Thanks for waiting. R&R

Wutai usually wasn't cold this time of year. But Vincent sensed that the chill he felt had nothing to do with the weather. He paced the floors of the small room that Gustin had led him to nearly an hour before, wondering when he was supposed to be called out for duty.

"Stay in here" Gustin had said "We will call you when the Empress has dinner" that was an hour ago.

Vincent silently wondered why Yuffie did not know of a bodyguard being hired. Why there was even a need for one at all, and most of all, he wondered why she was limping? What had happened?

So many questions flooded his mind as he sat in the room, lit only by the moonlight flowing in from a small window.

He ran a nervous hand through his hair, and decided to pull it back into a low ponytail. His ruby eyes happened upon the customer folder laying on the bed. Curiosity got the best of him as he found himself opening it and flipping to the page that held a small photo of Yuffie, clipped to the top by the page.

It was an AVALANCHE photo. Taken back in a simpler time. Her hair was short, her eyes were bright and her smile warmed his heart as he traced a loving finger over her face.

"Yuffie. What has become of us?" he said aloud to noone. He recalled the days they had spent together, just before she went away. A time that seemed so long ago, yet never left his mind, even though five long years had passed. And yet, the anger was still there. Boiling to the surface and spilling over every word he thought to say. He knew that she was aware of his intentions to propose to her. It didn't need to be said aloud that they both had strong feelings for each other.

Yuffie always talked about never returning to Wutai. She hated the idea of living a life already planned out. Every step, every decision already made. She was a free spirit, and Vincent cherished the idea of having her to himself. That is why he felt betrayed when she up and left him to take the responsibilities that she hated so much.

Maybe she was afraid. Maybe she didn't really love him. Fate had brought them together again, and yet Vincent couldn't bring himself to be happy about it. She was a widow. She had married another man. Every thought of her was laced with an anger he couldn't describe. She sold herself to be the wife of a man she had never met. She had chosen a stranger over him. And he couldn't even hide the pain that still burned in his heart.

It was obvious that she didn't want him here. But Vincent was beyond caring. It was almost a cruel irony that he happened to show up in her life when she didn't want it, considering that she left his when he wanted her to stay.

Vincent heard a soft tap on the door to his room. Gustin opened the door before he could answer it.

"Mrs. Kisaragi will have a meal in the company of her friends. You are needed" For once Gustin had a true appreciation for Vincent. It showed in his eyes as he gave Vincent a small smile.

"I am ready"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The dining hall was a richly decorated room with high ceilings and tall pillars. A long table held a feast of every variety. Vincent could smell the rich aroma of freshly cooked turkey and swine. Bowls of fruit and grains were laid out, covering almost every surface. Wine, saki, teas and ales filled the cups of the guests.

Vincent and Gustin entered the room almost unnoticed and slipped into silent corners to watch over the gathering. Yuffie had noticed, of course, but did little to show any kind of emotion as she conversed with a few people beside her.

Vincent hardly recognized her and had to take a hard second look to discern if it actually was her. For he wasn't used to seeing the young ninja in such splendor.

Her hair was pulled back into a fan on the back of her head, with a few loose tendrils falling down her back. A peacock colored sash with golden beads was draped across her head, dangling with yellow jewels onto her forehead. Her Kimono was also a rich green peacock color that matched perfectly with the vases full of the bird's feathers on the table.

Through a cursory glance, Vincent noticed that the guests were all plainly dressed, making Yuffie stand out even more. Even Gustin, who wore only a pair of brown shorts, was clothed humbly.

As if on cue, Gustin tapped on Vincent's shoulder.

"She want's to speak to you" Gustin sighed

Vincent nodded and walked over to Yuffie, his heart beating rapidly.

He cleared his throat as he approached. "Yes My Lady?" He half bowed

She didn't even look at him. "I need another cushion" she said flatly.

Vincent bowed and walked away, returning shortly with a soft velvet seat. "Im cold. Put more wood on the fire" she waved a hand in his direction. Vincent bit the side of his lip in anger, but did as he was told.

When he returned to her side, she spat another command at him and then another.

-"I need more wine"

-"I thought I heard a noise. Go check"

-"Im hot"

-"Im cold again"

Vincent was running every which way. Each chore was more ridiculous than the last, making him wish he had sucked it up and watched the Shinra twins instead.

Just as he finished one errand she called him up again.

"Yes-my-Lady" He said through clenched teeth.

"Go get more fire wood from outside" Her voice, it didn't even sound like the Yuffie he knew. Nevertheless, he bowed and left the room.

The storm that overtook him as he entered into the cold night surprised even the most evil demon's within him. In his fury he slashed at the mound of defenseless firewood sending splintering shards flying into the air. His knees crumpled under him sending him crouching to the earth as he cradled his face in his hands, fighting not to lose control.

He never imagined that it would be this hard. He'd all but given up hope of seeing Yuffie ever again. But even in his deepest fantasies of ever finding her, he'd never pictured it like this. Her once exuberant voice was now cold and hoarse from barking commands at those around her. Her eyes were cold like the stone pillars that surrounded her world.

Vincent fought hard not to cry for the loss of her, the death of his love. Because in all essence she was dead. The Yuffie he knew no longer existed. Replaced by this stranger who got some kind of sick joy out of watching him run around like an fool.

The difference was like night and day, and as Vincent sat beside the shards of piled wood, he couldn't help but remember what she had been like before. Before the shackles and bonds of owning a country had taken over her...before...

Yuffie had collapsed. The basket of apples she carried now lay askew beside her as she lay on the trodden grass.

"Yuffie!" Vincent screamed, dropping his own basket of apples and running to her side. She looked pale as he knelt beside her and removed some hair from her face. "Yuffie?" he said again more softly. "What happened?" Surely it must have been from him pushing her too hard. She'd been complaining about the heavy baskets for hours, but he pushed her, and now she was lying on the grass, unconscious.

Vincent placed a gloved hand just above her elbow and shook her gently. And then he saw it...a twitch of the lip. Just barely, but he saw it.

Now aware that he'd once again fallen for one of Yuffie's nasty tricks, he placed the hand a tad lower: On her ribs.

"Yuffieeeee" He squeezed gently and was rewarded with a small chuckle from the seemingly unconscious ninja. "If you don't get up, im gonna have to eat this apple all by myself" He said, lifting the giant red fruit to his lips. Crunch... "Mmmm"

"Hey! You said we weren't aloud to eat the apples!" Yuffie sat up in a hurry.

"And you claimed to have been unconscious"

"Oh...uh...I was! I just...give me a bite of that!" She tackled him from behind, sending them both toppling over.

"No you don't!" Vincent said through his laughter, holding the shiny apple just out of Yuffie's reach.

"Give me some!"

"And here I was, ready to call it a day" Vincent smirked at her.

"Oh come on! We've been here for hours!"

"Would you rather suffer Tifa's wrath if we don't come home with the right amount of apples?"

"Well no...but-"

"Then get to work. We're almost finished"

Yuffie accepted defeat and bent down to pick up her apples. Vincent knelt beside her and began to help.

"You were scared..." Yuffie said under her breath.

"What was that?" Vincent asked

"You thought I really fainted. You were scared"

"No I wasn't..." he laughed

"Don't act so macho. It's okay if you were afraid for my life"

"No I really wasn't"

"Hey! You mean to tell me that you weren't even concerned a little?"

"No"

"Wow Vince. Just wow" She feigned hurt as she placed another apple in her basket. "So what are all these apples for anyway?"

"Im not sure. Tifa just said that we needed to get as many as possible"

"Well do you think we have enough?" Yuffie asked looking at the five baskets they had already collected.

"Seems like it. But you know Tifa."

"Yeah" Yuffie agreed "Maybe we should get some more"

Vincent laughed out loud. Yuffie looked at him strangely, for it seemed like the first time she had ever heard him laugh.

"What?" He asked.

"I don't think I've heard you laugh before" She said as if it was a revelation. Vincent looked at her long and hard. Yuffie returned the stare and neither one spoke for several seconds.

"I was scared" He finally said with a serious mask on his face.

"Scared to laugh?" Yuffie quirked her head to the side in confusion.

"No, I was scared. When you fell down"

"I know" She said in a sing-song voice as she stood up, basket in hand "I just wanted to hear you say it out loud" she winked at him as she turned away, but he couldn't help but smile.

That seemed ages ago. When the sound of his laughter astounded her. And their love was still growing. Now, as he sat in the cold night air beside a pile of splintered wood, he felt as though he had lost the one thing that he cared the most for: Yuffie.

The strange thing was, was that she was just inside, beckoning for more wood. But he couldn't touch her. And it angered and saddened him.

"Are you a sheriff?" A small voice sounded in the dark. Vincent looked up to see the face of a small boy.

"Why do you ask?" Vincent said, standing to full height as the boy craned his neck to look up at him.

"Because you look like one. Do you have a gun?"

"Yes I do. But I am not a sheriff. I am a bodyguard. I am here to protect the empress from harm"

"What kind of harm?" The boy asked, voice shaking as he stepped closer to Vincent.

"Don't be afraid" Vincent said in as soft a voice as he could muster. He never like children per-se but he wasn't so unfeeling that he couldn't comfort a little boy.

"Is someone gonna hurt her?"

"Not if I can help it"

"Good. My name is Nico. But I don't like that name!" Nico said, shaking his raven locks dramatically "I like to be called Nic!"

Vincent gave a small smile at the boy's antics "Nice to meet you Nic. My name is Vincent Valentine"

"Yup! I gotta go inside now. Im not supposed to be out here. Bye bye!"

Vincent watched the young boy march back inside before gathering a heap of wood in his arms and heading inside as well.

It was considerably warmer than it had been outside, though Vincent hardly noticed it as he dropped the pile of wood next to the fire. His eyes tracked Nico as he ran across the dining hall and headed straight for Yuffie. Stranger still was that Yuffie placed the young boy on her lap with a smile.

"No" Vincent said to himself. Without control of his legs, Vincent walked toward Yuffie and the boy in a zombie-like state. He could hear the boy talking wildly as he approached. Then, a tiny finger was pointed at him.

"That's him! He said that he was here to protect you and he even has a gun. A real one" Nico said pointing to Vincent.

"Is that so?" Yuffie said, knowing Vincent was behind her, but not looking in his direction.

"Yeah"

"Yuffie, please tell me he's not-"

"Go up to your room now Nico. I'll be up shortly" Yuffie said flatly as she lifted the boy from her lap. She stood slowly, trying to hide the pain and lameness of her leg but to no avail "You are no longer needed tonight. You may retire" She whispered, once again avoiding his gaze. She turned to walk away but he grabbed her by the wrist to halt her.

"Yuffie..."

All the guest's gasped in unison at the sight of a foreigner touching their Lady. Vincent recoiled as if he had touched fire. He looked around in confusion at the guest's wondering what he had done wrong, but the feel of her skin still burned on his fingers. She turned to leave and was not stopped this time, though it took all of his power not to do so.

I'll try not to take so long to update this time. Hectic times over here again. R&R please!