CACKLE- Book 1

Chapter Thirty-One

The guards that were stationed outside of Remi's room had been given strict instructions to only allow visitations from Anna, occasionally accompanied by Arsenio, or Hux. Remi's recovery was slow, but after a few days she was able to increase her food intake from broth to soft foods, and eventually some solids. Her body had been in a suspended state while she endured the spell work, originally meant for Theo.

Remi was able to walk to and from the bathroom on her own. Even still, Anna spent most of her time by Remi's bedside. She would bring books from her special corner of the library.

"Back home, you never mentioned that Theo had become possessed." Remi said.

Anna lifted her face from the textbook in her hands, 'A History of the Great Culling'. She blinked a few times, returning her attention to the here and now.

"Well, if you hadn't come with me to the castle, I would have returned to Adinna months ago. There would have been no reason for me to remain with Theo. There wasn't much I could do for her." Anna explained. "I can only assume that the royal family would have kept the whole incident a secret. How would it look if they advised their subjects that an eleven-year-old princess became possessed and attempted to slaughter the entire family?"

Remi considered that. A shiver ran down her spine and she quickly shook her head, scattering the gruesome images in her mind.

"The only information you had was that an assassination attempt had been made, which resulted in the royal family following through with Drilis' proposal. There had been no mention of what the attempt was, or who had tried it, you had always just assumed it was Drilis. What if the assassin was truly Theo, what if the possession drove her to try and kill her family? In that past timeline, it was announced that Theo had succumb to her ailments. What if... she died during the possession? Or worse... what if she was put down during her attempt to take her parents lives?" Remi's speculations made Anna's face drain of color.

Anna down her cup of tea, pulling a flask from under her dress and filling the cup with something much stronger than camomile.

"We need to discuss another matter, Remi." Anna said, taking a swig from her teacup.

"I could hear you talking in your sleep. Only on occasion. Sometimes it was just mumbles or incoherent sentences... But Hux said he had heard it too..." She bit her lip nervously. "He's promised not to repeat a word of it."

Confusion flooded Remi's features. "What did I say?" Her voice was hesitant.

Anna opened her mouth to respond, but before she could the door burst open. Anna made a little squeak sound and spun around.

"Remi! Hi! I brought you some bone broth." Huxley trotted towards her, placing the cup on her bedside table.

"You have quite the nerve." Anna groaned.

Huxley ignored her snarky comment, it seemed to be their routine now. He propped Remi up, raising the back of her head as she sipped slowly on the broth. The salty, savory flavor made Remi's taste buds flicker to life. It warmed her nauseous belly and made her crave more. Huxley put the cup down after a moment.

"Not too much at once." He reminded her. Remi could see Anna's impressed expression out of her peripheral vision.

"I told Ryker you're feeling much better. He's taken over my duties for the evening and he'll likely come to see you after supper." Huxley smiled at Remi.

Remi didn't return it, however. The warm broth threatens to bubble up again. What was she going to tell Ryker? She wasn't even sure what happened. What questions would he ask? Remi's thoughts swirled as Huxley held her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

"What did you hear me say, in my sleep?" Remi asked, looking from Huxley to Anna.

They exchanged a glance of concern that had Remi flustered with frustration. She needed to know. Sparing her fragile state was not a priority, this was important. No one spoke at first, and when it seemed as though Anna wasn't going to say anything in front of Huxley, he chose to break the awkward silence. "Remi, we heard a lot."

"Then tell me." Remi tried to put as much command in her voice as was possible.

"We heard you... responding to someone. You would just groan or make little noises from time to time. At one point you cried for weeks, it didn't stop. Tears would just flow down your cheeks; they drenched your pillows day and night. We were quite concerned that you would dehydrate yourself, but whatever was going on, your body refused to shut down. You were asking someone questions and at times... it was like you were having conversations with someone we couldn't see." Hux said.

Remi did her best to focus on what fragments of memories she could recall. There had been a voice, she remembered asking something... a name... she asked for a name. What was it...?

"Write down everything you heard me say." Remi told the pair. "Coherent or not, i need to read it. Maybe... Maybe it will trigger something." She said, her words were almost pleading. Anna and Hux exchanged a look.

"We did, Remi." Anna offered, "I'll get my notebook from my rooms. Hux- you tell her about what we talked about." Anna said, giving Remi a kiss on her head before walking to the door.

Remi looked between the two, her face split with confusion.

Remi wanted to maintain her heir of confidence, but her voice was a whisper. "What does she mean?" She asked.

Huxley picked Remi's hand up, holding it between his as he spoke. "Remi... I know..." He said. Remi didn't speak, a cold sweat prickled the back of her neck.

"Know what?" She asked, the words coming out like molasses on her tongue. She had a feeling she knew what he would say, but her gut twisted in disbelief.

Hux began tracing his thumb on the back of her hand as he spoke, "Remi, I know you're an Elemental."