“What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked, putting a hand on hers.
She pulled her hand out of his and then stood up, catching the attention of all three doctors.
“Calm down,” Chevalier whispered when her heart began to race and she took a step back.
Dr. Norwood watched her carefully, “I’m assuming she doesn’t like us speaking about her like she’s not in the room. Of course, when she doesn’t speak, it’s hard not to.”
Emily turned quickly and walked out of the room.
Chevalier watched her go and then turned back to the doctors, “I knew she wasn’t going to do this.”
Dr. Norwood smiled, “It’s ok. I got a lot out of that.”
“You did?”
“Yes. When is Dr. Brooking coming?”
“He’s supposed to meet us at the farmhouse in about twenty minutes.”
“He’s going to want to see Emily,” Lori told him.
Chevalier nodded, “I’ll get her there, though she may be fighting me.”
“We’ll meet you there,” Dr. Edwards said, and the three doctors left for the farmhouse.
Chevalier followed Emily’s scent up to their bedroom and stepped in past the four guards at her door, “Em?”
She looked over at him as she sat on the floor in the corner of the room, something she only did rarely.
He sat down beside her, “I really need you to do this, for me. It’s important to find out how to help you.”
Emily wrapped her arms around her knees and began to rock slowly.
Chevalier watched her for a few seconds, “If you won’t tell us what you need, we have to bring in doctors. Now, I don’t want to carry you out there, but I will. It’s that important.”
She turned away from him and buried her face between her arms.
“You’re not leaving me a choice,” he said, now getting angry. Chevalier stood up and quickly scooped Emily into his arms. She struggled to get out of his grasp as he headed down the stairs, followed by the Cavalry, “You four stay out back and don’t be seen. We have a mortal at this meeting.”
“Yes, Elder,” the highest ranking said.
By the time they got to the farmhouse, Emily was fully panicking and pulling hard at Chevalier’s arms. He walked in through the back door and heard all of the doctor’s in the front room.
“Oh, here they are,” Lori said, looking over when Chevalier came in.
“Oh my,” Dr. Brooking gasped when he saw how badly Emily was fighting to get free from Chevalier.
“She doesn’t like doctors,” Chevalier said as he sat down and pulled her onto his lap. He was able to easily trap her legs under one of his and wrapped his arms around hers to restrain her, “That’s not new. She’s never liked doctors.”
Emily looked up at the doctors and broke out in a sweat as she struggled to get free.
Lori walked over and knelt down beside her, “Calm down, ok? No one’s going to hurt you.”
Dr. Brookings studied her frantic movements, “This would be easier if we used a neuroleptic.”
Dr. Norwood nodded, “Agreed.”
Lori sighed, “She’s not going to give us a choice.”
“What’s a neuroleptic?” Chevalier asked, wincing slightly when Emily’s nails dug into his hand.
“It’s like a tranquilizer,” Dr. Norwood said as he dug through an old black bag. He produced a small syringe and needle and began filling it with liquid from a tiny vial.
Chevalier sighed, “Do it quickly.”
Emily was fighting Chevalier and didn’t see the needle until she felt the slight pinch in her arm. She gasped and Chevalier braced himself for a burning pain, but she soon began to relax and he lessened his grip on her.
“It won’t knock her out, but it will help her calm a bit,” Dr. Norwood said as he sat back down.
Chevalier watched Emily lean back against his chest and her entire body relaxed, “I don’t like drugging her.”
“I promise, this will help,” Dr. Brooking said.
“First off,” Chevalier said to him. “We mentioned how sensitive this information is and we gave you the confidentiality forms?”
“Yes, I got them. I’ve had government patients before.”
“Very well,” Chevalier looked down at Emily as she sunk further down against him. “We’re sure she’s ok?”
Lori smiled, “She’s fine. She’s just relaxed.”
“Lori has filled me in on a lot of what happened to Emily during her capture. It’s… hard to believe, actually.”
“Well it’s all true. Our main goal is to find out exactly what Emily needs right now and how we can get her to talk,” Lori said to all of them. “We all feel if she were able to communicate, we could better help her deal with what happened. I’m sure we’re all aware that it’s more than likely there are things we just haven’t heard yet about her capture, things that will affect her in the future.”
Dr. Edwards nodded, “I’m sure there’s no question on that.”
Dr. Brooking pulled out a notepad and began to write, “It seems that the most traumatic experience was being buried, correct?”
“I would agree with that,” Dr. Norwood said. He heard Emily’s heart rate pick up and saw her shift slightly.
“Has she experienced any type of attachment to her captor?”
“Not that we’ve seen, no.”
“But he is in custody?”
“Yes”
“Has she seen him?”
“Yes,” Lori said. “She showed no attachment to him, but she is still responding to thing’s he’s told her and done.”
“Right, the self-mutilation at his request.”
Chevalier frowned, but Lori nodded, “Yes.”
Dr. Norwood knelt down beside Emily and lifted her chin gently with his hand, “Emily? Can you hear me?”
She looked up at him slightly, though she was having problems holding her head up.
He smiled, “We’re all here to help you, and you can help us do that if you would talk to us. Can you nod for me if you understand?”
Emily didn’t move, but fought to keep her eyes open.
“Any attempt at writing?” Dr. Brooking asked.
“We’ve tried, but had no luck,” Lori told him.
“Were you thinking Schizoaffective Disorder?”
“It’s hard to say. I’m not sure she’s depressed.”
“This could simply be apraxia,” Dr. Brooking suggested.
“There’s no sign of any head trauma,” Dr. Edwards said.
“If she was a’praxic, she would still be able to write,” Dr. Norwood said.
“Well,” Dr. Brooking said, looking carefully at Emily, “My first impression would be hospitalization, medication, and intense therapy.”
“We hesitate putting her into a hospital,” Lori said. “Government matters, you see.”
“Yes, yes, ok. Have we at all considered that she’s just being stubborn?”
Chevalier shook his head, “No, that’s not it. I will admit that she has a stubborn personality, but this is further than that. At times she seems frustrated also at the lack of communication.”
“Yet she refuses to so much as nod?”
“Correct”
Dr. Brooking thought for a moment as he saw Emily resting in Chevalier’s arms, “Did her captor threaten her if she communicated?”
“No,” Lori told him. “In fact, he got pretty upset when she quit speaking.”
He thought for a moment, “I wonder if she did it just to spite him.”
“Then why not speak now?”
“All I can say to that, is… she’ll talk when she’s ready.”
“I guess it’s possible,” Dr. Norwood said. “It just seems highly unlikely unless she doesn’t fully trust us yet.”
“She keeps items of yours, correct? In case she’s taken?”
Chevalier nodded, “Yes.”
“No chance of hospitalization?”
“None”
; “She may, quite simply, be psychotic and will remain psychotic for the rest of her life. It’s not unheard of in situations with much less trauma than what she endured for 2 years.”
“We’re not putting her in a hospital,” Chevalier said, making sure to control his voice.
Dr. Norwood broke a tense few minutes of silence, “Are you seeing any of her personality? Likes, dislikes? Maybe something that makes her… Emily.”
Chevalier nodded, “Yes, just recently in fact.”
“Like what?” Dr. Brooking asked.
Lori privately told Dr. Norwood about Emily burning Kyle just that morning while Chevalier spoke to Dr. Brooking, “Her temper. She’s famous for her temper and this morning was the first time we’ve seen it since she got back.”
“I see,” he mumbled, and began to write.
“What do you think, then?” Lori asked Dr. Brooking.
He sighed, “I think we all need to resign ourselves to the fact that this new Emily is what’s going to be from now on. Her tendencies to hurt herself are going to stay. My recommendation is house restraint and constant use of a neuroleptic to keep her from harming herself.”
Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “You mean keep her like she is now?”
Lori looked down at how Emily was completely limp in the Elder’s arms and was barely able to hold her own eyes open.
“Yes,” Dr. Brooking said. “In this severe of a case, her mind is gone and it’ll be easier for all if we now treat her like an invalid.”
Dr. Edwards gasped, “But she’s not!”
“She is… in her mind, there’s no rational thought, no cohesion or lucid reasoning.”
“No, I don’t buy into that,” Chevalier said.
“Dr. Norwood told me that she went without food for 4 days once because her caregiver had gone away. That’s not something a rational person does. It’s something someone with the mind of a child would do,” Dr. Brooking said. “I know it’s hard when a loved one is no longer with us as we remember…”
“That’s enough. Get out,” Chevalier growled.
“Please… what’s best for Emily is if you let her go and let those of us treat her that know what she needs.”
“Out”
Dr. Norwood stood and was obviously angry, “Let me show you out, Dr. Brooking. I think those of us in this room can handle it from here.”
Lori opened the door and then shut it behind him.
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Edwards said. “He came highly recommended.”
“She’s not insane,” Chevalier told them.
Lori smiled, “No, she’s not. By burning the Chief Enforcer this morning, she more than proved that she’s thinking clearly.”
“She diagnosed an injured horse this morning too,” Chevalier said. “Not something a non-thinking person does.”
Dr. Norwood knelt down and looked into Emily’s eyes, “Have you tried to control her to see if she will talk?”
“We are trying not to do anything against her will.”
“It could be worth a shot though,” Dr. Edwards said. “Maybe now while she’s complacent.”
“Complacent?” Chevalier asked. “You mean a rag doll?”
“Shall we try it?” Lori asked.
Chevalier thought, “Call Kyle in. I’d like to hold her, and I trust him to do it.”
Within a few minutes, Kyle came into the farmhouse and frowned at Emily, “What’s wrong with her?”
“Anti-psychotic meds,” Chevalier answered, looking down at her.
Kyle smiled, “That horse has a sprained lower-leg.”
Chevalier chuckled, “I knew she was right. She’s saner than Dr. Pessimism gave her credit for.”
“Dr. who?” Kyle asked, confused.
“Never mind… we need you to control Emily and to see if you can get her to talk,” Chevalier explained. “I want to hold her, so she feels safe and comfortable, and I want you to control her.”
Kyle nodded, “Easy enough. She’s drugged out of her gourd, so I doubt she’ll be able to fight back.”
When Kyle knelt down, Emily struggled to look up at him, but her head wobbled slightly and she leaned it back against Chevalier’s arm.
“Don’t ask anything about Salazar. Just see if you can get her to speak,” Chevalier said.
Kyle nodded and immediately locked Emily’s eyes. When her breathing slowed down to match his, he spoke to her softly, “You’re safe here with us. Can you talk to me?”
Emily’s mouth opened slightly but she only managed a small gasp.
“That’s good, you’re trying. I need you to talk to me. You can trust me, and you know that.”
She frowned as her eyes bored into his and she inhaled sharply.
His voice softened, “What’s going on? Why won’t you talk? I can see you want to tell me something.”
Dr. Edwards whispered, “Her pulse is going back up… She’s starting to panic.”
“She can’t panic while under control,” Lori told him.
He nodded, “Well she is.”
“Break it,” Chevalier whispered.
Kyle broke the gaze and then sat back on his feet, “She wants to talk.”
Chevalier stood up and cradled Emily gently in his arms, “Take Salazar back in. Ask him again why she won’t speak.”
Kyle nodded and then blurred back for the palace.
“How long will she be out?”
Dr. Edwards looked down at her, “A while, he gave her more than I expected.”
“Unless we keep giving it to her,” Lori added.
“Why would we do that?” Chevalier asked.
She sighed, “We need to consider that some of what Dr. Brooking said is true.”
“None of it was true,” he growled, and walked out the back door of the farmhouse.
***
“Breakfast is on,” Kyle said when he put the plate down on the table.
Emily sat up slowly and looked around the room, a little confused.
“You ok?” he asked, sitting down beside her.
She looked up at him and her head still bobbed slightly.
He smiled, “It’ll wear off. Dr. Edwards said by this morning you’ll be back to new.”
She slowly brought her hand up and it fell against Kyle’s face.
He grinned, “Are you trying to slap me?”
Emily laid back down and rolled onto her side away from him. He chuckled and watched her until she fell back asleep.
Two hours later, Chevalier came in and found Kyle still sitting on the bed beside Emily. He looked over at her uneaten breakfast and sighed, “Still no food?”
“I think she’s too druggy to eat. She tried to slap me and couldn’t manage that,” Kyle said, obviously amused.
Chevalier smiled, “Good to have her back.”
He sat down beside her in bed and then over at Kyle, “Have you talked to Mark?”
“Not today, what’s up?”
“He’s having problems with some of the Cavalry. Thirty-four of them were hired after Emily left and they aren’t very happy about the possibility of being her guard.”
Kyle sighed, “I knew a lot of them weren’t mortal supporters, but it didn’t matter at the time.”
“I know, but it does now,” Chevalier said. He looked down when he saw Emily look up at him and he smiled, “Good morning.”
She sat up slowly and it was apparent that she still felt sluggish from the medications the night before.
“There’s hot tea,” Kyle said, looking over at the table. “That might help.”
Chevalier reached out and steadied her when she stood and stumbled a bit, “Careful…”
“I can’t believe he wanted to keep her drugged,” Kyle said as Emily sat down and poured herself some tea.
“The idea that she’s psychotic is insane.”
Kyle glanced over at Emily and saw that she was glaring at them, “What?”
Chevalier looked over and frowned, “What’s wrong?”
She t
ook a sip of tea and continued to scowl at them.
Finally, Kyle smiled, “You’re mad at us for yesterday?”
“You can’t be mad at us for that!” Chevalier said. “We were just trying to figure out why you aren’t talking. I admit the doctor shouldn’t have drugged you, but that wasn’t our fault.”
“I wasn’t even there for that,” Kyle told her.
She continued to watch them as she finished her drink. When she was done, she stood up shakily and stumbled into the bathroom.
Chevalier chuckled, “Never thought I’d be glad to have her mad at me.”
“Yeah well… she didn’t burn you,” Kyle said, and then stood up to see who was knocking on the door.
“True”
Kyle opened the door and let Dain in. He seemed uncomfortable and wrung his hands nervously, “Where’s Mom?”
“In the bathroom. What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked him.
Dain shrugged, “Alexis thinks I need to come in here.”
“Why?”
“She thinks I’m avoiding Mom.”
Kyle nodded, “You kind of are. She’s been back for almost 3 years and you’ve barely spoken to her.”
“Yeah, like she cares.”
“Dain!” Chevalier whispered harshly.
“Well it’s true! That’s not my Mom… that’s some stranger in her body. She walks around here like a zombie and I honestly don’t know why you don’t just hand her over to the mortals where she belongs and then we can get back to normal.”
The heku spun suddenly when a slight noise caught their attention. Emily was standing in the doorway to the bathroom, leaning up against the door as she watched them.
“Damnit,” Chevalier growled when he realized Emily had heard what Dain just said.
She looked down at the ground and then walked back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
“I didn’t know she was there,” Dain whispered.
“Yeah well… none of what you said is true,” Chevalier said angrily. “If you went through what she did, you’d be a dead right now and she’s doing fine. She’s not changed and you’re blind if you don’t see that.”
Kyle turned and called out for Alexis.
“No she’s not doing fine!” Dain yelled. “That woman is not my Mom. You’d be better off if you would realize that.”
Chevalier stood up to face his son, “You will keep your voice down and your opinions to yourself.”
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 74
