiss wanted to reject just because of that. The intrigue was one of the classes she had as royalty and sweet deals never came without additional, unsaid cost. Yet, this was Ruby. She had to remember that she was no longer in her castle, for better or worse. She was with the girl that broke her free from the cage. Besides, she was tired. Dead tired, a night, even if one, of sleep undisturbed by bad dreams sounded like something she could pay anything to have.

"Fine." Not wanting to sell herself short, she tried to sound as annoyed as she could muster, she knew she had to put more energy into her act, as the weariness would affect it. She climbed the bed and laid down on top of Ruby. Immediately she felt the other girl's arms wrap around her. Deciding to not question anything that was said by the dragon girl, she shifted around till she found a comfortable position. At least for now. With her arms along Ruby's body, where her hands sunk under the pillows. Weiss' head rested on top of her chest, where she could feel the powerful heartbeat of the dragon girl. She crossed her legs around one of Ruby's and closed her eyes.
It felt so warm and the sound of Ruby's heartbeat was almost hypnotic. Still, there was something missing. "We forgot the covers."

"I'll keep you warm, don't worry." Another promise, another thing Weiss would entrust to the other girl. If Ruby said not to worry about it, just for tonight, she wouldn't offer it a second thought. Soon, the exhaustion took over. With all her senses being bombarded by the presence of her bondmate, Weiss fell asleep.

oooOOOooo

If anyone asked Weiss, morning came too early. As the light shone into her eyes, she wrapped pulled the covers over her head. She was tired, there was nothing she had to do today and for once in a long time, she could actually sleep. Morning could wait, at least today. She was about to wrap herself into a small cocoon when her mind had just enough time to notice how odd that was. Didn't they leave sleep without the covers?
She sprung up and looked around, for whatever reason this change in the narrative made all the sleep disappear from her body. She was in the same bed from last night, but without Ruby and with the quilt on top of her.

"You really needed that sleep huh?" Ruby's voice brought her attention, as she looked in the direction of the dragon girl. Standing next to the window, fully clothed, her silver eyes glanced her way.

"How long did I sleep? How long were you awake?" Weiss took a small sigh to calm herself, rubbing her eyes. It was true, she really needed this sleep. Although she was afraid of the bags under her eyes that had to form because of this by now.

"I woke up way earlier, mostly to make sure nobody disturbs you. I told the servants and Winter that you'd be resting till... Well, until you decide not to anymore." Ruby answered and started to walk her way. Although Weiss noticed she just answered half of her question.

"What time is it? Am I late for breakfast?" While no longer bound by her old rules, she did live by them for long enough to instinctively feel frightened at the prospect that she could oversleep, even if there was nothing to attend to. No meal schedule was set.

"Eh... You should forget about breakfast since it's almost time for lunch." Ruby shrugged as she casually glanced at the window as if to make sure.

"What?! I slept for so long?" Weiss hid her face inside her hands. That explained why her stomach felt so empty. The appetite was not yet there since she never really liked to eat shortly after waking up, still, once her body wakes up properly? She'll be ravenous.
That didn't really bode well for today. Lazy and gluttonous.

"Hey, you deserved some rest. Don't overthink it." Ruby sat at the bed and wrapped her arm around her.

"Old habits die hard." Weiss shook her head.

"Maybe, but do you feel better?" The dragon girl rubbed her shoulder as she asked. Weiss never knew that such a small gesture could bring such relief.

"Do I? Hm..." She frowned as if this required deeper analysis. Outside of her little panic and the feeling of self-disappointment rooted deep inside of her, she felt... Good. Physically, at least. With the past few days, she started growing accustomed to being constantly exhausted, as such this felt almost as if she was invigorated. "I actually do. What did you do?"

"Me? Nothing, I just held you till your mind calmed down and didn't throw nightmares your way." Ruby shrugged nonchalantly. "What? I really didn't cast any magic at you, I swear!" Ruby added as she noticed the pair of blue, skeptical eyes sending a doubtful gaze her way.

Weiss let shook her head and leaned against Ruby. "I'm grateful. I really do feel better." She followed that with a sigh. "You're always doing things for me, and there's nothing I can repay you with."

"Your smile is all the reward I need." Ruby responded, which made Weiss roll her eyes.

"Look at you, being a romantic charmer." Weiss chuckled.

"Anything for a pretty lady." The dragon girl followed, and this time Weiss just groaned.

"Stop! Not this early... Well, not right after waking up." She nudged Ruby with her elbow.

"Oof, alright, alright, I'm sorry." Ruby squirmed as she felt the elbow hit her ribs. "But I do mean all those words, you know that, right?" The dragon girl leaning down a bit to plant a soft kiss against Weiss' cheek.

As much as she wanted, The princess knew she wouldn't be able to fight off the smile that was the immediate effect of Ruby's words and actions. As such she just gave up, allowing it to blossom fully on her lips, as she reached out to wrap both her arms around the girl's waist. "I know."

Author's note:

I broke my own rule with this one, and I posted something under 3k words. I didn't want to forcibly pad it out, I didn't want to merge it with the next thing that I planned for this story to not ruin the mood of this chapter and... Well, it is what it is. So if anyone is bothered by it, I am aware and I apologize. I just really wanted to post something WhiteRosey since I haven't in a bit.

I won't lie, I was really burned out on WR and volume 7 really annoyed me and "meh'ed" me towards WR. The sheer lack of anything meaningful between the two was... Disappointing. But the volume (which was amazing) ended and I can feed up my ship energy with fan stuff, stories, and art, so I'm slowly getting better.

I was nervous about writing this. For one, it was a long time since the last time I wrote in this AU and I always like to twist those characters in some way with each and every AU I make. Two, I suck at writing floof, so I apologize that this entire chapter is basically that. Garbage I mean floof. Which is garbage when I make it. But it is what it is. I hope some of you had at least some level of entertainment out of it. I tried my best, I swear!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next update, whatever it is you'll read that I will update.