When morning came, Jaden was alone in bed. She frowned in slight confusion. Where was Brooklyn? Jaden remembered snuggling into the warmth of Brooklyn's arms when the pair had settled down in bed last night, but she couldn't remember falling asleep. Did Brooklyn even stay the night? Or did she leave in the middle of the night due to awkwardness? Letting those negative thoughts race through her head, Jaden slowly pulled herself out of bed, got dressed, then made her way out of the bedroom. As she stepped into the living room, she saw Mickey sitting on the sofa, his fingers knotted together that gave him a patient appearance.
Mickey smiled when he saw Jaden enter the room, trying not to take in her exhausted expression that downright depressed him. "Morning, Jaden." He happily greeted her.
"Uh, morning, Mickey." Jaden said uneasily, still groggy from her sleep. "I don't suppose you've seen Brooklyn, have you?" Jaden asked the mouse. When he pointed towards the kitchen, Jaden thanked him and walked into the kitchen, where she saw Brooklyn busily preparing the breakfast. Jaden leaned against the wall, not trusting herself to stand up straight unassisted.
Brooklyn, catching Jaden out of the corner of her eye, turned around and cast the mage a welcoming grin. "Morning, Jay."
"Morning, Brooklyn." Jaden said as she walked over to her and leaned against the kitchen counter, eyeing the breakfast appreciatively. At least she didn't have to make the annoying mouse breakfast today. "You know, you didn't have to do this." Jaden thanked the woman, not really sure how to express her gratitude.
Brooklyn came around the side of the counter and wrapped an arm around Jaden's shoulders. "I know I didn't have to, but I can see that you could really use a break. And I wanted to make sure that you ate something." Before Jaden could protest that she wasn't hungry, Brooklyn hastily changed the subject. "How are you feeling this morning? You were thrashing around in your sleep most of the night." Brooklyn said worriedly, her face creasing with lines of worry.
Upon hearing that, Jaden was immediately alarmed. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" The mage asked, concerned and slightly panicked. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to live with herself if she had harmed Brooklyn.
Thankfully, Brooklyn shook her head in reply. "No, you didn't." She quickly assured the mage.
Blowing out a sigh of relief, Jaden's body deflated like a balloon, unaware that her body had tensed up so tightly. "Oh, thank the Maker. But uh, to answer your question, I'm fine. Just a little tired." She didn't really want to go further into it, especially with Mickey Mouse located in the other room. She just hoped that Brooklyn wouldn't ask her to elaborate further on that.
Much to the mage's relief, Brooklyn merely nodded her head. "If you're sure, why don't you go take a shower? It might cleanse your mind a little bit."
Jaden smirked at that, her usual flirty self coming out of its defensive shell. "Care to join me?"
The dark haired woman appeared to think about this for a few seconds before replying, not wanting to further hurt her feelings. "As tempting as it is, I'm busy cooking. And besides, I'm not having sex with you in your condition. And not only that, but aren't you dating Ken? I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate you having sex with someone else. You know what he's like." Brooklyn reminded her, though not mentioning the fact that he would lose his shit over Jaden sharing her bed with another woman. At least Brooklyn had the defense that nothing sexually ever happened.
As quickly as it had come, Jaden's playful self vanished in a puff of smoke. Her posture became slouched and her smile twisting into a frown. "Uh, right…forget I said anything then…" Jaden trailed off sadly, shrugging herself out of Brooklyn's embrace and left the kitchen.
Brooklyn watched her leave for a moment, trying to take in everything that Jaden had just told her. She wasn't sure what to make of this situation, but the fact that Jaden was willing to cheat on Ken, spoke a lot about how bad their relationship must be. She clearly didn't want to date him, so why was she even dating him to begin with? It was a head scratcher all right.
Once Brooklyn was done with the breakfast, she dished up two plates. One for Mickey and the other for Jaden. With both the plates in hand, she walked into the living room, only to find Mickey sitting on the sofa alone. She walked over to the sofa and placed both plates down onto the coffee table. "Where's Jaden?" Brooklyn asked the mouse, who just pointed towards the bathroom. Brooklyn nodded. Jaden had obviously taken Brooklyn's advice on taking a shower. Once she had finished her food, she headed back to the kitchen to dish up her own plate and came back, taking her seat on the sofa beside Mickey.
About fifteen minutes later, Jaden came out of the bathroom, her hair still damp. She squeezed herself onto the sofa between Brooklyn and Mickey, picking up her plate as she stared at the food. It did look delicious, though her appetite was non-existent. Despite this, Jaden slowly forced herself to eat her food, not wanting to offended Brooklyn when she went to all this effort for the mage. Once she was done, she set the plate on the coffee table. She tried not to eye the last few remaining slices of bacon, knowing that Brooklyn must not be satisfied that she had eaten enough. She then laid down on the sofa, with her head on Brooklyn's lap and her feet on Mickey's legs.
Brooklyn chuckled and stroked Jaden's hair, causing the mage's heart to thump harder in her chest. Great, not only have I fallen for one Barbie, but now I've fallen for two. Just how much worse can this possibly get? Was her last thought before Mickey pushed Jaden's feet off of his legs. Jaden bit her lip hard as she tried not to scream out in pain. The mouse had obviously forgotten that Jaden's legs were broken. "Fuck…" She muttered out quietly, hoping that nobody else in the room heard her.
However, Brooklyn had barely managed to hear her quiet cries of pain. She cast Mickey a pointed look as she gently rubbed Jaden's back. "Careful there, Mickey. Remember that her legs are broken." She lightly reminded the mouse.
Mickey immediately felt a flush of shame wash over him as his gaze travelled down to the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Jaden. I had forgotten that your legs are broken. It's just that you seem to walk fine." He spoke sadly, his huge, round eyes drooping like a scolded dog.
The mage shook her head in reply. "It's okay. I'm just so used to the pain that walking with two broken legs doesn't bother me. It still hurts like hell, don't get me wrong, but it's something that I can ignore." Jaden explained, dismissing the horrified expressions on Mickey and Brooklyn's faces.
Giving herself a small sigh, Brooklyn gave Jaden a slight squeeze on her arm. "You shouldn't really be walking with two broken legs at all, Jay." She said worriedly.
"I know, but I don't care." Jaden shrugged, "I could simply heal myself, but I see no point. I'll just end up getting hurt again." She argued her case, trying to make them see sense.
"But surely you should care, right?" Mickey asked her.
Jaden sighed. "You do realise I did this to myself, right? That I tried to kill myself?" There was no sugar-coating it. She wanted to not make it sound as grim to Mickey so she didn't upset him, but how could she? There was no dancing around it.
"But why would you try to kill yourself? Do you hate yourself that much?" Mickey broke into her thoughts, his voice laced with a twinge of dejection and confusion.
Sitting herself up on the sofa and giving Mickey a look, Jaden bit down on her tongue to stop the scream that was escaping her throat. In its place, came a calm and controlled managed voice, one that was almost cold. "Please, just stop." She instructed him.
Sighing to his defeat, Mickey nodded his head and then lifted himself up off the sofa. "Thank you for the breakfast, Brooklyn. I shall leave you both." He said to the two women, walking out of the house, his tail trailing on the ground behind him.
Watching the mouse go, Jaden leaned back against the sofa, pushing her guilt away as she lit herself a cigarette, bringing it to her lips as she lazily blew the smoke out of her lungs.
"You okay?" Brooklyn asked her, mentally cursing Mickey for being such a nosy bastard. She knew that he was only asking because he was concerned about Jaden, but there had to be a more sensitive way to ask her.
Tipping some of the ash into the nearby ashtray, Jaden inhaled another large puff of smoke before telling Brooklyn, "I'll be fine, once I ignore all the pain, that is…"
"Maybe you should just go to bed and rest." Brooklyn suggested, knowing that Jaden wouldn't like to hear it, but she couldn't stand seeing her walking around on her two broken legs anymore. It broke her heart more than she admitted. "I'm sure no one will mind if you take a few days to yourself. You really do need to rest." Brooklyn added, hoping that Jaden would take the opportunity now that she had suggested that the other villagers wouldn't mind if she got herself back on full form.
Jaden finished her cigarette, stamping it out in the ashtray. Maybe she should listen to Brooklyn. If the mage was being honest with herself, she really didn't have the energy to even get out of bed, let alone running around the village doing everybody's errands and clearing away any Night Thorns. But I've wasted so much time being stuck in bed already. She attempted to argue with herself, only to realise that she was being unfair to herself. If it wasn't for Ken, she wouldn't be in this condition. But that was the price she had to pay for Malibu's safety. However, she had to look at this from a sensible angle. If she kept going at this rate, she'd just simply collapse from exhaustion and nothing would get done. With the decision settled, Jaden stood up and nodded her agreement. "Fine. I'll go back to bed."
Brooklyn smiled with relief and nodded. "Thank you. I'll stay here just in case you need anything. Like I said last night, it's clear that you can no longer care for yourself."
Jaden rolled her eyes. How many times was she going to have to hear this? "Yeah, whatever. I'll see you in a few hours then." She said as she headed back to her bedroom, attempting to keep the limp out of her step. If she was going to save this valley, then she needed to be at the top of her game. As she climbed back into her warm, inviting bed, she wondered to herself what was going to be the hardest part; Willing herself to stay in this bed for more than a few hours, or resisting the urge to smack Ken right in the face.
Two weeks had passed since Jaden's agreement to Brooklyn to rest up, though just as Jaden had predicted, she hadn't actually spent the entire two weeks cooped up in bed. She had at least tried to rest for a few days before ultimately getting bored and eventually pulled herself out of bed and decided to help out around the village. She made it clear to the other villagers that she wasn't going to be doing anything too demanding so she just mainly stuck to helping Remy in his restaurant, to helping Scrooge in his store. As the two weeks drew to a close and Jaden was starting to regain some of her strength back, she would ever so slowly begin the construction on Raquelle's house, mainly to keep the demanding bitch happy.
Currently, it was too early in the morning to do anything. Jaden was lying in bed, reading a book that Merlin had given to her about a week ago on magic. Ken, was fast asleep right next to her, his arm wrapped around the mage's thin frame, trapping her in the bed with him. She was tempted to push him off, but she didn't want to wake him and already have him in a bad mood, though it didn't really take much for him to find a reason to get angry.
By the time Ken woke up, Jaden had already finished the book and was reading through her messages on her phone from the village group chat. Although, Ken didn't make any sudden movements with his body, Jaden sensed that he was awake when she caught him trying to read her messages as she scrolled down. No doubt trying to see if Malibu has been messaging me. Jaden thought to herself bitterly. She moved the phone away from his line of sight and locked it, placing it on the bedside table. She turned her head around, glancing up at him and smiled, appearing to be nice for the time being. "Morning, Ken." She said pleasantly.
Not even bothering to keep the peace, Ken's face creased as he narrowed his eyes at her. "And just how long have you been awake for?" He asked her, the trace of anger present in his voice.
Jaden shrugged. "A couple of hours." She estimated, though she wasn't really sure.
"Then what are you still doing in bed? Go make breakfast. that's your job, isn't it?" Ken ordered her, his voice taunting her, daring her to challenge him.
I'll get you someday, you sexist pig. Jaden bit back the words that dangled dangerously on the edge of her tongue. As much as she wanted to fight and argue with him, she didn't want to run the risk of him beating her up and worrying Brooklyn again. Some battles, Jaden had to choose carefully and this was one of those instances that she should just leave it be. Giving him a knowing frown, Jaden pulled herself out of bed and quickly got dressed, walking out of the bedroom.
As she stepped into the living room, she saw Mickey sitting on the sofa. She frowned in confusion. Usually the mouse would just plonk himself on the edge of her bed, waiting for her to wake up. "Morning, Mickey. How long have you been here?" She queried him.
Mickey shrugged in response. "About half an hour." He told her.
"Why didn't you come in? That's what you usually do." Jaden said.
Mickey stayed silent for a few seconds before looking away with embarrassment. "Ken threatened me." The mouse said simply, causing Jaden to groan with frustration.
"Of course he did. Well, I'm going to make breakfast now, so you just wait there, alright?" She told him as she went out to the kitchen, cursing all the while at Ken for interfering and scaring Mickey like that. This was her house, how dare he take control and act like Jaden was only a visitor in her own home?
By the time Ken walked out of the bedroom, Jaden had finished with the breakfast and had already dished them up onto their separate plates, placing them onto the coffee table. Ken had to give Jaden credit for the fact that she was an amazing cook. The plate was stacked with pancakes, sausages, beans and eggs, the makings of a hearty meal. Ken sat down on the sofa and picked up his plate, giving the mage an emotionless thanks.
With all the food served, Jaden silently stalked off towards the bathroom, not wanting to deal with Ken or Mickey right now and decided to take her morning shower. She didn't care if she was supposed to be acting like the caring, loving girlfriend towards Ken, she couldn't keep the act up for much longer, no matter how hard she tried. It was really an understatement to stay that she hated him so much. However, as she kept reminding herself every single day, she had to do this for Malibu's sake. That's what she kept telling herself whenever she felt like snapping his neck. At least she knew she wasn't the only one playing a game. All the while that Ken had been acting nicer to her, she understood that it was only just an act on his end too. Ken wanted to make everyone believe within his orbit that this was a happy relationship, the perfect boyfriend and in no way abusive towards Jaden. Now, that was what really rankled Jaden. Maybe it was a good thing that Brooklyn had her suspicions.
After a long shower, Jaden stepped out and dried herself before getting dressed. Walking out of the bathroom, she headed to her bedroom to grab her bag from the corner of the room, where it was hanging on the back of a chair. She then picked up the book she was reading earlier from the bedside table and slipped it into her bag. She had agreed to meet with Merlin that morning and since she had finished the book that he had let her borrow, she thought she would give it back to him.
But as she was about to leave the bedroom, Ken walked in and frowned when he saw the bag around her shoulders. "Going somewhere?" He asked her, testily.
Wanting to show him that he didn't intimidate her, Jaden stood up straighter. "Yes. I'm going to see Merlin. Why, do you have a problem with that?" She spat, already tired of his antics.
Without giving it much thought, Ken moved closer to the front door, blocking Jaden's exit. "Oh, you can go, but I'm coming with you." He said smoothly, his threat hanging in the air.
Jaden glared at him. "Like fuck you are. I don't need you following me around everywhere." Jaden shouted at him, her eyes lighting up with a fire that presented her rage. The blow that Ken landed to her face was half expected but still came as a shock with its severity. Jaden responded to it by laughing, making her sound like a crazy person. She rubbed her cheek. "Was that supposed to hurt? Because it didn't." She chuckled, attempting to mask her pain.
Ken punched her again, only this time harder, knocking the mage down onto the floor. Much to his annoyance, Jaden continued to laugh through her pain. A chill ran down Ken's spine as he watched the scene go on. It took a lot out of him to not shudder as the laugh pierced right through his heart, the sound unnerving him. She really was one crazy bitch. It was a good thing that he had saved Barbie from her.
The mage slowly pushed herself to her feet, grunting as she did so. "Are you done?" She asked him coldly. "Because I really do have to go." There wasn't any trace of fear in her voice, if anything it just made her sound like she was irritated, like being late to an appointment.
This only aggravated Ken all the more. He landed a swift kick to Jaden's bad knee, causing her to buckle to the floor once again, crying out in pain. He then grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up to her feet. "Let's get this straight, shall we? I will be coming with you, whether you like it or not. I think you've forgotten just who's in charge here, little girl and, that's me. You may be the leader of the valley, but I own and control you." He murmured into her ear, punching her in the stomach before letting her go and shoving her towards the door. "Now, lead the way." He said calmly, almost as if that entire conversation had never taken place.
Jaden cast Ken a glare before opening the door, her voicing taking on a more sarcastic approach to hide her feelings of desolation. "Fine. Come on then, you don't want to keep the elderly wizard waiting, do you?"