As Penelope caressed his cheek with her hand, Crow leaned into her palm, finding her touch comforting. Even though she had pushed him to open up about the reason why he’d been acting strangely, he still wasn’t sure if it had been a good idea to do so. After all, it wasn’t like she could do anything to help him. The source of his distress was in his consciousness. It wasn’t the same as a physical injury or a problem that could be solved with effort. He had no control over the things that appeared in his head during the night, and neither did anyone else.

As far as he could tell, the only thing that had changed since he’d confessed his nightmares to her was that he felt more ashamed of himself. Despite her assurance that his concerns were valid, he was frustrated with himself for letting something so harmless affect him this much. It had just been a dream. He knew it wasn’t real, yet he couldn’t stop the nervous flutter of his heart at the thought of going through it again. It was pathetic to be so frightened of something that only existed inside his mind.

Crow glanced back at Penelope as she spoke up again, though he wasn’t fond of her suggestion. It had been hard enough for him to admit his fear to her, and she was the person he trusted most in the whole kingdom. He didn’t want to spread the word to anyone else that he had been suffering from nightmares. Castle gossip was like wildfire, and while he didn’t know what someone could do with that knowledge, he knew he didn’t want anyone else to find out about it. He was trying to build a more respectable reputation amongst the other nobles here. Letting them know that he was afraid of his own dreams wasn’t the way to do that.

“I’d rather not speak about this to anyone else,” he finally said, looking away from her again to stare up at the ceiling. “Even if it comes back, I’ve dealt with this before, and I can do it again. I don’t need to get anyone else involved.” Perhaps he was being stubborn, but it felt like the right decision to him. What could a physician do to treat an intangible symptom anyway? If he went to Eldon, he suspected that the healer would just report to his father and make the whole situation worse. It was better to keep it secret and try to avoid letting anyone else find out.

Sighing softly, Crow wrapped his arms around Penelope and looked down to meet her gaze. “I know you worry about me, but I promise I’ll be fine,” he offered her a small smile and gently stroked her shoulders in a reassuring gesture. “I’m just a little shaken up, that’s all. If it was just one nightmare, I’ll move on. And if it does come back again…” His smile wavered slightly despite his best efforts to conceal his fear. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.”