Night time. The lights had gone out, and the Greyrat household was quiet.

The same was true for Rudy's room.

After a long day, it was time for bed. And since Sylphy's parents let her sleepover, that meant that she was sharing one with Rudy.

If it was any other time, Sylphy would have been excited. She had never had a sleepover before, and she would have loved to just chat with her best friend until the morning.

Except this wasn't any other time.

"...No. Sylphy. I'm sorry. Don't... Don't leave me...!"

Another nightmare.

Rudy's face scrunched up in terror and agony, sweat matting his silver hair. At the same time, he started shaking.

Seeing that made Sylphy's heart ache.

Rudy was always happy and smiling around her. So seeing him terrified and panicked like this made her feel terrible.

Especially knowing she couldn't be there with him in those dreams. Even so, that didn't mean she couldn't do anything.

Sylphy reached over and pulled Rudy into a hug. At the same time, she leaned his head against her chest like she saw Miss Zenith do in the past to comfort Rudy and said, "It's okay. I'm here. I won't leave you."

Silence. For a split second, Rudy tensed. His eyes opened, revealing a flash of bright blue. But then he blinked and then slowly closed his them, calming down. In a groggy voice, he muttered, "Thanks, Sylphy."

Sylphy smiled. Even if he couldn't see it, she liked to think it'd help him relax.

And it seemed to help. Rudy's breathing slowly turned steady and the tension in his body faded.

Seeing that, Sylphy leaned back a bit and stared at Rudy's face.

He was different now. Different, but the same.

His light brown hair had turned a pretty silver color. The beautiful light green eyes were a clear blue for now because of Miss Roxy's magic circles helping them go back to normal.

But he was the same as always. He looked a bit different, but he was still the same Rudy.

Except he also wasn't.

Sylphy didn't know what happened. Her father wouldn't tell her anything even though he knew and seemed really mad recently. Her mother wouldn't say anything either, even though she looked worried.

Miss Zenith said that it was just a little training accident. And Miss Lilia said that Rudy would be back to normal soon enough.

Even Miss Roxy said that nothing was wrong with Rudy.

But something had changed.

Mister Paul was missing and Rudy's moms seemed really mad whenever she brought up Mister Paul. But at the same time, they also looked exhausted, as if there was something weighing on them too.

That meant that something important happened.

Was it because of the mean knights that came to the village? Because Mister Paul fought with them?

For a while, it seemed like everything was fine. But Rudy had started getting worried since after that.

Did Rudy try something then? Did he talk to Mister Paul and try to learn what was happening? And then did Mister Paul not listen, so Rudy tried to beat him up? And lost?

That made sense.

Knowing her best friend, Rudy must have tried really hard to get answers from Mister Paul. And since Mister Paul left...

Rudy probably tried really hard to make him stay too. But he lost, and Mister Paul left him behind.

Even if Mister Paul was really mean to him in their training, Rudy still liked his dad a lot. And Rudy didn't admit it, but he was really happy whenever they were together. So for Mister Paul to leave him... Rudy must be really sad.

Sylphy knew that she would be if her father suddenly left her behind. And she knew from her father telling her that he was really sad when he learned that Grandma suddenly left him behind too.

So Sylphy was angry at Mister Paul. He shouldn't have done that to Rudy. He shouldn't have forced Rudy to stay behind and make him sleep for a week.

And he should have seen just how hard and sad Rudy must have been for him to try that much to keep Mister Paul here.

But adults were stupid. They just kept thinking Rudy could do everything. But he wasn't a legendary hero like Perugius. And even people like that couldn't do everything.

Sylphy sighed and brushed a strand of Rudy's silver hair out of his eyes. "It's not fair, Rudy."

He worked so hard. Out of everyone, he was the person who worried the most. He saw how the adults weren't taking things seriously or couldn't do the things he could and tried to make things work. He wanted to just keep playing and having fun, but since he was the one who was the strongest with magic, when things happened he was the one who had to fix things.

And he didn't tell anyone. Not because he didn't want to, but because he was afraid. He didn't want them to worry. He didn't want anyone else to be afraid too.

But that wasn't fair.

Sylphy pouted her lips and said, "I want you to rely on me too, Rudy."

Rudy was her best friend. He didn't just save her, but he took her out and showed her how pretty and kind the world could be. He gave her the strength to stand on her own two feet and made her feel like she could be her own hero. And he made every day super fun and happy.

But he gave her too much. Even while he was worried, he put on that fake smile and tried to trick her into thinking everything was fine. That he was completely okay.

Even now when he couldn't even see anything, he was putting on that bright smile and carefree attitude.

But he didn't notice it. Because he couldn't see anymore, Rudy was a bit more honest, even if wasn't aware.

There were times when his confident mask completely shattered and he looked scared. There were times when he started to panic because he thought nobody was around. And there were times when he looked lost and confused. Like nothing made sense.

Sylphy didn't know what it was like. She could imagine it a bit by closing her eyes, but she knew that when she opened them, she could see again. But right now, Rudy couldn't do that. Even when his eyes were wide open, he couldn't see anything.

And it wasn't him playing a trick either. She had secretly tested it a few times by getting really close to his face when he was looking around.

That, and he was a lot clumsier than normal.

So Rudy was terrified. He was probably feeling like Sylphy did when she was lost in the forest.

Unable to see where she was. Not knowing what to do. Wondering just what happened to lead up to this...

In that case...

Sylphy quietly stared at Rudy and then nodded. Reaching down to his hand, she grabbed it with both of hers and placed it against her chest. "Don't worry, Rudy. I'll become strong for you. I won't let you be the only one people rely on. So... So lean on me a bit in the future, okay? It's fine to pretend to be strong around other people, but let me be strong for you when you feel weak."

A quiet vow. After saying it, Sylphy felt her face heat up.

But Rudy didn't respond. Fast asleep, he didn't hear Sylphy's words.

Seeing that, Sylphy let out a slightly regretful sigh. But she put on a soft smile and then nuzzled close to Rudy. Feeling his warmth next to her, she closed her eyes and then drifted off to sleep.

As she did, faint thoughts flickered through her mind. Dreams slowly blending with reality.

Standing back to back with Rudy, her wand in hand as they faced off against an army of knights. Miss Roxy supporting them from behind while she and Rudy ran forward to fight.

That would... be nice...