Jane
Jane Seymour has a temper.
She’s always had it. She was simply good at hiding it, keeping it at bay.
Jane had to, as Henry’s wife.
So her temper was not very well known. She was known as the docile one. The healer. The one who was Henry’s favorite and gave him a son.
She knew how to manage it for minor things. Breathing exercises and other such methods. Walks through nature did wonders for her mental state, be it anxiety or that temper.
But there were cases where Jane’s temper could not be contained.
One of the worst things you could do was hurt one of the queens. Especially Anna.
You wouldn’t think that Jane was one of the more protective queens, but she was. A mother bear, they called her with smiles. Anna, her wife, adored the protective nature, but she definitely worried over Jane’s temper blinding her.
And eventually, it did.
A group of bandits had taken over a town. Forcing the townspeople to pay rent and travelers to pay a fee to get through.
So the queens decided to give the town an anonymous gift by getting rid of the bandits. They couldn’t simply leave the town to fend for themselves (and that was the story for every single town they saved across their journey. They simply couldn’t abandon them like that. This was their people, whether they were former queens or not.)
The bandits were easily found in a castle-like building, having taken it over as a base of operations.
Infiltration had been a success, the queens defeating bandit after bandit until they reached the large, former throne room where the leader and a large group of his bandits waited.
Cathy was hitting two bandits with a wave of ice and whipping to face the others. “We have to take out the leader!” Shadow nodded her agreement before swiftly moving Cathy away from an attack.
“Trying—!” Kat cut herself off, playing a melody that sent the charging bandit to the floor, blinded by a flash of light.
“We’ll get there eventually!” Catalina told them, striking down another with a spell granted by her worshiped god.
“Where did Anna go?!” Jane called, pulling her rapier back from where she had struck another bandit.
“Over there!”
Jane spotted Anna, rushing towards the leader, standing on the platform that once held a throne. The bandit smirked at the charging queen and Jane suddenly felt a sense of dread.
The next few moments passed as a blur.
Anna raced towards him, axe raised.
But the bandit leader ducked to the side. Jane cried out for Anna to move upon seeing a glint of metal, but it was too late.
The dagger plunged into the right side of Anna’s stomach. The axe went toppling from her hands and the barbarian stumbled backwards as it was pulled back out.
Time seemed to slow and Jane didn’t see if her wife hit the floor. Her vision went red and she could feel her body leaping forward, rapier at the ready.
Jane always did have a temper.
The others’ voices were faint in her ears as they cried out for both Anna and Jane. The bandit leader was laughing, if anything that fueled Jane’s rage further.
It was mid-leap that things went wrong.
Jane saw a bright flash from the corner of her eyes that washed over her vision, drowning out the blind rage. Then, she heard a deafening ‘BOOM!’ directly in her sensitive ears. That part only hurt for half a second before she felt an accompanying burning sensation swarming up her left side almost instantly.
And then, everything went black.
~~||~~||~~
The explosion was a big one.
The queens were all covering their ears and shielding their eyes, using spells and leaping away. When the smoke faded, Jane wasn’t there, now somewhere among the expanse of rubble on the floor.
There was a moment of shocked silence, everyone stunned.
And then, the bandit leader began to laugh. A sickening laugh that showed no remorse for what just happened.
Anna was still on the floor, her hand weakly holding her stab wound as she stared where Jane had once been. Her eyes began to scan the floor, her face pale.
And then, just as Jane did, Anna snapped. She lunged up from her spot on the floor.
Despite having been stabbed, her fury pushed her upwards and she grabbed onto the bandit and flung him to the floor with a bellow of rage. She pinned him to the floor and began to punch him in the face.
After several strikes, Anna pulled back, red still tinting the corners of her vision as she pulled him up slightly by the collar.
“It looks like… the rest of the bombs didn’t activate… only one...” The leader coughed, giving Anna a bloody grin. “Tragic.”
Anna didn’t give him another word, instead slamming his head back against the floor, knocking him out cold (if it did more, Anna couldn’t find herself caring).
She scrambled over to where Jane had stood. The other queens were rushing over as well. It took a moment for Anna to find Jane but she did.
She lunged to her wife’s side, even with the crimson blood running down from her wound.
Luckily, Jane wasn’t completely under the rubble. She was simply stuck under some wood and stone debris. It was also extremely lucky that her lower half wasn’t crushed. There were many cuts and bruises across her body, one particularly bad on her head.
“Anna, sit down!” Catalina snapped, rushing over even faster as the barbarian began to try and lift some of the rubble, even with the blood rushing from her stab wound.
Anna rounded on her, a fury in her eyes. “Sit down?! That’s my wife!”
Catalina remained calm. “I know. But she’s our family too and you just got stabbed. Let me get her out of the rubble. You are going to sit down and let Cathy or Kat heal you.”
Anna’s mouth opened to protest, even as she swayed slightly. Catalina swiftly continued. “You can sit right over there where you can see us, and I’ll bring Jane over when she’s out, okay? But you’re injured too.”
Anna stares for a short moment before inhaling sharply, glancing back at Jane. “I… alright… okay.”
Catalina nodded. “Good.” And then she was swiftly moving past Anna to pull away the rubble and free Jane from the wreckage.
Anna could only stare at Jane as the others worked around her. Cathy was healing the stab wound, Kat was buzzing between both groups, a healing melody on the edge of her lips, and Catalina was getting rid of the last of the rubble.
The paladin lifted the unconscious cleric up and made her way over to Anna and Cathy, gently laying her on the floor. Anna was swiftly by her side, cupping Jane’s cheek and looking her over.
“Help me get her armor off.” Catalina said, already beginning to do so. Anna was quickly complying, Kat and Cathy next to them as well taking off the leg parts and the boots.
They quickly found out what wasn’t so lucky. The burn.
The bomb had been more to her left. The clothes under her bits of armor were ripped, tattered and burned almost completely. Upon taking off the silver and white armor, the bloodied burn was completely revealed.
They had already seen bits of it from where it stretched up the left side of her neck and on the left side of her jaw along with her left arm. But it traveled all the way down that side and a little of her front left.
Anna grit her teeth at the sight, tears beginning to gather in her eyes as she took in the bloodied burn.
Cathy and Kat were talking but Anna couldn't hear them. Her mind was stuck in the past.
The past of when she first found Jane.
She had seen the carriage go over the cliff. Anna immediately had moved to check for survivors, her hopes incredibly low. There had been only one person in the wreckage, Jane.
For a moment back then, taking in the bloodied woman and how wounded she was, Anna thought she had been dead. She wasn’t.
This sight was terrifyingly similar.
So Anna found her trembling fingers searching for a pulse. She was muttering to herself as she did, telling Jane to stay alive, telling herself to save her. She waited with baited breath.
She could feel the pulse. Faint but there.
Anna sagged with visible relief, the exhaustion of everything finally hitting her alongside that relief. Catalina sat next to her now. She noted how Anna didn’t let go of Jane’s wrist, still feeling her pulse, and Catalina didn’t try to stop her.
“Cathy and Kat are about to use a healing spell.” Catalina alerted her. Anna nodded, untensing slightly at the news.
“Can they save her?”
“She’ll be alright. This… this could have been much worse, Anna.” Catalina admitted.
“I know.”
“You’re remembering the carriage?”
“... Yeah.”
Catalina nodded to herself. “I understand… I’m just as worried about you as I am Jane.” Catalina glances at something and let out a small laugh, drawing Anna’s full attention. “It seems someone else is too.”
Shadow was frowning up at her.
Anna chuckled. “Hello, Shadow.”
Shadow smiled for a small second before glancing to Jane and then back to her, tilting her head, the frown having returned.
Anna sighed. “I dunno, Schatten.”
“That’s okay. She’s going to be okay.” Catalina said, Shadow nodding eagerly.
Anna didn’t offer another response as Kat and Cathy began to each use a healing spell. The angry burn faded to something much more manageable, but the raised skin showed that a scar would be left behind. The cuts and bruises faded and closed, all that was left would be to clean off the blood and deal with a possible concussion.
There wasn’t much more they could do after that.
So, Anna gently picked up Jane and the group headed back to the town.
The town was filled with an obvious sense of relief now that the bandits were dealt with, the news reaching rather quickly. None of them knew that the queens were their heroes.
So it had been easy to avoid the festivities.
They went to an inn, Anna carrying Jane even with how exhausted she was. The others were close, ready to catch the both of them with Shadow keeping guard.
They rented a room and laid Jane in the bed and arranged for who would take the other bed and who would sleep on the floor. Anna was out of the discussion, sleeping by Jane’s side.
All of them slept easily, knowing Jane was safe now and that Shadow would wake them if she needed to.
They rested. They were safe.
~~||~~||~~
Jane blinked open her eyes. She was laying in a bed.
She was disoriented, confused. What had happened? She remembered… fighting the bandits…
Anna!
Jane sat up and yelped upon feeling a sting jolt up her side. It less hurt, and more caught her off guard.
She was out of her armor and in regular clothes. She pulled her shirt away slightly, it took a long moment of trying to grab onto her shirt, her muscles weak and also her coordination off.
Bandages were wrapped around her body but she could faintly see the edge of a burn scar poking out further down her thigh and tracing a shaking and unsteady finger over her jaw showed the same raised skin tissue.
The explosion.
Jane tried to take a mental category of her injuries but her mind felt fogged. Her ears were ringing, nausea swam in her stomach, and she felt confused and simply tired.
She didn’t know how long she sat there, staring at the bandages. It was only a few seconds.
A hand on her arm made her flinch and her head to whip around. Kat stood there, and Jane couldn’t see the others.
(Kat had been frowning, repeating Jane’s name as the woman continued to look at the scar. Could Jane not hear her?)
Kat’s mouth was opening. She was speaking. But not a word was coming out of her mouth. Jane squinted out of confusion (and also because of her vision blurring slightly).
“Kat…” Jane’s voice was rasped and slurred, but quickly rose almost to the point of yelling. “Love, you’ll have to speak louder than that.” Jane frowned. Was it just her or could she not hear her own voice?
There was a long moment of the two simply staring at each other, Jane rather dizzily. Then, Jane felt hands rest on her shoulders, carefully nudging her.
Kat was pushing her back to lay down again. Did she want her to go back to sleep? Sleep sounded rather good right now...
Kat gently guided Jane to lay back down and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her fall back asleep. Something wasn’t right, and Kat couldn’t help but worry.
When the others returned later, they found Kat, staring in worry at Jane.
“Is something wrong?” Cathy asked, stepping over to her friend.
“Jane woke up.”
Everyone stood a little straighter, eyes widening with happiness. “How was she?” Anna asked eagerly, moving over to sit on the edge of Jane’s bed.
“She…” Kat bit her lip, conflict in her gaze. “She was disoriented…”
Catalina nodded. “That might be the concussion.”
“I think so… but she also couldn’t hear me.”
“Hear you?” Anna asked, a frown on her face. Shadow had stretched herself to the wall, watching Kat with a frown of her own, head tilted slightly.
“Like… I called her name several times and she couldn’t hear me. She was talking loud and she kept saying she couldn’t hear me even when I was talking to her.”
Glances were shared and Anna anxiously took hold of Jane’s hand, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles and the wedding band.
“Maybe it’s just the concussion?” Cathy suggested, mostly to herself. But all of them remembered the deafening bang that had accompanied the explosion.
“I hope so.”
They all had a sinking feeling it wasn’t.
The next time, a few hours later, Jane was much more oriented. Things were less blurred and her ears had stopped ringing, but that nausea was still present along with an aching headache and a dizzy feeling.
This time, Jane remembered the explosion in full. The startling flash, the accompanying noise.
She sat up abruptly again with a gasp, looking down to the bandages again. She frowned at them and the accompanying, stinging sensation.
A hand rested on her shoulder and just like with Kat, Jane jolted. Anna was next to her and Jane softened immediately.
“Anna?”
Her wife smiled softly at her. Her lips moved and Jane saw her say ‘—okay?’ But she didn’t hear her.
Jane paused again, staring wide eyed. “Anna, I can’t hear you.”
And everyone froze. Anna was staring just as stunned. The other queens had paused in their tracks from where they had been walking over.
It took a moment but then Cathy carefully passed her notebook and pen over to Anna, saying something.
Anna nodded and was writing something down, a determination in her eyes, before passing it to Jane.
It took Jane a moment to read it, the concussion not helping read Anna’s already shaky handwriting.
‘You’re going to be okay, promise.’
Jane stares at it for a moment, swallowing a sob trapped in her throat. That broke the dam and that trapped sob came back up along with more, leading to Jane crying harshly as she slowly lowered the journal.
(The others began to talk. Their fear was confirmed. But they would figure out a way. They knew they would. Perhaps Jane’s hearing would come back. Even if it didn’t they would still support her. They would figure it out.)
Jane was simply staring at the floor, vision blurred by the rushing tears. She was clearly in shock, still processing this new information.
And then, she slowly felt arms circle around her, pulling her into someone’s lap. Jane let out a yelp and froze for a moment. She relaxed upon seeing a glint of red, pressing herself further into the embrace, shifting so she could press her face against the crook of Anna’s neck.
She felt hands gently smooth out her hair, Anna. Kat was curled up to the both of them, Cathy at her side. Catalina was holding Jane’s hand. And Jane could feel a comforting, cold touch she knew belonged to Shadow.
They whispered words she couldn’t hear.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Everything will be okay.”
~~||~~||~~
It was now several days later and Jane still couldn’t hear. She was completely deaf.
Her burn had healed for the most part, but there would for sure be a scar left behind, tracing down her left side, left arm, and a little bit on her neck and jaw. Now, it was mostly a dull sting that Jane would simply put an ointment on or let Cathy and Kat use small healing spells on.
But she still couldn’t hear.
It was strange to get used to. Going from hearing better than a human to hearing nothing.
Some people dealt with it all of their lives. Some people never dealt with it. But Jane was able to hear for most of her life and suddenly she was thrown headfirst into deafness.
It was a struggle, that was for sure. To lose an ability of communication you had almost your entire life.
It was also hard to read lips. Incredibly hard. So for the most part, that was out.
Jane found herself hoping and praying to the gods for her hearing to heal. After all, what could she do on a dangerous quest like this one while deaf?
Nothing.
(Or so she assumed the answer to be.)
The others would be protecting her for the rest of it, as far as Jane knew. And there were so many things that could go wrong.
Jane’s anxiety came back full force.
So many ‘what if’s’ spun in her brain that it hurt sometimes.
What if her hearing never came back? What if she couldn’t help on the quest? What if everything only went downhill from here?
Jane tried her best to sound it out, but it didn’t work.
In the past few days, Jane found herself spending more time with Shadow. After all… the cursed woman was a constant in this situation.
Jane hated to see it that way, but well… it was true.
Shadow already couldn’t speak.
Jane had already gotten used to one sided communication at this point. So even if Jane kept silent or spoke louder than necessary (to the others, at any rate, Jane couldn’t hear herself, which was the root of the ‘problem’), she could usually be found with Shadow, the cursed woman communicating as normal with Jane giving her own replies.
And that was what she was doing right now.
They had set up camp for the night, the other queens chatting making preparations while Jane sat with Shadow, Cathy sitting next to them.
Things had been what, over the past few days, became normal. But then, Jane swore she heard something.
“... worried.”
Jane froze, eyes wide. Was… was her mind playing tricks?
“... do we do?”
That… that wasn’t her thoughts! Those were voices!
Kat was speaking now and Jane eagerly strained her ears. “I guess we just hope it comes back eventually.”
It was faint, almost a whisper… but… Jane could hear them! She was actually hearing them!
“Anna.”
By the gods, she could even hear herself!
Her wife turned to her instantly, not taken aback by the loudness of her voice and giving her a smile. “Yes, Liebling?”
Jane felt a gleeful smile spread across her lips and her eyes became teary. Anna immediately grew concerned, leaning forward to gently take hold of Jane’s arms. “Are you alright?” She asked, mostly mouthing the words.
Jane heard a sob bubble from her throat and she leaned forward to cup Anna’s cheeks. “Talk again. Talk again, please.” Her words came out almost desperate but Jane couldn’t bring herself to care.
Anna paused for a moment. And then, the realization clicked in her mind. “Holy shit. Jane, Liebling, can you—?!”
“I can!” Jane let out a laugh through her tears. “I can, Anna!”
Both of them fell into a bliss, the excited chatter and cheers of the other queens not breaking through that. Anna stood and pulled Jane up into a hug, twirling her around.
Jane laughed as they spun for a few seconds. Upon stopping, the elf pressed her head forward against her lover’s and the two closed their eyes.
“I can hear you… I love you…”
“I love you too, Liebling…”
“I can’t hear much, it all sounds like a faint whisper…”
“That’s okay, it’s okay. And hey… even if you couldn’t hear me for the rest of our lives I still would love you.”
“I know…”
No matter how little she could hear right now, it was still something. And Jane found herself blissful as she remained in Anna’s arms, the others swiftly joining them.
~~||~~||~~
Jane went on a walk.
She needed to step away from the others for a little bit, take some time for herself and think over everything. It had been hard to convince the others to let her go, but it had been easier now that her hearing was beginning to come back.
So Jane walked through the forest. Her elvish connection with nature still present.
(Over the past few centuries, elves had begun to live among humans, rising in the ranks as well. Even then, most of those elves maintained their connection with nature, commonly going back to their forest roots. Some abandoned that connection completely, such as Jane’s family along with Anne and Kat’s. Jane herself never did, and neither did Kat.)
Jane took in the trees and the fresh air. She couldn’t hear the animals as well as she used to, but it was alright. Simply seeing it all was still calming.
For Jane, it felt like the walk spanned hours, not out of boredom, but calmness. And she wanted to stay there forever, being perfectly honest.
(Jane couldn’t hear the growl coming from within the giant, thick plantlife around her. Nor the rushing footsteps racing frantically towards her.)
Usually, such silence in nature would be disturbing, and it really was for Jane. But then her brain would remind her about her hearing loss, exactly why it was all so quiet.
“MOVE!”
Jane yelled as someone slammed into her from the side, sending both of them to the ground. There was a roar and Jane could hear other people yelling as well.
After a split second of dizziness, Jane brought her head up to take in the scene.
Anna was above her, having been the one who tackled her. She was calling out for someone to do something but Jane couldn’t fully register what exactly had been said between her hearing and especially the thunderous roar that shook the clearing.
And that was when Jane saw exactly what had attacked her.
A beast with a lion’s body. Large dragon wings stretched from its back and into the air, flaring with anger. A spiked tail lashed back and forth. A human-like head with a mane stared back at her.
A manticore.
Jane paled at the sight. Manticores were deadly. In fact, they were known for feeding on humans especially. The beast was eyeing all of them, human and elf, hungrily.
And Jane realized exactly what kind of fate Anna had just rescued her from. That thought brought another… she hadn’t heard it coming.
Usually, she was one of the first to hear a beast coming along with Kat. She should have heard this monster trying to sneak up on her.
But she hadn’t.
She hadn’t heard it and now everyone was in danger. Jane felt she had caused this all because of one explosion.
Jane didn’t have time to think any further on it. She had to help the others all that she could.
(It hurt that they tried to protect her a little more than necessary. But Jane supposed she was also still injured from the explosion’s burn.)
As the light finally left the Manticore’s eyes and the queens around her let out breaths of relief, Jane could only join for a second before getting caught up in her anxious thoughts once again. Only now they were amplified.
They played on repeat.
Through the queens checking on her. Through heading back to camp. Through eating and settling in through the night. Through the night while she couldn’t sleep.
Before that incident, Jane had already been anxious over all of this.
She had already worried over everything that could go wrong with her new found hearing loss. Yes, she had regained some of it, she had a bit of hope. But that still didn’t stop every single thing that could go wrong.
(Ever since Henry, she began to look at the what if’s a bit too closely. Her anxiety only increased from there.)
What if she couldn’t hear another queen or a townsperson crying out for help. What if she couldn’t hear another queen requesting assistance in an attack or giving an order.
And being unable to hear the enemy. As showcased by the Manticore… well that one came true.
Her fears had just been proven to her.
And if that fear being proven meant the others could be proven, it meant this could all end in someone’s death.
And Jane hated this.
She hated the anxiety. She hated the fear. She hated the frustration. Most of all she hated her status as hard of hearing.
After all, that was the key point of all of this.
If she hadn’t let her temper her the better of her. If she hadn’t gotten caught up in that explosion. If she hadn’t lost most of her hearing, everything would be okay.
(Not really. Henry was still stronger than ever. They were still facing danger every day. But one thing would be okay.)
But she couldn’t fix it.
She was now stuck, holding the others back. She couldn’t hear what used to be regular voices as much more than a whisper. She was filled with anxiety and frustration with no way to release it.
(Several times, Jane considered abandoning the quest. Vanishing and going off to live in a town or a quaint cabin in the woods with nature. But she couldn’t bring herself to do that to her queens, her family, and definitely not her wife.)
And Jane didn’t know what to do anymore.
~~||~~||~~
Jane still treasured the happy moments.
No matter how little of the conversation she gathers or understands, she always treasured them. It was time with her queens, who were more family than anyone had ever been. She wanted to be happy for them, even if she wasn’t happy for herself.
She smiled and laughed along. Hiding frowns when she misses a crucial sentence or if a crowd washes away the other queens’ words.
So when there was an announcement of a fireworks show, Jane was actually rather excited.
The other queens looked excited or amused as well. Jane could remember when she was queen, the times the kingdom would hold a firework show. It had always looked so beautiful, the spark of colors in the night sky.
None of the queens could wait!
There was an excited flurry of chatter as the group found spots in the town’s square, awaiting the show. The crowd was catering as well and Jane’s mood dipped slightly as she was forced to strain even further to listen to her companions’ words.
But she was still excited for the show, she wasn’t about to let this sour the experience.
The first sparks, green, lit up the night sky with a resounding, ‘boom!’ The crowd let out gasps of awe and five of the queens were smiling happily as the show began. One wasn’t.
Right where she sat, Jane went still. She went rigid, sitting up straighter.
Even with her lower hearing, that boom still sounded so loud. Loud like a carriage hitting the ground (she had blacked out before it happened, but her mind simply loved to fill in blanks like that). Loud like an explosion right next to her—
“...—ne… Jane… Jane?”
Jane blinked as the world came back into focus. When had it gone out of focus? She was still sitting straight up, but her hands had come up to cover her ears. Ah, when had she started to hyperventilate?
Anna was looking at her, pure concern in her eyes. The other queens were there as well, worry in everyone’s gazes. None of the civilians around them seemed to notice.
Another ‘boom!’ rang through the air and Jane couldn’t stop the yelp that escaped her lips. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face, hands still clasped over her ears. A smaller boom led to a whimper escaping her lips, her body trembling.
The explosion right next to her. The carriage crashing to the earth.
She gasped for breath, faintly hearing a voice but not registering their question. Did they even ask a question?
There was a moment of conversation that sounded so blurred and fogged, the nausea and panic attack making it sound so distant, the hands over her ears only increasing the effect.
Jane practically squeaked as she was pulled up into someone’s arms, into a bridal carry. She didn’t open her eyes or unicover her ears but the arms and the body felt so warm and like safety and home that she couldn’t help but press further into them.
Time didn’t seem to pass before Jane felt herself being placed on something soft. The warm body backing away from her. Jane curled back into a ball, head pressed against her knees as her body wracked with sobs and trembled and she just wished that person would come back.
A hand rested on her knee and Jane flinched. A voice calmly called her name and Jane slowly peeked up.
Anna.
“Hello, Liebling.” Anna said softly, but loud enough for Jane to hear. “Can you breathe with me?”
Jane shook her head but Anna gently spoke again. “Can you please try, Liebling? We’re all very worried about you.”
Jane’s gaze flickered around the room in half a second, barely taking in the other queens as she continued to hyperventilate. She slowly nodded and Anna’s smile never faded.
For several more minutes, Anna guided her through the breathing exercises, not letting go of her hands.
“Are you okay now?” Anna asked gently, noting how Jane closed her eyes and leaned back with a deep breath.
Jane nodded slowly. “I think so… we’re in an inn?”
“That’s right.” Anna gave her a smile. “We were watching the fireworks.”
Jane flinched and the mood became tense again. Anna moves to sit next to Jane, but didn’t touch her, wanting to let Jane come to her first if she was still in a panic.
“Do you feel better, Paloma?” Catalina asked from where she sat in a chair by the window. Outside, the fireworks were still going, bright flashes in the air. But Jane couldn’t hear them.
For a moment, her heart sank. Was her hearing gone again? But then again, she could hear the queens. Cathy noticed her confused look.
“I used a sound cancelling spell on the room.” The wizard said softly. “It was the noise, yes?”
Jane blinked, her body was still shaking. She tried to open her mouth to speak but nothing would come out still.
“You want to know how we knew, Liebling?” Anna asked gently, still next to Jane but not yet touching. Jane slowly nodded.
Catalina pursed her lips. “The explosion’s noise…”
“We didn’t really know what else it could be.” Kat explained. “So Cathy used the spell as a precaution.”
Jane looked at Cathy. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Cathy responded with a small smile.
“I’m just happy you’re feeling better. I’m sorry we dragged you to the fireworks.” Anna apologized.
“No!” Jane said quickly. “I wanted to go. I didn’t know I would panic like that…”
“Well, we’ll keep this trigger in mind for the future. Alright, Jane?” Catalina asked softly.
Jane frowned at her. “I don’t want to hold everyone back…”
“You wouldn’t do that at all.” Kat was the one who objected. “Safety first! Mental safety included.”
Jane stared at the others for a moment before slowly nodding. “Alright. Okay.”
Everyone smiled at her.
“I’ll keep the sound cancelling spell up.” Cathy told Jane before pulling out a book from her bag and settling on the bed. Shadow eagerly began to read over her shoulder. Kat joined Catalina by the window, watching the fireworks that were soon to come to an end.
Jane turned back to Anna and opened her arms. Anna lit up, quickly pulling Jane up into an embrace.
And that was the way they sat for the rest of the night.
As Jane drifted off, she hummed into Anna’s neck. “Thank you.”
“Of course, Liebling.”
~~||~~||~~
Anna was taking her on a date.
Usually Jane loved dates. It gave them an excuse to be happy and have some alone time from the others when they needed it. It was a get away from the quest, even if just for a few moments.
But today… she simply wasn’t in the best mindspace for it.
Her brain was still wrapped up in her anxiety and frustration. Her hearing was getting a little better but everything was still so quiet, and it was so frustrating!
And also anxiety inducing… her brain still kept thinking of everything that could go wrong!
But still, she tried her best to be happy. To show love for what Anna was doing taking her on this date.
You won’t cry, Jane told herself. You will not cry and you will enjoy this time with your wife. She wants to see you happy so be happy.
Gods, she loved her wife.
Anna took her on a walk through the town at first, the married couple holding hands as they looked over market stalls and shops.
Jane hid a wince every time something Anna said was muffled by the crowd around them.
Then they sat down in a restaurant, sharing a meal.
The respite from the crowd let Jane take a breath of relief and enjoy the time with Anna as the two talked about anything.
Then they exited the town, not going far. Anna wanted to take Jane on one of those nature walks and Jane felt her heart swell. This was something they commonly did together.
They were sitting together now, in a clearing and looking up at the orange sky above them. Things were calm. They had been pointing out constellations but had fallen into silence.
It was relaxed.
But Jane’s mind soon wrapped itself up in her worries. And she couldn’t stop the words that slipped from her mouth.
“Anna?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
At that, Anne turned to look at her fully, a frown etched on her features. “Sorry? What for?”
“I…” Jane’s resolve shattered. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…!”
Anna froze for a moment but was swiftly by Jane’s side as tears began to fall down her wife’s cheeks. “Liebling. It’s okay… it’s okay… there’s nothing to be sorry for. What are you sorry for, Jane?” Anna asked in that familiar gentle voice that worked to calm Jane almost immediately.
“My… my hearing…” Jane sobbed out.
“Your…?” Anna gave her a sad stare. “Oh, Liebling, there is absolutely nothing to apologize about.”
“But—!”
“Liebling. There’s no need to be sorry.” Anna leaned forward, holding Jane’s cheeks. “For one thing, it was an accident, all of it that bandit’s fault. For another, you are perfect the way you are. Your hearing doesn’t define you in my eyes.”
Jane opened her mouth to speak. But Anna continued. “And I would say the same thing if you were deaf all your life. If you were completely deaf right now, too.”
Jane could only stare at her.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Anna repeated, rubbing circles into Jane’s cheeks with her thumbs.
Jane couldn’t stop the tears that escaped her as she leaned further into the touch. Anna was quickly gathering her fully into her arms. The two didn’t know how long they sat there, but they were in their own world.
Jane still couldn’t understand how she had won the heart of such an amazing woman…
Eventually, Jane’s crying calmed and they backed up to face each other.
“Are you okay now?” Anna asked. “Your hearing doesn’t make you any less than the rest of us, you know that right?”
“I know... I don’t want to talk about it anymore… please?” Jane asked, now looking firmly to the ground.
Anna watched her for a moment before nodding slowly. “Alright… but please know that I’m here. I will always be here.”
“... I know.”
~~||~~||~~
Jane was crying
The thing was, Jane wasn’t quite sure why she was crying.
The group had been simply sitting in camp. Kat and Shadow were both at Cathy’s sides, reading over a book and laughing every so often. Catalina and Anna were talking and chuckling.
And Jane had been cooking the food when she had simply just… started to cry.
All of that anxiety had finally gotten to her.
But just as soon as she had started crying, the other queens jumped in, quick to help one of their own.
Kat and Anna sat on either side of her. Cathy was pulling the food from the fire, setting it aside for later. Shadow was simply watching Jane, worry clear. Catalina also stood, watching Jane with a calculating gaze.
“What’s wrong, Jane?” Kat asked gently, reaching a hand over to wipe away Jane’s tears.
“I’m sorry.”
Anna paused, recognizing that apology. “Liebling—!”
“No!” Jane shook her head. “I’m so sorry! It feels like my hearing is dragging you all down!”
“Why do you say that, Jane?” Cathy asked carefully, now next to them.
“Because it’s true… I’m no use on this quest now. Not with my hearing mostly gone.”
There was an immediate reaction. Everyone except Catalina began to object to Jane’s statement.
“Queens!” Catalina finally called.
The group stopped, looking to Catalina. The paladin kept her eye on Jane, moving so she was kneeling in front of the elf.
“Paloma, do you remember…” Catalina trailed off for a moment, a distant look in her eyes before she snapped herself back. “What you told me after the flogging?”
Jane stares. It was an unspoken rule that no one brought up the flogging unless Catalina did first or it was absolutely necessary. And both of those were extremely rare.
Catalina continued, the silence not deterring her. “No matter how many wounds you have. No matter how many scars you get from this. No matter how many tears you shed.” She met Jane’s eyes, just as the woman had done with her back then. “We will never toss you aside.”
Jane stared at her for a long moment, inhaling deeply before shaking her head.
“It’s not just that!” Jane managed to get out. “Yes, I fear that… but… but…”
“Breathe, Jane…” Cathy murmured from somewhere next to her and Kat and Anna both pressed a little closer to her, giving her a comforting warmth.
Jane kept her eyes on Catalina but her breathing soon calmed slightly. “What if something goes wrong? What if one of you cries for help but I can’t hear you? What if I get lost and can’t find any of you because I can’t hear you? What if I lose all my hearing again and I can’t hear you or… or anything?! What if… what…”
“It’s okay, Liebling.” Anna soothed, wrapping an arm around her. “Breath for me, okay?”
Catalina continued as Jane began to take shuddered, deep breaths. “I don’t know what it feels like… but I’m sure it hurts, hmmm?”
Jane numbly nodded, leaning further into Anna’s side and keeping her eyes on Catalina.
Catalina reached out and gently took Jane’s hands. “Jane… being hard of hearing, or even deaf, makes you no less capable. I promise. Your fears and anxiety are valid ones, for sure. But I know you’ll always figure out a way. You’ll always be there to save us if we need it. Just like we’ll be there for you.”
Jane stared at her for a long moment. Then, she was launching from Anna and Kat’s arms into Catalina’s. The paladin welcomed her, rubbing her back and whispering soothing reassurances. The others remain quiet but gathered in a huddle with the two, sharing their warmth and care.
Eventually, the group parted slightly. Everyone looked at Jane and the cleric shrunk slightly under the stares.
“Jane, please, come to us more. For your anxiety or just to talk. We’ll be there.” Kat stated.
“I made a vow, of course I’ll be there!” Anna tried to joke, followed by chuckles and giggles from the group.
“What do you think we can do to help, Jane?” Cathy asked, giving Jane a small smile.
Honestly, Jane didn’t know what they could do. But she managed to muster a response.
“Just… please be there? And understand?” She asked. That was all she really wanted from them right now.
“We’ll always be here, mum.” Kat said clearly, wrapping her arms around the woman.
“We’re not going anywhere.”
~~||~~||~~
And slowly, Jane became more confident. She began to accept her hearing the way it was now.
She was okay, she was going to be okay.
The other queens did everything they could to support her. Be it just being there, talking to her, helping her with the anxiety, or helping Jane adjust to her new hearing.
They were just there.
But them being there didn’t magically solve everything. As much as Jane wished it did.
Her anxiety still tugged at her mind. People still have quick glances to her newfound burn scar. People still had to yell sometimes to grab her attention.
She still had hearing loss.
It was still hard to communicate in large crowds, for instance. Over a distance was rather hard too.
Things like that still bothered Jane.
(And that ever looming fear of what if she lost all of her hearing again. If the world went silent.)
Unknown to her, the other queens had noticed, and it was a group of three that found a solution to help with that bit of her anxiety.
“Jane!”
The cleric looked up as a voice came into her hearing. Kat and Cathy were walking over, Shadow with them as well and as they came over, Jane spotted the cursed woman grinning.
“How’s it going?” Kat asked, moving to sit next to her.
Jane was immediately on defense. She loved her queens, but sometimes they got into... antics. “Well enough.”
“That’s good.” Cathy hummed, reaching back to pull a book from her backpack. “I think we found something you’ll be interested in…”
“Sign language?” Jane asked after a moment, looking over the cover.
“It’s a nonverbal language.” Cathy proceeded to explain, a familiar, excited glint in her eyes. “Using expressions and your body, mostly your hands and arms.”
Shadow looked just as curious as Cathy did. And Jane knew the cursed woman was thinking of whether or not it would be useful for her to communicate with as well.
“It’s kind of like the signs we do for spells sometimes!” Kat explained. “You know, some of the spells we use require a hand gesture!”
Cathy nodded. “An extra reassurance, I suppose I can call it. I also think it would simply be interesting to learn sign!”
“We know you’re worried about how you’ll communicate if you lose all of your hearing again.” Kat said with an almost sad smile. “And also that it’s hard for you to hear sometimes, still.”
Jane bit her lip. It was hard enough to learn two languages, elvish and english. And she didn’t want the other queens to go through with this just for her!
Cathy seemed to notice that thought and she shrugged. “And it would be nice to have a nonverbal communication for stealth.”
There was a stretch of silence before Jane slowly nodded, giving them a smile. “I suppose I wouldn’t be against it.”
Both women beamed and Shadow was practically buzzing with excitement.
“It will take a while to learn… there are multiple languages in sign language just like ours and we’ll, it is a new language to learn.” Cathy was nodding to herself, but she gave Jane a confident look. “But I’m sure we will manage.”
And they did. In their free time, they would occasionally study sign language.
Despite Jane’s worries, the cleric latched onto it pretty quickly. Kat and Cathy, being the studious queen’s they were, weren’t far behind. Catalina and Anna were just as eager to learn.
And when they spoke to Jane they began to try and sign at the same time, especially if it was over a longer distance.
It was a bit of a struggle for Shadow to learn. After all, her hands formed what looked like shadow puppets more than anything. But the shadow definitely tried her best and Jane was thankful for the attempts.
(Just like the others, Shadow has done a lot for her. Jane could recall one time when she had wandered off, not wanting to wake Anna as she cried in the middle of the night. She had looked over after a while of crying and found Shadow by her side, and when Jane drifted off, Shadow remained there until she woke up.
And when Anne was freed, one of the first things she had done with Jane, was to sign. Jane didn’t think either of their smiles could stretch any wider.)
And while it was for Jane, and the excuse Cathy used was just that, an excuse, it turned out that it did come in hand for stealth.
When they had to be silent while sneaking across rooms and the like. It was harder when they could only barely see each other, of course, but it usually came in handy.
Still, the queens preferred to see it as a language rather than a tool.
And Jane was happy to simply have another reassurance and another way of communicating. And not just with the queens, with others with similar hearing problems like hers that they could meet during their quest.
~~||~~||~~
Jane’s hearing never returned to normal.
Her left ear stayed almost completely deaf, only the faintest whisper of sound being heard in that ear. Her right returned to what she assumed to be around the hearing level of a human’s.
But it was alright, the cleric realized.
She wasn’t any less of a person. She was still Jane Seymour.
She was just as capable as the others. She could still fight, she could still do what normal people can do.
She was simply a little different.
And Jane’s proud of it.