Chapter Thirty-One

Time and Time Again

While everyone in the Hall was fixated on the shattered elf, Caelan managed to slip out unnoticed.  When the doors closed behind her, she broke into a clumsy run.  Oxygen seeped into her body in short, violent spurts, while her heart beat at an irregular pace.  The world seemed to be spinning as she fell repeatedly into various brick walls and statues, even going so far as to skew a picture and not even notice as the red-faced man within the painting yelled at her to fix her mistake.  Beads of perspiration dotted her forehead and soaked her neck and the small of her back.  Her pace slowed as her symptoms intensified.  It was as if a heavy weight sat upon her chest, turning breathing into a very difficult task. 

Caelan paused to clutch her chest and catch her breath.  Her hand rested against a window, and she could feel the tiny vibrations of pounding water against the pane.  It was raining outside—only a gentle shower, but rain nonetheless.  The girl took no heed to the change in weather and continued her journey to the nearest girls' bathroom. 

She could feel the bile rising in her stomach.  She knew she was going to be sick.  But she wasn't sure why.

The fear and anxiety Reign had felt as she entered the Hall sought out Caelan to torture her in the same way.  She watched the elf as she fumbled with her dining utensils, and she could see the pain in her eyes.  When she spilled the goblet, it was because the pain in her side had returned.

Caelan knew because she had felt it too.

She had no way of explaining it, but ever since the elf arrived at Hogwarts Caelan felt a strange attraction to her.  Besides the obvious physical similarities, she felt as if somehow they were connected by some sort of surreal power—something Caelan couldn't understand.

And now she was starting to feel her pain.  Literally.

The door to the bathroom stall crashed open and Caelan fell to the floor, spilling the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl.  Tears fell from her eyes as the muscles of her throat were burned by the remains of her breakfast.  It was a reflex she couldn't control, a disgusting and painful event, but after it was over her stomach felt so much better.

The cool porcelain provided relief for her burning forehead.  She rested against the bowl as her breathing returned to a normal pace.  One hand reached over to pull a sheet of toilet paper from the wall and gently wiped her mouth.  Her body ached as she pulled herself from the hard floor and flushed the toilet. 

As she washed her hands and face, her reflection laughed at her.

***

            "I'm fine...I'm fine."  Reign felt a tingling sensation as she lifted herself out of Snape's arms. 

Her eyes bulged when she looked upon his face; he wasn't looking at her, but to where she had been.  His eyes did not blink, his chest did not rise, and his muscles did not twitch.  Reign fell back, panting, as she surveyed the rest of the room; every soul stood frozen.  She felt like she was in a wax museum as she looked from face to face—the normal twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was now a constant shine, Helena was reaching to wipe the excess tea from her robes, and nearly every student was looking at Severus...where she was supposed to be.  Above her plate, a small housefly hung suspended in the air, and as she looked to the ceiling, not a single flame of the candles flickered.

But it was over as soon as it started; a strange jolt waved over her and everything came back to life.  Severus nearly fell over from lack of her support.  He looked strangely confused.  His arms were empty; Reign had disappeared.  He stared at his hands while Albus looked up to Reign.  He didn't seem upset, or extremely concerned, but rather...almost...surprised. 

It was a look that he never wore, and Reign was taken back by it.  As heads followed his line of sight to the young elf, her breathing increased once again.  Severus raised an eyebrow at her, but she had no explanation.  Her mouth hung open as she began to stutter.  The Potions Master walked toward her with caution.  Over her shoulder, Reign noticed that she was still the object of most of the students' attention.

            "I'm sorry...please excuse me," she stammered, pushing through Snape and the Headmaster.  She took one of the side doors out of the Great Hall at a quick pace, but when she made it into the dark corridor, she fell against the wall.  As she rested, a pair of hands grasped her shoulders, and a silky voice floated to her ears.

            "Reign, tell me what's going on," Severus asked as she turned to face him.  Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were glazed over.

            "I don't know...I need to rest," she whispered. 

Severus escorted the elf back to her chambers, supporting her with one arm behind her back while she draped hers over his shoulder.  He had offered to carry her, but she refused.

            "I am not that fatigued.  I'll be fine," she had insisted.

Severus gently sat her on her bed when they entered her chambers.  She fell back onto the covers and draped an arm over her forehead while Snape went and retrieved a glass of water and a damp washcloth from her bathroom.

            "Thank you," she whispered as he dabbed the cloth onto her hot skin.  She held it there while he helped lift her to sit against the pillows. 

            "Well?" he asked.  He didn't need to say anything else.  Reign told him of her nightmare, and then of her encounter with a standstill world.  Severus listened quietly as she spoke, soaking everything in.  When she finished, he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

            "Hmm…"

            "What is it?  You look as though you've figured something out."  He got up from her side and went to the window.  The rain still fell, pulling a gray shade over the world.

            "This has happened twice, correct?"  She nodded.

            "Yes...at random times and places...no control whatsoever..." she drifted off.  "It was almost as if..." Severus turned around.

            "Time stopped."

            "Yes."

            "But you didn't."

            "Yes."  He glided swiftly back to her side.

            "Reign, is there any such power that may be extremely rare among your people...like this of stopping time?"  The elf shook her head. 

            "How do you know that I'm the one controlling it?  I can't even do such a thing!"

            "Well that's obvious...you're the only one who wasn't 'frozen' when it happened."

            "But..." she paused.  "Oh Kor…"  She looked up into Snape's dark pools.  "Is that why--" The man nodded.

            "Can you just imagine how easy it would be for him to take over the world if he could stop time?"  Reign's face fell into her hands and she began to rock back and forth, shaking her head and muttering.

            "No...no...not this...why me!?" she screamed at the ceiling.  "I can't believe this, Severus.  I don't want this...not at all."     

            "I hardly think you have a choice in the matter."

            "I just don't understand...this sort of thing doesn't happen to me...it's not even common among elves...or any other creature for that matter..." She looked pleadingly into his eyes.  "What do I do?"  Severus leaned back against her headboard.

            "Well, it sounds like you need to take a trip."

            "Back home?"

            "Mmm hmm."

            "And you?" she asked hopefully.

            "I suppose I should start packing."

Reign's heart leapt into her throat.  She closed her eyes, bent her head, and smiled.  He flinched at her touch as she placed her hand on top of his.

            "Thank you, Severus."  He looked into her eyes—into the most grateful soul he had ever seen.

            "For your protection."  He kissed her forehead.  Reign let out a sigh as he got up from the bed.

            "And for an adventure?"  He stopped and she saw him shudder.  She imagined his teeth were clenched and his upper lip was twitching.

            "Hopefully a fairly uneventful one, if any."  He looked back at her.  "Try to get some rest."  Reign smiled at his back as he left.  She folded her arms behind her head and leaned back into the pillows.

She was going home.

And Severus was coming with her.

Perhaps life would be better for her now.  A change was taking place, and she finally felt like she was ready for it. 

***

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