It's A Twin Thing | j. clarke [1]

twenty-five

-:- House of Lights / House of Allegiance -:-

The next morning I managed to wake up when my alarm went off despite that it was a Saturday morning and that was unlike me. I managed to get myself out of bed and to the dining room before the end of breakfast, still in my pajamas, and nearly half asleep in a zombie-like state as I slumped into my chair. I'd gone to sleep quickly the night before but my nightmares were littered with flashes of Anna that left me more drained when I woke up than when I went to sleep. She wore in the green dress I always saw her in, and her face was smiling but there were bruises over her arms and a large gash in her head. The image of her blood dripping down her face was enough to make me regret my decision to come to breakfast.

I nibbled on one of Trudy's danishes, making sure to avoid the raspberry jam in the middle, as the rest of Sibuna trickled into the dining room. Amber did most of the talking as we ate—something about her beauty sleep conflicting with our late nights. I'm sure if I'd listened to her sentiment I would've agreed, but I was too lost in my mind to respond. My head only picked up when I heard Alfie's name in the conversation.

"Has anyone seen Alfie this morning?" My sister asked.

Fabian shrugged but then smiled when looked up to see who'd entered the room. "Ah, here he is."

"Alfie, how are you?" Amber asked as Alfie dropped his bag near the legs of his regular seat beside Patricia.

"How did you do last night?" Patricia said through a mouthful of cereal.

"Did you find anything?" Fabian urged.

Alfie shrugged nonchalantly but pulled out a bottle of orange liquid from his pocket, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Aw, well done." Patricia congratulated.

"Yeah, good job Alfie!" My sister said with surprise.

"We should hide it somewhere safe before Victor notices it's gone," I noted, finally snapping out of my absent-minded headspace.

Fabian nodded at me and slipped the elixir into his pocket.

"What about the other thing?" He lowered his voice.

"The demisphere?" Alfie shrugged. "I looked everywhere but I couldn't find anything that looked right."

"Did you see Anna?" I asked quietly after Fabian and my sister only mustered a nod at Alfie's response.

He shook his head and I was relieved to know that Alfie hadn't been scared by her again. When the relief subsided, I couldn't help but feel the slightest bit envious at the fact that she hadn't visited him while he was in the basement. Why did I see her so frequently in the cellar, but Alfie only saw her once? Better yet, why was I seeing her at all when no one else did, save for Alfie's one-time-sighting?