Glass Hearts

8

"Verruca, can I offer you anything to eat or drink?" Rosa asks nervously as Verruca stands there angrily watching her.

"No, thank you. I'm too angry to be able to enjoy either beverage or food right now. Just what the hell were you thinking Rosa? Misleading me, misleading the court but worse of all misleading the one that accepted being bound to you. He's as close to you as a husband would be and you're bound to him by far stronger bindings than marriage. What you did is unconscionable. It's no wonder he feels betrayed. Jeremy isn't a strong demon, even among those of his kind. He's not like most demonkind, he's in many ways more like a human than we are. He was nothing but kind to you, by your own testimony and this is how you repay him?

"Lance was right, when he called last night. Jeremy is hurt by your actions far worse than even most humans would be. Jeremy, in the demon world, is somewhat backwards-slow as it were. Humans might consider him a retard," Verruca's mouth twists with the word. She doesn't like how hateful people can be by those that are different. "He's too soft for the demon world. That was the main reason the king sent him here in banishment for a small infraction. He wouldn't have survived there much longer. It's also the reason the King allowed for the binding. But he never would have allowed it if he'd known you were hiding your true strength. When he finds out there is going to be hell to pay, possibly quite literally hell. At the very least you will owe Jeremy reparations for this."

Rosa feels faint and falls back on the couch that is behind her. "I didn't mean for any harm. I didn't even mean to hide my true strength from everyone. I'm just so used to doing it that it's second nature by now. I didn't think about it during the court, or I would have let everyone see just how strong I am. Damn this is a mess. He doesn't believe me when I apologized to him. You probably don't believe me either." Rosa rubs her temples hoping that will help allay the headache that is building there.

Verruca watches the woman in front of her with little sympathy. "I don't know how you do it, but you will make things better, because if Jeremy goes to the court about this there will be trouble. And not just for you, for all the witches. This little deception is enough to break the treaty. Had he known the truth of your strength and still accepted the bonding that would have been something else and you know it."

Verruca turns from the ashen faced witch and calls for Jim, "Get it fixed Rosa. Or all the witches will become food for the vamps." With that Verruca sweeps out of the room and collects Jim before leaving.

Rosa starts silently weeping, but her quiet sobs were loud enough to attract Jeremy's attention. He doesn't say anything as the witch continues crying. He just silently leaves her to her tears and just as silently leaves the house.

Jeremy is used to his own company and has found that he thinks better when he takes walks. He found that he prefers taking walks in the cemetery. He likes reading the headstones, many of which are from a different century, they generally have more than a name and dates on them. He likes the ones that give a personality to the long departed. More than once he's found himself chuckling at the stones.

But today he's not finding that happy feeling. In fact he's finding it very hard to feel anything other than sad. He'd been so excited to have Rosa become a part of his life that he didn't even miss the fact that she's not a gift. He's always wanted someone to be friends with. Jim and Lance are the closest and due to the fact that they are demons he can't fully trust them. He wishes he could. He really needs someone to talk to to help him figure out what to do.

He loses all track of time and it's nightfall before he comes back to himself. He reluctantly returns to his home. It's seems even more empty now than before Rosa...no he won't think of that right now.

He notices that there aren't any lights on and thinks that's strange. But when he opens the door he doesn't sense anyone else there either. He shrugs, Rosa doesn't have to tell him anything. It's only as he goes to his room that he catches the weakest heartbeat and wispy breathing of another person. Confused, because no one else should be there he goes to the living room where the sound is coming from and finds Rosa there.

She's unconscious and her heartbeat worries him.  He needs to take her to the hospital immediately. He has to change to his true form in order to get her there in time to help her. It never even crossed his mind that if she died then he would be free from the bonding. Turning in to his demon self takes just half a blink of an eye. He picks up Rosa and doesn't even bother to close the door behind him. As long as Rosa lives no one else will be able to enter the house.

He barely remembers to change back to his human form before coming in range of the hospital cameras. "Help! Someone help me please?" He starts calling as soon as he enters the ER entrance. Nurses and orderlies come running.

"What happened?" One demands.

"I don't know I came home and found her like this passed out on our couch. I couldn't call an ambulance since there is no cell phone coverage at home. And since I don't have a home phone yet I brought her as quickly as I could." Jeremy is truly distressed and it shows. Although Rosa had lied to him he did like her.

"Sir, can you fill out this paperwork?" A woman shoves a clipboard with paper work into his hands as he watches the nurses and others take Rosa into the ER.

"I will do the best I can, but she just moved in with me. She's my new roommate and I don't know all that much about her." But then Jeremy has a bright idea.

He takes the paperwork and starts filling out what he can and calls Jim. He tells Jim what happened, or at least what he found since he doesn't know exactly what happened.

A short time later both Jim and Lance show up with their respective witches in tow. Jeremy explains all over again what happened and then they just wait for word on Rosa's condition.