Written In Blood, A Jokers Tale

by Jinxlinden

One day Amaranth's life changes completely when one of the cities most feared villian plucks her up and takes her hostage. Will she escape or will her own life struggles leave her like molding clay in the Jokers purple gloved hands? Complete

Chapter One

"Sorry lover but you can not look back." He whispered softly in her ear. Yet she flinched when she felt his hot breath on her cold skin. A heavy drift has settled in the air. She said,
"Oh no."
And as he slit her throat a soft moan danced off her red lips. Death had finally graced her with it's presence. To be away from this mad man and this world she was pulled into. To be finally free. His hands let go of her limp body and she fell upon a torn old mattress. He ran his gloved fingers back through his greasy hair smearing blood all in the tangled green mess.
He stood up with a slight crack in his knees and wiped the blood from his face only smearing his makeup even more. He turned and walked towards the door with an incredibly composed stance never taking a single glance backwards at the body he left behind. Merely moments after his departure a roar ripped through the evening sky as the building holding the dead girl came crashing down into smithereens. People came darting from every which way in the neighborhood nearby to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Each was taken by surprise and greeted by a demolished building and a demonic laughter sifting through the dust ridden air.
The pandemonium was only just beginning.

Chapter Two

Jolting up from her bed drenched in sweat Amaranth is almost in tears. For the fourth night in a row her dreams have been replaced by terrifying nightmares. Her racing heart is finally coming to a slow. Everything that happened in her mind last night slowly creeps into her thoughts and she lays back upon her bed to brace herself for what she's about to face.

The Dream

It started off very lucid, she was aware of the fact that she was dreaming but could not wake her body from its sleep paralysis state. Cautiously she took in her surroundings. She was embraced by a dark forest and a full moon looming overhead. A chilling breeze picked up whipping her long black hair into a mess. The moons light shone brightly off Amaranth's pale blue eyes. You would expect her to be scared but she remained surprisingly calm. That is until a horrifying scream ripped through the woods. Amaranth froze in place unsure of what was lurking beyond her little clearing in the woods. Suddenly out of nowhere a black mass of a person came charging out from behind the trees and tackled her knocking the wind completely out of her. The mysterious person soon had her straddled so she could no run away. The shadow person's heavy mass kept her from letting out a blood curling scream that was welling up in her throat. It felt like a man that was keeping her pinned but she would wait until he spoke to be quiet sure. This person was surly too strong to be a woman. She heard the shadow person clear their throat and say,
"Why hello gorgeous..."
His voice was rough and inflexed when he addressed her as 'gorgeous'. He leaned in closer to her face and she cringed as he reeked of blood and burning sulfur. Even in the dark she could feel his gaze burning through her making her skin itch. She started to try and wiggle her way out from under her but he just looked down at her and suppressed a giggle. All she cared for was to escape his interrogating eyes that blended so smoothly with the night's darkness. She could sense he was waiting for her to speak but she kept quiet. The constant wiggling was now starting to get to him though.
"Now, now, don't get so frisky dear I don't even know your name yet! Let's just take it...slow. At least for now."
His chilling laugh sent chills down Amaranth's spine. His voice still ever so in flexing into a higher more mocking tone on certain words. She was silently debating whether to tell him her name or not. But of course she thought, what was the harm? This was a dream was it not? Or was it? It felt so real to her she wasn't sure. But she was convinced it was nothing more than a dream. A nightmare.
"A-A-Amaranth."
She silently stuttered. She couldn't help but be terrified by this mysterious man. Something in her mind was ticking away because she knew that laugh. It seemed so familiar...
"Why so serious dollface?" When he spoke the word 'dollface' in a rough mock tone Amaranth's blood ran cold and her heart stopped and it all came crashing back to her like rough waves on an ocean coastline.

End Dream
Letting out a sigh Amaranth rolls on her side. Wishing these plagues of nightmares would finally come to a halt. She'd never even encountered the Joker and made herself believe that she never would.
But oh, how wrong she is.

Chapter 3

There's a thunderous thud as the Joker kicks in a heavy oak door. A girl cowering in the left corner of the room lets out an ear splitting scream. As he proceeds into the darkness to where she is huddled he flips on a light switch and the dim lights flicker to life. Her throat is now caught and she's can't seem to let out a scream once more but instead she squeals and whines with every step he takes closer to her as if on cue.

A quick flick echo's through the room as the Joker whips out his pocket knife that was nestled in the breast pocket of his vivid purple suit coat. He twists the knife around in his fingers to reflect the light off it and shines it in her eyes. Terror surrounds the girl as she waits for him to speak. He licks his lips like a lizard and softly begins to speak.

"Now, Dear, Let me see the smile you've been hiding."

A wicked grin creeps across his mouth as he approaches even closer to her until he's but two feet in front of her. Silence fills the room as he waits for her to show her pearly whites. Yet to his dismay she only starts to sob obnoxiously and wails like a banshee. With this his grin down shifts into a dramatic frown. Growing ever so displeased with her refusal he glares down at her in a menacing way. Once more he licks his scarlet smeared scarred lips and says,

"If you cannot show me that beautiful little smile of yours I might just have to cut you a permanent one. Like mine!"

Looking upon his excited face in sheer terror her cries become even more uncontrollable. Staring down at her frowning and frustrated with her howls he jumps down into a crouch at her level. Swiftly whipping out the blade of the pocket knife once again and placing it in the inside of her right cheek.

"Do you want to know how I got these scars?"

As he whispered this into her ear he grows more serious. Shaking her head left and right she croaks,

"No."

Looking up to the left he pretends to contemplate wither he will tell her or not. The answer is obvious though that he wants to tell her and will.

"Well I am going to tell you anyways."

Looking dead into her eyes not even moving the blade he begins to speak again,

"My father was…a drinker. And a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. Turns to me and he says, 'Why so serious son?' Comes at me with the knife, 'Why so serious son?' He sticks the blade into my mouth and I can taste the blood of my mother spilling onto my tongue. Looking at me with an awful smirk he says, 'Let's put a smile on that face!' And…"

Pausing to focus on the girls' reaction his intimidating smile returns. Her heart faults as she realizes what is going to happen next. Laughing like a mad man he jerks the blade and tears from right to left shedding blood everywhere as the girl falls wrenching on the floor choking on her own blood.

"Why so serious?"

His laughter settles down till he has finally stopped. Looking down at his latest creation he can't help but feel a swell of pride in his work. She is finally smiling and he is no longer disappointed. Getting off the floor and walking to the door he does not even bother to wipe off the fresh blood dripping from his face. As he leaves the room a henchman walks in to remove the body, like every other day this is just routine.

Chapter 4

A kitchen stove is on fire and the house is filling with smoke. Hastily, Amaranth runs out from the living room to kill the fire but she comes to a dead stop. The dazzling orange and blue flames dance enticingly and she can't help but stare at them in amazement. Suddenly a fire alarm starts beeping piercingly and she snaps out of it in time to terminate the fire without burning down the house. She is left puzzled beyond belief. Where could this fire have come from? She was not cooking anything and looked at the heat dial to find it off as well as the oven burners all turned to off. Still stunned from the recent disaster the television rips her attention back as a bulletin about the infamous Joker comes on.

"Once more the Clown Prince of Crime strikes terror into the hearts of citizens of Gotham. Last night people where ripped away from their daily routine by a thunderous collapse coming from a building at the west end of town. Police have just recently discovered the body of a young girl in rubble but cannot identify her at this point and are releasing no statements except that the handy work is no other than the Jokers as the building imploded from strategically placed explosives…"

Grabbing the remote she turned the television onto mute. She has had enough of the Joker since last night and can't stand to even think of him.

-Two Hours Later-

The local church clock strikes noon and Amaranth is trapped in never ending traffic already three hours late to work. Silently she curses whatever the holdup is and hopes to hell she will not lose her job when she does finally get there. Suddenly there is a loud explosion and School bus comes flying out of nowhere coming opposite of all the cars in the lane she is in. The air is filling with the frantic screams of citizens and hurriedly Amaranth bounds out her car and starts running so she is not run over by the manic driving the bus. Her lungs are burning and still the bus gets even closer to her and all that is flowing through her head is not being killed like this. I mean, who really wants to be killed by a damn school bus? That sounds like the bad dream of an elementary student. All of a sudden her mind just stops. Everything goes dead silent and her vision starts to blur. Just as she's about to pass out someone rips her up by the collar of her shirt and pulls her into a vehicle moving at an alarming rate. Hideously amused laughter fills her silent head and all that she sees fades to black.

Chapter 5

Amaranth is slowly coming back to consciousness and struggles to move but finds that her arms and legs have been tied together and she is lying on the cold hard cement in an unlit room. Her mind is hazy and it takes her a few minutes to recall what has happened in the past few hours. Suddenly it all comes crashing back to her and her body goes frigid. That hideous high pitched laughter that has plagued her nightmares was the last thing she heard.

"Could it possibly be true?" she whispers to herself in an astonished voice. Doubt fills her mind as this feels like only another dream. Her mind is aching and she lies back down to try and calm the loud pounding of her brain. This is all too much for her to take in at once. Though she fears she may not have long to soak it all in before her tormentor comes in to see if she's awakened. But why would he want her of all people? There is surely nothing special about her, she is but just a nothing citizen. Her eyelids start to feel like a ton of bricks and she can't keep them open. As they slide shut she slips back into unconsciousness.

Outside of the dark room that holds Amaranth the Joker is just arriving back to the abandoned warehouse. He is greeted by at least a dozen of henchmen playing cards or sleeping on the torn beaten up couch. He comes to a halt and looks around and the ones playing cards and they return his gaze. Quickly he licks his bottom lip and the red paint doesn't even smear.

"Is the girl awake?" He asks looking at no man in particular.

They all look back and forth at each other as if not remembering who went in there last. A smallish man about only five foot six looks up at the Joker and replies,

"Well about half an hour ago she was still out cold. Not makin' a single movement. Must of hit the dame's head awful hard when we a grabbed her."

He had a deep southern drawl and seemed unafraid of the tall terrifying man who was now positioned in front of him. The joker stood staring down at him with greasy tangled green hair falling over his face bearing a crooked scarred Glasgow grin and black hollows around his profound coffee brown eyes. The henchman's unwavering manner pleased the Joker as he simply walked past the men over to the door to the room where Amaranth lay unconscious.

"Well then men, I shall have my own little check on our beautiful little captive. No one come in."

They all just shrugged an okay and went back to their games and naps. Slowly the Joker opened the door and it let out a small creek. Shutting the door much quicker he switches on the lights and walks steadily towards Amaranth's body that is lying still unconscious on the floor. Stopping about five feet in front of her he looked down at her motionless body in almost admiration. Or is it lust? She lets out a small moan and throws her head to the left facing the wall. He slants his head to the left and looks almost puzzled. Something has caught his eye. Creeping up behind her a small smirk plays on his lips. He reaches down and goes to move the back of her cotton black shirt. At first he is taken back by her ice cool skin but does not delay in reaching back. Almost carefully he tugs the loose shirt down only to find a horrid red scar of a burn going down her spine. Her body goes spastic as if he has triggered a bad memory to replay in her lost mind. Swiftly he falls to sit cross legged besides her on the chilly floor. He sits and is just staring at her go wild. As her hips wiggle and her torso twists and constrains he is seemingly mesmerized. The rope burns her ankles and wrists as she tries to rip them free in a fierce attempt to defend herself from possibly someone in her dream. The smile playing on his lips grow as sobs begin to escape Amaranth's tightly shut eyes. Suddenly her back arches upwards and she lets out a terrifying scream and makes the Joker jump slightly. He is so caught up in her every little action he is almost disappointed when she comes to an end. Her once heavy breathes are becoming very shallow and all the tension is leaving her muscles. The Joker is now sitting but two feet from her and is intently focused on her. Sweat is rolling down her forehead and cheeks smearing her cover up and black eye shadow. Suddenly she bolts up and her big pale eyes are wide open desperately taking in the room around her. Her eyes stop. She is staring straight at the Joker who is too close for comfort to her. She opens her mouth to let out a scream but nothing comes out. This seems to amuse the joker who just starts to lowly chuckle. Like a deer in headlights she is frozen and is unsure what to do or say.

"What? Are you not going to introduce yourself? Oh how rude of me. I am the one who has taken you so perhaps you wish to know who I am first. Or do you already know? Either way, you can call me Joker. How about you gorgeous? What shall I call you?"

His tone makes it seem like such a normal introduction, very formal, though these are not formal circumstances. The deer like trance is slowly leaving her and she mumbles,

"A…Amaranth." She can't stop staring at his face.

"Why that's such a lovely name. Most of my captives have such boring names. Like Jane, or Emily. Actually yesterday I had a girl by the name of Morgan. Her name suited her though; she was such a bore, total coward like everyone else. But you…other than in your sleep you have not let out a single scream at my sight. It's so charming of you to be so kind. I guess I am a handsome kind of fellow. Though I figured you were…different then any other hostage of mine. You could be a lot of fun."

Everything he said went almost over her head until her brought up her screaming in her sleep. Wondering had she really been acting out in her sleep again? She is just about to ask him why he thinks she is different than any other girl he speaks once more,

"I took it upon myself to see that dreadful burn all down your spine when I spied it peeking out of the back of your shirt. I wonder how you got it. It seems we may get along. You with that awful scar and me with my evident Glasgow grin."

He sees her shiver in pain when he mentions the burn. Obviously figuring it would be a sensitive subject. Though he knows it is not a recent scar, it's been there for possibly years. But this repulsive reaction was what he was hoping for. He is not a kind person but just happens to be in a playful mood right now. Now he's staring at her but her gaze is fixed on the ground and she's unattached to what is happening around her, gone astray in her mind. A twitch jerks in his lip. He is not pleased with her zoning out. He wants her attention. Turning slowly back towards the door he stops and then starts running straight back towards her. With a massive thud he comes crashing down on top of her. Snapping out of it she opens her eyes to find the Joker's body pressed tight up against hers. He smells just like he did in her dream, a mixture of sweat, blood, and sulfur. But there is something sweet about his odor. He is fascinated by her reaction. She is just lying quietly under him inhaling his scent, feeling the voids between their bodies close when he exhales.

"You know, most people would be screaming by now or in complete shock."

He says into her ear in a wondrous tone with a hint of lust. A dark chuckle escapes his mouth as he leans up a bit to let her breathe enough to answer his questioning statement.

"As you said, it seems I am not like many other hostages you take. And you are…fascinating… and I'm not one to easily take to a scaring."

She staggers to sound as confident as she can but there is a hint of fright in her voice. She is starting to try and claw her way out from under him when he pretends his arms give in and collapse back on top of her and a small bleat of air escapes her lungs. Her arms are now stuck up above her head and the rope is still burning at her wrists. He's just staring down at her with a devious grin playing across his jaw as his knees are wrapped around the sides of her waist. Now shock is finally finding its way upon her face and she's just looking deep into his mysterious russet brown eyes searching for an answer to what he could possibly be up to. Roughly, he licks his bottom crimson smeared lip and before she knows it has flicked out his trusty pocket knife and has it pressed up against her right flushed cheek. Holding himself up with his left arm he is gently rubbing the metal blade against her porcelain skin in an awestruck fashion. Finally his gaze drifts to look into her pastel cerulean light eyes and says,

"Why so serious doll face?"

Her eyes shut tensely and she flinches only dreading what she thinks is going to come next but a minute passes and she can feel the heavy weight lift off her and the blade now absent from her skin and sees the Joker now standing above her laughing at her foreboding.

"Now you didn't think I'd cut up that pretty little face of yours now did you? Right now I enjoy looking at it so much. Watching the panic spread across it creasing your smooth forehead and deepening the frown on your perfectly sculpted lips. They look delicious, but I freight I don't have the time for that…yet. But who's in a hurry? You're mine now."

With that he delightfully walked out the door without even looking back, but Amaranth knew that a huge grin was spread on his face. Her heart was still stopped from the last words that left his mouth.

You're mine now.

That last time she belonged to anybody it ended badly. She could only hope the Joker would show her mercy and be more kind but she seriously doubted that, since when did the Harlequin of Hate show mercy?

Chapter Six

Amaranth just sits in the dark room for what seems like hours all alone. Eventually though she is giving into her body's growing need for sleep and she's falls onto the cement into a deep sleep. It is now about quarter past midnight and the door is creaking open. A tall, slim figure with hunched shoulders is slipping into the dark room not even bothering to turn on the lights as he passes the switch. The figure creeps towards Amaranth's shivering, huddled body on the floor. Lying down at her level the figure hesitates when she softly starts to mumble,

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please…I'm so sorry…"

She sounds like a whimpering small child who has just done something bad. Her shaking seems to be getting worse and she's still delicately whispering 'sorry'. The figure crawls up besides her and pulls her up against them, wrapping their arms around her fragile icy cold waist. The mysterious shadow creeper is pulling her even tighter trying to silence her innocent cries. She flips herself over so she is now snuggled in the person's chest. Her nose crinkles at first from the smell of the figure but soon calms down a bit and is no longer making her soft pleas. She jumps a little bit when the figure slides their warm hand up under her shirt and rubs her scarred back. Yet in her deep dream state she makes no attempts to shudder away from the strange person. The stranger has their face pressed into her hair, burrowing their face, breathing in her scent. A glimmer of pale moonlight shines through a small window at the top of the wall to their right which is as ground level so it's half covered by overgrown grass. In this faint light the figures florescent green hair shines from all the grease. But when he looks up into the light his face is clean. No red, black, or even white paint, though his skin is still a deadly shade of porcelain white. Yet without all of the makeup he is truly gorgeous minus his one facial imperfection, the gruesome smile carved into his face making a grimacing grin.

Chapter Seven

Day light breaks upon Amaranth's body from the window at the top of the wall. She wakes up alone but she looks puzzled. She's looking around the room as if something or someone is missing. Obviously she was faintly aware of the man who laid besides her in her sleep. Though she can't recall who it was or why they would even want to hold her. Her hope is growing thin. Though her name means immortal she can't help but believe she will die in this room by the hand of an insane clown. She rolls over and stares up into the shining light. The sunlight pours like fire into her pastel eyes making the dark rings around them a little bit less evident. Her mind is scattered through horrid memories of the past. Her eyes close and shut out the blinding sunlight and she thinks back on her nightmare from last night.

-Nightmare-

Amaranth is standing in front a sink full of half washed dirty dishes. She's staring out at the pouring rain cascading down from the darkening sky. Dropping a dish back into the sullied water she walks hastily out to the front door and into the downpour. At first she just stands and lets the rain drench her. Then she leans her head back and lets a smile cross her lips. Everything just slips from her mind, everything but the cool feeling of the water slipping down her face. Thunder cracks loudly but she doesn't even flinch, she's too caught up in this moment of bliss. She's acutely aware though that something bad is about to happen. Never is anything ever this perfect, at least not for her. With her eyes still closed she hears a car roll up into the driveway and doesn't move, but tears start to escape her eyes only to be washed away with the rain. A man steps out of the car and is obviously unhappy with her being outside. He's about five foot seven inches tall with short cut black hair and a prominent handsome face. His dark green eyes are just glaring at her, just waiting for her to return his gaze. When she doesn't even move or turn to look at him he starts walking towards her, fuming with anger. He grabs a hold of her roughly on her left arm and she opens her eyes and stares back at him blankly. This only angers him even more. He is yelling at her but she can't hear him, but deep inside she knows by heart every word he said to her in his sharp tongue. Now he is dragging her inside the house where no one can see what he plans to do to her. He throws her down onto the couch and persists to yell at her pointing in her face till he gets a reaction out of her. Staring up at him her eyes fill with tears and she can no longer pretend to be confident when she is nothing but a coward. She looks down to try and hide her tears from him and when he sees this he raises his arm back and quickly and slaps her harshly across the cheek. Red comes rushing to her face and there is an obviously outline of a hand swelling on her right cheek. Mascara runs down her face as tears spill down her neck. She can feel the heart in her chest almost breaking. Watching the man she loves yell at her and hit her, it tears her apart. He can tell she's not listening to him and his hand is soon thrashing down on her again then he grabs her by the wrists and throws her down on the floor. Her ankle cracks as she lands awkwardly on the hard wood floor. He goes stomping over to the burning fireplace and grabs the poker and shoves it into the flames. She looks over and sees what he's doing and is trying to crawl away blinded by tears. Just as she is about to make it out the living room a force whips her up by her necking almost choking her and…

-End Nightmare-

The door to room swings open and Amaranth snaps open her eyes and looks towards the doorway. The Joker walks towards her in an almost skipping fashion.

"Well, well, well, it seems our little captive has finally awakened from her beauty rest. Tell me darling, did you have any bad dreams? Or has this hostile situation you're in been ineffective upon your sleeping fantasies?" He walks ever so slowly never tearing his gaze from her. His hands are shoved in his pockets fingering who knows what.

Amaranth is unsure what to reply, if she should tell him or not. The presence from last night resides in the back of her mind but she can not possibly believe that this man was holding her tight in a protective manner only hours ago. Yet she is not one to think before she speaks and says,

"Every minute of my sleep is haunted by nightmares no matter what the situation happens to be. They are a plague that seep into my soul and darken my skies."

He stops and looks at her in a puzzled way. Could this girl be more complicated than he thought?

"Then tell me, what nightmare plagued you last night?" He asked in a curious yet playful manner. He is evidently thinking back to when he watched her sleeping and going into spasms, shivering in the cold. A smirk crawls across his face. She doesn't answer his question though and the silence between them grows and he grows displeased. Walking up to her angrily he grabs her by her right arm and picks her up.

"I said tell me about your nightmare. I am not a patient man and if you make me wait I will not treat you so kindly. Trust me you have not seen me angry yet dear." He almost growls at her and she is just hanging limply in his grip. Staring up at him in fear but still not uttering a word. Her throat is caught and she doesn't want to talk about it, especially not to this lunatic.

"I…I don't believe it's any of your business." She whispers quietly and he suddenly drops her and she collides painfully with the cement. She flips over onto her back to try and straighten it out when he jumps down and crouches on top of her. On his knees he is straddled around her waist and has his knife out and pressed closely to her throat.

"I am not joking around and I wouldn't want to kill you, you are too much fun for that. I'd like to keep you around. But I will not tolerate this insolent behavior. I own you now and you will do as I say. Got that princess?" His face is only but three inches away from hers and his harsh tone has finally scared her into obeying. She shakes her head slowly to signify a yes that she will listen to him and reply when asked to. The smile returns on his face and slides the knife back into his breast pocket that it came from and says,

"Well then. Now that you realize my rules and understand my terms…"

He pulls her up forwards and crashes his lips onto hers and her eyes go open in shock. She is trying to push him away but he is too strong and keeps her locked tight up against him. He's licking her lips in a violent attempt to gain entry to her mouth but she keeps them tightly pressed to together. He releases her and lets out a dramatic sigh.

"Fine, try and keep your dignity for now dear. But I will get my way and you will willingly obey. Everything will come in time. These kinds of things cannot be rushed I suppose. I must be on my way to stir up some chaos in Gotham for now. A henchman should bring you in some food later." He walks swiftly to the door and slams it shut as he leaves making Amaranth flinch.

Chapter Eight

Silence fills the room, not even a creek is too heard. Now that her arms are already rubbed raw Amaranth shimmy's her hands free from the rope binding them. Her bound legs are next and are soon unknotted also and the ropes are tossed in disdain into a heap on the floor. Wobbly, she finds her way to her feet and starts to search around the room, inspecting her cage which holds her trapped like a rat. She's stumbling around a bit due to the lack of light but doesn't bother with them anyways in hope have keeping them from being alert of her awakening. On the far opposite wall of the room her fingers trace a wooden door. Standing in front of it she contemplates what might be on the other side.

Cautiously, she turns the knob and opens the door slowly to prevent any creaks escaping. A cold draft smacks her in the face but it has a stale stench to it, a dreadful sign that this room holds no window. Feeling around the wall it takes her a few minutes before the lights flicker to life and her eyes fight to re-adjust to the dramatic change. She finds herself standing in an old bathroom, the wallpaper of hideous 70s décor is peeling and torn. Her eyes float to the mirror which is smashed in and the glass still rusting in the sink. Looking closer she realizes that it's more than just rust, but also blood still dried and caked on to the sharp edges. Watching her steps, she walks over to the tub to see if still runs. It takes a good few moments before the water starts to sputter out in a hot temperature. A drain lies tossed on the floor and she puts it in place and quietly waits for the bath to fill. Gingerly, she slips off her dirty tattered clothes. A quick gasps escapes her lips as she slips into the scalding water. Letting her body adjust she closes her eyes and lets sleep envelope her once more.

-Dream/Flashback-

There's a small room dimly lit by candle and Amaranth lies in the far right on a queen size mattress with no frame. She tries to get up but a shockwave of pain shoots down her back when she starts to move. Her hand reaches back to touch the sensitive spot and her body recoils at the faintest touch to the freshly burnt flesh. In a deliberately slow manner she slides up so her legs dangle off the side of the bed. The bed sheets are lined in blood and dead skin from the wound. Looking to her left she finds her clothes tossed violently in a heap. Snoring heavily to her right, she finds herself staring at the man who gave her the scar, her step-brother. Tears well up in her eyes but she refuses to cry in his presence. She silently vows to never let him get to her, not yet at least. Taking her clothes and sneaking off into the bathroom she finds herself staring blankly at her reflection in the mirror. Her black hair is a ruffled mess and black eyeliner is rubbed all down her porcelain face. She finds herself wanting to smile at the thought that she looks like a broken porcelain doll but she can't seem to bring any emotions to the surface. A chill rips through the room as the air kicks on leaving her to shiver. Her skin is sallow and deathly pale and she is skinny enough to see her ribs under her skin. Black hollows of eye shadow and bags reside under her eyes giving her the appearance of a zombie. Steadily turning she is already dreading the horror she's about to face. While her back is now facing the vanity mirror her face is still dead set on the wall.

Moments pass and she is just breathing deeply, but gradually she starts to turn her head over her left shoulder. A small cry fills the room and her hand flies up to cover her gaping mouth. Staring back at her is a huge swelling red shakily carved blister that trails from the end of her neck to her tailbone. Suddenly, her vision runs red and she's blinded. There's a loud electrical crack followed by the shattering of glass. Amaranth's body goes tumbling limply to the floor into a swirl of blood and the broken glass of a light bulb.

-End Dream/Flashback-

"Ah he he ha…"

An ominous eerie voice giggles from just outside the door. Amaranth just faintly hears this as she drifts back to reality. The Joker stands in the doorway leaning on the frame, his hands in his pockets. The light floods back into her eyes but she's greeted by a sight that sends a shock that stops her heart. Blood is dripping down the side of the tub, tainting the water pale-red. Her right hand lays on the tub side clenched tightly gripping a now shattered glass cup. Her gaze is focused on her blood drenched fist until she hears the Joker's shoes crunch broken glass as he makes his way towards her leisurely. She whips her head up realizing her clothes-less state and darts for the towel lying on the floor next to the tub. Hastily, she wraps the towel around her body like a cocoon and stares at him terrified. Blood is seeping into the towel where she grips it and she can't help but wince from the glass being pushed deeper into the wound.

"A little fight in you, I like that."

He stops in front of the tub and they remain staring at each other as time inches bit by bit by. Neither of them making even the smallest move, he doesn't even lick his lips in the seductive lizard way he usually does. But of course the silence is broken,

"So how did you cause this giant mess? I must say it adds quiet nicely to the one I had left."

He glances over to the glass filled sink and broken mirror. Then his gaze shifts to the tub wall behind her and the floor. She finds herself following his gaze and sees bloody hand prints smeared across the wall like a child's finger painting and drops flung carelessly on the floor like a Jackson Pollock painting.

"I…I don't know, I don't…remember."

Her body is shaking and her cheeks are glowing bright red from embarrassment. Her raises his right hand and reaches out towards her and touches his cheek with his purple gloved knuckles. She recoils letting out a small whimper which only makes him let out a dark chuckle. He drops his hand from caressing her cheek at this and lets it hang limply at his side.

"You're different, I like you."

He tilts his head to the left and grins. She hesitates to move, unsure of what to do or reply. Before she has the chance to make up a choice he steps into the tub beside her and backs her up against the back wall. Once again he reaches his hand out and roughly caresses her bright pink cheeks.

Chapter 9

"What do you want me for? No one cares if I'm missing. No one will pay to have me back. I'm of no use to you."

She says softly, her eyes staring down at her feet. His fingers linger on down to the nape of her neck dancing tediously, yet gracefully. In an instant he has her bloody hand laid on top the inside of his. Looking up at his face she feels like she's in the presence of a completely different man, though this man doesn't remain for too long. His brown eyes are smooth and his face is soft. Something makes his face contort and his features go ridged and his eyes harden back to how they usually look.

"This…"

He grips her hand tightly causing her to squirm in pain.

"This shows me exactly what use you will be to me. Inside you lay the urge to tear things apart. There is so much revenge just lurking in your heart, you can't hide it. You know and I know that you don't care for this whole, um, organized civilization bullshit. People like us; we don't care for anything but chaos and…"

She cuts him off,

"And just watching the world burn."

He's grinning from ear to ear as if she spoke the very words from his scarlet lips.

"So the question remains my dear, will you join me in lighting the flames or will you lie with the wood?"

"To dance with impervious power lighting all the world aflame or watch under the gasoline sky as my life burns, my flesh charred down to the very bone, such questions of enormous deciding and so little time trickling away at this very moment."

Thinking out loud she stays staring back into his eyes with a growing uncertainty she tries to cover up the fact that she is truly unsure of what to choice.

"I can see you need more time to think this over."

By his tone she can tell he is impatient to hear her answer. Searching his eyes she looks hopelessly for a hint of something in his eyes that might make up her mind for her. His hand has returned to twirling on her shoulder like a tiny dancer.

"Or maybe I can change your mind for you."

His hand stops weaving it dance and grabs down on her waist tugging her close up against him. Instead of going for her lips like the first time he hides his face in her neck sucking gently on the skin. He can't tell but a smile tugs on her lips from the tickle of his tongue against her sensitive skin. Within a moment though the smile on her face turns into a look of disgust as she opens her mouth to scream, but his hand flies up and covers her mouth hostile. The Joker releases his mouth from the firm clamp he had with his teeth on her neck. Blood creeps to the surface of the bite marks. He lets out a disturbing high pitched cackle and whispers seductively into her ear,

"Sorry, you just looked so…delicious."

With the word 'delicious' he roughly licks the side of her face. She cringes at the contact of his warm breath against her skin.

"You know doll face I think you would make a wonderful addition to our team. Though I'm not so sure the boss would be able to keep his hands off you."

He grabs her waist once again and pulls her fixed up against him yet again. She can feel his hips poking into her sides and her hips are rubbing against his thighs. She tries and tries to push him away, but almost effortlessly he shrugs off her pitiful attempts and holds her closer. Rubbing his face into her hair he smells it, his hands rubbing her lower back, slowly tracing under her towel and up her scarred spine. With every movement of his arms she can feel his hips grinding tenderly against her. She tries to push the urge of lust away with a surge of disgust but it is a tied battle. His chest is almost wrapped around her head and she can hear his heavy breaths and feel his heart pumping hastily. Her arms dangle lifelessly at her sides and she just stares into his chest blankly, giving up any attempts to push him away and just stands there stunned. It has finally soaked in that this is all real. Her normal daily routine has been stopped and been replaced by this mad man's hidden agenda. No more work, no more structure. Her fate lies in the purple gloved hands of this clown, this beautiful demented clown.

"Doll face."

She snaps back into it and finds that he has released her except for holding her right wrist and just stares at her confused. But his confused gaze is not looking at her face but down at her tiny pale wrists. Following his glare she sees his thumb tracing three large gashes that trail vertically down her wrist, all evenly spaced as if every stroke was well mapped out. A swell of emotions fight to break though inside her, but she shoves them back down.

"You are so much more fascinating then any other girl I've captured. I'm almost always learning something new and uncontrolled about you. Your eyes are what capture me the most. They seem almost abandoned, desolate. Then I find this, these scars. They are unlike the one on your back, it's so irregular and carved out of wrath. These though, they're so constant as if dug out of desperation, a desperate endeavor to find escape and do it right. I guess though that was a fruitless exploit considering you are here right now, physically at least. Tell me doll face, have the flames devoured your soul or is it a charade of a hollow shell?"

Minutes pass in silence as she finds the right words to suit her situation as he impatiently waits for reply. Her eyes trail from her wrist and up his arms and into his unbreakable auburn eyes.

"There are things that you let get to you and others that just take you over. When things get too insubstantial we search for a way out, a way to stop the pain. And when we even fail at that the small things eat away at our souls, leaving us with a faint trace of what we used to be. Though we can't remain just an empty shell, we must create something to take the place, someone more infallible, we must reinvent ourselves. Some people are the double blade of the razor."

He doesn't speak, just stares into her light cerulean eyes seemingly amazed with the wisdom just spilling out her cherry lips with a dash of scarlet blood. She's shaking wildly and he notices her face as turned a wishy-washy shade of blue from the cold and loss of blood.

"I figure I should get you some gauze for your hand so you stop bleeding all over my floor and don't drop dead. I wouldn't feel like cleaning it all up and disposing of your body."

She starts to walk out of the tub but her feet make a painful crunch on the shattered glass and she flinches back. Making a dramatic sigh he picks her up bridal style and starts to carry her out of the bathroom and though the room she slept in. Kicking open that door he carries her swiftly through an empty living room. Before she can even blink he's already entered an old wooden stairwell. After two flights he kicks open another door, this time revealing an old bedroom. In the center is a mattress on a broken bed frame. The Joker grunts and drops her on the bed on top of the heaped up green comforter.

"Well are you going to sit there and stare at it or use it?"

His voice is obviously annoyed so she silently obeys and wraps the comforter around her frozen body and the towel. He is on the other side of the room digging up gauze and medical tape. Just as she's about to curl up nice and tight he walks over with a rusted tin medical kit. She pulls out her hand and he swiftly dresses the wound to the best of his abilities. Then before she even gets her hand back under the blanket he reaches under it and pulls the towel out from around her body. Her skin flares bright red as his hand brushes against her exposed skin, even though the blanket is in the way of him seeing where he touched.

"That's what the blanket is for."

He growls at her roughly, still annoyed.

"Why are you being so kind to me at times yet at others you seem to hate me more that life itself?"

He's standing next to the bed looking away. A smirk appears on his face and turns towards her.

"Maybe it's because I want to convince you to join my team…"

He crawls on top of the bed and till he get's almost on top of her. Leaning down to her ear he whispers,

"Or maybe I like the way your lips taste and can't resist tasting each…and…every…part…of…your…body."

At the word body he goes to lick her ear but she wraps the blanket up over her head before he gets the chance. This only infuriates him.

"You think you are so cunning doll face. But you can't hide forever, not from the world, not from me. The world will find you and I will get inside you, in every sense of that word. Don't try and deny it, don't try and deny your true self its well earned chance to get out. Listen to my words and listen closely. Think them over for when I return later I will await an answer."

Any hints of sensitivity that may have lingered in his words earlier are long gone. His voice is now hard as stone and stirs no comfort in her heart.

Chapter 10

They stare into each others eyes a long hard time as the growing silence gnaws at them. The Joker is the first to avert his eyes and walks to the door. He doesn't give a glance back just walks out locking the door to the room behind him. Amaranth remains wrapped in the blanket not making a sound for almost an hour. She fades in and out of sleep, but finds she can't remain in it; she's too restless and slept so much already. Softly she gets up still wrapped in the comforter and searches the room till she founds herself in front of a door she presumes to be the closet. When she opens the heavy wooden door a chilling draft whips into the room. A rack full of clothes hangs the majority of them purple and green and all handmade. She leafs through them making a giant gap revealing an old staircase leading to a flat door on the ceiling. Curiosity gets the best of her but first she grabs some clothes to wear. Her outfit of choice is a pair of black slacks, a lavender honeycomb button up shirt, and a huge purple coat.

Kicking aside the blanket she further advances into the closet and up to the first step on the staircase. Cautiously she ends up at the top step and pushes open the door leading on to the roof. Letting the door quietly back closed she stands up and is enveloped in the cold early November breeze. A swirl of colors capture her, the bright fall colored leaves are flying through the breeze gracefully. She stands amazed looking out at the sight around her. The house is surrounded by dying trees still bursting with bright leaves and a small dirty pond on one side. The sky overhead is cloudy and dark, the heavy grey clouds looming over. The walks to the ledge of the flat shingled area she is on and looks down onto the front lawn. The yard is pale green minus a few dead patches from tire tracks. Loose gravel stones line up on the left side to make a driveway, but no cars are present. There could be people still inside, she doubts he would have left her alone, but up on this secret spot she can only hear the trees swaying in the wind and the random call of birds. Such beautiful things can come to you in the oddest of ways. Fate brought her to this place so she must have some purpose here; hopefully it's for the good. Lying down on her back she watches the rain clouds above her head churn. The day quickly fades to dusk and there is no movement outside the house. Raindrops start to scarcely fall but Amaranth makes no attempt to go back inside. A car roars up into the driveway and voices float up to her hearing. The voices are a bit muffled but there are a bunch of men cheering and running up the ravel stones making loud crunches. Behind the distinct sound of the group of men's shuffling are the footsteps of a lone person lingering behind in the rain, though Amaranth doesn't need to look over the ledge to realize who it is.

The house is now filling with the ruckus of the men stomping through the house, celebrating their victory. Amaranth makes not a move just lays inaudibly on the roof. Not much later a pair of profound footsteps comes up the closet steps and stops when they come out the door, letting it slam closed. She makes not a single movement, just remains staring up at the sky, the raindrops tenderly cascading down her face. The person walks over beside her and sits down next to her.

"Why didn't you leave?"

The Joker asks curiously, not looking at her but out at the trees dancing hypnotically.

"I thought about it. But then I realized what I would be escaping to. Would I really want to go back to that if I had the chance or would I rather brave it out here?"

Her voice is stoic but she means every word.

"A normal person would go back to their home."

She obviously confuses him but he secretly likes the thought her staying longer, giving up her home for him.

"That house is not a home. A home should be a place with the people you love, people that care about you. That house holds nothing for me but awful memories and pain I would rather forget. That house holds nothing for me but a requiem."

A tear falls from her bright blue eyes but is washed away in the rain.

"Surely you have dreams. And you must realize if you remain in this place with me those dreams can't come true, you will have to give them up."

The words themselves are soft but his voice stays composed and rough. She's not sure if he cares or if he is just toying with her mind.

"I have no dreams, only nightmares."

There is a long silence before he speaks. They are both soaked by now but neither even seems to notice, they are too caught up in their conversation.

"Are you willing to let me become part of them?"

He looks over at her for once. Her black hair is drenched and stringy, her face a little bruised but still beautiful. For once he can actually take in all of the details of her; the lighting has always been so poor he could never really notice. Her skin is a creamy off white and dark rings have started to gather under her gorgeous vampire blue eyes. The point of her nose is rounded and small, the perfect size and shape. Her lips are faint pink and small, but pouty. The outfit of his she has chosen almost swallows her petite frame. He just stares at her taking in all of her but snaps back when she starts to reply.

"You already are. Recently it's always you…and someone else. But he doesn't matter anymore."

She speaks softly when she says that the other man in her nightmares doesn't matter anymore.

"The man who gave you the scar?"

He means it as a question but it sounds like a statement.

"No. He is…gone. There is something you must know about me if we possibly hope to commit to this life of crime together."

She doesn't wait for his answer but he nods his head in an okay anyways.

"I don't know how you came to see it in me, but I do have that urge. I have felt the pressure of another's life ended by my hands and I have painted the walls with their blood. But it wasn't really me that did it. In body form it was me, but mentally it was not. I have this…personality. When I can not control things she controls them for me. When I was about six my father took me to a psychologist to get rid of my imaginary friend and find out what was wrong with me. But she wasn't imaginary. She is real. Her name is Rowan, and she is my split-identity."

The Joker entwines his fingers in hers. She looks over at him. The rain has washed away most of his makeup. Black is running down his face and almost no white is left. The red on his lips is still there but his scars are exposed. Without a single word she sits up and grabs his hair, balling it up in her fist and kisses him passionately. At first he is taken back in surprise but soon roughly returns the favor. Yet just moments after she releases her grip on him she sighs looking out at the trees.

"Why do you make me feel like this?"

Her gaze stays focused on the trees but he still stays staring at her.

"Maybe because we are not so different."

When you are faced with what you have become things seem to distort and seem surreal. You no longer know who you are or why you are here. But there is always one thing you are sure of, you cannot brave it alone.

Chapter 11

Moments pass and they just sit there looking out into the trees their two hands still entwined. The rain crashes in a downpour all of a sudden and the Joker stands up. He pulls her up with him but gives no explanation. Dropping her hand he opens the door leading back into the closet. Once the reach the bottom of the stairs they walk out the door and straight to the door out of his room. Neither one speak a word, she just follows him obediently. They go down two flights of stairs and he stops in front a rotting oak door.

"I want to see what you are capable of. There is a man in here that is nothing more than the scum of Gotham. I want you to do your worst to him."

He voice is level and emotionless as he looks back at her eagerly. She nods a yes and he opens the door revealing the pitch dark. He reaches over to the wall and switches on the lights. The room is a mess, there is a flipped and smashed wooden dining table in the middle and the walls are lined with newspapers and such. The floor is dirty swollen hard wood with old blood stains soaked into the chestnut color. An average sized man with a designer suit and once neatly combed brown hair is frantically seated in the center. His arms and legs are tied around a metal fold up chair. When he sees The Joker walk into the room he starts to squirm. Amaranth walks at a steady pace behind him and stops short when he gets to the man. He rips the tape on the man's mouth off making the man scream.

"What the fuck do you want Joker? I haven't done jack shit to you. It's Vincent that you want, not me!"

The man has a thick Italian accent and is obviously an accessory to the mob. The Joker doesn't bother to answer right away but starts laughing hysterically. The man stares back at him like a lunatic.

"Oh calm down Rafe I don't want anything from you. Vincent will get what's coming for him in time. But on the other hand, this little lady here would like to teach you a lesson."

He steps to the side so Rafe can see Amaranth, a giant smirk on his lips. Rafe laughs and looks at the Joker like he just told the funniest joke he's ever heard.

"You think this skirt here could do any damage to me? Everyone is right; you are out of your goddamn mind. How 'bout you come over here and sit on my lap little girl I'll teach you a lesson."

Amaranth's body goes rigid and her hands ball up into tight fists. Her eyes go cold and her breathing shallows. Her gaze goes from looking at the Joker and over to looking at Rafe.

"Oh now you've really asked for it."

The Joker starts laughing obnoxiously and goes to close the door and stands leaning on it watching her every move. Amaranth slowly walks towards the man and stops right in front of him. He doesn't take her seriously yet and just looks at her challengingly. She leans down so her face is but two inches from his. He laughs and jumps forward crashing his lips on hers and biting her lip. He falls back with the chair laughing his ass off. The Joker's expression has hardened, not liking that he has touched his girl. But before he can make a move towards them Amaranth starts laughing madly. The man looks at her and the smile falls from his lips. Her hair is wildly out of place and her face is battered. Her frozen cobalt eyes burn a hole right through him. She kicks his chair bending the one leg and the back of his head collides harshly with the floor. She turns and looks back towards the Joker.

"Joker. Knife. Now."

Her voice is rough and sounds nothing like it ever has before, almost like another person. He pulls out his switchblade and hesitates before throwing it to her.

"Don't break it…Rowan."

That devilish grin breaks upon his face when he says her name and she smiles back. Then she looks down at the man on the floor. She bends down with the knife pulled out, he winces, and she cuts the ties on his legs and arms. He opens his eyes and realizes what she's done and starts to laugh.

"Biggest mistake of your life doll."

He pretends to rub his wrists to distract her then suddenly pounces towards her. Though what he didn't realize is she is still holding the open switchblade and she twists it around in his stomach, he gasps, and then she pushes him back and drops the blade.

"It's too easy with a weapon. We fight like men. I would imagine you would want me to say like men considering you will be losing to a woman. Bring it tough guy."

She stands posed ready to fight and he is still gaining his composure. She is not the patient kind and strikes before he is ready. Her fist collides with his face, cracking his nose. He stumbles backwards and she goes over and picks up the chair and folds it up. She walks hastily towards him; her face still wicked and now smeared with blood. Lifting the chair up above her head she repeatedly bashes in his head with it growing stronger with every hit. The man finally goes slack and stops breathing. After about ten minutes of relentless bashing of the man's already dead body the Joker walks over and removes the chair from her hands.

"I though you said no weapons? Fight like men remember?"

He can't help but stifle a laugh. She turns and looks at him, that wicked grin still plastered on her face.

"It's not a weapon, it is a chair. And since when did men fight fair?"

They both stare at each other and laugh crazily. It is quiet a sight. Him in a wet suit black, white, and red paint smeared and dripping off his face; her in men's clothing three sizes too big, her hair a rat's nest of black tangles, and a beautiful bruised face.

Chapter 12

Their laughter whines down and they both regain their composure. Rowan starts to calm down, her body relaxes and her face regains it's gentleness as her eyes grow softer. Her fists unclench and all the tension floats away from her body. Amaranth collapses onto the floor with a sudden blood rush to her head. The Joker looks down at her with his head cocked to the right taking in the swift personality change. He sticks out his right hand to her and she accepts letting him help her up. But she is taken off guard when he pulls her up at an alarmingly fast rate, too fast for her to comprehend at first. He pulls her close into his arms holding close to him every inch of her. Her arms are bound up close to him so she can not move, just looks up at him. His devious grin is a glow and he licks his scarlet stained bottom lip. The black drips of paint under his eyes have dried up and are crackling. Nothing distracts her though from looking straight into his chestnut eyes and wondering just what she has gotten herself into.

"Congratulations doll face you've passed the test. I've underestimated you severely. I thought almost for sure at first that he would take you down but after seeing that spark in Rowan when he said that last line to you I knew that not much would be left of him. Watching her in your body, just beating that guy over and over with that chair, not even wincing when his blood splattered on your face, it was the most enthralling thing I've ever seen a woman do."

His eyes flicker from looking at her to looking over at the disfigured body of Rafe. Amaranth looks over though she doesn't need to see it again. Rowan may have taken over but not all of the attack was her. Amaranth is no good at handling knifes, obviously, but she has a damn good swing, though she makes no notion to tell him that the part that captivated him the most was actually her own rage being taken out. The best things in life are often held out on till a more convenient occasion; all good things come in time. The Joker's gaze has shifted back to Amaranth's bruised face but she remains focused on Rafe's corpse.

"Well at least now we have supper…"

The Joker starts cracking up at his own joke but Amaranth doesn't laugh. Still staring at Rafe she replies,

"No. Italians have a repelling taste. Too fatty and full of greed, it ruins the soul taste of the meat."

She looks back him with a smile plastered on her face relieving his stunned grin.

"You almost had me there for a minute gorgeous."

Squirming her way out of her arms she walks away from him about ten feet and turns her back. She remains silent for a minute before turning back and starts sauntering towards him.

"I don't almost have you; I've got you right…where…I…want…you."

She is on her tip toes whispering 'you' when he grabs her arms tightly lifting her off the ground and snarls,

"Don't get so full of yourself doll face, you don't own me, I own you."

His face is pressed against hers whispering roughly in her left ear. His devious high pitched laughter echoes through out the room and he drops her, pushing her down to the disgusting hard wood floor. When she crumples onto the floor he vision starts to blur and she looks around hazily. She's looking up at the Joker but she can't focus and everything starts to swirl. Her body feels light and unstable as she faints, her head making a painful thump on the floor. Just before she fades into unconsciousness she hears the Joker let out a grunt and feels warm arms lift her up in discontent.

Chapter 13

Amaranth soon comes back from her short unconsciousness and finds her self being carried in the Joker's arms. She starts to struggle to get away from his arms but finds she is too weak and dehydrated to even try and match his strength. The Joker laughs at her feeble attempts to break free. Once she gives up on fighting him to let her go she sighs and looks around at the room they're now entering. There is a beat up dirty white fridge and disgusting granite countertops. He stops in front of the countertops and bends down laying her on the floor propped up against the cabinets. Automatically figuring out it would do her no good to make any attempts to get up she watches him. He moves swiftly to the filthy fridge swinging open its door violently and carelessly. He digs around for a few minutes mindlessly throwing anything that is in his way. Amaranth watches on warily wondering just what he will return to her with. He grunts and backs away from the fridge his arms full and kicks the door shut with his left foot. He walks steadily, yet hurriedly, back towards her and plops on the floor next her. She hazily looks up towards him and watches him set down all the things in his arms. First he sets down a bottle of water next to her, then a bottle of half empty jack next to himself, and in-between them a box of left over pizza. Immediately, he takes a long swig from the bottle of Jack. She lets out a small amused laugh and makes a pitiful attempt to grab a slice of the pizza, but can't pull herself forward enough to succeed. Intently, he watches her for a few minutes before just grabbing a piece for her in a dramatically overdone fashion, acting displeased with having to get it for her, but she can sense a hint of a smile on his face. When he hands her the slice he stares unflinchingly into her pallid azure eyes. His tongue licks his lips in a sensual way, as if slowly figuring out something magnificent in his mind. She stares back bemused as his tongue stops tracing his pale red lips and gradually slithers back into his mouth. Puzzlement crosses his face and he says to her,

"Why can't I get into your head? Mind games are what I do best; I have never been able to not penetrate the mind of someone, except for you my dear."

His voice maintains its roughness, but she can hear honest confusion in his words. Though his mood shifts lately have become less predictable. One moment he couldn't be more mordant to her and the next her is talking to her with true honesty in her voice. He patiently waits for her reply, an odd occurrence from him. Breathing in deeply but not losing eye contact with him she soaks in the question he just asked. After a moment of deep thinking she exhales and replies,

"I don't really know actually. I mean, even I can't full comprehend my entire mind. Rowan has her own section of my brain that she keeps locked away for herself. Then of course I have the rest but…"

Her voice fades off and she looks down at the sullied floor not looking at anything in particular. But she finds herself starting to talk once again, just more quietly.

"I figure my minds too scatter plot…too broken…to make sense of. It'd be like trying to glue pieces of a broken vase back to together."

Laughing softly she lets the silence between them enfold around her. Just when she is about to look back up the joker grabs the sides of her face with his hands and kisses her passionately and rough. It takes a few moments before she fully realizes what is happening. Though she doesn't try to push him off but actually returns the passion. He grows rougher and pushes her on the floor down on her back and moves on top of her. His forceful mood is overbearing on her weak body and she starts to breathe heavily between their violent kisses. She lets out a surprised gasp when his lips part from hers and she feels his chilly hands start to stroke under her shirt and over her stomach, greedily caressing the pale skin. Soon she finds herself doing just about the same thing, tracing the curves and flexes of his stomach as he becomes more enticed with her. His hands snake farther up to her ribs rubbing them, pleasuring in feeling the bones beneath her skin. Just as his hands reach up farther a henchman comes darting into the room shouting,

"Boss! We've got a problem!"

The Jokers glower at the man is deadly but he doesn't remove himself from on top of Amaranth. Her cheeks flush bright red, unsurprisingly embarrassed by the situation.

"This better be good Will or I'll fucking shoot you without a second glance. I don't give a damn if you're my best collaborator.

Muttering completely blaspheme the Joker lifts himself off Amaranth with an angry sigh and flops down next her. She painfully lifts her frail self up and crawls over leaning herself against the cabinets. Will walks up to them watching the Joker impatiently taking a swill from the bottle of Jack Daniels. Amaranths gaze floats up to Will and examines him. He's in an old black and white suit that greatly suites his tall stature and slender frame and elegant face. His black ear length hair is slicked back neatly, barley a hair out of place. His deep olive green eyes unable to remain calm, he is obviously a bit panicked. He has gorgeously unblemished classic ivory skin that just hardly hollows around his eyes. His features are prominent and all most perfect except his nose which bumps out a bit towards the top in a bit crooked of a way.

Chapter 14

Amaranth is just staring up at Will still examining his face. She feels as if he knows him. Overwhelmed with that feeling where you see someone and know you've met them before but can't find a date or place in your mind in which they fit. Before she realizes it the Joker is standing up walking out the door yelling back,

"Stay here with the girl Will; I will go figure things out."

The door slams vociferously and Will sighs loudly and falls disgracefully onto the floor across from Amaranth. Remaining in silence Amaranth stares at him with a still perplexed look on her face and he stays staring down at his twiddling fingers. As if they are both just waiting for who will cave first and break the ice.

"So…you're the Joker's new whore I suppose?"

His stare at his nervous twitching fingers not even flinching. She starts to quietly laugh and replies,

"No. He may wish, but I'm nothing more than a business partner."

Will's head snaps up promptly and is glaring at her in an expression she is unsure of. His eyes are staring back at hers dead on and his lips are quivering like they would if you just saw an old lover. Lusting to feel an old passion, feel anything at all to replace the loneliness. The tension between them is thick enough to cut with a samurai sword. Neither of them says a word at first but one is going to crack under the pressure soon. Without warning, Amaranth breathes in swiftly and freezes up, her vision starts to blur as something in her brain clicks, and she sees a memory.

Everything around her is a bit fuzzy but only two inches away from her is a man. His face is close up against hers, breathing like mad, caught in a moment of intense fervor. She looks into his unfathomable jade green eyes and lets out a gasp as he pulls her close and fills the void between them. Delicately, everything begins to soften and she hurdles back out of her mind and back into reality.

Just as she comes back and is surrounded in intense clarity she hears Will gently mumble something, something like a name. But she is too besieged to catch just precisely what he says. Without a single word he starts to crawls towards her, his eyes still in an unbreakable stare with hers. Her breathing shallows but she doesn't move as she watches him inch bit by bit towards her. Stopping just as he gets in front of her he sits back and crosses his legs applesauce style. His lips still quivering, as if searching for the right words, but there are too many going through his mind.

"William? Why…Why do I know you?"

Her voice is weak with confusion and she leans forward a bit. He gasps back an almost overjoyed sound and says,

"Rowan? Rowan is it really you? My god I haven't seen you in…why it must be years. Oh yes. I remember, it's been about six years. Six long years since I've last touched your silky hair, stroked your fair smooth skin. Six years since I've tasted the irresistible poison of your lips. Do you not remember me? You must remember me…I…loved you. I still love you. And you must have loved me to. The way you'd look at me with those stunning blue eyes. They're still as beautiful as they were the day I watched you leave. Tears pouring out of them like rainclouds weeping. Why don't you remember me?"

Williams' eyes well up a bit as he speaks hurriedly, seeking an answer as to why she can't recall him. Watching him in such a mess makes her anxious. Wondering why Rowan knows him, if she really loved him. From what she does recall of Rowans memories she has never seen this man before, not before moments ago went one crashed into her like a tidal wave.

"I'm not Rowan. At least not mentally right now. I'm Amaranth; Rowan is my…other half. I'm sorry I can't remember you. She must keep you safe in her memories. I can't really just bring her out, or trust me I would. But give her time, she will come. She always comes."

Seeing William almost cry makes her have to choke back tears of her own. She watches him intently waiting to see an exact reaction; not knowing if Rowan ever told him about her. His hand reaches up towards her then shakily skitters back against his chest where he holds it tight in his other hand against his heart.

"Oh, Amaranth. Rowan had told me about you, but I guess I never really took in the time to believe her. Foolishly thinking you were but some sort of imaginary friend. I'm sorry, I must seem crazy to you, sitting here in tears rambling on about someone who you are not. You must forgive me but…could I have a favor? Could I just…kiss you?"

At first she is a little taken back but she can feel something pushing her towards saying yes, though she cannot bring herself to say it. Gently she nods her head in a yes and scoots a little bit closer to him. A tender smile brightens his face and he unclasps his hand letting one reach out and stoke her cheek. A small affectionate laugh escapes his lips as he caresses her smooth light skin. He mumbles,

"Just how I remember it…"

Amaranth can't help but gently smile at Williams kind calm voice reminiscing in a fond memory of Rowan; of her. It seems like moments before his eyes float softly back to hers and he inches closer and closer to her. Their faces are only inches apart and without a single word or hesitation they kiss; dawdling serene kiss that seems to make time stop. Every single thing that has happened in the past few days slips off Amaranth's mind and all she can think about is this very moment, right now. Neither one makes an immediate decision to part lips but after a few more moments they almost simultaneously inch away leisurely and open their eyes looking back at each other unsure of what to do now. Fortunately, neither needs to make the decision because the door to the room slams open and William throws himself back across the room and hastily gains his composure. The Joker comes waltzing into the room whistling a cheery tune and stops to address to two.

"Something seems…strange."

They both freeze up and look at each other frantically.

"Why what do you mean sir? Everything is fine."

William well disguises the panic in his voice and looks up at the Joker as if he's crazy.

"No…No I'm pretty sure something seems strange."

Amaranth starts to breathe a little heavily and looks up at him,

"We've done nothing; it's just quite the same as it was when you left."

The Joker cocks his head to the left and looks around back and forth. They all remain in silence, William and Amaranth wordlessly panicking and the Joker looking around aimlessly. Suddenly, the Joker shouts,

"AH-HA!"

William and Amaranth both jump a little, scared by his sudden realization. William gently asks,

"What sir?"

The Joker walks over and picks up the bottle of Jack still laying on the floor, two thirds of the way gone.

"One of you drank my jack didn't you? Oh how cute, you thought I wouldn't notice. Well I did. I expect more from two respectable people like you."

They both breathe out a sigh of relief and start to laugh nervously.

"Well, moving on, William the henchmen are setting things up. They are to alert us when all is prepared."

William shakes his head in full agreement and Amaranth looks up at the Joker puzzled,

"What exactly are they preparing for…sir?"

He laughs and crouches down besides her, his makeup all redone and his clothes clean and dry.

"Why my little doll, we are going to do what people like us do best. And lately Gotham has been lacking a lot of it; Chaos."

CH15

The Joker jumps up from his crouch, laughing maniacally. William has stood up and waits nervously for the Jokers orders.

"Amaranth."

She looks up at the Joker who is in return looking down at her.

"Tomorrow we start so you must get rest. Now I have much to do before tomorrow so Will must take you to my room and look after you."

Amaranth nods her head solemnly in a yes, as does William, but she knows he is just ready to burst. The Joker looks over at William who is hiding his enthrallment.

"Sorry if this puts you in any disposition Will, but I cannot let my little pet venture out on her own just yet."

The Joker grins showing his pale yellow teeth when he sees Amaranths face flare bright red at his nickname "pet".

"What 'pet'? Not willing to except what you are? Sorry if I may have led you on to believe you are anything but that. "

The sarcasm in his voice stings Amaranth as his eerie high pitched laughter echoes throughout the room. Her face is so red with anger that William starts to intervene when she cuts him off.

"I am not nor ever will be your pet you crazy clown!"

She jumps up and is in his face within an instant when she gets to the word crazy. Without hesitation his purple gloved right hand reaches up and slams against her face so hard William flinches and she falls backward in a dizzy state. As she stumbles to get back up he leans down but four inches from her face and says,

"I'm not crazy. No. I'm not."

As he stares back at her with utter seriousness she is too shaken up to even remark without trying to hit him. The left side of her face is bright pink and swelling. The spite in her eyes is enough to make him back up and turn to William.

"Take her to your room. She is undeserving of my bed tonight."

His voice is scruffy and resentment filled. Swiftly he turns back towards her, getting so close to her she can feel his searing breath prickling the hairs on her neck.

"When you treat me with the respect you should you will earn your proper place doll face."

He giggles a dark light sound and walks nonchalantly out the door making an emphasis on slamming it, rattling the frame. As soon as they are sure he is gone William rushes towards her and gently grabs her face. There is a swollen salmon pink hand print on her left cheek which holds great contrast against the rest of her pale face.

"Oh my are you okay?"

Williams' voice is frantic as he holds her face in his rough hands. She avoids looking in his eyes and mutters,

"Yes…yes I'm fine."

Still avoiding his eyes she tries to walk away, but he pulls her back and makes her look at him directly in his endless olive green eyes. A warm smile plays on his face.

"Come, I will take you to my room so you can rest."

He takes her hand and leads her out the door to the staircase. Instead of going up the stairs to the Jokers room he leads her down two staircases to his room. When they get to the bottom of the staircase they reach a long hallway with rooms down it on both sides. Numbers are written on the doors with red paint in sloppy hand writing. At a steady pace William leads her all the way to the last door on the left side numbered twenty-three. The crimson drips dried on the wooden door are starting to peel giving the number a seemingly menacing appeal. Out of curiosity, Amaranth asks,

"Why are they numbered?"

He looks back at her and softly laughs,

"I forgot that this must seem weird to you. I've grown kind of used to them after so long. These are the henchmen's dorms. I suppose the Joker numbered them to keep track of where each henchmen is. I always want to laugh…It's like a hotel from hell. A lot of men spend their last days here."

He trails off and leads her into the room. Unlike all the other rooms she's seen his has dark green shag carpeting. The room is fairly small but has a twin sized bed covered in purple blankets and bed sheets and a small wooden coffee table. Looking back behind the door there is a diminutive one person bathroom. His hand is still clasped around hers nervously and he leads her over to the bed and sits down beside her on it. The black sheets are tidily made and tucked in. Amaranth can't help but giggle at his neatness; her own room is left alone in a mess. He looks at her funny with a tiny smile,

"What's so funny?"

Looking back at him she smiles and says,

"Your room is so organized; it's kind of funny to a messy person like me."

He looks around at what few things he does have; a pile of folded clothes, a few nicely scattered magazines on the coffee table next to a digital clock.

"Well, there isn't too much to keep up with so it's not too hard."

They quietly laugh to themselves. Their eyes connect and the laughter dies down. Footsteps start to echo from the staircase and down into the dorm hallway, but they both seem oblivious to it. For all they know the world could be crashing down around them and neither would even flinch from their stare. A hurricane of emotions overwhelms Amaranth and she is overcome.

"When I look into your eyes I can almost feel my heart stop and everything becomes absolutely clear. It's such an amazing feeling I almost can't explain it. I know it is not my place to be with you when the Joker claims me, but with him it's something completely different. When I'm him my heart races and my whole body goes numb and I feel like I'm not alone. But when I'm with you I feel like I belong. All these emotions come crashing upon me and I can feel this thriving connection with you. I refuse to believe I'm the only one feeling this. Tell me, William, do you feel the same?"

"When I was with Rowan-"

She cuts him off,

"I don't care about Rowan. I want to know how you feel towards me, Amaranth."

She is a little agitated but doesn't let it show.

"When I'm with you I feel…"

He trails off looking down at his feet in search of the right words.

"I feel my heart skip a beat when I see the sparkle in your eyes. When I look at you I can't help but think of Rowan, but that glimmer in your eyes sets you apart from her and makes me forget about her and think only of you. This sounds so strange, I barley know you but I find myself dying to know everything. Perhaps you and I were meant to be; or perhaps we're just crazy. But then again we must be crazy because the Joker believes you belong with him and here we are longing to be with each other. If he were to find out he'd more than likely kill us both. So what are we to do?"

They both remain silently sitting together hand in hand. Both their gazes though have shifted to the floor. William is the first to break the awkward silence swallowing them.

"Let's not think about that right now, right now let's just enjoy the time we have together. You should probably be getting to sleep anyways, you seem awful weak."

The reality of how tired she is becomes more evident to her and she decides not to protest. She lays back and pulls the blanket around her and curls up. William stands up and grabs a dark green blanket from the floor next to the coffee table.

"What are you doing?"

Asks Amaranth innocently. William blushes and looks down at the blanket in his hands, twiddling his fingers around the cloth.

"Well I figured I'd sleep on the floor so you could have the bed…"

Amaranth stifles a laugh and replies wile patting the empty space beside her.

"You know there is room for one more. I promise I won't bite…maybe."

William smiles and blushes again. Looking up towards her he walks over and lies down beside her, covering himself with the dark green blanket. With a smile glowing on her face she scoots up close against his chest and he wraps his arms around her holding her protectively. She can't help but think that being so close up against him feels so familiar. She shrugs the notion off though and lies cradled up against him till she falls soundlessly asleep. For minutes he just stares down at her matted black hair pressed against his chest with a small smile. But for some reason when he places his arm around her waist his smile turns into a wicked grin and a hint of possessive lust sparkles in his dark green eyes. Closing his eyes he falls asleep, keeping tight his grip around her.

CH16

Amaranth awakes from her sleep in a jolt. Looking around frantically she finds William sound asleep next to her snoring softly. Her heartbeat starts to calm and she tries to remember what exactly just happened in her dream, or what should rather be called a nightmare.

There's a flash of light that cuts through the pure darkness. A little girl is huddled inside a plastic yellow playground slide softly whimpering. The light moves back and forth, obviously from a flashlight. Loud footsteps crunching on leaves and gravel stones echo through the cool night's air. At first the lurking stranger makes no sounds other than the footsteps, just continues to wonder aimlessly. The girls' heart beats loudly in her chest when the footsteps come towards the slide and the flashlight stops at the bottom of the slide. A strange whistled tune floats through the silence sending a chill up the small child's spine. The tune strikes her as familiar, like an old lullaby, but she can't remember the words. When the whistling dies down the flashlight grows even brighter pointing into the slide and her heart skips a beat. A gentle but chilling laughter rips up the slide and echoes to her ears and is soon followed by a voice.

"I know you're up there princess."

The mans dark voice is like a growl and his laughter grows louder. As the man is about to crawl up the slide the girl's blood runs cold when she starts to see him come into view as he climbs up into the slide, drawing closer and closer to her. Her eyes are shut tight trying to wish the man away but just when she feels him grab her arm…Amaranth darts awake.

She can't help but shudder at the memory of the mans voce and collapses down on her back. With a sigh she looks over to her right and sees a clock on the coffee table read 11:12 pm. Breathing deeply she realizes she can't get herself back to sleep, haunted by the man from her nightmares. The nightmares seem so real, like memories, but she can't seem to actually remember them happening. Turning her head back to the left she sees William. His chest moves up and down steadily to its own rhythm. The muscles of his face are relaxed and emotionless leaving him in what is seemingly a tranquil bliss. Just when Amaranth is about to turn her head away she sees the muscles in his face start to tighten and his face contorts. A menacing scowl creeps onto his lips and his body goes rigid. His hands lying beside him curl into tight fists and his breathing grows intense. Amaranth turns onto her side and lies watching him intently. For the first few minutes he has remained quiet, but then he starts to mumble and Amaranth listens closely. She can't hear any words for certain, it's mostly unintelligible, but one thing she hears for sure,

"Come out little mousey, the cat is here to play."

The phrase is nothing short of puzzling but just the way he says it so dark and possessively sends chills down her spine and she crawls to the other side of the bed. Staring at him she contemplates what to do. Grabbing a blanket from the bed she starts to crawl silently onto the floor. The thought of leaving the room crosses her mind a few times, but she is worried just what she will run into outside the room. Figuring that nothing better could be lurking outside she just quietly curls up under the blanket next to the bed, opposite of the side where William lies. Things are oddly quiet except the occasional stomping of footsteps or running of water banging the pipes. Closing her eyes and letting the darkness wrap around her, Amaranth soon fades back into oblivion.

The sun starts to peek behind the dark trees surrounding the house. With the sunset hitting the autumn colored leaves it looks like the woods are on fire. Just about everyone in the house has awoken and is making final preparations for the day that lies ahead, the day that just might be their last. Most of the henchmen are gathered in the kitchen eating or playing cards, acting completely nonchalant. Just outside the door of the kitchen is William in what appears to be a grungy living room of sorts. He's standing straight composing an aura of confidence around him and smoking a cigarette. Heavy footsteps pound down the staircase and into the henchmen's hallway. As the footsteps grow closer to Williams room Amaranth starts to move around a bit, but is not completely aroused from her slumber. The person comes to a halt in front of the door and lingers for a moment before gently opening the door. Looking around confused they can't see her but start tip toeing to the other side of the room. When stumbling upon her the person softly giggles and kneels down beside her. Amaranth stats to wake and just when she opens her eyes goes to let out a scream but finds a purple gloved hand covering her mouth. The Jokers' Glasgow grin is upturned from ear to ear.

"Morning doll face!"

His voice is cheery and he seems overjoyed. Amaranth breathes deeply and sits up, swatting his hand from off her mouth.

"What don't like my touch doll? I seem to remember you not disagreeing to my touch and more than willingly, almost greedily tasting them just the other day."

Licking his lips in that way that he does, he reaches down and pulls Amaranth up. She struggles to get free from his grip.

"Now, now, now, there's no reason to be so frisky my dear. You're behind schedule and we must be on our way soon, now follow me without any more struggle and I won't have to get frisky myself."

He laughs in an obnoxious outburst and pulls her tediously up the stairs. After three cases they reach his room. Pulling her straight in the doorway he only stops when he gets to a dresser.

"What are we doing?"

Looking around curiously, she shifts back to look at him rummaging through the dresser. After a few minutes he pulls out a knee length black skirt and lime green tank top. Before tossing the clothes to her he says,

"Well you can not go out into public looking like that. My pets always look more tasteful and right now you look like a rag doll. Now we don't have time for you to shower so get dressed then I'll help you with your makeup."

She catches the clothes then looks up at him,

"Excuse me? What makeup?"

Laughing hysterically he walks over and picks up a plastic container full of facial paint.

"Now you didn't think you could just go without a disguise did you? Don't be so silly doll face; you have to look like a real doll so no one knows who you are."

She rolls her eyes and looks over at him standing behind her but three feet away leaning against the wall with a straight face and just waits.

"I need to get dressed."

He shrugs his shoulders and says,

"I don't mind."

Grunting in frustration she knows she can't get him to leave even if she tried. Turning away from him she starts to undress. His eyes watch her slide out of the oversized black pants of his she had on. Amaranth blushes glad that she turned away from his hungry eyes. The purple honeycomb shirt she has on falls down mid thigh so he can't see much but still he watches her attentively. After adjusting the skirt she frowns because it is a bit too revealing for her taste. The lime green tank top lies at her feet and she looks down at it regretting what she's about to do. Gingerly, she unbuttons the lavender shirt and hesitates on the last button. The Joker is watching closer than ever almost anxiously. With a soft sigh she slides the shirt down off her shoulders and lets it fall to the floor. Reaching her arm up and covering her breasts she kneels down and grabs the bright green tank top. The faded pink scar running down her back hypnotizes the Joker and his eyes retrace it over and over making note of every single hesitation in the line; every moment where the men who did it stopped to relish in her painful cries. Just as he is about to look over it again the tank top hides it and Amaranth turns back to face him; her face flaring bright pink. Snapping back into it he walks over and grabs the container he laid down. She goes to grab something out of it but he pushes her hand away.

"I am doing it."

She thinks about protesting, but knows there is no way of possibly winning an argument against him; you can't talk to a psycho like a normal human being. First he pulls out the white base and rubs it surprisingly tenderly over her whole face. Digging through the container for a few seconds he soon finds an appropriate shade of bright pink. Amaranth looks down at him a little puzzled but doesn't move her head or speak. Skillfully he paints her lips bubble gum pink that lead into her own Glasgow smile, but instead of a grin hers is frown. Next to be placed on her is the darkest of black paint that is hollowed around her eyes just like his, except next to her left eye he paints a tiny little black star. Tossing the makeup back into the container he looks at his creation and grins widely.

"Now all you need is…a name!"

"But I already have a name."

"But I already have a name."

"That name will not do, you need a new name. Hmmm…"

Amaranth just sits calmly thinking of something but she can't think of anything. The Joker lets out a loud 'ah-ha!' and she jumps, startled by his sudden outburst.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN (Finally)

The Joker giggled and stepped back to admire his work. Amaranth looked into the small mirror in the makeup box and frowned. When the Joker sees this he looks at her and frowns overdramatically.

"Do you not like my work?"

Grabbing a tissue she rubbed off the obnoxious pink frown.
"I'm not a fan of pink, the rest though I can deal with."

Rummaging through the bin she finds deep red lipstick and jet black lipstick. Sitting on the bed he watches her with an amused look as she paints her lips the dark scarlet red and draws a thick black line in the middle of her pouty lips like a mime. Mumbling just a 'humph' the Joker shifts how he's sitting a little and watches her wait for a real reaction from him. Finally after a few minutes debating, he stands up and says,

"Not too bad doll face. I must say the mime appeal works on you…"

He trails off walking around her in a circle sizing her up taking in all of her appearance. Slowly, he licks his lips as he faces in front of her again. Amaranth tries to avoid looking into his hungry eyes that are currently practically undressing her in his mind. Inching closer to her she looks up dreadfully into his mesmerizing lustful brown eyes. Neither of them says anything, but he draws in closer to her face till their foreheads touch and her heart skips a beat. His breath is hot and heavy against her face till he turns his head and whispers into her right ear,

"Tell me doll face; do you ever feel the need to be with someone because you know you could manipulate them? Because you know you could control them?"

The urge to lie burns at her throat but she croaks out only a small 'yes' and soon after regrets it. His grin is a mile wide and he rustles his nose in her hair a bit inhaling tenderly.

"Have you ever felt…love?"

He pauses a minute from inhaling the scent of the skin as he trails down to the crook of her neck and nestles his face there. Lightly, he starts suckling a sensitive spot on her neck making her want to squirm from a mix of excitement and repulse. Burying the need to move away she remains still until he starts nibbling softly on her pale flesh and she starts to wiggle a little. A deep dark laughter starts to pound by her ear and he starts to speak again.

"Or are you so blinded by lust that all you want t do is control?"

Cool air is blown against the inside of her ear and she flinches only to once again make him laugh in victory. Reactions only give him more motivation, making him aware of just how easily he can get under her skin and make her squirm in confusion.

"Have you ever touched someone…"

Once again his face buries into her hair but his right hand starts to travel up the side of her thigh and slides up under her skirt and to her hips. Purple gloved fingers play with the waistband of her underwear.

"…And had to hold yourself back from hurting them?"

The hand on her hip digs deep into her skin and the other hand flies up and viciously grabs a tight hold of her hair as he pushes her down on the bed. Climbing on top of her his hands don't loosen their grips but tighten even more. Arching his back and lowering his face to hers he stares dead into her pale blue eyes and finishes his statement.

"From literally tearing them apart?"

As soon as Amaranth tries to push herself up his hands grab her wrists and pin them above her head. Before she can scream in protest his mouth comes down on hers and muffles her yells with an intense harsh kiss. He starts to slide his sly tongue into her mouth but she bites his lower lip. Breaking from her he laughs loudly,

"Feisty today aren't we? Well we'll just have to fix that later. Now, now, now, calm down dear this will only hurt a little bit."

Giggling insanely he uses his right hand to hold down both her wrists while his left hand retrieves his beloved knife from his breast pocket.

"Just in case you get lost on our little endeavor today people will know who to return you to."

Pushing up her lime green tank top he reveals the soft smooth white skin of her belly. Just below her rib cage he positions the knife into it the perfect slicing angle. Looking up at her petrified face he can do nothing but laugh as he starts to pierce her flesh. Amaranth holds back a soft cry well aware that crying out would only bring him pleasure. Bright scarlet rushes up to the cuts as he carves them and the blood bubbles till they start to spill down her sides; only exciting him further. For five minutes, but what seems like an hour to Amaranth, the Joker slowly cuts letters into her skin relishing in her pain. Once he is done he wipes the blood on the knife onto the bed sheet and proceeds to flick it shut then return it to his pocket. Tears are now threatening to pour out of Amaranths eyes but she refuses to break in the presence of this man that would find only joy in her misery. 'No, not a man.' She thinks, 'A monster.' After staring at what he's down for a few minutes he looks up at her and says,

"Not much of a screamer are you? I bet I could make you scream…"

Licking his lips in that seductive way he looks at her like a piece of meat with his enthusiastic eyes. His hand glides once more up her thigh but she tries to kick him away. All he does is look up at her and say,

"Tsk, tsk. Don't you like me darling? I know you've just been dying for this. I can see it in your eyes."

Amaranth doesn't know whether to cry out in agony or ecstasy as his tongue traces her lower ribs by the wounds. About halfway up he starts to suck on the skin In between her rib bones and works his way higher. Only when his hand presses against some of the cuts does she scream out in pain and tries to furiously kick him away. Sighing loudly he sits up letting go of her wrists but remains sitting on her waist.

"No, no, you're right. We really should get going; we don't want to miss the fireworks now do we? OH! But you probably want to see your tag don't you? Well let me fetch the mirror."

Jumping up giddy as a school girl he grabs the small mirror off the dresser and walks nonchalantly towards her, his smile a million miles wide.
Pain tears through her as she tries to sit up and blood drips down her to the top of her black skirt. Avoiding the pang of pain she tries not to slouch and holds herself up. Joke angles the mirror towards her stomach so she can see what he calls 'her tag'. A shock wave goes through her as she sees the pink swollen blood oozing letters;
"JOKERS "
-insert heart-

Tears return to fighting to break loose but once more she holds them back. Sees her eyes shimmer in the light his face glowers in pure victory with a grin so huge she thinks his smile might break his face. That is if she doesn't break it first.

"Don't you just love the little heart? I think it will add a little more personality to them when they become scars. A cheery up note if you will say."

Swiftly, she darts up and smacks the mirror out of his hand, almost oblivious to the pain in her abdomen, and sends the mirror smashing into a hundred pieces on the floor. Getting up in his face on her tiptoes she screams,

"YOU MONSTER!"

Pacing around the room she starts throwing anything she comes across that she knows will smash as he just stands by watching her go on her destructive rampage. Left and right she rips papers off the wall and tears them to shreds in a tizzy. Joker clears his throat and says ruggedly,

"I'm not a monster…I'm just ahead of the curve."

He giggles lowly watching her smash things while blood still drips down her staining the neon green tank top.

"You sadistic, masochistic, self-absorbed, FREAK!"

She picks up a glass lamp and hurls it against the wall making a vast shattering sound sending millions of glass shreds through the air. He walks over and grabs her shoulders tight and makes her look at him.

"You are no different than I am doll face."

Pausing a moment and breathing heavily she looks frantically at him then with a puzzled look asks,

"How do you figure?"

The devious grin returns on his face once again.

"You are just a freak, like me!"

He lets out a blood curling hellish giggle and she pushes him off, but quickly he regains his grip and stops his laugh only to become dead serious.

"I will never be like you."

Pure spite drips from her words as her stare almost burns a hole right through him. His facade of a straight face break and he laughs again and glares down at her proudly.

"No you are right doll face you won't; because you know what? You are worse than me."

Shaking her head rapidly no he continues on anyways.

"Oh yes, you are. Look at yourself dear. You're over run by hate and revenge. So much s that your hate overflows to a knife and starvation. You can't even stand to look at yourself when you look in a mirror because what you see anymore isn't you. So you over compensate for you flaws by doing everything you're told like a fucking lap dog. Do tell me doll, do you enjoy taking orders or are you just so willing to get others to except you?"

No longer does she make any attempts to hold back her tears and just lets them flow freely.

"All my life all I've been is a failure. It tears me up inside knowing no one is proud of what I am…"

"What are you?"

A gentle sob is choked out before she can reply.

"I don't even know anymore. It's been so long since I last even knew."

Amaranth collapses down to the floor flooded with despair, her sobs become more deep and desperate. The Joker crouches down to the floor next to her and wraps his arms around her and pulls her close into his chest. The sweet steady rhythm of his heartbeat beside her head calms her down a bit but she continues to softly weep. Listening to the thumping of his heart she realizes that even though he might be a monster inside him lays a beating heart of a human just like her. Golden sunlight pours over the room surrounding them as the sun reaches the very top of the trees outside. For moments they just stay entwined like this listening to the breathing of one another as Amaranth soft cries start to die down. Blood from her vibrant tank top starts to seep into his olive green vest but he doesn't seem to notice, neither of them does, except Amaranth occasionally twinges from the pain of the cuts. Just as the Joker starts to say something a loud banging on the door startles them both.
"Boss, we're ready to go."

A man with a rough deep voice yells through the door. With a dramatic sigh the Joker lets go of Amaranth and gets up.

Chapter Seventeen

"We'll be out in a minute Sparks."
He bends over cracking his spine and pulls her up. They just stare at each other for a moment but then they snap out of it and hustle awkwardly side by side out the bedroom door. When they reach the staircase men are quickly shuffling up and down them. Of the few men who talks to the Joker they ll address him and Sir and none make note of Amaranth as she tries to hide out of their view behind him. What she can't tell is as they walk past they all secretly turn to look back and eye her. When the Joker catches anyone doing this he shoots glares as sharp as daggers at them. But then again, who could blame them? Other than her outfit now stained with drying blood and theatrical makeup she looks beautiful. The black hollows of paint around her eyes that are coated over pure white make her bright pale eyes stand out so stunningly that one can't help but black skirt rides up a bit exposing healing cuts and bruises but her legs are long and slender in a beautiful shade of porcelain ivory. Her black tresses fall gently to her shoulders in small wavy curls at the ends. As they descend off the staircase all the men huddled in the living room cease their sounds and look at them. While most gazes are on her, others seem to know better and look at the Joker dead on. Upon seeing this the Joker clears his throat very obnoxiously to get their attention.
"I see you all have become aware of our little guest by now. This, everyone, is Amaranth and she will be joining us for the time being. And I do not appreciate you all gaping and gawking over her considering she is mine."
Immediately all the men avert their eyes to him to avoid any ill fated death because they disobeyed his orders. An arm snakes around her waist and pulls her close. She knows the Joker is only doing so to show his men that she belongs to him, but she can sense his jealousy by how he holds her so close and tight. Many of the men appear disappointed that she is not fair game, but she forebodes a few will try anyways. Amaranth scans the crowd of men whose eyes remain on the Jokers while he gives instructions on what they are to do. No one returns her wondering stare except one man. Leaning against the wall with his left hand in his black suit jacket; his right hand holding a cigarette as he blows out smoke. A shiver goes up her spine watching how sexily he blows out the white puffs. He hardly blinks, remaining adamant on keeping his eyes locked on hers. Even though he's across the room she can see the deep green of his eyes observing her, almost like they could see right through her. He gaze wonders down to his lips that part slowly and are clouded by the smoke that rolls off his tongue. A slow small smiles creeps across his faint pink lips when he realizes where she's watching. Two rows of pearly white teeth glisten behind his lips just barely in view. Amaranth's lips starts to quiver and her legs tremble. The Joker seems oblivious to the tension filled star going on right beside him between Amaranth and William. After a few moments the men start to shuffle out of the room in a hurry and the Joker tugs Amaranth to follow her. William drops his cigarette on the floor and steps on it and walks away with the men. Amaranth doesn't look back as the Joker pulls her alongside him, but can almost feel that William did. Once they step out the front doorway Amaranth is taken back at first by the brightness but once she adjusts can see the sun is blinded by dark clouds. The Joker stops when she pulls back and watches as she turns her head into his chest to keep from looking into the vividness of the daylight she has been deprived of for so many days. His arms warp around her, once resting on the back of her head the other on her waist. Chuckling lightly he looks down at her as she looks up at him. For a moment they seem like completely different people. His purple gloved left hand slides from the back of her head to the front and brushes her bangs from her face and gently strokes her forehead. That ever so rare soft glimmer of someone else graces his face as her looks down at her as something other than a toy. Slowly, and almost reluctantly, he leans down to her face and closes his eyes. When he is just about to kiss her he whispers very tenderly,
" I don't know just who you are, or who I am, but for this moment we are nothing but two strangers burning with a passion to destroy the life we do know. So are you ready to give it all up?"
Amaranth pauses in silence and just breathes shallowly in thought. After a minute she very calmly whispers back,
"Yes."
The Joker closes the space between their lips and slides his hand back into her hair twirling it in his fingers and enjoying this minute almost perfect moment. The violent red on his lips smear the red on her, mixing it with the white paint on both of their faces. Their kisses stay tender but grow needier and almost urgent. A van in the driveway kicks to life and they start to stop, their lips very slowly moving against each other and then stop. With hesitation the Joker pulls his lips away from hers in a calm manner. They both awkwardly regain their composure and the Joker wraps his arm around her waist tightly once more and they both hustle down the steps into the driveway. The men are all dressed in normal raggedy wear and all different clown masks and are jumping into one of the three vans. The Joker leads her up to the one nearest the end of the driveway and lets go of her waist to open up the back doors. He grabs her hand and pulls her up into the back with all of the weapons and such sitting back there. Sitting down without a word to him she watches as he walks around to the front and jumps into the drivers seat. Four other men file into the seats in front of her and one leaps into the back with her and shuts the doors behind him. He wears a white mask with a frown lined in blue with red tears under the face and black nose painted in between. Calmly, but with a hint of tension the man sits beside her very closely and takes off his mask. Amaranth looks down at the tools rolling around by her feet as the Joker starts to drive.
Dark thunderclouds loomed over the city of Gotham giving the day a certain kind of eerie feeling. The Joker and his followers drive recklessly through traffic in an old unmarked grey van. Joker giggles in delight as he pushes other cars out of his way and watches them swerve and crash. Henchmen cheer him on, but secretly cling to the seats praying that he doesn't end up in an accident and putting their life in danger. In the very back of the van with the explosives and gear are Amaranth and William getting tossed around with every move back and forth that the Joker makes. Tension between the two is so thick the temperature in the back must be at least ten degrees hotter than in the front of the van. Williams gaze is set dead on her but she only looks down at the empty glasses and rags in the bag at her legs.
"You remember don't you?"
William spoke so low and ruff she barely heard him. Aggression rippled every muscle in his body but his outfit was too baggy for her to notice even if she did look up. For once William was not in the black and white suit he usually dons. Instead he wore torn black jeans and a plain black long sleeve shirt that hung on his slender frame. This William was a William she hadn't seen in years, let alone couldn't remember, but for obvious reasons. Silence absorbed them and gnawed with every breath they took. Finally, Amaranth exhaled heavily and looked up at him with darkened grey blue eyes and said,
"I know I remember you, but I can't recall why. And Rowan won't tell me why either. So please William, just tell me who you were to me in my past and help me to understand this giant gap in my heart that I feel belongs to you."
Staring into his spacious green eyes she felt she was looking into the soul of someone who was so tormented that it sent a chill down her spine. Something inside of him was dying to reach out and stop who he was and become someone else, but it was starting to seem like a dying glimmer. That small little sparkle faded out as soon as he opened his mouth to speak and the old William returned.
"Some things are better left to be learned through time and right now isn't the greatest timing considering the current situation."
He glanced up at the Joker and Henchmen who were still watching the road and innocent towns' people being run aside. Amaranth didn't speak, but just nodded her head in understanding to him. Suddenly, the van comes to a halt throwing both William and Amaranth against the back of the back seats along with all the other stuff lying around with a huge thud. All the henchmen immediately jump out carelessly forcing the doors open as the Joker comes around back to open it and retrieve some needed ammunition. As the back van doors are pulled open Amaranth darts out before the Joker can even blink. He whirls around to grab her, but realizes she standing behind him and not making a run for it.
"What? Did you think I was making a run for it? When there is gasoline to spill and lighters to be dropped? You know how much I adore fire Joker. I'd expect more from you."
She looks at him with a devious smirk and he just grins back in accomplishment, acutely aware of the monster inside of her that he's unleashed.

ENDING

Written In Blood, The Final Chapter.

Recap:
"I know I remember you, but I can't recall why. And Rowan won't tell me why either. So please William, just tell me who you were to me in my past and help me to understand this giant gap in my heart that I feel belongs to you."
Staring into his spacious green eyes she felt she was looking into the soul of someone who was so tormented that it sent a chill down her spine. Something inside of him was dying to reach out and stop who he was and become someone else, but it was starting to seem like a dying glimmer. That small little sparkle faded out as soon as he opened his mouth to speak and the old William returned.
"Some things are better left to be learned through time and right now isn't the greatest timing considering the current situation."
He glanced up at the Joker and Henchmen who were still watching the road and innocent towns' people being run aside. Amaranth didn't speak, but just nodded her head in understanding to him. Suddenly, the van comes to a halt throwing both William and Amaranth against the back of the back seats along with all the other stuff lying around with a huge thud. All the henchmen immediately jump out carelessly forcing the doors open as the Joker comes around back to open it and retrieve some needed ammunition. As the back van doors are pulled open Amaranth darts out before the Joker can even blink. He whirls around to grab her, but realizes she standing behind him and not making a run for it.
"What? Did you think I was making a run for it? When there is gasoline to spill and lighters to be dropped? You know how much I adore fire Joker. I'd expect more from you."
She looks at him with a devious smirk and he just grins back in accomplishment, acutely aware of the monster inside of her that he's unleashed.

The Ending Starts HERE:

Joker orchestrates his men into jobs with such ease it's as if he's a conductor of a horribly brilliant symphony. One of the last things to cross his mind though is how this horrible symphony might just back fire on him. Amaranth jumps out of the van with William following closely behind in suit. Joker gives them the last instructions and directs them to an overly sized hotel across the street while he goes the opposite way into a swanky low lit restaraunt. With his back turned he never even notices Amaranth turn back to look at him with a glimmer of fresh tears in her glowing sad pastel blue eyes. The wind starts to pick up and sweeps her black hair across her face and she turns back around quickly picking up pace to be close to William as they enter the building through a back door.

"Come on!"

William calls back to her, his voice rough & filled with a hint of anger. Her softened eyes ice over as she gets closer to him and a wicked grin turns up her lips.

"Coming my darling Will..."

She whispers out loud in a cunning voice just under her breath. Seconds pass fast as the crew races to hook up all the bombs up in time to successfully detonate them one right after the other. Random gunshots are heard with screams, but the building walls buffer them enough that Amaranth can't tell if they're warning shots or aimed at citizens. Dark shadows cast lighting that makes her sneaking around even more suspicious. Time is running short and the storm clouds forming in the skies outside cut time even shorter. The only thing wrong with this picture is that while she creeps into the darkness to hide a bomb is that she is completely alone. No one is ever left alone in the plans.

While Amaranth creeps alone in the darkness, Joker is sneaking out of the side door of the restraunt shoving another detonator into his coat pocket where a dozen others are nestled. Almost a half an hour has past since they first arrived and he feels safely assured all is going to go according to plan. He jumps into the van and drives off to meet a man about gallons of cheap gasoline.

William slides out of the hotel and walks towards Amaranth as he sees her in the building two doors down. As he busts through the door Amaranth jumps out a window in what appears to be an abandoned living room. When she hits the ground she pulls out a small black box with a button and pushes it with an angry scowl on her face. The building rips apart in flames and an enormous explosion and William just barely manages to make it out of the closest door before the building is crumbling down. Realization dawns on him that Amaranth was purposely trying to kill him. His sight is blinded by fury and chases after her once he sees her running from the side of the building to the other side of the street. Her black skirt is slightly torn from left over glass on the window frame and the blood is crusting on her tank top even more. Citizens rush out of all of the buildings after hearing the roar of the explosion and the storm is picking up. Everyone is too blindsided though to notice Amaranth being chased down by William though. Her voice is too caught in her throat to scream so all she can do is blindly run as fast as she can.

Five minutes before he plans to set off the bombs the Joker spins into the parking lot behind the hotel. Anger flashes across his face as he sees a building that wasn't on the plan already on fire and people all over the streets. He did not see this coming in the least. Bounding to the front he sees William chasing down Amaranth in a state of pure fury. His heart for reasons unknown to him starts beating twenty beats faster than it should when he sees William grab her and throw her to the ground as she wails, tears rolling down her face. There's a glimmer of metal against the growing glow of the fire and Amaranth and the Joker both realize at the same time that there is a gun pointed square in her face.

"You fucking bitch! You tried to kill me! I thought you didn't remember me?"

His screams are loud over the sound of all the chaos of the people scattering in a frenzy trying to decipher what is exactly going on. Suddenly, a dark low chuckle starts falling out of Amaranths mouth. Her eyes glimmer with a new light of derangement.

"How could I forget you Will? How could I forget what you did to me? Do you really think I'd just over night go away and let you get away with fucking maiming me and raping me for a great chunk of my damn life? Not a chance in Hell, Sweetheart."

The lines on his face only deepen and twists once he realizes who he's dealing with.

"Rowan. I should have known that you were behind this. You always had a nitch for the death of others. That's why he left you before you know, it wasn't just something about you. It's that he came to see that everyone around you that you love dies. And he didn't want to be another knotch on your deathbed."

Amaranth breaks through at this comment just like William hoped and he cocked the gun ready to finally kill her after all these years.

"Yeah, you know it's true don't you Amaranth? But it's okay, because I'm going to kill you before you can kill me, see you in Hell, Darling."

At the exact moment he goes to pull the trigger all the buildings around them explode in an uproar of flames and debre that goes flying everywhere. Taken by surprise William stretches his arms around his head to protect himself. Amaranth crawls away still on the ground as she sees Joker rushing full throttle at William and taking him down with a loud crack to the ground.

"What THE FUCK?"

William screams and writhers underneath the Joker as he is picked up and pulled over to a street light. Joker pulls rope out of his coat and starts to tie William up to the light and giggles to himself in his ever so known maniacle laughter.

"Did you really think I would let you, um, hurt my Dollface? You are seriously misinformed William. Ha ha ha."

Amaranth watches them with curiosity glinting in her eyes as she wonders what the Joker plans to do with him. Looking down at her level she notices a gasoline container next to his feet and suddenly she just knows what is about to play out in front of her.

"I've got a special treat just for you William. Just so you get a taste of how Amaranth feels."

A very sly smirk crawls across his lips as he bends down to pick up the container.
Amaranth isn't sure what to do so she stands up and just watches. Watches William eyes grow wide up as he sees what is in Jokers hands. Watches his light pink lips slowly start to part to let out a scream. Watches his deep olive green eyes close as the gasoline pours down his face and keeps dripping down to cover his whole body. Everything seems to be going in slow motion through her mind and before she knows it Joker is dropping the container and reaching into his breast pocket of his purple coat. As his hand pulls out the lighter Amaranth reaches forward.

"No."

She grabs the lighter out of his hand and flicks the light herself. Staring dead into his eyes chestnut brown eyes she bends down and sets the fire against the gasoline on the ground pooled at Williams feet.

"This is my battle to end, not yours."

Fire engulfs William as he cries out in agony as the his skin boils and charres in an angry crimson color. Before they both even disconnect eyes William is choking on the smoke filled around forming around them all and fading fast. Joker looks over at him and smiles his signature smirk and just enjoys the scene laughing obscenely loud. Staring at Jokers reaction Amaranth darts away from him while he still leers creepily at Williams ashing corpse that is still a lit. Citizens are still running away from the mess and helping the wounded that are crawling out of buildings. Without even a flinch he turns his head to the east in time to see Amaranth making her way in a quick haste onto the East Gotham River Bridge. The Clairvoyant look that settles over his face shows no doubt that he knows what she's about to do; for all great monsters think alike and he's already been through the first beginning stages that she's just hit head first. His feet are bouding faster than the raging fires devouring the west side of town that he just left.
Amaranth reaches the middle of the bridge and jumps onto the ledge clinging with only one arm to a metal teather. Looking up she sees the brooding thunder clouds growing darker and more aggressive looking. Thunder cracks louder than her pouding heart as she looks over and sees Joker running straight towards her with concern covering his face completely. Once he's within hearing distance she shouts her final goodbye at him.

"I'm sorry! I can't do this, this isn't me and I won't let it become me!"

Tears are now rolling down her face without any restraint. Jokers heart could beat out of his chest it's so heavy.

"Don't do this Amaranth, you don't know what you're doing!"

Looking at her face with the black paint smeared and stained with tears he feels his heart sinking deeper and he picks up his pace as fast he can without falling face first into the concrete. But just as he's about to jump up and pulling her down she falls backwards off the bridge falling like a small doll dropped. Joker screams in frustration and without even thinking jumps in after her. Rain starts to gently fall as he watches her hit the water first and goes straight under and hopes to himself that she can be saved. When he hits the water he is overpowered by it's icy coldness that makes his skin crawl looking around underwater in a rush he sees Amaranth letting herself sink even lower at an alarming rate. Swimming as fast as he can he follows her down and tries his damn best to grab her. Waves in the water grow strong and even more overbaring and he realizes a giant boat is coming through and there is no way he could break surface while carrying her up as well. Grabbing her arm he pulls her lifeless feeling body up with him in an attempt to save them both anyways. About a little over half way up it really sets in and he knows he can't save her. Either he drowns with her or he lets her go and he can make it to the surface in time. Pulling her against him he kisses her cold lips and then with much hesitation lets her go and swims towards the rough surface forcing himself not to look back at her. Struggling to make it to fresh air he finally makes it and gasps in deeply through the now pouring rain. A few henchmen are waiting on the shore by the bridge waiting for him to make it to them. When he finally breaches the rivers edge the henchmen pull him up and help him to the van where they make a speedy get away to escape the police which are now swarming the area looking for them. In one last glance backwards he sees the Batman sweeping down towards the bridge from atop of a building.

Officer Gordon stands just outside the destroyed part of town rubbing his forehead forcing away a now growing headache from the piercing sounds of all the ambulances. There's a swift sound of someone landing to his right and he looks over to see a familiar figure in all black holding a soaked petite body in his arms.

"Gordon, I need your help she needs to get to a hospital right now, will you take her for me?"

Gordon smiles sympathetically and takes the girl from him with a 'yes' nod and carries her into his police car and takes off towards Gotham City Hospital. Batman watches him leave and his eyes stare in worry at the car as it leaves. Without a word to any of the other Officers he's off as quick as he came, making his way to change and whispering to himself,

"I can't lose her. Not again."