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“Yaroslav!”
“I’m got her! Give me time!”
“Yaroslav, she’s going to die!”
“I’ll fucking kill myself before that happens, Igor! She’s not dying!”
Even with an extensive knowledge of magic and alchemy, cheating death is not something easily done. However, if it isn’t easy to do, Yaroslav Mikhailov will be the first to try, especially when it concerns the one and only Bellerose Abbott. The woman is floating in the spring pool in his basement.
Pouring an alchemical concoction into the water, he steps back, watching her body float in the shallow water, waiting for something to happen.
“Alright,” Yaroslav sighs, “I thought the lime, copper, and salt would work. Back the drawing board I guess.”
Yaroslav turns on his heels, beginning to exit the spring before hearing Bellerose let out a large gasp and the splashing. Yaroslav turns back around quickly, getting to her side as she now sits upright, trying to catch her breath.
Her skin is cold to the touch, with very long red hair and a pale forelock, dark circles under her light blue eyes, as she feels around her neck and upper chest, searching for something.
“Where are my necklaces?!”
Yaroslav crouches down, “I’ve got them, doll, I didn’t want them deteriorate, welcome back to the land of the living.”
“Why am I in a dress? Why is it thinner then a sheet? Why am I in the spring?” Bellerose asks, her voice raspy and hoarse, “Why do I feel like absolute dog shit?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Yaroslav asks.
“We were fighting a pit fiend and getting our asses kicked…”
“Anything else, doll?”
“You and Igor were looking down at me, scared shitless.”
Yaroslav nods. “What happened, Yaroslav?” she asks.
“Long story short: you almost died,” he answers. “Emersyn had used all the healing magic he had, but you were still unconscious; they brought you back here.”
“So, I’ve in coma for what a few days a couple months?” Bellerose scoffs, pushing her hair out of her face.
“More like a 126 years…” Yaroslav mutters.
“Holy fuck,” Bellerose huffs. Her eyes wide, slender fingers gripping a handful of her hair by the root.
“I know it’s a bit to process.” Yaroslav stands, his thin tail shifting side to side as he extends a hand to her. “Let’s get you out of the water.”
Bellerose takes his hand, struggling to stand. Yaroslav steps into the shallow water to aid her. He watches her struggle to stand on her extremely weak legs, so he slowly leads her out of the water, holding her hands in his and guiding her as if she were a toddler just learning to walk.
“What all has changed?”
“Well, the political climate has shifted due the changes in the royal linage—”
“I don’t care about that!”
“Emersyn and Sonny are deceased,” Yaroslav informs, “Morgana, Lolita, and Igor are all still living, of course they settle elsewhere.”
Bellerose hums, staring at her feet as they exit the archway that leads into the spring, “What else?”
“Nothing that you would find interesting,” he replies. “I am now in one of the highest positions in the royal court, well as high as the King and her attendance. When Sonny was alive, she and Morgana got married; Emersyn was doing what he did best up until he died; Lolita got married too, but it didn’t last.”
“And Igor?” Bellerose asks.
“He’s not doing too hot. One would say that he doing bad,” Yaroslav answers before cringing, thinking of the man she has asked about, "He's been worried about you a lot."
“Then you’ll need to tell him—”
“I will, doll, don’t worry about it.”
She huffs once the two of them make it to the stairs, “Do you want to try the stairs or—”
“I wanna try!” Bellerose scoffs; he knows her well enough to know that she hates feeling helpless and weak. Her loud declaration that she is going to attempt going up the stairs brings a slight smile to his lips. It's a sign that she is still Bellerose.
Yaroslav let go of her hands and stepped aside, allowing her to attempt the stairs on her own. Her attempt is unsuccessful as she almost collapses to her knees on the first step.
“Nope!” Yaroslav remarks, quickly taking hold of her and lifting her into his arms, “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let those pretty little legs of yours get bruised.”
Bellerose crosses her arms as Yaroslav carries her up the stairs. “You're fucking weird," she mutters, her head resting against his chest. "Bet you liked getting me naked and putting me in that pool."
"I put you in the pool because it's magic; it was easier for me to make my potions and combine them with the spring water than anything else," Yaroslav remarks. "I would much rather have you unclothed in a consenting situation, like in the past."
She clicks her tongue on the roof of her mouth. "I am sorry," he sighs, "about everything."
There is silence before she speaks. "Thank you," she mutters, "Thank you, for keeping me alive."
"I am happy that you are awake, I missed you, Bellerose."
Her old room is the same as it was before. Everything is where she left it since she was last in the room. Her necklaces on her jewelry display bust: her beloved camo necklace and the Tourmaline choker layered with simpler chains she used to wear every day. Her gun on her desk with her traveling gear rests in her desk chair. Everything is clean, no layer of dust, no cobwebs. Someone has come into her room and cleaned, keeping everything prim and proper!
Yaroslav places her on her feet, following her around her room as she slowly moves, "Even though you've just been in a coma, you'll need to rest—"
"Call Igor!"
"I will, doll, I will!" Yaroslav reassures with a honeyed quality to his soft voice.
He turns his back to her as she goes through her closet and dresser drawers looking for something better to wear than the thin sheet of a dress that she was put in. "When you are well enough, we could go see Igor if you like," he mentions.
Bellerose sits down on the edge of her bed. Out of the friends she had before being in her coma, Igor was the one she enjoyed being around most; she grows a small, tired smile at the thought of seeing an old friend. "I'd really like that," she mutters.
Yaroslav walks over to her vanity, unclasps the camo necklace with a Double Impatiens in the center. He carefully takes the piece of jewelry and puts it around Bellerose's neck, kissing her forehead.
"I'll get you tea," he mutters.
"Thank you Yaroslav," she replies.
"You're welcome, doll," he says with a smile before helping her into bed, leaving her to rest properly.
Bellerose was up and walking without assistance within three days. Her regained mobility led to the desire to visit Igor. This led her and Yaroslav on the dirt path to a wizard tower a ways away from Yaroslav's estate.
Multiple loud knocks get Igor Alexander Darling Elias Belova IV to come to the door. Hungover and lethargic, he opens the door, only a crack, with a muttered: "Go away, Yaroslav."
"I don't think you want us to," Yaroslav hums.
"Us?" Igor asks, opening the door fully, greeted with only Yaroslav, but Bellerose, the woman he's been missing for over 100 years. "Bellerose!"
"Hey," she mutters as he stares at her wide-eyed, shocked that she's even at his front door, flashing him a tiny, awkward smile, looking far too thin, but still as beautiful as she was before fighting the pit fiend. He was far too shocked for someone that was told that she was awake.
She slowly turned to Yaroslav, "You didn't tell him!"