Jarvan leaned forward and ran a hand over his face, looking over the dragoness as she was laid out in her bed. She was bone white as sweat beaded on her forehead, and even her brilliant red hair seemed to lack some of its natural luster. A nurse wiped her forehead dry and then laid a cool cloth across her forehead after she wrung it dry. The nurse pulled the blankets back up over Shyvana as the doctor sighed, shaking his head, pulling gloves from his hands and tossing them away onto a small cart that was laden down with medical equipment.
"How is she?" Jarvan asked expectantly. The doctor shrugged again and sighed heavily, sticking his hands in his pockets, looking at the dragoness with scorn.
"She tore her wound open and lost a lot of blood." He gestured to a clear glass bottle that hung upside down from what looked like a wire metal coat rack. "I've set her up with a saline drip to try and get some fluids back into her body, but like I said... she lost a lot of blood. She should be fine, but she can't move around much. She shouldn't be moving from the bed at all, but I know that you're not exactly one to talk to her about that." The doctor gave him a scornful glare, though the prince didn't offer anything as the doctor shook his head. "Just keep her motionless as soon as she gets up. The professor should be along shortly and they can tell you better what to do."
"I'll keep a close eye on her." The prince said nodding sternly, frowning slightly at the doctors unreserved annoyance.
"Do that." The doctor shook his head. "She can eat whatever she wants, she just needs to be more careful about moving. It's been a long time since we had to treat magical wounds this harsh, but given enough time, the aversion to medical salves should revert." The wall eyed stare caused the doctor to roll his eyes. "She'll be able to use health potions in a few days."
"How long?" Jarvan asked, frowning, looking to where the wound still lingered on the dragoness' hip.
"A few days?" The doctor shrugged.
"That's hardly scientific." Jarvan growled almost menacingly.
"If you want a better answer, you can ask the professor later on." The doctor said dismissively. "She's the expert we originally moved your friend here to see. She's a professor here at the school, experienced with magic, medicine and biology. She can answer all of your questions when she arrives."
"Fine, thanks." Jarvan grumbled, rolling his eyes at the doctor, looking to Shyvana. He sighed heavily as the doctor and the nurse retreated from sight, moving out of the hall and heading out of the door where two men worked on repairing some of the damages. They had just started hanging a door, but the stone and wood was proving uncooperative at the moment, considering the tools they had at hand. Jarvan watched them labor absentmindedly for a few moments.
"How are you feeling, captain?" Forsythe said as he approached, sitting on the bed next to Shyvana's, glancing at the prince and then looking at the destroyed curtains and racks that they he and Delancey had torn down in their fight. The prince followed his gave around the room and shook his head, grumbling softly as he ran his hands over his face.
"I really, REALLY should knock you out, but right now, I'm just too damn tired." Jarvan muttered, running his hands through his hair to clear the messy black locks from his faced and glowering as he laid back and sighed heavily, sinking deeper in the chair. "Why exactly were you and Delancey having a damned grudge match in the Medical College?"
"Oh." Forsythe muttered sheepishly, looking to the ground in front of him and working his hands nervously, twiddling his thumbs over what looked like a small fragment of rock. "Well..."
"That was my fault, sir!" Delancey barked nervously, snapping to attention at the foot of the bed. Jarvan shushed her and glared, but after a few moments he sighed and shook his head. He gestured for her to have a seat next to Forsythe and he turned the chair to look at them both.
"Now, between the two of you, who wants to explain to me exactly what the hell you two thought you were doing?" Jarvan shook his head and glared at them both in turn.
"It was my fault completely, sir." Delancey said quickly, blushing slightly. "I attacked the corporal without finding out who he was first. I thought he may have been someone working for Jormander when I heard him speaking to Shyvana while she was sleeping. When he tried to explain who he was I assumed he was lying to try and ambush me and was a part of the group of infiltrators that are still at large. It was a misunderstanding that I perpetuated. Apologies, sir."
"I let my temper get the best of me and I decided that I could simply fight back." Forsythe grumbled under his breath. "It's been so long since I've sparred with anyone that I simply got ahead of myself. She may have started it sir, but I perpetuated it. It's my fault as well sir." Delancey cast him a small smile of thanks that he returned.
Jarvan glared at them both for a few moments, hoping that his withering stare might produce some new excuse, but neither the sergeant nor the corporal voiced anything further. "I suppose that's understandable." Jarvan sighed heavily, shaking his head. "But what are you doing here in the first place, Forsythe? I thought you were at the hospital still?"
"I got released this morning." Forsythe said shrugging as he looked down at his clothes. He could see the frown forming on the prince's face and held up a hand to forestall a comment. "Before you ask, I've been assigned to the Office of Personnel and Records as a clerk for a few weeks until they can decide what to do to me. I was given the day off, and a friend at the hospital told me about someone who knows about dragon wounds—well exotic wounds really, but that label came with the indication that it included dragons." He shrugged at Jarvan's curious look. "She's supposedly a specialist that's studied Zeno-biology and other magically inflicted wounds... or something like that. I was supposed to meet her a while ago, but it looks like I missed my chance." He glanced at the clock and glowered.
"Sounds like the same doctor who is supposed to be come down to check out Shyvana's wound." Jarvan said rubbing a hand over his mouth, feeling the thick stubble. "If you'd like to stick around and talk to her afterwards, you're welcome to stay if you don't pick fights with my sergeants anymore. Also, next time, make sure you identify yourself. Oh and try not to knock out the off duty cops, okay? I have enough trouble to deal with as it is."
"Sir." Forsythe muttered sheepishly, nodding. "For the record... they shot first." Jarvan rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Noted, Forsythe." Jarvan grumbled. He turned to Delancey. "Del, from now on, just do me a favor and try not to jump to conclusions next time. I appreciate the gusto, but explaining why one of my bodyguards has just skewered the last remaining member of the company I last led is not something I really want to deal with."
"Yes, sir." Delancey said, nodding her head. "I'll think first, stab later." Forsythe chuckled and she shot him a rueful look, but he grinned and managed to get a blushed smile from Delancey in response. "Corporal Forsythe-..."
"Please, you sound like someone's mother when you say that..." Forsythe said, rolling his eyes. "Just call me Forsythe—or Forse." He shrugged and leaned back, fiddling with a little flap of flesh on his cheek. Delancey shivered as she watched him mess with the wound.
"And what did your mother call you?" Delancey said with a frown, eying the young man as he brushed his pale blonde hair over his eye to hide the hole in his head. He leaned forward with a glum look on his face, fiddling with his cloak, fingering one of the holes that Delancey had put in it. A long moment of silence followed. "Forsythe?" She grabbed his wrist as if he was not paying attention. He jerked his hand away and stood up, moving away from the group briskly, heading deeper into the hall, collecting daggers and starting to clean up some of the mess. Delancey watched him go, and frowned after him, turning back to Jarvan with a slightly distraught look on her face.
"What did I say?" She looked aghast as she looked to Jarvan.
"Forsythe is an orphan." Jarvan said somberly, though there was a bit of pity in his expression. "He was a street urchin who was taken into the penal battalions. He served there with distinction and he was recruited into my company. He was one of the twelve that had survived the Noxian Ambush and then the two years spent wandering the wastes of Valoran under my command. He was one of the two who I thought were going to survive till the very end, but in the end, he was the only one who made it back of the original twelve." Jarvan looked to the ground and grimaced. After a few moments, Jarvan sunk back and shook his head, chuckling as if he threatened to break into tears, a desperate, pained smile spreading on his face, giving him an almost mad look. "I know I suffer from survivors guilt, but I can only imagine how he feels. His commander is a failure and he went from being in one of the most revered units in Demacia to being a staffer who is pushing papers and running errands for officers who are too lazy to do it themselves."
"I don't think you're a failure, sir." Delancey said softly, looking over at the prince.
"Thanks, Del." Jarvan said with a thin smile. "Just give him a bit of time and he'll come around. If you want to try and make it up to him, you can always be his sparring partner." Jarvan wore a faint smile that smacked of an unintentional dirty joke.
A strange looked settled over Delancey's face and then she blushed furiously, glaring at the prince. "I'm not going to sleep with him!" She hissed angrily at the prince.
Jarvan blinked, frowning slightly and shook his head. "No, no, not sparring but actual sparring—like fighting. Like help him get back to fighting shape. Exercising and stuff." Jarvan shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"Oh." Delancey squeaked nervously. "I... I think I'm going to step outside real quick and cool off." Del said, tugging on her collar. Jarvan grunted, watching as she struggled not to burst into a run as she moved away, finally just dashing out of the room. He chuckled softly, but his heavy heart and the weight on his mind right now seemed to drag funny scene down in his mind, quickly leaving him feeling empty and raw as she retreated.
"What happened with Delancey?" The sergeant major said as he moved into the room, glancing back over his shoulder. "She looked like she had a fever."
"Something like that." Jarvan muttered, looking at Shyvana. The dragoness was laid out on the bed, her blood now darkening on the ground, a trail leading along the ground to the bed. He sighed heavily, shaking his head to try and dispel some of the dread that still lingered in his chest. "What's up, sergeant major?"
"The specialist who is supposed to examine Shyvana shall be arriving shortly sir." The sergeant major announced.
"Thanks, sergeant major." Jarvan said, nodding. The man looked down at him for a few seconds, but finally the sergeant major tersely nodded and turned and left, moving back towards the doorway to start coordinating some of the clean up and managing the influx of guards that had swept through the building. Jarvan leaned forward heavily from his laid back slouch in the chair, staring at the dragoness. Her face was as pale as ever, barely standing out from the sheets of her bed. Her skin tone lacked the normal sheen, as if the luster had dropped from her skin with the loss of blood. The prince reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"It feels like you and I always end up like this, Shyvana." Jarvan spoke softly so no one passing could overhear. He shook his head, a mix of sad amusement and shame in his smile as he sighed heavily, looking to the floor. "First a giant dragon, and now all this." He glowered slightly. "Just what the hell have we managed to get mixed up in now?"
Jarvan stood up, letting his hand gently slip from Shyvana's, moving towards the window, perching his hands on the sill as he started out at the wind swept snow banks that had started to pile up outside. Banks had been pushed up against other academy buildings, and even from his window Jarvan could see the palace distant having snow piled up against it. The wind had covered the walls of even the tallest towers of the palace, as if someone had turned the palace on its side and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. Jarvan sighed heavily, resting his head on his arms, taking a few moments to simply close his eyes and breath deeply. Jarvan turned and rested his back on the wall, dropping away from the window, sliding down the stone towards the floor. He pulled his knees into his chest and rested his arms on his knees, sighing heavily, glancing over at Shyvana as her chest rose and fell serenely.
"Back when it was just you and I, Isaacs, Quinn and Forsythe, I never imagined that our returning to Demacia would bring so much hardship upon us all." Jarvan glowered, letting his head fall back against the stone. "Honestly, I wondered how long I would remain amid the wastes and what it would take to finally break my will or what could finally make me realize that I had to return home. Never did I imagine that it would be a woman like you." Jarvan exhaled heavily, shivering from the cool stone against his back. "But now you and I only seem to attract trouble and pain for ourselves. It's gotten to the point where you seem to be nothing more than a bargaining chip to be used against me, a burden that rides heavily upon my shoulders." Jarvan shook his head and sighed heavily. "But I've only managed to dig my hole deeper and deeper with every passing day. I shouldn't have let you become a burden. Everything I do seems to only drag you and I down further and further, from fighting with my father to the very act of carrying out my duties. And now I have to worry about you and deal with your problems as well as my own just too keep the hope of our future alive?" Jarvan shook his head. "This is no way to live. There are Demacians gunning for me, Kayle from the institute, Swain and that 'L' from Noxus... I just... I don't know how much longer I can keep going, Shyvana."
"There was a time when all of this infighting and backstabbing wouldn't have bothered me so but now..." Jarvan tucked his mouth behind his arms, staring at the stone floor as if it were a prison cell. "Now, I don't know if I can keep this up much longer. Every day is just question upon question, endless doubt and problems getting heaped upon me. What new duty will I have to face, what else does my father have for me to suffer, who else wants a piece of my fame and what little power I have? The saddest part is that the question 'Will I get to see you today' remains day after day. I feel as if I'm going to be ripped apart by both my resolve to you, Shyvana, and my dedication to my nation. It's as if I'm purposely being forced to choose between the two without truly having a choice!" Jarvan snarled, rustling his hair in frustration. "Why does father still want me to compromise my convictions! It's always been like this, always! His way or no way!" Jarvan's hands had convulsed to fists, anger tightening his jaw and clenching his teeth.
"What's with all the extra security?" A voice asked that Jarvan didn't recognize, tearing him from his thoughts. The voice was feminine and cool, though there was a bit of surprise in the tone. Jarvan pushed himself to his feet and straightened his tunic, frowning as he looked to the door.
"You can't go in there ma'am, off limits." A voice that Jarvan figured belonged to one of the guards announced.
"I'm a doctor." The voice announced haughtily, the tone sharpening slightly, as if the owner was offended by the fact that the guard didn't know who she was. "I'm expected, and to my knowledge, the appointment wasn't canceled. If you like, I can call your supervisor and..."
"Ma'am..." The irritation could be heard building in the single word the guard growled, and Jarvan heard the slight clanking that probably came from the guard shaking his head.
"It's alright, corporal." Jarvan looked up and saw that the sergeant major had disappeared, probably looking to stop a problem from occurring before it started. "You can let her in."
"Sir." The guard barked officiously, though Jarvan could hear how the man had spoken through his teeth. "Apologies, ma'am!"
"Hmph." The feminine voice grunted and a clicking of heels resounded through the doorway. Jarvan watched as the blonde strolled in the door, a looked of surprise on her face as she examined the damage that Delancey and Forsythe had managed to impart of the room in their short time alone in the room. She slowly began to pick her way through the room and then she completely stopped when she reached the trail of blood that had marked where Shyvana had been moved. Jarvan could see and hear her swallow audibly, her face paling as her knees started to wobble. She finally started to step over the trail of blood but she froze again when she saw the bed that Shyvana had been worked on before she was moved to her original bed. The bed dressings were soaked in blood, and it looked as if it had soaked all the way through the mattress.
"Wha-what happened here?" She stammered, looking to the prince and then to where Shyvana lay in bed. She shook her head and then looked to Jarvan, her face almost a shade of green. Jarvan blinked a few times and then sat up, realizing who he was looking at. I remember her from earlier. She was with the medic... Despite the slightly queasy expression, Jarvan recognized the golden blonde hair and the royal blue eyes. "It looks like a war zone in here."
"War zones are seldom this clean." Jarvan growled, looking down to the blood. Jarvan pushed himself to his feet and extended a hand as the woman approached. She deftly stepped over the blood, casting a withering glare at the floor. She stopped at the foot of Shyvana's bed and started to extend her hand to accept his own, but it stopped just short and quaked slightly.
"Y-you're... you're the prince!" She stammered nervously, blushing slightly. "I didn't recognize you earlier, sir!" She snapped to attention and bowed deeply several times in quick succession.
"Prince Jarvan, at your service." Jarvan muttered haggardly, rolling his eyes as he turned and stepped back to the bed, collapsing down into his chair and scrubbing his hands over his face. He had the makings of a beard started now, his face scruffy and covered in thick stubble. No wonder she didn't recognize me. The way I feel is probably pretty damn close to how I look as well. He looked back up to the blonde, extending his hand courteously despite his disheveled appearance. "And you are?"
"I'm Elvarran." She said, smiling slightly. "Elvarran Brightstorm." She blushed a slightly deeper shade of red as she looked down at the prince. It took several seconds for the name to register with the prince, but as it did, Jarvan's stomach twisted up.
What!? Jarvan clicked his jaw shut, his stomach now threatening to heave. She slid her hand into his and shook it, though the prince's shocked face caused her smile to fade slightly. "How... why..." Jarvan shook his head to stop himself from stammering like an idiot. He must be trying to set us up and break my determination. I didn't think you would stoops to such lows as taking advantage of Shyvana being injured, father. Jarvan tightened his fists and let a snarl die in his throat as he stood up straight, fitting the blonde woman before him with a stern expression, struggling to keep his growing agitation from his voice. "What are you doing here Miss Brightstorm?"
"I'm a professor here at the academy." She said, gesturing to the building around them. She smiled ironically. "I suppose it stems from my originally wanting to be a healing mage, but when I started schooling, I enjoyed learning more than I did magic or medicine. I went on to dabble in magic, biology, medicine and a number of other subjects and the academy ended up recruiting me as a professor." She smiled, blushing slightly as she noticed the dumb look on the prince's face.
"I was told that you—well not you, but when they told me about the doctor who would help Shyvana—they said you were a biology professor who was also a doctor?" Jarvan shook his head, confusion clouding his face, the shock from having Elvarran Brightstorm here still marring his mind.
"Well, I suppose that is technically true." She said pondering slightly. "I studied magic and then medicine, as well as a decent amount of biology and xenobiology." She looked down at her clipboard and then back to the prince, shrugging. "I suppose you could call me an expert in the area? Though it's more like I have dabbled in all of the right fields to be uniquely qualified for this sort of thing." She glanced down at Shyvana who was still tucked into the bed and she blushed slightly. "Is this her?"
"This is Shyvana." Jarvan confirmed, looking from the dragoness to the doctor, a frown forming on his face as the discomfort started to grow. "...she's a close friend." Elvarran frowned at him for a moment but watched the dragoness quietly for a few seconds before she cleared her throat and looked back up to the prince.
"I've heard quite a bit about her unique fire magic and her ability to transform." She said as she continued to watch the dragoness evenly, the ruby hair spilling out of the blankets around her face. "I had heard she was some sort of demonic hero who was half monster, half human. She saved a yordle from a Noxian attack and defeated the might of Demacia if rumors are to be true. She's a monster and a terror... or so I've heard."
"It is true she is is only half human, but that does not change her humanity." Jarvan growled, glaring at her as if he dared her to continue speaking.
"Apologies." The woman said, surprised by his anger as she turned towards the dragoness. "Shall we get started then?" Jarvan could she she was uncomfortable but he didn't care at the moment. Jarvan grunted and gestured at Shyvana. Elvarran nodded solemnly after glancing at Jarvan and then frowned slightly. She glanced around herself and then stared at the bed behind her for a few moments, a mix of disgust and shock playing over her face in turns as she looked at the blood soaked bed. She finally sighed softly and then tugged the blankets back, a bit of horror showing on her face as she looked at how deep the blood had soaked. She turned and looked at the almost black blood that had dried on the floor, her face against growing slightly pale and green. "She lost a lot of blood, didn't she?"
"She's been hooked up to the IV there to try and get her back to normal levels." Jarvan said with a terse nod.
"Good thing, too." She said nodding, casting a last glance at the blood. "I know most human's would have died if they had lost a quantity of blood this large." She shook her head and shivered as she glanced at the floor. She finally just set her bag down atop the dried blood, shrugging. She unzipped the bag and pulled out a few instruments, holding them in hand as she laid out a towel on the bed. She set the instruments back in the bag and then laid the towel out, spreading her instruments out across the towel. She pulled out a folder of papers from the front of the bag and popped them open, pulling a pair of glasses from her breast pocket, unfolding them and slipping them on. She stroked her chin thoughtfully as she grabbed a few instruments and stuck them in her pocket.
"I don't know if I'll be able to do anything for her right away, but I should be able to figure out what's wrong." She glanced down at Shyvana's slumbering form and frowned slightly. "How much do you know about the wounds that were inflicted upon her?"
"Not much." Jarvan said, shaking his head. "Just rumor and hearsay." She nodded and tapped her chin thoughtfully as she crossed one arm over her stomach, holding the folder in one hand.
"Supposedly the shrapnel she caught in her side was from a machine designed to extract mana from natural focus points, ley lines of sorts." She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "There was a certain type of crystal deposit located near here that was a strong focal point, and thus the need for the large machine. Something however, disrupted it and set it off, causing it to explode. The surface of the machine was coated in a special type of metal that serves as one base for the formation of a conduit of sorts that accepts the magical energy and allows the energy to be stored. Well a large chunk of shrapnel made of that special metal is what impaled her hip and the area specifically around the wound now appears to have residual effects from the metal. If my guesses are correct, her skin is absorbing the magical energy and it's negating the healing effects of most of the health potions and healing attempts."
"Why though?" Jarvan growled angrily.
"It may just be a residual effect, but it could be a sliver of metal remaining within the wound if it wasn't cleaned properly." She shrugged. "That's what I'm here to find out, hopefully." Jarvan nodded tersely, hiding his frown behind his hands, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Fine." Jarvan said softly, his voice tense and stressed. Elvarran moved forward and tucked the folder under her arm, tossed the cloth on her forehead away, and started to pull the blankets back, but she stopped, staring down at Shyvana. "What's wrong?"
"Uh, well..." Elvarran pulled the blankets all the way down to Shyvana's knees, her face slightly blushed. "With all of the stories I had heard, I didn't expect her to be so... pretty." Jarvan's frown darkened as he glared at Elvarran as she blushed, her eyes flickering over Shyvana's body.
"Don't get any ideas." Jarvan growled almost menacingly.
"What, afraid I might steal her away from you?" Elvarran said teasingly, dropping her shoulder in a disarming manner and rotating it about coyly. "Come on prince, its not your decision to choose who she falls for now is it?" She laughed lightly, but her face paled when she saw Jarvan's glare. As if it had been carved form stone, Jarvan's face was a stoney mask, anger barely contained behind his expression as fire danced in his eyes. She laughed nervously as if a joke had gone terribly wrong. "If you'd like, I can take a look at you next." She murmured, taking Jarvan by surprise. "You look like you could use a check up yourself to be honest. Sleep deprivation, heavy stress... I can see it in your eyes." He blinked a few times, his mind completely blanking, but after a few momentshe waved her away. He shook his head and opened his mouth to snap back a response when a groan forestalled his comment.
"Why is it so cold in here?" Shyvana murmured, stirring. She started to roll over, but pain played across her face and she grimaced. "Ow."
"Hi there." Elvarran said, smiling at Shyvana and waving sympathetically. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel like I got kicked in the side a few hundred times." Shyvana muttered, groaning, accepting Elvarran's assistance to sit up. "Who are you?" A moment of fear crossed Shyvana's face. "Where's Jarvan?" The prince grunted and Shyvana turned her head slowly, looking to the prince. She sighed silently, and opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off.
"My name is Elvarran, I'm a doctor." Elvarran said, dimpling as she smiled. "I'm hear to examine your wound because it's not healing properly, sound okay to you?" Shyvana started to open her mouth, but the anger on Jarvan's face gave her a moment of pause. He sighed and pulled himself to his face, turning away, taking a few steps back before her turned around and met Shyvana's gaze. Jarvan nodded once and then Shyvana looked to Elvarran and nodded meekly.
"Yes." Shyvana said, looking down at her lap. Something's wrong here. Jarvan is upset. Did I do something wrong? She looked up to Jarvan expectantly, but Elvarran smiled warmly at the dragoness.
"Come on now, lets get you taken care of first and then you can talk with him." Elvarran said. Jarvan gave her a brooding glare but her attention seemed dead set on Shyvana now. "He's not going anywhere just yet. Besides, it won't take us too long."
Shyvana looked to the prince, frowning slightly at Jarvan's discomfort but she could see that under the pain and anger he was worried about something. She offered him a smile, but his glare was settled firmly on Elvarran, and Shyvana's smile fell. A pang of grief gripped her heart, but she smiled as he finally looked to her, though his glare didn't soften. Shyvana looked to her lap, gripping her hands tightly together. She seems important to him.
Jarvan watched as the doctor worked on Shyvana, her hands often lingering just above Shyvana's pale skin or playing gently around her curves as the doctor examined her. You may not be touching her, but I can see your desire to. Your dedication to your craft is impressive. Elvarran took blood samples from various places, examined the wound carefully, and finally ended up re-bandaging it after letting it breath for a few minutes. Shyvana and Elvarran spoke in a soft tone that Jarvan couldn't hear. What are they saying? Jarvan shook his head. I really don't think I want to know. Smiles rode on their faces as the laughed and joked, again the doctor's attention a bit too enraptured by Shyvana as she worked. She sat back and they spoke at length, Shyvana ending up holding up a hand and conjuring a mote of orange flame, letting it dance around her fingers as if it were a small creature. That surely can't be relevant to the check up, can it? It's almost as if they're flirting! And right in front of me! Elvarran blushed as the fire sprite danced over her hand, her eyes lingering on Shyvana. Jarvan forced himself to turn away, and he began pacing, a darkened frown on his face as he watched them interact for a few moments and then he turned away. He only watched another few moments of stiflingly happy conversation before he had to turn away again.
They were now lost in conversation, Shyvana wearing a smile happier than Jarvan had seen in a while. Jarvan felt his shoulders tense up as they laughed innocently, Shyvana smiling even broader than before, her cheeks rosy as Elvarran spoke. I shouldn't be angered by this, they're simply talking! Jarvan turned away, clenching his fists. He glared at the ground and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he tried to calm himself. He paced back towards the bed and froze, watching as Shyvana laughed and blushed. I'm jealous! Jarvan shook his head and stepped up to the end of the bed and cleared his throat, catching them both by surprise.
"Oh, apologies." Elvarran said, resting a hand on Shyvana's knee, patting it gently as she stood up and started messing with something in her bag. Jarvan glared at her but Shyvana had not opposed it and Elvarran did not seem bother by the prince's angry glare. "We were speaking about draconian history and the like. Excuse me."
"How is Shyvana?" Jarvan asked gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest to hide his fists and the anger that tightened his jaw.
"The wound was bad, but it will heal in time. Judging from other small wounds that have already healed, it is surprising to me that the healing hasn't progressed further. She has a curiously accelerated healing rate, but again the wound seems to be causing some sort of interference. I used a medical scanning charm to check the wound for anything that may have been missed by the surgeons, but I found nothing but the most miniscule traces of the element. It should pass through her system in a few days, and given enough time to heal, the wound should be healed within the week if my estimates about her regeneration is correct." Elvarran pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose slightly, casting a glance along Shyvana's hip. "She should be eating and drinking plenty to help pass the elemental residue from her system. Otherwise she seems to be perfectly healthy. Though..."
"Though?" Jarvan said, raising an eyebrow, his brow creasing slightly. He tensed up, anger coursing through his veins at the thought that something else could be wrong.
"There were also some scars I couldn't identify." Elvarran shrugged slightly as she gently ran her fingernails along the left most scar on Shyvana's hip. A smile came to her face as her pink fingernails played over the faint pink scars, though they shone fairly clearly against the dragoness's pale skin. "They were completely healed though, excellently sutured, and they appeared to have healed quickly at that." The smile softened slightly as Elvarran looked to the dragoness, Shyvana blushing slightly. "Whoever gave you those sutures knew what they were doing, and the precision and effort spoke of great care for you. Your father perhaps?"
"You can tell all that from the scars?" Shyvana said nervously, blinking a few times. Elvarran nodded, still smiling as she cast another gaze along the dragoness's pale skin. "Those wounds came from after my father died." Shyvana blushed slightly and shook her head, her eyes glancing to Jarvan for a brief moment, though Elvarran's exacting glare caught the motion.
"You mean... I was unaware you had any medical training, your highness." Elvarran said, the smile sliding to an impressed smirk.
"It was something I picked up because it was needed." Jarvan growled, still wearing a frown, though there was just a touch of color in his cheeks. "Doc Fenrush used to teach me little tricks back when he worked on men in the field." Jarvan's frown darkened and grew weary. All of the lines in his face deepened as he sighed, shaking his head. The dark bags under his eyes and the thick stubble on his chin only made the lines looked darker and it left him looking much older and wearier than Shyvana had ever seen before. "I had a lot of opportunities to practice and hone my basic skill in two years."
"Jarvan..." Shyvana said softly, looking at the grief that he now struggled to bottle up. Elvarran frowned slightly though, watching Shyvana and the prince curiously. She smiled, hoping to cheer things up.
"I trained with Doctor Fenrush when he taught at the academy." Elvarran said softly as she ran her fingers overs Shyvana's skin, pressing gently around the wound, to ensure there was no inflammation forming. "Let me know if anything hurts." Shyvana nodded nervously, but didn't say anything, wincing only once when Elvarran's fingers wandered too close to the wound. The doctor sighed and pushed herself back up to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest, looking to the prince. "It's healing nicey. What ever happened to him? I haven't heard anything from Carlyle Fenrush in years. How is he?" She smiled expectantly, hoping the light conversation would ease the mood, but the smile quickly dropped away when she saw Jarvan's reaction.
A mask of grief settled over Jarvan face as she glared at the ground, holding his fists stiffly at his side. "He was one of many to die at the hands of Swain when I lead my company into a trap. They were slaughtered."
"That's... that's horrifying." Elvarran said, clasping her hands over her mouth. She sunk down and sat on the edge of the bed she had set her bag on. "I never realized that he was dead."
"I'd apologize for being the bearer of bad news, but I've had to shoulder the pain and responsibility of it for two and a half years. Blame me if you want." Jarvan cast her a withing frown, a sullen look on his face, his voice full of anger and indignation. "Many already hate me for how I led their families to ruin. Having you hate me would only make things that much easier."
"Why would I hate you?" Elvarran said, frowning, pulling her glasses off as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You look tired and angry, though what for, I don't really know. If you have issues of your own though, you need not take it out on me."
"Why are you defending yourself if you haven't done anything!" Jarvan snapped angrily, pointing at her accusingly. "I may be tired, but I am not blind! I can see what you're doing here! I saw what you did earlier! "
"What?" Elvarran shook her head, looking offended. A moment of revelation opened her eyes wider and then she snorted and laughed. "You saw me teasing Jesarah earlier, right, I had forgotten about that. So what? You think I'm trying to encroach on you and your relationship? Don't think me so isolated that I haven't heard the stories."
"Then what are you doing here?" Jarvan snapped back, his temper obviously showing as he gained no headway. "Did my father put you up to this? Is he the one who set this all up?" Jarvan snarled and spun away. "Or was it Jormander? Maybe he thought it good to antagonize me further." Jarvan shook his head, scuffling his hair up, giving himself a wild look, his brow furrowed in frustration.
"What does your father have to do with any of this, Jarvan?" Shyvana said, her brow creasing for a moment. "And who is Jormander?"
Jarvan looked to Shyvana for a brief moment, anger flashing through his eyes so violently that Shyvana was taken aback. She sucked in a breath until he snarled in disgust and turned away, pacing for a moment before he turned and glared at Elvarran, stepping close so as Shyvana couldn't hear. "You may think her pretty, but she is mine, you hear me? If you so much as lay a hand on her I won't hesitate to snap your fingers." Elvarran shrunk back in horror, anger now starting to show in her expression.
"You know, when I originally heard I was to be engaged to you, I was both surprised and unsure how to react." Elvarran said softly, shaking her head before she looked up and glared at him angrily. "I had never met you and I had only heard tales of what you were like. But they were good stories about how you cared for your men and you were dedicated to them and their well being, often fighting with your commanding officers for better equipment and duties. I respected you before I even met you, but now I can see that you're just a narcissistic, conceited little boy who let his daddy do everything for him."
"You think this is because I let my father do all of my work for me?" Jarvan said incredulously, anger rippling through his voice as his brow furrowed and he glared angrily at her. "My father never let me do anything at all! Hell, the reason I walked into that fucking trap was because I was trying to impress him so he'd actually let me command my own unit instead of the lieutenant who was hand picked by him to run things behind my back! Everything may have been done for me, but it was not by my choice or request! Just like this engagement! I was blind sided with it less than a month ago! I didn't even know your name twenty-four hours ago!"
A moment of shock crossed Elvarran's face, eclipsing her anger for a moment. "But... how... I was told... month and months ago about this."
"She's your... you're engaged?" Shyvana said, shock clear on her face as she looked from Elvarran to Jarvan as if she had just been stabbed. Jarvan looked to her, though where she expected grief and regret from Jarvan she only saw anger and outrage.
"Now you understand how I feel!" Jarvan snarled, his fists convulsing at his sides as he turned away and glared at the ground. "I'm not even a son to him! I'm a political tool, a bargaining chip! He doesn't know what it's like at all." Jarvan shook his head. "Every day I have to face the crushing fears that I let everyone who trusted me down when I step into the office. I have to look into those same piercing green eyes and face the fact that almost everyone is now dead. And for what? Getting beaten around and bossed about doing my father's bidding while dealing with power hungry mad men and god knows how many people that want to kill me? It's about all I can deal with right now. Thanks but no thanks."
"If it makes any difference to you, I wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought either." Elvarran said angrily. "I don't want to marry a man, especially one as condescending and possessive as the likes of you!"
"Yeah, I could tell by the way you'd much rather hang over that medic I saw you with earlier." Jarvan quipped snidely. He turned to face her, anger still clear on his face. He took a step forward and came closer to Elvarran, dropping his voice to a growling whisper again. "And if I were a bit crazy, I would have pointed out that you laying your hands on Shyvana was not something I appreciated."
"I'm a doctor!" Elvarran exclaimed, surprised by the prince's blind anger. "I'm merely doing my job!"
"Are you though?" Jarvan hissed, narrowing his eyes. "I bet that what it always is, isn't it? Just doing your job. Then you-..."
Elvarran raised her hand back and caught Jarvan full on the cheek with an open handed slap, twisting his head about.
"Jarvan!" Shyvana shouted, surprised, anger in her voice now.
"Your highness!" Delancey and the sergeant major threatened to surge forward to protect him, but he raised a hand and glared at them, both of them taking a step back, their shoulders drawn together. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"You're a bastard!" Elvarran choked, tears starting to well in her eyes. "How dare you make an accusation like that..."
"Accusation?" Jarvan hissed, pointing at her. "Call it an observation. Hell, call it whatever you want, it still stands. I appreciate your coming but you can tell my father it's not going to work." Jarvan growled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"What?" Elvarran said, confusion crossing her face, ebbing the pain and anger in her expression.
"My father put you up to this, didn't he?" Jarvan said accusingly. "Why else would you be here?"
"Because I'm a doctor!" Elvarran exclaimed. Silence followed as Jarvan glared at her, searching for a retort.
"Jarvan, what does your father have to do with any of this?" Shyvana said, a mix of anger and confusion crossing her face. She looked annoyed now at being left out of the conversation while being talked about and gestured to while she sat their laying in bed.
"Perhaps I should leave..." Elvarran said softly, glancing between Shyvana and Jarvan. They both glared at her but neither said anything.
Forsythe stepped up from where he, Delancey and the sergeant major had been watching just as Jarvan opened his mouth to hurl another snide comment. "If you have a few minutes, I'll walk you back to your office. I had a few questions."
"Sure." Elvarran said tersely, frowning as she glanced back at the prince and Shyvana. Forsythe cast a frown at the prince but ushered her from the room as soon as she had grabbed her bag.
"What's gotten into you Jarvan?" Shyvana said, a frown sliding onto her face as Elvarran left. "This isn't like you."
Jarvan ran a hand through his hair, glaring down at Shyvana as he stood up, a frown riding heavily on his face. "Don't you get it?" Jarvan snapped angrily. "My father is trying to play me—us like marionettes! He's trying to use her and break us and frankly I'm fed up with all of his bullshit!"
"Sir, perhaps it would be better to address this after you've had some rest." The sergeant major said evenly, trying to placate the prince and stall the brewing storm.
"Oh, I'm hardly tired now!" Jarvan shot back venomously. "After spending all night working so I could get away from that monster and come see Shyvana after she was wounded, it hardly seems the right time to rest! Oh but it didn't stop there. First he needed to lecture me about how Shyvana is a hero and how he's looking to expand my influence because 'someday this will be you kingdom and I need to start acting as such'!" Jarvan snarled in a surly and sarcastic tone. "We're nothing but pawns to him and I know it! Then he goes and tell me I'm getting married and I don't have a choice in the matter! Fucking great! He then has the audacity to propose a deal that if you can beat Xin Zhao, you get to finally get your position, as if suddenly all the problems are going to dissappear." Jarvan snarled, his fists quivering as he pointed as Shyvana. "He thinks you're weak. He thinks I'm a fool! That stupid bastard can go fuck himself as far as I care!"
"Jarvan..." Shyvana said, frowning as she looked up at the prince ruefully. "He's your father though..."
"So what?" Jarvan snapped back as he paced along the bottom of the bed. "He's a scheming, evil bastard blind to his own family! Hell, he probably set this entire thing up just to rip us apart!" Jarvan spun and faced Shyvana, pointing at the door after the blonde who had left not long ago. "You realize that the good doctor is my fiance, right? FIANCE! He set that up! there is no way in hell that was just a coincidence."
"So what, it's not like you're going to marry her." Shyvana said crossly.
"I might not have a choice!" Jarvan snarled. "What am I going to do, run away again? Last time I jumped blindly like that because of my father, I ended up getting an entire company of men and women, all of my friends, killed in the process!" Jarvan snarled. "I'm tired of making stupid decisions and then having to play puppet to that bastard while he treats me like a child and tries to pick up the pieces! Nothing ever good comes from it."
"So what am I then?" Shyvana said, tears now starting to well in her eyes. "Just another rash decision that you regret?" She shook her head to try and cast of the tears but they ran down her cheeks, streaking her face. "Or maybe I'm just a trophy! I heard what you said earlier and I'm not deaf either! I hear the rumors and see the faces people make at me. I don't belong here. I'm a beast and even now I can see that you think it as well! Maybe if you didn't have a 'woman like me' everything would be fine!" Jarvan watched her for a few moments, shaking his head finally and running a hand through his hair as he growled, unable to respond directly to her accusations. "You can't even deny it now! So what is it? Am I just a bargaining chip that drags you down? What hope is there for us if you've given up!" Jarvan's face ran through a myriad of emotions as he tried to find something to respond with, but he ended up turning away, anger on his face.
"My father did all of this!" He snarled. "If only he had been a father, instead of the coldhearted bastard, none of this would have happened!"
"Stop hiding behind that excuse!" Shyvana demanded, though she hunched over, clutching at her stomach as pain played over her face.
"You can't blame all of that on your father, sir." The sergeant major growled unappreciatively from across the room. "You must have known that some of this would have happened."
"I can blame him as much as I want!" Jarvan snapped back, glaring at the sergeant major. "I've had it up to about here with all of his bullshit and games, and I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to miss the freedom of not having to live under his overbearing rule." Jarvan snarled, shaking his fists as he pounded the end of the empty bed, the bed frame ringing as he growled and shook it in frustration.
"He's still your father." Shyvana said grasping at the blanket, forming fists and she clutched the comforter. "At least you still have a father." Shyvana ducked her head, hiding behind the ruby red hair that spilled around her face.
"Why don't you just be the royal one then!" Jarvan snapped at Shyvana, shaking his head. "If you think it's so easy having to deal with everything he is throwing at me, trying to break me, then maybe you can try dealing with it!"
"What do you think I've been doing!?" Shyvana shouted back, anger now contorting her face. "Day in and day out I suffer the humiliation of getting called 'half-beast', 'the prince's bitch', 'slut' and everything else you could imagine! Everyone hates me and views me like an abomination! They're scared and the more and more I have to deal with the more I want to show them that they should be!"
"Maybe then people would stop threatening me with trying to hurt you." Jarvan snapped back, his voice surly and sarcastic. "I wouldn't have to put up with half of this shit."
"Is that what I've become?" Shyvana said, her voice quiet, but anger boiled directly below the surface. "Just a burden?" Shyvana shook her head, hiding her eyes behind her hair, looking at her lap as she clutched the blanket with white-knuckled fists. "Fine, maybe I'll just go and leave! Then you won't have to suffer, I won't have to suffer and we can stop forcing ourselves to try and live this damned fantasy!"
"A fantasy?" Jarvan snarled back, blinded by anger, though he could feel the pain starting to build something queasy in his stomach. He tossed his arms up in exasperation "Sure, go ahead and leave! It'll take a load off my back and I'll just marry the woman I met today for the first time that my father set me up with! That will make me SO happy!" Jarvan's voice was harsh and sarcastic, but when he looked to Shyvana, he could see that the remark had cut much deeper than he had meant it to.
"Fine." Shyvana snapped, tears pouring down her face as she glared at the prince. "Just leave me like my father did! Humanity hates me, dragon kind hates me, and now even you hate me!"
"Jarvan!" Delancey snapped at the prince as Shyvana's tears began to splash over the blanket. "You went too far!"
"Too far?!" Jarvan said incredulously, glaring at the sergeant as she looked at him fiercely. "You practically destroyed this entire room because you were trying to kill my only remaining friend! Don't tell me about going too far!"
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Delancey hissed, anger rippling through her form.
"Go ahead, knock yourself out. It isn't stopping anyone else at this point." Jarvan shouted in exasperation, throwing his arms up into the air.
"Frankly sir... FUCK YOU!" Delancey snarled back, stamping an armored boot on the ground. "If you're going to bitch at me about trying to protect your girlfriend from getting raped or killed then maybe you could do something about it instead of getting angry at everything." A moment of pity crossed her face and she had to shake her head. "I didn't sign up to be a verbal punching bag when I did my duty given what limited information I had, and when Shyvana agreed to join you in Demacia I highly doubt she did either. If you don't want me to do my job, fine. I'll go back to the office and Lee can take my place and be your whipping boy." Delancey spun and started towards the door, but the sergeant major grabbed her arm. She tried to tug it away, but the sergeant major's grip was like a vice on her arm and his glare was molten.
"You're out of line, Delancey." He growled menacingly, "Regardless of what the prince said, you need to sit the fuck down before you say something else that you're going to regret."
"What, and watch him continue this tirade?" She cast a nasty look at Jarvan. "If he wants to tear down his entire world in a temper tantrum like some child, he can do the decent thing ny not bothering to drag me down with him."
"Shut up, Sergeant Delancey, and sit down. NOW." The sergeant major said, raising his voice. The sergeant looked angry but she sat back down on the spare bed, still casting nasty looks in Jarvan's direction. "And you." He turned on the prince and glared at him. "You're out of line as well, SIR. I don't care how stressful your fucking life is, I don't care how difficult you think you have it, but the second you start taking it out on others, YOU have fucked up as an officer. We all understand and don't give a flying fuck about what happened in the past or we wouldn't be here. So do yourself a goddamned favor and shut your fucking mouth."
"Oh what and now you're teaming up with them?" Jarvan snarled venomously. "Great, now everyone wants to rip into me like my fucking life is their business."
"I was a part of your life!" Shyvana shouted desperately, looking to Jarvan as tears now spilled down her face like a waterfall. "But apparently I'm just too much of a burden to be your partner!" Silence filled the room. "I heard what you said earlier. If I was such a burden you could have just said something... anything... but now... now you just seem to hate all of us! Why Jarvan? Why are you so angry at us and your father? What did we do!?"
Jarvan glared at Shyvana for a moment, but he could feel the condescending glare of Delancey and the sergeant major on him now. Nothing I can say or do will repair the damage I've already done. Jarvan glared at the ground, clenching his fists, fear and pain swirling in his stomach. The last time I felt fear like this was the moment Swain held me for execution. I'm trapped like the rat I've become... I... I fucked up! Jarvan shook his head and waved his arms as if he was still enraged, hiding his fear. "I've had enough of this!" Jarvan snarled, turning on his heel. He stormed out of the room, brushing past Delancey's scathing glare and the disapproving looks of the sergeant major, disappearing out of the door and into the hallway beyond.
"Wait..." Shyvana said weakly, more tears welling in her eyes as she tried to struggled up, her face contorting in pain. "Jarvan... Jarvan!" Silence resounded from the hallway. She looked to Delancey with tears still running down her face and then to the sergeant major, but his face was impassable.
Delancey shook her head and the rested her face in the palm of her hand, sighing heavily. "What... what just happened?" Delancey muttered, glancing from Shyvana to the door Jarvan had disappeared through.
"I wish I knew." Shyvana said somberly, now staring at her lap, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't really mean any of it... I'm just hungry and in pain. I can't stand to see him hate his father so after losing my own but I didn't mean to anger him so!" She looked up at Delancey and the sergeant major as if she was looking for penance to stop the ache of her heart as tears now ran down her cheeks. "I... I just... I don't even know... how did this happen? What went wrong?"
Delancey shrugged, toeing a corner of the curtain nervously. The sergeant major bent over and picked up a paper bag that had fallen to the floor at some point. He looked at it for a few moments and then ran a hand over the side of his silver, short shorn hair. He sighed softly and shook his head.
"The prince got these for you this morning." He groaned as if he had expected something like this. "Give him time. I... I don't think he meant it." He glanced at the bag again and then tossed the bag to Shyvana and shook his head, looking to Delancey. "I'm going after the prince. You stay with her for now?" Delancey nodded somberly, though she stared at her lap, hunched over. The sergeant major took a last look at Shyvana and then turned, taking off to find the prince.
Shyvana looked at the slightly squished paper wrapped package, turning it over in her lap. She untied the twine that bound it closed and opened the paper package and let out a pained gasp as if she had just be run through with a sword. She gasped for breath, the torrent of tears now renwed as she struggled to hold the sobs back.
Shyvana made a pitiful sound that was somewhere between a sob and a croak as tears flowed freely down her face, sobs wracking her body.
Shyvana pulled a chocolate chip cookie that had broken in half from the bag.
Oh Jarvan... what have I done...
