The Shadow King's Princess (An OHSHC Fanfic) [Completed]

Chapter Thirty-One

Zaira

When I reached the address Remy gave me, I was shocked by how normal the place seemed to be. One of several victorian style homes in a line, the house gave of your typical Vichy feeling, meaning that it was old and well taken care of.

Not what I was expecting of Henri’s house. Although, I guess Remy had told me that it belonged to a friend of theirs who was out of town.

Walking the short distance to the front, I could feel my heart begin to race. Once I was standing outside the door, knowing that if I reached for the handle it was supposed to be unlocked, it suddenly became hard to move.

Could I do this?

Should I?

I was already here, so wasn’t the decision made?

With one extremely shaky hand, I reached forward to grab the handle. I paused for a moment, then forced myself to turn it. It came as a bit of a shock when the knob really did turn and the door really did open, Remy hadn’t lied about the door being unlocked. Taking one, deep breath, I stepped in and let the door fall shut behind me. Out of habit I bit my lip before starting down the now dark hallway.

Third door on the left.

My mind counted the doors and my hands fell to clenched fists at my side. When I reached the that led to the room that Henri was supposed to always be in, I once again found it hard to move. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly going dry. One of my hands slipped into the pocket of my jeans, putting the pepper spray in the palm of my hand. I’d ditched Caroline’s dress the moment I was clear of the house, which I was quite grateful for. If it came to violence, I could move much more easily in my jeans than I could in her dress.

The door was right in front of me.

The answers were there.

The man who killed my parents…

Why can’t I move my hand?

It was such a simple task. Open the door, talk to the man, then call the police. It was the chance to finish everything. Maybe I’d be able to sleep at night and get rid of the circles under my eyes. Or maybe I’d be able to stand just being in the dark for a few seconds. Perhaps I could speak a sentence to a stranger without stammering.

It could change everything. I just needed to finish this.

Forcing my hand into motion, I turned the doorknob and shoved it open. My eyes immediately found him.

Sitting in an old fashioned rocker, Henri had turned into a skeleton. The man who I could remember having such strong muscles before now seemed to be nothing but skin and bone. His greasy dark hair had thinned and even grayed, but stayed just as dirty as before. When I walked in the door those eyes that appeared in all too many of my dreams simply looked at me, not reacting at all, just looking.

Then he smiled.

“Mon chaton,” he greeted. “It’s been too long.”

Chaton? Hadn’t he always called me little doe, not kitten?

“Come closer, let me get a good look at you. I don’t get around as much as I used to, you know,” Henri continued.

It was surprising how calm he was. Didn’t Henri hate my family and I? Hadn’t Remy said that, that lone fact hadn’t changed? With all of this going through my mind, I almost stepped forward as requested, but caught myself. Despite how frail he seemed, it would be a bad idea to get too close.