TW: hypnosis
Chapter 53- The First Step (Kiri, Diane)
There was no way Kiri could sleep. She had felt Anna's wound and heard her desperate plea. Nassiri was planning to be the only one left, even if that meant killing off everyone else. She glanced at the clock, seeing it was 11:21 p.m. Monday was only 39 minutes away. Which meant the doctor's appointment was in 12 hours. But how would Kiri handle things while not showing signs of worry for the others? After all, the point of Kiri and the others was to protect Elsa without raising suspicion. Although, Arcy, Aya and Nassiri didn't necessarily do their job right. Then again, it could be that they didn't know what their purpose was. Kiri sighed and rolled over. After what felt like hours, she finally dozed off.
Kiri found herself floating in the void. That was a god sign. If she could get in the void, maybe, just maybe, she could get to the inner world. She ran around, searching for the dim light that would show her the way. All she could see, or couldn't see, was darkness. She was weightless and it annoyed her. It was hard to get anywhere when you felt like you were floating. She rustled her hair in frustration, black and red strands falling over her eyes. "God damn it! I should have locked Nassiri in a prison when I had the chance! Who knows what she's doing to the girls right now! Why did she have to be created?!" Kiri sat down in the void, tapping her fingers. How could she get to the girls and protect them? There had to be a way. Kiri kept running in the void, but anywhere there seemed to be a light, she hit an invisible wall. Her frustration kept growing. "No! I have to get inside! I have to protect them! No one else knows how dangerous that wicked vixen is!" Kiri shot ice and hail at everything around her in vain. There seemed to be no end to the darkness. "Why now of all times!?"
Nassiri's chilling laugh echoed through the darkness. "Why? Because I can. And so I will."
"Show yourself, Nassiri!"
She stepped out of the darkness, wearing a silver gown to her feet with a black cape behind her, wings half extended. "Long time, no see Kiri. What's wrong? Don't you want to come home anymore?"
"Of course I do, you vile woman. And you know the reason I can't." She crossed her arms, narrowing her dark crimson eyes at the angel.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Nassiri feigned innocence in her voice. "I have nothing to do with why you can't find your way in this place."
"Shut the fuck up! I hate you. What have you done to the girls?"
"The girls, the girls….Oh you mean the other alters that Elsa created? I haven't done anything to them, yet."
"That's a damn lie. I felt something happen to Anna and heard her cry for help. What did you do to her!" Kiri was losing her patience rapidly.
"Anna, Anna, Anna…Oh you mean the schizophrenic redhead! Simple, I stabbed her."
Kiri couldn't help the deep growl that escaped her throat. "Why!?"
"Annoying child was having a panic attack while being in my way." Nassiri yawned and placed a manicured her hand on her hip. "So, I took care of her."
Kiri jumped on Nassiri and punched her a few times in her face. "How dare you hurt them! It's my job to protect them!"
Nassiri rolled over and threw Kiri off with her legs. She stood with a deep sigh and brushed herself off. "And yet here you are, incapable of being where you're needed most."
"I swear if you lay a hand on Elsa, I'll murder you!" Kiri scrambled to her feet.
"Elsa, Elsa…Oh! You want Elsa? Well here's your precious Snowflake!" Nassiri swept her cape to the side, revealing Elsa unconscious underneath it.
"What did you do to her?!"
Nassiri shrugged. "I only showed her a little bit of truth from her childhood. She couldn't handle it."
"Of course she couldn't! Why do you think we exist?! We're a way-"
"For her to escape the traumas of her real life," Nassiri mocked in a sarcastic voice, her hand moving like a mouth. "Yeah, do you think I care? As long as she's around, I can never be free. I'm an angel, not a slave to a frightened little freak of a child. Now, if you'll excuse me," Nassiri picked up Elsa and vanished in the darkness.
"…sa….lsa….Elsa….Elsa!"
Kiri opened her eyes in reality to see Diane staring at her very concerned. Kiri's head felt like it was going to split as she slowly sat up. Her vision and stomach were both whirling, throwing off her balance. "Mom? What, what time is it?"
Diane raised an eyebrow. "It's almost 10. I came in to wake you up and you were thrashing about. I've been trying to wake you for…" She glanced at the clock. "Eight minutes. Are you alright? Was it a bad nightmare?"
'You could call it a type of nightmare,' Kiri sighed. "Yeah. I can't remember what though. Isn't my appointment today?"
"Yeah, it is. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"I am. I wanna know what's wrong with me." Kiri slowly stood. "Do we have any medicine for nausea? My stomach is doing a spin cycle in my body."
"Of course, baby girl. Just stay right here. Get yourself dressed and I'll get you some medicine to take with peppermint tea." Diane left the room in a swift motion.
Kiri rubbed her head. Anna was fatally wounded, Elsa was unconscious and in Nassiri's hands and who knew where Aya and Arcy were. Were they safe? Had they run off? Had Anna survived the attack? Kiri paused for a moment. She had grown fond of the girls she lived with without realizing it. What a twist that was for her. But, it was for the best that she cared. Someone had to look after them. But she wasn't there to protect them. The guilt weighed heavily on her. Sure, she had spared Arcana from being shocked again but in doing so she had locked herself out of the inner world. It was a win-lose. Diane returned and handed her a cup of tea with a small white pill. She smiled as Kiri took the medicine and drank the tea. "Thank you. Just give it a few minutes to work okay?" Kiri stood and went to the closet to get dressed. She chose a black off the shoulder long sleeve t-shirt, dark blue jeans and heeled boots. She went to the bathroom and turned the light on to brush her hair. Staring in the mirror, Kiri felt an odd sense of depersonalization. 'I can never get used to seeing this white hair and blue eyes. It's so odd to look in the mirror and see a 4'7" preteen…' Kiri brushed her hair and put it in a high ponytail on her head. She brushed her teeth and walked out. "Well, whenever you're ready, I guess."
"Alright baby girl. and I want you to know that no matter what we find out, I'll always love you and support you."
'If only Elsa were awake to hear that.' "Thanks mom. Let's go."
Kiri and Diane got in her mom's sedan and drove to the psychiatrist's office. Kiri kept reminding herself that she had to act like Elsa to keep things looking normal. But suspicion was already raised and that was bad. Elsa didn't know what was really going on, so how would she handle it when, or if, she found out? It would be harder for Elsa to come back to reality if she was ever told the nature of her condition. That was if she could ever rescue Elsa from Nassiri. 'God I only pray I can. I let her down when she needed me most…' Guilt washed over Kiri as they parked and headed into the building. Diane checked them in and they sat down. Both were silent as the only sounds were muffled conversations and the clock ticking.
"Elsa Delanor?" A nurse came out form a door, calling her name.
"Right here. Let's go Elsa." Diane stood up, Kiri following her into the back. The nurse led them to din as office, telling them Dian would be in shortly. "Alright, Elsa. I want you to cooperate with whatever Dina tells you to do. Can you do that?"
"Sure." Kiri was too deep in thought. 'Anna, can you hear me?'
'Huh? Who's there?'
Kiri sighed deeply. At least Anna was alive. 'It's me, Kiri. how are you doing?'
'I'm, I'm weak. and hungry….So very hungry. I've been trapped in my room for days…'
"What? How long?"
'I think it's been 2 days now,' Anna replied. 'Kiri, did you know about that psycho?'
Kiri sighed. "I'd been trying to keep her away from you guys but I failed. I'm sorry." Kiri was unaware that she was speaking out loud. She believed she was only speaking internally to Anna. And due to that, she didn't notice that Dina and Diane were silently listening to her talk to herself.
'Kiri, are you good?'
"I am, I've been trying to protect you of some time."
'Thank you. Please don't go anywhere.'
"I won't, Anna. Find a way out of your room and get something to eat. Even if you have to climb out the window." Kiri finally noticed the silence. "What?"
Dina tilted her head. "Elsa, who's Anna?"
Kiri blinked, looking to Dina. "What do you mean?"
"You've been talking to yourself for a couple minutes and just mentioned the name Anna. Who is she?"
Kiri cursed herself silently. 'Crap. Was I not speaking internally?' She sighed. "Anna is an imaginary friend of mine. She's like a little sister I never had."
"I see," Dina replied, writing on a notepad. "And where does Anna live?"
"She lives in a castle." Kiri replied.
Dina nodded and wrote a little more. "Diane, how has her behavior been since this Friday?"
"Well, she was fine up until her father tried his usual treatment. Then she became hysterical and started talking in third person."
Dian wrote more. "And what was her father's 'usual treatment' like?"
"Well, He would either hit her, sprinkle holy water on her while reciting biblical quotes but I think his favorite method was…" Diane gulped down the lump in her throat and wiped her eyes. "His most favored method was electro-shock therapy and exorcisms."
"Oh my. What a horrible way to treat someone, especially ones own child, who has a mental condition."
Diane placed her fence in her hands. "Please tell me whatever is wrong with her can be fixed."
"Ms. Delanor," Dina picked up glasses from her table and put them on. "Based on what you told me Friday and the behavior changes I saw in person myself, I don't believe this is something that can be easily fixed. It will take time to diagnose her and possibly longer to treat her, depending on what my evaluation finds." She stood and moved to a longer chair. "Elsa, please come and lay on this chair." Kiri silently go up and laid down. "Alright, now what I'm going to do is purely voluntary. You can refuse it at anytime."
"What are you going to do to her?" Diane got up to stand by Elsa.
"I'm going to try hypnosis. Perhaps we can find some more clues as to her condition if she is more relaxed." Dina turned to Kiri. "Now Elsa, I'm going to swing a pendulum in front of your eyes. I want you to focus on it and breathe deeply." Dina picked up a pendulum from the stand by the chair and swung it. "Breathe deeply and follow the pendulum. Feel yourself relaxing and freeing yourself from worry."
Kiri watched the small crystal swing back and forth. "Okay, now what?" She was breathing very deeply and relaxing.
"You said Anna lived in a castle. Are you able to get into it?"
Kiri, despite her best efforts, felt herself relax. "No. Not right now."
"Are you usually able to get in it?"
"No problem. In and out as I please."
Diane stared intently as her daughter talked. Dina wrote down what was said before going on. "Elsa, how long has Anna been around?"
"She's been around for years. I didn't like her at first but now I care about her."
"Why didn't you like her?"
"She was too hyper and social for my taste. I'm a closed off woman who prefers privacy."
"Woman?" Dina looked to Diane. "Elsa close your eyes and imagine yourself gently floating on a steady river. The only sounds are the calm river along the rocky shore and serene bird calls. Close your eyes and imagine yourself falling to that serene place. Are you there?"
Kiri was silent for a few moments as she did what she was told. "..yes. I'm there. It's calm and peaceful. Very beautiful. I would love to have an outdoor read here with a nice bottle of Chardonnay and a ranch Caesar salad."
"Elsa, you're only 12. You can't drink."
"No, I'm not." Kiri's voice was light and relaxed as she fell under the trance and totally relaxed.
"Then how old are you?"
Now Diane was confused. Elsa had been 12 and would 13 in two days on Wednesday. How could she be any different age? "Dina, what's going on?"
Dina held up a hand to silence Diane. "How old are you?"
"I'm 25."
"You're 25? But that can't be. You're only 12,Elsa."
"Elsa is 12, I'm 25."
"Now we're getting somewhere." Dina looked to Diane. "This is much deeper than it looks." She returned her attention to Elsa. "If you're not Elsa, then who are you?"
"My name is Kiri."
"A pleasure to meet you, Kiri. I am Dina, and I'm here to help you. Where is Elsa?"
Kiri sighed lightly, still feeling like she was on the peaceful river. "She's in the castle with Anna."
Dina turned her attention to Diane. "Ms. Delanor, I'll need more than this appointment to diagnose her. Now Kiri, when I count to three, you'll come back to reality gently. You've been very helpful to us and to Elsa. We all appreciate it. One, two, three."
Kiri's eyes opened slowly. She looked around, knowing what all she had said. Diane was staring at her with wide eyes and her hands on her mouth. "I'm sorry, Diane."
Dina stood and went to her desk. "Elsa's condition is worse than I believed. I can't quite for sure say which it is yet. I'll need more evaluations to further gain insight into the situation. But from the looks of it, Elsa just might have borderline personality disorder."
Kiri didn't say anything. She knew the diagnosis was wrong but saying anything more than she already had could put her and the others in a place they didn't want to be in. As it is, Kiri was regretful that hypnosis had made her spill a little bit of truth. She simply stayed in the chair as Dina scheduled another appointment.
"Remember what I told you about triggers, Diane. Avoid them at all costs and write down significant behavioral changes. I'll see you next Monday." Dina once again gave Diane an appointment slip. Kiri silently followed Diane as they confirmed the appointment and headed to the car.
A few minutes passed before Diane spoke. It was clear by her cracking tone that she was unsure of what to think. "So, um, Kiri, was it? Um, do you mind me asking how long you've been here?"
"Since Elsa was 6."
"I see. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?"
Kiri felt just as awkward as Diane now that Diane knew who she was really talking to. "It's both, actually. It's too complicated to explain. But Elsa is safe." Kiri lied for the last part, if only to make Diane feel better. She could only hope Elsa was awake and had managed to escape Nassiri.
"Um, Kiri, I'm sorry if you saw anything that Elsa had to go through…"
"It's okay, Diane. Sometimes I would take her place so she wouldn't have to go through it."
"Oh um, like how you're here now?"
Kiri scratched her head. "It's a lot more complex than that. Right now Elsa is busy in the castle so I had to come. But yeah, kinda like how I'm here now."
"Well, um, nice to meet you formally for the first time?" Diane was trudging for conversation
"Same to you. Don't worry, if it's too awkward to talk to me, you won't have to."
"Oh okay."
And so for the rest of the ride home, the only sound in the car was the quiet radio on a music station and the sound of traffic as they drove home. Kiri only hoped that the other girls were alright in her absence
Don't mind the typo fixing I'm doing. It's still the same story, just might have some little bits added in here and there.
