RP: Like a Crown Characters: Swan, Jaime, Mal Time/Date: Evening, September 24 Location: Infirmary Warnings/Rating: ...Jaime? Summary: Swan recalls something that might help Status: Complete
She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of it before. Perhaps because ... perhaps because she thought all the magic had gone out of it when Sister had died. Still, she'd had it with her nearly constantly since her arrival, and she thought it couldn't do any harm to let Jaime hold it for a little while. It might help her somehow, the way it had helped them.
It had been magic, once; she wasn't sure if it was still magic now.
After dinner, she eased into the infirmary cautiously. She felt ... sad. She'd been feeling sad, and last night she'd had nightmares about the Army of Excellence, but those happened even without dementors to help them along. She missed Robin fiercely, she missed Josh and Sister, and she'd been reliving the horrors of her short, young life ... but she still could maybe do something for the others.
She bit at her lower lip before she drew the jeweled ring out of the pouch.
Gold-flecked blue eyes lingered on Jaime, and she thought for a moment the girl was asleep. But then she saw Jaime's pale blue eyes (ringed by dark, sunken flesh; an indication she hadn't been sleeping well at all) and Swan offered her what passed for a smile. "I ... I brought something that might help," she offered, pitching her voice low.
When Jaime didn't move or even attempt to acknowledge her, Swan eased closer.
She held out the ring of glass and jewels and shrugged slightly. "It ... it might not do anything anymore. But it might ... help you feel better."
"It looks like a crown," Jaime said as she accepted it.
Swan was silent for a long moment. "It was, once," she finally said as she settled down onto the floor by Jaime's bed. She tried not to look at the girl's right arm, bandaged from the heel of her hand to her elbow. She'd heard what had happened, and she hated that there were things here that made people want to do things like that. It might be too late for the glass to do any good, but ... maybe it would help the girl sleep.
Jaime studied the glass ring curiously. She could see where spikes had been broken off, and she could see the various colors of the jewels inside the glass, along with the blackened filaments. "What's the black stuff?"
"It was... the chains. Silver and gold. Some of them are burned out, but ... maybe some of them still glow."
Glow? Jaime lifted the ring curiously, and she thought that yes, the sapphires and emeralds did seem to be glowing, pulsing a little. In time with her heartbeat, she realized. Jaime gazed into the ring, her eyes darting over the different colors, and for a moment ... she saw herself somewhere she'd never seen before, dressed as she'd never been dressed before, with Mal's arm settled around her shoulder. It was soothing, even if it was a lie, and Jaime continued to watch the softly flickering jewels.
Swan watched Jaime. She could see the reflection of a pulsing sapphire just below Jaime's eye, and she smiled softly. Maybe there was so magic in it yet.