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sanders-sides-fics · 5 years

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A Fanciful Dream: Chapter One

Warnings: Hypothermia, Near-death experiences, food mentions, and as always, let me know if I’ve missed any!

Masterlist

AO3

Word Count: 2564

The chef shivered as a gust of wind blew in his face. The air nipped at his nose as he dragged his feet through the muddy snow that lined the dirt road. Patton wrapped his cloak around his torso, with hope it would block out some of the wind assaulting him.

“A little further, Patton,” he murmured.

Patton could see the outline of the town’s inn. Before he set out on his journey, his Ma made him write to the Innkeeper, requesting a bed be saved for him and for that, Patton was grateful. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a warm bed and sleep the night away.

A trip from Sandres’ outer villages to the King’s Castle wasn’t easy, and in winter, only done out of absolute necessity. On any normal year, Patton waited until the spring’s warmth melted away the winter’s snow, before he visited the outer village his family lived in, but this year his visit couldn’t wait. Ma fell ill at the start of winter and Pa needed help caring for his younger siblings and the family home.

Now Ma was well again and able to help Pa in whatever he needed. Patton would’ve waited for spring to come to make his return, but he needed to return to the castle. The Prince’s eighth birthday was fast approaching. The young Prince would be devastated if Patton returned too late for the celebration and Patton couldn’t bear to upset the boy. Patton was the only chef in the castle who could make the Prince’s favorite treat afterall, and the King only allowed it on special occasions.

King Thomas was perhaps too strict about the boy’s health, but Patton knew the King loved his son very much.

The inn Patton approached was about halfway between the castle and his family’s village. On most trips, Patton arrived at the inn before sunset, but with a glance at the luminous moon, Patton knew he was very late. This trip posed so much more difficulty than others he’d made over the years.

A journey of this length was one Patton would never make on foot by choice. Whenever he made the trip, it took three or four days on horseback. He’d begun this journey on horseback and preferred to have finished it the same way, if not for this afternoon.

Patton’s mare, Daisy, was always an anxious creature. She had been on edge the entire day and was scared away by a large red dragon that flew over them during their lunch break. The mare ran too fast for Patton to follow. All he could do was watch as the dragon, with a small creature dangling in its large claw as it flew north, Daisy already out of sight.

It had pained Patton, but he couldn’t waste time searching for Daisy for too long. If he had, he’d be stranded in a field for the night and Patton knew better than to chance a winter’s night with no shelter.

Patton wished he still had Daisy and knew she was safe. His feet were numb from the hours of walking and he’d have liked to arrive in the town much before now.

A small cough drew Patton from his thoughts. No one else should have been out at this hour, especially in the current weather. Patton saw no one on the path as he walked, but stopped to check again. At the edge of the read, there was a slightly larger pile of snow, one Patton previously overlooked.

Could someone be hiding behind it?

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Patton watched the pile of snow for a reaction. The snow pile shook with another cough and a patch of white snow gave way to purple. Patton’s eyes widened and he rushed forward, dropping to his knees to brush the snow away. As more snow came off, Patton realized there was a child beneath the snow.

The child, a small boy who couldn’t have been older than eight, curled in on himself. He let out a small whine when Patton brushed snow out of his dark brown hair.

Patton picked up the boy with care. Patton shivered as the boy’s cold cheek rested against his neck. Patton adjusted his grip on the boy, mindful of how stiff the boy’s limbs were. Once the boy was safely in his arms, Patton pulled his cloak to cover the boy as well.

He started walking once more, hastening his pace to get to the inn sooner. Patton needed to get the boy warm again before he froze to death.

“Can you hear me, kiddo?” Patton asked, “I’m going to get you nice and toasty, don’t worry.”

The boy let out a small noise, nuzzling his head into the warmth of Patton’s chest. Patton let out a sigh in relief, hoping the boy was reacting to his voice.

As they approached the inn, Patton used his foot to open the door, trying not to drop the boy.

“Ah, Patton! I was wondering when you’d arrive,” the innkeeper called out from where he was sweeping. He turned, “How is your M- Is that a child? Patton, what happened!”

The innkeeper dropped his broom and ran over to the pair. The man paused as the boy shivered and frowned at his red face and blue lips. He looked up at Patton and pursed his lips, observing similar traits in Patton.

“I found him in the snow, Daniel.”

“Go over to the fireplace and warm up,” Daniel instructed. “I can get you two some of my boys’ old clothes. And for hell’s sake, take off those boots before you lose your damn toes! Your Ma will kill me!”

Patton kicked off his boots and carried the boy over to the fireplace. He took off his damp cloak and waited for Daniel to return.

“It’s going to be okay, kiddo,” Patton promised.

“Patton, you should get some rest,” Daniel draped a blanket over the young man’s shoulder.

Patton looked up from where he sat beside the sleeping child in the bed. He sighed, shoulders slouching.

“I know . . . but I don’t think I could. What if something happens?”

Daniel sighed and rubbed his brow, “You’ve had a rough day, rest for the night and write the King in the morning. Things will only seem worse if you’re tired. Now, get your bottom in that bed.”

Patton glanced at the sleeping boy, tucked safely into the bed. Patton didn't want to sleep yet, in case the boy woke up, but his eyes burned with the effort of staying awake. Daniel was right, he needed rest after the day he'd had. But Patton knew if he tried to sleep, the guilt of the child possibly waking up alone and frightened would keep him awake.

"Look, Patton, I'll keep a vigil. You go to sleep and I'll wake you if the boy stirs," Daniel promised, motioning to the other bed in the room. "Get some rest. Neither of you can set out for days, not in the shape you arrived in."

Patton frowned, "Alright . . . but-"

"No buts, Patton. Go to bed," Daniel insisted.

Patton waited a moment before getting up from the chair and going to the other bed in the room. He glanced over again, to see Daniel sitting down in his place and tucking a lock of the boy's hair behind his ear.

"That doesn't look like going to bed, Patton," Daniel warned without looking up.

Patton smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, taking off the slippers Daniel loaned to him to warm his feet. He stretched his arms and got under the sheets, resting his head on the soft pillow.

Patton slept soundly through the night, waking when sun rays slipped through the curtains and shone on his face. Daniel was true to his word and sat in the chair beside the boy's bed, head thrown back, where he must have fallen asleep in the night. Patton smiled fondly and sat up. The ache that filled his body from yesterday's travel was nearly gone. He had barely noticed the ache last night, focused on caring for the child once he had discovered him, but that it was gone, he knew it had been there.

"Daniel?" he called quietly.

Patton threw aside the sheets and stood from the bed, before turning to remake the bed. Patton was never one to leave a place he stayed a mess, not without good reason to and there was no reason to repay Daniel's help by leaving the innkeeper a mess to pick up once Patton had left the inn for the castle.

"Daniel?"

The innkeeper stirred in his sleep and slowly blinked his eyes.

"Patton? What time is it?"

"Morning," Patton replied. "Your boys will be looking for you. I can watch him from here. Do you mind lending me some parchment and a quill? I need to write to the King."

"Of course," Daniel got up from the chair. "Poor thing slept through the night, didn't stir once while I watched him."

Patton sighed, "I hope he wakes soon, I don't want to leave him until I know he's got somewhere safe."

Daniel bit his lip, "Well, if you don't figure it out, I can take the lad for a while at least. Till spring."

"Thank you, Daniel," Patton sat down in the chair and watched as Daniel left the room.

Patton turned away from the doorway once Daniel disappeared and studied the boy's face. The boy showed no sign of waking up but looked much better this morning than he had looked last night. It was a relief, knowing the boy would be okay for a while. He was so small. So, hurt.

Daniel returned shortly, carrying with him a basket of fabric with the parchment, quill, and ink placed on top.

"Your clothes are dry, though I've included a few spare sets since my boy told me your mare wasn't in our stables."

Patton pressed his lips together tightly at the reminder, "Daisy . . . ran off yesterday and I couldn't keep up to find here. Not without risking a night in that cold."

Daniel frowned, "You've no way back to the King's castle?"

Patton took the basket from Daniel's arms and placed it on his lap, "No, not yet. I'm informing him in my letter . . . The Prince will be so upset if I miss his celebrations though . . ."

Daniel scoffed and shook his head, "Patton, of course, that's what you're worried about. Making the trip back to the castle is dangerous on foot, especially now. If the King wants you to return on time, he'll send for you."

"I suppose you're right, Daniel. Thank you," Patton picked up the parchment from the basket.

Daniel nodded and left the room once more, to continue with his morning duties. When he was gone, Patton emptied out the basket, to look over the boy's outfit from last night. The clothes supplied by Daniel were a bit too loose and Patton wanted to see if he could mend more of the supplied outfits before the boy woke up and needed to wear them.

"Hmm, that's odd," Patton touched a charred tear on the fabric. "How'd this happen, kiddo?"

Patton could tell the outfit was once beautiful, but was now charred and ripped to shreds. The fabric was rich, worth far more than any outfit Patton had worn in his life. Perhaps the boy was a merchant's son? And was lost in the heavy snowfall?

The outfit was a beautiful shade of purple, even with the charred marks. Patton wanted to save what he could for the boy, but there wasn't enough undamaged fabric to make more than a scarf out of. No mending could fix the damage done by the flames that ruined the fabric.

With a frown, Patton set the outfit aside and picked the quill to write to the King. His Majesty needed to know of his delay, so he could inform the kitchen staff to continue without Patton until his return. With that, Patton wrote his letter to the King, detailing the events of the day before and informing him of the boy's injuries.

It was then that Patton remembered the dragon that scared Daisy away. If the boy was injured by the dragon . . . Why was he so far north? Unless, the dragon was one of the Witch's and for the boy's sake, Patton shook the thought from his head. He wrote of the possibility to the King. If it was true, King Thomas would know better than he did and could decide on what action to take.

Patton hoped his musing was wrong. The boy looked Prince Roman's age, too young to have lost all of his first teeth.

The boy let out a low moan and Patton froze. He looked over to see the boy sitting up in bed, looking around dazed.

“H-hello?”

The terror in the boy’s voice was clear. He scooted closer to the other side of the bed, away from Patton, and gripped the blankets with white knuckles.

Patton set down the pen, “Hey kiddo, are you feeling okay?”

The boy nodded his head.

“That’s good, you had me worried,” Patton smiled softly. “Are you hungry?”

The boy nodded.

“I’ll go whip something up for you then. Do you want to come?”

The boy shook his head.

“Okay, kiddo. How does soup sound?”

The boy nodded.

“Alrighty, I’ll be right back.”

Patton stood from the desk and went out the door. Daniel gave him permission to cook for the boy whenever he woke up. Once the boy ate, Patton planned on trying to find out where he was from.

“Th-thank you!” the boy called hesitantly after Patton.

Patton watched as the boy shoveled spoonful after spoonful of beef stew into his mouth. The boy barely stopped to breathe between bites, choosing to eat the stew in front of him at such a pace, Patton feared he would become ill. The boy couldn’t have been on the road long enough to be this hungry. How long was he wandering on his own?

“Kiddo, are you feeling any better?”

The boy swallowed, “A little, sir.”

“Oh!” Patton gasped. “I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Patton.”

The boy stared at Patton for a moment, eyes not entirely focused on the man before him. The boy’s lips pursed in concentration. After a few quiet moments, Patton realized the boy’s expression distorted to one of horror.

“I’m - I’m - I don’t know!” the boy cried out.

The boy’s spoon clinked as he dropped it into the half-empty bowl. Tears pooled in the boy’s eyes and spilled down his cheeks. He let out a wail with the realization he didn’t know his own name or where he was from.

Patton came forward and moved the bowl onto the bedside table, before scooping the boy into his arms. The young boy buried his face in Patton’s shoulder and screamed, chest heaving as he continued to cry. Patton held him close and rubbed the boy’s back as he continued to cry.

“I’ve got you, you’re okay. I’ll take care of you until I can get you home. It’s okay, kiddo.”

Patton rocked the boy as he cried. Patton frowned as he looked down at the small boy, crying out of desperation for a life he couldn’t remember.

#sanders sides #Virgil sanders #2019 Big Bang #my fics #tw: hyperthermia #tw: near-death experiences #tw: food #food mentions

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