This was meant to be the opening segment to Dread in the Air, but I felt it didn't really fit the rest of the episode. Hope that this is okay as a solo chapter!
The gardens were her favorite place to play in. So many statues to climb on, so many bugs to look at, so many flowers to sniff. Klein always told her not to go to the gardens when mama was out there, but she had had a nightmare and wanted her mama to hold her.
She rounded a hedge corner, white roses starting to bloom. She smiled, running forward.
"Mama!" Winter exclaimed, throwing her arms out. Her mama was in her chair, a silver vase with a snake head sitting on the table. Her mama didn't look over at her, she stayed in her seat; that special glass she drank from during dinner was hanging from her hand. She stopped in front of her mama; her eyes were shut, drool running down her chin. A large red stain was on her white blouse, and on her blue skirt. Winter wrinkled her nose; why did mama smell so bad?
She rested her hands on her mama's knees, gently shaking her.
"Mama? Mama, wake up." Her mama snorted, her eyes fluttering open. She stared at her as if she didn't recognize her, before narrowing her eyes, her brow knitting in anger. Mama rose from her chair, blocking out the moon, her icy eyes glaring down at her. Winter took a hesitant step back. "M-mama…? Are yo-"
Mama's hands shot out, wrapping around her throat, squeezing. Winter wheezed, grabbing at mama's hands. Mama's tightened her grip, Winter's throat burning, her lungs aching. Mama kept her hands around her throat as she forced Winter to the ground.
"I've got you; I've got you," Mama said, her lip curling. Winter screamed, her voice a garbled gasp. She slapped at Mama's hands, digging her nails into her.
"Lady Schnee! Stop!"
Winter felt someone rip Mama's hands free of her throat. She crawled back, gasping, choking, her chest and throat burning as she breathed.
Klein grunted, struggling against Mama. She yanked her hands free, her icy eyes empty as she stood up. She clutched her head, squeezing her eyes shut, and taking several steps back. Klein turned away from Mama, grabbing Winter up, and running off.
Winter watched her Mama lower her hands, looking at the flowers, frowning at them. Mama started talking, Winter couldn't hear the words. She heard a door swing open, and the gardens disappeared from view as Klein ran down the halls.
He slowed to a stop; Winter looked behind her. Klein was breathing hard, standing in front of her door. He nudged open the door, going to her bed and setting her down. He got to his knees, grasping her shoulders, looking at her neck.
"Are you alright, my flurry?" he asked. Winter shook her head. She felt something wet fall down her cheeks.
"Why did mama do that?" Klein was fuzzy as she looked at him. "I've been a good girl, right? Why did mama do that? Why did mama act like daddy?"
Klein stopped inspecting her neck. She felt him squeeze her shoulders, looking away before looking back up at her. His eyes were a light brown.
"Your mama, she…" he paused, his eyes flashing to red before reverting back to brown. "I told you not to visit her when she is out there. She…she…." He exhaled. "That special drink of hers makes her do things that she doesn't mean to. You need to stay away when she is out there alone with her special drink. Do you understand, my flurry?"
Winter nodded. Klein smiled, his eyes flashing yellow for a moment. He wrapped his arms around her, patting the back of her head.
Klein stepped into the gardens, checking around each hedge, around every bush and plant as he passed them.
He reached the center of the gardens; Winter was curled up in the grass, her wine vase clutched to her chest.
"Lady Schnee. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, Klein. What do you need? Winter is trying to sleep." Willow looked up at him, stroking the vase. Klein swallowed, watching Willow look down at the vase, cooing.
"Lady Schnee… I do believe you need to get to bed. Winter could get cold out here." Willow looked up from the vase, confusion in her icy eyes.
"Klein, I am in bed? Winter had a nightmare, and I finally got her settled down." She hugged the vase, pressing it against her chest.
"I…I see, Lady Schnee." He bowed his head. "I will be here if you need me." Willow waved a hand, closing her eyes, still cradling the vase.
Klein went to the table Willow would drink at, taking the seat, resting his hands on his legs as he waited for Willow to pass out.
Willow's hands rested in her lap. She could hear the clock on the wall ticking. The psychiatrist sat in the chair across from her, her legs crossed, a large scroll in hand.
"We can start when you are ready," the Psychiatrist said. Willow nodded.
"I-I need help."
"What makes you say that?"
"I…" she took a breath. The Psychiatrist smiled reassuringly at her. "I see and hear and feel things that aren't really there. They seem incredibly real, and up until a few years ago, I thought they were." The Psychiatrist typed at their scroll for a moment.
"What do you see?" Willow shook her head.
"It's rarely ever the same. Sometimes I see my children. Other times I see these… they're not Grimm, but they're these shadow people with red eyes. And sometimes I see eyes where they shouldn't be, or bugs crawling over me. Or things around me changing when they've actually stayed the same. I hear voices talking to me, but I don't recognize the voices."
"What do the voices say?"
"I don't remember what most of them say. I… I was a drunk for a long time, and when I started to get clean, I would hear a voice in my head trying to get me to drink again. I don't know if that was just my addiction, or if it's a part of," she motioned to her head. The Psychiatrist typed at her scroll. She looked up at her.
"You said you were an alcoholic, do you want to talk a bit more about that?" Willow hesitated before nodding.
"When I started to see these things, I would get really scared at first. After a glass of wine or two, I noticed that the things I saw and heard didn't scare me as much. Or that I just wouldn't see them anymore. I liked how the wine made me feel, I was just, out of it. I couldn't think, I couldn't remember anything." Willow grasped her skirt. "After my husband began harming my children, I started to drink even more. I wanted to forget everything. My children's pain. The things I was seeing. The monster that my husband actually was. What the White Fang were doing to distant relatives of mine. The wine took it all away."
"I can't say that I know what that is like. It sounds like you've had a hard time." Willow nodded. "You said that you've gotten clean, or are working to do so. What made you decide to do so?"
Weiss' dull eyes
The blood stains
Willow squeezed her eyes shut. She squeezed her skirt tighter.
"My second daughter. She tried to kill herself. Stabbed herself in the stomach." Tears welled in her eyes, dripping down. "I found her. My little baby girl, bleeding out on the floor. If I hadn't gotten there when I did, if I didn't know how to use my semblance, she-she would have-" Willow clasped her hands together, resting them over her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut, rocking back and forth in the chair as the tears fell.
The Psychiatrist said nothing, the only sound the clock ticking. Willow sniffled, opening her eyes. The Psychiatrist reached behind them, grabbing a tissue box off of the desk table behind them. Willow took the box, sniffing as she took a few tissues, dabbing them at her eyes.
"Thank you," Willow said.
"It's not a problem. I'm sorry you had to see that." The Psychiatrist shifted her legs. "Do you know what might have caused your daughter to do that?" Willow nodded.
"She said that she thought I didn't care about her. Her father abuses her, and I…I was never there for her growing up. She was brought back home after the Fall after being in Vale for about a year. This wasn't the first time she's tried to do something like that. A few years ago, I found out she was taken to the hospital. She had cut her face open with a razor, and nearly lost her eye." She felt fresh tears well. "What kind of a mother am I? To let my children be in so much pain."
"I can't say that I know what it's like to be a mother, or to have to see that. But we all make mistakes, Willow. And you are trying to fix them."
"Thank you." Willow sniffed.
"Has your relationship with this daughter improved since her attempt?" Willow nodded.
"Weiss and I got very close after that. We were with each other almost every day for the next few months. Until she caused a scene at a concert of hers, and when we went home, her younger brother showed me a video."
"A video of what?" Willow's shoulder's slumped.
she has your tainted blood
"Weiss' arm was bleeding, and I could see her arms. They were covered in scars, and she had a razor in her hand. She was talking to her mirror, and she told me afterwards that she sees and hears a version of herself in the mirror."
"I see." The Psychiatrist typed at their scroll. "Is there a history of this type of behavior in your family?" Willow shook her head.
"My father never had any of these issues, and if any of his relatives did, I'm not aware of it." The Psychiatrist nodded, typing at their scroll.
"Is there anything else you would like to talk about?" She asked. Willow shook her head. She drummed a finger over the tissue box.
"Do you know what's wrong with me?" she asked. The Psychiatrist adjusted their glasses, shifting their scroll.
"It sounds to me that you have a form of schizophrenia, Willow. You developed an alcohol use disorder while trying to self-medicate. Due to that, your current symptoms are going to be worsened as you go through the process of becoming a non-alcoholic. I will be prescribing you some anti-psychotic medications, and if you would like, some medication to help deal with any withdrawal symptoms you might experience. I can set you up an appointment with a therapist as well." They typed at their scroll, glancing over it as they typed. "As for Weiss, I cannot diagnose your daughter without speaking to her, so if she would like to, my office will be available to her."
"Do you think she has the same issues as me? Did I give this to her?" The Psychiatrist shook their head.
"Her symptoms sound different, at least to me. Genetics do play a part in the causes of these disorders, and you having schizophrenia does increase the chances of your children developing a disorder as well. Trauma, or stress in your children's lives could serve as a trigger for those genes and cause a disorder to develop."
i can't do anything right with them
Willow nodded. The Psychiatrist looked up from their scroll.
"I finished your prescription. Your pharmacist should be sending you a text to let you know when you are able to pick it up." Willowed nodded.
"Thank you." The Psychiatrist held out their hand. Willow took it, shaking it. They smiled at her.
"Let me know if you experience any mood changes from the medications. If you do, I'll find you something else. There's no cure for this, Willow, but I'll do my best to help you heal."
Willow pulled the Psychiatrist forward, hugging them.
"Thank you," she said.
Winter paced back and forth, listening to the line ring.
She's probably too drunk to answer.
"Winter? Is it really you?" Winter stopped; she actually answered? She sounded…sober?
"Where is Weiss," Winter asked. Her mother was silent.
"Your sister, she, she ran away." Winter pinched the bridge of her nose.
"And I take it neither you nor father care enough to try and find her."
"I do care!" Anger tinged her words. "I've hired Hunters in Atlas to try and find her, I've gone out into the city looking for her. She has to be somewhere in Atlas, she couldn't have gotten too far, the border's been closed." Willow glanced at her desk, at the picture of Weiss and Whitley she had on it.
"You underestimate the length's one of us would go to, to get away from you and father."
"Winter, I know I was a terrible mother to you, but-" Winter laughed
"To put it lightly, mother." She scowled. "That night you tried to kill me? That hurt me more than anything father ever did to me." There was silence on the other line.
"The night I…? What are you talking about?"
"Of course you wouldn't remember." She turned away from the photos of her siblings. "If Weiss is still in Atlas, I doubt you would be able to find her."
"Winter-"
"When I'm able to, I will begin searching the city for her as well. And when I find her, I will be finding her somewhere to live, far away from you."
Willow was quiet. Winter heard her mother sniffle before the line went dead. Winter collapsed her scroll, pocketing it.
why was she sober?
Winter shook her head. She looked at the mirror on her wall, straightening out her uniform. She went to the door, throwing it open, and heading for her meeting.