Editing Eldramin (section)

== Chapter 25 ==
''Fannara''

It didn’t take long for me to start blacking out once we got to the palace. Towering marble columns supported the glass edifice and intricate designs of vines with blooming flowers laced the exterior. Real plants framed the whole scene, massive gardens filled with fountains and dozens of plants sprawled out on either side of the building. Guard towers broke up the majesty the gilded gates otherwise held. 

The familiarity of it was more unsettling than reassuring and lead to unconsciousness rather than awe. However, the memories flashed by so quickly, I don’t think Ana fully noticed and I’m not sure I went fully unconscious. 

The transport glided to a stop in an underground parking area. I got out and looked around in awe at the scene before me. Dim lights illuminated a path to the stairwell, but they were practically useless as the waterfall that ran under the glass walls and floor of the garage emitted a bioluminescent light. I fixated on the running water, watching as it leaped up to splash the glass, leaving an array of droplets shining like gems. 

The door of the transport thudded shut and brought my attention back to Ana who was holding the bag from the hospital and my old carpetbag that had come from Alithos with me. I hadn’t known it had been in the transport, but it was nice to see something that was connected to memories that wouldn’t knock me unconscious. 

“Let’s head up, Wryn is home and Moren said he’d stop by in an hour or so.” Ana turned and began climbing a glass staircase that was nearly invisible from where I stood. I quickly followed, trying not to get distracted by the glowing water beneath me and pulling my sweater tighter. 

The interior of the building was no less impressive than the exterior and no less unsettling. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the white halls with their gilded detailing weren’t only familiar from my memories; this was the setting of my nightmares. I kept half-expecting to see the little boy round the corner again, like he had so many times in my dreams, and start crying blood all over the white carpet. To say I was on edge would be an understatement. 

Thankfully, the only thing I found when I rounded the corner with Ana was an incredible room with a glass ceiling, supported by carved wood beams, holding dozens of colored shards, painting the room in more hues than I could name. Vines and greenery hung from the columns and rafters, glowing nearly as brightly as the colored glass with the sun behind them. Couches covered in deep hues and carefully carved tables and chairs sat arranged around the room in a very natural yet intentional manner. I had no memory of this place. 

Ana smiled to herself as she watched my amazed expression. “A bit different than you remember, huh?” 

I bit my lip and shook my head. “I don’t remember this at all.” Ana laughed and surveyed the room, nodding. 

“No, I don’t think you would. This used to be a patio, but it was rotting and no one ever used it, so I took it on as a little personal project.” Before I could respond, she turned and continued up the hallway we had been following. The marble halls and golden fixtures seemed far less beautiful after seeing Ana’s “little project”. 

If it hadn’t been for Ana leading me, I would have thought I was going in circles; the hallways all looked the exact same. Ana led me a little further until she paused mid-stride and glanced over her shoulder at me. I wasn’t sure what was making her hesitate, but as I looked around where we had stopped it clicked. This was a very familiar hallway, my room was a few steps further down. 

Little visions flashed before my eyes, racing Eli from my room to his, sneaking into Jayson’s room to wake him up, crying outside my bedroom after locking myself out. I watched the memories with fascination, relishing the happy feeling of being with my siblings and doing weird things or being chased by my dad after stealing food from the kitchen. One time, mom had to chase me around the house with a towel after I took off, trying to escape a bath, leaving wet carpet and little puddles in my wake. 

I blinked and realized I was lying on the carpet. Ana and a girl, who I assume was Larawryn, were bent over me, worry etched into their faces as Ana held her telecom up to her ear and talked to someone. Wryn noticed as I started to move and gave me a little smile before nudging Ana. The sheer amount of relief on that woman's face nearly made me start laughing. She finished up the call she was on and snapped her telecom shut, immediately focusing on me. 

“I’m thinking maybe we don’t bring you back here, at least not until there’s someone here who can keep your head from acquainting itself with the floor.” So that’s why my head hurt. 

I laughed and nodded. “Probably a good idea.” Pushing myself into a sitting position, I looked over at Larawryn, who was sitting on my left. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. My name is Fannara.” I extended my hand to her, and she shook it. 

“Nice to meet you, Fannara. I’m Larawryn, but you can call me Wryn.” She looked so much like her brother, it was almost unsettling. Wryn glanced over at Ana, who was furiously typing on her telecom, and stood up, extending a hand to me. “We should get you out of here before you get more head trauma and Mom has a heart attack.” She helped me to my feet and turned me around, snatching my bags before leading me to a separate part of the palace. 

We passed the glass room again and I couldn’t help pausing again to take it all in. Wryn stopped with me to gaze at the incredible room. 

“It’s such a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the first floor,” Wryn said. “Everything else feels so sterile and then you come across this.” She smiled and looked up at the glass ceiling. 

She looked over at me, and I nodded. “It’s nice to see something that doesn’t make me think of a hospital.” Wryn chuckled and waved the hand that wasn’t carrying the carpetbag to indicate I should continue to follow her. 

I was led through more white hallways before we arrived at another staircase, one that widened the closer it got to the floor with intricately ornate handrails. The carpet down the middle of the stairs gradated from white to a dark blue, nearly black, that sharply contrasted the white marble walls. 

As Larawyrn led me through the second floor, she explained this was where her family lived, well, t was where she and Ana lived. 

“We don’t see Moren very often because, well, clearly, he’s off at the university, and Dad…well, can’t say much about that, but he doesn’t normally stay with us.” She shrugged as if warding off any comment I may have and quickened her step, only stopping once she reached her chosen destination: the living room. 

My bags were carefully placed on the floor next to a couch—which I was kindly but sternly made to lay down on—before Wryn scurried out of the room. As soon as I was sure Wryn couldn’t see me, I stood up and walked over to a large window on one side of the room. All of Elquar lay before me, the tall towers and looming buildings reflecting the oranges and reds of the setting sun. Far on the horizon two of the moons could be seen, the smaller of the two just barely peaking over the mountains. 

A disgruntled huff made me turn around and realize Wryn had come back into the room. “Couch. Now.” I obeyed the fifteen-year-old and lay back down, accepting the cup of water she’d brought. She sat on the edge of the couch across from me and seemed to be lost in thought as she stared out the window. 

Without much warning, she stood up and began to leave, pausing to tell me, “Mom called with your doctors and they said it’s okay for you to stay as long as you don’t hit the ground again. They also said you should get some rest, it sounds like Dad gave you one heck of a day.” Then she was gone. 

I figured the doctors knew what they were doing and decided to try to rest. Closing my eyes, I tried to not think about anything that had happened that day. It didn’t work. Every time I was close to feeling relaxed, I’d think of the video that had been drilled into my brain all day: blood, screams, gunfire, it was enough to keep me awake for days. But eventually, I must have managed to at least doze for a while, because the next thing I knew, it was super dark in the room and I had no clue what to do with myself. In the distance, the city shone with neon light, twinkling like the stars sitting above them. 

I sat up, patting the side of the couch to ensure my bags were still there. They were and suddenly I was out of things I could do. Where were the light switches? No idea, and I certainly didn’t remember enough of the layout of the palace to find my way around. Plus, I didn’t have anywhere to go. 

I heard the faint sound of a door being closed and then several voices, but it was too far away to place them. Footsteps started ascending the staircase, and I was immediately on edge. Suddenly, the lights turned on and my eyes, which had gotten accustomed to the darkness, refused to let me see who was in the hallway outside. 

Blinking ferociously, I was able to clear my vision enough to make out a familiar figure. There was Moren, looking worried as he listened to his mother tell the story of me “making friends with the floor” earlier. I smiled and waved, and he returned the gesture. The smile needed work. 

After a lovely dinner in which we agreed that Moren had the best chance of catching me if a memory should hit, Ana asked me if I wanted to wait to see the first floor until the next day. It was a tempting offer, but I felt more rested now and just wanted to get it over with. So, Moren and I ventured down the stairs and through the hallways until reaching the same spot where I’d gone down earlier. 

I paused and looked down the hallway, trying to push the dread in my stomach away. 

Moren glanced down at me, looking concerned, and held out his hand. “Need a support?” I raised an eyebrow, unsure if he was joking. 

“And kill my dignity? Please, I’ll be fine.” He didn’t look convinced, but didn’t argue either. It took about four more steps for my dignity to die. 

A sudden wave of dizziness swept over me as I realized I was standing in the exact same spot where the nightmare I’d had months ago during the attack had taken place. I grabbed Moren’s hand without thinking and stumbled back a little. 

“Is it a memory?” His question pulled me out of my jumbled thoughts.

I shook my head. “It’s just…” I trailed off, not wanting to share the vivid horrors my brain had shown me. Then another thought came to me. “Moren, what happened to Jayson?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…after I got taken, what happened to him? Did Jana get him too?” I looked up at him, scared that his expression would tell me my fears were right—that my nightmares were right. 

Moren shook his head. “Nope. Jay was okay if a bit shaken and scared.” I nodded, satisfied with the answer. 

We continued on, fairly regularly pausing as a memory threatened to knock me over. We soon discovered that I could keep from totally losing consciousness if I could get Moren to start telling me about the memory I was thinking of. More and more of them included him. Apparently, I was the host of many playdates and got into a wide array of mischief, most of it involving Eli in one way or another. Learning about my memories was far more enjoyable this way. 

After what was probably a dreadfully long time for Moren, we reached the door of my bedroom. I took in a deep breath to ready myself and turned the knob. It was pitch black in there, so Moren turned on the light and immediately stiffened. I did too. 

Just like the nightmare, dozens upon dozens of folded pieces of paper and letters covered in strange symbols littered the floor. It looked like they had been slipped under the door and had gotten blown across the room. 

Moren made a weird noise, and when I looked at him, it looked like he was cringing. 

“Oh good Source,” he muttered and started sweeping up the pieces of paper by the armful and dumping them in a sad pile by the door. I bent down and picked up one of the papers, holding it up to the light and twisting it back and forth, trying to figure out how to read it and what in the world it said. 

Moren looked up from where he was collecting the notes and began explaining what they were. “Those would be from me. After Iz- er, you, left, this room was locked and no one ever went in it. I guess I got into the habit of sending updates.” I continued to turn the paper around, but it was hopeless. It was completely illegible. 

“I hate to break it to you, but you had horrible handwriting.” He laughed and walked over to where I was examining the page. I handed it to him and he turned it around to show me how it was supposed to be read. Still unreadable. 

“It’s not written in a normal alphabet. It was a weird code we had made up.” He read over the page before crumbling it up and tossing it into the pile by the door. “But that one’s not worth reading; let’s find a better one.” 

I gave him a weird look. “A better one for what?” Moren grinned over at me mischievously as he plucked a paper from the pile and glanced over it. 

“For teaching you the code.” 

The rest of the night was spent with Moren teaching me the symbols and the letters or phrases they aligned with, and then me trying to write my own sentences using a key he made for me. Of course, it was disrupted by sudden flashes of memories, but they didn’t last long with him there. I don’t remember how I fell asleep that night, but I knew without a doubt that, for the first time in a while, I was happy.