House Of Madness

Chapter 21 Off With His Head!

"Finally! I've been screaming at you two to untie me for hours!"
Grave yelled at Kit and Zade.
"I had no idea you were here", Kit said.
"I would certainly hope not!
Or else you would have untied me from his chair!"
Nik wasted no time, "you. I've looked long and hard for you! Care to explain why you're here and how you got here?" Nik hissed.
"You think I came here by choice! Are you kidding me?!"
"Start talking! Now!" Nik didn't have time, someone put him here in hopes of framing Kit and Nik needed to know who.
"Untie me and I'll tell you everything you want to know", Grave said calmly.
"Or you could tell me everything I want to know and if you're somehow innocent in all of this I'll untie you, but I highly doubt that."
"Really! Blaming the victim!" Grave said with an eye roll.
"Listen here you-"
"Enough!
We will untie him and than interrogate him." Kit said bored.
"The fuck we will", said Nik.
Even Zade looked at her like, 'no baby.'
Terrett and Nivens both saw this look and couldn't help but smile.
Kit moved to Grave and dared Nik to stop her with the look in her catlike eyes.
Nik growled a, "fine", at Kit.
Once Grave was untied, Kit didn't waste a second, "start from the beginning."
He did, he told them how he got taken to the House Of Madness.
"What! So you were there?" Nik asked relieved, this meant Alice hadn't gone mad.
"Yes, I was taken out of the House Of Madness for my trial when this bug thing stopped it.
It used it's glamour or influence to stop my trial from happening."
"Who?" Nik asked, the all to eager detective.
"Jesus! Let the poor man talk!" Kit said.
"I didn't get a name, he was blueish greenish fat, very fat."
"Chessler", everyone said at once.
" 'Chessler', made it so the guards let me go,
I think he wiped their memories."
'Hence why Finn thought he never came to the House Of Madness', Nik thought.
"What else?"
"He and a bunch of ugly looking fae took me here and tied me to a chair.
The rest is history, here we are."
"Why would he do that?" Kit asked, "why would Chessler go through all this work to kidnap Grave before his trial."
"Because he wanted a favour from me.
He knew if he let Alice remember Grave's time in the House Of Madness she would ask me for help to stop his trial.
With his end goal to be on the council."
"How would he know you would go to his far?" Zade asked.
"I don't know", Nik said.
Chessler had played them and not even Nik knew the full extent his plan went.

Chessler wasn't above playing dirty, he proved this when he kidnapped Grave Fletcher from the House Of Madness and altered everyone's memories except for Alice's.
He wanted a lot of things, a seat on the council was just one of many.

"Grave Fletcher is fine", Nik said to a very distressed Alice.
"Chessler took him and made everyone forget but you.
He's currently unharmed living with Kit and a very unhappy Zade."
Key words, 'currently unharmed', Alice thought.
"Why did Chessler take him?"
"Because he wanted a favour from me."
Alice was very confused, "why would he bet on you helping me?"
Nik took a step closer to Alice's cell, "in case you haven't figured it out there isn't much I wouldn't do for you.
Apparently that's common knowledge now."
Alice gulped, "sweet dreams love", Nik said with sugar lacing his voice.
That was funny, because Alice never had sweet dreams anymore.
"Alice, sweet Alice", a voice purred.
"It's okay, you know the truth. You can let go."
Alice thrashed side to side on the cold ground of her cell.
"No one loves you. No one would miss you."
"No!" Alice screamed.
"You're a burden.
A unloveable burden to everyone you meet.
That's why Nivens nor Terrett didn't cared when you were taken here." Said that same whisper.
Alice woke up feeling tried with tears in her eyes.
It wasn't true, it couldn't be true but someone had told her and fae couldn't lie.

April 2nd
Now Seventeen Alice had been back to her suicidal state.
It was always so cold, just now staring to get  warm again.
It had been nine months since the Harvest but it felt much longer.
She heard the voices louder than ever, they weren't just talking to her in her dreams anymore.
They were prominent all the time.
The voices told her to 'kill herself' and that 'no one would care if she was dead.'
Hearing this twenty four seven for the last nine months had taken a toll on not just Alice's mental health but her physical health.
In the end, Alice had tried to hold on but one could not hold on if there was nothing to grab on to.