An Aether Faerie

Crystal was hyperventilating, perspiring profusely, and tossing and turning in her sleep; her skin slick with sweat and her eyes shut closed tightly.

In an instant, Marina leaped out of bed and rushed to her friend's side, frantically shaking her.

"Crystal! Crystal! Crystal, wake up!" she shouted when her aggressive shaking could not wake up her friend.

"Crystal!" she shouted once again, this time so loudly that the neighboring dorm could hear her voice. However, Crystal remained lost in her own terrifying world, clutching her bedsheets in a death grip, telling Marina that she must be having a dreadful nightmare.

Marina had no other options remaining, so she said sorry to Crystal in her head. She twisted her wrist and flicked her fingers, and out of nowhere, a pool of water was summoned and thrown on Crystal's face, which instantly woke her up from her terrible nightmare.

"Are you alright?" Marina asked hurriedly, her eyes filled with concern as she proceeded to pat Crystal's back, who was coughing and sputtering as she struggled to catch her breath, still dazed from her ordeal. But Marina thought it was way better than her agonizing in her sleep.

"Why would you do that?" Crystal asked, looking at all the water around her, and Marina sighed.

"I made an attempt to awaken you, but your slumber was unyielding. You appeared to be in a state of distress, weeping in your sleep and thrashing. Did you have a troubling dream?" Marina asked, showing her concern while patting Crystal's back.

She watched as Crystal's irritated face twisted into terror, and once again, she clenched her fists to the bedsheet so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Marina knew she had to act fast as she took a seat beside her and wrapped her arms around her, patting her back gently as she whispered soothingly, "Do not be troubled by it. Whatever it was, was just a dream, and now you are safely out of it. Please take a moment to collect yourself and take some deep breaths." Marina listened as Crystal's breathing slowed and her trembling subsided.

Marina twisted her wrist and flicked her fingers, causing the water to vanish from Crystal's bed and the surrounding area.

Crystal sniffled and pulled away from Marina, gazing at her with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Marina. I don't know what I would have done if someone else had been my roommate."

Marina felt a pang of sympathy for her friend, and was glad she could be there for her in such a moment of vulnerability. “Do not be so thankful to me as I played my part in the friendship. My mother is a dream faerie, I have learned a few spells about chasing nightmares away. If you want to sleep again, I can help you with it.”

Crystal hesitated, unsure if she wanted to block the nightmares since they seemed to be connected to her reality. But she couldn't bear the thought of another terrible dream, so she nodded reluctantly. "Okay, make them go away for tonight."

Marina smiled warmly and guided Crystal back onto her bed, encouraging her to close her eyes and relax.

Marina leaned over and placed her left hand gently on Crystal's closed eyes. "Incubus Evanidere," she spoke loudly into the quiet room.

A few seconds later, Marina felt the rhythm of Crystal's breathing slow down as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep. She removed her hand and watched her friend sleep for a moment, wondering what dreams were filling her mind.

Marina was tempted to ask Crystal about the dream or why she only wanted it gone for the night, but she held back. Crystal was a private person and Marina respected that. She couldn't help but feel curious, though. What secrets did Crystal's subconscious hold? What visions danced behind her closed eyes?

...

"Look here," said Aurelius, thrusting the book towards Crystal. They had yet again visited the library in search of Crsytal's questions. "Dragons exhibit a remarkable level of loyalty as magical creatures. Once a dragon forms a bond with its master, it remains steadfastly by the master's side and never leaves." Aurelius was reading out of the book, and Crystal felt goosebumps on her body.

What if the rooster-headed dragon was her bonded dragon? The idea thrilled and terrified her.

That was the only result she could come up with from that statement in the book, or why else would that dragon appear in her dream and talk to her, not once but twice, if she considered the nightmare from the last day.

"Isn't it too contrary to what happened more than a decade ago?" Crystal asked, and Aurelius nodded his head as well. If a dragon was that loyal of a creature, there was a very low possibility that it would go berserk without anyone's manipulation.

"Undoubtedly, your argument is correct. However, due to the lack of an expert to provide guidance, we cannot arrive at a definitive conclusion." Crystal sighed, nodding her head in dejection. Only if there was someone who could answer all her questions.

"Based on my recollection from childhood, it was exclusively the privilege of highly influential individuals to possess and establish a bond with a dragon. It was not a feat achievable by everyone." Aurelius remembered that after reading through the book.

Crystal felt embarrassed about the fact that she thought the rooster-headed dragon could be bonded to her. She couldn't even cast a single spell or summon her wings. How could she be as capable as to bond with a dragon?

"Well, in this book, it says the origin of the dragon came from the fifth element, the Aether, which is also known as Quintessence," shared Crystal as both of them were now looking into the book that Crystal was reading.

"It is noteworthy that only a faerie endowed with the power of Aether can exercise complete control over all dragons without forming a bond. In the annals of history, there has been a sole mention of such a faerie, whose records have since faded into obscurity," she read further.