Race for the Throne

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Brandon laughs at Jasmine as he sits down in the seat beside of her. “No…Noo don’t eat me, hair!” he said playfully. He started to eat his breakfast. “Well unless you feel comfortable enough with me to take a shower I will have one of the priestesses or even Serena help you take one here in a little while. The bathroom isn’t too far away and with a little help I think maybe you could walk there. That should be enough to get your legs stretching.” He said. “How does that sound?”

~~

Serena looks up at Vincent as they walk down the hall. “I wanted too, but I pushed myself to stay alone last night. I know that when we finally go back to Rosario that we can’t share my room. My father would kill you and we both know that.” She said.

They get to the dining room and Serena takes her place. She looks over at Malachi. “I don’t know. I was thinking about going to the market place today and then maybe afterwards going to see Jasmine if I have time.” she said.

Jasmine crinkles her nose. “We can do this Serena. I don't want to get the robe wet, and I don't want him to see me naked again. Let's try one more time.” Serena grabs her under her arm and tries to lift her up. Jasmine's legs are almost like jelly at this point. “Fine get him.” She grits her teeth. “This sucks.”

Serena gets a towel and lays it over Jasmine. “Then here, at least cover yourself up with a towel.” She said. She walks over to the door and opens it. “Brandon, I can’t help Jasmine out of the tub, and you come sit her on the bench so I can help her dress?” she asked.

“Is she covered?” he asked. “I think I embarrassed the both of us earlier when I helped her undress and put her in. Usually that wouldn’t embarrass me, but seeing as we are talking I think it was wrong.” He said, his face flush.

“She has a towel over her Brandon, just come help her up.” Serena said rolling her eyes. “Now isn’t the time to self-pity your embarrassment”

Brandon walks into the room and his face is bright red. He walks over and looks at Jasmine in her eyes and bends down to lift her up. He picks her up and sits her down on the bench. “If you need me I will be outside in the hall.” He said.

He walks back out and Serena comes over to help Jasmine. “Here, he bought you some pajama pants and a shirt that buttons up.” Jasmine said. Oh and some underwear.”

Jasmine looks up at Brandon as he carries her out. “Thank you Brandon. My legs are not working like they should.” He sets her on the bench and she turns to look at herself in the mirror. She takes the comb available and begins to comb her hair. “Serena, do you think you can get the back for me? Should I have it in a braid or keep it long?”

Jasmine looks in the mirror in front of her. “Serena, I want you to turn away.” Her hand is on the bandage that is covering her front wound. With her good hand she removes the tape. She doesn't even feel it pulling on her skin. For the first time she sees the wound on her shoulder. Her eyes begin to tear up. It is a red circle hole in her arm. Her fingers touch the bottom of it and she gasps slightly in pain.

Serena takes the brush from Jasmine and nodded her head. “I think maybe in a braid. That way when it comes out it will be crinkled and will look nice. Plus it’s easy to deal with while you’re in the bed and out of your face when you are walking.” She said. She turned around and looked at the wall.

“What are you doing Jasmine?” she asked out loud. She was just standing there when she heard the gasp from Jasmine. She turned around and saw the hole in her shoulder. She gasped in horror. “Oh goddess…Jasmine….” She said. She put her arms around her and leaned against her gently. “Jasmine…oh Jasmine I am sorry…” there were some tears in her eyes.

Jasmine leans against Serena. “It will heal, and I can cover it with my hair, so no one will ever see it. Don't be sorry Serena, it was this or your heart. I just wanted...I just wanted to see it. I didn't want you to look. Please tell me you won't have nightmares now.” She covers it back up the best she can.

Serena helps her get dressed. She looks up wiping the tears from her eyes. “Let's go back to the room. I am ready to lay back down.” Jasmine uses the help from Serena to stand up. With her help she walks over to the door. Serena opens it and Brandon jumps back. “Were you waiting for me?”

Serena gains her composure and looks at Jasmine. “I pray I don’t but I don’t know. Oh goddess Jasmine, it looks painful.” She said. She watched as Jasmine covered it back up. She helps her to dress and then they walk gingerly and slowly to the door. Brandon jumps back from the door.

“I was waiting patiently on you. I wasn’t going to push you Jasmine.” He said. He could see that both of their eyes were puffy. He wondered what had happened in the bathroom. “Do you want to help her walk back Serena? Do you feel like walking back Jasmine?” he asked.

Jasmine smiles at Brandon, hiding the pain she felt earlier. “I should be fine. Did you want to walk with me? I think I have taken advantage of Serena enough.” Her shoulder was getting more painful every moment. “Thank you both for helping me with the bath. It was the best one I ever had.”

Serena smiled at Jasmine. “It was an honor to help you with your bath.” She said winking at Jasmine. I can go wait for Vincent, I asked Malachi to have him pick me up.” She explained. “You two have a good time walking back. If he isn’t here I will come harass you some more.” She said as she let Brandon take her place.

Brandon smiled at Jasmine as Serena walked away. “Are you alright Jasmine? You look like something is wrong.” He said. He takes her arm and he walks with her slowly into the hall. “How do you feel?”

Jasmine looks over at Brandon. She was thinking about what she wanted to say. She stops him and looks into his eyes. “I took the bandage off my wound earlier.” Her lip quivers. “I never knew how bad it really was. I know you are telling me to wear it proudly, but it is ugly. Tell me that it is going to look better.” She leans on him and cries on his shoulder.

~~~~~~

Vincent had fun with the guards today. He both learn and taught them a few things. He loves Serena, but it was nice to hang out with the guys. He knew that Serena needed the girl time as well. It is almost dinner time and he knows she must be getting hungry. He gets the carriage and rides it to the temple. He enters the temple and sees Serena. “Did you have fun. How is Jasmine?” He looks closer and sees her puffy eyes. “Is Jasmine alright? I know you have been crying.”

Brandon puts his arms around Jasmine. “I know it’s ugly Jasmine, but it will get better. I promise you.” He said. He runs his hand over her back. “When it is over and done with, the whole thing won’t be a scar, but just part of it. You will have to give it a little time. I didn’t think you were ready to see it yet so I hadn’t let you see it.” He comforts her.

~~

Serena looks up at Vincent and pulls him into a hug. “She is doing ok Vincent; I helped her take a bath today. She took the bandages off of her wound…and…and ….oh goddess, Vincent it looks horrible.” She said. She laid her head on his chest as she started to cry.

Jasmine holds Brandon. “I had too. Please don't be mad at me. There is more, but I need to lay down first.” She walks with him to the room and he helps her into bed. “Malachai is going to ask Audra to marry him. Please don't tell her. You know that they are already intimate along with Serena and Vincent.” She looks at him. “You know I care for you my angel. I just got scared when you saw me. I know you were only helping me and it was purely clinical.” She bites her bottom lip and her face turns red. “D...did you like what..you saw?”

~~~~~~

Vincent holds Serena close. He caresses her head. “Of course it looks bad now, it is still healing. Give it a few weeks and it will be hardly visible. She will have a scar, but it will look better than it does now.” He soothes her and hope she does not relapse from this.

Brandon helped Jasmine down the hallway slowly. “I am not mad at you Jasmine, but I think you should have waited.” He said as they walked down the hall. They get to her room and he helps her into bed. He had put new sheets and a fresh blanket on it for her. He sits down beside of her and he feels himself turning pink.

“I know you weren’t ready for me to see you naked and from a healer’s point of view I was only doing what I thought needed to be done. I was embarrassed though because I had looked at your naked body. For that I am sorry… to answer your question…yes I did. I think you are a beautiful woman, inside and out. One day when the time is right and we both are ready I would love to see you again like that.” Brandon said. His face was bright red.

~~

“I hope so Vincent…I hope so…I can’t believe it’s my fault that she is like this.” Serena said. She almost couldn’t handle it. Vincent walked her back to the carriage and she leaned against him. “It was so red and there was a hole in her shoulder…I couldn’t believe it looked like that.”

Jasmine smirks. “I would have done the same thing. So did you get so flustered when you saw your other female patients or am I special?” Jasmine cringes then. “I think you should wrap my shoulder and get me some pain meds.” She hopes he doesn't think she overdid it because she will walk tomorrow no matter what.

~~~~~~~

Vincent lifts her off his shoulder and looks into her brilliant blue eyes. “Now you listen here, what happened to Jasmine was NOT your fault. Do you understand me. If you want to blame anyone, blame Nadine. She is the one who shot the arrow. That hole will slowly close up and heal. Her body will heal as well.”

Brandon gets up and gets the things to redo her shoulder with. “I thought you looked like you were in pain.” He said. He looks into her grey eyes and smiles. “You are special, I don’t usually look at my female patients the way I have seen you.” He begins to clean her wound and put some clean bandages on her. He makes sure to strap her arm to her chest. “To be honest I was embarrassed but only because I thought how beautiful you looked. It was rather a turn on.” He found himself turning red again.

~~

Serena wiped her eyes and nodded her head to Vincent. “I understand Vincent. I just can’t believe that Nadine hates me that much that she would want to kill me. If I had known I would be a distraction on this mission I wouldn’t have come, but then I would have missed a great trip with you and everyone else that so far has been a ticking bomb. Thank you Vincent for being there for me when I need you.”

Jasmine is patient as Brandon wraps her shoulder. She swallows the extent of her pain. She blushes when he said again how beautiful she is. “I hope you don't think of me as a prude. I have had plenty of friends that are boys, but none of them that I felt even romantic about. I promise when I am ready to take our relationship to that intimate level, you will be the first to know.” She takes the pain medication he provided to her. “First though I have to heal.”

~~~~~~~

Vincent kisses her gently. “I don't think you are the one she hates. However she is trying to hurt the person by hurting you. Jasmine chose you because she needs and trusts you. You need to be on this trip for her as well as yourself. We will eventually confront Nadine and get the truth from her.”

Vincent sighs. “For now let's get back to the castle, get some food, and rest. Tomorrow we will be visit Jasmine again.”

Brandon smiles and takes Jasmine’s hand. He squeezes it gently and then kisses it. “I have all the time in the world to wait on you.” He said smiling. He gets up and gets her pain medication and gives her one. “I can tell you are in pain Jasmine. I can read your eyes so well.” He said as he gets her some water. He sits down on the bed beside of her. “You are not prude at all. All you need is a little love.”

~~

Serena smiles and leans against Vincent after he kissed her. “It still doesn’t seem right. I hope one day she tells us what is wrong.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I hope Jasmine is ok. She was crying after she saw it, her wound that is.”

Jasmine smiles at Brandon. “I am going to sleep. I am too exhausted to move. Go and do something other than be here.” She lies back and close her eyes. “Thank you for letting me walk around my angel.”

~~~~~~~

Vincent helps her into the carriage. “I can understand that. It was the first time she has seen the wound as well. I bet is looks horrible, beside her 'angel' can take care of her.” They ride to the castle just in time for dinner. Vincent takes Serena to the dining hall and sets her down in her chair. Everyone has joined them and of course asks about Jasmine.

Brandon smiles at Jasmine. “Good, you get some rest. You deserve it.” He said smiling. He pulls the covers up on her and tucks her in. “I am going to leave your pain medication here on the counter so you can reach it if you need it. I am going to get something to eat. Later I will bring you some.” He said. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams Jasmine.” He walks out of the room and closes the door gently as he does so.

~~

Serena looks at everyone and looks down at her food. “She is doing well. She took a bath and was able to get up and walk around a while today. Brandon told her to take it easy.” She said. She wasn’t hungry after seeing Jasmine’s wound.

Grayson looked at Serena. “Do you think I could see her tomorrow? She promised to paint my cast!” He said. “Plus I wanna get out of this crummy castle…” he said making a little face.

Audra laughed and looked at Malachi. “After you get some work done in the morning maybe we could take him to see her? I wouldn’t mind seeing her either.”

Jasmine barely hears Brandon as he leaves the room. She waits until the pain meds kick in and falls
asleep. It is a deep dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~

Vincent leans over to Serena. “Please eat a little bit.” He whispers in her ear. “I am sure that Jasmine would love to paint your cast. It will give her a chance to do something normal for her.”

“I will have to telegraph Rosario and let them know. They have been waiting for good news about Jasmine. I swear they sit around and wait for the telegraphs.” Micia jokes.

“Wouldn't you if it was one of us in another country?” Malachai teases his mom. “That settles it tomorrow late morning we will go visit Jasmine. When do you think she will be ready to be in the castle instead of the temple?”

Serena nodded her head. She took a bite of her food. She wasn’t hungry but she forced herself to eat a few bites. “I think that’s all dad and Uncle Berenson can do.” She said.

She looked at Malachi and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, Brandon would be the one to give that call. I think maybe when she is out of the danger zone. Do you think she will want to come here?”

Audra chuckled. “Not unless she can bring her ‘angel’.”

Micia raises her eyebrow. “I don't doubt Brandon's abilities, but I would like her here. Why would she not want to stay in the castle? From what I have seen her room in the temple is sparse.” She hopes that Jasmine is not falling for the healer. She has kept quiet, but knows that Vincent's been with Serena. She also knows that Malachai wants to ask Audra to marry him. All she needs is for Jasmine to fall for Brandon.

Vincent glares at Audra and begs her not to reveal more. Micia is in constant contact with Jasmine's father and he doesn't need to know about Brandon just yet.

Audra catches Vincent’s stare and buttons her lip. She looks at Micia. “Well when I saw her last she mentioned she wanted to paint the temple. She said it was a nice place and wanted to do it someday.” She said.

Serena nodded her head. “That is the truth. She was talking about trying to walk to the gardens tomorrow so she could paint. I think she really likes that temple and the gardens around it.” She couldn’t eat anymore and put her fork down.

“Are you not hungry Serena?” Audra asked.

“Not really.” Serena said. “Please excuse me, I am tired. I think I will go up to my room and get some rest.” She said. She stood up and left the room. She goes up to her room and sighs. She didn’t want to be alone but she had to face her fears sometime. She curls up on her bed and begins to cry. It was her fault Jasmine was hurt so badly. She almost died with that wound.

"Well that sounds reasonable. I know now she needs to regain strength as well." Micia watches Serena leave. "Is she alright?"

"She assisted Jasmine with her bath and saw her wound." Vincent tells her. "I will check on her and make sure she is alright before I go to bed."

"Vincent, I don't have to remind you to be careful. They are going through enough right now and don't need another scandal." Micia reminds him.

"I understand Lady Micia. I appreciate your discretion this far." Vincent tells her.

Micia smiles. "I know she needs some help with what happened. I am going to get the telegraph set up."

~~~

Jasmine wakes up to a dark empty room. The only reason she is conscious is because her stomach is rumbling. Her legs still feel like rubber. She slowly props herself up. It is too dark for her to sketch even. She cannot help but be a bit frightened.

Brandon had gone to get himself something to eat. He sees that it is getting dark outside and checks the time. It had been two hours. He wondered if Jasmine had woken up yet from her sleep. He gets her something to eat and walks down the hall. He knocks on the door gently and then opens it. He can see that it is dark in her room and turns on a lamp.

“Good evening Jasmine. It is good to see you awake. I am sorry I came late. I hope I didn’t wake you.” He said as he walked over to give her the food he had for her.

~~

Audra looks at Vincent and shakes her head. “Neither one of them should have seen it. I can only imagine what it looks like, much less to actually see it. I pray she doesn’t have nightmares tonight. I know she just recently started to get back on a normal track, much less see something like that and then destroy everything that she has worked hard to regain.”

The knock sounds explosive in the dark, making Jasmine yelp. She swallows hard only relaxing when she sees Brandon. "How did you know I was hungry? My stomach woke me up." Jasmine looks at him lazily. "Ok I have danced longer at balls and never been this tired."

~~~

"Your sister is a strong person. I am worried about her too." Vincent rises. "Have fun you two. I am going to call it a night as well."

He leaves the dining hall and goes to Serena's room. He knocks on the door and waits. He doesn't hear anything, so he sneaks in. He finds Serena on the bed sleeping. He slides her hair back and kisses her before covering her up. He goes across the hall and gets ready for bed.