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+------- Thread: Someplace Better Than Here || Everleigh (/showthread.php?tid=644)
Someplace Better Than Here || Everleigh - Alice Ravenstone - 11-18-2025
Friday, 3 June 1921
Mid-morning
Mid-morning
Term was over; exams were over. The next day, everyone would be leaving Hogwarts. Which meant Alice and Everleigh would be returning home. The Hufflepuff was nervous about going home, where their parents refused to see their youngest daughter struggling right in front of their eyes. But Alice saw it. She could almost feel it. However, she figured that was just because Ever had always been ‘her baby’, since they were kids. She was her protector.
Somehow, Alice had managed to talk her sister into a walk around the gardens. Ever was quiet these days, rarely speaking. She’d heard from other Ravenclaw girls that she still woke up screaming during the night most nights. And, from what Alice could see, she rarely ate anything. It was honestly heartbreaking for her to watch.
But she was hoping that being on this walk, in the fresh air, with beautiful flowers all around, Ever might come out of her daze for a bit.
She hoped.
“If you could go anywhere this summer, where would you go?” she asked. If she gave her sister open ended questions like that, maybe the girl would actually speak more than one or two words.
Alice knew, for a fact, that neither of them wanted to go home but neither of them wanted to be at Hogwarts. It was a terrible limbo to be stuck in, but she didn’t know how to move past it. The castle held memories of the Bad Thing That Happened and home held two adults who had blinders on. All they cared about was that everyone on the outside saw them as perfect.
They were not perfect.
RE: Someplace Better Than Here || Everleigh - Everleigh Ravenstone - 11-18-2025
They were going home. Of course they were, was there any other option? Everleigh wasn’t sure how she felt about leaving the castle. On one hand, the castle was the location of the worst day of her life. On the other hand, home held her parents, who have decided to ignore the entire kidnapped/tortured situation.
Sleeping was a thing of the past. Even with potions and tea, Ever didn’t sleep for more than a couple of hours before waking up to strange dreams. Some of the dreams were to be expected. Rae and Maevie screaming, flashes of green light, Thayer’s eyes staring at her, the horrible smell of burning flesh. All of it would wake her up, then she would go through the painstaking process of figuring out where and when it was.
Those dreams made sense. They weren’t fun, but it was an obvious product of a traumatic situation. It was the other dreams that she didn’t understand and made her worry.
Shadows, but not at the castle. Standing in the shadows of her fathers office, the drawing room, the hall outside the master bedroom. Screams, but not the screams of scared little girls. These screams were guttural and male. Pain, but not her pain. The nightmares weren’t full pictures, but flashes or fake memories. Horrible made up nightmares hell bent on torturing her in her dreams as well as her exhausted waking hours.
Alice was determined to help her thought the hard times, but Ever was pretty sure there was nothing she could do. It was a valiant effort though, and she loved her more for it.
“If you could go anywhere this summer, where would you go?”
Ever was jolted out of her blurry memories with the question. “I don’t know. Visiting Grandpa and Tilly in Sweden would be nice. I love the grounds, their so peaceful.” it helped that in her nightmares, the Nordstrom Estate was never pictured.
“Do you think mom and dad will let us go this…” her question was cut short with a scream reaching them from across the grounds.
Ever stopped suddenly, her hands going to her ears to cover the sound. It was instantaneous. Her mind going right back to the tower, Thayer’s foul smelling breath, his black evil eyes, Rae’s screams of pain. As her hands held tight to her ears, Ever’s head whipped back and forth, eyes blurry, not seeing her sister standing right there with her. “No! No, no no no no!”
RE: Someplace Better Than Here || Everleigh - Alice Ravenstone - 11-19-2025
“I don’t know. Visiting Grandpa and Tilly in Sweden would be nice. I love the grounds, they’re so peaceful.”
Alice nodded, a slight smile crossing her lips at Ever responding with more than two words. She did agree, the Nordstrom residence was so peaceful and light. Which was something that their home was not. It seemed Ravenstone was made of darkness. “That’d definitely be better than going home…” she commented.
“Do you think mom and dad will let us go this…”
Everything that happened next seemed to happen quickly. Her sister didn’t finish her question, there was a loud scream, and then Ever had stopped walking. When Alice turned to look at her, she saw her covering her ears, looking from side to side over and over before beginning to yell ‘no’.
Brown eyes wide, a tightening in her own chest, slight queasiness, and that sudden ‘drop’ you get when you’re about to fall – it all hit Alice like a ton of bricks, which didn’t make sense to her. She’d felt it before, when she was upset. But she wasn’t upset. Tears threatened to escape her eyes and she felt panic beginning to rise up within her.
But even with all of this happening, Alice knew that she had to remain level-headed for Everleigh, who was still melting down. Despite her own feelings, she managed to pull Everleigh into a hug. She didn’t know what else to do. “Shhhh…” she said, but she was shaken and a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks.
RE: Someplace Better Than Here || Everleigh - Everleigh Ravenstone - 11-22-2025
“Shhhh…” Ever didn’t hear Alice soothing her. She didn’t feel herself falling to the ground, knees to her chest, hands clutching her ears to stop the onslaught of sounds and memories. Alice’s strong arms around her trying to hold her together.
Memories assaulted her in flashes. That’s how it usually happened. No memory lasting more than a second or two. It was disorienting, seeing, hearing, smelling things from the past that came and went faster than she could grasp them. Interspersed within the memories of the dark tower and Thayer were flashes of things that didn’t make sense.
It was the same as other times a panic attack took her, but she couldn’t place the memories. Most took place in a very familiar place, her fathers office at her home. Blackthorn Hall. She could smell the wood burning in the fireplace, the cigars her father frequently smoked, the roast cooking in the kitchen just a few rooms down. It was so familiar, but so wrong.
The flashes were dwindling, she could feel Alice’s arms around her, hugging her tight. As the present came back into view, they were in the gardens, the flowers beautiful with bees buzzing. Ever’s eyes began to blink, her heart calming. Then the exhaustion hit. The muscles that were tense a few second ago relaxed and her head fell to her sister's shoulder. Alice was always there. Her constant strength, holding her together. Hugging her close, using all her remaining strength to hold her close.
She loved her sister more than life itself. As Ever’s arms held Alice close, she couldn’t help but feel lucky that she had her sister there to catch her when she fell. “I love you.” Ever whispered.
RE: Someplace Better Than Here || Everleigh - Alice Ravenstone - 11-25-2025
As Ever’s legs gave out, causing her to sink to the ground, Alice sank with her. The rising panic within her chest was threatening to distract her from helping her sister. That just caused her to hold her closer, refusing to leave the girl alone when she needed her. She held her close as her younger sister continued spiraling.
Alice could almost see the spiral, though she couldn’t see what was going on in her head. It was more like a feeling. Something she could not explain. Her sister was not only spiraling out of control, but also thoroughly confused and that made her panic attack worse. Frowning, Alice closed her eyes, still holding Everleigh as close to her as she could. She would never let go of Ever.
After a while, Alice didn’t know how long, she felt her sister’s body begin to relax. The panic was subsiding, and Alice knew that. But how? Everleigh’s head finally rested on her shoulder in the hug, and Alice squeezed slightly.
“I love you.”
Eyes closed, Alice waited a moment before speaking. Why? She felt shaky, she felt exhausted from whatever that was. She didn’t want her voice to convey her own confusion and worry about whatever just happened.
“I love you too, Ever. I’m always here for you. You can tell me anything, I promise.” Alice finally pulled away slightly and looked into her sister’s eyes which were open now. Those blue eyes, that everyone in the family except she had. She had dull brown.
“You’re gonna be okay… I promise,” she added, tucking some hair behind her sister’s ears.
RE: Someplace Better Than Here || Everleigh - Everleigh Ravenstone - 11-25-2025
Everything about her life was in shambles. From one minute to the next, Ever couldn’t tell what emotional state she would be in. the smallest sound or smell could trigger a full on panic attack and even sleep didn’t bring her rest. Night terrors plaguing even her dreams.
Sitting on the grass, in the loving and supportive arms of her sister, was the only place Ever felt like herself. Alice would always protect her. Unfortunately Alice couldn’t be with her ever second. They lived in separate houses and attended different classes. Without Alice, Ever could feel herself slipping deeper and deeper into the depression and darkness.
“I love you too, Ever. I’m always here for you. You can tell me anything, I promise.” This was something she already knew, but that didn’t make it easy. She wanted to talk, but assembling her thoughts and putting it into words was impossible. Maybe with more time and some sleep or support she would get better.
She wanted to believe that.
She didn’t believe that.
“You’re gonna be okay… I promise.”
She loved her sister, but she didn’t believe that either.
“Can we go inside? I think I’m hungry. Then maybe I can go take a nap. I’m so tired all the time.” The girls got up and walked towards the castle. She was hungry, barely eating anymore. Food had lost all appeal. One bite and it usually turned into sawdust in her mouth, but she would try. Then maybe if luck was on her side she would get some sleep… She didn’t believe that either.