Jayce's legs brought him sprinting towards the sound of the crash. It was a monsterous sound if metal on metal scraping together and collapsing inwards from inside the weapons storage tent. He threw the burlap tent open with a spray of water to be met with a sight he was not expecting. The expeditions Saintess, a woman described with such grace and elegance was laying on the grassy floor covered by clutter. She had somehow managed to knock down a row of swords and spears, creating a domino effect that caused all the weaponry to collapse on itself. Axes, bows, quivers, everything was strewn on the ground. She was red faced and looked like she was on the verge of tears like a toddler that just fell.
"Ow..." She muttered, patting the top of her head where a goose egg from whacking off of something was growing. The way she looked on the ground, only wearing one of his black long sleeve dress shirts that went past her knees was absolutely adorable to Jayce. She was soaked from the onslaught of rain outside, her hair and clothes gluing to her and making his face burn. Her legs were muddy from the wet ground, a streak of mud across her reddened cheek as well. Her arm was still in its makeshift sling, but she move around better then the other day. Her eyes met Jayce's, sending shivers down his spine. He was expecting her to look at him with hatred and fear, but instead she had tears welling in her eyes as she looked more embarrassed then scared. They weren't of fear though, more like guilt. It made his heart constrict as he was unsure.
"I'm so sorry... for making a mess..." She started to sob, hiccups and rubbing her face with her dirty hands. The dirt streaked across her cheeks and her tears ran through them. She was shaking like an leaf in wind with the cold from her wet clothes and skin probably soaking into her bones. Jayce was flustered when she started to cry, dancing through the fallen shields and spears before him to try and make it to her.
"N-No it's okay!" He stuttered as he slowly made his way towards her. She just cried harder making her face burn an even brighter red. He didn't like the sound of her crying. After hopping and skipping over various weapons he knelt down before her. He didn't know if he should touch her but his hands were hovering over her because he wanted to. He was making a confused droning noise in his throat, completely unsure of what to do in this situation.
"I-I'm really s-sorry!" She wailed. Camille finally made it to the face flushed and soaked, looking at the confusing and comical scene before her.
"No its okay! I'll clean it up, so don't worry." She shook her head at his words.
"I should clean it up." She reached out and tried to grab the sheath on a sword.
"No its really fine!" Jayce couldn't help but grab her hand before she touched the weapon. He was concerned that even though the sword was covered she would hurt her hands by touching it. He expected her to recoil when he grabbed her delicate hand, but her hand actually seemed to curl around his. It was a pleasant feeling to him.
"I should really clean it up."
"Like I said it's fine."
"You two are absolutely ridiculous." Camille barked over their repetition. They both flinched and looked over to her like two lovers who had been caught in an embrace. Jayce was still holding her hand but released her when she was trying to pull it away.
"You also shouldn't have left the tent Rhea." Jayce frowned when Camille called her that name but he kept his mouth shut. He could see Mercy look over to him as if expecting him to out her. When he didn't say anything she gave him a strange look with large doe eyes and a trembling lip. He had never seen such an expression before. Is this what people said was gratitude? Camille was making had same dance that Jayce made to get to the clearing they were in. Her brilliant blue and green wrapping skirt and white tunic top were sticking to her skin tightly showing her figure of a dancer. Her braided hair was dripping wet and gold clasps cleaning in the torchlight of the tent.
"I didn't think I was supposed to be in there. Lupin told me I was sleeping in the infirmary tent and I was trying to find it again." Mercy pressed both her index fingers together as she spoke sheepishly. She was sniffling and still trembling from the cold. Jayce was flinching at every move she made, barely holding himself back from wrapping her in his arms at every sniffle and harsh tremble. Camille kneeled down next to them, pressing her tiny fingers against Mercy's cheek and pushed the dirt off of it.
"The Archduke let you stay in his tent because there wasn't ample space in the infirmary tent." Camille's voice was like her water magic-- cool and flowing freely. Mercy was twitching at her words, looking even more guilty then before. He could read that expression like a book-- someone who felt like they were burdensome or an inconvenience. The downcast eyes and pitiful trembling lips were clear signs. Seeing her look so pitiful and hurt made him want to reach out and make sure she never felt that way again. She opened her mouth to say something and Jayce couldn't stop his hand from snapping forward and covering her mouth before she could speak. Camille gasped a bit at his movements and touched her lips in surprised as Jayce kept his hand firmly but gently against Mercy's face. He could feel her soft lips under his palm and his breath hitched in his throat.
"A lord must care for his subjects. You saved so many people you deserve compensation."He cleared his throat and reluctantly removed his hand.
"Where have you been sleeping though? I awoke in the bed." He wished he could have been sleeping next to her this whole time but in reality he had slept on the floor near the entrance. He couldn't tell her though because she was already feeling guilty for occupying his space.
"I had been sharing quarters with one of my men." He shot a look of silence to Camille who just gave him a knowing smile behind her fingers. Seeing the flustered Archduke trying to soothe and comfort the fawn like woman before him was amusing and endearing to her. Mercy looked even more guilty and confused, but he rubbed her soaked head to reassure her.
"You must be freezing. I can have people bring a tub to my tent so you can bathe in piece."
"N-No I'll go to the communal tent!" He tensed at her words when she said it. There were sheet partitions between each of the four tubs but all it took was a small peek and you could see everything in there. It was the best they could do in the circumstances of the expedition for bathing purposes, but even so he felt like he would gouge the eyes out of any man or women who ogled at her for even a split second.
"It shouldn't be a big deal." Camille jumped in before Jayce could think about saying anything. She gave him a playful wink before Mercy saw her.
"I can fill the tub and have a fire mage warm it up. Jubilee should be able to make a temporary one out of stone in there for you." Her reasoning was logical and Mercy was following along. Jayce was relieved for a brief momentbthat he would be able to keep her from perverted eyes. That was until lightning flashed across the sky menacingly. It lit up the room behind Mercy, casting her shadow over the other two. He could see her eyes widen almost as if she was seeing something he couldn't see before her. She immediately started trembling and bit her lip so hard that a drop of blood rolled from between her teeth. Her breathing was heavy and she convulsed inwards as if to shelter herself from the noise. They both jerked forward to catch the trembling woman, all of a sudden making high pitched suffocating noise and guttural sobbing. Alarm bells of panic were ringing in the tent as the rolling sound of thunder made her convulsed more. It didn't take him long to realize that it was the thunder and lightning setting her off. She was having a panic attack. Both Camille and him were frantic, trying to holding her hair back and calm her down. Her hyperventilating continued, bile rising from her throat and onto the ground. Tears poured from her eyes like waterfalls. He couldn't hold it back anymore. His arms shot out and wrapped around her tiny frame, ignoring the bile left on her mouth that pressed against his shirt. He firmly held her head in place, yanking her against him by her waist so we was sheltering her from the outside. He moved his hand on her head to cover her ear and pressed his cheek against the other to drown out the thunderous sound. He could feel her almost vibrating from her heart beating so fast. She was still sobbing now onto his shirt, clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping her stable. She was being wracked with a past trauma she was drowning in and there was nothing he could do about it other than hold her. Camille knew she was unable to help in this situation, other than find the appropriate mages she would need. She was reluctant to go, strangely fiercely loyal to the whisper of a woman before her. She just saw the Archduke sheltering her from the raging storm outside and knew she had to do something to help. Even though she was out of breath from searching in the rain earlier, the adrenaline running through her revitalizing her. Jayce was just too immersed in the woman in his arms to see her running into the darkness behind the burlap around them. She was hiccupping and trembling, curling herself into a ball on Jayce's lap unconsciously. It was like nature was mocking her as the storm only seemed to pick up and rage on around them, getting viscious enough to make the burlap around them flutter and whip with the wind. The tent was starting to make a nervewracking creaking noise. She couldn't stay here much longer.
"We are going to have to get back to the tent. This one is unstable." She only made a weak and scared moaning noise and clutched his shirt harder. He felt awful, a sticky sickening feeling spreading across his chest. Every second that passed the wind pushed the tent to an even scarier amount.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered before he basically jumped to his feet, holding her curled shell against his chest. He bolted out of the tent just as the tent started making a snapping noise from ropes breaking. It didn't collapse, but wiggled more in the wind with the threat of it. The rain felt more like hail against his skin, the sky nearly black and cracking open with purple lighting across the sky. Mercy was screaming at the top of her lungs into his chest. It was filled with pain and delirium, fear lacing the undertones of her voice. It tore himself to shreds to listen to but he had to keep going. He kept whispered soothing words to her as he slipped and slid through the muddy ground. His tent wasn't far away but it felt like an eternity. He tightened his grasp on her, hoping that somehow it would transfer her pain to him. His efforts were for not as he sped through the winding grassy roads and he couldn't help but be filled with undying rage and overwhelming grief.