I woke up from the desk that I had been sleeping on. My father had given me some paperwork over the human anatomy to look over. I was pretty tired, I really wanted to go visit Ciel soon.
The door opened and father came into the study, sitting in his plush leather chair.
I suddenly sat up, upright and ready to listen to what he had to say.
"What does degradation of the ego do over time?" He asked.
"Suicidal tenancies." I replied, he gave a grunt in approval.
"Good, I gave you the hardest. You knew it without a hitch." He sat up in his chair and gestured for me to follow him.
I stood up and walked out the door with him, following him. Then suddenly, he disappeared. The room reformed and I was in a room. It looked like one in a mental hospital. The paint was peeled from it walls and even the beds frame was rusted. Blood stained the sheets and... the toilet. Didn't want to think what happened to it.
I heard footsteps approach the room, and it was a nurse. Her hair was in a tight bun but was obscured by the nurses hat that she wore. She stuck her hand out through the bars and outstretched in her palm, lied a key.
"Take this, your going to need it." She said, I approached the hand and took the key from it. I was taken aback by coldness of her hands and jumped back in shock. Clenching the key in my hand. She sort of dissipated into a cloud of black smoke.
There was a buzzing sound followed by a click, and the door swung open. I hesitantly walked out. The hallway was eerie. There was puddles of water on the ground, moss was in spots next to it. It leaked from the ceiling. The wall was chipped even more, in some spots there was not a single paint spot.
"Where the hell..." I muttered, reaching in my pockets for my lighter. Grabbing it, I turned up its flame rise and flicked it on so I could see better. I was not a fan of lights flickering on and off.
There was a sudden thud from my right side, I made a sharp turn and had a surprised look on my face.
"Um.. S-Solas... is that you?" I sighed.
"Lavellan? We are trapped by a nightmare demon... He is using our fears against us. You must not surrender." He barked.
Suddenly my father clouded my mind. I just turned away and started walking forward saying, "You're just a figment of my imagination. Father is testing me, I must not disappoint him."
"Lavellan, wait." The voice was drowned out as I reach the end of the hall.
My father appeared next to me, he ruffled my hair and chuckled.
"Good girl." He cooed, "Now let's go visit the specimen."
I gulped, he wanted me to dissect someone alive again. I was afraid. I was afraid that I may end up enjoying this. Fathers hidden lifestyle. But if I don't want to disappoint...
"Here we are." We entered a room and there was a man strapped on the table. He had no face, a sack was tied around his head.
He was bound to the table, squiggling a bit... alive and ready for harvest.
Father went to a table with a recorder on it and put a record in, settling the pin on the spinning disc. Classical music started flowing through the room.
"First things first, make sure your safety gear is on. Don't want blood getting anywhere unpleasant." He murmured the last part.
We put on our aprons and face masks, I snapped my gloves on, making sure to put two pairs on.
"Start the incision, dear." He handed me a scalpel.
I needed to be precise with this. I rubbed alcohol over the patients belly and sternum. The made a straight line that went from upper chest down to the lower abdomen.
"Good, good." Father said as he peeled back the skin, using pins to secure the flesh in place. We ignored the screaming. The patient was being very loud.
"We must extract the kidneys. They are in perfect conditions. Then sew up the incision. You'll perform a shock therapy, if that doesn't work. Lobotomy should do the trick." He ordered.
It was a messy ordeal with the patient failing about. Father secured him down with even more. As we went further to it, It seemed as if Father was disappearing. As more time passed, I realized I was the one doing it. I almost threw up, I was becoming my father. But, I couldn't help it. I loved what I was doing. I loved hearing the screams of anguish.
"Lavellan!" Solas yelled, I gasped in surprise as he appeared in my vision. Blood coated my hands to my forearms. And I firmly held the scalpel in my hands.
"Who are you." I said, narrowing my eyes into a glare.
"I am Solas. Do you not remember me?" He said, staring into my eyes.
"No. I wouldn't state otherwise, why the hell are your ears pointed. Why are you calling me Lavellan?" I argued, returning to my work. Father would want me to multi-task in a situation like this.
"There must be some part of your memory that allowed you to recognize the name... Lavellan." He said back, ignoring what I was doing.
I got the lobotomy tools ready, I was getting frustrated. How did he get in here, the pain screaming was making me angrier. There may be a seed of truth in his words.
"You almost always bring Cassandra on missions with you. Your the Inquisitor, an Elf..." He stated.
My grey eyes narrowed in frustration, I was seething with anger for an unknown reason. I was midway into an lobotomy, it came to a halt as sewed the persons mouth shut. As if it would stop the babbling person from talking... I grabbed the bone saw that was lying on the table, suddenly interested in its edges?
"Snap out of it, the demon is toying with you. Think of me, the Inquisition, Genesis." He probed.
I snarled with anger and positioned the saw over the patients neck, starting sawing at it and I didn't stop until he his was no longer connected to his body. I let the gurgle of his blood and strained yells calm me.
I grabbed the pen and clipboard, writing down things.
"Death by depreciation. Shock Therapy and lobotomization was unsuccessful. Both kidneys were extracted. Operation is a failure." I said, with such a conviction that I believed it myself.
"Lavellan. My heart... you must believe me, have faith in me." Solas tried to persuade me. I wanted to believe him, it felt like he was telling the truth.
There was a pregnant pause between us as I gazed at the blood that filled the floor, the amass of cadavers that was huddled in a corner. The smell of death permeated the air as I breathed in sharply. Breaking into a cough. I was no longer mad, only confused.
"Did... Did I do that?" I asked, hoping I didn't cause it. He shook his head yes and I fell to my knees. Blood covering my legs.
"Shit!" I yelled, "I fucked up. It was never suppos'd- it shouldn't hav-... not like this, whatever this is."
I was disappointed with myself. How could I have been so... heartless, psychotic... obsessed.
"To get out. You just need to use that key and open the door." He told me, I looked at the key that reappeared in my hand and to the door. I pushed it in and turned it clockwise.
Hearing a soft click as the door opened. In an instant I jolted awake, I was sweating profusely and Solas was next to me. He gave me a wry smile and enveloped me in hug.
"Was that real?" I asked.
"As real as the fade. I am assuming that was what your true form is?" He said, more like stated.
"Yes..." I said, sighing.
"I see, I will return." He left the room, shutting the door softly. Leaving me to my own devices.