2| 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙖 𝘼𝙧𝙠𝙝𝙖𝙢 |

| Chapter XXXIX | home memories

The twins had moved back into their home, being received with open arms by their father. It was weird going back to their old home.
Even before Arkham they were already isolated away from the city, only going leaving their manor for important social events.

Now it seemed that their family had become much more isolated, their father only left to go to work now, and the place was filled with security cameras, locks, and guards. A guard would almost always follow them around, and their father had turned into a paranoid mess.
It certainly reminded them of Arkham again, though maybe not as bad.

The home also brought back a lot of old memories.

Almost everything reminded Joan of that night that her mother had died; her room, the stairs, and especially the living room. She could still hear the wails and pleads. 
Odette, however, didn't remember much about that night. Simply being awakened by her mother and what her sister had told her.

Her memories could be very clouded at times, but she still had many of them. She had stumbled into their old playroom, though it was more of a room where their grandmother would teach them how to behave like proper ladies, most rooms were.

A young Odette was in the playroom, coloring in her book and eating cookies. When she was about to take another cookie it was slapped out of her hands by her grandmother.

"What have I told you about eating sweets?"

"But mama said-"

"Ahem."

"Mother said I could have some."

"My dear Odette, your mother is only trying to sabotage your life. She wishes to have her bastard be better and look better than you. That's why she allows you to eat this garbage. You already have plenty of fat to spare, you don't need more. Are we clear?"

"Yes, grandmother."

"Perfect. Remember, you do as I say and you'll be the perfect girl. Always strive for perfection. Now you will skip the rest of your meals for today to make up for all the sugar you've already eaten."

"Yes, ma'am."

Odette was always close to her grandmother. She had made sure Odette knew all she knew, from ballet classes to knitting. Odette had always dreamed to become that perfect princess her grandmother wanted her to be. Especially now with her being dead, she wants to make her proud.

When Joan roamed the house she would also remember some memories, but they all mostly came in noises. The sounds of her mother and father arguing, crashes of broken bottles and vases, pounding of walls by her father's fists, singing her sister a lullaby to calm her down.

"Don't you fucking touch me! I don't care anymore! You can all go to hell! Which you probably will anyways! I hate you! I hate you!"

"Would you quiet down! Don't you know how much you're hurting your family!"

"Fuck you, Charles!"

Her mother opens the door, revealing a young Joan. She leaves not giving another glance to her daughter.

"Come on, let me take you back to your room.", her father tells her.

"Why is mommy mad? Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know. She just doesn't seem to appreciate the good things in her life. Like me... and you."

"I will always appreciate you, dad."

"I will always appreciate you too, darling."

Joan was closest to her father. Always complimented how alike they both were. He was the reason she started going to fencing classes, he had been a great fencer when he was young. She aspired to be like him, they both would do anything for their family. and she always defended him.  
He was her hero, someone she trusted, someone she could get answers from. 

That night when it was time to go to sleep neither of them wanted to step into their bathroom, going into a guest bathroom instead.

Odette would get sick going into that bathroom, there were too many memories where she would go in there to puke her stomach empty.
Joan hated it, she hated what she had done in that room, she hated having to see her face in the mirror, and the hatred from the memories that it brought back to her.

The next morning when they ate they could remember the times they would sit there to eat with all their family; their father, mother, grandmother, and each other.

It was always quiet, their father reading a newspaper, their grandmother always correcting them about something, their mother drowning in alcohol and leaving as soon as possible, Odette barely touching her food, and Joan trying to hide from everyone. And Reine serving the food.

Later that day they went outside to the garden. They had spent most of their time there with their grandmother, doing lady-like activities like reading or knitting. Or Jo would practice her fencing.

It's also where most memories of their mother come from. They would see her looking down at them by her bedroom window. Or they would see her gardening from their window.
If it wasn't for the fact that they had heard her argue with their father, they would've thought her deaf or a ghost. And if it wasn't for being told, they wouldn't have known she was their mother.

Remembering all these memories had brought some strong emotions to the girls. Anger, disgust, sadness.
They hated the fact that their mother wasn't there for much. They were disgusted at her behavior and themselves for being mad at their own mother.
And they were saddened because they'll never have any new memories of her again and they wish they could.

They were so sucked into their emotions they didn't notice the thorns that surrounded Odette and water from the hose sputtering at Joan's feet even though it had been turned off.
They finally noticed when the thorns got so long they poked Odette. And when the hose sprayed water on Joan's face.

This certainly didn't bring any memories, from anywhere.