Chapter Text
It is dark.
It isn’t that he is afraid of the dark. He is four years old, after all, and four year olds are very brave. He just…doesn’t like it, is all.
And so, one moonless night, he crawls out of bed and slips out of his room. Just a few doors down, candlelight spills into the darkened hall and he creeps towards the light like a moth drawn to flame. Inside, his mother sits before the vanity, running a brush through her long black locks. His father reclines on the bed, chattering quietly as he watches her work, content to bask in her presence on this rare night together.
They look so peaceful, so happy together, that he is afraid to break the moment for something as silly as being afraid of disliking the dark. He got to spend time with his father earlier, after all, hearing tales of the great house they would move to soon. He can manage the rest of the night on his own. He steps back, ready to retreat to his room, but his weight falls on that one creaky plank. He freezes, but it is too late.
His father’s gaze shifts to the door and lights up when it lands on him. In an instant, he is swept up in a hug, strong arms wrapping tightly around him. His mother joins them near the door, her hand settling in his hair, the concern in her golden eyes compelling him to admit the reason for his midnight visit. Before he knows it, he is bundled deep under the covers of his parent’s bed, his mother pressed close on one side, and his father on the other. They tickle him and tell him stories of fantastic lands where trees shed their leaves and ice falls from the sky. He laughs and laughs, and by the time his father leans over to blow out the last candle, he is already half asleep.
It is dark, but there is no room for fear when he is surrounded by love.