I am horrible. I said I'd have this up weeks ago, but it never came out and I apologise for that! Heck, I apologise for just taking too damn long to post it in the first place! If you are still with this story, I really want to thank you all. I also want to extend a thank you to all those who reviewed, subscribed, and favourited this story. It was all very well appreciated.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own The Mentalist.
Nine – Poisoned
When he took his first glance at her face, Jane knew that Lisbon had been poisoned. By what exactly, he did not know. All he knew was that it was now a race against time to get to the Wood Elves, the only people within the Celestial Realm that had the power or ability to save Lisbon's life. They are also the only people that can surely be trusted. It would be unheard of for a Wood Elf to harm another without a completely moral reason, and saving the entire Celestial Realm to continue life is something they would never attempt to botch.
Jane fidgeted on his horse. The rain that had been pelting down on them for the past twenty-five plus minutes has caused his clothing to stick to his body like a second skin. It was also very reminiscent of something a person would see in one of those cheesy movies where something highly dramatic was about to happen in an extremely tense situation. In sense…this is a highly tense and dramatic situation. Rain was falling rigourously, Lisbon was dying probably because of an assassination attempt and leaning against him limply, and he had no idea where he was going. He is too concerned for Lisbon's well-being to know where he is going, and figures that if he follows Mira through the forest, they'll eventually get where they need to be.
"Lisbon, are you still with me?" he asks loudly over the booming rain.
She shifts behind him and moans, "I feel like I have the flu," she mumbles incoherently and wraps her arms tighter around his torso.
He desperately wished that they could have stopped at the last town they passed, but they would not be able to help her. Whatever she had been poisoned with is beyond their medical capabilities. They had indeed stopped an hour ago so Mira could get an accurate look at Lisbon to see if she could possibly heal the woman, but she could not. Mira is no Wood Elf despite being half Elven. Her people do not specialize in medical remedies. When the Halfling concluded that she could not help Lisbon, she continued to stress that they could not stop even to see if a town or village could possibly help her. It would waste precious time, and Lisbon would most likely not make it. He hated this situation – it was killing him – and sometimes he had to fight the urge to turn away from Mira and head towards a village, but when Will looked at him, he knew that the Halfling was correct. Lisbon would die if they went to a village.
He is snapped out of his thought process when Lisbon starts to cough. It sounds harsh and he feels her entire body shake behind him. He momentarily looks over his shoulder and sees nothing new: she's wet, pale, and her eyes are bloodshot and droopy. He looks forward and snaps the reins again. She ceases her coughing and he feels more at ease.
"Are you having trouble breathing?" she wasn't wheezing, which he supposed was good, but he did not like the sound of her cough. "Lisbon?" she began to cough again, her body shaking violently and he snapped the reins again and made the horse move faster behind Mira. He stilled when he felt something warm hit his hand, but then wash away by the rain. He felt it again momentarily after and looked down quickly just in time to see blood moving down the length of his knuckles.
"Mira!" he yelled over the rain. "Mira we have to stop!"
He tugged on the horse's reins and unwrapped her arms from his waist. He maneuvers all but gracefully and lands on his feet and wraps his arms around her petite waist and pulls her off the horse. She is still coughing and feels warmer than ever against his touch as he pulls her to the ground and to prop her up against a tree trunk. He leans forward and brushes her fringe from her forehead and looks at her glassy and bloodshot eyes. This is not good.
"What is wrong?" he hears Mira run up behind him and she stops, her eyes gazing at Lisbon. Behind him, he hears the Halfling's breath catch in her throat, and he instantly knows that Lisbon is in far worse shape than she was only a couple of minutes ago.
"Patrick, you stay here and I'll go find them."
He hears her turn and begin to run away back to her horse. Jane turns around and is about to call out to her, but sees that she is gone from his line of sight. Dread begins to build up within his being and his heart begins to beat wildly inside his chest. Shutting his eyes and fighting the urge to punch a nearby tree, he turns back and reopens his eyes to gaze at Lisbon. Her shoulders are hunched forward as she tries to cover her mouth with a fist as she coughs. He cannot tell if tears are running down the sides of her cheeks or not, but he can tell that she is in great pain. Any person who would take a simple glance into her eyes would know that the pain she suffers from is great, and he wishes he could take it all upon himself.
Jane leans forward and grabs onto her other wrist and presses his thumb down, "Breathe Teresa, breathe," he says and she shakes her head as if to tell him that she cannot. Looking over his shoulder frantically to see if Mira has returned, and she has not, he turns around quickly and grabs onto her upper arms. "Just breathe," he looks into her eyes and she nods her head weakly and tries to breathe.
He nods at her, "Focus on your breathing. In and out. Inhale and exhale," she tries to do as he instructs, but is barely able to do so. Jane knows that tears have begun to form in his eyes, and is thankful that she cannot see them because of the rain. Only he can feel them running hotly down the sides of his cheeks.
"Focus, Teresa, focus."
She nods and takes one breath and suddenly her body begins to glow. He moves back only slightly and watches the glow become more intense then quiet back down. After a few seconds, he leans forward and presses a hand to the side of her neck, feeling the slow pulse against his fingertips and he instantly knows that the pulsating glow is going at the same speed as her heartbeat. Whatever reason why this is happening…he knows that it is not good. It is possibly her body's last defense to keeping her alive before it dies, but seeing as her eyes were still open, he saw this as a good thing.
"I'm sorry, Jane," she takes one last weary breath and slumps back against the tree stump, her eyes closed and her body still. The only thing he sees is the soft glowing light illuminating her face.
Jane leans over her and cups her cheeks in his calloused hands. He is breathing deeply from exertion as he tried to quickly evaluate Lisbon's condition. Her lips are turning blue, her skin is a ghostly pale and cold, and her body is limp against the tree stump. The soft illuminating glow remains pulsating around her dying body, and he knew she is now barely alive. She is rapidly fading. Dying. Only Elven magic could possibly save her now, not any other type of modern medicine back on Earth could repair the damage done to her by the poison.
"They are coming," he turns and looks up behind him. He sees Mira holding onto the reins of her horse and leaning into it with her eyes closed. When her eyes opened, he is shocked to see them bloodshot. Just like Lisbon's two hours ago.
"Mira," he breathes, the newfound hope that he has been feeling as of late suddenly deflating, "Your eyes…"
The Halfling shifts and leans further into the horse, "I know, Patrick. But I cannot die. I am just as immortal as you are," she grit her teeth and he knows a wave of nausea hits her body and she takes a gasp of hair, "William is with the Wood Elves and is coming. He saw me growing ill and wished to come with me."
Jane nods and turns back at Lisbon, the glowing around her has become duller and he reaches for her again. He grabs a hold of her wrist and just holds onto it. Something tells him that when the glow leaves her, that she will be dead.
He turns back to look at the Halfling, "Can you do anything? Can you do anything right now to save her?"
Mira shakes her head, "This poison is beyond my knowledge. I do not know how to fix any of this."
Jane shakes his head, "No, do you know how to temporarily revive her?"
She does not even make an effort to move her head this time, "Patrick, I cannot do anything for her right now."
He lets go of her wrist and looks at the Halfling before him darkly, "Well can you try God dammit?" It was out of character he knew to speak her this way, but she needed it. They needed to try everything to help save Lisbon's life.
Mira nods weakly and pushes herself away from the horse. She takes a couple of hesitant small steps and motions for Jane to move over. He does so, and she kneels a couple of centimeters from Lisbon's body and raises her hand. Jane watches her gulp and place her hand on Lisbon's forehead and run it down the side of her face. Mira's lips move softly and she begins to glow brightly.
Jane's breath catches in his throat when he sees the light in Lisbon's body go out and her head moves over to the side. He lets out a cry and tries to move closer to her, but is stopped when he knocks into an invisible shield that Mira had placed between them. She must have known that Lisbon was nearing the end and that her light would extinguish soon, and therefore created the shield.
Mira closes her eyes and moves her head back, her lips moving and her hand travelling down the length of Lisbon's neck before finally resting on her chest. A shot of a sporadic white beam shot through Mira's being and hit Lisbon's chest, causing her petite body to stiffen and her eyes to quickly open in shock. Mira's eyes and mouth opened in shock and Jane could suddenly hear her deafening scream and felt the shield disintegrate beneath his fingers. A bright light moved through Mira and over to Lisbon, and this temporarily blinded Jane. He could not see and he felt as if he were looking directly into the white-hot sun. The heat he felt coming off of the white light was hot and he could no longer feel the rain coming down upon them.
Then everything stopped. The light around Mira had stopped and transferred to Lisbon's body. The petite senior agent's eyes were closed yet again, but Jane was confident that she was alive. He pushes himself forward and cups Lisbon's cheeks again and she gives a soft uncomfortable moan, and he chuckles in relief.
Jane is relieved to see her green eyes open and dart around weakly. She tries to breath, but has some difficulty. Her body stiffens and she gulps and closes her eyes. Jane straightens himself up and runs his thumbs down the sides of her cheeks. The light around her was still glowing brightly, and he felt as if they had just achieved something great. His smile growing and feeling some more hope spark into his being, he turned and looked down at the dull body of Mira lying against the wet leaves.
Her skin is grey and her eyes are shut. She looks dead, but she cannot die, or could she if given the opportunity? Then how come she looks like she just did?
Suddenly behind him he hears the hooves of horses charging quickly towards him. "Patrick Jane!" his eyes snap backward to see large horses of various colours behind him. The people, petite pale freckle-skinned elves with big green eyes, came into view in dark brown cloaks wrapped around their bodies to shield them from the rain.
"We need you to step away from her," the leader of the group said, "She is in good hands." Jane feels reluctant to move away from her, but knows he has to. The quicker the Wood Elves can take a look at her, the sooner she can be healed and back to being Teresa Lisbon again, to an extent.
Jane stands to his feet and looks at him directly, "I hope so," and walks towards his horse and begins to mount it. His eyes look down at Mira's body and his eyes search for his son, William, and see him gazing at the Halfling. Once again, he feels pity for the young man. William comes to stand beside his horse and does not stop from looking down at Mira.
"What happened to her?"
Jane looks at the reins that he pulled into his hands, "She saved Lisbon. If she hadn't done what she did…then Lisbon would have died before the Wood Elves were able to get to her."
William shook his head, "She's not dead. She can't die."
Jane sighs. He always thought that Mira could not die. He has seen her stabbed, shot, and nearly beheaded and yet she has remained alive all these centuries. But this time he had a daunting suspicion that she has passed on. Sighing again, he looks back and sees the leader pick up Lisbon and begin to situate her for the transportation. She is starting to grow dim again, and it makes his heart stop at the thought of her glow going out completely again.
He shut his eyes and flicks the reins of his horse.
…
It takes them close to thirty minutes to arrive in the central home of the Wood Elves. They live in a primarily secluded and highly forested area to protect themselves from outsiders or any dangerous threats. Invisible walls surround their home and projects a mirror of the forest around them to keep the outsiders away, and therefore keeps the thriving area safe and secure. Only those who know where it is, can truly find it.
Jane looks around and deduces that it has remained the same over all these years. The same stream ran through the middle of it all and there were tall, huge trees everywhere. Elves moved about according to their everyday duties, despite the rain, and went in and out of shops. Children scurried home with their cloaks pulled up over their heads and to arrive home by suppertime. Jane smiles at the simplicity of so many lives here, but looks on forward towards the grand structure before them. It is not considered to be a palace of any sorts, but it is where the Wood Elves' royalty resides. From what Jane understands, the same king that hates him is still holding his position. This same king has opened up his home for the weary and ailing travelers, and Jane can't help but wonder if the king has changed at all.
Looking down, Jane sees William standing beside him and his horse. If he would not go through them, he knew William would be clutching tightly onto the horse with the same expression of anguish present on his face that he has now due to Mira.
"I always thought we were going to run away together." Jane looks down at the young man with sadness in his eyes, "I loved her so much, and now she's gone."
Jane felt a pang of sadness in his heart. It is similar to the one he felt when his wife and child were killed a few years ago due to his negligence and stupidity. He had not listened when he was told not to interact with the woman, but he did so anyway. Pretty much all of this was because of him. Even William's immortality – or ghostly sentence – he considers his fault. If he had not begged Mira to make him immortal all those years ago before he was going to be sent to hang, then he would not be in this state. If he had just pressured him further to run away into the forest and go to the Celestial Realm – where he really belonged – then everything would have turned out so much better. But then again, Lisbon may not still be alive.
Jane tosses his head back and gives a groan. He feels a headache begin to form and he curses himself. He is a selfish man, that is what it is. He could not bear to see his son face the gallows and probably die, so he requested that Mira make him immortal – and that backfired on both her and him making them both immortal. Sadly William immortal to with a catch. Now after all these years, the two of them have been unable to engage in any kind of tangible displays of affection, and it makes him feel horribly guilty whenever he sees the looks of longing in their eyes. Then finally there's Lisbon…yes, he knows that she needs to live. Hell everyone knows that, but so much has happened between them that he can not put a number to that will show how selfish several of his actions have been towards her in these last couple of years.
They move into the castle-like structure momentarily and Jane realizes that it is just as beautiful and complex as it was all those years ago. Like everything else, nothing has changed much in here either.
"We're here," William says glumly and moves away from Jane. Jane watches his son move after the elves taking away Mira's still body into another room. He doesn't even bother with the door. He just goes through it and Jane smiles sadly and looks back down at his hands clasped together on the reins.
"Patrick Jane," he looks up at the sound of his name and sees a rather small man with long auburn hair standing before him, "She is in good hands, and our best healers and herbalists will be taking a look at her. I suggest that you go see the king now," he gestures towards the end of the hall.
Jane nods and gets off of his horse. The horse lets out a sound of protest when a few elves come to take him, but Jane shakes it off. They will not hurt the animal.
He starts towards the door and he takes in a deep breath. Pushing away all thoughts of possibly being throttled by the king, he pushes open the large door and steps inside. The room he enters is just as breathtaking as the rest of the building, if not more. There are pillars everywhere with ivy trailing up and around it. There is a natural stream running around the room, a soft sound immediately fills his ears. It's calming, and Jane knows why the king keeps it almost instantly.
"Ah, Patrick Jane, it has been awhile," Jane shifts awkwardly and looks up at the man standing before him.
Jane nods, "King Alasdair," and gives him a slight wave.
King Alasdair, like most of the Wood Elves, is on the short side. He stands at about five foot eight and has broad shoulders. His auburn hair is pulled back into a long braid down his back and his green eyes gaze at Jane intently as he takes a couple of steps forward. The robe he wears around his body almost glitters.
"I hear that you have a woman by the name of Teresa Lisbon. An extremely powerful witch in your possession." Jane did not like the way Alasdair referred to Lisbon as a 'possession' as she most certainly was not. "And that she is also the daughter of the original woman that was destined to rid the Celestial Realm of John le Rouge like she was supposed to."
Jane nods, "Yes, I did bring her here with Mira, but there are a couple of setbacks."
The king nods, "I am aware. I am also aware of the Princess Mira's demise, and I am skeptical on how she died. She is immortal, she cannot die."
Jane shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets, "I thought she couldn't die too, but I was proven wrong today," he looks down at his shoes and still feels a pang of sadness and guilt in his being over Mira's death. "Her body will be taken care of and word will be sent to Caelestis."
Caelestis is another beautiful Elvish-dominated city governed by a monarchy. Mira was born there centuries ago into the royal family, though certain circumstances have changed and Mira really is not considered a princess to Caelestis.
King Alasdair nods in confirmation, "Yes, I send word to Caelestis. The royal family will not approve of this."
When the king turns around, Jane instantly rolls his eyes. There are highly complex reasons as to why she no longer resides there, and no doubt the royal family will be pleased to know that Mira is no longer living among them.
"Now," Jane gazes back at the king as he slowly turns around, her robe definitely glittering in the light around them, "How did this happen?"
"We ate at a tavern earlier today for breakfast…" he starts, but stops when the King looks at him as if he wants him to just continue on, "I think someone was planted there to poison Lisbon and Mira's food. Lisbon is highly valuable to us all, and no doubt John le Rouge would want her dead and gone as soon as possible," he hates the thought of this, but he knows it is true. With Lisbon gone from both Earth and the Celestial Realm, then John le Rouge or "Red John" would be free to take over whatever he wants.
King Alasdair narrows his eyes at the blond man, "And were you there? Where were you when the poisoning occurred? You should have known this was all an assassination attempt."
Jane looks down at his feet, feeling extreme guilt over all of this. Ever since Lisbon had started showing signs of being ill from poison, he could not stop thinking about the "what if's" of it all. Taking a deep breath, he looks back up to the king, "I was not there."
Anger flashes before the king's eyes and Jane takes a step back. Honestly the king should have known that is what his answer was going to be and nothing else. Alasdair takes a step closer to him and pulls his hands into tight fists.
"You will be punished."