Saints and Sailors

This is where I say I've had enough
And no one should ever feel the way that I feel now.
A walking open wound,
A trophy display of bruises
And I don't believe that I'm getting any better.

"Suspension from duty?" Charlie mused, scratching his chin.

"I reckon we're the first," Bob commented, kicking a can. "Ahs well, not as if we liked watching and waiting. We got into it for fightin'!" She thrashed his hands forward in a weak attempt to mirror a boxing match.

"Won't be much punchin', Bob. I'm lookin' for the cursin'."

Bob looked at him warily. "You curse enough as it is."

Charlie smacked his brother upside the head. "I'm talkin' about jinxes!"

"Oh."

Charlie rubbed his chin again. "Reckon we get payback."

Bob smacked his hands together, and immediately began rubbing them. "Yeah, that Kid's askin' for it!"

"Nah, I was thinking bigger… James Gang bigger."

Bob stared at his brother, who only cackled and smacked him heartily on the back.

"Revenge is a sweet, sweet thing, my friend."

Bob wasn't so sure.

~+~+~+~

Vala kicked her dress stand and received a sharp pain in her toe.

"His to control! Who does he think he is?" she fumed, pacing back and forth. She threw her hands up and spun to face the window. She curled her hands around the windowsill and pressed her forehead against the glass. "I'll teach him… I won't play his china doll any longer… He'll learn."

And the six spun to a nine.

~+~+~+~

Billy placed himself across from the Malfoy Manor gates. He perked an ear, recognized the familiar trot, and sighed.

Close call, Black, he growled.

Padfoot plopped himself alongside Billy. He nodded towards the Manor. Something's up.

Well, obviously, Billy replied, rolling his eyes.

He shot a glance at Billy, felt it unnecessary to comment on the foxhound's attitude, and rose. Give me a signal when she leaves.

Billy stared; he jerked his head at the Manor. What makes you think she's leaving?

Call it mysterious animal instincts, he answered, turning away.

Billy curled a lip back. Smart-ass.

~+~+~+~

The night came slower than Vala could stand. Despite her impatience, she dined quietly and spoke lightly.

"I think I may turn in early," she said, lifting her gown and raising from the table.

"I'll be up shortly," he replied, cutting into his steak.

She paused by his shoulder. "Do take your time."

He resumed his meal while she waltzed from the dining room and to the hallway. She touched the handrail. "When a toy's broken, throw it away," she scoffed diplomatically. She took her time on the stairs, wondering when she might walk them again. Tonight, of course, she reminded.

Velvet enveloped the land and diamonds launched themselves into the sky. The moon, nearing its full, dropped beams across the landscapes and glazed the lakes. Vala lay on her side, staring out the window, Saxon breathing deeply beside her. She pulled herself to a sitting position and slowly rose from the bed.

Reminding herself to breathe, she collected her few possessions. Saxon groaned. She froze, standing still as a statue and painfully closing her eyes. A silent prayer emitted her lips. For one agonizing minute she waited, and then Saxon rolled on his side. She breathed a sigh of relief, and slipped out the door.

"You thirsty, Misses?"

Vala spun on her heels. Galway stood before her, wringing an old rag and looking uncertain.

"Thirsty, Misses?" he repeated.

"No, no," she hushed, breathing shakily. "I'm quite alright… fancied a walk, that's all. A spot of fresh air," she added for emphasis.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, turning to his left and walking down the hallway.

"Galway?" she whispered.

He looked back. "Ma'am?"

"Do you like working here?"

He tilted his head a bit and scratched his ear. "Never thought about it much, ma'am."

"Oh… Very well then, do take care."

"Yes, ma'am." And he left, wondering what she meant.

Vala made it soundlessly down the stairs and to the front door. She grabbed her cloak from the door side, and reached for the door handle. Momentarily, she wondered if any hexes or charms were placed on the door at night. Taking the risk, she pulled the door open. Nothing happened. She hesitated. Pulling up the hood to her cloak, she stepped under the archway. Again, she waited. Nothing. Hitching up her robes, she streamed from the Manor.

~+~+~+~

His furry head resting between his paws, Billy listened for the slightest sound. He quirked his ears and eyebrows at a few nocturnal birds and the occasional mouse, but all in all, nothing had happened.

Near midnight, or so he guessed, he heard the pattering of feet. He rose his head; it was coming from the Malfoy Manor. Instinctively, his ears rolled back and a low growl rose from deep inside him.

Something in black ran to the gates, applying pressure to a stitch in her side, her pale face was made visible. She breathed heavily, looked cautiously around, and took off again.

The animal side of him screaming for him to chase anything running and the human side of him screaming that she was in his Watch, and a need to satisfy both sides, he split after her. The gravel crunched under his small paws, and he swerved into the bushes. And a great weight slammed him into a tree.

I'll take it from here, the black dog growled.

If there were words to express Billy's emotions at that moment, he would have used them. Instead, he substituted fierce snaps and snarls.

The dog looked at him quite seriously, and Billy remembered falling silent. Black had given him such a territorial stare, but even more than territorial, it was anxious. He glanced up at the running figure, nodded at Billy, and took off in great leaps.

Billy shifted and slumped against a tree.

"Misplace her, Black, and I'll tear out your jugular."

~+~+~+~

Vala ran for a good three miles. Well, perhaps not the entire three miles. There had been a good quarter of a mile she staggered aimlessly, urging herself on. The time was slipping by, but she thought it safe to rest against a crooked tree.

Running away at my age, she mused, gaping for breath. Life sucks.

"I once ran away," a voice said casually.

Her eyes rolled to the source.

He half turned from her, tilting his head back to gaze up at the stars.

If she had any breath, she'd answer back with something brilliantly sarcastic. The situation being as it was, she kept her place against the tree, her frail chest inhaling and exhaling with breath.

"'Course I was sixteen," he said conversationally. "How old are you now?"

Why now? she cursed, closing her eyes. Anytime but now--damn you, Merlin.

His back was now facing her, his hands on his hips. "You forget how beautiful they are," he commented.

"What?" she managed, passing a hand across her forehead and down her cheek. Her question wasn't so much the item he was speaking of, but why he was speaking at all.

"The stars," he answered brightly, facing her and gesturing to the heavens.

She gasped, and then she fainted.

(A/N: Not as long as I'd like, but the next chapter should be fun to write. And I feel particularly bad leaving this at a cliffhanger, but I wasn't sure how to make the next section fit in. My apologies. O'course tonight I get to see League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Better be worth the ticket, theatres are expensive these days!)