I don't believe it… honestly, I don't know how I even can believe it, how I'm supposed to start to get my head around it- but the sooner that I can, the better… oh my, oh boy… Celestials above I have to do something. Does that something involve going to the police?
NO, why the hell I would even think that at this point is seriously freaking beyond me. I can't trust any of them, can I?
What the hell am I even doing asking myself that sort of a question when I already really pretty much know what the answer is, I don't know, but what I do know- what this life has taught me up to this point, what living with Jason has been like- is that we can't always do things alone, even if we might want to… and this is definitely a problem that I know that, well… at least I can't do alone, so hopefully, hopefully gosh damn I hope he can and then I need a cot, a bed, something, anything… because whatever's in my system…
…it's doing a number on me… that's for sure…
-but if I can hang on for just a little bit longer then I should be able to get everything sorted…
And then I might be able to get my life sorted out but I'm tired I'm oh so tired… I'll go to bed as soon as I can check in with my mom, she's really going to need the support. I don't know much, but I've heard that, at least supposedly, she's going to be facing another trial in the city sooner rather than later… she's already faced those crimes though, so unless they think that it's her doing all of this? I don't know, and I really need to go to bed, but I can't unless I go see her first, at least to assure myself that everything's alright.
I take a lap around this floor, trying to calm my mind, trying to just be in a better state of mind. Eventually, before I even realize it, I get back to the bars of my mother's cell, and I'm about ready to start telling her what I've learned, what we need to be doing to get the city back, what I need to do with Jason to get the city back- because please, I know my mother all too well, I love her to bits… but at the same time, I recognize that enough is enough when it comes to her influence, and well, we all know what happened the last time that something like this went down…
Gee thanks, Mom, you've flocked yourself-
I want to tell her that so badly; there's just something in me right now that wants to rub her face in that, and do it real good… I dunno, just, hey look, I'm finally competent for once, look at how well I'm doing-
-and then I actually get to the cell, and there's just air in there. My mom's not there, and at first the realization just doesn't process, like, okay, where is she, she has to be here somewhere, right, it's not like they would just take her away, right?
But then white something catches my eyes and I look over to see my mother, dressed like I know that she used to when she was in court, back when she used to be the "World's Best Assistant Mayor," being led off and that question, stay with Jason or help my mother flashes in the back of my head again and I'm trying to run for her, not thinking, not caring and not sure why while I run, run run for her, Jason will understand but I can't lose my mother and then I hear paws thumping behind me and then there's a prick in my shoulder and why did a bee or something just sting me and why is the world spinning oh my god they darted me-
My head is pounding when I wake up, thump thump thump thump thump and gods the fire behind my temples is so strong that I don't even think I can stay awake for all that much longer, this pain is going to put me out within a few if it gets to have any more say in my life…
Ow, ow, ow…
I'm in a hospital bed now, am I out of prison? Gods I hope so-
-and then I look around and no, I'm in the med ward, which is a cell in and of itself… and I'm not cuffed, but now I'm stuck here, and that puts me at the whims of mammals that I'd rather not be at the whims at-
-and Jason's sitting up looking at me, and my first thought is to leap up out of this bed and go hug him but he's down on the ground and my heart is sinking, oh my gods is he okay- oh my god-
-and then he looks up at me and smiles, wincing-
"Hey, um, so I've got some bad news, but also I've got a question for you," he says, and the smile wavers a little bit but then makes its way back to his face-
"First the bad news, they're taking your mom to the supermax across the island…. And the other bad news, we're getting shipped to solitary tomorrow, if the chatter that I've been hearing's really the truth…"
What? Why? What'd we do, are we even under arrest, what's going on? How am I this calm when I don't even know how I ended up in here, who the hell darted me and why... that all scares me, to think that I've been taken out without even having a chance to fight back...
And here the freaking mental spiral goes. I hate this, I hate that I'm so freaking nervous... and how is Jason so calm? He can't know anything about this, can he? I don't even know where he was during all of this...
No, no he wouldn't do that to me, would he?
"And what's the good news?"
"Well," he says, sighing, "I've got a question for you, but I don't have any kind of ring…"
Oh my god-
"Hey, Mary?" he asks, taking my hoof in his paw, "will you marry me?"
How do you know you can trust him? that voice whispers into my mind's ear again.
Despite all my fear, I nod, and he leaps to his paws and wraps me in a hug, and then, he pauses and the smile fades all the way away.
"Mary, what's wrong?" he asks me, and I'm trying to ignore the pain and the fear and everything….
"Jason, they took my mom away, and I couldn't stop them… a failure, that's me, right?"
"Mary," he says, taking my face in his paws, "I love you, no you're not a failure… we're gonna get your mom back, and if I have to rip some throats out, well… I guess that's that…"
Apparently the look on my face catches him off-guard, and he frowns again. "I swear I'm kidding… the nurses are supposed to come around again soon, let's ask them then… and then, if they won't tell us anything…," he says, trailing off, and for the first time in a while, I allow myself to relax.
"Then we'll find a way to get the info out of them," I say, nodding now. That might work, as long as we can get out of here…
"Yeah, we will... by the way, um, I hate to ask you this, but do you know how I got here?" I ask, trying to still my heart.
"No idea, but I'll find out... do you want me to try to find out what I can?" he asks, giving me the dorkiest smile I've ever seen, and I can't help myself but to beam back, trying to quell the fear in my mind, trying to silence the doubts and the concern that, since nobody's tried to come for us, now that we've basically been illegally imprisoned again, that nobody ever will... you're a Bellwether, the voice says, nobody really likes you, they want you dead.
Shut up!
"Yeah, that'd be nice... by the way, did you know that Lionheart's in charge of the city again?"
"No," says a strangely familiar voice from behind me, "I really had no freaking clue..."
Oh scat, he's alive?
Oh dear.
AN: Been a while. I'm not dead, just been working full-time now.
I'll hopefully be quicker on the next chapter.