Chapter 48: Love You Best

It's Wednesday, and another Snow Day. There have been so many recently that Zinnia has begun home-schooling the children as best she can so that they're prepared for high school. It seems this winter will never end.

But they've been snowed in for a while now, and it's clear the kids are going stir-crazy. Even Cassiopeia, who's usually quite nice, loses her temper at Polaris.

"You've already brushed your teeth three times," she complains. "They're not going to get any cleaner!"

Polaris winces, and brushes harder. He rinses and spits blood, then bursts into tears. "Look what you made me do! I'm bleeding!" he shouts at Cassie. 

Ambrosia runs downstairs at the sound of her brother's shouts. "Did you make him cry?" she demands of Cassie. 

"I didn't do anything!" Cassie starts to argue back, but all three fall silent when their dad walks in the door.

Blaze just shakes his head and sighs, finishing up the morning's chores. When he's done, he turns to the kids sternly.

"How would you three like to go to the arcade?"

The kids cheer, with both joy and relief. They were so sure they were going to be punished.

Excitement! Ambrosia insists on riding shotgun, and brags about it the whole way there.

At the arcade, Polaris and Cassiopeia immediately run off to play tag.

Sensing his oldest daughter feels a bit left out, Blaze offers to teach Ambrosia how to skate.

"You know," he says, "Your mother and I had our first kiss here."

"Eeeww, Dad, you don't need to tell me that stuff! Gross!"

Their parents don't let them play with the mysterious disappearing gnomes around the house, so the kids take their frustrations out on the whack-a-gnome machines. Whack!

With Polaris and Cassie hanging out by the whack-a-gnome and Darwin's Revenge games, Ambrosia is left to spend time with Dad, only to have her score beat ten times over.

Ambrosia really hates losing. Feeling on the verge of tears, she stomps away towards the bowling pins.

Oblivious, Blaze orders some pizza.

YYYYEEAAAHHHHH, pizza!

 Ambrosia is older than Cassie; she feels she's entitled to more of Polaris's time. Right?

Well, whatever. Siblings are stupid; Ambrosia can play by herself.

Go forth, my son!

"Fffff.... Phooey!" Ambrosia storms off to whine at her dad to take her home.

When he finally relents, it's almost nighttime and Pol and Cassie are still playing and laughing together. Ambrosia paints grumpily, wondering why Polaris is ignoring her if he can hear her thoughts and must know how she feels.

She's so wrapped up in her thoughts that she doesn't hear Polaris come up behind her.

"I don't love her better, you know," he says.

Ambrosia jumps, whirling around. "What?"

"You're thinking that I love Cassie best, and that's why I wanted to pay with her. But it's not true. I love you best, and always."

Ambrosia stares at him for a while, trying to understand how he can be so open and honest when she's so... not. "You're not supposed to have a favorite sister," she mutters finally, trying to hide her pleasure. Pointless, because he can read her mind anyway.

"I know," Polaris says, "But I do anyway.... so... Just because I play with someone else... doesn't mean... you know?"

Ambrosia can't hold back her laugh. "OK, I'll stop being jealous," she says, rolling her eyes.

Polaris offers up a hug, and after a moment, she accepts.

"I love you best, too," she says quietly.

***

Nighttime.

Polaris sleeps fitfully. He dreams.

He dreams.

There's someone in his room.

A woman? Or... something else?

It's looking at him.

Watching him.

He's so tired, and hungry, but he can't move...

***

Polaris wakes suddenly, with a start. "Who's there?" he whispers, his heart pounding. He fumbles for the light switch.

No one. Just a dream, then.

No, Polaris knows better. But the smell of baking pie takes precedence.

Need food!

The Hands are celebrating Snowflake Day with a small gift-giving party. It's a bittersweet celebration; Josie and Jonesy have both passed away just yesterday. Only Zoe, Glenda, and Glenda's parents Spencer and Tamika are invited. Realizing they have no close friends outside of family is not a big shock for Zinnia and Blaze; all of Blaze's coworkers are celebrating with their own families, and Zinnia is shy and rarely leaves the house. Which is fine for her, she is more than happy to be surrounded by loving family.

She misses her parents, though. Blaze can't say the same for his own parents, who passed weeks ago.

Cassie's hogging the bath again.

Polaris can't believe his mom is making him do schoolwork on Snowflake Day. "You'll be starting high school in just a few days," Zinnia says. "You have to be prepared."

Luckily, it's not long before the guests arrive.

Spencer and Tamika make their introductions.

Glenda wants Zinnia to know that she thinks Zinnia's kids are really sweet, and that she and Zoe are thinking of adopting themselves.

Well. Actually. Glenda wants to adopt, and is working on convincing Zoe, who thinks kids are a nuisance and doesn't want to bother. "Doesn't my sister have enough for the both of us?" she often says.

Finally, it's time for presents.

Glenda shoots wistful glances at Sage and Nova, playing happily with their own presents. Her maternal pangs are getting stronger, and she's not getting any younger...

Mostly everyone is pleased with their gifts, which include a new teddy for Cassie, a chess set for Blaze, a plant for Zinnia, and a bicycle for Ambrosia.

Polaris, however, gets two cheap gifts - a rainbow light and an ugly stuffed toy - and nothing else. He'd be more upset by this, but he still has this morning's weird -- dream? vision? or was it reality? -- on his mind.

"Sleep paralysis," Zoe (now a full-fledged doctor) says when Polaris brings it up to his dad. "It's when you are partially awake, but you can't move or react. And some people will hallucinate, feel like they're being watched, or like someone is in the room. Was it like that?"

Polaris nods; it was exactly like that. Was it really a hallucination, then?

Blaze frowns. "This is the first I've heard of this, Pol," he says, gazing with concern at his son.

Polaris looks away, trying to block out the remembered terror of this morning. "It only just happened today, I don't know why. It was really scary," he admits.

Blaze and Zoe exchange a look; Polaris looks as though he might cry, and has begun to mumble incoherently to himself. "Sleep paralysis can be treated in a number of ways," Zoe says finally. "The first step is to eliminate all stress, and make sure you're getting a full night's sleep."

"Do you ever have thoughts that bother you, especially at night, and keep you up?" she asks Polaris.

Polaris knows she means regular thoughts, not other people's thoughts, but for a second he's struck dumb with the fear that she somehow knows. He doesn't want anyone to think he's weird, or bad somehow. A quick listen to her thoughts assuages that fear, and he just shakes his head. "No-oo," he mumbles quietly.

"Well," Zoe says, "How about you try a new sleeping position, tonight? If you sleep on your back try sleeping on your side, and if you sleep on your stomach try sleeping on your back? And if it keeps happening, come to me or your dad, all right?"

Polaris nods. "'Kay," he says, then runs off to play with one of the puppies.

That night, he tries sleeping on his side, feeling strange and uneasy...

***

He knows he's dreaming.

Is he dreaming?

He's asleep.

Isn't he?

Two figures, this time. The man seems... familiar, somehow. Polaris can't hear his thoughts, though; he never can, in his dreams.

"Why are you here, slave?" the woman asks. Her voice has a warm quality, but her tone is cold. Polaris feels gooseflesh rise on his skin, feels every hair standing up straight. He would shiver, but he can't move. He would scream, too, actually, he would scream or bolt or cry or do something, but he can't. Can only lie here and feel his heartbeat escalate until it feels as though it will beat right out of his chest.

"There was an agreement," the man says. "I was promised he'd be cursed, but the boy looks fine."

"You have gotten what you paid for," the woman says coldly, "and now you are paying the price. So again I ask you, slave, why have you disobeyed me for the second time?"

Her anger is so strong it's almost tangible; even the man, who has power of his own, cowers. "This isn't what I wanted..." he whimpers.

Polaris struggles. He tries to move, to stand. He tries, and fails. He tries again, and fails again.

He tries a third time, and fails; but something is different this time. He watches himself stand slowly from the bed and, slowly, approach the pair. STOP! he wants to scream. Run!

The woman shakes her head with something like pity. "Maybe not, but it is your responsibility to know the rules. The laws of our people, yours and mine, are not flexible. I have given you what you asked, now you must serve me. Now I will tell you for the last time; stay away from this place, these people. Or you will live to regret it."

"Please," the Polaris in his dream says. "You're too loud. You'll wake him." But they can't hear him. The real Polaris watches from the bed, a whimper caught in his frozen throat.

The man leaves, and the woman follows, and the dream-Polaris follows her. At the door, she turns, staring right through dream-Polaris, staring at the bed, staring straight into Polaris's frozen-open eyes. "Don't worry, my boy," she says. "Your master takes good care of her pets."

***

Polaris wakes gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. As one often does after a disturbing dream, he strips off his clothes and steps into the shower, shivering. He's sure this isn't just a simple case of sleep paralysis. Aunt Zoe didn't say anything about being able to hear entire conversations, and even though Polaris has no idea what it was about, he is determined to find out.

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Notes -

Blah blah.. something... something.. Oh! So, this is the first time I played a "staged" scene in an alternate save. It's strangely liberating. I need to incorporate a fantasy element for my next rolls, but I've never written fantasy before. Like, ever. So... pardon in advance if it's contrived or bad, blame it on inexperience and not my writing skills lol. :\