Work Text:
9:45 Dragon
“Amelia, will you let me in?”
Amelia froze, a fork of spaghetti halfway to her mouth. She had expected Viago to arrive at some point. It was inevitable, really. The healers had finally let her leave their constant care and she had rushed back to her new apartment as quickly as the rickety wheelchair they had given her would go. She was quite sure one of them had been about to tell her off for the speed, but she just wanted to get away from it all. The horrible, exaggerated smell of artificial orange to try and cover up the smell of an infirmary (something it couldn't quite manage), the moans and curses from the other patients that she could hear through the walls of her private room and the vaguely pitying looks from everyone as she had repeatedly tried and failed to move her legs. But most importantly, she wanted a shower and food that tasted like it wasn't trying to kill you itself. “You can. It's open.”
As soon as the words had left her mouth, she knew what Viago's reaction would be. As expected, he entered the room with a scowl. “Have you suddenly forgotten all your training? There is a lock here for a reason.”
She nearly smiled at the waspish, sharp tone of his voice, so different from the patient and kind voices of the healers. “It's open because I knew you would appear at some point, and one of the healers wants to double check my medication so I just didn't want to have to keep unlocking the door.”
Viago frowned as she took another bite of spaghetti carbonara. “Laziness is no excuse for poor security. Especially not now. I made a point of checking the locks are not too high when I was putting the other things they said you needed in the apartment.”
Amelia fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course he had installed all the adaptations himself; there was no way he would have let anybody else apart from Teia enter the apartment. “No, but the fact that I may have broken this chair already, is I think.”
He frowned again and moved forward to look at the offending wheelchair. The wheels had begun to rattle alarmingly every time she moved. “You've only had it for a few days. And the specialist for making them is in Antiva City, so you need to wait. He was very apologetic when he realised quite who he was corresponding with, but it doesn't help.”
Viago had probably greatly enjoyed the opportunity to threaten somebody. She knew he had already had a massive argument with Caterina Dellamorte about her not acting quickly enough to deal with House Kortez, but he couldn't exactly threaten the First Talon. Especially not when he had turned up in her city with an unconscious and half dead Amelia in the carriage behind him. At least, that was how Teia described it. So now she had to get used to a body that didn't work like it was supposed to, in a city she had only been to a handful of times before.
“I'm more concerned about your leg than the chair. You've dropped something, something hot, I think.”
Amelia frowned and pushed herself away from the small table properly. “I don't think I have, I didn't feel-” There was a small piece of pancetta in the middle of her bare thigh (shorts had seemed like the best option to force her unresponsive legs into). The skin around it was bright red, which suggested that she had dropped it when it had been burning hot, likely when she had been flipping the meat in the frying pan to ensure it was cooked.
Amelia stared at her leg in disbelief. It didn't feel real. None of it did. Even as she struggled to complete basic things, there was a vague sense of unreality to everything. Especially when Viago, evidently growing impatient as her stare continued, bent down and slowly lifted the piece of meat off her leg to reveal a disturbingly large blister. She knew that she couldn't feel anything in her legs, knew that the wound in her back had severed the nerves below the very top of her thighs, but it still felt strange to look at the second degree burn on her leg and not feel the intense pain she knew she should.
A loud clap from Viago finally broke the stunned stare. “What?”
“I asked you a question. I won't keep repeating it. Do you need more elfroot? I know I said to stop because it can be addictive, but I know that infection isn't gone, and burns are always difficult to treat.”
Amelia flinched. She’d effectively been a moving infection for the past month, just one after another. She shrugged angrily. “I don't know, Viago, everything else hurts but I can't feel the massive fucking burn on my leg; so, you tell me if I need the elfroot!”
His ever-present frown deepened, but he still reached into the cupboard he had deliberately placed out of her reach. He placed the tiny bottle on the table in front of her. “Just drink half of it, and then we need to make use of the shower head to get running water over the burn."
She sighed loudly but did as she was told. She knew that she was pushing all his limits, but she just couldn't force herself to care tonight. She almost would have welcomed an argument anyway. Not that Viago would oblige. He had already decided that the kidnapping and the injury were his fault. After all, she had been targeted because she was his protégé and presumed heir, and that made it entirely his fault apparently. Regardless of the fact that Amelia had been so exhausted after returning from a contract that she had barely noticed the trap before it had been sprung, and that her attempt at escape had effectively caused the resulting injury. But as per usual he was very good at only listening to things he wanted to hear.
“Is that what my life is going to become now? Just one giant struggle after another and the constant realisation that I can't do the things I used to?”
While the frown remained in place, the look he gave her was both softer and more alarmed. “Of course not. You heard the healers. The first six months after the injury are key - you might regain some function that you thought was gone. And we will just have to make things work as we go along. You've always been quite good at that anyway. Approaching things from a different angle but getting the same results at the end.”
Amelia flinched. She hadn't been looking for a pep talk. She just wanted somebody to understand quite how lost and alone she felt. How it felt like everything she had ever known had changed in an instant and learning everything again suddenly seemed like the most difficult thing she could think of. Quite how terrified of everything she now was. "Why did you even bother saving me? I'm no use to the Crows like this. I'm no use to anyone. I won't walk again. I've nearly always got painful pins and needles in my lower back. And they told me this morning that this last infection caused permanent damage." Her voice cracked as she continued. “I'm just tired of waking up every day to find out something new that’s wrong with me.”
She swiped furiously at the tears that had rapidly traced their way down her cheeks almost without noticing. They would help nobody. Viago didn't do emotions. He normally just rolled his eyes and walked away from tears, with a cutting remark about foolishness (even when they were perfectly reasonable) but he simply crouched down in front of her chair and tentatively place a gloved hand on her shoulder.
The surprise of him being the one to initiate contact should have been enough to stop the tears. He normally went out of his way to avoid touching people. “It's not fair that you should suffer because of someone else’s decisions. That you should be in pain. Nothing about this is. But we've got you. I've got you. There are things that we can and will change to make easier or better. Or safer,” He glanced down at her leg again and slowly began to push the wheelchair towards the bathroom. “That will have to go both ways though, so while we will make the necessary changes, you will need to as well. For a while anyway. So, no frying pan. Just ask for help next time, don't struggle.”
Amelia scowled. She desperately wanted to defend herself. But she knew already that he wouldn't listen. Especially when her chest felt too tight and tears kept traitorously forming in her eyes. It hadn't felt like a struggle though. Making her favourite meal had been the only thing today that had not, and it had still gone wrong. The thought of asking for help with one of the activities that helped her relax made her blood run cold, as did the thought of asking for help with anything she'd struggled with since her injury. She would much rather keep struggling than admit to needing anything.
Amelia eventually managed to regain control of her breathing, not at all helped by his quiet answer to her earlier question. “I saved you because you are worth far more to m- to the Crows than just an assassin. We’ll just have to look for other things you can do."
She knew what happened to Crows when they were injured on the job, how they normally ended up as either the one trainer who was always hated by the fledglings or were stuck with the boring administration jobs that nobody wanted. She'd drink poison before that happened.
Viago seemed to know exactly what thoughts were going through her mind. He stepped round the chair and raised an eyebrow. “Don't do anything stupid. We've got plans for you, Teia and I. Especially when the healers say you can start physical therapy. I've been looking into self-defence from a wheelchair and Teia’s got a pool that you can use. I know you don't like to swim, but you don't need to use your legs very much and some of my research says it could be very beneficial.”
Amelia groaned loudly.
“You're late,” Viago announced sharply the instant she rolled into what he'd decided was now the main meeting room for the handful of de Riva Crows in Treviso. It had obviously been a library, but it was now also full of dark wood desks, armchairs and multiple neatly stacked and labelled boxes of seeds.
"Sorry." Not like there was much point in her being there anyway. This was evidently a contract meeting, and from the way one of the other Crows watched her with irritated exasperation, it had obviously been a while since there had been any contracts. Viago had ordered her to come last night before the healer had arrived. He'd managed to leave just before the woman had noticed why Amelia was sat on the sofa with her leg raised and had escaped the 10-minute lecture on how the capabilities of her body had changed, so her behaviour would have too as well. Which hadn't helped ease the ever-increasing detachment from everything around her. Or the feeling of failure that had been there since they'd stabbed her and she hadn't been able to get back up again.
Amelia had spent the night after the nurse left worrying about what her new capabilities even were and how they would fit with the Antivan Crows. She’d barely slept, woken up late and only managed to make it to the meeting at all by skipping breakfast and the hair care routine that according to Teia, her curly her desperately needed.
Viago frowned but turned to the other Crows sharply. He handed each of them a small dossier with a quiet "Don't do anything stupid" and the three Crows scattered: one back towards the apartments, one towards what looked like a poison laboratory and the other towards the large bookcases at the back of the room.
She was left sitting next to the white-haired fledgling that Viago had insisted on bringing from Salle. Amelia didn't think she had been conscious for much of the journey, but Azzurra’s voice hadn't been raised in complaint nearly as often as some of the others.
Viago looked at the two of them and took a deep breath. Amelia glanced at the elf again and turned to Viago with a frown and a rising sense of panic. "I won't-"
Viago shot her a scathing look and raised a hand. "Don't. I told you last night I had a plan. Azzurra’s part of it, but not as a student. As we are going to be in Treviso for a while, we need to start a new poison garden. I want you two to work together, you're easily the best two fledglings I have seen at botany," He paused briefly, a small, self-satisfied smirk on his face. "Amelia is ostensibly in charge, as that will be one of your main jobs once it's set up."
Amelia froze. She had always enjoyed being out in the gardens back at Salle, so the thought of being responsible for a brand-new one was quite incredible. Alarming yes, and a little intimidating but also an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the garden in Salle and to design it specifically to work for her. And she didn’t need to worry about being shut away inside, forced to do something she absolutely hated.
Viago's smirk widened as both she and Azzurra stared at him in disbelief. "I'm going to take your silence as a sign that this meets your high expectations. I will show you the space, set some rules and then leave you to plan. I have a meeting with one of the cuchillo houses here.”
He grabbed two identical keys of the table behind him and lead them towards a large, fenced area. “There's slightly more than a third of an acre here, which should be big enough. Theoretically. This soil is not good here, so focusing on that will be your first job. I know it will be time consuming and difficult, but we need to try and get as close to the poison garden in Salle as possible. Especially if travel around Antiva is going to become as difficult as I think it might.”
No pressure then. Azzurra frowned. "I know this part of the city isn't as likely to flood as some, but I assume that means it’s very wet,” She stopped for a moment, deep in thought. "We'll do raised beds. That'll help the soil and make the plants easier for Amelia to work with.”
“That should work. Amelia will not be able to help with any of the physical labour though, as she's not allowed to start therapy yet." He frowned in her direction, almost as if daring her to argue.
He needn't have bothered. Her back, already unhappy from the infection, had very loudly expressed its displeasure about going over grass. She wouldn't be doing much of the work in this working together then. She sighed.
Although she quite obviously tried not to, Azzurra flinched. Amelia couldn't blame her. That was a lot of work to leave the fledgling with. “Feel free to use any of the craftspeople in the city, but don't tell them what the raised beds are for, and do not let anyone into the garden. Or the estate,” He paused and then with the air of a man readying himself for a fight he turned towards Amelia. “Amelia you cannot leave the estate. It isn't safe.”
Amelia didn't move. She had expected him to come up with some paranoid reason why she couldn't leave. And while she thought she probably ought to argue more on principle, she was actually quite glad. She didn't feel able or ready yet to even think about exploring a new city.
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at her lack of argument but continued to speak. “These are currently the only 2 keys to the garden, I will get more made when I can find a locksmith I can trust” He handed them a key each and a large coin pouch. “This is for anything you need to buy. Along with the plans I want a full list tonight of every plant you think needs to be in the garden. And if they can be planted now or if they need to wait.”
“I'm going to need a lot more information if you want a complete plan with calculations. Especially if we need to work out exactly what we should add to the soil?” Amelia said quietly, as she tried to work out what she already knew about the area and the growing conditions.
Viago answered in detail as he pushed her back to her apartment (her earlier discomfort had been evident apparently and Azzurra had been told in detail where the medication was and exactly how much Amelia was allowed). By the time he'd left to meet house de Acutis, Amelia was sat at the table with a large piece of paper and a frankly offensive number of rulers in front of her, as sourdough toast cooled on the grill behind her. Azzurra had already started work on the list of plants needed, obviously keen to avoid the calculations of the ratio of seaweed to soil needed to improve soil nutrition.
"I think I'm going to need a few different lists. There is a lot of things I want to add to the garden, but I'm not quite sure how we can. I think we need trees, I've just finished reading about one that makes seeds that interfere with your heartbeat, but I can't see how we are going to get them here."
Amelia shrugged. She hadn't been able to just sit and read about botany for years. Although, she supposed she now had nothing but time. "You'd be surprised how many people have poisonous things in their garden without realising it, but I'm sure Viago could think of something if he wants them. Would be much easier to smuggle them into Treviso too."
Azzurra stared at her. Amelia smiled and continued. "The Crows have a much tighter control on trade here. That's why some things are probably easier to get here than they are anywhere else." She caught a glimpse of the large pile of chocolate that according to Viago had started to appear in her apartment like mould not long after they had arrived in Treviso. “Like chocolate. It’s much easier to get in Antiva and Treviso because the Crows keep a tight leash on it. It's much more difficult to get when you must leave on a contract. Take it with you if you want any while you go. I've made that mistake too many times to forget it now."
Azzurra nodded, her eyes wide at the thought. Amelia nearly laughed, Viago had tried to justify his use of chocolate as a reward to avoid her being as argumentative as Amelia. It seemed to have worked, but with a minor side effect. A side effect that was now becoming evident as she noticed that Azzurra's eyes kept wandering to the large pile of chocolate.
“You're welcome to look through it to find the best thing to make yourself a cup of cioccolata calda if you want. It's mostly dark, but I think there might be a few bars with ginger or cinnamon if you would like?”
Azzurra blushed and grinned as she started to look through the chocolate. “Well, now I'm definitely going to enjoy setting up this garden with you.”
Amelia smiled softly as the mage picked up a bar and moved towards the kitchen to find the grater. She was sure it was going to be a challenge for the both of them, but she supposed it could only help to have something separate to work on while she tried to find a way forward in this new broken body. Especially if it meant that she could still be of some use.