Later that night, Steven awoke from his dream, panting profusely, his body heated to point it was steam instead of sweat covering his body. Steven then, after taking in a few short breaths in and letting go, calmed down.

  “It was just a bad dream”, the young Steven said as he crouched down on the bad. A bad dream, a nightmare, one that had been plaguing out for as long as he could remember.

  It started out like any other day, he parents living both him and Susan with a warm smile on their face like they did each and every day, only this time they never came back.

  “Mom, dad, where are you?” Steven cried with tears slowly forming in his eyes which were fixed solely to shut door in front of him as he waited eagerly his parents.

  “Mom, dad”, Steven spoke with tears streaming down his eyes as he bowed his head. His entire body then ignited in flames.

  “What, no, not now”, Steven tried his best to put out the flames but just kept growing and began to spread around the house, quick consuming the entire how.

  “STEVEN!!!!!” he heard the shriek of a familiar voice before slowly turning around to see, with eyes filled with complete and utter terror, as the flames consumed Susan.

  “It was just a bad dream”, Steven told himself once more in an effort to console himself.

  The nightmares had been plaguing his dreams for quite a while now and have seemed to have grown worse ever since his parent’s ventures became more and more frequent and they took longer to return back home to them. Recalling how they used to spend more time with them, with his mother telling he and Susan great fantastical fable tales of his sea, his father always being to help and guide him on how to control his powers, and how sometimes, during nights when he struggled to sleep due to his night, his father would sleep by his side, comforting him and help him maintain control over his powers as he spelt. It was because of him that he could now fall asleep without completely set the entire bed ablaze, recalling how his would help temper his flames during nights when he struggled with his night terrors.

  Steven, taking a deep calming breath in and letting go, felt his body begin to cool. Steven then tried shutting his eyes once more and go back to sleep only for them to spring back open upon witnessing the flashes of that dreadful nightmare once again.

  Jolting out of bed and panting once more, feeling his body beginning to heat once again, the young frighten Steven, took a breath and calmed down once more. His body then began to cool down.

  Steven then glanced at the door, his racing with fear due to his terrifying nightmares, and then decided to do with any frighten little boy would do when they were afraid, run straight to the warm and comforting hands of his parents.

  Steven roamed about through dark hallway with the only source of light being lunar rays penetrating through the windows. Steven, moved quietly, not wanting to make commotion so late at night, making his way his parents but stopped with he noticed something.

  A room door not fully closed, with gap great enough for Steven to peep through. There he saw none other than a young Susan sleeping peaceful while clinging on to the stuffed Sea serpent their parents got her. She looked so adorable and seeing her sleeping so peaceful made Steven’s heart melt.

  He loved and cared for her deeply but was too scared to get too close as he had not yet learned how to control his flames. His father kept telling him that he would learn to control it time. He had only just began to get a grasp on his powers as a fire dragon warrior and even at that, whenever he got too excite he tended to set anything on his hands ablaze, that was chose to keep distance way from his beloved sister, he didn’t not see her hurt especially by him.

  As watched through the gap on the door, noticed that she was shivering. Shifting his gaze from and noticed the opened window along with the scattered toys all over the room, Steven just sighed and nodded his head. She must have got carried away playing by herself and tired herself out, going to bed and forgetting to shut the windows. Steven then slowly opened up the room door and quietly went in to the room. Carefully and silently began picking up and the toys and putting them, the windows and got blanket to cover warm her up.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Steven, noticing the Susan still shivering underneath the blanket, let out a sigh before bring his palms close to his mouth and letting out a breath. Breathing in and letting going, calming his body and allowing palms to begin to hit up without igniting in flames. He then placed his heated palms close to her, warming her up and stopping the shivering.

  Steven seeing the his sister was now nice and warm as she continued sleeping peace couldn’t help but let out a warm smile before quietly making his way back to the door, left the room and silently shutting the door.

  After that Steven resumed his journey through the hallway and made to his parents room. As he approached he noticed light coming from it a sign that they had not yet gone to be and were still awake. Steven found it strange that his parents were still awake so late at night and wondered what they were up to.

  Upon reaching the door, he raised his hand to knock but paused upon hearing sound of his father hissing and groaning in pain. Steven, taken aback upon hearing the sounds of his father groaning and hiss due to pain, wanted to find out what was going on so he slowly open a gap on the, not enough for his parents to notice but wide enough for him to peep through.

  Glancing through the narrow gap, he saw his father bare back, seated on the bed, above him a conjured flame that lit up the entire room with its light and his mother next him, using her water powers to seeming massage his back. He winced and hissed at her touch, which great shocked Steven as he knew how tough his father was and knew that it would take far more than a simple massage on his back to make him wince in pain. He then examined his back more closely and noticed something that made his eyes widen with both shock and horror. It was cover with healing scars, soars, Bruise, and few wounds that seemed very recent.

  James, feeling the ice cold touch of his wife watery hands applying pressure on his back winced once more in pain.

  “I told you to watch your back and jump head first in to danger. You’re fireproof not in destructible”, said Marina.

  “You’re the one to talk, weren’t you the one that charged in head first in battle first”, said James.

  “Are you forgetting that everything attacks thrown my way flow through me like water”, said Marina.

  James just smiled upon hearing what his beloved wife before grabbing hold of her one of her hands and pulled it away from his back before undoing her sleeves and revealing fresh burn scar on it.

  “Flows like water huh”, James teased.

  Marina then dragged away her hand from his before letting out a tired and frustrated sigh.

  “When will it all end?” she asked with a tired and sad expression on her face.

  James with a face mirroring that of his wife, let out tired sigh before saying, “Who knows? We thought with his death and her sacrifice the world would finally be at peace but everything seems even more chaotic than before”

  Marin then let out a sigh and rested her head on her husband’s chest.

  “I’m tired James”, Marina spoke with a weak and soft voice.

  “I know, so am I but we can’t stop now. We have to keep fight, for all the sacrifices we’ve had to make, for her sacrifice, but most of all for our children”, said James as he Consoled his wife.

  Marina just smiled weakly before saying, “Susan and Steven, our greatest treasures”.

  James upon hearing what Marina said smiled as well before letting out sigh and then a frown formed on his face.

  “I’m worried about him Marina”, James spoke with a sober voice filled with a father’s fear and worry for his child.

  “He said he wants to be a Golden Dragon Guard but we both know that this life isn’t a life any child should dream”, said James with head bowed down, recalling what Steven said about wanting to join the Golden Dragon Guard.

  “He can barely control his flames, how can he possibly dream of being a Golden Dragon Guard and facing those monsters”, said James.

  Marina upon hearing what her husband said placed a hand on the side of his cheek, looking at those warm ember eyes that she was used to seeing shine with vigour and a confidence so great it almost appeared to be madness, now grow deem with fear.

  “Steven’s young, too young to understand that some dreams are better left just being dreams. Give him time, he’ll grow up and mature, and then he’ll see”, said Marina.

  James upon hearing what Marina said let out a deep sigh before turning to his wife, looking at those eyes that mirror the blissful blue of the sea, and smiled as he stroked the side of her hair softly and said, “I hope you’re right”.

  They then heard a sound coming from the door. Turning to look at each other with cautious, worried and almost fearful look on their faces before making their way to the door with James being the one open the door and finding nothing standing at the other side.

  The both of them then shared a cautious and worried gaze with one another, deciding without uttering a single word to go check on their two children. First Susan, who they found still fast sleep lying on her bed in her and then they went to Steven who upon opening the door, they found him lying on his bed, his body covered by the sheet.

  The parents, upon seeing that both Susan and Steven were safe and sound lying on their beds fast asleep, let a sigh of relief before glancing back on their sleeping boy and slowly shutting the door. But little did they know that lying underneath the bed sheets, with tears streaming down his eyes was a young Steven who heard everything they said and saw their wounds. That night Steven dreaded going back to sleep, not wanting to relive his nightmares in his dreams only to wake to a reality where they may actually come through.