Wolf's Bane

Ambush

Desiree lay back in a chair at the hypnotist's office with her eyes closed. She wasn't sure if she believed in any of this, but she was willing to give it a try. She told herself getting to know Eleanor might help her understand herself better. She also hoped it might help Andrew move on.

She'd been doing deep breathing as the hypnotist spoke to her for several minutes. There was a single light before her and her eyes were closed. After a while, she didn't hear the hypnotist, but she didn't bother opening her eyes. She was relaxed and unconcerned about what was happening.

Suddenly, she got an overwhelming urge to open her eyes and look around. She wasn't in the hypnotist's office, though. She was sitting on her bed, legs covered by a quilt. Something was off about the room, but she couldn't place her finger on it.

There was a knock on the door and she called, "Come in."

Desiree hadn't intended to say that, but she wasn't concerned about it.

Andrew entered, holding a vase full of flowers. "I thought you could use some fresh ones."

"They're beautiful," she said as he walked over to a vase and removed it, setting the new vase down. "They smell nice, too."

"I picked them specially because of that." He set the old vase outside the door before turning back to her.

Desiree wasn't having this conversation. These words that came from her mouth weren't hers and the Andrew that stood before her wasn't the one she knew. Gradually, she realized she was in Eleanor's memory. She nearly panicked, but a wave of calm overtook her.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked, taking a seat beside her on the bed.

"Much better," she assured him. "I told you that you didn't need to worry so much."

He placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm your husband. I take care of you and I worry when you're not feeling well. That is my duty."

Desiree felt warm and happy when he said that. She figured those must be Eleanor's feelings. "We should go to the theater tomorrow. I'm sure I'll feel much better by then and I should like to see a show."

"I don't want you to strain yourself."

"I won't," she promised. "I'm feeling stronger already. You know I can't stand being cooped up for too long. I'll die of boredom before anything else."

His smile dropped for a moment before he recovered. "The theater it is, then. I will find out what performance is available. In the meantime, you should get some rest."

He lifted her hand, placing a kiss on it before he left the room.

"We didn't make it to the theater," she said.

Suddenly, Desiree was standing by the bed, looking at the girl in it. The girl had her face, but she was thinner and pale. She didn't look like she was capable of standing. Slowly, she turned to face Desiree.

"You're the new me, I expect," Eleanor said.

"No," Desiree replied once she recovered from the shock of having the girl speak to her. "I'm me."

"You're you and I'm me," Eleanor agreed. "However, I'm also you and you're me. There is no disentangling us."

"You lived your life," Desiree told her. "You don't get to have mine."

"Lived?" Eleanor scoffed. "I spent most of my life in a bed like this one. Before I was married, I never left the house because my parents were so afraid I'd fall ill. I gained some freedom with Andrew, but my body was still a cage. I am a slave to my own weakness. I couldn't even go to the theater because the weather turned cold and I collapsed as I was getting dressed."