What Blooms At Midnight

Eight

"Edmund! Edmund calm down! He's only fainted from taking the tea too quickly!" Alister's frantic words barely register as I cradle my Jasper to my chest, his fainting scaring the very life out of me and causes protective reaction that I know is inappropriate in its scale. I cannot help but defend my other half, my inner nature seeping through as I snap at the hands that try and reach past me to check on Jasper. The moment he had fallen to the floor I had pushed Alister's calming hands off of my shoulder and had nearly stampeded over him in an effort to collect my Beloved from his crumpled place on the floor.

Instead of racing like I had thought it might after gulping down the brew that had been carefully dosed with my blood it had calmed, its mistimed beating evening out as his shallow breathing deepens... I know in the rational part of my mind that his unconsciousness has eased into a more painless version of the sleep he had been trying to get earlier... However, it does not change my need to guard him, the fear caused by watching him crumble enough to override my manners and bring out a primal side I did not know I possessed until this very moment.

The hisses that leave my lips to warn him away aren't nearly as effective as I want them to be, his hands daring enter my field of vision again and again while I crowd my Dearest One's limp body into the corner so I can better keep Alister away... So I can prevent the Doctor I would normally trust from being able to slip around my sides in order to gain access to the precious body that feels ever so right pressed against me. I had told him it was too soon to be subjecting my sweet Jasper to what can overwhelm even the most prepared of companions and he had told me I was wrong... I wasn't wrong... The dose had been enough to knock the very consciousness out of my tender beauty, and we should have taken the chance to explain what may happen after he consumed the beverage partly made from my own essence when I had pulled the teacup away from Jasper after his gasp, "I told you it was too soon and I was right! Look at what you've done, Alister!"

The guilt that floods me does nothing to help me as I crouch and crush my Beloved to my chest even tighter... If I had not needed to be calmed by Alister after Jasper's first hesitant sip when it had seemed as though the concoction had jumped up and bitten him then he wouldn't have been unsupervised long enough to drain the teacup of the rest of its contents.

"Listen to me! He's likely only fainted from relief, but we won't know that until you let me look at him!" Alister pleads his case as I shoo away his hands where they flutter about my person trying to reach around me enough to latch on to my delicate soulmate.

Before I can snap at Alister that he's the one that's caused all of this, to begin with, I'm cut off the entrance of two very unexpected guests that make both Alister and myself freeze and straighten up from where we've become twisted around each other in our respective efforts to do what is best for my gentle human other half while he stays limp in my arms.

"Queen Emmalynn... Princess Carilynn... I am so sorry if our ruckus disturbed you." Alister brushes off his jacket, though I know it has less to do with being in the presence of my mother and more to do with being in the presence of my sister, her coy smile when their eyes lock normally something that would bring me great joy to witness.

"You could never disturb us, Alister. You're practically family at this point, are you not? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so comfortable causing said ruckus... Would you now?" My Mother keeps her smile cool as she addresses her eventual son-in-law... A smile that melts off of her face when she turns to me leaving Alister and Carilynn to toggle each other, "What does disturb me... Is the fact that my own Son has been reported to have brought a human into the castle and up to his room without a proper escort. Have we not just put the last rumor of inappropriate feedings to bed, Eddie? And you think it wise to start another, truer rumor so close to finally taking the crown?"

My Mother's misinterpretation of the situation is ever so wrong as she spies Jasper ever so pale and limp in my arms, likely judging Alister's presence as evidence of something having gone terribly terribly wrong, live feedings from a donor something we had stopped over two centuries ago when the humans we had ruled over for so long had finally discovered the world of secrecy that had shielded us for so long.

"I'm afraid it's not what you think it is, Queen Emmalynn. Prince Edmund summoned me to tend to-" Alister starts to try and defend the truth of our situation, his hand reaching down to snag the teacup that had fallen to the ground in the process of Jasper's collapse just as my Mother raises her hand to silence him as she watches me finally turn to face them all, half my attention kept on the darling young man in my arms, the other half of me ready to pounce if Alister tries to reach for my unconscious Love once again.

There is absolute silence as my family watches me edge my way back over to my bed and climb into it keeping careful hold of Jasper as not to jostle him more than I have to. Trying to keep hold of him while standing isn't difficult, but I know that it cannot be the most comfortable thing for my little broken Beauty, and I know that he'll likely be sore enough when he comes to covered in the bruises caused by his fall.

This time the silence is broken by me and me alone, my soul calming down now that the tension in the room has given me the opportunity to take in deep draws of Jasper's delicate scent and listen calmly to his heart giving even steady beats in order to soothe the inflammation caused to my mind and being over seeing his eyes roll back in his head as his body gave way to a slumber that is starting to seem more and more peaceful the more I allow myself to process what Alister had said in my moments of distress... Jasper is alright... His fainting is only from taking the tea in too quickly... And I need to let Alister look him over to ensure that he's alright... I can do that... I think I can do that... Because it's what is best... what is best for my Jasper, "Mother, Carilynn... I called Alister up here to examine Jasper, that is true... But I've not fed on him."

"And Jasper is...?" As it turns out, Carilynn has actually paid attention to the conversation and not just to her beau, her question causing what feels like thousands of the most delicate flower petals to stir to life in the pit of my stomach.

"Jasper Jones is Prince Edmund's Beloved."