Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Schön Rebe

"What did you do to this poor woman?!" Pamela shouted, hitting Jonathan upside the head.

"I-It's a long story, Ms. Isley." Jervis squeaked from behind Harvey.

"Tell me." She hissed and stood from her kneeling position.

Edward explained their situation rather quickly, but Pamela's lightening wit kept up with the jabber.

"Follow me," she said simply and lightly to Jonathan, who stood, taking Valencia up in his arms. The rest started to follow, but were halted by a snare of vines that ripped themselves from the earth and threatened them to come closer.

"I will start growing her a bed, which will take about a half hour, but set her on mine for the time being." Pamela said over her shoulder dismissively as they'd rounded the ginormous tree and entered an alcove of overhanging roots. Jonathan did as he was told, then turned to face Pamela.

"I know what you did." He stated harshly from behind his teeth.

"And what was that, Dr. Crane?" Pamela had busied herself at making certain plants grow around her just outside of the alcove.

"That mixture you put down her throat," He started. "it was nothing but some simple herbs ground together. I saw what you really did."

Poison Ivy turned to look at Scarecrow with flashing eyes.

"You scraped your nail by her jugular. You nail being covered in a natural paralytic. It entered her blood stream, causing her to pass out. But that paralytic is also a poison, so you killed her before you saved her!-"

"So you saw that? Huh. Yes, I did all that." Pamela passively muttered and turned her head to Jonathan. "But I only gave her enough of the Curare to cause her to lose consciousness. It is only toxic when administered in large doses, causing the victim to die by asphyxiation, the diaphragm paralyzed." She paused. "But I gave her the antidote just in case one measly drop was too much. The flower I rolled into a paste and mixed with the black sap was the antidote. The sap was mixed with a high dose of various calming herbs, slowing down the administration of the antidote and calming her panicked state so I could figure out if she was worth saving." She smiled a small smile. "And she is."

Jonathan groaned and covered his face as he collapsed on the bed by Valencia's feet. He rested his elbows on his knees and held his head.

"Here," Pamela held out to Jonathan a teacup on a saucer.

Jonathan looked up, seeing the teacup, and sat up straight slowly, taking the cup with hesitation and a raised eyebrow.

"It's just chamomile tea, Dr. Crane. It's not poisoned. I see how strung up you are." Pamela smiled and went back to her herb shelf, mixing various dried herbs in a stone bowl and crushing them with a long, smooth stone.

Jonathan hesitantly sipped the steaming infused water and felt calm wash over him. He sighed in content. "Thank you, Ms. Isley. I feel like I owe you something. Name your price."

"Please, call me Pamela, I still have a PhD though so don't forget it." She smirked, not looking up from her work. "I'll think of a price later. You may leave. Treating...oh, I'm sorry, you never told me her name."

"Valencia Noir." Jonathan smiled as he said her name, but hid it with a drink of tea.

Pamela wore a face of surprise, the name familiar. "Yes, thank you, Dr. Crane. As I was saying: treating Valencia will take a few days, maybe a week. Time will tell and I will send word to you."

Jonathan stood after taking one last sip of tea, placed the cup and saucer on the table Pamela was working on. "Valencia means...she's very..." He paused, thinking of the words. "Thank you, Pamela." He finished and exited the alcove to find his fellow villains kept back by the poisonous vines that threatened them before.

"Is she all right?" Edward asked when Jonathan was in immediate earshot.

"Yes," Jonathan resumed his usual stoic self. "She's being taken care of."

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

"Schön Rebe."

Pamela jumped out of her mental world when she heard an unknown voice enter her thoughts. She looked over at the woman on her bed.

Valencia was awake and looking directly at her.

"Hello, Ms. Noir. I am-"

"Schön Rebe." Valencia cut in. "Sat vas se first sought I had ven I saw you. Schön Rebe."

"Pardon me if I don't know what you're talking about." Pamela went to immediate work, fixing a herbal tea for the newly awakened.

"Schön Rebe means Beautiful Vine in my home language of Deutsch-ah German."

Pamela turned fully to Valencia, halting her tea making. She was silent.

"I do know who you are and I trust you know my predicament." Valencia continued.

"Thank you." Pamela cracked a smile, continuing her tea making. "A-And yes, I do know what happened to you." She cleared her throat to compose herself. "I'm here to help you."

"Danke, Schön Rebe." Valencia leaned back and closed her eyes.

*Revised 31 Jan, 2016*