Dream Catcher Shorts

II

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

This one is pretty plain and simple, short too. It's also pretty old, but oh well. This one is just about when Brianna made a deal with Casimir. You get awesome points if you can pinpoint which part she heard in the memory shard. 

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            The petite eleven-year old sat against her bed staring wide-eyed at the locked door. She tore her gaze away from it to then stare at her bandaged arms and legs. With a face twisted in disgust, she poked and prodded at the fabric. Apparently she was supposed to unwrap it before she left. Leaving again. Back to that awful place. She chewed on her bottom lip, hugging her legs to her chest. Thinking about it made her want to be sick. But she didn't have a choice. She couldn't stay in the safe confines of her bedroom forever.

A knock from the opposite side of the door caused her panic to heighten. "Do you need help? It's been twenty minutes. I know you don't want to go, but being late will only make it worse." Despite the fact that their voice was muffled because of the door, she could tell the person on the other side was Amaro.

"N-no! Just... just give me a little longer. I'll be done soon," she promised. She heard an exasperated sigh, something along the lines of 'five more minutes' and footsteps leading away from her room. Brianna didn't mean to be so difficult; she didn't want to frustrate the people who had kindly taken care of her for the past four years.

Deciding it would be for the best, she began to unfurl the wrapping around one of her arms – albeit reluctantly. When it was completely gone it fell silently to the floor. Her pale skin was tinted red with small bumps here and there. There were several gashes – on the smaller side – and cuts that had scabbed over. She gently let her arm fall back to her side, once again not wanting to touch the wrappings. It was disgusting.

Another knock. "Bribri!" She could almost imagine the girl with her cheek pressed against the door, knocking louder than necessary and yelling the silly nickname every few seconds. Brianna would have laughed at the thought if she hadn't known why her friend was there. "You gotta go, okay? It's no biggie! Just common out."

She fiddled with her fingers for a moment before responding. "I-I know... I... please give me one more minute, please? I'll be done by then, I swear." She almost smacked herself in the face for only giving herself one more minute. Brianna could have said she needed ten more minutes and Fae would have been completely fine with it.

"Okay, but we're gonna be waiting by the door if you need anything!" Fae replied.

Suddenly she felt the presence of another person. She looked up, her brown eyes widening in surprise. Brianna stood up on shaky legs and took a few small steps backwards, keeping her eyes glued to the stranger. "W-who... how... how did you get in here?" her voice was barely above a whisper as she shook like a leaf. She looked towards the door; silently hoping her friends would come running in.

He gave a small shrug and crouched down to her level. "That doesn't matter," he said, his eyes following hers to the door. "Oh my, don't call your friends in here; I'm here to help you. You don't want to go. Not today, not ever; but your friends are making you leave." They were said more as a statement, rather than a question.

She looked away from the door and back to the man in front of her. Although confused as to how he seemed to know, she didn't question it because he said he was here to get her out of going. Despite her wariness, a small smile worked its way onto her face. "They're good friends. I don't think they want me to go either; they're just doing what they're told to." The smile then fell from her face and she began to play with the seams of her dress. "But uh... y-you said you're here to help me? Do you help a lot of people?"

"That I do." There was a faint smile on his face. "Now, let's make this quick, shall we? I think that minute is just about over."

The smile returned – a bit toothier than last time – and she nodded vigorously. "Of course, Mr!"

He clapped his hands together, entwining them when they met. "That's what I like to hear," he replied. "You still have to go today, so hurry and get rid of those bandages. I'll take care of everything when you leave later today, okay? You just have to promise me two things; you won't mention me to anyone and you'll help me with a tiny project in a few years, nothing too difficult for you to handle, I'm sure."

Brianna hurriedly unwrapped the bandages from her other arm and both legs, not even minding the marks this time around. "Yes! I promise. I won't tell anybody. It'll be our secret." She put her thumb and index finger together and pretended to zip her lips shut. Her eyes glowed with joy and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around his torso, muttering 'thank you' multiple times into the fabric of his shirt.

"Brianna! You really need to open the door, we need to leave now."

"I'm flattered that I've made you so happy," he chuckled and patted her head softly before gently pushing her away and pointing to the door. He stood up and put his index finger against his lips. "Remember not to tell anyone."

She bounded over to the door and turned around once her hand was on the handle. With her free hand she pressed a finger to her lips as well, a large smile still present on her face. "I won't!" Brianna was about to unlock and open the door when she spoke again. "Goodbye, Mr!"

"Goodbye. I'm sure we'll meet again eventually." He gave a small wave and disappeared without so much as a sound.

The second she open the door she was greeted by a puffy-cheeked, red-faced Fae and a very impatient, irritated Amaro. Despite the fact that her friends were obviously annoyed, she managed to keep the smile on her face. Nothing could ruin this. It would finally all be over. She walked over to Amaro with a hop in her step.

Fae faced her, hands on her hips. "Why are you so giddy? And what took so long! It felt like we were waiting for hours," she groaned. It had not been hours much to her disbelief, it had barely been over three minutes. "It's like you were having a conversation with someone."

A look of concern passed over Amaro's face. "Were you?"

"I was kidding. She couldn't possibly be talking to someone, duh. Nobody would be able to get in there with the door locked unless they had a key," Fae said matter-of-factly.

Completely ignoring her, he spoke to Brianna again. "You need to tell me if you were just with someone, Brianna. It's important." He peered into the room as if he were searching for someone. A certain someone.

Brianna cocked her head, and then shook her head. "I wasn't talking to anyone. You would have heard us talking then. Or Fae would have, right?"

He looked unsure, as if the explanation wasn't going to cut it. "Yeah... I suppose so," he muttered, letting out a small sigh. "Alright let's go, we're late enough as is."

She giggled a bit. "Yep, we sure are!"