Chapter twenty-one-Dormitory.
My mind wasn’t working. My body wasn’t working. After Malistaire left, I sunk to the ground and died.
Well, technically.
I wanted to die.
I wanted to go home, to be comforted by my mother, and see my stubborn sister. I wanted to do something. I cried.
I cried, and cried, and cried.
And I had to watch it all over again. In my mind, in my nightmares…
Black fire… Their faces… Burning… Agony… Screaming… Malistaire…
I sobbed out a cry, and realized for a second where I was.
I was not there; I was in the Headmaster’s office. I was safe… But not enough. Nothing could keep the nightmares from plaguing my mind.
“Are you strong enough to talk to me, Mary?”
I nodded, and it felt like a lie. My broken heart was burning in agony.
I felt something grip my hand. “Everything is going to be worked out, and you’re not going to be alone. You may be his child, but I recognized Sylvia everywhere in you. Please, stop crying…”
The Headmaster recognized me in the way others didn’t… He saw Sylvia. She faked her death to save my life on Christmas Eve… Now, she is truly dead on the day she faked her death. I wonder if Malistaire did that on purpose.
“Where am I going to live?” I whimpered.
“We have school Dormitories, inside the school grounds. It’s the safest place for you to be- Malistaire cannot step upon my grounds.”
I’m going to live in a Dorm…
“Nobody is going to want to be near me… They’re all going to think I’m a freak…”
“Abigail Silvereyes has had a harsh life, as well. She is the one who helped bring you here. You, Mary, are not alone.” His voice was gruff with sorrow.
I felt tears. “I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to be at the Dorms.”
The Headmaster nodded in consent. “As you wish, but may I ask you one thing?” He leaned over. “How did you figure out Malistaire and Sylvia were your true parents?”
My voice was now gruff. “Sylvia was always right there… I just never saw it. I never saw that my own mother could be her…” It hurt to talk of my mother. So, I talked of my father. “I… Went to the library, after everything that was happening. And… Before I went to the library, I had this dream.”
“Dream?”
“Yes, about Malistaire murdering a man named Adam Deathbringer, because of a book.”
The Headmaster’s eyes widened. “You witnessed his death?”
I nodded. “It was horrible- and it’s not the first time”
“Do you know what the book was named?”
“The Golden Age. It was sent to the Wizard City
“How did you connect the clues?”
“Sylvia, my mother, and I had the same famous moonstone eyes. My mother told me she knew Sylvia well, before she “died.” Malistaire spared me and nobody knew until now- that he recognized me as his daughter, and that I was truly alive. I bet the whole reason he visited Golem Court , was because he wanted to know if I was truly who I am today… I’ve also been hearing Malistaire, as well… I heard him in whispers, in the wind. He told me to be prepared.”
“And, of course, your strange school.” The Headmaster nodded, thinking.
I turned my head. “I wish to go now.”
He nodded once more. “Richard is outside the door, ready to take you.”
I got up, weak as I was with trauma, and walked out the door. I did not feel the chill of ice. I only felt pain. I looked and saw Richard, sitting on the steps of the Estate.
“Richard.” My voice was weak. He only looked at me, and said nothing. He took my hand and led me to the school.
Nobody was there. They were all at home. I would have been, but I had no house now. I had no home.
He led me to the left, and by a beautiful cherry blossom tree, was a large array of towers. Wide, one roomed, and airy. He led me to one of the towers, Tower W, and unlocked the door. He gave me the key. “I cannot go inside Girl’s Dormitory,”
“Richard, I-“I spoke, feeling one tear fall.
“What?”
“I… I don’t think we should…”
He nodded. He understood. I had a feeling he was feeling the same way.
“Things are just… Too painful. I don’t think I can love you again… Not after this.”
And then he was gone.
I stifled a sob, and put the keys in my pocket.
I turned around, and walked into the Dorm. It already had a neat bed, a crackling fireplace, and a desk. But to me, everything was cold.
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