#levi kidd

But the man just kept babbling.

“No, no! Gotta -- gotta keep going! Can’t stop -- gotta run -- can’t stop -- can’t stop, or she’ll stop me -- can’t stop -- can’t stop -- ”

But the poor young man was so hysterical and weak he could hardly stand. He lost his footing and fell. The light-haired woman tried to help him up -- Carewyn, seeing that she was having trouble, immediately darted out to help her help the man up.

“It’s all right -- we’ve got you,” Carewyn told the man gently.

The white-blond-haired woman looked up at Carewyn, a bit startled. The man wriggled in their grip, his eyes very wide.

“No! No, no! You’re taking me to her -- you work for her -- !”

“Don’t worry,” Carewyn told the man very firmly. “We don’t work for her. We just want to help you.”

The man was so anxious he was having trouble taking this in, but he stilled in their arms. Carewyn turned to the other woman with a pointed look, and she nodded, taking his focus on Carewyn as the distraction she needed to examine the man’s leg.

“You’re in the Kingdom of Hearts,” Carewyn told the man. “She can’t reach you here.”

The man was shaking uncontrollably. “No -- no, she said -- she said no one can run -- no one can run -- must run -- must -- ”

“She can say whatever she wants, but that doesn’t mean it’s true,” Carewyn told him fiercely.

She brought a comforting hand down onto his shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she said more gently. “I’m from Spades too. She hasn’t been able to chase me here either.”

The trembling man stared at her, his face very white. “...She...hasn’t?”

“No,” said Carewyn very firmly.

“I...don’t have to run?”

“Not anymore.”

It was like this single reassurance was heaven-sent. The man’s face crumpled up like paper, losing the rest of its color as well as all of its fear, and he collapsed into the two women’s arms, breaking down in sobs of relief. 

The white-blond-haired woman turned to Carewyn.

“Come on,” she told her. “The hospital isn’t too far from here -- we can take him there.”

Carewyn nodded. The two women brought the man’s arms up and over their shoulders, so that they could carry him together down the street.

x~x~x~x

They journeyed together down ten blocks before finally reaching the hospital. When they arrived, the nurses greeted the other woman very warmly.

“Chiara! We were expecting you an hour a -- good Heavens!”

The Head Nurse immediately rushed over to help Carewyn and Chiara with the man they were carrying.

“His leg’s completely dislocated,” said Chiara gravely. “He’s bleeding internally, but only because his muscles seem to be slowly ripping out of his skin -- I think he must’ve stumbled through the Joker’s Domain on the way here, for his injuries to make so little sense...”

“Get him to the Lahire Ward,” the Head Nurse barked at the others. “Quickly.”

The young man was brought to the severe trauma ward and the nurses there immediately set to work treating him. Chiara was right there in the thick of things, helping the nurses fetch things -- Carewyn, for her part, stayed right beside the patient, talking soothingly to him as they worked.

Upon taking off his coat, they found a worn-out, water-stained card that identified him as Levi Kidd. It was eventually decided that the damage to Levi’s leg was too extensive and irreversible, and if the nurses wanted to prevent the rest of his body from similarly turning inside out, his leg would have to be amputated. Carewyn sat by the young man’s bedside during the entire surgery, holding his hand. When Levi awoke after the surgery and saw the space where his leg had been, the poor boy burst into tears and sobbed for close to an hour.

After the surgery, Chiara returned to the hospital with a couple of sandwiches in hand. She arrived just in time to hear a warm, sweet voice echoing softly through the wall of the Lahire Ward.

“But come ye back when summer's in the meadow, Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow, It's I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow -- Oh, Danny boy...oh Danny boy...I love you so...”

All of the patients in the surrounding beds had quieted, with many of them leaning over so as to hopefully better hear the song. Quite a few had their eyes closed, but others were wide awake and smiling softly, even despite all of the discomfort of their injuries. It made Chiara smile, seeing all of the patients she knew looking so at peace, and she strode up to the Lahire Ward with a more confident stride. When she opened the door, she found Carewyn sitting at their patient’s bedside -- the blond young man had finally fallen off to sleep, no doubt soothed by the ginger-haired woman’s voice.

“Thank you for staying with Levi,” Chiara said, once she’d given Carewyn one of the two sandwiches she’d bought and they’d started to eat. “I’m sure you had a full day of your own planned...but the nurses and I are really grateful.”

“How could I do anything else?” Carewyn asked. “Sure, I don’t know him, but...well, he needed help.”

Chiara smiled.

“Yes, he did,” she agreed softly.

She paused, considering her next words carefully.

“Earlier...back in the street...you told him that ‘she’ couldn’t follow him here. Do you know who he was talking about?”

Carewyn’s lips came together grimly. Her gaze shifted out the closest window.

“...Yes,” she said at last. “Or, at least, I surmised who it had to be. His clothes are torn, but the vest is typical to the kind courtiers in the Country of Spades wear. My brother wore one just like it.”

Chiara blinked twice, startled. “Courtiers? Do you think this man works for the court of Spades, then?”

“The Ace, most likely,” Carewyn said very coldly.

Her eyes narrowed a bit upon Levi, her eyes a muddled mix of grimness and concern. Chiara considered Carewyn carefully, tilting her head a bit like a curious dog -- then she glanced down at the patient in bed again.

“I don’t know much about the Country of Spades or its politics,” she said very quietly, looking up at Carewyn out the top of her eye, “but I remember when the Knave of Hearts took over two hundred years ago...well, there were many who fled the Kingdom, seeking sanctuary elsewhere...many in the Joker’s Domain, and others to Diamonds or Spades...”

Carewyn nodded. “The Ace has taken charge of things in the King’s stead, since his death. That power is usually split between the Ace and Jack, with the Jack dealing with domestic affairs and the Ace dealing with the machinations of the military, but Duncan Ashe has had an uphill battle trying to wrench control of Rakepick’s hands.”

“Duncan Ashe is your Jack?” asked Chiara. Carewyn nodded.

“He and King Coby were always close -- if anyone should run things in his stead, it’s him. But Rakepick and the army view the whole situation differently. They argue that Coby’s assassins targeted him because of his and Duncan’s more ‘relaxed’ approach to governance, and so a strong hand is needed to ‘correct’ what’s gone wrong.”

Chiara considered this. “Hm...and yet too strong of a hand can make people revolt. That’s why the Knave of Hearts was able to take over in the first place -- when the Queen’s mental health began to deteriorate and her justice became too ruthless, he decided that she and the King were no longer fit to rule.”

“And so he ‘stole the tarts,’” Carewyn said with a slight wry smile.

Chiara nodded.

“Your name is Carewyn, right?” she asked after a moment.

“Yes. Carewyn Cromwell.”

Chiara smiled. “Well, I’m really glad you were here for Levi, Carewyn. If you want to come back and visit again, you can always travel with me -- the train conductor and I have some history, I’m sure she won’t mind if you come with me sometimes.”

Carewyn was hesitant at first, but -- thinking of Levi’s connection to the court of Spades and therefore to her brother -- she finally put on a polite smile and nodded.

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”

x~x~x~x

And so over the course of the next week, Carewyn and Chiara would take the train from the university to the capitol and then walk together toward the hospital. Their journeys together gave the two women time to talk and connect, and they soon found they really enjoyed each other’s company. Carewyn learned how Chiara had spent a lot of her own childhood at this very hospital, since she’d been a very frail and sickly girl, so now that she was well, she wanted to give back as much as she could. Chiara learned about Carewyn’s mother and brother back home in the Country of Spades and of how they had been intending to join her in Hearts as soon as it was safe to leave.

When Levi’s condition improved and his sanity slowly returned, he told Carewyn about the state of affairs in the Country of Spades -- how border security was getting tighter and tighter, and how tensions between the Ace and Jack were escalating. Many in Duncan’s confidence were convinced that the Ace may have even had something to do with what happened to King Coby.

“I remember one day one of the Jack’s subordinates got right up in the Ace’s face and accused her of trying to ‘emulate the Knave,’” Levi said with a wince. “Madam Ace shot back at him that he had no place to speak of loyalty to one’s country when he shipped his own sister across the border all alone.”

Although Carewyn came to the hospital to visit Levi, however, her returns were always marked with the other patients asking to see her. It seemed that many of them had enjoyed her singing from her first visit, and so had dearly hoped she would sing some more. The nurses thought it’d be a lovely way to bring some sunshine to the ward, so after some coaxing, Carewyn went around to several wards during her visits to sing for them. Some favorites of the patients in the ward were songs like “Till the Clouds Roll By” and “Look for the Silver Lining.”

It was right before their hospital visit at the end of this week, however, that Chiara met Carewyn with some exciting news.

“The Head Nurse, Madam Pomfrey, has asked me to escort her to the Palace of Hearts,” she said. Her modest, sweet voice seemed to be tearing in the seams in her excitement.

"The Palace?” said Carewyn, startled.

“She wants me to help her treat the Queen,” Chiara explained. “She’s been suffering from chronic gout -- nothing life-threatening, but incredibly painful...but I’ve been doing some research in the university’s library about possible treatments, and I think that applying ginger to the affected areas would do wonders, in easing the Queen’s discomfort.”

“Ginger is supposed to be good with dealing with inflammation,” Carewyn recalled. “I remember Jacob doing several studies with it, while working for Duncan.”

Chiara nodded eagerly. “It seems to be a common remedy in the Land of Clubs, as well...but anyway, that’s why Madam Pomfrey wants me there, to help with the Queen’s treatment.”

Carewyn’s eyes lit up. “That’s wonderful news, Chiara! I’m so happy your talents are being recognized.”

Chiara’s cheeks warmed with a light blush. “Thank you, Carewyn...”

She paused, before pressing on a bit more bravely, “Carewyn...will you come with me, to see the Queen?”

Carewyn blinked.

“I know you’ve come to see Levi,” said Chiara, “but Madam Pomfrey said that the Queen’s been confined to her bed for nearly three days now, and I gather she hasn’t been in good spirits. I’m sure she’d really enjoy it if you came and sang for her -- and it might be easier for me to apply the topical treatment, if the Queen is distracted.”

Carewyn considered this. Chiara was right -- as kindly as many people viewed her actions for Levi and the other patients, she came to the hospital to see Levi largely for her own benefit: so she could learn more about what was going on back home, and hopefully pinpoint a way to make contact with Jacob or her mother. But at the same time, Chiara had been a very good friend to her, and Carewyn could sense how important this opportunity to help the Queen of Hearts was to her. She felt terrible at the thought of not helping Chiara with something that meant so much to her.

So Carewyn smiled and nodded.

“Okay. I’ll come with you.”

x~x~x~x

The Palace of Hearts was a gorgeous, stately place -- every inch a shrine to the grandeur and power of nobility. Carewyn didn’t think she’d ever see a place quite so grandiose again: it simultaneously made her stare in wide-eyed wonder and wince at the thought of just how many people the money behind such a structure could’ve fed.

No way to earn back the money this must’ve cost, though, she thought, as her eyes ran over the intricately carved, gold-lined banisters. Even if you ripped out and sold off all the gems and precious metals, the labor that went into creating this place...that’d be priceless.

Madam Pomfrey, Chiara, and Carewyn were escorted to a private wing of the palace, where the Queen of Hearts reclined in a luxurious bed with scarlet velvet drapings. Carewyn felt horribly under-dressed standing before the Queen -- even though the older, dark-haired woman was dressed only in a silk dressing gown, her hair was tied up elegantly and her ears and neck were decked with pearls.

“So you must be Chiara Lobosca,” said the Queen, regarding Chiara with a fond smile that brought out both the dimples and wrinkles in her cheeks. “Madam Pomfrey has spoken so glowingly of you.”

Chiara blushed. “Thank you, your Majesty.”

The Queen turned her focus to Carewyn curiously. “And who is this?”

“This is Carewyn Cromwell, your Majesty,” said Chiara. “She’s my friend.”

The Queen’s eyes lit up with interest. “Cromwell? As in the Cromwell Clan jewelers?”

Carewyn inclined her head politely, even as her gaze drifted away uncomfortably. “They’re my mother’s family...though I’m afraid we don’t converse with them. We’re from the Country of Spades, you see.”

“Really?” said the Queen, interested. “And now you’re here in Hearts. I can imagine you must’ve been quite a culture shock, coming here.”

Carewyn put on her best smile. “It is very different, your Excellency...but your Kingdom is very beautiful. And I’ve made good friends here, as well.”

She glanced at Chiara out the side of her eye, and the other woman beamed with pride through her flush.

“I actually invited Carewyn because she likes to sing to our patients, back at the hospital,” Chiara said brightly. “I thought it might make your treatment a bit more enjoyable.”

The Queen looked delighted. “Oh, what a splendid idea! Declan and I do so enjoy the theater, whenst we’re able to go...”

Chiara immediately set to work mixing together the ginger paste needed as Carewyn approached the Queen’s bed.

“Take a seat, Carewyn,” said the Queen, indicating a small velvet stool. “Do you know any of Judith et Charles?”

Carewyn faltered. “Oh...no, your Grace, I’m afraid I don’t.”

“Oh, it’s a lovely opera,” sighed the Queen. “It chronicles the tale of the supposed Mad Queen and her King, deposed by the Knave of Hearts...I presume you know that tale?”

“Yes,” said Carewyn. “The Queen of Hearts in her old age began to lose her mind, and in violent rages, began to order executions of all those who spoke against her. The King would imprison and then quietly pardon each man she ordered the execution of so as to pacify both her and the Kingdom, but the damage was done. The Jack of Hearts used the public’s indignation and lack of faith in their rulers to supplant them -- taking control of the multiple prisons where the Queen’s victims were housed -- and, in doing so, became the Knave of Hearts.”

“Indeed,” said the Queen. She hadn’t even seemed to notice that Chiara was starting to apply ginger paste to her injured leg. “But the tragedy of the whole affair was how deeply and sincerely the King and Queen loved each other, all the while. The King stood by the Queen, even in the height of her insanity, because the Kingdom at that time demanded lifetime appointments for its monarchs, and he knew that his Queen was suffering just as much herself, trapped in her own mind with no escape. Even when King Charles was given the opportunity to abandon his Queen to the Knave’s forces, he chose to die by her side.”

The Queen’s expression softened.

“Yes, perhaps their leadership wasn’t the best...but I’d like to think that in another life, perhaps they would’ve been able to retire and find happiness together, as ordinary people living quiet, unremarkable lives.”

Carewyn considered this. “...Mm, perhaps. But their people did deserve better. The Knave was wrong in his methods, and his cruelty once he had power was unforgivable...but he was right, to think they were unfit for leadership. That’s what Jacks and Aces are supposed to be for -- to provide that oversight, to check unfettered authority.”

“Indeed,” said the Queen. “And Kings, Queens, Jacks, and Aces being selected on merit as opposed to appointed by ancestry helps provide further oversight, from the people themselves.”

“Perhaps,” said Carewyn, “but only if the people’s voices can all be heard. People’s voices are often magnified by their connections, but those connections often come about because of privileges that not everyone has access to.”

“True,” said the Queen. “Equality is something we can all aspire to, I think. Declan likes to say that a King’s voice should only ever be as strong as one of his citizen’s.”

“Yes, but at the same time, not all voices should be given the same weight, in all situations,” Carewyn pressed on. “Although a King’s voice should be equal to those of his citizens when it comes to how much one should pay in taxes, we must listen to voices with relevant knowledge when it’s needed. When someone’s injured, a doctor’s voice is more important to hear than anyone else’s.”

“So you believe that sometimes one voice is more important than others?” asked the Queen.

"Not more important, just more helpful in dealing with the task at hand,” said Carewyn. “And hopefully, if education is promoted and that relevant knowledge is made more accessible, everyone’s voices will be better trained and better informed in the future.”

The Queen cocked her eyebrows with interest.

“I must say, Carewyn, if your singing is as passionate as your politics, I think I will quite enjoy it,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

She flourished her hand in something of an invitation.

“Come -- why don’t you sing me one of your favorite songs? I’m very interested to hear what you choose.”

The wrinkles in her eyes and smile were dusted with a strange kind of mischief that made her look younger than she had before.

Carewyn smiled. “...All right.”

And so she sang for the Queen as Chiara worked. The song Carewyn chose was one she’d sung quite a bit herself when she was alone, whenever she was most missing her mother and brother.

“I'm always chasing rainbows, Watching clouds drifting by -- My schemes are just like all my dreams, Ending in the sky...

Some fellows look and find the sunshine -- I always look and find the rain... Some fellows make a winning sometime -- I never even make a gain, believe me... I'm always chasing rainbows, Waiting to find a little bluebird in vain...”

By the time Carewyn was finished, the Queen’s treatment was finished. Even so, the Queen extended her hands to take hold of both of Carewyn’s.

“Thank you for your company, my dear,” she said warmly. “I hope you won’t mind if I call on you again, sometime soon?”

Carewyn was startled. “Oh -- ah...of course not, your Excellency.”

“Queen Rosalie will do,” said the Queen fondly. She glanced at Chiara. “That goes for you as well, Chiara. I hope you’ll be present for my next round of treatments, should I need them?”

“Of course, your Majesty,” Chiara said at once, flushing happily at the request.

“Wonderful.”

Queen Rosalie turned back to Carewyn, her dark eyes that bit more gentle.

“Until next we meet,” she said kindly. “I hope that that little bluebird you’ve been seeking comes to roost with you soon.”

Carewyn smiled and nodded politely. “Thank you.”

And as if an omen of good things to come, as she, Chiara, and Madam Pomfrey left the Palace and the dimming sunlight of the late afternoon bounced off the castle’s exterior windows, Carewyn could see dozens of tiny rainbows winking back at her.