Lou

  Lou overheard Remy arguing with his family. Trembling, he clung to Remy's duvet with his hands until he remembered they were dirty. He quickly got up so as not to get the bed dirty any further. But as he did so, he staggered and fell.

  "Lou?" The dragon rushed to him and knelt beside him. "What’s wrong?"

  But Lou couldn't answer. Memories were circling in his head. Bck Dragons, screams, Veit... He shook his head.

  "Come." Narcisse sighed. "Sit back on the bed."

  Lou shook his head. He couldn't do anything else. He didn't dare to look at the dragon either. He was too afraid to see the head of a white dragon instead of the human form of Remy's friend. This was nonsense, of course, but fear made him believe it, no matter how much he told himself, that this was silly. Narcisse had taken human form, and the room, no matter how rge, was still too narrow for a full-grown dragon.

  "Don't be afraid. You are safe with us", Narcisse mumbled. "Do you need help?"

  Lou shook his head.

  "May I help you?" Narcisse didn't give up. "You're still a little weak on your feet, aren't you? It was a bad day for you. Come on, I'll help you up, okay? You don't want to sit on the cold floor, do you?" The dragon's voice sounded friendly. He spoke very softly. Finally, he slowly reached out to Lou and touched his shoulders. Lou was startled. "Sorry!", murmured Narcisse. "Come. Back to the bed with you. If it gets dirty, I'll redo it. It's simple!"

  Lou was too exhausted to protest any further and finally let himself be helped. Instead of sitting next to him, the dragon sat down on a chair, which he pulled to the bed. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you!" Lou shook his head. Again and again. No matter what the dragon said to him. The bad memories haunt him.

  Then the door to the room was opened, and Remy came back in. "Food!", he announced cheerfully as if he hadn't just been arguing with his family. "I sat down next to you, is that fine?"

  Startled, Lou shook his head, but Remy was already sitting down. "It's all right, Lou!", he murmured, less cheerfully. "Well! I have some bread, fruit, and water here. Eat quietly in bed. If it gets dirty, I'll change the sheets."

  "You?", asked Narcisse mockingly.

  Remy smirked. "Narcisse changes the sheets! Would you like a drink, Lou? It's all on a tray. Or fruit? What do you want first? I'll give it to you."

  Lou didn't answer. His friend sighed. Then he got up and walked in the direction where the dragon was sitting. "Hold this, please!", he told him. What? The food? Then Lou heard something being pushed towards him. Remy's colors moved through the room. He pushed a wooden table towards Lou. Then he took the food and everything from Narcisse and put it on the table. Lou only vaguely recognized it. "It's all in front of you!" Remy announced solemnly. But there was also some concern in his words. "I go check the tub water. Eat, Lou. Please. At least a bit." He and the dragon left the room.

  Lou looked at their colors. Then he searched with his hands for the water. He found the cup and greedily drank the cool water. He couldn't eat anything. He was too nervous for that. But now that he was alone, at least he could have a drink. Did Remy suspect that? Or is he really just looking at the water? Why am I here? Should he bathe? Here? Should he sleep in this bed? He would dirty it. No, that didn't work. On shaky knees, Lou stood up again and searched for the room’s door with outstretched hands. He wanted to leave. He couldn’t stay. The curse endangered Remy.

  "Lou?"

  Surprised, he stumbled and fell. His knees hurt on impact. Immediately, he felt hands on his arms. Warm hands. But they were cooler than Harper's. "What are you doing?", asked Remy.

  Lou just shook his head.

  "Lou? You didn't eat anything. Don't you want to? That's okay. It's waiting for you. But... Let me help you, okay?"

  "No!" Lou tried to break free, but the movement tugged at the unhealed wounds on his back. "Mn!" He whimpered softly.

  "That's good, Lou!" Then he was lifted up as if he were a small child. "It's okay."

  Lou clung to Remy, crying in panic, as he carried him into the bathroom. He felt sick. The world was turning.

  "Maybe we'd better leave him alone?", the dragon objected. "He is terribly scared. I can literally smell his fear. It's getting worse."

  "Unfortunately, that's not possible." Remy held Lou very lovingly, but all Lou felt was fear. Torment. He didn't want to bathe. He didn't want that closeness. It hurt. And then there was the dragon. Lou didn't want him to get any closer. He reminded him of the bck dragon. "Oh, Lou!" Sighing, Remy set Lou down on the edge of the stone tub. Lou tried to escape, but Remy immediately wrapped his arms around him. "Sh. All's well. You're scared, I know. Forgive me. Sh."

  "NO!" protested Lou, but he sat powerless on the edge of the tub. "No."

  "I think that's a very bad idea!", grumbled Narcisse. "You can't do that. Do you want to force him to take a bath? And then? What are we supposed to do? The smell of blood gets worse. And... It doesn't smell good."

  "Be so good as to get ointment and bandages, yes? I forgot about it!" Remy replied. In fact, he hadn't gotten them on purpose yet, as he suspected that Lou would react just like he did now. He thought it would be better if Narcisse didn't come back until Lou was already in the tub. Remy was worried that the wounds would become infected. And Narcisse said it didn't smell good. In the meantime, some blood stained Lou's dirty clothes. As much as he wanted to leave Lou alone, as much as he wanted to give him time, he couldn't. However, Lou had no idea of this.

  Lou wanted only one thing: to escape. But he couldn't move. The world was turning. He felt strangely numb. Help!

  Frozen in his panic, he barely noticed how Remy carefully pulled the clothes over his head, removed the old bandages, and then gently sat him down in the tub. The water quickly turned a bit reddish. The wounds had opened slightly and were infmed. Luckily, Lou wasn't bleeding badly. Otherwise, a bath would have been the wrong choice. But when Lou felt the warm water, he kicked in shock. He didn't know warm water. To him, it was a threat. Again, there were Remy's arms. Another hug. Remy didn't care about getting wet. He also didn't care about the slight blood stains that Lou's wounds left on his clothes. "Shh, Lou. Shh. That's just water", he whispered over and over again until Lou calmed down a bit.

  Then Remy carefully took a washcloth of soft fabric and timidly cleaned the welts on Lou's back. Then he took mild soap but kept it away from the wounds as best he could. While he gently washed Lou's arms, Narcisse crept in quietly. He nodded at Remy. Lou, on the other hand, stared at Remy's hands and the washcloth. Everything that happened next was more than just unfamiliar to him. Tears ran down his cheeks incessantly as Remy spoke softly to him.

  Remy washed Lou's hair very carefully. With a wooden bucket, he rinsed the sweet-smelling soap out of Lou's long hair. Narcisse helped him with that. The dragon was silent. He had very dark hair. But Lou was too scared to take a closer look at the stranger. Finally, Remy lifted him out of the tub and wrapped him in a soft cloth. Then he picked Lou up again. By now, Lou was too exhausted and tired to fight back. Remy carried him back to bed. There, he dried Lou's hair with another towel and finally dressed Lou's wounds.

  When his work was done, he helped Lou put on new clothes, wrapped him in another dry cloth, and combed Lou's hair. "Lou?"

  "Huh?" Lou clung to the cloth in which he had been wrapped. It gave him a sense of security.

  "I’m curious. How did you meet Veit?"

  "Hm..."

  "You don't want to tell me?"

  "Surely it was Veit's fault. The boy is curious. It's a wonder he didn't seek out a human sooner!" That was Narcisse's voice. Lou hadn't noticed that he'd come back into the room as well.

  "Possibly!" Remy ughed softly. "He doesn't like me very much."

  "Why?" Lou asked, pulling the bnket tighter around him as if he wanted to hide inside.

  Instead of Remy, Narcisse answered. "Veit has a sensitive nose. He doesn't like the smell of human magic."

  "I think that he thinks that I’m a show-off!", grumbled Remy.

  Narcisse ughed. "That too. And he's right!"

  "Hey!"

  Lou frowned in confusion. "You're not a show-off, Remy."

  "Thank you!" Remy stroked Lou's hair. Immediately, Lou flinched. "Excuse me. I always forget that you don't like that. How are you feeling?"

  "Hm", Lou replied. He didn't know how to answer the question. How was he feeling? All he wanted was to disappear forever. He belonged neither under Veit's warm feathers nor in this room. Veit's feathers... They were soft. Softer than the bnket Remy had wrapped him in. Soft. Soft was nice.

  "Well… Do you know someone called Harper?", Remy changed the subject.

  Lou nodded as his friend gently untied all the knots from his hair. Sometimes it tugged a little. Then Remy apologized.

  "And how did you meet him?"

  "He helped me. Since then, he hasn't left me alone. But... Harper is nice. I just don't know what he wants from me." When Lou said this, Narcisse snickered. Lou didn't understand why. He blinked in confusion.

  "He surely likes you!", said Remy.

  Lou shook his head. "I'm grateful for the company, but why should he like me?"

  "I like you too! And I'm sure Narcisse feels the same way."

  "Right!", the dragon agreed. "Who wouldn't like such a cute boy? So adorable!" He almost squealed as he said this. Lou grimaced.

  Who wouldn’t? But that's not what Lou said. Instead, he remained silent. Unlike the dragon. "My family liked you a lot too, Lou. Especially my sister. Speaking of family, I should return. Unless you still need me here? Remy?"

  "No. Go quietly. Thank you for your help!", murmured Remy. "Please come back tomorrow morning and keep an eye on the house. I don't trust my family when it comes to Lou. And I have to go to the wise men tomorrow. Or send Renan or Basil if you have something to do."

  "Good!", the dragon agreed. "And I'm happy to help. He's really cute. You weren't exaggerating. You've chosen a cute little brother!" Narcisse ughed softly as he left the room. He didn't take the door. Stunned, Lou watched as the dragon's colors disappeared from the window.

  Cute? "I should go too!", whispered Lou. But Remy immediately protested. And as if it were a good argument, Remy wrapped Lou in his duvet as well. The bed had been freshly made. The fabric was different. Softer than before. "And you haven't eaten anything yet. Don't you like it?"

  Lou nodded. He did so for the first time in hours. "I can’t."

  "Oh. Okay. Then I'll bring you something else. Hot milk with honey? You're going to like it!"

  "Honey?", Lou repeated, perplexed.

  A little ter, when Narcisse had been gone for some time, and Lou was snuggled up in Remy's bed, holding a mug of the most delicious drink in his hands, the fear almost vanished. So that after drinking the milk, he fell asleep exhausted. He didn't notice how Remy stroked his hair lovingly and id him down gently.

  sasi