Three Days Later . . .
The girl of his absolute dreams, right there for him to start to try and date. To try and help blend into the village, to help with her every wish, and
. . . she was crazy.
"Let me go!" She had a meltdown. Instead of throwing her out, Anatoly Jr. had invited the village doctor to look over her. He left his mother and father out of this. If they knew she had this problem, there went his chances with her.
"What's wrong with her?" Anatoly asked the doctor. "She certainly was trying, she had tried for two days but then lost it on the tutor. What is going on?"
"I would say temporary shimmer but her eyes have remained pink, so I took several samples," his doctor said to him. "She seems to have her own shimmer. Not only that, but her psyche is very disrupted."
"How so?"
"She could be a lost cause."
Lost cause? "No, I don't want to hear that. She's like a porcelain doll that keeps fighting back not to be called one. I need that. Her shimmer stands up to power. I've seen her burn so bright. I want that." He could change her, but he could never outright kill her. "She's a tough fighter but she cares about kids, it's a weakness and I'm going to need that. She's stunning. She has this . . . something. Gutsiness, if you excuse the word choice." Oh. "I want her fixed. I don't care what it takes."
"Well, she's going to need a great deal of help to get fixed. I do not know where to start. Magic does not magically fix a mind. It can tear a mind apart but not fix it. If it was, we'd have less villains. A mage could just touch them and go 'better?'" The doctor tried to joke.
"That's not funny!"
Anatoly watched as Shields came in. Ah. "The practical sorceress." Maybe.
"Mental needs does not make someone a villain. It could have turned them into a hero," she said back. "Or, it could have left them as a normal person just going through life. I don't want to hear that again." Shields crossed her arms. "I read for myself what she is capable of, and I saw with my own eyes what she did for Cake and I. So don't talk about her like that again. The nerve!"
Anatoly watched Doctor Schwartz tag along with her. Ooh. "Doctor Schwartz." He could probably do something.
Dr. Schwartz looked uncomfortable. "Miss Shields dragged me in here."
Anatoly waved the physical doctor away that offended Shield. These were clearly who he would need. They were from a branch of work that hardly anyone in Runeterra had studied much before. Mind healing, which is exactly what Jinx needed.
Runeterra was consumed with the runes, magic, keeping magic away, isolating it, bad magic, good magic, blah, blah, blah. It also cared about death and injuries so people could be saved or not burdened by pain. But, on the mental side?
There was nothing. No one seemed to study the actual minds to help it. There were only a few isolated places that had paid attention to these things and actually treated it instead of ignoring it. 150 years ago, Dr. Schwartz' grandfather had come to the village, ended up marrying someone, and they raised their family into knowing the father's craft of specialized medicine.
It had been so helpful that ten years ago, when a woman from a similar area had begged for help with a very little problem (in the scene of what they did), they went over their population mark to make an exception for her when they found out her specialization was also of the mind, but she didn't use medicine.
It gave the village both rare branches, and although Cake was technically useless right now, they never could put her in much danger because she would grow up to be like her mother too.
"Shields, stay for the meeting," Anatoly greeted her. She didn't have the kindest eyes back for him. He did almost hurt her child again last night, she would be standoffish involuntarily for a little while.
He paid attention to the mind doctor. "If I put serious work into fixing her, would she be better in five years?" Anatoly asked. Marriage would be in five years.
"Every mind is different, there is no telling when or if she will be better."
"I have faith she can get better," Shields told him. "There is a great chance I can help her."
Good. "It's worth the risk. There is none out there like her. I want her better. What will it take?"
"For starters," the doctor said. "She is going to need some of my mixed variant of potions for her psyche. This variant is going to turn her skin violet where we place it, and it will be like that as long as she is using it."
"Purple." Anatoly gestured toward her. "Would it look like eye shadow?"
Jinx laughed like a maniac. "Sure, why not?! Purple eye shadow to go with the gnarly pink eyes, huh?!"
"She doesn't need that, she needs a mind healer," Shields interrupted. "I want to take my services off the clientele at large and work with her personally."
"She doesn't need words, she needs specific mind meds. At the start, she will clearly try to abuse the medicine and take too much, she might also become suicidal, so she'll need watched more," the doctor warned her. "She is also erratic, she hears-"
"I'm not a child, I know what she has," Shields corrected him. "There is a reason that I am where I am."
"There is also a reason that I am where I am. Giving her medicine is fine, she is going to be too dangerous to treat for you, Shields."
"You are the only practical sorceress for the whole village, Shields." Anatoly reminded her. She was the one who spoke and helped work out problems with all of the villagers, to help them feel better. Problems that no one else could seem to solve by themselves. Argument with a mother? They went to her. Sibling rivalry getting aggressive? To her. Falling in love? Her. Everyone went to her with their emotional problems.
"I can talk to others with their problems at different times, but I want extra time with her," she said to him. "You just said she is worth the risk."
"She needs meds to change the structure of what's going on in her brain," the doctor said again.
"She needs words of self positivity," Shields told him.
"Meds."
"Positive affirmation with techniques to calm down."
"Meds."
"Positive affirmation everyday with ways to deal with the negative!"
Anatoly moved closer to Jinx.
Jinx watched as he moved closer to her. "That's never very smart for a person. Especially people I don't like."
If she had a weapon and wasn't being restrained by several guards already.
"We need to focus less on the physical changes of her and focus on the psychological changes in her brain. Shimmer is a substance that really disrupts the mind, depending on the dosage, it could be hurting or helping her. But even if it is helping her, you want to see great change, the best chance is to give her mind armor. Specific meds will help her."
"Meds would help if she needed extra help," Shields leaned, "but the real work comes from time, patience, and affection. She can be saved."
Doctor Schwartz was giving in a little too. "With the mind healing I suppose, and a small fixed dose of my custom mixes, I believe . . . she will be able to get through. As time goes by, hopefully all of the physical effects will be less aggressive. However, sometimes there is a side effect or two from this treatment."
"What are they?"
"Her hair or her teeth might start getting the color of the treatment."
"Oh, wow, how exciting. Purple teeth? I'd love that!" Jinx laughed and threw her head back.
"If that happens, we will dye her teeth to a healthier white," Anatoly insisted. "We will dye her hair to match that exact color. No need to look uncivilized with different colors in the hair." Although that blue would be gorgeous. "Actually, we'll dye out the purple with the blue."
"I don't need someone dyeing my teeth, hair, or my mind! I can do that just fine on my own!" Jinx screamed.
"Let's get her on the table. We'll get her a sedative and figure out dosing. It will take some time before you see improvement. Allowing her some room and watching certain triggers to make sure she stays in healthy condition is recommended."
"Get away, get away, get away!" She didn't want it on her eyelids. "Who puts shimmer on the eyelids? I've seen it in the eyes, but on the eyelids? Are you insane?"
"It's not shimmer," the doctor insisted, "Shimmer is just a catalyst for this to work faster for medicine. I clearly do not need that with you. Stay still." Seeing that wouldn't happen, the doctor gave her a different shot to end her struggle. "She is powerful, Shields."
"I don't care. We'd be dead without her right now."
Anatoly shook his head. It was a shame, but he was not losing her. She was one of a kind. In fact? "Shields. If you wish for me to let you help her everyday, you have to follow some rules."
"I do," Shields said. "She needs daily affirmation. She needs daily help to learn to process things and stay in the moment. I have met her, I have seen her, and I have talked to her. I know she has what it takes to get better."
"I will, in exchange for three requirements. I've already decided." He smiled wide. "I'm going to make her mine."
"Everyone is the Laurents, Anatoly," Shields said cautiously. "What do you mean yours?"
"She's so unique." He couldn't help himself with a chuckle. "For one, her pink eyes are so stunning, I love looking into them. Her skin is like porcelain. When she's cleaned and dressed, she is stunning. She looks fragile, yet she isn't. No, she is so strong. So fast. Watching her move it really made me feel so warm inside. I really loved watching her move. She can kill in a heartbeat, but she is wanting to change that. She is perfect."
"Oh." Shields didn't look as happy as he felt. "You've found your love interest. Aren't you engaged to Raven the Mercenary?"
"I don't care, I'll get them to change their minds in five years. Because. She's just. More than that." His heart felt so amazing. "I want her to be my wife in the future. Not Raven." Now when that day was assigned, it wouldn't feel like such a chore to get married and have kids. Not with her.
"Oooh." Shields really didn't look good, but she smiled. "Marriage and kids with her? A life with her?"
"Yes. When we get older and marry, she will be the second ruler of the village." Oh. "The heart doesn't quite beat the same way with her as everyone else. I could do this, and I could grant her wishes. I could grant our wishes together. Our children could grow and rule, and everyone would love her. She'd be the star of the village." Yes. "She could go back to her sister with one of our children at her side, one in her bosom and me on the other side. Tell her sister she never starves, never worries about money, she has a husband that will give her anything her heart desires, and that she shares all her love with our children." Three to five. "Three to five. I don't want more than five, but it'd be great for the village if we had at least three. We'll need more if none of them are power holders though."
Shields scratched her head. "Um. I don't know how to do that."
"You're there with her each day. Make sure to blend in that I'm an excellent guy. She'll see the two as one eventually. Hopefully not that quick though because fighting her. Oh." He almost giggled. "Wow. There is chemistry."
"I could try here and there. I guess."
"I've chosen her, Shields. I don't care what my mother or father thinks. You know, things won't change. She won't actually ever win your freedom. No one ever wins against a Laurent."
"But you said-"
"She's the woman of my dreams, why would I ever let her go? So, why not try to help her live a less miserable life? Let it be something that doesn't seem like-"
"Entrapment."
"Yes, that's it. The more she feels at home with the decision, the better she'll feel over the coming years here. She can either be upset about her position, or she can see it in a positive light. One way or another."
"I don't think your mother or father would be happy to hear this."
"Yes, requirement number two. You cannot tell them about this. You and Dr. Schwartz will have her move into your area of the home. That way you can treat her in your offtime, and father and mother won't see why you aren't treating anyone anymore. If you mess up? They will flat out kill her if they knew she hears voices," he reminded her. "If they saw that sheet of everything she's suffered from? Everything she did? She'd be a lost cause to them. I am not giving up. They would give up as soon as they heard something about her being 'imperfect' let alone stark raving mad. Remember that."
That seemed to get to her. "They will never know. We'll just be friends outside."
"Requirement number three." He neared her again. "I want to try and fix her."
"I don't know what you mean?"
"I think you do. Don't worry, I know the points to move her to."
"Points?"
"Yes. In memory."
"Memory powers, you have memory powers? Oh, I can't. We can't," Shields insisted. "That's? She's already in trouble, we do not want to exacerbate that! Let's not do that. There is no cure, we just help treat her."
"There is something really interesting with my power I wanted to really try. You see, I can find the weakest points and the strongest points. I always have, but I know that I can freeze their mind there. I feel like I could. It's not part of my power, but I just feel like I could keep her stuck in certain moments in her memories. I have a plan for it."
"You are wanting her to get better, not worse, Anatoly," Dr. Schwartz warned him. "She is going to need to get better."
"I can do this. I will do this. Facets of her will change."
"You shouldn't-"
"For after marriage, you would be able to play with that as much as you want. If you play around and get caught before then, you could lose your chance with her completely," Dr. Schwartz said to him wisely.
Oh yes. "Yes. Good. I agree with that, I should be more careful. Very well." For now, he would leave it be. Once she was secured as his though?
He would make her into two perfect beings. One that would help the village and be sweet. Darling. Trusting. She would be called Powder. His loving wife during the day.
Then the one that he really wanted. That criminal side that loved to fight and yell and could kill at a whim. She stirred his blood like no other. That would be Jinx. His definite mistress of the night.
When he had her all fixed the way he wanted, he wouldn't even have to bother with the doctors anymore.
But for now, it was sketchy. He would have a hard enough time getting his parents to choose her over Raven. "She will have both branches of mind healing. The faster she gets better, the more useful she will be." Anatoly stared at her. "She is a future investment. I must take care of future investments. You are a future investment too," he told the doctor.
"I cannot guarantee when or how much this all helps her, Sir," he insisted. "Especially with shimmer inside of her. Age. Medication amount or portions of ingredients might need changed. I will do my best, as always."
"If we do this? Will Cake be safe now?" Shields asked.
She was always safe. One wrong move when the girl was four and everyone got so upset. "Yes, I'll make sure Cake isn't used for anything."
For the next six months, Jinx would only have tutoring lessons in voice, manners and mind healers. No missions. She would have access to fighting equipment, but nothing scheduled. "You two have full reign over her health and studies. She will have tutors, but if you feel they need to step off for some time, if they overwhelm her, do so and say so. You both have equal say, so get along well."