Chapter 5 - IV

IV

10 years ago

17 september

10:20

.𖥔 ݁ ˖

This morning's encounter with Az has not left my head. The way he smiled at me when I was telling him about my thoughts had awoken something in me … something dark.

Something about everything happening felt like some sort of curse or the beginning of something bigger. If you think about it, everything lines up perfectly. 

I began packing up my bedroom in preparation for the investigation to begin about the four murders that happened yesterday morning, the whispers of the wind keeping me on my toes as I listen to a jukebox play in the back of my head, the series of events playing through my brain, multiple theories clouding my judgement and the facts at hand. 

We're officially moving in with Rosa.

// hey, the name! Did you remember?

Rosa is our godmother and our legal guardian since our parents are… well, dead. Atsu told us to be careful around her though, she has a bad history being a sorceress in our hometown. She's not exactly a kingdom favourite either.

Atsu also warned us about the side she tries to hide from everyone but generally fails. He warned us about the spells she tended to cast, and the fact he suspected she casted one on him. I still remember the horror on our faces that day. 

I made sure to remind Azazel and Aika about the encounter Atsuyo had with Rosa, reminding them that the life in that house would not be much better than the life we had under the home of our parents. Azazel nodded in agreement, Aika was confused as to what I meant, but we'll tell her when we're older. She's too young to know the truth behind the horrors of the world… even if she did see her own parents' bodies lifeless before everyone else.

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It was odd. Moving in with somebody else felt like a sleepover, with people your family absolutely hates. I could not ignore the guilt I felt for moving in with people so torturous. But there was something hidden in the way I express myself in comparison to other people when moving into a newfound home, let alone, an abusive one. I was curious. 

I was more curious than I was scared.

It was a strange feeling, one I don't think any sane person has felt like this before. I begin to lose myself in my thoughts in the midst of packing for the move to Rosa's residence during the investigation. To another person, I look like I'm daydreaming or dissociating – to me, my attention's on the minimal details of the murders, the suspects, the blood, the memories of everything dashing through my head like they're on a race track, trying to cross the finish line. These thoughts begin calm, but not long after they start, my head begins to ache. The thoughts suddenly race through my head faster than my brain can handle. I drop what I'm doing in the moment and I sit down, trying to calm them on my own, but nothing works. I can't distract myself with anything. The next thing I knew, I was screaming Azazel's name.

⛦ ⛦ ⛦

"AZAZEL!"

I don't think I've ever had to scream that loud in my life. It didn't take long before he came into my room in a genuine shock.

"Alynne, what the fuck is happening to you."

He inquired with no intention to hold back his thoughts, blatant concern behind his stern voice. Incoming behind him was my little sister, who had obviously heard the gut-curling screams from my bedroom.

I tried to work the mental courage to speak, but nothing was coming out, just barely able to breathe. Azazel was quick to nod and tell Aika to get one of the guards. Aika understood this, we all had telepathical minds it seemed.

I stayed there, hurling and gripping my head with the fear of lashing out and harming somebody. Azazel stood by my side, whispering soft hymns like he always would. It was a tactic to put me and Aika to sleep, he picked it up from our family, it was a generation hymn that started from our ancestors.

While Azazel took this procedure, Aika ran into the room and directed the guard and police to my area. The guard and police both looked in shock at the sighting. I literally looked insane.

The officer and guard stood for a moment, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. There was a young girl hurled over her knees going batshit crazy, crying, in pain clearly, and looked like she was about to lose her shit. If I were them, I wouldn't know what to do either. 

All I remember from that point on is blacking out from the amount I cried that night and passing out due to how much pain I was in. That experience certainly changed things in my perspective, changes that would haunt me forever. I never thought I'd forever be haunted by theories about how and why the "16th September Nobility Massacre" occurred: and how and why my family got involved.