Cocoa runs into my room and grabs clothes from the closet frantically. I get off of the bed and walk over to her. She runs into the bathroom and turns the shower on. She lays the clothes on the sink and turns around to face me.
"Polly and Tucker want to see you. They said to make you look presentable and so here I am," she says. She walks out of the room and I jump into the shower. After I dry off I put on the clothes she laid out and look at myself in the mirror.
The black shirt and pants make my wings stand out. Cocoa walks in and fixes my hair. She finishes and we walk out of my room. She guides me down the hallway and down to the throne room.
I see the kids looking at us from around a corner. I smile and wave at them and they wave back. We go down the elevator and wait for it to get to the bottom floor.
"Remember, make it seem like you trust them. Use really good manners too," she tells me. I nod and hug her. She smiles and pushes me back as the elevator opens.
We walk down the hall and I look into the cell I used to stay in with Arsenic. I sigh in relief when I don't see that anybody is there. I walk with Cocoa to the door and a guard opens it for us.
We walk in, her behind me and stand in front of the throne. I bow down to Polly and Tucker. Polly smiles and waves me up. I stand up straight and smile at her.
"You are dismissed," Tucker tells Cocoa harshly. She bows and then walks out of the room. Polly gets off of the throne and comes up to me. She grabs my hands and jumps up and down.
"So what premonition did you have?" She asks me excitedly. I panic for a moment before containing myself and making up a story.
"I dreamt that you and Tucker eventually ruled the world together. It was an amazing dream, " I tell them feigning happiness. Tucker smiles from his throne and Polly claps.
"That's amazing Ash!" She exclaims. I internally cringe when she uses my name but I smile at her and nod. Tucker walks up to me and takes me into the other room.
He grab a whip from the shelf and whips me over and over. I clench my teeth and bear it as the leather breaks through my skin. He puts the whip away and grabs a hammer. He hits me all over, hard enough to give me bruises but not hard enough to break anything.
"You better stay away from her," he tells me. I quickly nod and he stops. He puts the hammer up and we walk back to the throne room. I carefully control my limp so Tucker doesn't get mad. Polly sits in her chair, impatiently waiting for us to get back.
"Oh your back! Good, good. I'll send dinner to your room," she tells me. I nod and Cocoa walks back in. She leads me out of the room and I try my best not to limp. We walk to the elevator and I press the up button.
I lean against the bars and I feel blood run down my back. I wince in pain as the elevator stops. I limp back to my room and walk inside. Cocoa closes the door behind us.
The kids sit on the bed with a bigger basket of food beside them. I limp over and sit down on the chair. Cocoa notices my wounds and leads me to the bathroom.
I take off my ripped up shirt and she wipes the blood off my back and bandages the whip marks. The kids stand at the doorway, their faces pale. Cocoa hand me a clean shirt that I put on.
I limp over to the bed and sit down. The kids sit beside me and finish picking out the pills from the food. They hand me the food and I give everyone their share of it.
We eat the food in silence. We finish and Cocoa throws the trash away. A knock comes from the door and Ray goes to open it. Polly stands there and looks down at him in disgust.
"Why are they in here?" She asks exasperated. I smile at her and point at the chair beside my bed. She sits down and watches as the kids play with the toys on the ground.
"They help with your rule. They are messangers. They don't start until next year though," I tell her. She smiles and looks over at the kids. She waves at them and they wave back smiling.
" I'm glad. Their grandmother makes the pills that go in the food. They control the demons and make them obey us, " she whispers to me. I nod and smile.
"That's great. I'm sure that if their grandmother is that useful that they will be too," I say looking over at Cocoa. She sits in the chair reading a newspaper. She glances up at me and frowns.
I look back at Polly and see that she's fixated on the kids. She turns to me quickly and bounces excitedly.
"We could start training them now!" She suggests happily. I shake my head no and she frowns and raises her eyebrows.
"If we train them before next year, we won't get the help we need," I tell her. She nods and stands up. She brushes off her dress and takes my hand. She shakes it and smiles.
"Thank you Ash, " she says. I nod and she walks out of the room. I breath out in relief. Cocoa comes over to me.
"Is that really what you saw?" She asks me. I go to answer but then see a device clipped on my shirt. I point at it and she nods. The kids look over and see it too.
" Yes, that is what I saw, " I tell her. The kids laugh and play in the background. Cocoa looks at me and I shake my head. She sighs in relief and smiles.
"Okay. Well I'm going to wash your shirt. You seem to have gotten some food on it," she says. I nod and take my shirt off. She takes it and puts it down the laundry chute.
I grab my phone and check my messages. The kids and Cocoa look over my shoulder excitedly.
Will: We're here.