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I know FF.net has issues occasionally, but please review if possible. I love it when you do… --------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TEN: CORNERED (cont1) Only by the growing heat could Vanessa tell that it was sunrise. She was hidden completely by her cloak, both arms now tied to her chest and bloodied face lowered within a hood. Knives helped her along, arm wrapped about her waist. She had lost a lot of blood, so it wasn't easy to hold her up. Her legs hardly wanted to move through this endless sand. Vanessa wasn't his only burden now. He carried both of their packs now, since she was fully unable to carry supplies at this point. They had even been forced to leave most of their campsite behind, for emergency's sake. He gritted his teeth, wishing to find words of reassurance from her, that things would be okay soon. But he knew it hurt her to speak, and kept quiet, drudging along in a solemn march. Hopefully they would reach May before sunset, when they would surely be without water and deadly tired. In May there would be a hospital. Knives would find someone there to heal Vanessa. And if he could not…Well, he wouldn't let himself think of that; because if her wounds went untreated, and she went blind, it would crush him. He couldn't forgive himself for causing that. Vanessa was aware of his worry, and kept silent. She hoped to use his concern against him, to weaken his senses and rain doubt upon all his plans. In this time of contemplation, her mind was fixed on the memory transfer. Carefully, she reviewed what she had seen and learned. The majority of his life was unimportant at the moment, and so she disregarded all memories from his birth to his meeting her. There were questions she needed answered. These concerned his view of Vanessa and his realizations of her action, and his plans regarding the extinction of the human race and the rescue ships. Her book had been burnt because of many reasons. Knives knew what the pages meant, and didn't want her to use spells against him anymore. He also couldn't find any pages to use for his purposes. And the most powerful, underlying motivation was that he needed an outlet for his anger, much the same as he ended up committing against the unaware village of Galvin. Knives clearly had many life moments of extreme anger, but they had been caused by hatred for humans. When he had felt anger towards Vash, it was due to pain inflicted and frustration. Vash had betrayed him many times; first in loving the humans, second in rejecting his brother's plans, and third in physically harming Knives himself. However, now Knives bolstered a far more confused sort of anger for Vash, one best described as disappointment. He had forgiven Vash for so many, many things, yet Vash had the audacity to take her affections away from him…The affections Vanessa had previously directed only to Knives. How did he know about them? Actually, he didn't. Not really. He knew that sometimes, she had been alone with Vash, and that after these rare, brief moments Vanessa had seemed somehow distant. He knew that Vash and Vanessa were working together to sway him from his goals. That was clear from day one, since Vash would only have brought her to talk at his bedside if it would be promote the stubborn pacifist philosophy. She was only trying to fulfill that pact she must've made with Vash – to turn the 'evil' twin brother into a respectable citizen. Let her think that Knives listened. Let her think that Knives could change. Complicating matters was the knowledge that Vash might wish to take Vanessa from him. After all, Vash was a lone plant like himself, and surely would want to reproduce as well. This was simple logic. And as time passed, Knives began to feel that there were things Vanessa told Vash which she did not tell him. She had never revealed to Knives her past – the origins of her scars, instances with humans, etc. He saw no fault in her apparent want to keep many private things to herself, but that she would tell Vash and not him… This may have caused Knives anger, but he remained content. It was tolerable; she could tell Vash these things that she told no one else. These things were, after all, not the stories Knives wanted to hear; tales of pain, suffering, and despair. 'Let her associate her past with Vash, what with his scars and sentimentalism. That aside, she will come to know me with a clearer mind and more optimistic outlook,' he told himself. He was confident in his position as her mate; he was clearly the best choice for her, between himself and his brother. How damaged, mentally and physically, was Vash; and yet how healthy, intact, logical, and fully sane was Knives. Of course she would choose him over that armless buffoon. Still, there seemed to be something in Vash that sparked Vanessa's interest. Knives felt it ridiculous to spy on her, to assure her fidelity. Only occasionally did a clue of a facial expression or gesture meet his eye. Thus, he only possessed hints and assumptions, which had built over time and peaked that night in March. Knives had awoken from his deep, drunken stupor with an immediate, innate awareness of his brother. He knew that this wasn't angel arm related. He didn't actually know what it was, but it had to do with Vash, and Vanessa wasn't there. Giving her the benefit of a doubt, Knives waited until she returned to completely judge her. But things seemed shady, and her entrance lit the rage within him. Jealousy, heartbreak, betrayal…all things Knives had felt before, but in lesser ways. He couldn't let control slip from his hands any longer. Vanessa had to stay with Knives at all times now, and Vash must be left unaware of their location. This way, Knives could assure his place as her mate, and keep his brother from persuading her in any way. Once alone with her in the desert, Knives began to reflect on his relationship with Vanessa. He came to realize that she was more than a future mate – she was a companion. She was important, not only for her sexual organs and fertility. Vanessa was a spirited girl, wise from years of struggle yet fully able to fall to her knees in tears for the filthy humans she didn't know. Knives admired her courage in the face of overwhelming odds. She didn't have a chance against him, yet still she challenged his plans and spoke rudely to him. Fear was as obvious in her eyes as the blue green color they displayed, and still she denied his rights as a plant. Some nights in the moonlight or firelight, he would stare at her; just stare. He took in every detail of her - every movement of her long, soft hair, and every awkward shift of her pose. Before he knew it, he was wishing that those turquoise eyes would light up with actual happiness for him. When they did not, his heart sunk, and he felt no will to harm her. She was his weakness, evidently. The other night, when he pinned her, his emotions fell from check. He had felt her struggle, and it meant she didn't want him. When the struggling stopped, it proved that she was only in this covenant as a duty. Knives found that even when he made it clear that he would not be raping her, she would not drop her objections. She told him how awful she felt she was being treated, and it highlighted that he wanted to give her everything and yet didn't know enough about affection to present things adequately. If she wanted romance, he thought perhaps he could try it, but it was a ridiculous option. As much as he hated such silly human terms, he did want 'love' between he and Vanessa. He had wept in anguish for nearly an hour, because he knew it would take many years until she could feel that. Knives wanted Vanessa to love him soon. He craved it like a leper pines for a cure; anticipated it as a child prays for Christmas presents. Swimming in that sea of images and yearnings, Vanessa stumbled upon a vivid dream of his. He envisioned himself in a lush, jungle Eden, surrounded by their happy plant children of various ages. In a throne of every possible color and species of flower, Vanessa sat, regal as a queen. And the happy kingdom of his dreams, as Vanessa was now unpleasantly aware, was to be built on the extinction of all humans. Knives still fully intended to 'cut the sinners right out of the sky,' and Vanessa alone knew the vital details of his plans.
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