* for this chapter, even though it we aren't there yet in the story, I went back and watched season 6 episode 10, for a look at Bianca and Chris montage lol, found it really helpful I also want to apologize for the delay on this one because I've been trying to graduate from college for the last few months, I managed it though so I'm officially a college graduate So the delay was important but I still feel bad *
Chapter 4: I'll miss you
Bianca wasn't looking at Wyatt when he came into the cell. She seemed intent not to do so, in fact it was nearly impossible for her not to look at him when he came in, being that she was being held up by chains on the wall. She felt so stupid to have been captured at all, though admittedly it had been her fault. She missed Chris, she missed him the moment he vanished into the triquetra on the wall. This had prompted her to be more careless than she would've normally been.
Aimless wandering found her in the park, at that special spot where Chris often took her. It seemed impossible that that one little space had escaped the destruction wrought upon the city. But every visit since she was a little girl found the small green space as she remembered it. She'd seen it crumble into ruin in the last few years but it still seemed a constant reminder that beautiful things remain when all the artificial is torn away. In some ways, in spite of the destruction, the park had become an icon of rebirth. It reminded the rebels that there was still good to be fought for.
She settled on the bench, and put her hands over her arms. It was cold today. It seemed so silly to think of the weather at the moment that it almost made her laugh. Her eyes spotted something out of place among the flowers. The broken columns had made her miss it at first, assuming the glimmer of white was little more than rubble.
A moment later she was holding an envelope. The ink had been fresh when it was placed there, so there was a small smear at the end of her name, where it had made contact with its hiding place. She knew who it was from in an instant. Her fingers traced over the letters of her own name and saw his hand writing it. She held back the tears which were threatening to fall from her eyes until she just couldn't. She gathered the still sealed envelope to her, and sat for a moment with it close to her, imagining his face, finding it hard to do a simple thing like breathing. For, in an instant, all she could hear was her own sobs which seemed to echo in the emptiness all around her.
She couldn't have said how long she remained there clutching the envelope. All she knew was that the chill and the pain started to get to her and she found herself falling asleep. It was more due to exhaustion than anything else, she and Chris had spent the past several weeks planning his trip, what he was going to say, when he was going to go, and how they were going to manage to get into the manor house undetected. Every little eventuality had to be anticipated, Chris wouldn't allow for anything less.
He was more general than man in that respect, he didn't need to sleep much anymore. He was often plagued by the constant feeling that there was just too much that needed to be done. He wouldn't allow people to die so he could sleep. Often he would insist that she get some rest while he tended to the wounded or trained young rebels on how to stay alive. Often she would refuse. Especially lately, as this trip to the past was the culmination of everything they'd been working for. It was too important to leave anything to chance. She supported him, stayed with him. And the result was neither of them had truly rested in more than a month. Suddenly everything crashed down upon her, the lack of sleep, the pain at loosing him and fear for his safety were just too much. She fell into a troubled sleep.
It appeared though that sleeping out in the open like that wasn't the smartest idea. She wasn't aware of Lord Wyatt's edict, though it seemed obvious that as a leader in the rebellion and the lady fair of its general, she'd be a prime target. She had once worked for Wyatt, indeed that was where she had met Chris originally, as being one of the few who had been able to capture him and bring him in as Wyatt demanded. She typically had a very good handle on what Wyatt was planning because, for the most part, she understood what he would be planning or what his reactions would be to potential dangers. In that way, she'd proved a valuable recruit for Chris, and had saved many lives by simply informing them during the planning process that if she were Wyatt, she would see this or that coming from a mile away.
It was falling for Chris which had led her away from Lord Wyatt's service. Until she'd met him, she'd been quite content to do as she was told, no questions asked. Everything changed when she'd scooped up the very young leader as he assisted in a raid. She knew only that she'd captured the man known as "the general". Wyatt's minions, even higher level assassins such as the phoenix coven, were instructed to get their hands on the leader of the rebellion by any means necessary. It was thought at the time that with their leader in the hands of the enemy, the resistance would crumble. No one knew, at that time, who "the general" was, as none of Wyatt's people had survived an encounter with him long enough to report back. It was, then, the prize of her career to capture him, to unmask him.
To say Chris wasn't what she had expected was a gross understatement. She'd thought initially she must have made a mistake. The guy was young, younger than her by a good 6 years or so, he was scrawny and didn't look like much of a threat to anyone. It had been the belief among Wyatt's higher level assassins that "the general" had to be an upper level demon who didn't want to admit he was out gunned by young Wyatt. She was sure, in her own mind, that this was so. There was talk of Bathazar, though everyone knew he was long gone, Or Barbas or anyone with enough power to believe they could survive an encounter with Lord Wyatt. Most of the candidates discussed had been dead for more than 20 years, and she thought it was frankly ridiculous that they had been called into memory to give a face to the strength and power of "the general"
She'd never imagined in a million years that the truth would be that a young witch was responsible for organizing the one and only successful moment against the new source. Being face to face with him, she had to admit she admired his power. It took a lot to have people follow you she'd reasoned, even more to have them die for you, die to protect you. It was particularly impressive considering his age. Of course the one thing that struck her that she really hadn't been expecting was he was handsome. Young yes but there was something about his eyes that stuck with her. She hadn't been able to say she'd ever seen anything like it before.
They were a subtle olive green and reminded her somehow of a trip to the mountains when she was young and in school. It had been a long ride in the bus and she'd been particularly angry as she could've been there in mere seconds had she not promised her mother not to use magic while among the kids at school. Her anger was forgotten as they all piled out of the bus and she saw the loaming canopy of trees. The children's voices were swallowed up by the birds and everywhere there was green, lush and vibrant. Bits of brave blue sky fought their way in, so every now and again there was a little spot of light amid everything. The color hadn't been the same but the way his eyes made her feel so free was something she hadn't truly experienced since that moment in the mountains. The feeling that the world was a big place and that she could run and hide in the forest and no one would ever find her again was thrilling. She felt that way now. That she could just disappear at that moment and never owe anything to anyone ever again.
It wasn't something she'd been allowed to think as a child, it wasn't something the phoenix clan embraced and it became a spark inside her. From that moment forward, even after handing Chris over to the guards and collecting her bounty, she thought about him constantly. She'd sneak into the detention center (though she clearly had no place there) just to see him. Every visit though he looked worse, still defiant but haggard and bloody. She'd expected Lord Wyatt to kill him when she brought him in, so as the weeks passed and he remained alive rumors started to spread. Who was this man? And Why had Lord Wyatt spared him? No one had the courage to ask, knowing that Wyatt didn't like his decisions questioned. Still she'd heard everything from Wyatt was trying to recruit the kid or that Wyatt was going to use him as a bargaining chip to get something he wanted out of the last remaining elders.
But one particular rumor seemed so far fetched that it couldn't help but be so. She'd overheard a few of the detention center guards talking. Apparently very few demons knew anymore that Lord Wyatt had a little brother. It was forbidden to speak of him in Wyatt's presence but the resemblance between the kid and the last known picture of the brothers was close enough that they had began to wonder. Surely it would explain why he was allowed to live, and why Lord Wyatt insisted on being alone when he went to see him. Usually Wyatt had his servants do the dirty work while he sat back and watched. With "the general" things were different. It was all very secretive. No one was allowed to speak with him, or, surprisingly, suggest disposing of him in Wyatt's hearing.
The strangeness of it all just struck Bianca even then. And her natural curiosity took over. She snuck in one evening, vanquished the pathetic guard in charge just for kicks and made her way into the detention center. She crept along the damp hallways, she could hear screams and moaning from those who occupied the many cells. Reaching the end of the corridor the noises stopped. Every cell save one in this area was empty. Reaching the bars she summoned up her resolve and peered in.
She was met with fierce green eyes. "What are you doing here?" a softly spoken command surprised her. He wasn't like most of the folks in here, in spite of the fact he'd been there for months now in what is best described as the closest thing to hell many people would ever imagine, he still seemed so defiant, every bit a leader. She met his question with one of her own "I wanted to meet you…" she said, timidly. He looked startled by her answer. "why?" She couldn't explain why. Curiosity seemed like such a stupid reason to give now that she was face to face with him. During the time it had taken her to answer he'd gotten to his feet and dusted his clothes off. She didn't know why he did that but it made it easier for her to talk to him, to face him as an equal not as if she were any more important.
"There's been a lot of talk lately about who you are. I want to know if it's true." She said, it seemed reasonable enough to her, not exactly that she was just curious, more that everyone was and she was just the first to actually get up the courage to come in and talk to him. She didn't mention that it had been forbidden for anyone to talk to him, though doubtless he already knew. She backed away a little from where she was standing, as she had noticed him coming closer and closer to the bars. "I'm not going to hurt you" he said. It was simple and there was no reason why he shouldn't, but hearing that made her relax a little. It wasn't that she was afraid exactly, she knew full well that those bars were the most effective power draining cage that had ever been designed. Lord Wyatt made sure of that. He kept some of the most powerful beings on the planet in his detention chambers, simple crystal cages just wouldn't cut it. She hadn't known why she'd backed up, any more than why she stopped.
They'd talked for hours, it didn't make any sense why but for some reason they both felt that they had something to say to each other. They were just so comfortable together, after a while it had been difficult to even think about the bars or the chamber and he had no way of knowing if she wasn't just trying to get information out of him on Wyatt's orders. After all, her entire visit could've easily been just that, an elaborate ruse to get him to talk. But either he just trusted her for some unimaginable reason, or that he was careful to just say enough to where he wasn't revealing anything. He talked about his mother a little bit, about growing up, about silly things that made her smile. And she, in turn, had done the same. It was ridiculous, the whole thing, they had absolutely no reason to say everything they had. But it just felt right. After she had slipped away, she'd heard his voice follow her up the corridor. "I'll miss you" he'd said, softly though she was sure he knew she'd heard him.
Ever since then, she'd know that was the moment when she'd fallen for him. He would say it after every conversation they had back then, even after he'd escaped, he'd taken her with him, knowing full well that she was completely willing to follow him anywhere. It became something private, something between them. It meant something more to them though. They had both lost people they loved in the fight, and both had seen death on a daily basis. They knew that in a moment everything can chance, a mere second and then it's like the people they cared about never existed. In most cases, they never had the chance to say goodbye.
So "I'll miss you" came with the unspoken words 'If I never see you again'. They didn't have to say it but it was as passionate a goodbye as either of them could manage. It was a promise to never forget each other, never forget why they were together, and never let the other go without reminding them of just those simple words, because they might never get to say goodbye.
As Bianca slept, she muttered them again, as if for the last time, the unopened letter slipped from her fingers to the ground under the bench. As the drone scanned her and made its transmission, "I'll miss you" hung half worded in the air. Like a whisper. The demons shimmering in never heard it though they did find her and were quite pleased by their discovery. Shimmering back with her before she'd had a chance to put up a fight was wondrous to them. They never saw the letter half buried in the overgrown unattended grass. Belkindo welcomed his retrieval squad with relish and went to inform the source in person.
Lord Wyatt appeared in moments, eager to have his concerns and questions answered. She wouldn't look at him, so he grabbed her chin and forced her face to meet his. "Did you know?" She seemed confused for a moment which infuriated him. He grabbed her restrained arm and pulled, hard enough to break it. "I asked you a question Bianca. Did you know he wasn't coming back?"
Her mind exploded in denials, everything in her screamed to have him take it back, to force her to realize that this was Lord Wyatt and the truth was a foreign concept to him. That he couldn't be right, that it was a trick. And a thousand other things begged her to deny it. Slowly the pieces in her mind clicked. She'd asked him to promise her he was returning and he hadn't done it, they'd been swept away for a moment, and her question was forgotten. She hung her head, going limp in the restraints. She didn't care that Lord Wyatt and his demons were there, she needed a private moment to grieve. Deny it all she wanted to, she knew different. She knew it was real. She knew she'd never see Chris again.
She cried for a moment, which seemed to surprise everyone in the room. She'd known them all from when she used to work for Lord Wyatt, and none of them had ever seen her display emotion. Wyatt motioned for everyone else to leave quietly, and they did, walking until they were to the point where they were once again able to shimmer. As the last of them passed Wyatt he heard her speak, it was so faint that he almost thought he'd imagined it. But it hung there, the emotion was still raw for him, he could feel it from her too. Between them this little phrase stood, meaning so much more than those simple words ever had before.
"I'll miss you."
* okay I'm back, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I don't know that we see very much of Bianca beyond Chris Crossed so she's mostly a blank slate for fan fiction authors. For me, I believe she is evil initially because she never was taught that there was another way to be. Meeting Chris, falling for him, it shows her that life doesn't always have to be like that. He represents for her a new way of being someone new Love can do that to a person I think, change them like that. And for them, I like to imagine they both knew quite quickly that this was meant to be. I understand a lot of you probably aren't fans of Bianca. I get that. Because, let's face it, the one we are introduced to in the show just seems so cold and we are forced to be unable to understand her motives or relate to her. But I judge it on what she meant to Chris before, not her actions when she comes back to claim him. It is his image of her which I base my interpretation on….
And now for my fabulous reviewers who have been so patient with me, I dedicate this chapter to them….
To who wrote "Such a sad chapter and I hate Leo more than ever! Smart move with the non magical wards at the funeral. Glad to see you back " I for one am glad to see any reviewer returning for more, it means the world to me. It is worth mentioning, however, that shortly after chapter 3 was posted, my own grandfather passed away. In many ways, then, aside from my school work, returning to this fic after writing a scene like that with Chris and his grandpa brought to mind the pain I was feeling. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this, and I thank you for being so supportive of this story.
To crlncyln who wrote "OMW, what a amazing chapter! I cried my eyes out, the sadness Chris felt is unbearable! I totally understand life getting busy and thank you for this awesome story, Please Update Soon!"
And for everyone who has this story on alerts or on favorite lists or what have you, thanks for being patient with me, I've had it sort of rough lately but I'm back and I'll be around a lot more now days. If you have questions about this story or any of my others please ask, I'm always happy to answer them
Until next time, much love from your humble author, Kat *