Chosen- A Selection Fanfiction

Chapter 35

I was a bit groggy when I awoke and my chest throbbed a little. My limbs were stiff and my feet were sore. Cecelia and Mary were beside me, and I could see Diana sleeping soundly on the couch. Zora, however, was nowhere to be seen. There was a small blue prescription bottle with my name on it, and attached to it was a note saying to take one in the morning and one before dinner.

I took one little green pill out of the bottle and took it to the bathroom with me, which I quickly swallowed with a mouthful of water from my faucet. Brushing my teeth and washing my face where very easy tasks, but taming my hair wasn't. I eventually finished running a brush through the knots and in the end, I was much more thankful for my maids.

My hair hung in natural waves and I pinned a few pieces behind my ear with decorative metallic pins. I came out into my room to see Mary lying on the floor while Diana folded the couch blankets and Cecelia made my bed.

I gazed at Mary lying on the ground, motionless. I gently poked her with my toe, but she didn't move. "Is she okay?" I asked a little worriedly.

"She's just asleep. She wouldn't get out of the bed, but I had to make the bed, so I pushed her out," Cecelia explained. Diana shook her head and laughed silently. She had the type of laugh where you smiled, but no noise came out. She had many light brown strands framing her face that had fallen out of her braid.

"Oh," I smiled a bit. I looked in my closet for something to wear. I saw a light violet gown pushed to the back, and I recognized it as one of the first dresses I had worn here. It was flowing in the skirt, but tightly wrapped at the bust. I liked it because it was simple and held a natural beauty about it. I took it off the rack and slipped it over my body, adjusting it to the front. I pushed my heel into a pair of short white heels. I looked at my appearance and noticed the little shimmer on my neck, the songbird necklace.

I smiled a bit and thought of my Uncle Darry, who would have provided me with the best advice anyone could right now. He would've told me advice on Nathan, how to cope with my family's death, how to deal with my new identity, and how I should feel about Kiara. I remembered the look on his face sometimes when he was thinking, how he would wrinkle his brow and his eyes would narrow.

I continued to think of him as I went down to the kitchens. I decided to skip breakfast since I was already pretty late as it was, but my absence wouldn't be entirely random due to my condition. I pushed open the familiar swinging doors and saw Chef Loki and Charlie cleaning up.

"Hey, boys," I said cheerily. Charlie's face lit up a bit when he saw me. His blue eyes sparkled, the same color as Landon's, and his dimples showed in his grin. Chef Loki seemed a bit nervous around me, but I could understand since he had a small crush on Lia.

"Ey, Lia," Charlie greeted. "What brings you down to the kitchen?" He was spraying some of the dishes, allowing juices left on the plate to run down into the drain of the sink. His hands were wrinkly from the warm water and made his young hands look older.

"Food, obviously," I said with an obvious tone. "I'm looking for something to fill my stomach, preferably green. I'm on a diet, you know."

"Ha-ha," he laughed monotonously. "I know. Landon's been worried sick."

"Really now?" I said curiously. I fished around the kitchen, fleeting from dish to dish. Chef Loki remained awfully quiet until he slid a plate in front of me. It was a plate of eggs with spinach and tomatoes, and I thanked him as I began to dig in.

"He was actually starting to behave like the old Landon until your.. incident, actually," he said thoughtfully. He turned off the sink and began to dry the china with a dish towel. He swung his hair out of his eyes and went back to his job.

"What do you mean?" I asked between bites of my breakfast. The juice of the tomato filled my mouth along with the peppers and other vegetables. My legs swung a little from the stool I was sitting on beside the island.

"I wasn't sure what happened, or how it happened for that matter. It was almost like a miracle. Mum's insurance must have come through or something because she was moved to this upscale hospital, and now she's doing much better. There's even hope of remission," he said happily. He was engaged in the talk about his mom, and I couldn't help but turn the corners of my mouth up. Everything was going as I'd hoped. "Landon's been a lot more like he used to be. Carefree, even. He's been playing the guitar again and singing. He used to sing a lot in Ireland before we moved."

"Why'd he stop?" I asked curiously. My metal fork hit the plate of china softly before Charlie promptly took away the plate and began to wash that one, as well.

He'd started to wipe down the counters and clean off the flower and mess left behind by the other chefs who didn't have time to clean up after themselves. "Dad taught him to sing, and after he passed, Landon didn't feel like it was worth it anymore. It came as a surprise to me when he picked up the old thing at the Halloween festival."

"I had never known," I whispered, almost to myself. I looked back up at Charlie. I took in his youthful face from the mischievous glint in his eye to the dimple on his left cheek.

"That's the thing about Landon. He doesn't want people to know when he's hurting."