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“Eveline,” he whispered. He rubbed his eyes before looking around the room. “Was I… dreaming?”

“It seemed you had a nightmare,” Eveline said gently as she sat on the bed beside him.

William peered at her rather curiously as he lifted his hand and touched her face gingerly, as though he was seeing her for the first time. Eveline noticed that his hand shook just slightly.

“You are right,” he whispered, “it seems to only be a nightmare.”

“Do you want me to pour you a cup of water?” she asked.

He shook his head, and almost as though he was only now jolted awake from the nightmare, he sat up.

“I am fine. It is only but a nightmare.”

“I know,” she murmured as she touched the back of her hand to his forehead to see if he was burning up, but he was not. She learned this trick from Ava, as she would often check her temperature after she had a nightmare to be certain that she was not running a fever.

William smiled. “I promise you, I am fine. You can go back to your chambers. We shall talk in the morning.”

And yet Eveline was certain he was not fine. Granted, his temperature was not incredibly high. However, with the way his hand shook slightly as it touched her face, the way his smile did not quite reach his eyes, and the way he panted and his chest heaved, she knew he was far from fine.

Something was troubling him.

“I am not quite convinced that you are fine,” she said.

“I promise you, seeing you was all I needed to be fine.”

This time, he actually sounded sincere.

Eveline still was not totally convinced that she must leave his side.

She had never seen him this shaken by anything, and she could, therefore, tell that his nightmare was a rather intense one.

“What was the nightmare about?” she asked.

William tried to laugh it off.

“I am not so easily fooled,” she told him. “I have never seen you so shaken. The nightmare must have been horrid.”

“It is only a foolish nightmare,” he responded.

“If it is truly a foolish nightmare, then you shall tell me what it was, would you not?” she asked stubbornly.

William looked away. “I truly cannot remember the nightmare.”

Eveline wanted to believe him, but she could tell that he simply was not comfortable telling her.

While she did not quite enjoy the fact that he was keeping his nightmare a secret, she chose not to push him further.

“That is fine,” she relented as she scooted closer to him on the bed. “But I am going to stay here for a while.”

“But…” William started to protest, but he was smart enough to catch himself. “There is nothing I could say to make you leave, is there?”

Eveline shook her head. “I shall stay with you for a little while to protect you from your nightmares.”

“Am I not the one who should protect you from nightmares?” he asked.

Eveline shrugged. “Well, you have slacked on your duty, and now I have to protect you instead,” she declared.

“I suppose I deserve that,” he mumbled.