I don't know when I fell asleep. But apparently, I did.
I woke up, keeping my eyes closed, to my head pounding. It felt later, maybe early evening? I also felt a blanket over my shoulders which I'm pretty sure I didn't pull over myself. I didn't feel like opening my eyes, I just wanted to fall back asleep.
After a few moments though, I felt the blanket get pulled gently off, and someone's hand slip underneath my shirt and the bandages on my arm covered in burns, to check them I presume. But I still pretended I was asleep. I felt the person shiver once they felt my skin.
"Kat?" Came a small, quiet voice from above me, which was most likely the person who was checking on my burns.
"Yeah?" Came Katherine's voice from the other side of the room. I heard someone footsteps coming over. "What is it, Lavender?" She asked, her voice much closer than before.
"The ointments not doing anything. They're the same as this morning." She said with a nervous tone.
I felt Katherine's calloused hands brush right underneath the bandage, and I had to clench my jaw to stop myself from crying out. "It'll be okay. They're first-degree burns. It'll heal on its own, even if the ointment isn't working." She said confidently.
"Alright." Lavender answered, still with a worried tone. She rolled me over onto my back, and I felt my wings crunch underneath me again as she lifted my shirt and checked the stitched up wound on my torso. Then she pulled the blanket back up over me, and I heard her footsteps fade away and I began to drift off again...
I was standing in nowhere. Just void everywhere I turned.
Cold sweat drenched my forehead as I looked around in panic. Directly behind me was a towering figure. Xornoth was being held up with strings attached to his fingers, his head bowed, his body limp, his knees buckled and the toes of his shoes dragging on what would be the floor if there was one.
I stood there, frozen, unable to move, watching him. He didn't seem to be breathing... Gaining control of my limbs, I approached him, slowly...cautiously.
I was right in front of him. The silence was eerie as Xornoth hung from nowhere...the strings just started. I reached out to check if he was alive when he lifted his head. His eyes were solid red and glowing like flashlights. His mouth went slack with a smile, black blood dribbling from the corners, over his chin and dripping onto the ground. "Puppet..." He hissed, his head tilting.
I shrieked tripping over my own ankles and falling backwards, but I still scrambled away from him. His gaze followed me for a moment, until the red faded from his eyes, the whites turning white, his irises turning purple...
The man gasped, coughing the black blood, looking at me in horror. "Help." He rasped, before the strings were seemingly cut and he fell forward, onto his chest with a thud, and didn't get up.
My hands shaking, I pushed myself up slowly, crawling over to his side. The circulation on his fingers were being cut off by the strings still attached. I carefully rolled him over onto his back. His eyes were still purple. They looked familiar... Like dads. But they were glassy, reflecting the darkness around us. No light behind them.
"Xornoth?" I whispered.
I screamed, sitting straight up, and feeling stabbing pains shoot through my body. I was still drenched in the cold sweat, my entire body shaking with fear.
"Scott!?" Katherine cried from where Joel was laying, rushing to my side. I saw Gem as well, and Shrub running over.
I was hyperventilating, trying to calm myself. It had just been a dream, just a nightmare...
"SCOTT!" Gem shouted in my face, grabbing my upper arms so tightly they began to go numb. "Did something happen!? Did you see something-"
I shook my head. "N-No. Just...just a normal nightmare." I said, wiping the sweat off my face once Gem had let go of me.
"You sure?" Shrub asked, biting the edge of her sweater's sleeve nervously.
I nodded. "Yeah, just a dream." I said, my breathing still shaky. I rubbed my face with my hands, sitting up straighter. "What time is it?"
Gem glanced at the clock. "It's ten past eleven p.m." she answered.
I nodded, leaning my shoulder blades against the bedframe again and wincing.
"What was it about?" Katherine asked, pressing her hand against my chest to feel my heart rate.
"You know. The usual. My brother being a homicidal maniac." I lied, glancing at the crystal on the bedside table. In truth, the dream I just had was much more terrifying than Xornoth killing people. That I was used to. But the way he said it...as if he were pleading with me...
"You and your dreams man..." Shrub muttered. "I'm surprised you haven't died from a heart attack after one of 'em."
I smirked. "You'd be surprised at how morbid some of them are."
"I don't wanna know." Shrub said, turning around and speed walking back to her bed. "It's late and I'm going to bed." She announced, pulling her covers over her head.
Katherine snickered, watching the small girl. "You got to be quiet! Joel's sleeping!" Katherine called over as quiet as she could. "We all know what it's like when he's grumpy."
"Jesus Christ." I murmured, rolling my eyes. "It's been like, two years but I remember it vividly. He's like a little pack of piranhas condensed into a mini ball of flames. Emphasis on mini."
Gem snorted. "Don't let him hear you say that, or he'll be after your head." She said, holding back fits of laughter.
I let a small smile slip, relaxing for a just a moment with her and Katherine.
"There he is." Katherine said softly, punching my shoulder lightly.
I rubbed the spot with a dramatic wince. "Ow." I whined.
"Oh, come off it." Katherine teased, rolling her eyes. "Drama queen." She muttered under her breath, but I heard it.
"Excuse me?" I asked, my face scrunched in offense.
"She's not wrong." Gem shrugged.
"Not you too." I groaned, resting my head against the bedframe, facing the ceiling with my eyes closed in exasperation.
Gem laughed aloud and Katherine joined in after a moment. I have to admit, their laughter was contagious, and I let a breathy chuckle slip.
But the next thing Gem said changed the atmosphere completely. "Are you really just going to go back to Rivendale and cut yourself off again?" she asked quietly after the laughter had died down.
I glanced around at the ice that had crept up the wall the head of my bed was up against. Icicles were hanging from where the wall met the ceiling, and my sheets were stiff with the same frost. "Gem..."
"No. You can't just disappear again. We all want you here-"
I laughed. "It's funny that you think I'll believe that." I said, a little harsher than I meant to.
"Here we go again." Gem said, rolling her eyes. "Your being ridiculous-"
"Am I?" I asked, my voice starting to raise, and I felt the frost growing across my chest and forearms worsen.
"Yes, you are!" Gem cried. "You close yourself off! You have these panic attacks and sudden mood swings and serious arguments! You're- you're turning into a teenage girl!"
"I'd like to think my tantrums are considerably worse." I growled.
"This is exactly what we're talking about. We get so close to being normal again and then you just shut down." Katherine said. She looked as if she were about to grab my hand, but then realized what she was doing and drew away.
"I can't do normal Katherine." I said. "Not- not with this."
"We've been trying to tell you; we can help you fix it-" Gem started.
"No! I've been trying to tell you this!" I snapped. "You can't help! I've tried everything." My voice broke, and I rubbed my face with my hands. "Can you just leave me alone? Please?"
I looked up, and both Katherine and Gem had expressions I didn't expect. "Do you really want to be alone?" Gem asked under her breath, as if she didn't believe me.
I opened my mouth to answer. Of course, I wanted to be alone. But she made me really think about it, and I ended up closing my mouth without an answer. Gem's face twisted in pity. "Oh, come here, you are so depressing." She said, pulling me into a loose hug. I didn't hug her back, but I rested my forehead on her shoulder, closing my eyes. She shivered for a moment, before I felt her fingers curl around the fabric on my back.
A moment before it would have gotten weird, Gem pulled away, giving me a small smile, and fluffing the front of my hair, the frost falling into my lap. I gave her a look that said 'seriously?' as frost began to reform in my hair.
"You did it on purpose that time." Gem said with a small glare, and I gave her a bit of a cocky smile, before she slapped my shoulder. "You are infuriating."
"You know it." I smirked. She elbowed me. "Jerk."
Gem pretended to gasp. "How am I the jerk?" she asked in mock offense.
"You two are both jerks." Katherine butted in, giving both of us a small shove.
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."
"I give up." Katherine sighed, although she still wore a small smile. "You two behave. I'm heading back up to the castle to check on everyone. If I come back and one of you is dead, I'll murder both of you. Got it?"
Me and Gem nodded, trying to hold back laughter.
After Katherine had left the building, I again leaned back up against the bedframe with a small sigh.
"Is everything okay?" Gem asked with a small frown.
"Yeah. Just been a while..." I said, talking more to myself than to the wizard. Gem nodded.
"I'll give you some time to adjust." She said, giving me another small smile, before standing up and also leaving the apothecary.
I slowly shifted so I was lying down again. Katherine's younger sister came over. "I'm going back up to the castle for the night. Do you need anything before I leave?" she asked timidly.
I shook my head.
"Alright then. Sleep well." She said, before shutting the light off in the room the four of us shared. I heard the door creak as she left, and we were left alone.
After a moment, Joel was snoring. I heard Erin's steady breathing close by as well, which was a miracle because Joel was so loud. But I matched my breathing to hers, and I managed to slip into sleep as well.
***
Yay! Scott's finally getting along with everyone- ish. And had a terrible nightmare- I torture the poor guy. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up later this week- Writer's block sucks.
Anyways, please comment! I like hearing your feedback and opinions about my work and as always have a great day!