Chapter Eight

The world began to swim in my head. It hit me all at once, making my head feel off balance on my own two shoulders. It was sickening by the second and my neck felt heavy holding the weight of my own skull, I was thankful that I was already sitting down. My breathing became impossible in my chest, it was tight like someone was trying to crush me in an embrace. Everything ever in existence was miles away from me while my very being melted in my hands.

The questions followed the unpleasant feelings, while I was sick to my stomach, I panicked. Was Aunt Brianna really Magnus's mom? Are changelings real? What would happen to us if the commune found out and were changelings? Would they eat us or do something worse? Is Aunt Brianna a changeling or was she like me? Was I a missing child?

That last one started a spiral that I didn't expect. Was I kidnapped by some fairy, just plucked away from my family because they found me cute? Was my family searching for me? Did they even care? Did they try and had to give up after so long because they couldn't find me? Where were they in the world, and where was I? How far away did the commune go? How far did they take me?

My conscience snapped back when Maguns got up from the table and left the room. The creak of the chair that rested under him was what did it.

Magnus was putting the photo album back up in the other room. I could hear a few bangs like someone was trying to kill a bug or quickly run away from something they just realized was there. I then heard Magnus run back to the room I was sitting in, each footstep echoed off the walls as he ran back to me.

Magnus came back in a quick and nervous manner, putting my arm around his neck and shoulders frantically, lifting me up and practically dragging me down the hallway in a matter of mere seconds.

I couldn't hear him if he spoke, everything was going back to my newfound blank out state. I couldn't feel my arms or legs against the covered floors. They had a slab of short haired blue on their floors, my feet drug against it and bent backwards, I could only feel the sting of my ankle and the fuzzy feeling in my head, I needed to scratch it but I had no idea of where to begin. It was a painful itch that burned a hole in my brain.

Magnus paused at the end of the hallway in front of a door. He swung open the narrow door that showed many stringy pieces of cloth on a stick along with some brooms and an orb that illuminated above our heads. In a careful manner, Magnus took me from around his neck and backed me into the small space, stuffing me in with the brooms and whatnots. He quickly flicked the orb off with a string and motioned with one hand for me to stay inside the closet. He glanced over his shoulder then back to me. Magnus put a finger over his lips in a hushing manner, I have to be quiet now. The door closed with a fast vigor, like he needed to hide me from a threat.

From inside the dark space, I wince from dropping on my bad ankle. I leaned on my good leg and propped myself on the wall, the broom tickling my exposed skin on my legs and the odd string-like stick brushed the back of my neck. It felt like spiders everywhere but I didn't dare to move.

I heard a different pair of shoes on the floors as Magnus left the hallway he drug me down.

"Magnus, how many times do I have to ask you to have all of the dishes done by the time I get back?" A woman's voice boomed throughout the house. She had a stern and angry tone to her words, yet the voice was familiar.

"Sorry-" I could hear Magnus for a half second but faded away into another room. I felt myself being barely able to breathe, I didn't want to gasp and be caught by whoever he was speaking to. For one reason or another, she was bad news if she found me.

Even though I couldn't hear Magnus in a different room, it was no trouble hearing the furious lady stomping through the house. With each step, she announced herself and meant to, her voice served the same purpose each time as she drilled into Magnus verbally, "And last time I checked, your living off of food stamps and commissions, get a life, Magnus! Do something for yourself!"

I trembled but fought my body from shaking. There was a pause and then another outburst from the woman, "And for the last fucking time, I said to get rid of this ugly ass plant!" It was followed by the sounds of a vase breaking on a wall.

The clanks of her shoes echoed and her footsteps shook the floors. A few more things smashed and she slammed her feet on the ground, I was expecting the sound of her falling through the floor any second now.

The front door slammed without care, this is what told me that she was now gone again. I still did not dare to move or to breathe heavily until the closet door opened again, revealing a now semi smiling Magnus. His eyes were pained but not at or for me, his mind was somewhere else as he pulled me out of the closet.

We hobbled down the hallway in silence. Opening a much wider and nicer white door, he brought me to a room that was spacious, almost enough room to fill half of the commune if we all stood. The walls were white and in the middle of it was a shiny box that had a reflective surface. It was designed with buttons and a slot in the front, sitting inside of a wooden structure with many gaps in it, including the box itself.

There was a wide bench that sat in front of the box and it's station. It was adorned in a blanket and looked like someone packed it with small haystacks.

Magnus sat us down on the bench, it floated almost, like a giant pillow, but we sat on it instead of resting our heads on it. He ran a hand through his thick hair and held my hand with the other, running a thumb on top of it, gazing into my eyes and soul, he decided to speak with his soul when his mouth opened.

"Constance, that was what I was talking about. That woman that just came into my house wasn't my mom." He broke the gaze as his tilted downwards in sorrow to the ground, "It just can't be her. It just can't be." His voice disappeared to a whisper by the end of his sentence.

I lifted his head with my available hand, "Hey, we'll find your mom, in fact, I think I know where she is."

This brought him back, "Really?"

I nodded in confirmation, "I think she's the lady that takes care of me, I call her Aunt Brianna, I've known her my whole life."

He was pale in the face. "It could be, that's my mother's name as well. How do you know it's her?"

"She looks exactly like the picture of your mother, Magnus." I didn't know how but he was able to become paler in the face, he challenged the likes of the wedding dress the elder's daughter wore on her special night.

"We have to find her, Constance. Like asap."

I was puzzled, "Asap?"

"As soon as possible."

I felt stupid, "Ooh, okay. But we can't tonight, I have no idea how I would walk on this ankle or tell you how to get back in the dark."

He got up from the soft bench, "You're right, you need rest and so do I. Here," He reached under the bench and pulled out set of blankets, one was thin and one was thicker. "I'll be right back with some pillows for your head and foot." I nodded, he then turned and left the room.

I sat and soaked up the afternoon. Aunt Brianna was a kidnapped woman and was forced to take care of me for some reason and she was Magnus's mother. Then the person pretending to be his mom came by then left in a huff. I shook my head, one wrong turn in the woods and here I was, lost and alone, no one that I knew was around to help.

Magnus broke my thoughts with five pillows in hand, struggling to carry all of them but he managed and made way to where I rested.

"Okay, I brought some for both and I'll help when you get your body comfy." He handed two normal sized pillows, one was like my solid white rectangular pillow at home while the other was pink with tassels hanging off it.

I brought both legs up and sat the pillows he gave me under my head. I slithered down the best I could until I was resting on my back.

Magnus gently lifted my bad ankle and sat a pillow under it. He sat it back down and observed my lying position. He lifted the bad ankle once more and sat one more pillow under it. Looking satisfied, he leaned down on his knees, his face now next to mine. I shifted my head to the side to meet his.

"Constance, don't let anyone tell you you aren't brave because you are." I smiled, I felt like I could cry but I held it, feeling more joyous in his compliment instead. He smiled back and kissed me on the forehead, "Get some sleep, the lady shouldn't be back till Monday and I'll get you some clean clothes tomorrow."

My cheeks warm up as he gets up, I muster myself up together and make a small nod at him. A bright grin wore itself on his face.

A pace across the room and a click of an unknown button, he was gone from the room and the lights were off.

I stared at the ceiling, my eyes heavy. Slowly while thoughts of a million things floated in my head, I fell victim to sleep.

It could've been hours or minutes, but a noise woke me up. A grunt and a few curses in the darkness told me that it wasn't Magnus lurking in the dark with me.