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To the village, they were gods. Disciples of the Stars above, sent to help and provide. To the village, the guardians were a sign that their woes had been heard by the divine.
An omniscient gift in their eyes.
To the guardians themselves, they were children. Bored children.
The twins were seated under a tall tree, one that had been there before their birth. It had been dying with the rest of the land but made a recovery with the twin’s assistance. It was a grand wisteria, offering shade to anyone underneath it. It was where the two would stay in their free time as it was a good distance away from the village.
Dream groaned, letting the book they were reading fall into their lap. It was one of Nightmare’s (one that she stole), and the twins had reread the poor novel for all it was worth. Pages were worn from overuse and Dream felt it was time to retire it. “Can’t you get anything else?” They asked, pouting. “If you got this one from the library just go back there!”
Nightmare snatched the book off the other’s lap, brushing it off and closing it neatly. “You know I cannot do that,” she said matter-of-factly. “It was a risk getting just one.”
Dream whined, causing their twin’s expression to sour. “Come on! We don’t do anything in our free time except for this!” They gestured around in the open air. “What if I go with you?”
“Dream.”
“Please! I’m so bored!”
“No.” Nightmare said firmly. She loved her sibling, truly, but they always tried their best to get on her last nerve. She didn’t want to deal with the villagers yelling at the two of them again for simply having free time. Nightmare already had to endure the librarian shooing her out. Apparently, guardians didn’t have time for leisure. Their only purpose was to serve.
Nightmare hated that notion.
It didn’t change the fact that the young guardian of negativity was also bored as well. Nightmare reached to her side, grabbing a small bag that Dream had begged to let her keep. Bless them for that. Nightmare was always finding little trinkets the both of them could enjoy. The twins shared the bag really, both of them piling in smoothed rocks and cracked geodes.
She never could figure out why the pair of them enjoyed objects with a shine to them. Dream always said it was because they were from the stars.
Something more personal that Nightmare kept in there was sheet music. She would often go to the nearby church after the sermons were over. She never knew who it was, but someone would always play the piano after everyone had left.
Nightmare had taken a fascination with the instrument, but with no way to play, she could only listen and yearn. That was until Dream had stolen a piece of sheet music. They had grabbed the piece after the sermon. It was the first one they could find.
It was complex and had notes written on the side. Nightmare loved it, studying the piece over and over in any hopes of understanding. That was when she started to break into the library at night to read. While she couldn’t play the piece, she knew the notes and how it sounded. She sang it often for Dream.
Nightmare pulled out the piece of carefully folded paper, unfolding it to look at the composition again. “I could teach you how to read this if you’d think it would help with your boredom.” Nightmare offered, showing the paper to Dream. They smiled and laughed lightly.
“I mean, you could try!” Dream said, looking at the paper. Their brow furrowed at the sight. “I still don’t know how you figured any of this out.” They noticed new notes on the sides. Nightmare’s doing, they were sure.
“With time,” She said. “Patience.”
“I don’t think I have much of that.”
“Then what do you propose we should do?” Nightmare asked, tilting her head enough that her circlet skewed to the side.
“Talk about our days?”
“I think I’d rather drown in the lake.”
“Stars, you’re morbid!” Dream exclaimed, sitting up as Nightmare laughed. “Ok, well… Hmm…” Their eyelights darted around briefly as if searching for a topic. “Oh! I saw the village children playing a game earlier! I believe I know the rules.” Nightmare quirked a brow at them. They really must have nothing better to do. Dream always tried to act properly around the villagers, even if it meant adhering to their horrible stipulations.
It was refreshing to see them so excited about something.
Nightmare stood up. “Alright, what’s the game?” Dream let out something akin to a squeal, their hands flapping as they stood as well. It had been so long since they did anything fun together.
“I believe it’s called ‘tag.’ One person is ‘it’ and has to chase the other person and tag them!” Dream gave an example by lightly tapping Nightmare with their hand. Simple enough. This could be fun.
“Alright, so who starts—” Nightmare was cut off by Dream slapping her arm and saying ‘tag, you’re it!’ and running off. Oh, so that’s how they wanted to play?
Nightmare grinned, following the sounds of their twin’s laughter. The two sprinted down the hill that was home to the wisteria. Nightmare tried to keep balance as they watched Dream forfeit any sense of grace.
Dream almost threw themself down the hill to keep a fair distance between them and Nightmare. She wasn’t letting them escape that easily. She leaped down the rest of the hill, barely missing Dream in the process. Nightmare lost her balance for a moment, barely able to regain it as she sprinted off towards the other.
Dream may be reckless but it wasn’t enough to get away from Nightmare’s sheer speed. She had always been fast, it was a little unfair for a game like this.
She sped after the other, quickly gaining on them. Right before she could catch Dream, they sidestepped out of the way and caused Nightmare to fall into the grass below.
Nightmare lay there as her sibling laughed at her expense. What Dream didn’t realize was how close they were still standing to her. Nightmare reached out her hand and grabbed the other’s ankle, tugging and causing Dream to fall into the grass as well. If she had to have grass stains, then they did too.
“Ow! Why’d you do that?” Dream exclaimed.
“You made me fall on purpose,” she said back, grinning smugly at the other as the two sat up in the grass. “I think you deserved it.”
Dream huffed at this and shoved Nightmare. “It’s not my fault that you're a klutz!” Nightmare shoved them back, now irritated.
“It's not my fault that you can't play fair!”
It didn't take long for the two of them to start hitting and slapping at each other, yelling insults at each other. Neither of them remembered who threw the first punch, but the sounds of childish fighting overtook the field.
The pair tussled with each other for a while, trying their best to win the silly fight they both started. Neither of them was very physically strong but both managed to get good hits in. Nightmare managed to punch the other’s jaw and Dream punched her sternum. Both hits caused the twins to falter for a second.
They quickly resumed, Dream turned to spit out blood into the grass, laughing from the exhilaration before their knuckles connected to Nightmare’s right shoulder. She let out a light hiss as Dream hit at an angle, but quickly grinned and shot back. Now this was fun. Nightmare launched herself at the other, about to punch the other in the face before a voice called out from behind them. “Stop that! What are you two doing?!” The twins immediately separated, recognizing the voice instantly. It was an older bear monster named Alice. She often preached at the nearby church and had an attitude stricter than a boa. She was often the reason the two got in trouble (as if she wasn’t the one looking for it).
Dream immediately panicked at the sight of Alice, standing up and pulling Nightmare with them. Both of them were bloodied and a bit bruised. It was clear what they had been doing. “We— uh— we were just—” Dream stammered.
“We were playing,” Nightmare stated. “It got out of hand.”
Alice huffed, looking down at the two. Dream cowered under her gaze but Nightmare stood firm. “You two shouldn’t have been out here in the first place!” She scolded, hands on her hips. “You two have an obligation to the village, I shouldn’t have to treat you like children!” Dream worried at their shawl and spoke in the smallest voice they could muster.
“We… We are children,” they said, looking at the ground. This infuriated Alice, who looked almost offended that the young guardian of positivity would ever talk back to them.
Alice opened her maw to speak but Nightmare jumped in first, taking Dream’s hand in her’s. “We’ll be going now. My apologies for making you come all this way,” Nightmare said, beginning a brisk walk back to the village. She pointedly ignored the grumbling coming from the monster as the two sped off.
Dream struggled to keep up with Nightmare’s speed, stumbling along as their only hope to keep up with her was how Nightmare kept a firm grip on their hand. The two rounded the corner of one of the nearby houses so that they were out of sight.
The alley between the two houses was dim enough to hide the twins. They were already so small, it was easy to blend in at times.
Once they were sure that no one could see them talking, Nightmare let go of Dream’s hand and the young guardian of positivity began to speak. “Why did you admit that we were playing to her?!” they cried, their hands now worrying at the collar of their shawl. “She already has it out for us!” Dream braced themself against the wall behind them, trying to find something to keep them grounded.
Nightmare situated herself next to them, crossing her arms. “She’s not our mother,” she said. “She can’t tell us to do anything.”
Dream made a choked sound at this. “And yet she does!” They began to tremble slightly. “What if… What if she’s right?”
“... What? ”
“We were born to help this village. It’s our job to serve them,” Tears began to bead at the corners of their sockets. Nightmare suddenly felt worse that they had got into that fight. “We’re being selfish— I’m being selfish by not giving the village my help.”
“Dream we are children,” Nightmare stated as if it was obvious. Dream had even admitted it earlier. Why were they acting like they hadn’t? “You don’t see any of the village children working.”
“We’re not mortal, Night!” Dream warbled, tears threatening to spill. “Immortal beings can’t be children.”
“You’re about to cry like one,” Dream’s betrayed expression was enough to make her regret saying that. She didn’t have time to apologize as Dream wiped the tears beading in their sockets and began to walk out of the alley.
“People need us, Night,” they had their back turned to her. She wanted to scream. “People need me . If I’m not of any use to them, then…” They didn’t finish their sentence, instead leaving the alley with Nightmare left in the dark.
As soon as Dream was out of earshot, Nightmare buried her face into her hands and screamed as negativity flared around her.
The two guardians didn’t talk to each other for at least a week after that. Dream had gone out of their way to avoid Nightmare and Nightmare wasn’t going to chase after them. If they wanted to be the immature child that they were, fine. At least it would prove her point. She felt guilty even thinking that.
It didn’t stop her from noticing Dream’s frantic behavior though. Nightmare watched her twin seek out others nonstop after their argument. Something twisted in her chest as she watched the other seek validation from the villagers. The villagers didn’t give a damn about either of them.
She was not going to chase after them. It was painful to watch Dream hurt themself further.
Ironically enough, without Dream around, Nightmare had more time to herself. The villagers didn’t often seek her out for her powers. It was rare that one ever would. People only seemed to notice her when… She banished that thought before it could spiral into something worse.
The bag that the pair of them shared was sitting comfortably at her side, the small trinkets inside clinking against each other as the young guardian walked towards the library. Normally, that would alert the nearby villagers, especially as it was mid-afternoon, but no one seemed to be around. Good, she could get another book. She wasn’t going to originally but… After yesterday, Nightmare found herself quite bored with reading the same fantastical scenario over and over.
The young guardian of negativity slipped into the library quietly, holding the bag at her side tightly so it wouldn't make a sound. Nightmare knew that at least the librarian would be here and quite frankly, she did not want to deal with that right now. Nightmare walked along the shelves, being short enough that she would be hidden from the other side.
One of the quirks of being a child .
The library was extensive for such a small village. There had to be hundreds of books in here, she was sure. That made the task of picking only one so much more difficult. Nightmare quietly walked along, skimming over the spines of the books to find something. What is something she could reread for a while?
One book caught her attention as she passed and she tilted her head to read the title simply named ‘Entomology.’ Where had she heard that word before? Nightmare carefully took the book in her hands, her fingers barely able to hold the width of the spine. It was heavier than she thought as her knees buckled and she unceremoniously fell. She hoped no one heard that.
Nightmare looked at the cover, seeing various drawings of insects and arachnids decorating it. Under the large words spelling out ‘Entomology’ was a subtitle: “The study of insects…” Nightmare said quietly to herself and began to smile. She always had a fondness for bugs. Bugs seemed to like her as well.
Nightmare couldn’t help but recall one time she fell asleep under the wisteria tree and woke up to a dragonfly resting on her circlet in the grass. She was sure the bug would fly off as she stirred but it stayed put. Nightmare offered her hand to the insect and was pleasantly surprised when it nestled into her palm. The young guardian had taken a few minutes to stare in awe at the insect. The way the sunlight reflected off its translucent wings made it look iridescent. The teals and blues of the dragonfly’s body reminded her of her outfit, only furthering her fondness for the creature. She would have looked at it longer, but it flew off as Dream ran up the hill to fetch her. Her disappointment was immeasurable.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she remembered that she would have to share this book with Dream. They did everything together and they always had to share but… It felt selfish to get something that Nightmare knew only she would enjoy. She held the book tightly in her hands and sighed.
She could get another one.
Exiting the library with a bag that now was twice as big was a struggle for the young guardian. Not only did it look suspicious but it was heavy too. If she could just make it to the wisteria tree… Nightmare began the trek away from the library, trying her best to carry the bag.
She began to debate in her head about where she would put the books. She would have to find somewhere to put them if she wanted to keep them. Maybe just putting them under the tree would be good enough? Ah, but then it could rain and completely ruin them. Maybe if Nightmare got a blanket to cover them? There was also that nook in the bark that she saw once, but would that be big enough? Would the librarian notice how he was suddenly missing two books? Would he—
Nightmare quickly shoved the bag behind her back as she heard angry footsteps approaching her. They weren’t light enough to be a child’s and certainly not Dream’s. Alice, of course, it was Alice.
“What did you do to Dream?” The bear monster demanded.
…What?
Alice continued as Nightmare stared blankly at her. “They have been acting strangely after I found you two ‘playing,’” Alice grunted. “What did you do to them?” Nightmare continued staring at the older monster, processing the words spoken to her. Alice kept talking. “Your influence on them is already bad enough, distracting them from their job. If you hurt them, I swear to the stars above that I will—”
Nightmare’s aura flared with negative energy, causing Alice to stumble but not back down. “Don’t you dare use your power on me you little—”
“ Stop, ” Nightmare commanded, holding her hand up as her power coursed through the other monster. Alice’s jaw snapped painfully shut at the command. It felt like the whole world had stopped for a moment as if the area they were in became a misty grey. The air felt heavy and Nightmare noticed how Alice seemed to have trouble breathing, clutching the fabric of her dress.
Fear was present in Alice’s eyes and the young guardian couldn’t help but feel a sick satisfaction at the sight. “How could you even accuse me of something so twisted?” Nightmare hissed out. The way that she stood in that moment, the way her eyelights bore into the other made it truly feel like Alice was in the presence of a god.
A furious god at that.
Nightmare continued. “What have I done to Dream? What have I done?” She laughed lowly, kneeling herself down to be at eye level with the collapsed monster. “You have caused us far more pain than anything I have ever done to my kin. You think yourself above the stars, Alice? You think you are above consequences?” Nightmare asked lowly, watching as the woman’s lip quivered as she hesitated to reply. Nightmare shrieked. “ Speak! ”
“N-No! I don’t!” Alice squeaked out. Nightmare’s aura was enhancing the fear in the other’s gut and the young guardian thought that Alice might throw up.
Nightmare stared blankly into the other’s eyes for a moment longer before letting her aura release. Alice gasped for air, bracing herself against the gravel path.
The young guardian stood up again, watching her struggle for a moment. “Thank you for your concern,” She said, turning to head to the wisteria. “I’ll check in with them later.”
The walk to the wisteria tree was quiet, Nightmare trying to balance both the bag and the rage inside her small frame. Her jaw was locked tight as she replayed the ordeal with Alice over and over in her mind. She was sure that she was burning a path beneath her feet as she made it up the hill and to the base of the wisteria.
Nightmare let out a grunt as she dropped the bag into the grass, staring at the nook in the tree she thought of earlier. It was big enough for both books, thankfully.
The tension in her jaw didn’t release as she hauled the books into the nook and sat down at the base of the tree.
It was rare for her mood to be so soured that she didn’t jump at the chance to read her new book. Nightmare stared up at the darkening sky, watching the blue shift into purples and pinks as the sun set.
The sight relieved some tension in the young guardian’s body and she relaxed against the bark. She was always a fan of sunsets and sunrises, trying to get Dream to admire them with her. They were usually asleep for both events, the noise of crickets and soft wind lulling them to sleep.
If Nightmare listened closely, she could have heard both of those things. The soft chirps of crickets began around her and the leaves of the tree above rustled in the light breeze. She always loved quiet sounds. Nightmare’s sockets fluttered for a moment and before she knew it, she fell asleep.
She didn’t dream of much, most nights. Sometimes she would tap into others’ dreams, sometimes her mind would be left blank. This time it was the latter. There was nothing, a blank void. It was peaceful like that, an empty black void. There was nothing to disturb her, no one to scold her.
A small noise began to pull her from her sleep and she groaned. No, she still wanted to rest. She just wanted to get away from others for a bit. Why did anyone want to bother her? The noise started to form itself into a voice, a soft chant of her name. She vaguely felt someone shaking her shoulders.
No. Just let me rest. Just let me…
“Nightmare! Wake up!” A familiar voice called. “Stars, why do you sleep like a rock?”
Nightmare shot up, backing away from the person shaking her awake. Her vision took a second to unblur but as it did… “Dream?” She asked. A new sort of tension entered her body. “What… are you doing here? Don’t you have the villagers to tend to?” She pointedly did not look at their pouting expression.
“Night…” Dream sighed, sitting down next to her. “I don’t want to talk about the villagers right now. I want to talk to you .”
She scoffed. “About what?”
“About… our argument, things like that.”
“If you’ve come to wring an apology out of me you are not getting one,” she looked at the other, glaring.
“I don’t want you to apologize! I wanted to!” Dream said and her expression softened. “I shouldn’t have run off, I shouldn’t have said what I said.”
“Dream—”
“The villagers— they say such horrible things when you're not around. I hate it— but we’re supposed to help them— and— and—”
“Dream,” Nightmare took the other’s hands in her own. “It’s okay. I don’t want you to apologize. I just…” She sighed. “I worry about you. So much. I always see you stretch yourself thin and I despise it. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“I…” It was their turn to not look at the other.
“It's not selfish to have time to yourself,” Nightmare said. “Whether you believe it or not, we are children. We aren’t meant to be doing this on our own.”
“I guess you're right,” Dream said, but their expression betrayed how they were feeling. Despite not being able to read their emotions like she could with mortals, Nightmare knew that Dream didn’t believe her. “I just don’t want to fight with you anymore.”
Dream wasn’t going to believe it either.
“I don’t want to fight either.” Nightmare said, letting go of the other and leaning back against the wisteria. The sky was completely dark now, a deep blue with pinpricks of the stars. Nightmare thought about them often, the stars. She knew that both guardians came from the stars but neither of them remembered anything from when they were stars. Would they return there one day? Would the universe finally decide it was done with them? Or would they be stuck here, with the uncaring whims of mortals?
The uncertainty terrified her.
“I got you something at the library,” Nightmare mentioned, smiling at the other’s astonished expression.
“But— you said you weren’t going to get another one!” They exclaimed, standing up quickly. Nightmare stood as well, feeling the bark of the tree until her hand ran over the small nook.
She reached inside, grabbed the smaller of the two books, and handed it to Dream. “It’s a book of fairytales and other fantasy stories. I thought you would like it.” Nightmare said, not expecting Dream to drop the book and envelop her in a hug. She froze for a moment before smiling and hugging them back. The two of them rarely hugged. It felt nice.
“Thank you! Thank you thank you thank y—” Nightmare cut them off as she laughed, pulling away from the hug.
“Yes, yes, you’re welcome,” She smiled, picking up the book and handing it back to Dream. “You’ll have plenty of time to read it tomorrow. It's late.”
Dream pouted but let out a small gasp, as if they remembered something. They quickly found the nook in the base of the tree and stashed the book in there. Then, they took Nightmare’s hand in their own and began to speed off down the hill. The sequence of events happened so quickly, Nightmare felt her head spin a little. She nearly tripped over her own feet as Dream headed in the direction of the village. Her heart sank a little. “Where are we going?” She asked.
“Well, you did this for me so I want to give you something, too!” Dream said, giggling. They were awful at keeping secrets and surprises. Nightmare was surprised they didn’t tell her where they were going right then and there. It must have been something extremely special.
The twins sped through the now-empty streets of the village, their feet kicking up gravel as they ran. Nightmare noted each building they passed: the villager lodging, the bakery, even the library. There weren’t many other places Dream would take her. She could recall when Dream took her to one of the villagers’ houses for tea, how the hosts seemed unsettled by her joining— when they stopped by the bakery for fresh bread and pastries despite not needing to eat. Sneaking into the library to escape the cold nights. They didn’t take her to many other places… there was only one more place that she could think of.
Dream spoke in a hushed whisper. “Be quiet, okay?” They said, leading Nightmare around the side of the church. Her soul was nearly beating out of her chest as both of them rounded the corner and were facing the back entrance. Dream pulled a worn-out key from their pocket and looked back at Nightmare with a smile. They hadn’t , surely.
The door unlocked without issue.
They had.
The pair of twins walked into the building quietly, as if they had disturbed something. Nightmare was ready to run, neither of them had ever stepped into the church this boldly. A holy ground built in their names and yet, terror crept up her spine. She rarely attended the ceremonies and sermons held. While they weren’t led by the twins, villagers often expected blessings to be given out. Dream often attended. It felt wrong to be here.
The church was only illuminated by gentle moonlight, giving the holy structure an ethereal feeling. Time seemed to slow as the twins walked past the wooden pews. Was this the closest they would ever get to being with the stars again? Near the front of the church were stained glass depictions of the twins in their primordial forms and several monster and human depictions. It felt strange knowing that they were all the same people. It was always Dream and Nightmare.
While most people would stop to admire the depictions, that wasn’t what they were here for. Dream could barely contain themself as they walked over to the church’s piano. “I’ve been waiting to take you here!” they exclaimed, their eyelights bright as Nightmare slowly walked near the piano, doused in the moon’s light. Her fingers lightly brushed over the smooth mahogany, light dust catching on her fingertips. “The lady who normally plays is away, something about visiting family.” Dream said, leaning against the piano.
Nightmare walked to the front of the piano, sitting on the bench with as much grace as she could muster before lifting the fallboard to reveal the keys. Stark ivory shone like opal and Nightmare’s yearning turned to sudden intimidation. She knew where everything was, she had sunk so many hours into coveting and waiting for her turn to play. The piano’s elegance was almost too much for her. “Why did you do this for me?” Nightmare asked, eyelights locked onto the keys. She knew how to play the song she took.
“I mean,” Dream started, wiping some dust off the piano lid. “You always talk about wanting to play. You also never come to the sermons.”
“I don’t like going,”
“I know that!” They huffed. “I thought that you would like to play sometime so I, uh… Took the key,” They smiled sheepishly. Nightmare looked at them, clutching the fabric of her pants as she did. She couldn’t understand. She didn’t. No one ever did anything this thoughtful. If one of the villagers had done this, she would have been skeptical. No one cared that much. “Are you going to play? I went through all this effort, after all.” Dream asked, smile never fading.
Nightmare took a breath and nodded, situating her hands in the same way the pianist did. She hesitated before playing a chord. And another. Then an arpeggio. It was the only thing drowning out the sound of her soul pounding against her chest.
“Is that the song?” Dream asked, causing Nightmare to scoff.
“Give me some grace, Dream,” She said, exasperated already. Her hands were trembling. “I’ve never played before.” While she hadn’t brought the sheet music with her, she had an idea of what to press and when.
Nightmare’s first few attempts were clunky and shaky, playing incorrect notes more than she would have liked. She internally thanked Dream for not saying anything as she struggled.
Time passed by like seconds as the song slowly became more coherent and legato, Dream staring at her in awe as she played with everything she had. Neither of them even noticed the incorrect notes anymore, it was as if the song had become something new and original. Nightmare leaned into the mistakes, incorporating them in as if she played them with purpose.
This was it. This is what she had been waiting for. So many sleepless nights studying that piece, only to make it into something else. Unorthodox, asynchronous, strange. A piece beautiful in its own right. No one had to like it, it wasn’t for them after all.
“Wow…” Dream breathed as the piece neared the end. “I could listen to you play for hours!” Nightmare smiled gently.
“You’re only saying that to make me feel better,” She said. “I know it wasn’t perfect.”
“That doesn’t matter to me! You looked so happy while playing,”
“I did?” Dream nodded, walking over to the bench and squeezing themself next to her. She let them, moving to give them space.
“You should show me how to play!”
Nightmare snorted, “Now you want to learn? Every time I try to teach you how to read sheet music you turn me down.”
“This is different!” They said, excited. “Let’s play something together!” Dream planted their hand down on the keys, a jarring sound ringing throughout the empty church. Nightmare winced at this and waved their hands away. She quickly positioned her own hands and told Dream to follow along. Their impromptu duet was anything but harmonious.
Chaotic, jumbled, messy.
None of that mattered to the twins at that moment. They were enjoying their time together. Everything felt so simple when they weren’t being scolded or bothered. They could have fun. They could be children.
While the twins played their dissonant song, everything made sense to Nightmare if only for a moment. This is what they were made to do.