Title: Raine, part ten: Strange Remedy
Author: Cassidelia
Date: July 1 2002
Rating: PG
Archive: Nowhere but ff.n. If you'd like it, please ask.
Disclaimer: The usual. TP owns the majority of the chars- it's relatively
obvious which ones aren't and are indeed, mine. As a note- Jasson's
personality is mine, as TP hasn't elaborated on his personality yet.
Thanks to: My muses, and the lovely clones who're on loan from a very dear
friend. The guys have helped a lot. Also to my close friends, who offer
inspiration from their everyday antics and personality quirks.
Dedication: To Jaela. For always being there when I've needed it most- and
for just talking to me when things get hectic. To Magixpawn- for being a
faithful reviewer- your reviews lighten up my day. And lastly, to Em- who
decided that TP was actually a great series, and has been erm.hinting that
I write this part.
A/N: Maxwell- I'm sorry, but 'Aw, crap, I loved her.' Didn't make it in
here. So sorry.
~
Jasson took a deep breath, closing his eyes and counting to ten slowly. Then he stood and turned. "Duke Baird," he croaked. "How did you get here so quickly? You came out of nowhere."
Baird raised an eyebrow, wearing an expression typical to most healers. "Honestly, Jasson. Aren't you still under the impression that I can fly if I so choose?" that got a weak smile out of him. Baird sighed dramatically. "I suppose not. Damn those conservatives. They love to ruin all my healer's tales." He glanced sidelong at the silently trembling, very white prince. "If you must know, and I assume you must; I was walking out of another noble quarters in this wing, and I heard the noise. I assumed the worst- which I was greeted with; and came running." There was silence for a moment, then, "I'm sorry, lad. I know what she meant to you."
Jasson shook his head. "No you don't. No one does. The only person who did was Paige.I didn't know it myself until-" His voice cracked.
Gently, the older man placed a hand on the prince's shoulder, seeing his trembling ease a bit as he did so. "Come on, young one. Let's go inform your parents of this. Messengers will have to be sent to Starbrook at once."
Jasson shook his head, taking a step closer to Raine's unmoving form. "I'm sorry sir, but no. I'll stay here. I need to stay here."
"Say no more, I understand," Baird replied, bowing slightly and leaving quickly for the grand hall where their Majesties still were.
As the footsteps grew fainter, then died away completely, Jasson rubbed his eyes and looked again at Raine. She almost looked like she was sleeping as she lay there. A small smile touched her lips, while a peaceful air settled about her. He sighed quietly, kneeling down and moving her still warm hands to clasp them in front of her. She clutched a something in her hand. Her fingers were clenched tightly around it; as though even in death, she refused to let go. Gently and carefully he pried open her fist and saw a small vial.
"What in the name of-" he stopped; picking the vial up and sniffing it carefully. Chammomile and. he couldn't quite place the other scents. Standing up, he started to leave the room- then remembered something faster. Closing his eyes briefly to concentrate, he opened them again a moment later with a ball of brilliant blue flame in his outstretched hand. The other still held the vial. "Mother-"he called. "Mother, I need you and Buri in the Starbrook clan rooms as soon as possible." He clenched his hand into a fist and the ball of flame vanished.
Not long after, the two women flew down the corridor and into the bedraggled room. Jasson stood from where he had been sitting. He had moved Raine's body to a small settee in one corner of the room and had been sitting in the armchair beside it; still trying to place that smell. He bowed to his mother before rushing over to her and thrust the glass vial at her.
"Tell me what you smell," he said quietly. His mother looked at him. "Really, Mother. This isn't a prank," his face was deadly serious. Thayet smelled it and made a face. Shaking her head, she passed the vial to Buri who smelled it and paled.
"Where did you get this, Jasson?" She asked.
"From Raine," she said gesturing. "It was clasped in one of her hands. I can smell Chamomile, but I can't place the other scents." he trailed off. "Obviously you can."
Buri nodded stiffly. "I can't tell you exactly what they are, but it's an old K'miri recipe. It's- It's the most potent sleeping draught known in the world. Usually the dosage is just a drop or so- but this much.It's half a dram! That could kill a person."
"Could?" Jasson repeated. "But wouldn't for sure?" Buri didn't respond. "Buri!" He demanded, grabbing his surrogate Aunt's shoulders. " It wouldn't for sure, would it? It could very easily just-"
"Put her in a coma," an unfamiliar voice said from the doorway. "Let me see the vial." Buri handed it to the stranger who had approached. A lock of black hair fell in front of his hazel eyes. He brushed it away impatiently, examining the size of the bottle, and the scratched markings on the side. "It's an augmented potion," he announced, looking up at the royals and their bodyguard. "Designed to put the user in a deep coma-like sleep that will last.well, I can't tell exactly. But she isn't dead."
"But she isn't breathing!" Jasson exclaimed, waving a hand in raine's direction. "How can she be alive if she isn't breathing?!"
"But she is breathing, your Highness. If you watch carefully, she is. I can guarantee you that. She isn't dead. Not yet."
"What's the name of this poison?" Thayet demanded, her question aimed at Buri.
The stranger answered instead. "It is called nenuit," he said.
"Is there a counter for it?" Buri asked, turning around from where they all had been looking. The stranger had left as quickly as he had arrived, disappearing in mere seconds. "Damnit," she sighed. "Where did that vagabond go?"
"Forget it, Buri," Jasson said off-handly, watching his fallen friend. "He told me what I wanted to know."
* * *
It was amazing how silent he palace was at midnight, especially with so many people residing there. Most of the time parties were just starting to pick up, but with the night's events, no one really felt like celebrating. As a matter of fact, most were cowering in their chambers; every light in the place on, scared to death of the murderer said to be running around the palace.
Sapphire had been taken to Balor's Needle, now locked in a magically protected cell. King Jonathan had suggested it. Jasson had been incredibly surprised. He hadn't thought there was anything there, anything but the large common room.
He stubbed his toe turning the corner and ran into the hard wooden door of the library during a bout of cursing. Muttering to himself, he limped through the entry, and headed for the aisle in the back of the room. People hardly ever went there, so the shelves were covered in a thick layer of dust. Stifling the urge to sneeze, he ran his fingers over the spines of the books, looking for one in particular- one he had heard Buri mention off- handly a very long time ago.
"Come on," he muttered. "Where *is* it?" He was reaching the end of the aisle, and still hadn't found the book he was looking for.
"I thought you'd end up here," a cold, familiar voice intoned from the shadows. Jai searched them, taking a step backwards- prepared to run if need be. "Honestly, your highness, don't you have anything better to do on an evening such as this?"
The man stepped out of the darkness, lounging against the corner of the bookcase. It was the same man they had met in the noble quarters earlier. There was something familiar about the glint in the hazel of his eyes. The stranger's black hair was as unkempt as before, falling into his eyes no matter how many times he brushed it aside.
"Who are you?" Jai said, trying to keep the fear from his voice. It came out as a whisper. He cleared his throat. "Who are you?" He repeated, louder this time.
Chuckling, the stranger stepped towards Jai, producing a book out of his pocket. He handed it to the prince, who gingerly accepted it. "What you want is on page twenty." Then he strode away.
Jai stood stalk still until he heard the library door close. He rushed to sit in one of the oversized armchairs that were hidden in a window alcove very near this aisle. Setting his lantern on the table next to him, he flipped through the pages. The flickering quality of the candlelight made the writing incredibly hard to read- especially as the tome was old enough that the spelling was very different than that of the current age. He was about to give up when he absently used his gift to crack a window.
"I'm an idiot," he murmured, summoning a ball of light over his head. The strain off his eyes, he scanned the page with a newfound ease as the late-night breeze ruffled his hair. "Ah, ha!"
*Nenuit: a potion of olde, the basis fore such a potion originating from the K'mir tribes. Produces a comotose state in the user, also known as living deathe. An almoste entyrely herbal solutione, made from various amounts of the following ingredients. Belladonna Foxglove Thyme Chamomile Lavender Peppermint Marigold
The antidote is unknowne. When asked, the K'miri medicine woman gave only this rhyme, nothing more.
"To awaken from ne'erending sleepe, One must travelle to forests deepe. Truth has not an obvious scent, But time is of the essence."*
"Damnit. Riddles. Just what I needed." Jasson sighed, and stood. He started to walk out of the room, clutching the book and lantern in his left hand. Raising his right hand to the door, he stopped, palm touching the handle. "'Time is of the essence'?" He thought for a moment. "Time." He shook his head. This was not going to be easy.
~
The coming dawn lit the sky , and Jai was with the sun. Noon found him still sitting thoughtfully at his desk; nibbling on the end of a quill. Before him lay a sheet of parchment with some random notes scrawled upon it. He had read the page in the book over and over again, and still he had gained no further knowledge; no further comprehension from the untidy scrawl.
"Time is of the essence," he murmured. Over and over again, like a mantra he could simply not help but repeat. "Time.Time." Then it hit him. "Time. Thyme," He began to laugh. He laughed so long, so hard that had there been a servant in the room, they probably would have called for a healer; so long, that his voice left him, and his shoulder shook- tears of mirth streamed from his eyes. It was so simple; so painfully obvious.
Hurriedly, he began writing down the counter effect to each herb listed in the potion. For the Belladonna, aloe vera; the foxglove, rose; finally, he had compiled a list of 8 components. He stood for the first time all day, wincing as his back, knees, neck, and elbows popped. Then, moving as quickly as his stiff joints would allow, he rushed to the kitchens' herb garden, searching for his herbs.
~
He handed the list to Baird, whose face was pensive as he studied the contents. In his hands he gripped a piece of cheesecloth that had been folded, and folded, and folded again. From it rose the scents of many different plants. He was missing one thing for his concoction, and had come to Baird, because he was the only one he expected to be in possession of any that was untainted.
"So you need what exactly?" He set the list on his desk and rubbed his temples.
"Menthol. Please, sir. It's vital, if this is to work."
"Rose, mint, aloe vera, nasturtium, catnip, lemon, and thyme. These are all powerful on their own, in their own respects, Jasson. But what exactly do you hope to accomplish?"
Jai shook his head. "Please, just let me have some- a dram or two should do fine." Baird sighed loftily and nodded, standing and heading for a cabinet in the back corner of his study. He returned moments later, holding a small jar in his hands.
"Luck, Jasson. That's what you need the most." He said quietly, handing over the jar.
He was halfway to the door when he stopped and turned, trying hard to smile. "No, Baird, not luck- although we could use a bit of it right now. Hope," he said, managing a weak smile, though not for a lack of trying. "Hope is what we need most."
~
He worked all afternoon, and throughout the night. When a servant showed up, bearing a tray laden with some sweetened tea and rolls, he waved them aside. He could not afford to eat. He could not afford to sleep. He just needed to finish this.
He ground the herbs, making them into a fine powder, one that would hopefully dissolve into a heated liquid without losing any of their potency. Finally, after mixing them carefully into one dish of powder- a powder that was a sort of chartreuse tinted with amber. He started heating the pot of menthol over a tiny desk fire. Once it had turned a very clear, very fragrant green, he started adding measure of powder, letting it dissolve into the menthol before adding more. Finally, all of it had been added. He let it heat to a gentle boil, then slowly removed it from the heat, siphoned it into the pot he had gotten the menthol in; letting it cool and turn halfway to a gel.
Nervously, he paced the room. What if it worked? What was he gonna say? What if it didn't? He sighed. At least would have tried, right? He thought a moment. Grabbing the jar, he headed out the door.
~
He looked at Raine, then at the pot in his hands. He had an idea of what to do, but-
"Jasson, what are you here for?" he spun, looking into Baird's smiling face. He wordlessly held up the jar. "Ooh." he accepted it as Jai offered it to him, opening the jar and smelling the contents. "I'm impressed. What do you plan on doing with this?"
"Well," He rubbed the back of his head. "Same theory as a mustard plaster, but." he trailed off, flushing sheepishly.
"Ah. Well. I'll apply it then. Being a healer, I don't have as much at stake as you do." Jasson nodded, turning his back as Baird drew the curtain around the bed. Moments later her felt a tap on his shoulder. "Nice mixture, Jasson. You can see her now."
"See her? Is she awake?"
"No, but." Baird shrugged. "If it doesn't work, I suggest you apply some in a couple hours." Jai opened his mouth to respond, but Baird held up a hand. "*I* will be back in two hours or so, to do the application." Jai nodded, bowing respectively as the older man left. Tentatively, he stepped through the curtain. He hadn't seen Raine in daylight since before this all happened. He sat down in the chair next to her bed.
Gods, she looked so.so.well, she looked dead. There was no color in her face, she just lay there; an image of a statue. A very white, marble statue. Gods, he thought to himself. How could this have happened to her.to me. to us? Sapphire was to be tried when Raine was revived- if she ever was. She's most likely be found guilty, and her ashes scattered over Traitor's hill.
He stared out the window, grasping one of Raine's icy cold hands in his as he let his mind wander. He was starting to question what duties he had neglected that day, when movement caught his eye. He glanced toward Raine as her chest rose and fell. He blinked. It rose and fell again. "Baird," he choked out.
"B-Baird," he gasped. "BAIRD!" He yelled, jumping out of the chair and backing into the wall. He watched, mouth agape as her chest rose and fell again. A finger twitched, her chest rose again. Duke Baird came running through the door, robes flapping behind him; his hair still tousled from sleep.
"What?" He demanded. "What is it?"
Jasson couldn't say a thing. He just pointed.
~
~
Jasson took a deep breath, closing his eyes and counting to ten slowly. Then he stood and turned. "Duke Baird," he croaked. "How did you get here so quickly? You came out of nowhere."
Baird raised an eyebrow, wearing an expression typical to most healers. "Honestly, Jasson. Aren't you still under the impression that I can fly if I so choose?" that got a weak smile out of him. Baird sighed dramatically. "I suppose not. Damn those conservatives. They love to ruin all my healer's tales." He glanced sidelong at the silently trembling, very white prince. "If you must know, and I assume you must; I was walking out of another noble quarters in this wing, and I heard the noise. I assumed the worst- which I was greeted with; and came running." There was silence for a moment, then, "I'm sorry, lad. I know what she meant to you."
Jasson shook his head. "No you don't. No one does. The only person who did was Paige.I didn't know it myself until-" His voice cracked.
Gently, the older man placed a hand on the prince's shoulder, seeing his trembling ease a bit as he did so. "Come on, young one. Let's go inform your parents of this. Messengers will have to be sent to Starbrook at once."
Jasson shook his head, taking a step closer to Raine's unmoving form. "I'm sorry sir, but no. I'll stay here. I need to stay here."
"Say no more, I understand," Baird replied, bowing slightly and leaving quickly for the grand hall where their Majesties still were.
As the footsteps grew fainter, then died away completely, Jasson rubbed his eyes and looked again at Raine. She almost looked like she was sleeping as she lay there. A small smile touched her lips, while a peaceful air settled about her. He sighed quietly, kneeling down and moving her still warm hands to clasp them in front of her. She clutched a something in her hand. Her fingers were clenched tightly around it; as though even in death, she refused to let go. Gently and carefully he pried open her fist and saw a small vial.
"What in the name of-" he stopped; picking the vial up and sniffing it carefully. Chammomile and. he couldn't quite place the other scents. Standing up, he started to leave the room- then remembered something faster. Closing his eyes briefly to concentrate, he opened them again a moment later with a ball of brilliant blue flame in his outstretched hand. The other still held the vial. "Mother-"he called. "Mother, I need you and Buri in the Starbrook clan rooms as soon as possible." He clenched his hand into a fist and the ball of flame vanished.
Not long after, the two women flew down the corridor and into the bedraggled room. Jasson stood from where he had been sitting. He had moved Raine's body to a small settee in one corner of the room and had been sitting in the armchair beside it; still trying to place that smell. He bowed to his mother before rushing over to her and thrust the glass vial at her.
"Tell me what you smell," he said quietly. His mother looked at him. "Really, Mother. This isn't a prank," his face was deadly serious. Thayet smelled it and made a face. Shaking her head, she passed the vial to Buri who smelled it and paled.
"Where did you get this, Jasson?" She asked.
"From Raine," she said gesturing. "It was clasped in one of her hands. I can smell Chamomile, but I can't place the other scents." he trailed off. "Obviously you can."
Buri nodded stiffly. "I can't tell you exactly what they are, but it's an old K'miri recipe. It's- It's the most potent sleeping draught known in the world. Usually the dosage is just a drop or so- but this much.It's half a dram! That could kill a person."
"Could?" Jasson repeated. "But wouldn't for sure?" Buri didn't respond. "Buri!" He demanded, grabbing his surrogate Aunt's shoulders. " It wouldn't for sure, would it? It could very easily just-"
"Put her in a coma," an unfamiliar voice said from the doorway. "Let me see the vial." Buri handed it to the stranger who had approached. A lock of black hair fell in front of his hazel eyes. He brushed it away impatiently, examining the size of the bottle, and the scratched markings on the side. "It's an augmented potion," he announced, looking up at the royals and their bodyguard. "Designed to put the user in a deep coma-like sleep that will last.well, I can't tell exactly. But she isn't dead."
"But she isn't breathing!" Jasson exclaimed, waving a hand in raine's direction. "How can she be alive if she isn't breathing?!"
"But she is breathing, your Highness. If you watch carefully, she is. I can guarantee you that. She isn't dead. Not yet."
"What's the name of this poison?" Thayet demanded, her question aimed at Buri.
The stranger answered instead. "It is called nenuit," he said.
"Is there a counter for it?" Buri asked, turning around from where they all had been looking. The stranger had left as quickly as he had arrived, disappearing in mere seconds. "Damnit," she sighed. "Where did that vagabond go?"
"Forget it, Buri," Jasson said off-handly, watching his fallen friend. "He told me what I wanted to know."
* * *
It was amazing how silent he palace was at midnight, especially with so many people residing there. Most of the time parties were just starting to pick up, but with the night's events, no one really felt like celebrating. As a matter of fact, most were cowering in their chambers; every light in the place on, scared to death of the murderer said to be running around the palace.
Sapphire had been taken to Balor's Needle, now locked in a magically protected cell. King Jonathan had suggested it. Jasson had been incredibly surprised. He hadn't thought there was anything there, anything but the large common room.
He stubbed his toe turning the corner and ran into the hard wooden door of the library during a bout of cursing. Muttering to himself, he limped through the entry, and headed for the aisle in the back of the room. People hardly ever went there, so the shelves were covered in a thick layer of dust. Stifling the urge to sneeze, he ran his fingers over the spines of the books, looking for one in particular- one he had heard Buri mention off- handly a very long time ago.
"Come on," he muttered. "Where *is* it?" He was reaching the end of the aisle, and still hadn't found the book he was looking for.
"I thought you'd end up here," a cold, familiar voice intoned from the shadows. Jai searched them, taking a step backwards- prepared to run if need be. "Honestly, your highness, don't you have anything better to do on an evening such as this?"
The man stepped out of the darkness, lounging against the corner of the bookcase. It was the same man they had met in the noble quarters earlier. There was something familiar about the glint in the hazel of his eyes. The stranger's black hair was as unkempt as before, falling into his eyes no matter how many times he brushed it aside.
"Who are you?" Jai said, trying to keep the fear from his voice. It came out as a whisper. He cleared his throat. "Who are you?" He repeated, louder this time.
Chuckling, the stranger stepped towards Jai, producing a book out of his pocket. He handed it to the prince, who gingerly accepted it. "What you want is on page twenty." Then he strode away.
Jai stood stalk still until he heard the library door close. He rushed to sit in one of the oversized armchairs that were hidden in a window alcove very near this aisle. Setting his lantern on the table next to him, he flipped through the pages. The flickering quality of the candlelight made the writing incredibly hard to read- especially as the tome was old enough that the spelling was very different than that of the current age. He was about to give up when he absently used his gift to crack a window.
"I'm an idiot," he murmured, summoning a ball of light over his head. The strain off his eyes, he scanned the page with a newfound ease as the late-night breeze ruffled his hair. "Ah, ha!"
*Nenuit: a potion of olde, the basis fore such a potion originating from the K'mir tribes. Produces a comotose state in the user, also known as living deathe. An almoste entyrely herbal solutione, made from various amounts of the following ingredients. Belladonna Foxglove Thyme Chamomile Lavender Peppermint Marigold
The antidote is unknowne. When asked, the K'miri medicine woman gave only this rhyme, nothing more.
"To awaken from ne'erending sleepe, One must travelle to forests deepe. Truth has not an obvious scent, But time is of the essence."*
"Damnit. Riddles. Just what I needed." Jasson sighed, and stood. He started to walk out of the room, clutching the book and lantern in his left hand. Raising his right hand to the door, he stopped, palm touching the handle. "'Time is of the essence'?" He thought for a moment. "Time." He shook his head. This was not going to be easy.
~
The coming dawn lit the sky , and Jai was with the sun. Noon found him still sitting thoughtfully at his desk; nibbling on the end of a quill. Before him lay a sheet of parchment with some random notes scrawled upon it. He had read the page in the book over and over again, and still he had gained no further knowledge; no further comprehension from the untidy scrawl.
"Time is of the essence," he murmured. Over and over again, like a mantra he could simply not help but repeat. "Time.Time." Then it hit him. "Time. Thyme," He began to laugh. He laughed so long, so hard that had there been a servant in the room, they probably would have called for a healer; so long, that his voice left him, and his shoulder shook- tears of mirth streamed from his eyes. It was so simple; so painfully obvious.
Hurriedly, he began writing down the counter effect to each herb listed in the potion. For the Belladonna, aloe vera; the foxglove, rose; finally, he had compiled a list of 8 components. He stood for the first time all day, wincing as his back, knees, neck, and elbows popped. Then, moving as quickly as his stiff joints would allow, he rushed to the kitchens' herb garden, searching for his herbs.
~
He handed the list to Baird, whose face was pensive as he studied the contents. In his hands he gripped a piece of cheesecloth that had been folded, and folded, and folded again. From it rose the scents of many different plants. He was missing one thing for his concoction, and had come to Baird, because he was the only one he expected to be in possession of any that was untainted.
"So you need what exactly?" He set the list on his desk and rubbed his temples.
"Menthol. Please, sir. It's vital, if this is to work."
"Rose, mint, aloe vera, nasturtium, catnip, lemon, and thyme. These are all powerful on their own, in their own respects, Jasson. But what exactly do you hope to accomplish?"
Jai shook his head. "Please, just let me have some- a dram or two should do fine." Baird sighed loftily and nodded, standing and heading for a cabinet in the back corner of his study. He returned moments later, holding a small jar in his hands.
"Luck, Jasson. That's what you need the most." He said quietly, handing over the jar.
He was halfway to the door when he stopped and turned, trying hard to smile. "No, Baird, not luck- although we could use a bit of it right now. Hope," he said, managing a weak smile, though not for a lack of trying. "Hope is what we need most."
~
He worked all afternoon, and throughout the night. When a servant showed up, bearing a tray laden with some sweetened tea and rolls, he waved them aside. He could not afford to eat. He could not afford to sleep. He just needed to finish this.
He ground the herbs, making them into a fine powder, one that would hopefully dissolve into a heated liquid without losing any of their potency. Finally, after mixing them carefully into one dish of powder- a powder that was a sort of chartreuse tinted with amber. He started heating the pot of menthol over a tiny desk fire. Once it had turned a very clear, very fragrant green, he started adding measure of powder, letting it dissolve into the menthol before adding more. Finally, all of it had been added. He let it heat to a gentle boil, then slowly removed it from the heat, siphoned it into the pot he had gotten the menthol in; letting it cool and turn halfway to a gel.
Nervously, he paced the room. What if it worked? What was he gonna say? What if it didn't? He sighed. At least would have tried, right? He thought a moment. Grabbing the jar, he headed out the door.
~
He looked at Raine, then at the pot in his hands. He had an idea of what to do, but-
"Jasson, what are you here for?" he spun, looking into Baird's smiling face. He wordlessly held up the jar. "Ooh." he accepted it as Jai offered it to him, opening the jar and smelling the contents. "I'm impressed. What do you plan on doing with this?"
"Well," He rubbed the back of his head. "Same theory as a mustard plaster, but." he trailed off, flushing sheepishly.
"Ah. Well. I'll apply it then. Being a healer, I don't have as much at stake as you do." Jasson nodded, turning his back as Baird drew the curtain around the bed. Moments later her felt a tap on his shoulder. "Nice mixture, Jasson. You can see her now."
"See her? Is she awake?"
"No, but." Baird shrugged. "If it doesn't work, I suggest you apply some in a couple hours." Jai opened his mouth to respond, but Baird held up a hand. "*I* will be back in two hours or so, to do the application." Jai nodded, bowing respectively as the older man left. Tentatively, he stepped through the curtain. He hadn't seen Raine in daylight since before this all happened. He sat down in the chair next to her bed.
Gods, she looked so.so.well, she looked dead. There was no color in her face, she just lay there; an image of a statue. A very white, marble statue. Gods, he thought to himself. How could this have happened to her.to me. to us? Sapphire was to be tried when Raine was revived- if she ever was. She's most likely be found guilty, and her ashes scattered over Traitor's hill.
He stared out the window, grasping one of Raine's icy cold hands in his as he let his mind wander. He was starting to question what duties he had neglected that day, when movement caught his eye. He glanced toward Raine as her chest rose and fell. He blinked. It rose and fell again. "Baird," he choked out.
"B-Baird," he gasped. "BAIRD!" He yelled, jumping out of the chair and backing into the wall. He watched, mouth agape as her chest rose and fell again. A finger twitched, her chest rose again. Duke Baird came running through the door, robes flapping behind him; his hair still tousled from sleep.
"What?" He demanded. "What is it?"
Jasson couldn't say a thing. He just pointed.
~