Book 2: Chapter 35 - For Her Own Good
Not all abuse is equal
Physical violence is objective and verifiable,
while so-called “emotional abuse” has unclear and subjective boundaries.
It’s hard to define and judge consistently.
Only clearly identifiable harm should count as real.
Should we punish and arrest everyone who disagrees with us?
What about anyone who makes us angry?
Asking me not to speak to you isn’t an argument, Aubrey.
Refusing to respond to anything isn’t an argument.
Cutting me off for no reason isn’t a fucking argument!
If you don’t have the spine to defend your position,
how can you destroy our relationship over it?Grow up, and speak to me.
—Joshua Parker, Note found on Aubrey Clarke’s sink after a shower.
The green district was entirely too rich. Violet had grown up wealthy, for Roseville in any case. But housing in the green district was considerably nicer than her family's estate. Or at least, the hotel Samuel Mulberry was staying in was. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as Cyan's mansion, of course. But the crystal fountain inside his suite was ridiculous.
Violet found it irritating, in gentle terms.
Perhaps she’d feel differently were the academy paying for her to stay there. Or, truthfully, if anyone but Samuel were staying there. As it was, she saw incredible comfort being offered to someone who’d hurt her friend. A velvet sofa and an impossibly large TV. A floor-to-ceiling window with a view of all of Prism. She kind of wanted to piss in the fountain.
Instead, she sat on a too-comfortable chaise lounge with her legs crossed and a look of attentive concern on her face. She’d promised to help Kiera, after all, and Samuel had a plan.
For the fox’s own good, of course.
“Kiera’s been fed some strange ideas about me, I’m afraid,” Samuel explained. As he spoke, he set a tray with two cups of tea on the coffee table. Then, he sat on the sofa opposite her. “Or perhaps she invented them on her own. She’s always been a creative child. With an imagination powerful enough to affect her calling. When her mother died, she let herself get wrapped up in that imagination, and she created a villain out of me. It made sense of the senseless, I think. And I did fail to save her mother; I can own that. But she nurtured that resentment. Until it evolved from failure to ill intent.”
Violet was genuinely excited to scrub that pitying look off his face. It and the self-satisfaction underneath, once he realized what was happening. The idea would’ve put an honest smile on her face, if it wouldn't have given her away.
“For what it’s worth, I don't think that survived the separation. She has only ever spoken highly of you from the day I met her,” Violet assured.
Samuel smiled. “That's good to hear, Miss…” he trailed off.
“Just Violet is fine,” Violet answered. She picked up a cup of tea, but didn't drink it. Considering what she'd heard about this man, that seemed ill-advised. Holding it at least gave the impression of enjoying it.
“That’s truly good to hear, Violet. Unfortunately, Kiera cannot be relied upon to remain consistent. She may have chosen to remember me as kind and healthy once she believed she’d killed me. But now that she knows I am alive, and has faced consequences for her choices… I fear she'll revert to hatred and fear. Which means she will refuse the medicine she needs. That is dangerous not only for her, but for everyone on your fireteam,” Samuel said.
Violet frowned. “She really doesn't seem sick to me, though. What does she have, exactly?”
Samuel replied with a humorless chuckle, then took a deep drink of his own tea. The look he offered Violet after that was a blood-boiling mix of amusement and pity. “Well, of course she looks healthy to you, sweetheart. She is an illusionist. And you are the same category as her,” he explained, slowly and patiently. “She's been lying to you, I’m afraid. I envy the innocence that lets you believe her, but she is very much sick.”
She wondered if boiling water would bother a Category Green, or if it would splash right off his face. In her experience, a higher constitution didn't actually lessen pain; it just made a person more resilient. It would surely still hurt, at least. But alas, if it didn't at least leave an ugly burn, it would hardly be worth it. Samuel’s manner of speaking was kind, patient, and fucking condescending. And it was earning him far more permanent consequences than a few seconds of pain.
She didn't bother pointing out the flaws in his logic. Aside from the one that was obvious only to her—that she could see through Kiera’s illusions. He’d find some equally stupid explanation for the teachers at the academy failing to notice her sickness. Or ignoring it, even. She didn't point out that illusions couldn't explain Kiera’s consistent physical performance. It didn't matter. And her plan relied on this. Allowing him to believe she was stupid enough not to ask.
“Oh…” she replied. “I guess I didn't really think of that. I just… I wanted to trust her, so I... Well. I feel stupid.”
Samuel shook his head. “You're not stupid. Just a good friend. If you were stupid, you wouldn't be here, trying to help. You’d be convincing yourself of the same comfortable lies. No, you’re not stupid, Violet. You’re actually very mature for your age,” he assured her.
Violet sniffed and put her tea down. She wiped her eye on one sleeve and nodded meekly. “I appreciate that,” she replied. “You’re a kind man. Alright. What can I do? How do I help her?”
Samuel smiled at her. “Well, Violet,” he started, then he paused. “Actually, are you named for the color, or for the flower?”
Violet tilted her head in confusion. “Um, the flower, I think. But my hair is…” She didn't bother finishing the explanation. It was too obvious to deny. Samuel frowned.
“Your last name wouldn't happen to be ‘Asher,’ would it?” he asked.
“Asher?” Violet replied, a baffled look painted across her face.
Samuel narrowed his eyes for a moment, then let out a breath. “I can see you aren't. It’s nothing to worry about. Sorry for losing focus on the task at hand. Where was I?” he asked.
“You were telling me how I can help Kiera,” Violet offered.
“Ah, that’s right,” Samuel said. “Well. That is quite simple, actually. The fact is, my daughter will not take any medicine I try to give her. She will be convinced I am trying to hurt her, like she is no doubt convinced I hurt her mother. So I’ve arranged to have standard potions and medicines distributed to your class. But she won’t use them on principle. As I’m sure she has made perfectly clear, correct?”
Violet rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “You could say that,” she agreed.
Samuel tightened his lips, but simply nodded in understanding. “I assumed as much. But that is to our advantage. It is how we will help her. I will provide your class with potions as promised, and they will help out in the mist. In the meantime, I want you to give her these,” he said, pulling a thin, transparent case with nearly three dozen or so vials from his jacket. “You clearly care about her a lot. You went out of your way to confront me on her behalf, after all. If you tell her you bought these for her so she could avoid the risk of my potions, well. She might just believe you.”
Violet looked skeptically at the so-called medicine. “I’m a bit nervous about lying to her,” Violet admitted. “I’m not very good at it, and I don’t like misleading my friends. Are you sure this won’t just hurt her more?”
“Sometimes, you have to bend the truth a little to help the people you love. Kiera is sick. It’s affecting her mind, and she is confused. This is the only way to save her,” Samuel promised.
Violet still looked conflicted, but she nodded. “What if she doesn’t take them?” she asked.
“That is why I am publicly providing my potions to your school. The perceived danger will be in those potions. On one hand, she will see them working perfectly and saving lives. On the other hand, it will increase her trust in what you provide. I am directing where she perceives the imagined threat so she will allow herself to heal,” Samuel explained.
Violet frowned. “It just all feels so… manipulative. It doesn’t feel right to do it this way,” she complained.
“Oh?” Samuel asked, lifting one eyebrow. “You didn’t seem so worried about manipulation when you tried to tell me you were sick and needed my help. It was worth it to help Kiera, right?”
Violet blushed. “Yeah. You’re right. I tried it, and I failed. It just… didn’t work very well. And Kiera knows me better than you do. She’ll spot me from a mile away if I start lying to her,” she countered.
“Well, it is either that, or you watch her slowly die. And you are obviously too gentle a girl to do that. So I’m sorry, Violet. But you have to make a choice. Lie to your friend, just this once. Or watch her succumb to sickness and die young,” Samuel pushed.
Violet bit her lip and crossed her arms defensively. “I just… I don’t want her to hate me,” she whispered.
“Well,” Samuel replied with a disappointed sigh, “that is more about you than her, isn’t it? A bit childish and selfish, if I am being up-front. But I suppose you are a child. I can't exactly begrudge you a little self-obsession.”
Violet winced, then hung her head. “What… what do they do, exactly?” she asked.
“What do what do?” Samuel said.
“The vials. They are safe?” she clarified.
“Only for the sick. Do not give them to anyone healthy, of course. As with all medicine, they should not be abused. But they will help combat the symptoms of the, unfortunately, genetic disease,” he answered.
“So it won’t cure her?” Violet asked.
Samuel somberly shook his head. “I don’t know how to do that. But I can give her a full life. And it will clear the mud in her mind, which means…” he trailed off.
“Means what?” Violet pressed.
“Things might start to look worse, at first. As she stops overusing her talent to hide her symptoms. And that will be scary, I know. But I promise you. It will be a sign she is healing. Not that she is ill now, when she wasn’t before. And I know, you’ll be tempted to waver. To doubt. But I have been doing this for a very long time. I gave my wife decades longer than she should have had. You need to trust me,” he insisted.
Violet bit her lip. She glanced at the fountain, then let out a hot breath. She held out one hand, even as she closed her eyes. “Alright. I’ll do it. If it saves Kiera, I’ll do whatever I have to. Please, give me the medicine.”
She felt the case rest against her palm a moment later. When she opened her eyes, she saw relief stapled to Samuel’s face like a cheap poster. It disgusted her just looking at it, but she showed none of that on her face. Instead, she only offered trepidation.
“Now, you must be very careful about dosage. If she drinks one, don’t allow her to drink another for at least four hours. If she does, side effects will be severe. She shouldn’t enter the mist at all, but if she overdoses, she’ll find herself unable to move or access her talents. One dose at a time at most. Do you understand?” he asked.
Violet nodded nervously. “What about the effects she is expecting from the potion?” she asked. “If she needs more clarity or stamina, and she only gets medicine, won’t that be dangerous?”
“Mix them into standard potions. I’ll provide several in different containers with a different hue, so they look unique. Make sure to mark them in some way only you will notice. They won’t change the effects of the original potions, and they will be tasteless. If she’s already taken a dose, simply ensure she takes a regular potion instead. Can you do that?” he instructed.
Violet paused, then nodded. “Okay. Okay, I think I can pull that off,” she agreed.
Samuel locked his eyes onto hers and held them there for an impossibly long moment.
“My daughter’s life depends on this, Violet. Can you promise me that you will make sure she gets this medicine, no matter what it takes?” he pushed.
Violet swallowed hard. But she nodded. “I’ll save her. I swear I’ll save her. I promise.”
And she meant it. Samuel would regret the promise for the rest of his life, she was certain. But it was a promise she was happy to make.