A Game of Cat and Mouse

T W E N T Y F O U R

Surprisingly, nothing hurt when Annie woke up that next morning. If it weren't for her sporadic memories, she wouldn't have known that something happened.

To be honest, she'd blacked out most of the night before. It was all such a haze and what she did remember was terrible. There was the fight between James and Elio before a big, green light and then... nothing. 

Pain. She remembered pain. A lot of it. A curly, blonde woman with kind eyes. She remembered Elio holding her closely, remembered the sting of something being poured all over her torso.

With widened eyes, Annie yanked back the unfamiliar sheets covering her body. She was wearing a large t-shirt that she didn't recognize and underwear that she thankfully did. Annie pulled up the shirt and gasped.

There was nothing.

No blood, no scabs, not even scars. It was as if it never happened.

She traced the lines of where the injuries were. Part of her seemed to know each and every cut by memory. Like even though they were gone from her physically, the emotional scars were far from gone.

"You're awake," a hoarse voice said from the corner of the room. She turned to see her brother sitting in a chair at the furthest point of the room looking like he'd been awake for days. There were deep purple bags underneath his eyes and his skin looked pallid and gaunt.

"Why don't I have any scars?" Annie was shocked to discover her voice was much quieter and weaker—though it wasn't like that said much.

"Cass applied some dittany. It doesn't work well enough on deep wounds to heal you but it can help numb some of the pain and heal the physical look of them." Annie nodded. To be honest, she hadn't paid enough attention in potions to refute or agree with him. School was never her top interest.

"Where's Elio?"

"Asleep in the room next door. He... wouldn't leave you. His uncle finally made him go get some sleep with the promise he could see you as soon as you woke up. He'll probably barrel in here at any moment."

"They didn't make you go sleep somewhere else?"

A ghost of a smile passed over James's face. "I'm your brother. They can't tell me to do anything. And even if they could, I'm also the Dark Heir. I don't think anyone wanted to question me."

James walked over to the bed in the center of the room before sitting down on the soft, cream-colored duvet. He grabbed Annie's hand and squeezed it gently. "Annie, I'm so, so sorry. If Elio wouldn't have been there, you would have died."

"That's not true—"

"Yes, it is. I completely froze up as soon as I saw the blood on your little body." James ran a harsh finger through his dark curls. "Dad would have known exactly what to do. He wouldn't have even come close to harming you, no matter how angry he was. I took a risk that I never should have taken; sending such a dangerous spell while you were close. I don't know how you'll ever forgive me."

She could feel herself soften at the tremendous amount of guilt hidden behind James's voice. If she knew her brother at all, he probably stayed up all night watching over her, tormenting himself the entire time. So Annie grabbed onto both of James's hands and squeezed them tight. 

"Jamesy, it was an accident. I'm okay. I don't even have a scar. It's not fair of you to compare yourself to Daddy because you're not him. Yes, you might be his heir but you're completely different people. It's okay to freeze up during traumatic events because our brains don't know what to do sometimes. And you don't even have to ask for my forgiveness because there's nothing to forgive. It was nothing more than a little pain—which was good for me. I've been sheltered for far too long and now I've had a taste of the dangers that are out there. I don't blame you in the slightest. Not for anything."