Everglow - Chapter Thirty-Four
The envelope couldn't have possibly weighed any heavier on Vivian's mind and heart. It was all exactly as Miranda had promised. The envelope was quite large, the paper thick and hefty, not a wrinkle to be found. The label was written in a neat, practiced hand in a fountain pen, the strokes flowing in and out of each other to the side, above, and below, making one block of elegant text, each letter entwined with some way to another.
But the envelope was lying on her lap, the back facing up.
The ink had indeed once been the rich red hue of fresh blood, but over the course of these eight years, it had dried, fading into an easily distinguishable earthy red-brown. Yes, there was no doubt in her mind that this was her mother's blood.
What disturbed her even more was the nature of the seal. The ink was more concentrated in the center, staining through the thick paper and bleeding to the other side. From that dark origin, the ink fanned out and thinned. A small, dainty woman's hand had been pressed to the paper, and then dragged downward, leaving echoes of the shape from the center.
There was no doubt in her mind what this was.
She did wonder, however, how it was meant to be deciphered, what it was supposed to represent, how she could interpret it.
The soft whisper of weightless fabric caused her head to rise from the dark envelope for the first time in an eternity. Vincent stood in the doorway, his form silhouetted by the illumination behind him against the semi-dark of Vivian's room. It was a harsh, powerful sight, one that caused her to jump, the envelope sliding to the floor as a breathy gasp escaped her throat.
He did not move. His expression was carefully guarded. He didn't have to show any signs for Vivian to see how her startled, frightened reaction had hurt him.
"You…scared me, Vincent! I…you should…" Blustering as her cheeks reddened, she fumbled with the envelope until it was in her hands again. Something in his eyes shifted, and she stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do or how to react to this very drastic change in the atmosphere, until she realized where his gaze was pointed. The way she held the envelope was with the elegant text to her body; he could see nothing but the smeared, bloodied handprint.
Quickly, she flipped the envelope, knowing that it was impossible to hide it any longer, but hoping to quell any conversation on the matter. "Good evening," she tried, managing a sheepish smile.
"…Good evening, Vivian," he returned.
Anticipating the awkward silence that would follow, Vivian dove right into the first thing she could think of. "Thank you for coming. And with my message, I don't even want to know what you thought but we…the twins, that is…really missed you."
Vincent nodded curtly, briskly, acknowledging with something akin to appreciation that she had not mentioned her emotions on his disappearance. Vivian bit it back, though the words burned hot and acrid in her throat.
"Are the twins all right?" Vivian asked worriedly.
"They will both cope with this in their different ways," Vincent answered, not affirming or denying the validity of her question. When he saw how that didn't satisfy her, he added, "Given time, they will be fine. Is Miranda well?"
Vivian smiled softly. "Well enough to be sitting and playing with her infant child and joking with me simultaneously." She didn't allow a pause in the dialogue, she slowly retold everything Miranda had told her about her visit with Sephiroth to Vincent, who listened with passive, blank eyes.
"…I see…" he spoke musingly to no one in particular, raising his head to the ceiling in thought.
"What are you thinking?" Vivian dared to venture.
"I am thinking that you haven't told me the whole story."
She cringed. She hadn't told him about the envelope on purpose. She wished his senses for seeing these hidden tidbits were just a little less keen.
Wordlessly, she handed the envelope to Vincent, who handled it firmly in his human hand. She let him examine the text on the front and then, musingly, run his gauntleted hand down the streaks of blood on the back.
"When did you get this?" he asked in a straightforward, matter-of-fact way.
"In Miranda's attic yesterday at noon…"
He shook his head. "I misspoke. I apologize. When did Miranda first acknowledge that this was in existence?"
"She said she found it a few weeks ago, when she was cleaning."
"And not before? Does she clean often?"
While trying to deduct where he was going with this, she nodded. "She's very obsessive over the cleanliness of all her house…the basement and attic included."
"Do you see what that means?" Vincent asked, handing the envelope back but retracting his arm back quickly and harshly after she had gripped the paper. He was keeping a marked, precise distance between the two of them. Vivian tried to ignore this, and concentrated on what he was saying.
"The envelope had to be placed there recently. Your aunt would have seen it before if it was any other way." He glided a step closer, his cloak sighing behind him, as he used one bronze tipped finger to point to the hand on the back. "As if to add to my point, this handprint is clearly years old and probably authentic. However, the hand seems to have been deliberately placed below the line where the top is sealed. The adhesive, when folded over, would not cover the print. I don't believe in coincidences, it was most likely by design. This print was made eight years ago, but was sealed not more than a month ago. Your aunt found this within the last week. This makes me think the contents will span from eight years ago up until now."
"But my mother died eight years ago and this is her handwriting on the front!"
"I do not doubt that. What I'm saying is that someone with a very in-depth knowledge of you and your aunt's lives has been keeping the record for her these eight years. Your mother started that file; that does not mean it was completed with her death."
He let that sink in, and then moved away, retracting his hand. "I would open that with care, Vivian. Someone is following you, and while their intentions are still unknown, I would not assume that they are benign."
"But why would they want…?" Vivian trailed off, knowing and dreading the answer.
"Aidan," Vincent said bluntly. "Nadiya. You're the most blatantly obvious path to them."
Vivian couldn't begin to comprehend this complex web of questions and answers. Her head was spinning. What she feared even more than the answers the thin, frail strings of questions would inevitably lead to, was the spider in the middle of it all. The mastermind. So much had happened. Were they really all separate circumstances or were they all connected somehow?
"I will be poking around town a bit. I'll see what I can find, but no promises. I won't stray far. I am still, first and foremost, the twins' guardian."
"They couldn't ask for a better one," Vivian said, smiling a little.
He didn't take the compliment at all.
"And Vincent?"
He raised an eyebrow, urging her to speak.
"I missed you, too."
A/N: I met my deadline!! Yay!
Okay, for those of you who are wanting something less dark, that's coming up. For those of you wanting action, boy are you all in for a treat. :D