A Caged Dream

1

Dream was exhausted. There was no avoiding that fact. He could barely walk straight. Nightmare was going to be mad.

He's told him over and over not to overuse his magic and that it was ok to say no. It was ok to say no but Dream still felt bad so he didn't.

As Dream came to the tree, he heard yelling. He started running. Something is wrong.

Nightmare was on the ground bleeding. Some of Dream's 'friends' were kicking him and making fun of him. Nightmare wasn't moving. He had a big crack in the back of his head.

What. Dream stopped running.

Dream stopped running and started yelling.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM RIGHT NOW! HOW DARE YOU HURT MY BROTHER! DON'T TOUCH HIM! I HELPED YOU! I FREAKING HELPED YOU! I AM NEVER COMING TO THE VILLAGE AGAIN. YOU LOST MY FRIENDSHIP. IS THIS WHY NIGHTMARE'S ALWAYS HURT?! SCREW YOU! ALL OF YOU!"

Dream was crying. His friends had betrayed him and hurt his brother. He loved his brother more than anything in the world. He would gladly give away the villagers for him. He would give anything for him.

He ran to his brother and started healing his many injuries. He blinked away black spots. He had wasted a lot of magic on those cursed villagers. He cried even harder.

Nightmare's eyes fluttered open.

"Dream? What..?"

"Shh. It's ok. Everything is going to be ok now, I promise. I'll never let them hurt you again."

"But-"

"We'll talk after. Let's fix you up first."

"Dream no. You're exhausted. You can barely keep your eyes open!"

"And you're hurt! You're covered in cuts and bruises!"

As Dream healed the last of Nightmare's injuries, his eyes shut and he fell asleep without another word. Nightmare held him close and cried. This wasn't supposed to happen. Dream was never supposed to know. He was supposed to be happy and have lots of friends.

His 'friends' weren't supposed to guilt trip him into using so much magic he was stumbling the whole way home.

Why were people so cruel?

*The next morning*

The twins had a very long talk about the villagers. Nightmare had to explain why he had kept the bullying a secret, especially for so long. Dream had to apologize for not listening to Nightmare and overextending himself.

They played tag and hide-and-seek before tiring out. Nightmare read out loud while Dream laid his head in Nightmare's lap. Dream was on the verge of falling asleep when there was another voice.

The twins looked up and was met with a large group of villagers. None had ever hurt Nightmare before.

"What do you want? Didn't the others tell you what happened yesterday? I'm not coming to the village anymore," said Dream. He was glaring at them. Poor Nightmare was hiding behind him.

"Please, we still need you! We would never hurt your brother. Why should we be punished for something others did? We're not with those freaks." Nightmare flinched at the word 'freak.'

"I'm sorry friends. I know you never hurt my brother, but I really can't risk it. You may have never hurt him, but who's to say that other's won't come while I'm away? My brother is my first priority. I only came to help in the first place because I thought he was safe while I was helping. If you get lonely, you can still visit at the tree but I will only be coming in town to get supplies from now on."

Nightmare's heart warmed. Dream really did care about him. He felt guilty for doubting it, even for a second.

Dream noticed his nervousness and grabbed Nightmare's hand, squeezing it comfortingly. Nightmare smiled at his bright twin.

The villages did not smile. They tried everything to convince Dream to come. Guilt tripping, bribing, deals, they even suggested that Nightmare come with Dream into the village. Nothing worked. Dream insisted on staying by the tree with his twin. No, they definitely didn't smile.

As they left the tree towards the village, both twins sighed in relief. They returned to their fairy tale and leaned against the tree. Though Nightmare had practically memorized this particular story, the excitement in Dream's eyes was contagious and he found himself getting into it.

It was fun reading to Dream. He would get really excited at the intense parts and stayed concentrated during the calm parts. He took betrayals very seriously and would gasp in shock. He would tear up during deaths and injuries and grab onto Nightmare's arm during any 'scary' parts.

During the parts he was particularly into, he would mutter to himself and Nightmare would have to pause with a smile. But, no matter how excited he got, Dream would always end up asleep without fail. Once he was asleep, Nightmare would switch to a nonfiction book and read silently to keep from disturbing his twin.

After an hour or two, Dream would wake up and the twins would run around again. At night, they would look at the stars and constellations until they fell asleep. Dream would wake Nightmare up to watch the sunrise with him and the day would repeat. If Nightmare ever fell asleep, Dream would go into the forest to pick berries or find food. Usually, they would search together.

Life was better than it had ever been. It was so peaceful. The twins were closer than ever. Dream, determined to make it up to his beloved 'older' brother and Nightmare, enjoying the company of his sweet 'younger' brother. They climbed and perched on the branches of their 'mother' and hung out. As the sun set, the twins smiled and leaned against each other. Yes, life was good.