Fate to Reign

Spilling Your Guts

The potions were administered, and, as the Healer said, they did not kill Wren. After a few days of recovery, Wren was starting to wake up. Noah was on his shift when Wren opened her eyes. When she did, she felt as if it was for the first time. The light penetrated through her eyelids and cracked through the protective encasement of sleep and dreams. She awoke with a tiny intake of breath, making Noah whip up his head. She blinked, and when she could finally see clearly again she saw Noah's slightly widened eyes. He stood up and was at her side in moments. Noah lifted his fingers to his mouth and whistled, the sound echoing through the whole castle. He set his eyes on Wren, putting his cold hand on her forehead. She felt awful. Her throat was scratched raw, her stomach gnawing on itself. In mere seconds, everyone rushed into the room. Rose was the first to enter, her ice green eyes locking onto Wren and her mouth parting in surprise. Cal was the next to come into the room. When he caught sight of Wren, he froze. His features for a second, just a second, taking on a look of vulnerability that Wren couldn't place. The room became crowded when everyone came inside. They all bunched up by Wren's bed, asking questions all at once.

"Everyone, please. Give the poor girl some space." Castilla said. The woman looked almost as bad as Wren. Her hair was loose, hanging in front of her face. Her eyes were surrounded by dark circles. Wren wondered if something in the kingdom had happened. They all backed away from Wren's bed reluctantly. Castilla handed a cup that was resting on Wren's bedside table to Wren. She drained it in seconds, drinking so fast the contents of the cup spilled down the side of her mouth. Castilla motioned to her sisters, and they all rushed forward and wrapped their arms around Wren. They stayed like for a few minutes. All huddled together with tears rimming their eyes. After they broke away, Imogen and Elizabeth hugged Wren. Castilla gave her a quick hug, then set down to business.

"Wren." Castilla began calmly. "I think you have some explaining to do."
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Wren was dressed and cleaned up. They were all sitting in the drawing room, the tea Elizabeth had prepared laying untouched on the table. The Hadley sisters sat by Wren, who was looking at her hands. She kept cracking her knuckles over and over again. The boys sat in armchairs, waiting for Wren to explain. Castilla and Imogen had their hands folded, waiting. Wren looked like she would rather be shot dead right then to have to start talking.

"Wren." Castilla urged. Wren knitted her hands together and looked everywhere but their eyes.

"I couldn't tell anyone, alright." She began with a shaky voice.

"At first I started having dreams. Nightmares more like it. And he was always there." She had a catch in her voice when she said the last sentence. She saw Cal's eyes narrow.

"Who's he?" he asked impatiently. Wren's eyes darted back and forth.

"Nathaniel." She said very quietly.

"Who's Nathaniel?" Cal asked suspiciously.

"Are you going to let me finish?" Wren snapped. Cal went silent. Wren took a deep breath.

"I was having these nightmares every night. And it started to make me concerned. Then I started to think that they weren't just dreams. Then he spoke to me." Wren said darkly. She shook her head as if to clear it.

"He didn't just speak to me, he spoke to me inside my head." Wren said, her voice getting more urgent. Everyone was listening intently.

"There was this aura of darkness around him. This second skin of hatred and bottomless darkness. He was speaking to me inside my head. He was inside my head." Wren said. "But he wasn't just speaking to me. Oh no, he could do so much more than just speak. He was able to physically move things. He could make papers fly across the room or make my door lock by itself. He was threatening me. Threatening to hurt people that I...didn't want hurt." The words flew out of Wren's mouth.