Word Count 716

Princess Polaris....

Azzo woke in a cold sweat, his ipod was playing. He must've fallen asleep listening to it. Groggily he rubbed his eyes and glanced warily at the clock. Merlin was looking at his master and gave a whine of concern. "It's okay boy." He whispered before sliding out of bed, cold floorboards creaked as he put pressure on them.

Sweat dreams are made of these
Who am I to Disagree?

It was cold, winter felt like it was coming early. Moving down stairs, ipod still on and the White German Sheppard on his heels Azzo went to raid the fridge for some milk to warm in the microwave. His eyes looking towards the stairs, "It's getting more dangerous here." He said as he slid down to sit on the floor while he waited and pet Merlin. "I wish Grams would go stay with mom and dad...."

He was scratching the shepard's ear as he listened to the song.

Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody is looking for something

His eyes were watching the windows as if someone were going to come out and surprise him. He shook his head, "I don't know what to do. I have a Princess to worry about and Grams too?" He closed his eyes for a second listening to the sounds of the world around him. The tick tock of the clock in time with the dog's breath and the song playing, all of it was almost transfixing for a world of thoughts.

Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused

Azzo had drifted off again, thoughts on Polaris and the negaverse; he'd seen enough horrors. The tree, where there was ruthlessness of ripping the aliens to shreds and the tree was nothing more than woodchips. The time Polaris had her star seed ripped from her chest, all these played in his head... However, they weren't as they actually happened. There was a new player, a new target. Princess Polaris.

Beep, beep, beep

Startled honey brown eyes flashed open looking around in panic. "Oh..." He breathed almost relieved as he got up and washed his hands off before taking his cup of milk out sitting at the bar he took a sip of the warm milk, that he'd accidently overheated. "Dangit... Well... at least it didn't burn. Isn't that right boy?" He asked before drifting back off into thought while he sipped his drink.

The song had changed again, Azzo closed his eyes thinking. "I need to convince Grams it's not safe for her to stay... Even if she goes back to the country with her friends, anywhere will be better than this. I can't just let her stay here."

Shaking his head, "She can't stay... I can't protect everyone when they're here. I'll have to try to convince her, it's the only way. That way... it'll be easier to keep an eye on Polaris." Merlin was sitting looking up at Azzo waiting for a treat of some sort, even if it was just a cracker. Occasionally giving a whine until he finally got what he was expecting.
"Sorry..." He said softly looking down at the pup who happily gobbled the cracker. "I'm just worried; I know you can take care of yourself, when you have to." He smiled down at the dog as he finished off his milk. "Come on let's get some sleep." He washed out his cup in the sink before placing it to sit with a few other dirty dishes that needed to be washed in the morning.

I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand.

"We'll figure this out in the morning pup." He said as he made his way back upstairs to his room. He was looking at the puppets that dangled from the ceiling, thoughts drifting through his head. "What I need... is a job. If she knew I could keep the house without having to rely on her... I'm sure she'd go..."

Settled back under the covers Azzo closed his eyes, Merlin had curled up on the foot of the bed again and already fell back to sleep. The squire was left to his own, to the nightmares that plagued his dreams and the worry that fueled them.