And All the Kings Horses (Solo)

[Cards of Fate]

The red forest was pitch dark as Vincent roamed the outskirts of the clearing that surrounded the Tarot Hierarchy base. The moon failed to shine any form of light to illuminate his way, yet every one of his steps was surefooted. He walked without fear of the forest and its terrors. Without the dread that the monster was back, stalking him from the edges. If he showed up again he's smash him in his fists leaving him a gory pulp of marrow and flesh. He would not fail his duty to the Hierophant again. Several forms caught his attention at the other side of the clearing. Wolves, simple creatures, easy to deal with. Vincent raised his massive arms and took aim, letting out a mighty roar he let loose a barrage of razor sharp leaves, and watched with morbid satisfaction as only one hound lived to scamper off...

The Hierophant's eyes opened slowly as he retreated from his dream, reality coming into focus before him. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and counted. Any moment now... he thought to himself. Excruciating pain shot through his entire left leg as his entire body tensed up. His eyes snapped shut and he willed with all his might for the pain to reside.

"By the Thaynes and their many glories..." he grunted, toes and fingers clenched tightly. A reassuring hand found itself on his shoulder, and the scholar turned to see his best friend sitting beside him, his blue eyes casting him a concerned gaze.

"Vinnie," The angel sighed standing up. "Rate your pain again." he asked walking across the room to a table with a menagerie of medicinal supplies were being kept.

"You know Ioder..." Vincent managed to grunt. "I think I can say it's improved, definitely only a nine now..." he replied managing to crack a grin. The angel sighed and placed several herbs in a mortar and ground them into a fine powder. Vincent strained his neck to glance at his companion, who had managed to turn away from him. He glanced up and caught the angel's face in a simple mirror mounted on the wall. His face was contorted with a mix of grief, and rage. His hand trembled as he went about his work, eventually mixing the powder into a glass of water and turning back to his patient, composure regained in an instant. He set the cup down on a nightstand next to the bed and helped Vincent prop himself up in a sitting position. He took the cup and attempted to pass it to Vincent's trembling hands. Thinking better of it the angel raised the cup to his friend's lips, tipping it to let some of the cold green solution spill into his mouth. Vincent's mouth was assaulted by waved of bitterness as he forcibly choked down the revolting medicine. He clenched his hands tightly as he let the dregs of the solution, an herbal sludge sloshed over his tongue. The scholar gagged and soon the angel’s hands were over his mouth.

"Swallow Vinnie..." he muttered encouraging his best friend. Vincent grimaced and willed the paste to slide down his throat. It took a few moments but Vincent began to feel the medicine take effect. The raging inferno that was his injured knee began to abate, and for a moment he almost felt at ease. Soon his vision began to fade, and he could feel the tendrils of slumber wrapping around his mind once more calling him back to the realm of dreams.

"Sleep well..." Ioder whispered ruffling his best friend's hair as he once again resumed his meditative coma. The angels hands clenched into tight fists, digging themselves into his palms until they drew blood. "Vincent..." he sobbed. ”I am so sorry I failed to protect you like I promised…”

[Cards of Fate]

Vince slept in fits, coming in and out of feverish slumber to various friendly faces throughout his bedridden day. Sometimes it would be Ioder, who would spoonfeed him soups and occasionally make him pizza. Sometimes it would be Alyssa Snow, watching the Hierophant while she tinkered with her guns. On a rare few occasions he would find Leona herself watching over him, worry in her eyes as she would work tirelessly to break his fever, applying damp towels to his forehead. Even rarer yet he would occasionally awake alone in a maddening silence. It became harder and harder to tell what was real and what was a feverish hallucination. Several times he thought he awoke to Leona cradling his head in her lap, singing softly to him as she stroked his hair. Sometimes he dreamed he was walking though the red forest, towering above everything else as each step shook the earth, humming a tune that evaded his memory every-time he woke back up.

After what felt like an eternity of waking and returning to slumber Vincent opened his eyes to a simple sharp throbbing in his knee, rather than an unbearable burning. His thoughts were still slightly muddled, but he could tell that he had weathered the worst of the storm. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and lifted himself into a sitting position, scanning the room. He was alone, but a majority of the medicines on the far table from the room had been cleared away meaning that they clearly thought he was stable enough to not die on them in the night.

He sat in silence for a moment before watching the door to the room open. In stepped Leona wearing a magnificent crimson dress that shattered her usual dresscode. "Le...ona..." Vincent managed to croak as he suddenly realized how dry his throat was. The seer smiled at him and walked to the far table where a pitcher water and cup had been place. Seizing both the seer walked wordlessly to her Hierophant pouring him a glass and handing it to his eager outstretched hands. The scholar greedily slurped the cool fluid down his gullet glass after glass as his superior wordlessly refilled his cup each time. The two sat in silence after the jug had been emptied before Vincent opened his mouth to speak.

"You knew this was going to happen to me..." the words sliced though the uneasy silence between them.

"Yes I did..." Leona confessed, her face devoid of all emotion. She paused for a long time, Vincent simply staring at her trying to read her mask. "Do you hate me for doing this to you Vincent?" he voice wavered slightly as she spoke.

Vincent paused for a moment, and then chuckles weakly. "What's the rule about stupid questions boss..." his voice trailed off. "Of course I don't hate you."

The seer stared at the Hierophant in shock, in almost every timeline he seemed to harbor some form of resentment towards her. "I put you in that situation Vincent, knowing full well you would get hurt." she replied sternly.

"For a good reason I imagine." Vincent said avoiding her gaze. "I have worked for you for almost a year now boss, you do not act without reason..." The two sat in silence for a long time, the tension between them high. "What's with the dress by the way?" Vincent asked curiously turning to look at her. "That's so...not your usual style."

Leona chuckled as she fidgeted in her seat, something the scholar had never seen her do before. She was uncomfortable. "Of all the stupid questions to ask me..." she said trying not to grin.

"Oi!" Vincent exclaimed flinching at the phrase 'stupid questions' "Don't you dare fucking hit me after you got me shot!" Vincent said raising his hands up in a vain attempt to block any incoming blows. "I thought it was a reasonable question." At the scholars reply Leona began to laugh, this timeline was not one she had anticipated at all, a statistical improbability.

"A very wealthy lord wanted a reading, even rode out here himself in order to meet with me. I had to dress the part of Seer." she rose to her feet. "I must retire to my quarters to sleep." She said regaining her composure. She paused at the door way and turned to look back at the scholar frowning. "Don't even think about trying to get out of bed anytime soon." she said sternly as she adopted an icy glare. "Or so help me...."

She walked out and Vincent found himself taking a test bend of his injured knee. Pain shot up his leg, but it felt like he could probably get around if he leaned his weight on something. A mischievous grin crossed his lips as he mentally made a note to visit Leona's quarters tomorrow. That'll show you for getting me shot... he thought to himself.

Meanwhile Leona smiled to herself as she tread carefully back to her room. You're too easy to provoke Vincent...

[Cards of Fate]

That night was possibly the longest Vincent had ever experienced, struggling to sleep once more after so much time spent unconscious. He yearned for the dawn to come, so that he could attempt to prove his leader wrong. He constantly attempted to bend his knee and straighten it once more, gauging the pain could possibly expect by putting any weight on it. The entire time he reflected on events of the past.

“Here I am…” he muttered scowling. “Confined to my bed with a crippled knee….” He continued kicking the covers off of himself. “Once again being a burden to all I care about…” the words stung as he spoke them. “Even after Tobias had taught me so much at Radasanth...Even after fighting in the citadel I was so scared I couldn’t move….Even after venturing to Khal’Jaren’s library I still am a fool…”

He paused, tears welling in his eyes as his hands clenched into fists. “I have grown no stronger in these months spent on this world…I have continued to hold back those that I care about…” rage coursed through his veins as he bit his lip. He forced himself to sit up, muscles aching from lack of use. “I can’t keep on this way…” He growled. His sapphire eyes found themselves resting on a simple cane on the table across the room. Had that been there before? His mind is unclear from both anger, pain, and the several days of slumber he surely must have just woken from.

A plan formed in his mind, surely he could limp over to that table, not ten, fifteen feet from his bed? The more he stared at the cane the more he feels convinced he can make it. He gritted his teeth and pulled both his legs over the side of the bed, letting them dangle for a moment. He kicked his feet a few times, trying to gauge how sore his legs might be. They ache, but surely he could make it. He had too, he was tired of not being able to do anything. Tired of being the handicap for his group. Tired of being weak.

The scholar bit his lip as he slowly lowered his feet to the ground, resting more and more weight on them. His left knee sent screams of agony shooting up his leg but he refused to acknowledge them. He slowly lifted himself off the bed, standing tall for the first time in days. Every fiber of his being begged him to lay back down, to listen to Leona’s words, to take the safe route. His eyes burnt with a fiery passion as he sucked in a deep breath, starting with his strong foot he took a step forward.

Searing pain shot through his entire lower body, his vision blurring as he let out unconscious gasp. “Fuck!” The scholar spat between gritted teeth. A journey of a thousand miles… he thought to himself begins with a single step…

He struggled to find the courage for another step. He reached deep down into his gut and lifted his bad leg to push it forward. Blistering agony greeted each movement, drawing in sharp shallow breaths from the Hierophant as he set it down in front of him and leaned his weight onto it. “That wasn’t so ba-“ he began before his knee buckled giving out beneath him. He yelped and watched hopelessly as the floor rose up to meet his face. WHAM.

His vision faded to black, and when he awoke he could feel hands on him. “Vinnie!” the voice of Ioder roused him from his unconsciousness. The seraphim was crouched over him, trying to lift him up in his arms. “Did you roll out of bed in your sleep?” he as he began to lift.

Vincent scowled and weakly shoved his friend away. “Let me go.” He spat rolling away from the angel. He paused and located the table, still straight ahead of him, and grunted as he began to drag himself towards it.

“Vincent what the fuck are you doing?” Ioder spat dumbfounded by his friend’s behavior. “You need to be resting in bed recovering! Let me help you up!” The angel pleaded as he took a step towards his friend.

“Fuck that.” Vincent spat back. “Don’t touch me! I’m getting on my own two fucking feet today. This ends here and now.” He said forcing himself forward with every method of movement he could muster. The Moon Card watched in horror as his best friend crawled slowly but surely towards the table, panting with each inch of ground gained.

Once at the base of the table Vincent struggled to rise up on his knees, barely eye level with the table’s surface. His entire body was screaming for him to give up, but his heart was dead set on continuing with this farce. He was going to show Leona what he was made of, he was done being weak. He groped blindly for the cane, slapping his hand on the table each grasp as he felt around for it. After what felt like forever he finally found purchase on the smooth surface of the cane and pulled it to him quickly, slumping down to the ground.

He took a moment to gasp for breath before continuing. Grasping the dark wooden cane by its handle, an owl head, with his left hand he pressed it into the ground. He quickly placed his right hand over his left and with one mighty heave he forced his body to rise. First he got his right leg up, leaving him in a kneeling position. Using his new found leverage with his good leg he pushed himself into a standing position.

He turned back to his best friend, gasping for air whilst bearing a wild grin. “I…Am…Done…Being…Weak.” He gasped shaking his head. His statement was met with a slow clap, but not from the horrified companion. Standing in the doorway Leona Stevvains simply smiled smugly as she leaned against the door frame.
“Well done Vincent.” She said striding across the room easily, as if to mock his victory. “You've made a very important choice…” she stated solemnly. “One that will forever veer your destiny from the path it had been on…” her emerald gaze met his for once instead of avoiding it.

“Leona…” Vincent breathed, his left leg trembling under the little weight he was actually putting on it. “I want…to become stronger…no matter the cost.” He struggled to get each word.

“Vincent you have started down that path already…” she muttered turning to Ioder. “Get him back to bad and have him fed...” she paused before turning back to him. “Give him a few hours to recover from this escapade and then take him to the training grounds…”