Pet: Revelations - Chapter Twenty-One (Patreon)

Iris

Ever since our disagreement on the ship, Remus has been avoiding me. I know Remus well enough that he rarely goes hours without seeing me, let alone days. I hadn’t seen him since our fight, which until now gave me more time to hang around Sky and Ezra. When I would wake, there was always food and pink liquid waiting for me, and before I went to sleep, as if Remus calculated the times he knew we wouldn’t run into one another.

I was grateful for it before, but now, when I really need to talk to him, I am irritated.

I quietly pace the room with the curtains drawn for once. The lights are automatic, bathing the bedroom in a warm, comforting glow as I keep pacing. My resolve grows weaker with each passing hour as I wait for Remus to return. It’s been hours since he ran into Sky and me on the balcony. He claimed he had important things to deal with, and would speak to me when he returned. I should have known he was only putting me off. I don’t even know if he plans on returning to this bedroom. For all I know, he could have been sleeping somewhere else this entire time.

That is, if he even needs sleep anymore.

I briefly glance across the room as my reflection mimics me, pulling my attention and causing me to pause. My hair is pulled into a single braid, but a few stray strands tickle my forehead and temples. I slowly reach up and push my hair away from my face as I move closer to the mirror. My eyes follow the movement, and to my surprise they look less dull than they did in my first few days arriving here. I pull in a deep breath, smoothing out the thin blue dress that falls over my body perfectly, dragging the floor. The material is from this world; it molds to my body, never getting too warm, but always keeping me cool.

I am reminded of the moment on Earth between me and Remus. When he stood behind me, admiring my naked body. My breath slows as I recall that moment. I barely knew him as anything other than my captor, so I was terrified. But now, I see what he saw. I slowly lift my hands to my waist, running my fingers along the fabric as it teases my curves.

I don’t need to wait for him to come to me.

I pull in a deep breath, hoping to give myself some form of bravery as I pull my hair out of it’s braid. My hair falls past my shoulders in loose waves, and I make sure to use my fingers to muss it slightly. As I continue to stare at myself, an idea pops into my head. I quickly cross the room, making my way into the bathroom where Remus’s hair pin sits on the counter. It’s the one he gifted to me. I quickly snatch it up, making my way back to the mirror to pull half of my hair up, securing it.

I then step back, studying myself.

“You can do this,” I murmur.

I ignore the doubts running through my head as I head to the door. The metal is cool as I grip the handle, and I can’t help but laugh as I mentally note that there is a door instead of a wall that Remus can place and remove at will. I pull open the door, half expecting someone to be guarding on the other side. But the hall is empty. I look both ways before stepping out of the room in search of Remus.

The halls are peaceful at night. No one roams them, and as night falls, the ethereal lights glitter like something out of a fantasy. My footsteps feel loud even though they barely make a sound in the silence, and I place my hands behind my back to contain my anxiety as I maneuver through this strange palace.

It takes me five minutes to reach the large double doors that Remus disappears through every day. I have no idea where it leads, or what lies beyond it, but I was never given any rule that I couldn’t go past it.

It’s like Remus said, this is my new home.

This door, however, is different than the door in the bedroom. It doesn’t have a handle. It towers as tall as the walls, with a tree similar to the one drawn on the ceiling in the bedroom. The branches and the roots sprawl out, and as I move closer, I realize it is illuminated, pulsing slowly. My fingers tingle as I reach out, eager to touch it.

The door is warm, the pulse almost alive beneath my touch as I run my fingers over it. I gasp as a small shock strikes under my finger, and I rip my hand back, stumbling as my vision blurs. The door opens on its own, but it makes no sound, and barely creaks open enough that I can slip through.

I cradle my hand against my chest, watching it wearily as the thought of turning back occurs to me. I have no idea what it takes to maneuver this palace. It might just be better if I turned back now. But as soon as the thought occurs to me, I am reminded of Sky’s pleading expression, and Ezra and Xion.

Pushing my fear aside, I step through the small space of the door, into a long hallway. My eyes widen as I take it in. The marble is white, and the ceiling is glass, revealing the night sky of Euoa. There are particles of light that illuminate the ceiling and the hall below, and as I look ahead, I notice that it leads to a balcony that opens to a dual staircase.

But still, I see no Celestivine.

I force my feet to move through the hallway, noting that the closer I get to the balcony, the more sounds I hear. My heart beats wildly in my chest, and it takes me mental effort to remind myself to breathe as I finally come up to the balcony to overlook more of the palace.

In the night, my breath is once again taken away. The ceiling rises up so high, that I have to tilt my head all the way back to see it fully. Different symbols are etched into it, with the glittering soft lights to illuminate it, making it glow. What’s more, I see more Celestivine. More beings who look just like Remus… and beings who do not.

“Chital myorno uleysus comta!—” Someone painfully grips my arm, pulling me around. But as soon as we make eye contact, he stops speaking, his eyes widening as if he’s seen a ghost.

The feeling is mutual.

The being before me is not human. I know that instantly. He also doesn’t look Celestivine. He is eerie to look at, in a way that Remus is not. Though he looks scared of me, my body urges me to move away from him.

He is tall, and I would say he's what his race could be if not for the sickly black veins that run through his flesh, just like Ezra’s. His hair is dark. Not just black, but it swallows light, just like his eyes. They remind me of the vast emptiness of space. Black veins barely peek out from under his skin around his eyes. He looks like he should be sick, but he seems fine. And I can’t help but wonder if his appearance has anything to do with the way Ezra looked after he was attacked.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t…” I trail off. I have no idea what he was saying, but he sounded upset. He blinks, listening as I struggle to finish a sentence, then blinks again. But he doesn’t speak. He takes a hesitant step back, releasing me before he looks towards the steps as if he himself doesn’t know what to do.

Suddenly, his body is violently thrown by an invisible force against the nearest column, and I scream for him from the suddenness of it all. Footsteps break through my terror, and as I turn to take in the assailant, I feel both a mixture of relief and fear. Remus ignores me completely as he closes the distance between him and the stranger. His hair billows gently, and I swear I can feel the electricity humming off of him as he walks by me, speaking in a language I cannot understand.

“Myosh ratal fumway?” I shiver at his tone, and as I look past him to the man, I see his features are contorted in pain.

He’s hurting him.

What’s even more horrifying is that Remus’s hands remain by his side as he watches the man struggle.

“R-Remus,” I whisper, trying to find my voice. He doesn’t hear me, and I swear the air is growing heavier with each passing second. The man’s audible groan finally snaps me out of my terror, and I make my move, reaching for Remus.

“Remus, stop—” My fingers never reach. They come into contact with an invisible force that sends a painful surge through my body, reminding me of that day in the snow. My body doesn’t know how to process it, sending me stumbling backward enough that my foot catches air, and I go tumbling down the steps. I can’t even scream. My body doesn’t belong to me in this moment; it’s acting on its own accord, shutting down to move into survival mode as the world tilts, and I fall down the steps, unable to catch myself.