Notorious

Chapter 22 - 'Research.'

Chapter 22 - 'Research.'

Notorious.

Notorious woke up with a gasp, her head pounding and every inch of her body ether aching or stinging.
"Notorious, its okay. Just stay laid down." It was Laylans voice calming her.
"Jase." Notorious croaked, her throat dry and stinging.
"He'll live. Hes badly hurt and is suffering from exhaustion and shock, but he will live." Laylan soothed.
"I want to see him. I have to say sorry, i have to see him." Notorious tried to sit up but her head spun.
"Whoa, you're not going anywhere." Laylan put a hand on her shoulder. "He's unconscious anyway."
"How... How did we get out?" Notorious coughed and rasped in a breath. She tasted blood and her hands started to shake.
Laylan put an opaque cup down on Notorious' bed side table.
"Drink and get your strength back and i will tell you, my dear." Laylan dampened a cream cloth in a bowl of water that also sat on the bed-side table and patted Notorious' face with it.
Notorious gave him a small smile and she drank from the cup.
Blood. It was cold and slightly bitter tasting, but she drank it up gratefully.
Laylan nodded as she put down the now empty cup.
"Alright." He said. "Saskia decided it would be more fun for her if she could chase Jason before she hurt him, she let him out of his chains and he tried to run straight to you. Saskia saw where he was heading and sliced his right ankle. He kept trying to get to you and she broke his left leg. Jason took the blade that she used to cut his ankle and he stabbed her in the heart. It was a lucky hit really, he doesn't know much about anatomy apparently and couldn't hit a target if it did the macarena naked in front of him."
"He was beaten half to death and still came for me..."
"He said he didn't think he would be able to help you, he just wanted to see you one more time before, well before he died."
"Oh my god..." Notorious put a hand to her mouth. "But that still doesn't tell me how we got out?"
"He used the wall to prop himself up so that he could break your chains, it used up just about the last of his energy, but he dragged himself and you through Lady Beatrice's basement. He tried to carry you up the stairs but he fell and dropped you, he thought you had died. He used one of the phones in the house to call me but i didn't answer right away... Merredith had just found Tarquins body in the training hall, I'm guessing that was Saskia and not Lady Beatrice."
Notorious nodded grimly.
"By the time i got around to checking my phone it was around 2 hours after he had left the first message. When i arrived he was sat down, unconscious, against a wall, still holding you." Laylan smiled.
"Could you get me some more blood, please?" Notorious coughed again, blood splattering her white bed-sheets.
"Of course, will you be okay on your own for a moment, my dear?" Laylan placed the cold, damp towel down.
Notorious nodded and gave him a weak smile. "I'll be fine."
"You always are." He said, and then left to get her another drink.
Notorious got up and limped across the room to her draw set, opening the top draw and taking out a small token, the one that Helena had given her.
She took a knife from one of the other draws and stabbed a small hole through the middle, and then put a chain through it and hung it around her neck.
Next she grabbed Laylans phone, scrolled through the messages and found the most recent one from an unknown number.
'L-Laylan, its Jason...' The voice from the other end of the phone said. 'Beatrice manor, p-please help...' Jasons sounded worse than Notorious did, his voice cracking and raspy. There was a clattering sound from the other end of the phone and the line went dead.
"I thought i told you to stay in the bed." Laylan said from in the door way.
"How long have i been out-cold?" Notorious asked, looking at the date on the voice-mail.
"Two days." Laylan said reluctantly.
"No no, this isn't good... The Decider is checking Jasons progress today, hes going to want a demonstration." Notorious panicked.
"Calm down, if need be i'll go and talk to him." Laylan escorted Notorious back to her bed and helped her to sit down.
He handed her the re-filled cup and Notorious drank down more of the cold, bitter blood.
"You have more blood for Jason?" Notorious asked and Laylan nodded. "Will you heat it up for him, please? 36 degrees Celsius, if you can."
"You seem stronger, so i can take you to see I'm if you'd like." Laylan said, but he didn't really need to ask.
Notorious stood up too quickly and had to grab onto Laylans arm to steady herself, but stayed standing never the less.
"Lady Beatrice knew what i am, you know." Notorious sighed.
"And is she...?"
"Dead, yes."
"I'm sorry my dear." He gave Notorious' hand a squeeze.
"Id rather her be dead and me not know than know and her still be walking around." Notorious shrugged, biting her lip.
"You've always been a selfless person, and you've paid the price for it. But trust me, my dear, one of these days you will be rewarded."
"Thank you, Laylan. For everything."
He chuckled. "I knew what i was getting myself into, taking you on. No need to thank me."
He made sure that Notorious could stand on her own and left her outside Jasons door.
She took a deep, but raspy, breath and walked in.
Jason was laid on top of his covers on his bed, a damp towel on his forehead and bandages scattered over his face and body.
"Oh Jase..." Notorious whispered, tears stinging her eyes.
"Yes?" He croaked.
"You're awake. I- Um, Laylan said you were out-cold. I'm sorry if i woke you."
He shrugged and then winced, the movement obviously stinging and aching.
"Shh, stay still." Notorious cooed, going to his side. She ran her fingers gently over his face. "I'm so sorry, god... I am so, so sorry."
"Dont be sorry-" He went to say more but was cut off my a fit of coughing.
Notorious looked through the first aid box Laylan or Hermit must have left, and pulled out a vial of clear liquid.
"Wolfs-bane." She reassured him, looking at the alarmed look on his face. Notorious was secretly hurt at his reaction. "I wont hurt you."
"Its meant to hurt, isn't it?"
"No, no. Its a myth that were-beings created." She explained, undoing the lid and pouring it into a glass of water. "Not many humans know about were-beings, but were-wolves are very common in books and movies and so people get suspicious of them a lot more often." She stirred the wolfs-bane into the water. "The humans test them by giving them wolfs-bane, it doesn't affect the were-being and the human no longer thinks that they're a were-wolf."
"I'm now 100% sure that silver hurts were-wolves." Jason put a hand to his throat.
"You too?" Notorious frowned.
"Glass and all." He nodded. "What did she give you?"
"Ice water." Notorious shrugged. "Water that was frozen, thawed, frozen and thawed again over 60 years. Lady Beatrice knew what i was and exactly how to hurt me."
"The fact ice water hurts you just gives us more information to go off of." Jason croaked.
"Always positive." Notorious chuckled. "We're a mess, huh?" She sighed.
"Yeah, we are." He smiled, his lips were cracked and blood welled from one of the splits.
"I wish you didn't have to get involved in all of this..."
Jason went to say something, but Notorious put a finger to his lips.
"But... I know that you want to be here, and if you want to stay then that is your choice."
"Thank you." He whispered and Notorious nodded. "And I'm sorry that i took away the only person who knew what you are."
"No, don't say sorry for that, she tortured us and she was going to kill you, I'm glad shes dead." Notorious smiled to reassure him.
"Never the less-" Jason coughed again and sighed. "Never the less, i know how long you've been searching for answers. Being so close and then having it snatched away from you..."
"I am glad she is dead." Notorious repeated.
"Me too." He nodded. "This doesn't change anything, does it? I mean, we aren't getting back together, are we?"
Notorious sighed. "I cant have people going after you just to get at me. I'm the reason Lady Beatrice tortured you. I could hear... Hear you screaming and i-" Tears flooded from Notorious' eyes. "I wanted to die."
A tear rolled down Jasons cheek. "I hear you screaming too." He didn't meet her eyes. "When you stopped i thought that she had killed you." He shook his head, trying to forget the memory.
"I wouldn't leave you that easily." Notorious smiled, running her fingers through his hair.
"Your hands..." Jason caught a hold of one of Notorious' hands and frowned at the cuts across her palm and fingers.
"The ice water stunts my healing, like how the silver stunts yours. It'll be out of our systems soon enough."
"Ice water?" Laylan appeared at the doorway. "That's what she made you drink?"
"Yes, why?"
"I- I'll go start researching then." He walked away quickly, his cane tapping on the floor.
"What was that about?" Jasons forehead creased.
"I have no idea..." Notorious bit her lip. "Never mind. Here, let me help you out." She rubbed her palms together, muttering a spell and as she brought her hands away a ball of light grew.
"I'll teach you how to do this at some point." She promised, and Jason inhaled the wisps of light.
Some of the smaller cuts turned to scars and the larger wounds became smaller, but none healed completely.
"Hold my hand." Notorious said quickly. He did, just as the cracking started.
Jason howled with pain as his bones snapped back into place and started to heal.
"Shh, its okay. Bones will heal faster than the cuts, it'll be over in a moment." She let Jason crush down on her hand, breaking her own bones.
She winced, but let him keep a hold of her hand.
His hand relaxed and his screams turned to groans.
"Thank you." He panted.
"Think you can manage with seeing Decider Asshole today?"
"Physically? Yep. Mentally? Not without punching him in the face."
"I'm going to take that as a yes." 
Notorious laughed, but cut off with yet another fit of coughing.
"No blood," She croaked. "That's a good sign."
"I'll get Laylan or Hermit to come and do the sparkly ball of magical healing light." He frowned, picking up his phone and dialing the home number.