White Dragon Stories

The past, the present and the future

The best days were those on which nothing was going on – not even weather. All he did on such days was lying in his bed together with his wife and rest. When it was sunny outside they would lay down in the garden and when it was cold, rainy or just not comfortable outside they would stay in bed inside. Sometimes they would talk all day long and sometimes they would not even utter a single word. Hakuryuu loved to watch his wife, while she was enjoying herself with various activities like reading, sleeping or daydreaming. On other free days it was her, who observed him, while he was sleeping, daydreaming, organizing the room – she would only help when it was about rearranging the furnishings, since most of the time it was also her idea to do so – or when they were outside she watched him watering the plants – or whatever he had in store for those "poor things", as she worded it. She would make compliments to the flowers and compare their beauty to Hakuryuu, what caused him to blush. He wished he was as good and smooth at making compliments as her. Sadly, every time he tried to make one, he failed horribly. Either he started to stutter, bit his tongue, forgot his words or even lacked the right ones to say what he wanted. Luckily, at least he managed to tell her how much he loved her. Better than nothing. Although he wished he could give her more than a simple "I love you" – say it in different ways. Seemingly she didn't mind it at all and thought it was cute. He trying to express his love for her was what matter to her. Knowing that he loved her was the most important! By the by, the way to a man's heart was through his stomach. In this case it was the way to a woman's heart and there was nothing that could please her stomach more than Hakuryuu's meals!

Besides their days off, they often spent the evening together, which wasn't unusual, but it also wasn't seldom for Hakuryuu to work until midnight. After dinner they normally already prepared for bed. Usually Hakuryuu would do nothing special, while his wife was reading. He had the suspicion that she wasn't really reading, it was more looking at the pages and dreaming her own story. Hakuryuu didn't read much in his free time, because he already had to read so much at work that he was happy, when he could just let his thoughts wander around. Although sometimes he took one of his wife's books, simply because he was interested to know what kind of stories she liked. She had many different interests.
When she was reading she preferred to use him as pillow and he liked it. Her warmth was reassuring and calming. Tenderly he stroke through her long black hair, twisted it around his finger and released it again. Or he drew circles on her forearm, stomach or thighs – depending on how she had positioned herself and hence which places he could reach. Her skin was so soft. He liked it.
While she was reading he often observed her. Her sudden smiles, her sudden tears, her sudden disapproving grumble, he saw it all and then he took a look at the text she was reading or was pretending to read. Most of the time he couldn't find an explanation within the text, so he assumed she was dreaming her own stories. More than once he had wondered about her thoughts. What was she thinking and dreaming about all day? Never had he dared to ask. Somehow it felt as if the question was too personal, too deep to even ask one's spouse. On the other hand, she also never had asked about his thoughts. At least not about those he had, when they were relaxing in bed. At least not about those he had while observing her. If she asked, he wouldn't have a problem with answering honestly. There were no shameful or embarrassing thoughts going through his head at such times. All he did was thinking about his past, present and future.

*

Nights could be very frightening, but he was a big boy and therefore he was not afraid at all! Hiding beneath his blanket and waiting for the monsters to leave without hurting him was all he could do. Never would he run to his mother, sister or one of his brothers. His plushy, a stuffed animal that looked like a bear or was supposed to look like one, would protect him. And he was definitely not crying at all or whimpering! No he was a big boy and not afraid of the darkness and its monsters. He was a strong and brave warrior just like his father and brothers. Maybe not as strong as them, but he was brave! That was the reason why he also wasn't paralyzed by fear when he heard footsteps. Someone was passing through the hallway at such a late hour. Who could it be? There shouldn't be anyone going through the hallway at this time! Maybe it was an assassin? What should he do? He had to tell his mother! But how? To tell her he needed to leave his room and walk through the hallway. The hallway through which the assassin was passing! What should he do? He also couldn't scream for help. If he did the assassin would know he was here and kill him before someone could arrive. Or maybe he should just calm down. Maybe it was just a guard making his round and ensuring the safety of the royal family. Yes, this was most likely the case he was just overthinking. Everything was fine! But to be on the save side Hakuryuu decided to hide under his bed. Just in case it wasn't a guard. One couldn't be cautious enough. And if it was an assassin he could attack as soon as the other one wasn't looking or was about to leave. A surprise attack! Yes, he wasn't scared at all!