Selfless Love

The Storm

Andrew wasn't afraid of anything...well, almost anything.  

If he were honest, thunderstorms terrified him. Even though it had nothing to do with his time in captivity, sudden flashes of light and loud booms of thunder that shook the room if it was close enough sent his mind reeling back to a time when he had only known darkness and he was too weak to protect himself and his mother.  

If he had been within the thick sturdy stone walls of their home, he would have done his best to simply try to go back to sleep and think nothing of it. Unfortunately, he wasn't home. Andrew, his parents, his baby sister, and a few Remdragon Knights for additional security, had gone on a short camping trip.  

He shared a tent with his baby sister who was equally distressed by the loud storm. She began to cry, and Andrew quickly made his way over to her crib to try to soothe her worries, as well as his own. He picked her up out of her crib and held her close. He hugged her tightly because she was afraid, but also because he was afraid too and he wanted to hold on to someone.  

A bright flash of light and an earth-shaking boom of thunder left the young Calypse children startled and shaken. It did not take Andrew more than half a second to decide what to do next. He grabbed his sister's favorite blanket from her crib and ran through the flap which divided his "room" from his parent's room within their large tent.  

His parents were sound asleep when he entered their room. They were light sleepers and storms like this would typically keep them up, but they had worn themselves out after a full day of keeping up with their children's activities.  

Another flash of lightning pierced through the sky, scaring the baby in Andrew's arms who cried out in surprise and fear. The sound of her loud cry so close to them immediately woke Riftan and Maxi who both sat up in bed. Their eyes darted around, ensuring there was no immediate danger before eventually settling their gazes on their son holding his baby sister in his arms.  

"Andrew?" Maxi called to him, unable to hide the worry in her voice. "Dear, what's the matter?" 

"I'm sorry to wake you but the storm...I...um, we can't sleep," he said quietly, hating how weak his voice sounded right now especially in front of his father who he knew was fearless.  

"Would you like to sleep with us tonight?" she asked gently. She intentionally left out any mention of his obvious fear knowing he would want to appear as brave as he could to his father.  

"I think Victoria would sleep better if we slept in here," he said with as much confidence as he could muster, trying to pin all of this on his sister so that he wouldn't appear afraid. "She would miss me if I went back to my room, so I better stay too."  

"She would miss you," said a deep baritone voice that immediately made Andrew stand up straight and yet feel relaxed at the same time. 

"Y-yes sir," the boy replied.  

"Come on up," his mother said warmly.  
Andrew walked over to his mother's side of the bed and handed his sister off to her. Maxi laid her daughter between her and her husband before moving away from them just slightly to make room for their son to lay between them. Andrew climbed into their bed and lay between his mother and his sister.  

His father's long arms wrapped around them pulling them close. Maxi sang an old Roem lullaby to her children to help them calm down. Before long, the small family was sound asleep as the storm raged around them.  

Riftan woke up sometime in the early hours of the morning with the storm still raging and thrashing around their large tent. Just as he was about to fall back asleep, he heard the faint sound of crying coming from across the bed. He instantly recognized his son's voice and worried if the storm had upset him again.