Recollection

Sixteen

Sebastian's POV

On the second level of the library tucked away in the back corner, Sebastian and Oliver sat at their usual table with a pile of books spread between them. Oliver suggested they pull some books off the shelves to appear inconspicuous while the two boys were engrossed in more alluring titles that Oliver had nabbed from the restricted section. As confident as Sebastian was in his disillusionment skills, he didn't want to risk getting expelled over something as trivial as sneaking into the restricted section so he left the lurking to Oliver.

"You are going to rip that book in half if you grip it any harder." Oliver pointed to Sebastian's knuckles, white and latched tightly to the red, cloth-bound cover. He hadn't realized how tightly he was clutching the book as he fought to focus on the words of the text and not on the thought of Eliza screaming for help while Ambrose smugly watched her struggle in the water. Andrew and Isaac had to hold him back from going after Ambrose while Ominis threatened him again with the binding spell when he was told about what happened to both Eliza and Poppy.

Sebastian snapped his book shut, "I want to tie him up, tie cinder blocks to his feet, and watch him sink to the bottom of the lake." He said through a clenched jaw.

"I'll help." Oliver agreed. "I've been wondering whether or not her body even would have let her drown, given she knows how to swim."

"Knew how apparently...but do you think her natural instincts would have kicked in? Kept her from actually drowning?"

"I'm not sure. I could push her in the lake on our family's estate when we're home for winter break though to test it out." Oliver shrugged, the left side of his mouth turning up in a smirk. Sebastian noticed that Oliver often made jokes when he was scared.

Sebastian let out a nervous laugh, "Please Oliver, don't drown your sister. It's already stressful enough worrying about Ambrose hurting her."

"Better by me than him." Oliver joked but Sebastian just furrowed his brows. "Relax, everything will be alright. We'll get her back."

Sebastian wasn't sure who Oliver was trying to convince, as he continued reading his book, hoping something would jump out at him. He also couldn't get his encounter with Eliza yesterday morning off his mind. The way she paused to look at him. It was the same way she used to look at him, with softened eyes filled with admiration. It almost seemed as if for a brief moment she remembered. How badly he yearned for the words to come from her mouth that she remembered him. That she remembered everything and needed help. Any hope he had slipped away the moment she grabbed her head in pain and squeezed his arm. Sebastian started to lean forward to catch her but hesitated when he realized he was the cause of her headaches. He was the only constant around her when each of her headaches began. When Eliza ran away, he so desperately wanted to go after her, but he knew it would have caused more harm than good.

"You don't suppose she has some sort of item lying around like a piece of jewelry that she's charmed to hold her memories?" Sebastian asked as his eyes continued scanning the text in front of him about certain sentimental objects being able to hold memories.

"If she did it, it'd be destroyed. Our parents got rid of all of her things. Anything tied to her old self, they burned and replaced. Didn't want to risk having any reminders around." Oliver brushed his hair out of his eyes and Sebastian noticed the similarities between his and Eliza's faces. Same green eyes, same nose, even the same forehead which they both disliked and covered as much of it as they could with their hair. He often thought they looked more like twins than even he and Anne did.

"Anything interesting in your book?" Sebastian asked.

"Not unless you've got a time-turner on you-"

A red glow illuminated from around the corner as Ominis approached the table. Sebastian tried to get a read on his mood but Ominis seemed to be angry more often than not these days. "Sebastian, I need to speak to you."