Far Beyond, Far Below

Ch. XII ''Don't you remember me?''

The early evening sun bathed the room in a warm, tangerine glow, casting long shadows across the tile floor. Henry sat on a low cushioned stool brought up by Jessica's bedside, his chin nestled between the palms of his hands. His eyes were gently fixed on his younger sister, and although it brought him tremendous, overwhelming joy to see her again, a dark cloud loomed over his heart, weighing it down in his chest. Henry struggled to define the feeling. It was uncomfortable, almost unbearable.

How much time had passed since then? How many years had it been since he was spirited away from his old world, from everything and everyone he had ever known? He had a rough idea, but the exact date had long since slipped his mind. Now he wracked his brain, wishing he had paid more attention in the early days.

How long ago was that night? Henry shut his eyes and shuddered. His muscles tensed ever so slightly as he leaned farther forward over his lap, his bony elbows digging further into his thighs. He rubbed his eyes. He did not want to think about that night, that horrible, horrible night.

At least his worst fear had proven false; at least Jessica had lived. She was here, right here before his eyes, and she was going to wake up soon, any minute now.

Henry let out a long, heavy sigh and sat back up to a degree, releasing the strain from his hunched shoulders and lower back. A glance in Charles's direction reaffirmed the other's commitment to vigilance, sitting on the other bed with his head propped in the palm of one hand, the other resting idly in front of his crisscrossed legs. The boy's eyelids hung heavily over his eyes, clearly in need of sleep himself. Every so often his gaze would drop to the space directly in front of him on the bed, where he assumed and resumed a disheartened study of the few wrinkles and creases in the neatly tucked bedclothes. He took a deep, bored breath in and let it out with a wide but quiet yawn.

Excepting the occasional glance at Charles, Henry's attention never left his sister. He thought again about time, and how much had been lost between the two of them. He studied her adolescent face in the evening light. Gone was the soft chubby roundness of her features, the unblemished surface of her skin. She had grown up in her face, sparingly pimpled and lightly freckled, but what was most notable were the large, dark circles under her eyes. Gone was her untroubled expression, the peacefulness in her sleep.

A lot had changed, he decided, since he had gone away all those years ago. And how much had he changed in that time? It had never occurred to him to question it before.

Lost in his thoughts, Henry almost didn't realise when Jessica's eyes slowly began to flutter. It took him only a second to notice, and when he did, he sat straight up and stood so fast he sent the stool he had been sitting on skidding backwards, the wooden legs making a tight screek! against the floor. Charles looked up with a start in the direction of the sound and, upon catching sight of Henry, turned his attention immediately to Jessica, who was just beginning to push herself into a sitting position.

Though tired, she definitely didn't feel as groggy as the last time she had awoken. This time, the magical oils had been allowed to do their work, leaving Jessica with only a mild headache, and even that was barely noticeable to her.

"Jessica!" Charles said happily, sliding off his own bed and coming around to hers.

"...Mhm?" murmured Jessica, rubbing her bleary eyes. Charles stood there with his hands in his pockets, an awkward but genuine smile on his face. Jessica returned the smile, albeit a little confusedly. Her surroundings were still unfamiliar to her, her whereabouts still unknown. Her gaze drifted to the tallish young man standing next to Charles and, noticing that he was staring at her, her usual shyness suddenly took charge of her. She averted her gaze back to Charles and gave him an imploring look. Before Charles could figure out what she meant, Henry took a tentative step towards the bed and sat down facing her. She flinched, wishing she had the courage to move just a tiny bit away from him.