Faithless Memories

Unbury the Past

A/N: I just wanted to add a little warning up front.  This chapter is where we start seeing the reason for the PTSD and referenced torture.  It isn't graphic by any means, but still, I wanted to let you know. Please proceed with caution.

Chapter 55

Genesis stilled. Kristobel had already said several times that her previous life was gone and unreachable. He had felt that whatever happened had made her want to keep her distance, but after the Goddess' words, he began to wonder if Kris had meant it literally when she said Felicity was dead. The thought gave him chills, but he tried not to let it show as she continued.

"Ironically enough, I was an heiress."

He pulled back far enough to look down at her with incredulity. "An heiress?" When her only response was to nod with a smile, his look grew even more confused. "I have never known an heiress that could stand against Soldiers."

She laughed lightly. "That is an interesting story all on its own. My mother died when I was two, and afterward, my father could never tell me no. When my aunt told him that proper ladies need to be part of something like ballet, he tried to sign me up. Somehow I ended up enrolled at the dojo next door. That was when I was four. I ended up becoming a double black belt by the time I was sixteen."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Somehow, I find it easy to imagine you wrapping anyone around your finger."

She smiled up. "Like you?"

He gave her a mock glower. "So, you were an heiress with a talent for martial arts. What else?"

She sobered as she tried to continue. "My father hired a nanny not long after my mother died. He was a busy man and couldn't handle a toddler, especially since he was gone often. I couldn't have asked for anyone better than Ms. Comeaux. She took care that the household ran smoothly as well as making sure I didn't skip my studies." She paused and smiled. "She even taught me how to cook."

By that point, Kris was lost in her memories. Genesis could see the far off look in her eyes and wondered what could have happened to change these pleasant memories into the horror he saw earlier. He didn't try to interrupt her, though. He knew they would get there eventually.

"When I turned thirteen, my father had me start attending meetings with him occasionally. He wanted me to take over as president when I was old enough. When we left, Ms. Comeaux went with us-" She cut herself off at that point, and Genesis froze when he saw tears start again.

He wiped them away and pulled her closer. "You don't have to continue if you can't."

She took several moments to get her self back under control again but finally pulled back. "I think I need to."

He gave her a questioning look but allowed her to finish. "Ms. Comeaux had a son that was only a year older than me. His name was Brandt. Since they lived with us, we were practically raised as siblings."

Genesis drew in a sharp breath at the parallels to the present. If anything had happened to the boy, Kris' reactions to Zack would be understandable. Kris hadn't noticed his shock as she was starting into the painful memories. The closer she got to the ones from her nightmares, the harder it was for her not to break down again. She forced herself to keep going.

"We were close growing up. If I wasn't in lessons, then we were usually doing something together." She smiled sadly. "We played games, climbed trees, got into trouble. We were always together."

She shifted, so she was closer to Genesis' warmth before she continued. "When I started traveling with my father, they would come too. Or at least Ms. Comeaux would. She had to make sure I stayed on track. Brandt didn't always come. If we were going to be gone for more than a week, he would stay with his aunt. It was at that time that we started growing apart. We still spent time together when we could, but it was just as often that he was busy doing other things. I regret it now, but at the time, I didn't have time to worry about it much. I was given more responsibility, as well. There were a lot of expectations put on me."

She didn't say anything after that for long enough that Genesis wondered if she had started falling asleep. When he pulled back, he saw that she was crying again. She had been attempting to keep quiet so he wouldn't hear her. She tried to wipe them away, but he stopped her and wiped them himself. Whatever she was still holding in was obviously hard for her.

She grimaced and wouldn't meet his eye as she started again. "When I turned seventeen, my father decided I didn't need a nanny anymore. He gave Ms. Comeaux a generous severance package and allowed her to stay in one of his properties until she was able to find another job. He also gave her a glowing reference. She had known it was coming since she started and was gracious about it. We actually stayed in touch afterward. I would try to visit every few days when I was home. She made the best fajitas."

Genesis felt his heart clench. One of the few things that had stuck with her even after her memory loss was how to make the dish her surrogate mother taught her. He didn't need to know more than that to know that Kristobel had to have held the woman in high regard. He brushed back her hair and kissed her forehead. "She sounds like a lovely woman. You were lucky to have such an influence growing up."

She tried to give him a smile, but it fell flat as she was crying again. "Yeah, I was." She paused and took a deep breath. "The problem was that Brandt didn't take it as well. I don't know what he thought would happen, but when he was forced to move out, he broke all contact with me."

She buried her face once more, and Genesis was sure that if his hearing had not been enhanced, he probably would not be able to hear her. "I guess the fact that I missed him was what made it so easy. He called me out of the blue after several months and asked if I wanted to meet for dinner. I was thrilled." Genesis felt cold creep through his veins. He hoped he was wrong. He prayed to Minerva that he was wrong.

Kris' voice was breaking, but she forced herself to get the last of it out. "When I met him, he must have put something in my drink, because I don't remember most of that night. When I woke up, I was in an old house. I'm pretty sure it was in the middle of nowhere because I couldn't hear any traffic and never any people."

Genesis pulled her closer reflexively, but she was lost in the memory. "At first, he would just yell at me. He would try to make me acknowledge him as my real sibling and that he had a place in our household. He would also try to convince me that he would let me go if I just made sure he and his mother were taken care of. I tried to tell him that I did think of him that way, but then he would revert to threats. It was all about money to him."

"Kristobel-" Genesis wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he had already heard enough. Somehow, he knew he didn't want to hear the rest. She looked up at him, and even with her strange new eyes, he could easily read the fear and pain she was barely holding in.

"Genesis, he tortured me. I don't know how long he kept me, but after a week of yelling and threats, he tied me up and left me in the basement. The only time I would see him was when he came down to beat me. When he got tired of beating me, he moved to breaking my bones or cutting me. Anything to make me scream and beg. When I came close to dying, he would leave me alone for several days at a time. I lost track of how long I was down there, and at one point, I wasn't sure if I would die from him or from starvation. It was a waking nightmare. It finally got to the point that I was begging him to kill me. There was no point, no out. He even told me that he had my father in another room. He would play clips of him crying. I wanted to die. I wanted it to end."

She had started sobbing by that point and could no longer talk. Genesis sat up and pulled her into his lap before he wrapped the covers around them again. His blood was boiling. Whoever the boy was, if he were still alive, he would not be for long. As a Rhapsodos and a Soldier, he was not without resources. He started rubbing small circles on her back as he tried to soothe her. "That is a memory. One I can understand you trying to block. I swear on my honor that you will never be subjected to anything like it again. You are safe."

Kris could not stop shaking or crying. It was out. She could already tell that talking about it would help her, but not now. Now, she was still trying desperately to remind herself that it was in the past. She had moved on. Life started over, and she was not going to let her past rule her. She finally ended up crying herself to sleep again. Genesis did not join her. Even after he was sure she was sleeping soundly, he kept her cradled in his lap. He would never let her feel that alone again.