Lost and Found

Chapter 13: The Memory Room

"Eugene."

Eugene opens his red rimmed eyes. "Yes?"

"Have you had any visions yet?" I whisper hoarsely.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breathe. "No. Not yet. But I will. I can feel them trying to form in my head."

I lay my hand gently on his forehead and he opens his eyes. I graze his temples.

"Does it hurt?" he smiles slightly and shakes his head.

"Only a little. But don't worry about me." he brings his hand up to take hold of my own.

"How do you feel? You're pale as a ghost. You look almost feverish." he kisses the plan of my hand worriedly.

I look away from him to stare up at the ceiling instead. "I don't know. I feel.. Empty. And trapped. Useless." I turn my head to look back at him. A tear slips down my cheek. "I want my wings back so much Eugene."

Pity settles in his eyes and he pulls me to him. I sob hard on his shoulders and he holds me tightly.

"I want to be free so much Eugene. How can I do that when I cannot even leave this forest?" I cry.

He rubs my back. "I know. But I'm so close to finding the answer to that. So close. And then we can finally leave. Blitz can have her kingdom back and you and I will be free to do whatever we want. We can explore the world together." he whispers.

"But what about Hiccup? I can just leave him. And I don't want him to be stuck to me forever. He thinks he has to protect me. Not to mention Jack..."

Eugene kisses my palm again. "We'll worry about that when the time comes. And I'm sure he'd understand."

"How? There's so much I'm keeping from him, Eugene. Even if I did tell him everything, he'd never forgive me. He'd never understand." another tear slides free.

Eugene smiles gently. "He's your brother. He has to. I did."

"But he's not you. He hasn't been here through everything with me like you have."

"But he also dreams of exploring the world." he nudges my hand with his head. "Like brother like sister."

A startled laugh slips out of me and his grin widens. "There it is. There's that beautiful smile I've been waiting for."

Then he twitches with a sharp intake of breathe and his eyes snap shut. I grip his hand hard.

"Eugene? Eugene!" I panic before realizing he's having a vision.

He struggles for something but I sooth him by running my hand gently through his hair. His breath keeps catching and he twitches uncontrollably. His eyes roam wildly beneath his eye lids and I try to smooth him with a little bit of humming.

After a few minutes he stops twitching and he visibly relaxes into the bed. He is sweating profusely and he is trembling horribly.

I kiss the back of his hand. "Are you okay?"

He looks at me with exhausted eyes. "Yeah. That one was just... A lot. I've never had one that long before."

"Or intense?" I smile and he grins tiredly back.

"Yeah, intense. That would be the word." he laughs.

I raise a brow. "Would you like me to finish the tapestry?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "No. Not now. I want to let you deal with what happened today before you do this." he eyes my still bleeding chest. "And you still need to heal."