"Amaryllis," he said

"Amaryllis," he repeats, an unmistakable caress in his voice as he says it, as if he were brushing dust off of a priceless artifact.

"My name is Grant Bone," he said, with a slight air of uncomfortable formality. Normally I would have been glad to finally learn the name of my beloved Master, but the way he introduced himself, as if he were a stranger I - suddenly a thought struck me. A realization. Of course he was introducing himself as if we were strangers, to him we are strangers. He is a human, he has not had the same dreams that I had, he doesn't love me the same way that I love him. I struggled to blink back tears. He hasn't been kind to me he was kind to some girl that was freaking out, to him I was nothing, I was -

Gentle hands placed themselves on my shoulders, "Whatever pain you had to go through, it's done now. I promise that I will never hurt you, or allow anyone else to hurt you."

I threw my arms around him, pulling myself tightly into his chest. He hesitated for a second before wrapping his arms around me in return. The feeling of relief and love that followed him putting his arms around me did not quite wipe away the panic and pain of that hesitation, but it came close. I took several deep, shaking breaths wrapped tight in his arms. Once I had sufficiently calmed down, I made the critical mistake of loosening my arms slightly. Grant took this as a signal that I wanted the hug to end, and began to put his arms down. I stopped him by squeezing him tightly. He froze for a seoncd, then re-wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yes," I say, matter-of-factly, "I just don't want to stop hugging."

"Well I have to show you the apartment so..." he said quietly. I am not sure he even meant to say that out loud. It seemed like he was thinking about something. If my head weren't buried in his chest right now, I am sure I would have been able to see the gears turning in his head. "Do you like hugging me, or do you like me hugging you?" he asked suddenly. He must have taken my silence for incomprehension, because he kept explaining, "If I were to position our bodies in such a way that I am able to keep my arms around you, but you are not able to keep your arms around me, would you object?"

I took a moment to wrap my head around the question before responding, "I would like it if you were able to keep your arms around me and I can keep my arms around you." Grant stayed silent for a few moments, digesting what I just said, trying to figure out some problem that I cannot fathom. Suddenly he lowered his arms, grabbing me nearer the hips than the waist, and then he picked me up. He raised me enough so that instead of my head being at the level of his chest, I was now able to see over his shoulder.

"Now wrap your arms around me," he said, something almost like a command. I wrapped my arms around his neck, the only part of his body within easy reach. "Now we are still hugging, but you can see the apartment," he said, sounding satisfied. A laugh bubbled out of me before I could stop it. He looked at me, complete confusion on his face. This made me start laughing even harder. I never saw enough of him thinking in my dreams to fully understand his thought process, but somehow this felt exactly like something he would do.

Somehow, this made me come to a conclusion. No, the dreams weren't real, but they _could _be. I silently and solemnly swore to myself that I would make them true, even if I had to trick, train or manipulate Grant into becoming my master.