Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Nearly bashed in head… shredded tongue… what in the world did you even do to yourself?!” Hisses Lotus, the local Medic as she stares down at her patient — Noone — who’s sitting upright in her bed watching quietly as she examines her.

She was in the Medical Rooms now. With Teddy, Lime, Winnie and Samie all watching silently from the sidelines, anxious looks on their faces.

Noone glanced around, noticing how the room she was in wasn’t actually a room, but more like a space in between the walls. It was one of many small chambers, in fact. All complete with dripping pipes and a gloomy, almost blueish atmosphere.

It was a room that for some odd reason, she very much disliked being in.

Lotus’s icy-blue eyes glare at the four, her freckled nose scrunched up and her short, dark wavy hair moving from side to side as she glances between Noone and the others.

“What happened to her?!” She snarls, turning to them, “I swear, I haven’t even seen injuries like this since that one kid who had gotten their leg caught up in one of those darn pipes! They ended up having to amputate too…”

Noone notices Lotus’s faraway look at the mention of the boy, and watches as she gives a quiet shutter.

“We don’t know what happened to her.” Teddy informs, trying his best to keep his face straight. “We found her in a wooden box looking pretty beat up and coughing blood.” He pauses, before adding, “She’s new here, too.”

“Oh. New to Sanctuary?”

“No,” Samie corrects, her voice containing hints of irritability, “New to this entire damn world. Said a grown-up who was supposed to be guiding her here violently thrusted her into a wooden box that we found her in and left her to fend for herself. Poor kid’s memory is slipping fast too. My guess is that she won’t be able to recall anything before the incident by tomorrow…”

The room falls silent for a brief moment at Samie’s words.

“It’s sad, really. I know that every one of us goes through it, but still…” Lime finishes.

“I see…” Lotus murmurs, “Well, at least now I know how she got all these injuries in the first place. Never trust an adult, oh no. They’re designed to prey on us. I’m surprised this particular adult you had the run-in with didn’t decide to kill you on the spot. Count yourself as lucky. Most of us don’t usually survive adult encounters, after all…”

Noone makes no word as Lotus continues to wrap a bandage around her head, which still throbbed with pain from her scrimmage with The Candleman. 

She then grabs a small wet rag from a bucket beside her, and hands it to Noone.

“Here. Put this in your mouth and apply pressure. It should help with the cuts on your tongue.”

“Thanks,” Noone mumbles quietly as she stuffs the small rag inside of her mouth and bites down.

Lotus continues to work on her, wrapping the bandage around her head and continuing to ask Teddy and the others questions. Questions about her condition when they found her, if she had appeared to have traveled elsewhere before the incident, along with other things.

After she finished with that, however, Noone watches curiously as a Nome — an odd fairy-mushroom thingy that Winnie had told her were natives — hands her a clipboard and a pencil, chittering nervously.

“Thanks, Pip. Well, we better get this started before you forget anything else.” Lotus states, looking down at Noone. “I’m going to ask you a series of questions. Nothing too troubling, just some background information so that we can register you. It’s protocol, especially since you’re a newbie. Is that alright?”

“Um, okay,”

“Awesome. Name?”

“Noone.” She says firmly, “Just Noone. I mean, I have another name but I can’t seem to remember —”

“That’s alright darling,” Lotus interrupts with a kind smile, “Not many of us can remember our true names. Or anything about our past actually. To some of us, this world is all we’ve ever known. So Noone’ll probably be your respondent name from now on. You look about ten or eleven so I’d probably say you’re still a tween…”

Noone can’t help but feel a sense of surprise by how mature Lotus is acting. She definitely seems to know what she’s doing… despite not looking any older than her, if not younger.

She then finds herself wondering what kinds of injuries Lotus had dealt with in the past.

“Have you previously endured any serious injuries before? Like perhaps being severely sliced, nearly crushed, almost eaten alive, a survivor of some kind of serious infection or illness… anything like that?”

A survivor of some kind of serious infection or illness…

“No, not that I remember…” She responds slowly.

“What exactly do you mean by that? Would you mind clarifying a bit?”

Noone pauses, racking her brain for anything important, anything at all… until —

“I… I don’t know. I’m sorry. I know you need as much information as I can give you, but this is all I have. Honest!”

Lotus just nods before scribbling something down onto the piece of paper handed to her by the Nome.

“That’s okay if you’re not entirely sure. Perhaps it wasn’t that important if you hadn't hung onto it. Actually, how about instead you just tell me all the details that you think are most important. Just leave out the rest and see if that helps you.”

“Okay. I — I guess I could try…”

“Good. Now, these next few questions might be hard to answer, maybe even a bit odd, but promise me you’ll reply with full honesty, okay? You won’t be punished for any reason at all. We only have a few more questions to go, and then you’ll be free to relax and just focus on getting better, alright?”

“Um, okay…”

“Have you ever killed another child or Nome before? Purposely or involuntarily?”

“I don’t think so… no. I’d never do something like that.”

“Have you ever killed an adult before? Or any other type of hostile creature?”

“No — I mean yes. I think.” Noone responds hastily.

“When?”

“Uh,” She pauses. “I… I can’t remember, but I know I did kill a monster — I mean adult — before. But only because he did something! Something really bad… Ugh! Why can’t I remember what?! I know it’s important but I just —”

“Hey, It’s okay. It’s okay Noone.” Lotus reassures, grabbing Noone by the shoulders and forcing her to look into her eyes. “I know this is a lot. Believe me, I was going through the very same thing you’re going through right now not too long ago. I understand how stressful this is for you. But luckily, you just so happened to end up in one of the safest places this hellhole has to offer, so that means, you won’t have to go through this alone, okay? I’ll fix you up in a jiffy.”

All Noone can manage to do is nod. She can’t seem to be able to find the right words at the moment, so instead, she watches as Lotus turns towards the others once again.

“Teddy, please notify The Nome King that we have a new child here in Sanctuary. We’re done here for now. My patient here needs time to rest, if she’s hoping to get any better. Rest and perhaps some comfort.”

She places the paper with all of her information into his hands.

“Please hand this to Captain, alright? And if you can’t find Captain, give it to Hop. Oh, and be sure to tell him every single detail we’ve managed to receive from her. Tell them… tell them that she knows things. That can still recall things from — from before.”

Teddy just nods, gives Noone a silent farewell, then sprints out of the room.

“As for the rest of you,” Lotus adds, wheeling towards Lime, Winnie and Samie, “By Medic’s orders, you may return to your previous tasks, whatever those may be. Your job here is done. Oh, and thank you for bringing her here. It’s quite a lucky thing you lot were around. Who knows how long she would’ve been trapped in that box if you hadn’t been in the storage rooms at the time.”

“No problem, Lotus. It was our pleasure. Part of Lookout Code is to always help out another kid in need, after all.” Lime replies, giving her a small bow before turning to the door, “Winnie? Samie? Are you coming? We still have chores left, you know.”

“Yes, Lime. We know.” Winnie retorts, glaring at him, “And you do know that you’re not head of our Lookout, right? That’s Teddy.”

“Yes Winnie, I do know that. However I am a Second-Class Lookout Scout so therefore —”

“Fine. But you better not start acting like our boss, because you’re not.” Winnie snaps. She then turns her attention towards Noone. “Bye Noone. Hope you feel better soon. See you around!”

“Thanks. You too.”

Winnie gives her a kind smile, then turns and exits the room the same way Teddy did, leaving only Lime, Samie, Lotus and Pip.

“Samie, you coming?” He asks, beckoning her towards the door. However, Samie makes no movement to exit. Instead, she walks up to Noone’s bedside and sits down beside her.

“Actually, is it okay if I stay here for a bit longer? I have some business with Noone I have to attend to,” She replies, her eyes fixated on Lime, waiting for a response.

However, Lime doesn’t respond. Instead, he eyes her carefully.

“Please,” She finally adds.

“Well, if you insist.” Lime finally sighs, noticing her pleading expression, “I guess there isn’t much of a problem with you staying. It must be some important business then. Since you're willing to take a pause on your chores just to stay by this child’s side.” He pauses. “Did you… did you know her?”

Another significant pause. Then, slowly, and quietly, Samie nods without saying another word.

“Of course then,” He responds, his voice much more gentle than before, “I hope you don’t mind, Lotus.”

“Don’t worry, there’s no problem at all.” The young Medic responds, smiling.

Lime nods, says a silent farewell to Samie, then exits the Medical Rooms.

“Now,” Lotus finally pipes up, turning to Samie and Noone, “I have other patients in need of attendance right now, so Pip over here will be the one taking care of you for the time being.”

She nods towards Pip, who is seated on a shelf beside Noone’s bed. The Nome chitters in response.

“I’ll check in on you every once in a bit, but for now, just sit tight. Alright?”

Noone and Samie nod in response.

“Okay then. Now that that’s settled, I’ll leave you two for a bit of catching up. Feel better, alright? And if you’re in need of any assistance don’t be afraid to send Pip over to fetch me. She can understand what you say, even if you can’t understand her.”

And just like that, Lotus sweeps out of the room, leaving only Samie, Noone, and the Nome.

“There are other kids here?” Noone immediately asks, “I know she said that I was the worst case she’s had in a bit but still…”

“Don’t worry,” Samie reassures, “Most of the children here are just in for minor things. Like perhaps they caught a cold or have a mild infection in need of treatment. We rarely get severe cases anymore. However, then again, Lotus mainly treats Nomes and children in need of immediate attention, such as you. All the rush cases and major injuries usually get transported to the upper levels if they require more than Lotus can offer them.”

Samie falls silent, a faraway look in her eyes similar to the one Lotus had when she was talking about the boy with the amputation.

It was a look that only suggested that Samie had been a witness to quite a few things.

Horrible things.

But there’s something else about Samie that had been bugging Noone since the start. Something that had been tugging at the very tip of her memory. Samie… Samie is familiar to her. They’ve met before. She was important in her life — a person that she might had called a friend. An ally, even.

But she can’t remember. It’s gone now, whatever that memory was. Just like how everything else about her past had been stolen from her, thanks to the stupid Candleman.

But still. Although she knows that it isn’t her fault, she hates herself for not being able to remember it.

It is at that moment when Samie then, without warning, pulls Noone into the tightest embrace she’s ever experienced.

“I — I can’t believe it. You’re alive,” She chokes, still hugging Noone as tight as she can, as if afraid she’ll disappear once more if she even dares let go, “I thought you died, Noone! I thought that… that the Warden had eaten you alive! Yet — yet here you are. Right here. Sure, some of your memories may be gone, and sure, you may also be a bit beat up but still…”

Samie lets go, leaving Noone gasping for breath, still a bit caught off guard by the sudden embrace. She’s never been hugged that tight before, let alone by someone she feels as if she barely knows.

But I did know her, She reminds herself. She must have! Otherwise Samie would have no reason to embrace her the way she did. They’re not strangers.

Not to Samie… at least.

Why can’t she remember her, then? She should remember her. Hugged her just as Samie had just done!

“Perhaps it wasn’t that important if you hadn't hung onto it.”

Maybe… maybe Samie wasn’t as important as she thinks. That must be the case, right? Just like Lotus had said; if it wasn’t important then maybe that’s why she hadn’t hung onto it.

But that doesn’t feel very right to her… Does it?

“I’m sorry,” Samie finally says, burying her face in her hands as if embarrassed, “It’s just… I never expected you to just… you know, drop in like you did, let alone quite literally.”

“Yeah…” Is all that Noone can manage to say.

Samie pauses.

“Hey Noone,” She asks, her voice now sounding more… anxious, “You… you do remember me, don’t you?”

Noone doesn’t respond to this. Instead, she looks up at her expression. Their eyes meet again, and another familiar feeling surges through her once more.

She knows that this kid had formed some kind of friendship with her before. It’s like that feeling she’s felt before — that feeling like her body knows something that her mind doesn’t. But…

How in the world am I supposed to respond?

“I’m… I’m so sorry Samie,” She finally says, shaking her head, “I know you were someone I cared about, I know that! Whoever you were to me… you were probably someone important. Someone I had hated myself for not being able to save. That memory of you, that memory of all of it… it’s… its just out of reach —”

“No,” Samie interrupts, waving her hands at Noone, “I totally understand. I guess I just hoped too soon. It doesn’t matter anyways. I’m just glad to know that I didn’t have to lose another friend after all. Besides, we’re safe now. Here in Sanctuary… it’s not like the outside world. Nothing’s going to come after us anymore.”

Despite her words of reassurance, Noone notices her wipe tears beginning to prick in her eyes. She was clearly hurt by this, but she’s trying her best not to show it.

“I should go now,” She finally states, getting up, “I still have some chores to do anyways. Besides, I should let you rest. You’re probably not feeling very great. I mean, come on you literally just dropped out of the sky and here I am, telling you that I knew you before. This must be so weird for you… I’m sorry.”

“No, no you’re fine, honestly!” Noone tries to say as an effort to make her feel better, “I could be better, I’ll admit that, and apparently I am also suffering from amnesia, but honestly I’m just glad that I didn’t end up alone. I hate being alone.”

Noone notices a small smile break across Samie’s face. The girl with the odd hair then makes an attempt to hide her expression. She’s clearly chuckling, and this makes her feel just a little bit better about the whole situation.

She turns towards the door, then glances over to Noone at the exit.

“Will I see you around? Like, maybe in the markets, hopefully? Of course, when you’re feeling better that is…”

She gives Noone a hopeful smile.

“Well, it seems like I don’t really have anywhere to go at the moment,” Noone responds, looking out the window, “So, hopefully? I don’t know how long Lotus’s gonna keep me trapped here, though. Although I hope it’s not very long. I want to explore, actually. And I bet it’ll be way more fun if you’re there too.”

A wide smile breaks across Samie’s face. She’s practically beaming.

“Good enough for me!” She smiles. “Oh, and Noone?”

"Yeah?”

“I’m… I’m glad you're okay, really. I could always use a friend anyways. And even if you can’t remember who I am… just know that I’m truly happy you’re here.”

A small smile creeps up on Samie’s face, making Noone feel all warm inside. Then, without saying another word, she exits the room.

Now that Samie’s gone, and now that Noone is all alone, (well, minus the Nome, of course), she realizes that she feels exhausted.

The Nome chitters kindly to her as she finally lies down, that warm feeling still lingering inside of her as she pulls on the covers.

“I’m going to close my eyes for a bit, if that’s alright,” She says to the Nome, her eyelids becoming heavy. Pip chitters once more, and Noone simply just assumes that it means it’s okay to sleep. That she can finally get the rest she needs.

So, without any more hesitation, Noone closes her eyes and embraces the darkness as it engulfs her vision once more, knowing very well that she has nothing to fear now that she’s in this world of dreams.

__ _____ _________________________ _____ __

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

She was climbing now, climbing up a pendulum. Following another child to what she assumed was freedom. To what she could only hope was freedom.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

She had no idea where this child was leading her. Or if they were an ally she could trust. All she knew was that she wanted out. Out of this… this horrible place she and her friend had been unfortunate enough to end up in.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

She’s getting dizzy now; dizzy from all the rocking. She wants to let go, wants to be relieved of the tiering climb, but she knows the consequences of letting go. Surly she’d die from the fall, and if she doesn’t, then something else will finish the job. Something that could only be horrifying, given the things that she’s seen here…

“Just a little bit more,” She repeated to herself, her eyes glued on her friend.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Her friend has reached the top. They reach out their hand so they can pull her up as well. They made it. Finally. To the center of the clock. She listens to the violent tapping sound of thousands of little metallic fingers. She notices a round spiral staircase surrounding the room that could only lead to the world above.

She looks up; and realizes the ceiling was a white clock face.

Only… the numbers, they were all mixed up. They were all wrong.

Odd.

Now that she thinks about it, there’s been an odd feeling lingering inside of her since the moment she woke up in this place.

She wonders why.

The two bolt up the staircase; desperate to escape this place once and for all. To leave it all behind. She trails closely behind her friend. And every once in a while, her friend glaces behind her just to make sure that she’s following.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Finally, they’ve reached the top. They step out, out into freedom, only to realize that they haven’t escaped yet. 

Now, they find themselves standing on a courtyard.

The two take a moment to catch their breath; cold, frosty grass beneath their bare feet. Are they free? Are they safe?

Then, suddenly, she hears a sound.

A sound that makes her entire body shake.

Shouts and shrieks of pain begin to flood in her ears — wails of agony she only wishes she could forget.

She looks up, looks up at the circular walls she had just been inside of.

She immediately regrets it.

This. This must be the true building. Millions upon millions of rooms line the walls; rooms just like the one she had peered into from before. 

The one… the one with the dying boy that smelled of rotten sausage.

If only she could forget it. Forget the image of that poor child… 

Hands and limbs reach out behind the bars, all desperate to escape. Her heart begins to pound. Pound just like one of those trapped prisoners trying to get free.

As she stares up, horrified, she suddenly realizes that her friend is no longer by her side. 

No… they’re across the courtyard now.

“Wait, please!” She calls, desperate.

But before her friend could respond — the tall woman from earlier — the one making those twisted weapons — jumps down from above. The sickening sound of chains following in her wake.

Tick.

Tock.

With thumping, thunderous steps, she went after her friend.

Tick.

Tock.

A chain suddenly leapt out from beneath her dress, snaking its way towards them at unimaginable speed. Her friend… her poor friend… can only watch in panic —

Tick.

Tock.

It snags their leg. The woman begins to drag her defenseless ally through the snow — all while they struggle and kick and let out muffled yells, desperate to escape the chains.

There was nothing she could do for her friend, nothing at all! She could only watch helplessly as tears began to form in her friend’s eyes, the chains beginning to wrap around their frail body.

She couldn’t tell if the tears in her friend’s eyes were due to pain, or due to pure terror.

Tick.

Tock.

“Help!” Her friend tries to scream, but the chains wrap around their mouth and neck, preventing them from calling out anything else. They were going to die. They were going to suffocate — !

Tick.

Tock.

That woman, that terrible woman, then spots her.

Tick.

Tock.

She began plodding her way, fear immobilized her so she couldn’t even move. Couldn’t even run —

Tick.

Tock.

With skin so tight her mouth only opens just a slither, but it’s enough to reveal her twisted, blackened teeth.

Getting closer and closer her mouth opened more and more, and all she was able to think was “Who brought me here and why was I made to know these secrets?!”

The woman was hungry for something — hungry for something that swelled inside of her. She knew she was a goner, knew she was about to suffer the same fate as who knows how many kids before her.

She gives one last horrified glance to her unconscious friend — who’s being dragged behind the woman — before shutting her eyes and preparing for the worst — !

“Noone! Are you alright?!”

Her eyes snap open as she jolts up, breathing heavily and clutching her bandaged head. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light pouring out of the crevices, but when her vision finally does, she realizes the kid — a child with odd hair and a familiar face — seated right beside her, their gray eyes filled with worry.

“AAHH!”

Noone scrambles back — breathing heavily at the sight of the child. It’s them. Her friend! The one who was caught by that horrible woman, It has to be!

She spirals. Noone is set into a state of panic. How were they alive? How could they have escaped?! It was all too clear — the odd hair, the ever-recognizable gaze — Noone’s now hyperventilating.

It takes her a moment to realize — to finally calm down and tell herself that she has nothing to fear; it’s just Samie.

“Hey! Hey. It’s okay, alright? It’s okay. Breath in, and out. Okay? In, and out.”

Noone follows Samie’s instructions. She takes a deep breath in, then exhales. In, and exhale. The woman is gone. The child from her dreams isn’t real. It was just… just a nightmare. A terrible one and nothing more. It was only in her head.

I am safe now. No need to fear. I am safe now. No need to fear.

“Did you… did you have a nightmare?”

Noone looks up, and sees Samie looking at her with a worried expression.

She nods silently.

“Oh…” Samie looks away, “I’m… I’m sorry. Nightmares are terrible, truly. The absolute worst. But just remember that they’re only in your head. They can’t get to you from here.” She pauses. “Do you get them a lot? I know I do…”

“I did,” Noone responds truthfully, “But I — I thought I wouldn’t have to fear my dreams anymore when I got here. The Candleman had said so! But then again…”

“He lied to you again, didn’t he?” Samie finishes.

Another silent nod.

“Yeah. This ‘Candleman’ you speak of… he sounds interesting. Could you describe him to me? He sounds familiar…”

“Um, okay…” Noone answers slowly. She doesn’t exactly feel like talking about him at the moment, though…

“Well, I call him that because of his melted face. Almost like candle wax. It drips and sags… pieces of his flesh rise and fall, like waves. He wears a hat and a dirty fisherman’s coat, too. And he’s huge. He towers over me… makes me feel small and insignificant.” She pauses. “It’s strange, though. He feels like a broken picture that could never be put back together. He feels hard to explain — yet I just did so right now.”

“Hm, I see…” Samie says thoughtfully, “I’ve heard about him before. We call him The Ferryman. I really don’t really know much about him, though. I’ve heard stories. Stories of him saving children from other adults; shielding them from the terrors this world brings upon them, but then again those recitals usually sound like tall tales.”

“Well, I know I hate his guts,” Noone responds coolly, gazing around the room. “He lured me here. He lied to me. He’s a trickster, that’s all he is.”

Samie chooses not to respond to this. Instead, she reaches down and picks up what appears to be some kind of burlap sack and places it onto the bed. Noone stares at it.

Samie then, without saying a word, unties it and dumps the contents all over the covers.

“I brought us a few games to play. And some snacks. Smoked fish jerky and some carrots. You up for a game of chess?”

“Um, okay. Chess seems fun, but I’ve never actually played.”

“That’s alright!” Samie says with a smile, “I can teach you. It’s quite simple really,”

Noone watches wordlessly as Samie begins to set up the board.

“You know, you can talk to me about your nightmare, if you want. I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it.” She says as she puts each of the chess pieces in place, “I’ve seen things too, you know. It helps to get those things out so they’re not bothering you.”

“I guess you have a point,” Noone sighs, placing a white knight piece onto her side, “But are you sure? It seemed pretty gruesome to me…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen a lot of gruesome things in my lifetime. It probably won’t be anything too unusual. Maybe your nightmare even contains stuff about your past that you won’t realize until you tell me!”

Noone looks up at her. Samie is dead serious about this. She actually wants to hear about it.

So, feeling reassured, Noone pauses, takes a deep breath, then begins to recite her nightmare to Samie.

“I… I found myself climbing up the pendulum of a giant clock, following another child. The ticking and tocking of the clock filled my head, and the constant rocking made me dizzy… but I kept climbing. I — I don’t know why. But I trusted my friend. I wanted out of the place I was trapped in.”

Noone glances at Samie’s expression. She seemed… interested. Definitely not unsure or second-guessing her decision.

So, Noone continued.

“We kept climbing, and eventually, we reached the top. My friend helped me up, and after that, we set off for freedom.” Noone pauses. “Only… we weren’t free just yet.”

She takes another deep breath, then continues.

“We found ourselves in a courtyard. The grass was covered with frost, and a cool breeze swept through the area. And it was at that moment… at that very moment… when I heard them. A bone-chilling sound… Curious, I looked up.”

Noone takes another pause, trying her best to recount the events in her mind.

“I had only wished I hadn’t.” She continues, “There were prisoners. Child prisoners. Thousands of them. Cells lined the walls, dozens upon dozens of them, and I saw; Saw them desperate to escape. I… I didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t think. It was terrible. I looked around for my friend, but realized that they were already across the courtyard. I called to them, asked them to wait for me, but before they could respond…”

Noone didn’t like this part of the nightmare. The pure terror she had felt — the fear immobilizing her so she couldn't even move… it felt so real. Too real. Like — like as if it had actually happened.

Now that she thinks about it… the entire nightmare itself felt weirdly vivid.

Strange.

“Some… some horrible woman jumped down from above. I remember so vividly… the jangle of chains that followed in her wake. And, and before I could even react, even do anything — she went after my friend. A chain wrapped around their leg and dragged them down. They kicked, thrashed, screamed, begged for help, tears in their eyes, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything. It wouldn’t matter anyways because the chains began to wrap around their neck and suffocate them. The women spotted me. She began advancing towards me, her mouth opening — showing her blackened, twisted teeth — I couldn’t move. I thought she was going to eat me, I was ready for the worst… and that’s when I woke up.”

Noone notices how quiet Samie had suddenly become. No… not just quiet, but some of the colour had also left her face. As if she had just witnessed something horrific.

She seemed… oddly shaken.

And Noone immediately regrets ever telling her.

“Samie, are you…?”

However, before Noone can finish her sentence, Lotus — without warning — enters the room.

“Well, look who’s finally up!” She exclaims, glancing at Noone. She takes a seat beside her and begins to change her bandages, showing no sign of even remotely noticing Samie, who is currently seated across the bed as quiet as ever.

“You’ve been out for quite a while! Two whole days… you must’ve been really tired, how about that?”

“Yeah… I guess,”

Lotus shifts her attention towards Samie. “How is she today? Poor kid looked pretty beat up back there. Pip told me that she was crying out in her sleep a lot last night too. Perhaps she had a nightmare?”

I was?

Well, that’s a bit embarrassing… even if the only witness had been Pip. The Nome.

“She seems a bit better,” Samie admits, finally looking less… shaken, “She’s a lot more talkative. However you were right about the nightmare part,”

“That’s unfortunate. Sadly, nightmares are quite common. They usually revolve around distressing incidents experienced in one’s past. And after an adult encounter like the one you had to go through, I’d expect her to feel a bit spooked —”

“My nightmare wasn’t about The Candleman,” Noone finds herself interrupting before she can stop herself.

“Oh?”

“It was about clocks and chains and prisoners — thousands upon thousands of children like me stuck in cells! I watched my friend get strangled by chains and then some horrible… thing with twisted black teeth almost ate me alive!”

Lotus looked quite taken aback by Noone’s sudden outburst.

“Clocks… chains… child prisoners and things with twisted black teeth… what — ?”

“Her nightmare, Lotus. It was just a nightmare. That’s all it was.” Samie snaps, looking quite distressed, “Now, may we please move on from this subject? I’m sure Noone is dealing with quite enough as it is,”

Lotus opens her mouth to retort something, but after finding that she likely has no good response, she settles with a simple “Okay. Sorry.”

The room then falls silent.

“I was actually wondering if Noone is well enough to come to the Upper Markets with me today. You know, the ones by the Shrine of the Nome King, Lotus.” Samie finally says, her eyes drifting elsewhere, “I was thinking of perhaps showing her around, maybe introducing to her our way of doing things here, since our ways of life are vastly different from… other locations.” She pauses, “That is, of course, if you’re feeling up for it. So what do you say Noone? You up for a bit of exploring?”

Noone feels excitement surge through her at Samie’s words. She’s been dying for a chance to explore this place since she arrived.

“Yes, please! I feel much better now, actually. But only if it’s okay with Lotus.”

Lotus seems to consider this thought for a moment.

“Well, I guess if you say you’re feeling better than maybe I could let you…” She says slowly, as if carefully considering her decision. “However the Nome comes with you.”

Lotus nods to Pip, who chitters her response.

“You can go, as long as Pip tags along too. But I have rules for you two as well. You may not engage in any energetic activities, participate in anything that could further damage Noone’s head, you may not, in any way or any reason, ever be separated. Oh, and I want my patient back long before dark. She’s not ready to go off by herself just yet.”

Noone and Samie nod curtly.

“And Noone? If you begin to feel unwell again, whether that may be just a simple headache, or something more serious, like dizziness or fatigue, you be sure to come right back, okay?”

Another quick nod.

“Alright then,” Lotus states, straightening up, “I guess now, you two are free to go. Stay safe, okay? And Noone, please try not to injure yourself any further. I assume that you’re old enough to know your limits… hopefully.”

Noone laughs. “Don’t worry Lotus. I’m sure I know my limits.”

”Good.” She says, grinning, “Now, perhaps you better get going! I heard that the Nomes were planning on putting on a little talent show, and you wouldn’t want to miss that now, would you?”

They both smile. Samie helps Noone out of bed, and after saying a brisk thanks and farewell, Noone finally finds herself leaving the Medical Rooms for the first time since her arrival, with Pip trailing closely behind.

She’ll admit; this whole experience is still a bit… confusing, but who is she kidding? She’s finally free. Finally safe, and she’s made some friends.

The only thing that she seems to be missing is that looming feeling of those just out of reach memories. Her mind is keeping secrets from her. Secrets that she feels she should be able to recall. Be able to know.

But like Lotus said; if she can’t remember, then perhaps those memories aren’t as important as she thought...?

For now, she can only hope that’s the truth.