houseofcards_rp | [ota] I can't see the stars for the sun.

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[ota] I can't see the stars for the sun.

Ceiro felt the first pains when he tried to relieve himself. And try though he might, nothing seemed to relieve that gut twisting, soul shattering pain. It honestly had come to the point that he'd excused himself from the office, making the excuse that he was seeing Mr. Browning off as he was finally returning home (with the assistance of the Magician, as they had all agreed to for Mr. Browning's assistance.) But in truth he'd only managed to get a 'be safe' out before the boy was put in the car and concerned guards we just barely waved off.

Not now, he told himself, pale, white hands gripping the rails lining lifted walkways around the front of the Castle. Not yet, he still had things to finish- people to speak with, to prepare for the inevitable. But each step he took sent another sharp, gutting pain through his abdomen. The fact that the sharpest pain seemed focused on his back, to the right side did not ease his worries. If anything, the anxiety began to rise as a dizzy spell washed over him and his swollen, aching legs seemed to give out.

He honestly didn't remember hitting the ground. He certainly didn't recall if he hit his head or not, though the splitting headache of the past few months reared it's ugly head ten fold. He rolled to his side, a hand desperately clinging to a post as his body heaved in an effort to expel what little food he'd forced himself to ingest. All the while only one thought remained in his mind- would his son grow up not knowing his own father?

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"Your Majesty." It was funny, Abby thought, how in these moments she was able to push past shock and horror and just be professional, and she laid a cool hand on the King of Hearts' brow. It probably helped that, unlike with the Two who had burst into the infirmary and babbled out something about King Ceiro and collapse that she barely knew the man; she'd only been here two weeks.

But she knew Johnny was very fond of him, and that was something, even after as many years as they'd spent doing their own things. She smiled slightly down at him. "I'm going to turn you on your side," she said gently, brushing back his hair. "And you're going to take a moment to catch your breath, and then we're going to get you to the infirmary."

He rolled with Abby's hands, gritting his teeth as his eyes squeezed shut. In truth, a part of him wished that no one was there, trying to help him (watching him, more to point). But he rolled, and he let the worst of the pain slip away as he slowly opened his eyes to look at the woman leaning over him.

"I...do hope you forgive...my statement," he managed to get out softly. "Please...they...they do not need to see this."

"...I'll have the hall cleared," Abby said after a moment, but her features were already settling into a firm expression. Kings, they were a new thing, but recalcitrant patients, men especially who didn't want people to see them weak and in pain? That she'd seen any time she did an urgent care rotation. "But I must examine you, my lord. You understand that. You wouldn't allow one of your own people to go unexamined in this state."

He nodded, vaguely as he tried to take a deeper breath. He wasn't going to protest her examination, but frankly he just didn't want it to be done there.

"Please....help me to my feet." She could very well wait the few moments it took them to get inside and down the hall, could she not?

"Of course," she said easily, and she shifted her hands to get a better grip before slowly starting to rise, steadying him as he first sat up and then struggled to his feet. "Just down the hall," she murmured.

Her thoughts, already, were on possible causes for this collapse. Ceiro had seemed frail when they first met, which was strange for a man his age. Cancer was a possibility, of course, but not the only one.

He had not always been so frail, though some might have accused him of such. He had earlier that year, after all, been in fine shape. His arms, even now, still held that definition though most of the strength was gone from them. He let her get him to his feet though, and even help support him as he moved down the hallway and toward the infirmary.

Once in the seclusion of the exam room, he sagged into a chair, the exam table too far away from him to gather the strength to get to it.

"Dr. Cataldo, I am afraid," he paused, wincing at a wave of pain that came over him for a moment. "cannot...ran a few test. But I was...informed not but a few days ago- he was involved in a collision off deck."

Meaning he and his findings were, and would remain a mystery to the King.

Abby nodded, and flicked her eyes at the Ten who'd helped Ceiro into the infirmary. She should tell him to leave, and she opened her mouth to gently tell him that the King required privacy for his examination, when he spoke up before she could.

"I think," Jordan said, "that you should look into lead poisoning." He didn't quite meet the King's eyes as he spoke. "Hadyn was in Zurich, where Dr. Cataldo's accident was, and that's what his tests indicate. I have it on this flash drive, here."

Ceiro blinked at that, lifting his head to watch Jordan impassively for a long moment. "Hadyn....?" He asked almost dumbly. He'd known the boy was off Deck for some time but...

"Perhaps...." He wanted to say that perhaps Hadyn had best come explain that, but he let it trail off, shaking his head. The boy, for all his faults, was working on his challenge and had suffered enough lose in his life. Not that Ceiro expected him to be concerned with the King's health- but watching someone suffer had a profound effect, regardless of how close one was emotionally to them. At least, it seemed so to him.

"Perhaps you would like to speak to him," he said instead to Abby.

The words lead poisoning had had Abby freezing in shock - and then cataloging the possible treatments. If it was so far as to cause collapse - the King would almost certainly need to go somewhere for treatment.

"Where...?" she began.

"He should be in the theatre at this hour, practicing," Jordan said in an even voice. "In the east wing."

'it would...be best to speak with him there," Ceiro said after a moment, before turning to look at Jordan.

"And perhaps you....and I might discuss....how he discovered this....?" Because Hadyn being near the same city, and finding the man's research was not precisely something that someone stumbled upon. "Jordan?"

Jordan was silent for a moment, after Abby had uncertainly disappeared down the hall, but it was less because he didn't know what to say and more because he wasn't certain how to explain himself without giving everything away, and it was too soon for that, especially if he intended to get a confession from his mother. "Dr. Cataldo had been gone already for a lot longer than was usual for him," he began, "and Hadyn had had a...rather personal upset. I thought having something to look into would be a good distraction when he was outside.

"Dr. Catlado's accident was not caused by drunk driving, as the Swiss police are claiming," he said quietly. "They were paid off, my lord. And you are very sick, but it's because someone is doing this to you."

"Very forward thinking...of you." Though Ceiro frowned a bit. He would not punish Jordan for it (how could he, really), but it left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. Why, after all, would someone do this to him?

"....Why?" He asked after a moment, realizing that asking himself quietly did not actually solve his problems.

Jordan was silent for a moment. He knew why, of course. It was all part of the plan that he'd heard like a bedtime story ever since they'd come here, sort of a consolation for the way he never really fit - they'd make a Suit where he did.

"You're very much loved, my lord," he finally said, "but even men who are loved can have enemies. I don't know who," he added. Not for certain. "I have a suspicion, but no proof. Not yet."

"T-Tell me, then.....what you know." Because if anyone deserved to know this, he thought, it was himself. Not Judith, nor anyone else. But he alone needed to know why someone wanted to end his life.

Jordan nodded. "The test results Dr. Cataldo had with him indicated lead poisoning," she said, falling into a business-like tone. It was easier, somehow. "He did die in a car accident, but his car had been tampered with. The brake lines," he added evenly. "There was no alcohol in his system, so there was no reason for the police to claim it was a drunk driving accident unless someone made it worth their while."

And this was the difficult part. "You told me that you knew I wanted to be King, but that's not strictly true," he said. "I've been raised to be King. And I know that you began to get ill after my mother suggested that I should challenge Blythe for Ten. I know she has the connections to...do this. And she's always wanted both Hadyn and I to rule the Hearts." To make them closer to the Suit they'd left. "I just don't have any proof."

"Your mother?" He seemed almost stunned by the news, but yet knew....he shouldn't have been. Frowning, he slowly managed to push himself to his feet, closing his eyes slowly. "Without...proof, nothing can be done."

And yet could he really ask her son to look into it? He couldn't decide, right then, if it was really...wise.

But perhaps he would tell Athena. Not Judith, though. She might act too rashly. And death would not be the outcome he'd want as part of Laureline's punishment, but he felt he knew right where Judith's mind would go.

"This....must be treated delicately. Who...knows?"

"I know." And...he was working on it, but he felt that, at least, was not something Ceiro should know. Not yet.

There were too many variables.

"Hadyn knows," he said after a moment. "And....he may have told King Elisha, but I can't say that for certain. I tried to warn Judith that it was a possibility yesterday, but...you know your wife's opinion of me, Your Majesty." It was suspicious, to say the very least.

"Elisha is a good man. And will...be a good ally." Should things go badly for the boys. And he would speak with Judith, do what he could to protect them as best he could.

But nothing yet could be done without proof- no matter how angry he felt in the pit of his stomach. And he was- he was angry. He felt a rage that had been a foreign memory to him for over a decade now. And it warred with his morality, sense of right and wrong.

It was not, he thought, his finest of moments. But then he no more wanted to die, than he wanted to have anyone else die. He wanted to see his son grow up, fall in love, marry, have children of his own. He wanted to be there for those moments when a son needed his father....

And was that really too much to ask?

"Do what you must," he said after a moment, leaning against the exam table.

They would get proof - somehow, they'd get it. His mother had, after all, taught both Jordan and Hadyn how to manipulate and twist things, how to get the information they wanted. And if, on Friday after Hadyn got her temper up with his monologue, Jordan still wasn't able to get her to confess...Hadyn had skills, too.

The Novaks would get what they needed.

There was a cool, focused light in Jordan's eyes as he nodded. "I will, Your Majesty."

The problem with waving off the guards was that it gave them an opportunity to call the Security office, and that gave Jordan the opportunity to appear, striding down the hallway just in time to see Ceiro's collapse. He knew what this was, he thought; he'd told Judith the day before, but he had no idea what she'd done with the information.

If anything.

He slipped easily to his knees, though for a moment he looked more at a loss than anything else before he laid a light hand between Ceiro's shoulder blades. "We're not far from either the infirmary or my office," he said quietly. "Where would you rather go?"

"Either," he said softly, having pushed himself up just a little. It was, sadly, of little use. His strength had fled him, and for better or worse Ceiro felt as if this was the beginning of the very end. Or, at least, this was the first moment he'd allowed himself to truly feel the twinge of fear; the idea that tomorrow might not come and he was leaving too much left unfinished.

"I fear...I am not myself today."

The infirmary, then, Jordan thought with a grimly determined expression as he started to help Ceiro up. Unlike the King and their new nurse, he knew exactly what was wrong, but he had no idea how it could be solved. The important thing, though, was getting Ceiro away from where every Heart in the Deck could see.

"It's fine, Your Majesty," he said. "You're not well. We all have days like this." Well, not precisely like this, he thought as Ceiro got to his feet.

Ceiro nodded vaguely, leaning against Ten as he slowly made his legs move again. But in truth it was a bit like moving stumps, a numbness coming from them that he had experienced once or twice here recently.

"Heh, you're too kind at times."

Jordan wrapped an arm around Ceiro's shoulders as they made their way slowly down the hall. At least it wasn't far, he told himself. And he could take most of Ceiro's weight, easily, it was the benefit to all the training he'd had.

"Well," he said, his lips twisting a little bit in a facsimile of a smile. "You did tell me to open myself up more."

"So I did...so I did." He said, with a soft laugh as they walked. For a moment he thought he might ask if Jordan understood why he'd said that, but he let the moment pass. There was, after all, only so much he could say or do about that matter.

"When....we are there, perhaps you could do me a favor?" He said after a moment, wincing at a wave of pain. "And find Athena....and....and my brother." Judith wouldn't likely need finding.

It was not the moment for that conversation - especially when Jordan likely still didn't fully understand why, or fully believe that doing so was really net him better treatment from people who hadn't treated him well most of his life.

But it wasn't something he wanted to explain, especially when they were staggering down the halls.

"Of course, Your Majesty," he said, though he doubted anyone would need to find Athena, either. "I'll bring them right away."

"Thank you," he said as they walked on, but it wasn't, really...that long before another wave of pain had the King of Hearts losing his legs beneath him again.

It was sudden enough to make Jordan stumble slightly, and then he started to ease them both down on the floor. "We'll just rest a while," he said. "It's not far.

Blythe stopped, staring for a moment at the older man in complete shock. She'd just been heading out for her first bit of fresh air in the day. She certainly wasn't expecting this. But the hesitation is only for a moment. She quickly rushes to him, drops to her knees next to him, hands fluttering nervously. "Your Majesty- Ceiro--" She takes a breath, forcing herself to become a little calmer, then tries again. "We have to get you to the infirmary."

He wasn't sure what to say to say to Blythe at first, though Jordan had been helping him for the most part. But as they approached the infirmary, his legs gave out again and he couldn't help but give the Tens a slightly pleading look.

"We are....getting there." He said after a moment, "slowly."

"Do you need-- I can find--" Blythe's frightened gaze jumped from Ceiro to Jordan and back to Ceiro again. She was acutely aware of how panicked she was getting, how much this didn't help. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment, then exhaled, reaching out hesitantly to take Ceiro's arm. She could help. And possibly could keep her mouth shut.

"Perhaps now would be a good time for someone to find Miss Abby." Ceiro suggested, in an almost even sense of humor.

"But...for a moment," he simply wanted to sit. There was, after all, only so much pain a man could stomach.

"I can-- I can do that." Blythe nods, a little more confident. She bites her lip, though, when Ceiro doesn't get to his feet. "Are you- sure you'll be alright here? Just give me a moment, I'll find her."

"I assure you, my dear, I will...be fine." Though fine was a bit relative at this juncture wasn't it? He closed his eyes though, and he leaned back. Jordan, he thought to himself, would make sure the worst of it was not that noticeable.

"Alright. Breathe, your Majesty." Blythe probably doesn't realize what a spectacular hypocrite she's being. "I'll be right back." And then she's off down the corridors towards the infirmary - she'll bump into Abby soon enough.

It seemed she had not acted as quickly as she would have wanted. Judith left a wailing Tristan in the arms of the nanny that now accompanied them everywhere and rushed to her husband.
"Ceiro." She said trying her best to conceal the anxiety "We are going to the infirmary. Now."

(ooc: Hate to be trouble, but I'm in the phone and tags not be added from here. Could you please add Judith's? Thanks in advance)

Edited 2012-08-18 22:54 (UTC)

Ceiro let his eyes close slowly as he shuddered and tried to push himself up. This was not, really, the way he wanted the end to come about, and it was (nor had it been) an argument about where he would be going now.

"Help me stand," he said softly, though he hated to have Judith see him like this.

In sickness and health till death do us part. She had to help him and that was all that mattered now. So Judith helped her husband up, and made sure that he was leaning safely on her.
"Everything will be alright" she says as they start walking, though who knows if it's more to herself than to him.
(ooc: No worries! Actually, that was me through the wonders of copy pasta XD)

"Perhaps, my love, it is time to prepare for the case in which it isn't." He murmured, though it was soft as they stood. And despite the fact that dying was the one thing he wanted least? It wasn't for himself he seemed to worry.

It was for Judith, and Tristan. After all, the dead didn't have to worry about much, it was the living that one had to be concerned about.

"With all the work we've got to do" Judith says in a tone that obviously tries to be joking but she might be failing slightly. "You cannot get ill now. And dying is out of the question."
Really, if she lost him, if the suit lost him now, she wouldn't even like to consider what would happen.

"With luck, my love, with luck." He gave her a slight smile as she tried to joke. "Come on, love. Lets get going."

"Luck is our sweetheart" she said "She'll do what we tell her to do"
And they reached one of the doors. Judith opened it and helped Ceiro first.

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[ota] I can't see the stars for the sun.

You do not see this tag. Shh. I'm totally writing a paper.

I saw nothing

Excellent.

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And a double tag because why not.

I am...going to pretend this came....er....before or after Abby? :|

Be...fore let's say, and Jordan got them closer to the infirmary before Abby found them.

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someone added the tag! Sorry I didn't get this until today.

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