Chapter 88: Preparing for School - Nightwing's Nightmare, Part 1...

When I awoke from my deep nightmare, the moon was still awake, but the sun had already opened its eyes.

The dim morning light, tinged with a hazy gray, leaped across the room's glass windows. He could see Enid emerging from the edge of the misty air, dressed in a white ceremonial gown. Her snow-white hair blended perfectly with her clothes, creating a dazzling silver effect, so dazzling that he began to conjure up countless worst-case scenarios.

Enid looked up, her gaze passing through the closed glass window, only to meet a pair of blue eyes. It was Dick; he was looking at her, wasn't he? Enid thought, but slowly walked up to him, even knocking on Dick's door. The moment the door opened, she was pulled into his arms.

His unkempt stubble brushed against her neck, and his strong hands were firm yet painless. Enid did not struggle; instead, she stroked his back and was gently embraced. This almost soothing gesture finally pulled Dick out of his nightmare.

"I'm sorry... I..." He was also aware that his behavior was somewhat abrupt.

"You're worried about me going to school tomorrow, aren't you?"

After Dick released her, Enid took the initiative to hug his waist, nuzzling against his still warm embrace, and kissed his stubble-covered chin on tiptoe. This was a rare sight of Dick without his styling; he usually wore cologne carefully before going out, and she had seen Nightwing smell nice several times.

But she loved Dick more at this moment, the Dick who was vulnerable under her gaze.

Even though he had been seen through, he didn't feel any negative emotions. Instead, he felt a lot of relief and relaxation. He even picked up Enid, carried her into his room, placed her on his lap, sat on the bed, and hugged her with his arms around her waist. The act of exchanging body heat was like the release of a soothing balm, giving his tense heartstrings a rare moment of relaxation.

"Yes." So he admitted it.

"I swear to you, I'll be fine."

Enid understood Dick's worries; they were the consequences of her departure. Enid only began to feel sorry for him. She saw him clearly: he was a strong yet vulnerable bluebird, the one she loved, seemingly gentle and mature, but actually pessimistic and adorable.

“Actually, I was also thinking about whether there was any way for us to put our minds at ease, but then I found this.” Enid paused deliberately, earning Dick’s anxious yet expectant look. “Okay, I’ll tell you, it’s this thing. It doesn’t mean anything, it just binds our heartbeats together. How about it in exchange?”

Inside the transparent, diamond-shaped crystal were only imprisoned pink petals, but the moment Enid's power was injected, the petals inside transformed into a green heart, beating slowly, exactly the same frequency of Enid's heartache that Dick was hearing at that moment.

"How can I channel my power?"

"Think of him with your heart, look at it..."

Enid doesn't deny that she's a bad teacher, but fortunately, Dick is a smart student. He learned how to use it from Enid's abstract words, so he took another rhombus-shaped crystal from Enid. Enid placed a golden base on the bottom of the crystal, with Dick's name written on it. Then, a red heart successfully appeared inside the crystal.

Dick placed the crystal into Enid's palm and solemnly accepted it; it was a crystal with her name written on it.

"I will always keep an eye on it, just as I keep an eye on you."

“Me too…” Enid lowered her head and kissed Dick’s eyelids. “Your nightmare is just like mine. You need me just as much as I need you.”

Before Dick could reply, Enid continued kissing his cheek, his stubble, and finally his lips—a light, shallow kiss, but perhaps this was the overwhelming magic of the Archdruid that provided support for his fragile spirit.

"Don't worry, you look very cool right now. I'm so happy to see Nightwing that others can't see."

She stroked his cheek, and in those green eyes, Dick saw the same aura as Saint Lin—a gentle, all-encompassing emerald. He nuzzled her palm, pulled her closer around the waist, and spoke in his usual lighthearted tone.

“That’s great,” Dick smiled. “Well, actually I mean, it’s a good thing I have the day off tomorrow, otherwise I would have had to take another day off.”

"It's okay, taking leave will result in a pay cut... Hmm, I can support you. I recently discovered that there's a lot more gold and diamonds in the Sacred Forest. Although they don't have any energy, they seem to be very expensive in the human world."

This was the first time she had found something in the Sacred Forest that could be sold for money. She was somewhat surprised because most things in the Sacred Forest possessed power, but this substance was completely devoid of power, or lacked the power they needed. It was a completely different substance from the gold used in alchemy.

“I don’t think Bruce needs you to sell gold and diamonds to support the family, but if you need to, maybe Bruce can find you a suitable seller.”

Dick understood this feeling, or rather, he didn't want to rely solely on Bruce's feelings. Of course, he knew Enid might not understand; she wasn't quite aware of it yet. Sure enough, he saw Enid just nod blankly and stuff a large pile of gold into his hand, indicating that he could take it if he needed it.

He pinched Enid's cheek helplessly, then released her with amusement.

“Don’t worry about my livelihood,” Bruce said, pointing to the money in the foundation he had prepared. “When I first saw it, I was almost startled by the zeros in it. But you, can’t you just commute back home?”

Initially, it was agreed that they would commute, so their vigilance was relatively controllable. However, at the last minute, they were notified that they would need to stay overnight for about a week before they could commute. Although packing was simple, they weren't worried about that. This also led Dick to have the nightmare of losing Enid last night.

“I find it strange too… Mother never mentioned staying at the hotel. You know she used to keep a close eye on me, so there’s no way she would agree to me leaving Saint Lin.” Enid was puzzled. Her intuition told her that this matter seemed to have something to do with them. “I feel like they’re worried because of you guys, like you’ve done too well, so they’re concerned… I don’t understand.”

It was a test of their obedience, or rather, a way to probe Enid through this stay, because Tim, Barbara, and Damian's behavior clearly showed they were vigilant and trained, and they were close to her. If Enid's naivety were not accompanied by her family, it would reveal many details, perhaps not just about her, but about all the students—they were looking for a druid.

"Did Ms. Mary Reid tell you any details you needed to pay attention to?"

“Yes!” Enid nodded vigorously. “She said that we cannot use druidic magic, nor can we talk about the Mother Goddess, nor can we use the power of the Heart of Nature. That’s all. She told me this when I was in school.”

This was in line with their thinking. Dick had previously met with Bruce and the others to discuss this situation. Combined with Enid's sudden return to school, it was clearly an investigation into the Druids. Fortunately, Enid might not be the only suspect, but she was the most suspicious.

“Very good, stick to her opinion, or rather, just use the magic in this world. Of course, high-tech products are an exception. You can even expose some information about our world, such as a purely technological world without magic.”

Enid nodded. Bruce had said the same thing, but she didn't dislike Dick's repeated instructions. Instead, she kissed his cheek, stood up, and reached out to pull him up. Instead, he pulled her into his arms, picked her up, kissed her cheek, and then put her down.

"No more kissing, we need to go eat! You have to go to work!"

"Don't worry, I've calculated the time carefully and I won't be late. In fact, I've been late more times than usual this month."

Enid, who was reluctantly let go, glanced at Dick, and gave him another kiss as a comforting gesture, before being pulled downstairs. Enid felt a little embarrassed when she saw the lavishly decorated dining table.

"Sorry I'm late."

“It’s not late, Miss Fia. Actually, I thought you and Mr. Dick were going to eat out, but luckily I prepared breakfast for you and Mr. Dick.”

Enid blushed after being teased and secretly glared at Dick. Her supposedly discreet action was actually seen by everyone at the table. Dick tried to explain with a smile, but it was clear that his explanation had failed.

"Please, Afu, um, okay, I just..."

“No need to explain, Mr. Dick, of course I understand,” Afu said with a smile.

It felt like it was intentional. Enid pretended not to hear and continued eating, ignoring the fact that her pointed ears had turned noticeably red.

After breakfast, Dick rushed off to work. Bruce had just gotten up, but since he wasn't busy today, he slept in a bit longer. Tim had already left for work, and Damian had just finished training. His school term was still a while away, while Enid would start school first this time.

"Good morning, Fia." Bruce yawned and sat down at the dining table.

“Good morning, Father, Damian,” Enid greeted with a smile.

After Damian replied with a good morning, Bruce brought up the topic of school after breakfast. Enid explained that her luggage was ready, but it was clear that this wasn't what he was worried about. There were no important meetings tomorrow, which he had already postponed.

"Tomorrow I'll be going to take you to school with Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Barbara, Cassandra, and Stacy, and of course Alfred. I think you'll be very happy."

"That's great!" Enid's eyes lit up with joy. "It's a pity it's not in Disneyland, otherwise we could have taken a new family photo."

Ine's tone was a little disappointed. Damian was silent for a moment, then said, "You can go again when you come back."

He acquiesced to the suggestion, but his slightly raised tone revealed that he was actually somewhat expectant. Enid heard this and looked at Bruce, who smiled helplessly.

“You know I won’t refuse your offer, Fia.”

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Author's Note: The Art of Time—

Okay, next chapter is about starting school.