The next three days were like a blur to Audrey. They sort of melted together, with common meals, people coming back drained from their interviews, a few almost breaking down with guilt for what they had done, or in shock over what they had remembered. Nora and Bryan, plus Mona and Lars, and to a certain extent Leann and Audrey as well, helped them all regain their footing, with comforting words or reassurances that they weren't to blame.
It didn't take long for the media to find out where they were all hiding and the number of news vans outside soon grew to a ridiculous amount. Especially since they had to know that they wouldn't see anything. None of the people inside the building had the slightest urge to talk to the media, not even for any money they might get out of it. At least, not yet. It was all still too fresh for all of them. Audrey wouldn't be angry if some of the others wanted to talk about their experiences to the media, but she didn't want to do it herself. And the FBI had asked them to please not do so until after the trials. They were scheduled fairly quickly, as far as trials go.
It hadn't taken long for the FBI to find the identity for the leaders after all. Philip, when he realized that the game was up, had told the details he knew, and Edmund had the details for almost all of them and offered it up for a deal. He had been in charge of most of the outside-world coordination, so he had the names. Only Ædven didn't have any outside-world presence at all, but the Lady had forced him to delete whatever he had found with her name and he had forgotten what her name had been. She had been a master manipulator, so it wasn't surprising that even Edmund had been influenced by her.
Some of the others felt that Ædven should be punished like the rest of them, but most agreed with Audrey and felt a little pity for her. She had never known anything different, and each gradual step had made perfect sense to her. In fact, her story would make a perfect example of how some people would be blind to a morally wrong situation, just because the changes to get there were gradual and understandable. Ædven also showed signs of early dementia, but Audrey wondered if that was just because she truly didn't understand that everything she had ever known was a lie.
Rita was slowly recovering, but there was no guarantee that she would ever get back to who she was. Bryan had still not been able to go and see her, though he got updates on her status every day.
Audrey had wished there was something she could do for Rita, but when she got the request three days later, she hesitated. Bryan had asked her, on the recommendation of Rita's main psychologist, to come and talk to her, to see if hearing a familiar voice say the same things as the others would help. But Audrey feared that she was the wrong person to do that. Nora pointed out that Rita hadn't really been close to any of the others. Audrey reluctantly agreed but asked that Nora come with her for support. If Rita ended up attacking her, physically or verbally, she would probably deserve that. And if there was a chance that Rita would get better by hearing it from her, it was the least she could do.
The FBI got them past the teams of reporters in a blacked-out van, and they met Bryan at the mental facility. He hadn't been able to stay away, despite not being able to talk to his wife.
"Thank you for agreeing to do this."
"It wasn't a question of wanting to do it, but I am worried that hearing my voice will only make it worse."
"At this point, I'm willing to risk it. Nothing else has been able to penetrate her mind fog so far. We've even tried to call her by that other name, and that made her react, but it still wasn't enough to make her believe that she isn't still at the castle. If the sound of your voice makes her become hysterical, then that is easier to handle than the numbness that she has now."
Audrey still wasn't sure about this, but she had promised to do what she could. She owed Rita that much.
It was hard, seeing Rita still having that vague, terrified look. Like she had frozen in time after being removed from the castle.
"Hello, Rita, how are you doing?" No reaction. Nothing seemed to register. After trying to talk about how well the others were doing and seeing that her voice alone wasn't enough, she drew a deep breath and did the one thing that she thought might help. Or it could make her hysterical and fall deeper down the abyss. But she understood what Bryan said now. Even hysterical was better than this.
"Kaneez!" she said in a demanding tone. Almost like what the Lady or Ædven would have used. That got a reaction at last. Rita flinched. Ok, she might have one chance at this. "Kaneez, do you remember me?" A small nod. Well, it was better than nothing.
"Many moons ago, you asked me to help you. I didn't understand what you asked of me then. Or why you would ask me that. But I am trying to help you now. Look around you, Rita. It is over. Edmund is gone and he lied. Your husband is here. We are all trying to help you. You were the one who wanted me to fight back. You're the one who tried to tell me that there is more to the world than the castle. I'm sorry it took so long, but I finally listened. Please, listen to me now, Rita. It is over. They can't hurt you anymore."
Bryan had stood in the next room at first, but he came up behind her. Rita at first only stared at Audrey. Then she stared at Bryan. And back to Audrey. Audrey took Bryan's hand and led him forward. Rita at first just stared blankly. Then her hand twitched, as if she wasn't sure if she could move it. Audrey took her hand as well and led the two hands closer together. She could feel both of them shaking. She really hoped this would work.
The moment Rita's hand touched Bryan, she tried to draw it back. But Audrey didn't let her. Bryan didn't seem to dare to move. Audrey couldn't make them hold hands more than this.
Then Rita moved her other hand on her own. She placed it on top of Bryan's hand that was holding her hand already. She touched it again and again, as if testing that it was real. Audrey thought she saw tears in her eyes. She didn't say anything, but Bryan moved forward and took her head to his chest. Rita cried even more, but Audrey suspected it was happy tears. She started to slowly move away. Now Bryan was crying too. Could she leave? She felt like she was intruding in a very private moment.
Nora managed to open the door quietly, so she could get out. She collapsed into a chair in the waiting room.
"I am so glad that worked!"
"Me too. It would be sad if they managed to break her completely. How did you know what to say though?"
"I didn't. All I knew was that she might react to her slave-name, rather than her real name. Then I thought about what she might believe, what Edmund had said to her. If she recognized me, I knew I would try to reference the last conversation we had, though it was probably years ago. She was in a prison cell, and I went down to talk to her, despite it being forbidden. It was the last time we spoke directly. Philip caught me there and threatened me, so I didn't go down again."
A quick glance inside the room showed that Bryan had managed to sit down, but he was still holding his wife like he never wanted to let go. Which was probably accurate.
"Do you think we could go now? I don't think Bryan will want to leave any time soon."
Nora just smiled but nodded. "Let's go."