[u]Part 17[/u]
Liz wasn't sure if letting Alex leave had been the best idea. But when Will had suggested it, his blue eyes never leaving her face, his expression displaying no surprise that she had returned so quickly, she finally nodded in her best friend's direction. Alex had been scowling as he walked out, but he had agreed earlier that they would play this Liz's way. He knew that whatever she had to do, it was for a reason. And if being alone with Will meant that he would trust her more quickly, then alone with him she would be.
But, now, as she sat carefully on the edge of the chair near the television in the crummy motel room where her life had already changed once today, she couldn't stop twisting her hands in her lap. She wondered why she was so scared. Will had never done anything to suggest that he would ever hurt her.
[I]He would hurt Max though. He already tried once today,[/I] a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her. [I]And that's really what you're most concerned about. It's why you're here. To protect him. You need to make that clear - right off the bat.[/I]
Liz realized that she had lowered her gaze to the floor as she tried to sort out exactly how to approach this. Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyes and met Will's piercing gaze head-on, willing herself not to react. She let out a small sigh when her heart continued to beat normally.
[I]Thank you God.[/I]
Whatever it was he had ignited in her earlier that day seemed to have faded now that the balance between she and Max had been restored. She could look at Will without feeling a rush of blood to her head and without feeling a slight fluttering in her stomach. The relief was so great, she closed her eyes momentarily, just to assure herself that her reaction was genuine.
Finally, she accepted that it was true. Will Spencer could have been Alex for all the attraction she felt towards him at the moment. And, yet, the slight sense of recognition that she had felt in his presence from the first time she had seen him was still present. There was no question that she had been connected to this man at some point before. She [I]knew[/I] him and she knew that he was not lying when he said that he believed that she had been in love with him. [I]Believed[/I] was the operative word though. Because, although she did think that Will truly thought that Rowena had been in love with him, she knew inherently that it was not true. There had to have been something between Zan and Rowena. There was no other way to explain the fact that she and Max felt so completely that they belonged together.
Where had the mistake been made? Had Will been blind to his wife's true feelings in their past lives or had the change taken place sometime more recently? Had the fact that she and Max had found each other first changed everything? Had they mistaken each other for their respective spouses - Will and Tess - and was that why they felt such a keen sense of being made for each other?
Liz straightened her spine and raised her chin, meeting Will's eyes firmly. She was here for information and she was going to get it. She was not leaving this motel room tonight until she knew everything Will knew - until she had all the information there was to have so that she could meld it with what she knew in her heart to be true.
She decided for the moment to ignore the pang of guilt about the fact that, more than likely, Will was going to end up hurt. She couldn't think about him right now. Max was all that mattered.
"You're probably wondering why I came back," Liz began tentatively.
"No."
She blinked, bit her lip. He sounded so sure that he knew, so sure that she recognized that they were meant to be together. She could almost read his thoughts. How could he have been so wrong about Rowena?
"I believe you," Liz continued, as though he hadn't spoken. "I.I talked to Max and well." She swallowed. "I know it's true. I'm one of you."
Will's eyes darkened at the mention of Max's name. "So he [I]does[/I] remember." He sounded disgusted, as though he couldn't quite believe that he had actually contemplated the fact that Max might not know exactly what he was doing.
"No!" Liz exclaimed quickly, cursing the error. How had she made a mistake so quickly? "You don't understand. We connected. I saw myself through his eyes and I just knew suddenly that the reason he fell in love with me was because he recognized me. He was drawn to me because we're the same."
"So he says."
Liz narrowed her eyes. "Weren't you the one who told me that when I connect with people, that I see them truly? That it's my gift?"
Will did not deny it, simply raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"I [I]know[/I] Max. Whoever he was before, he's not that way now. You can ask your sister if you don't believe me. I think she finally knows it too."
"I don't understand."
"Didn't Kate tell you?" Liz asked, momentarily confused. She wondered briefly why Kate would have kept the fact that she had connected with Max a secret from Will.
"Tell me what?" Will demanded, interrupting her thoughts. "I didn't even know she was back."
"Well, she paid us a little visit earlier," Liz replied. "I think it was an accident. I was with Max and Alex and she just popped in. Anyway, she and Max had." Liz was forced to sigh slightly, decided that she had every right to be a little jealous. She had always felt that the connection between she and Max was unique, but the fact that he had shared one with Kate.well, apparently not. "I guess you'd say they had a moment," she finished wryly.
"What?" Will was on his feet, heading for the door. "Why wouldn't she tell me this?"
Liz grabbed him by the hand as he passed her. "I'm sure she had her reasons. You can talk to her later. I need to get some things straight with you - now."
It wasn't until she was in the middle of the flash that Liz even realized what she had done. And by then it was far too late because at that point all she could hear was the screaming.
[I]Rowena! Rowena, save me! Please! I'm not Rowena! You don' t want to do this! Ro! Roweeeennaaa![/I]
"RO!"
She snapped out of it after what felt like hours, Will's voice finally breaking through the shrieking voice that had invaded her head. Liz's heart was racing and she could feel beads of perspiration on her forehead. She took deep gasping breaths and stared into Will's eyes. She realized that he was on his knees in front of her, his hands on her shoulders because he had obviously just finished shaking her.
He seemed to recognize the instant that she was aware again because his expression was momentarily relieved before it hardened with concern. "What happened? What did you see?" He touched her face gently, forcing her to look at him.
Liz backed up against the chair, trying to escape his touch. "Get away from me! Don't touch me!" She could not control herself. She saw each word stab into him like a dagger as his hands fell away from her. He rocked back on his heels, continued to stare at her. But touching him had done that. Touching him and made her feel like her entire soul was being ripped from her body.
And, from the look of horror on his face, he apparently knew it.
"I'm sorry," Liz finally managed to say, realized that it was more of a sob than anything. "I thought I could do this."
"It's okay," Will replied, standing up and turning away. She saw a shudder run through his lean frame, wondered briefly if he had seen what she had.
But what exactly [I]had[/I] she seen? Already it was fading back into the shadows of her mind, evading the grasp of her memory.
The only thing that remained was a pair of piercing blue eyes.
Will turned back. "Why are you here?" He asked roughly, his expression shuttered for the first time that she had ever seen. If she needed confirmation that he [I]had[/I] seen something from her, then there it was, written all over his face. She felt horrible that she could not meet his eyes. She didn't need to anymore. They were branded on her brain after that flash.
"I.I need to know what happened to me. To us. To everyone," Liz said finally, keeping her voice low so that it didn't crack.
"You want to know what happened to [I]him[/I]. You're doing this for him," Will's tone was accusing, but Liz thought she heard an undertone of resignation there as well. It scared her more than any anger could have.
"No." Liz could hear the lie in her voice, wondered if he did as well. He had collapsed on the bed, his head clutched between his fists, as though he was trying to push something out of his mind. Liz felt another flash of fear as she pondered what he might have seen from her. Had he seen how every beat of her heart was for Max, how every breath she took was because he loved her?
Liz sat beside him, gently reached out and took his hand in hers. Will looked at her, his expression now blank. She forced herself to meet those suddenly disturbing blue eyes. "I'm here because we were all sent to this planet for a reason and I can't believe that it's because we're supposed to be enemies. Any of us. Yes, I'm here because of him. But I'm here for me too and I'm here for you and for Isabel and for Michael and for everyone. I'm here for answers."
"What if the answers you find aren't the ones you want Rowena?" Will asked in a monotone. "Because the ones I'm getting sure aren't the ones I was looking for."
"I'm willing to take that chance," Liz replied firmly. She squeezed his hand. "I trust you Will. I." She swallowed. "I don't know what you saw in that flash, but I can tell that it was about Max."
He didn't answer, which only confirmed it. She continued in a rush. "I'm sorry. I don't remember what we meant to each other before. I want to try, but I need you to accept that it's unlikely that my feelings for Max are going to change. That was then. This is now."
"Why?" He demanded. "Why do you want to know if you don't think it's going to change anything?"
"Because I think I owe you that much," Liz told him. "And I'm beginning to think that you're just as lost as I am."
"What?" He did not sound impressed by this assessment.
"Will, I don't think you were in love with [I]me[/I] at all," Liz told him. Until the words left her mouth, she hadn't even realized that it was true. But she knew somehow that she was right. "I think that there was much more going on in our past lives than even you know about."
"I do remember Liz."
Liz narrowed her eyes. "I think you remember what [I]they[/I] want you to. And I think it's the same with Max and the others. But I'm beginning to wonder if any of it is real."
"Who are they?" Will asked wearily. "Liz, we're the ones in charge. I'm the one who had myself cloned and sent here. I remember exactly what I intended myself to remember."
Liz blinked, then grinned. "Well, that was confusing."
Will stared at her, then smirked slightly as well. "This really is a mess, isn't it?" The atmosphere in the room lightened slightly.
"I know this is hard. It's hard on everyone," Liz told him seriously. "But I'm here as a go-between." She paused, continued quickly. "I'm going to make a confession here Will. I was going to pretend that I remembered you."
"You were?" His gaze darkened again. "Why?"
"You were right that I came here to protect Max. I was going to pretend to side with you if you promised to leave him alone."
"What changed your mind?" He asked. He didn't sound hurt, merely curious.
Liz thought about it for a moment. "I told you. I trust you. I think that if I ask you to leave him alone, you will. Because I think, deep down, you know that you need him as much as he needs you."
"I'm glad you trust me, but I can't trust [I]him[/I] Liz. It's impossible."
The fact that he called her Liz.It raised her hopes more than anything that he had said before. He was beginning to accept things the way they were. She was no longer his Rowena. She was Liz Parker, who was in love with Max Evans, and that's who she intended to remain.
But it didn't mean that she wasn't still curious about exactly who Rowena of Valonia had been. She was frightened to find out, but she knew that unless she did, she could potentially be haunted by her forever. Although it had faded, she could not forget that flash, could not forget the screaming voice of someone she had been unable to save in her past life. Because she was sure that's what it had been. But [I]who?[/I] Who had she failed so completely?
She realized that now was not the time to think about it. She needed Will to agree to this, needed he and Max working together if any of them were ever going to have any hope of straightening this out.
"You could try," she told him quietly.
Their eyes met for a long, charged moment. Finally, he grinned and said, "I never could say no to you Rowena."
"Well, that's handy to know," she replied teasingly, squeezing his hand again. "In that case, I'm going to demand that you tell me everything you can about who I was."
There was a long silence as he measured her with his eyes. "I think that you're right Liz. I don't think this is just about the two of us anymore."
Her heart started to beat more quickly. "What do you mean?"
"I'll tell you together. Because, really, I think that's the way you want it." He straightened his spine and for a moment Liz could see that this had indeed been a king once upon a time. He was disappointed with how things were turning out for himself, but he would not let it interfere with what he knew to be right. And he was beginning to see that working with Max instead of against him [I]was[/I] right. "It's time for me to meet Zan of Antar."
Liz stared at him, almost couldn't believe that everything she had hoped for had happened so quickly - and simply because she had been honest. Would wonders never cease?
And, yet, that small voice in the back of her mind was urging caution. [I]Be careful Liz. You could be walking Max right into a trap.[/I]
But she could not believe that of Will. He would not betray her that way. To him, she was still his wife, even if they were no longer meant to be together. He would not lie to her. Somehow she just knew it.
The little voice was not completely wrong though. "I do have one condition."
Liz frowned. "What?"
He looked away, then took a deep breath and stood, going to the bedside table and pulling open a drawer. Liz watched him curiously as Will pulled out a long piece of fabric. It was the most delicate piece of material Liz had ever seen, gossamer thin and so pale that it seemed almost colourless.
She had reached out her hand for it before she even knew what she was doing. She knew it had belonged to her. Will handed it over without comment.
"I want you to have it," he said quietly. "It's all I have left of Rowena."
"I don't understand." Liz wound the fabric around her hand, marveling at the softness, at the fact that this had come from another planet. "How is this a condition?"
"I'd like you to wear it when I meet him."
Liz looked up, frowned again. "Why?"
"I want a piece of you to still belong to me."
She felt a shiver descend her spine, couldn't tell if it was one of attraction or of fear. But her lips were opening and she was saying, "I will," before she could stop herself. "What is it?" She asked, biting her lip, knowing that it was too late to take it back. He had bent so much already. She could not deny him this much.
"It's the sash that was used to bind us at our wedding," Will replied, his voice expressionless, which only reinforced to Liz how much the simple piece of cloth meant to him. "Rowena always wore it on her wrist after that."
Liz stared down at it, realized that she had wound it around her own wrist without even realizing what she was doing. Another tremor ran through her body. She considered throwing it back at him, almost started to do it, when something caught her eye.
It was a stain. She knew almost instantly what it was too.
Blood. [I]Her[/I] blood. From before.
She felt all the colour drain from her face as she looked up at Will, who was watching her intently, his eyes gleaming strangely.
And, she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she had been tricked.
Liz wasn't sure if letting Alex leave had been the best idea. But when Will had suggested it, his blue eyes never leaving her face, his expression displaying no surprise that she had returned so quickly, she finally nodded in her best friend's direction. Alex had been scowling as he walked out, but he had agreed earlier that they would play this Liz's way. He knew that whatever she had to do, it was for a reason. And if being alone with Will meant that he would trust her more quickly, then alone with him she would be.
But, now, as she sat carefully on the edge of the chair near the television in the crummy motel room where her life had already changed once today, she couldn't stop twisting her hands in her lap. She wondered why she was so scared. Will had never done anything to suggest that he would ever hurt her.
[I]He would hurt Max though. He already tried once today,[/I] a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her. [I]And that's really what you're most concerned about. It's why you're here. To protect him. You need to make that clear - right off the bat.[/I]
Liz realized that she had lowered her gaze to the floor as she tried to sort out exactly how to approach this. Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyes and met Will's piercing gaze head-on, willing herself not to react. She let out a small sigh when her heart continued to beat normally.
[I]Thank you God.[/I]
Whatever it was he had ignited in her earlier that day seemed to have faded now that the balance between she and Max had been restored. She could look at Will without feeling a rush of blood to her head and without feeling a slight fluttering in her stomach. The relief was so great, she closed her eyes momentarily, just to assure herself that her reaction was genuine.
Finally, she accepted that it was true. Will Spencer could have been Alex for all the attraction she felt towards him at the moment. And, yet, the slight sense of recognition that she had felt in his presence from the first time she had seen him was still present. There was no question that she had been connected to this man at some point before. She [I]knew[/I] him and she knew that he was not lying when he said that he believed that she had been in love with him. [I]Believed[/I] was the operative word though. Because, although she did think that Will truly thought that Rowena had been in love with him, she knew inherently that it was not true. There had to have been something between Zan and Rowena. There was no other way to explain the fact that she and Max felt so completely that they belonged together.
Where had the mistake been made? Had Will been blind to his wife's true feelings in their past lives or had the change taken place sometime more recently? Had the fact that she and Max had found each other first changed everything? Had they mistaken each other for their respective spouses - Will and Tess - and was that why they felt such a keen sense of being made for each other?
Liz straightened her spine and raised her chin, meeting Will's eyes firmly. She was here for information and she was going to get it. She was not leaving this motel room tonight until she knew everything Will knew - until she had all the information there was to have so that she could meld it with what she knew in her heart to be true.
She decided for the moment to ignore the pang of guilt about the fact that, more than likely, Will was going to end up hurt. She couldn't think about him right now. Max was all that mattered.
"You're probably wondering why I came back," Liz began tentatively.
"No."
She blinked, bit her lip. He sounded so sure that he knew, so sure that she recognized that they were meant to be together. She could almost read his thoughts. How could he have been so wrong about Rowena?
"I believe you," Liz continued, as though he hadn't spoken. "I.I talked to Max and well." She swallowed. "I know it's true. I'm one of you."
Will's eyes darkened at the mention of Max's name. "So he [I]does[/I] remember." He sounded disgusted, as though he couldn't quite believe that he had actually contemplated the fact that Max might not know exactly what he was doing.
"No!" Liz exclaimed quickly, cursing the error. How had she made a mistake so quickly? "You don't understand. We connected. I saw myself through his eyes and I just knew suddenly that the reason he fell in love with me was because he recognized me. He was drawn to me because we're the same."
"So he says."
Liz narrowed her eyes. "Weren't you the one who told me that when I connect with people, that I see them truly? That it's my gift?"
Will did not deny it, simply raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"I [I]know[/I] Max. Whoever he was before, he's not that way now. You can ask your sister if you don't believe me. I think she finally knows it too."
"I don't understand."
"Didn't Kate tell you?" Liz asked, momentarily confused. She wondered briefly why Kate would have kept the fact that she had connected with Max a secret from Will.
"Tell me what?" Will demanded, interrupting her thoughts. "I didn't even know she was back."
"Well, she paid us a little visit earlier," Liz replied. "I think it was an accident. I was with Max and Alex and she just popped in. Anyway, she and Max had." Liz was forced to sigh slightly, decided that she had every right to be a little jealous. She had always felt that the connection between she and Max was unique, but the fact that he had shared one with Kate.well, apparently not. "I guess you'd say they had a moment," she finished wryly.
"What?" Will was on his feet, heading for the door. "Why wouldn't she tell me this?"
Liz grabbed him by the hand as he passed her. "I'm sure she had her reasons. You can talk to her later. I need to get some things straight with you - now."
It wasn't until she was in the middle of the flash that Liz even realized what she had done. And by then it was far too late because at that point all she could hear was the screaming.
[I]Rowena! Rowena, save me! Please! I'm not Rowena! You don' t want to do this! Ro! Roweeeennaaa![/I]
"RO!"
She snapped out of it after what felt like hours, Will's voice finally breaking through the shrieking voice that had invaded her head. Liz's heart was racing and she could feel beads of perspiration on her forehead. She took deep gasping breaths and stared into Will's eyes. She realized that he was on his knees in front of her, his hands on her shoulders because he had obviously just finished shaking her.
He seemed to recognize the instant that she was aware again because his expression was momentarily relieved before it hardened with concern. "What happened? What did you see?" He touched her face gently, forcing her to look at him.
Liz backed up against the chair, trying to escape his touch. "Get away from me! Don't touch me!" She could not control herself. She saw each word stab into him like a dagger as his hands fell away from her. He rocked back on his heels, continued to stare at her. But touching him had done that. Touching him and made her feel like her entire soul was being ripped from her body.
And, from the look of horror on his face, he apparently knew it.
"I'm sorry," Liz finally managed to say, realized that it was more of a sob than anything. "I thought I could do this."
"It's okay," Will replied, standing up and turning away. She saw a shudder run through his lean frame, wondered briefly if he had seen what she had.
But what exactly [I]had[/I] she seen? Already it was fading back into the shadows of her mind, evading the grasp of her memory.
The only thing that remained was a pair of piercing blue eyes.
Will turned back. "Why are you here?" He asked roughly, his expression shuttered for the first time that she had ever seen. If she needed confirmation that he [I]had[/I] seen something from her, then there it was, written all over his face. She felt horrible that she could not meet his eyes. She didn't need to anymore. They were branded on her brain after that flash.
"I.I need to know what happened to me. To us. To everyone," Liz said finally, keeping her voice low so that it didn't crack.
"You want to know what happened to [I]him[/I]. You're doing this for him," Will's tone was accusing, but Liz thought she heard an undertone of resignation there as well. It scared her more than any anger could have.
"No." Liz could hear the lie in her voice, wondered if he did as well. He had collapsed on the bed, his head clutched between his fists, as though he was trying to push something out of his mind. Liz felt another flash of fear as she pondered what he might have seen from her. Had he seen how every beat of her heart was for Max, how every breath she took was because he loved her?
Liz sat beside him, gently reached out and took his hand in hers. Will looked at her, his expression now blank. She forced herself to meet those suddenly disturbing blue eyes. "I'm here because we were all sent to this planet for a reason and I can't believe that it's because we're supposed to be enemies. Any of us. Yes, I'm here because of him. But I'm here for me too and I'm here for you and for Isabel and for Michael and for everyone. I'm here for answers."
"What if the answers you find aren't the ones you want Rowena?" Will asked in a monotone. "Because the ones I'm getting sure aren't the ones I was looking for."
"I'm willing to take that chance," Liz replied firmly. She squeezed his hand. "I trust you Will. I." She swallowed. "I don't know what you saw in that flash, but I can tell that it was about Max."
He didn't answer, which only confirmed it. She continued in a rush. "I'm sorry. I don't remember what we meant to each other before. I want to try, but I need you to accept that it's unlikely that my feelings for Max are going to change. That was then. This is now."
"Why?" He demanded. "Why do you want to know if you don't think it's going to change anything?"
"Because I think I owe you that much," Liz told him. "And I'm beginning to think that you're just as lost as I am."
"What?" He did not sound impressed by this assessment.
"Will, I don't think you were in love with [I]me[/I] at all," Liz told him. Until the words left her mouth, she hadn't even realized that it was true. But she knew somehow that she was right. "I think that there was much more going on in our past lives than even you know about."
"I do remember Liz."
Liz narrowed her eyes. "I think you remember what [I]they[/I] want you to. And I think it's the same with Max and the others. But I'm beginning to wonder if any of it is real."
"Who are they?" Will asked wearily. "Liz, we're the ones in charge. I'm the one who had myself cloned and sent here. I remember exactly what I intended myself to remember."
Liz blinked, then grinned. "Well, that was confusing."
Will stared at her, then smirked slightly as well. "This really is a mess, isn't it?" The atmosphere in the room lightened slightly.
"I know this is hard. It's hard on everyone," Liz told him seriously. "But I'm here as a go-between." She paused, continued quickly. "I'm going to make a confession here Will. I was going to pretend that I remembered you."
"You were?" His gaze darkened again. "Why?"
"You were right that I came here to protect Max. I was going to pretend to side with you if you promised to leave him alone."
"What changed your mind?" He asked. He didn't sound hurt, merely curious.
Liz thought about it for a moment. "I told you. I trust you. I think that if I ask you to leave him alone, you will. Because I think, deep down, you know that you need him as much as he needs you."
"I'm glad you trust me, but I can't trust [I]him[/I] Liz. It's impossible."
The fact that he called her Liz.It raised her hopes more than anything that he had said before. He was beginning to accept things the way they were. She was no longer his Rowena. She was Liz Parker, who was in love with Max Evans, and that's who she intended to remain.
But it didn't mean that she wasn't still curious about exactly who Rowena of Valonia had been. She was frightened to find out, but she knew that unless she did, she could potentially be haunted by her forever. Although it had faded, she could not forget that flash, could not forget the screaming voice of someone she had been unable to save in her past life. Because she was sure that's what it had been. But [I]who?[/I] Who had she failed so completely?
She realized that now was not the time to think about it. She needed Will to agree to this, needed he and Max working together if any of them were ever going to have any hope of straightening this out.
"You could try," she told him quietly.
Their eyes met for a long, charged moment. Finally, he grinned and said, "I never could say no to you Rowena."
"Well, that's handy to know," she replied teasingly, squeezing his hand again. "In that case, I'm going to demand that you tell me everything you can about who I was."
There was a long silence as he measured her with his eyes. "I think that you're right Liz. I don't think this is just about the two of us anymore."
Her heart started to beat more quickly. "What do you mean?"
"I'll tell you together. Because, really, I think that's the way you want it." He straightened his spine and for a moment Liz could see that this had indeed been a king once upon a time. He was disappointed with how things were turning out for himself, but he would not let it interfere with what he knew to be right. And he was beginning to see that working with Max instead of against him [I]was[/I] right. "It's time for me to meet Zan of Antar."
Liz stared at him, almost couldn't believe that everything she had hoped for had happened so quickly - and simply because she had been honest. Would wonders never cease?
And, yet, that small voice in the back of her mind was urging caution. [I]Be careful Liz. You could be walking Max right into a trap.[/I]
But she could not believe that of Will. He would not betray her that way. To him, she was still his wife, even if they were no longer meant to be together. He would not lie to her. Somehow she just knew it.
The little voice was not completely wrong though. "I do have one condition."
Liz frowned. "What?"
He looked away, then took a deep breath and stood, going to the bedside table and pulling open a drawer. Liz watched him curiously as Will pulled out a long piece of fabric. It was the most delicate piece of material Liz had ever seen, gossamer thin and so pale that it seemed almost colourless.
She had reached out her hand for it before she even knew what she was doing. She knew it had belonged to her. Will handed it over without comment.
"I want you to have it," he said quietly. "It's all I have left of Rowena."
"I don't understand." Liz wound the fabric around her hand, marveling at the softness, at the fact that this had come from another planet. "How is this a condition?"
"I'd like you to wear it when I meet him."
Liz looked up, frowned again. "Why?"
"I want a piece of you to still belong to me."
She felt a shiver descend her spine, couldn't tell if it was one of attraction or of fear. But her lips were opening and she was saying, "I will," before she could stop herself. "What is it?" She asked, biting her lip, knowing that it was too late to take it back. He had bent so much already. She could not deny him this much.
"It's the sash that was used to bind us at our wedding," Will replied, his voice expressionless, which only reinforced to Liz how much the simple piece of cloth meant to him. "Rowena always wore it on her wrist after that."
Liz stared down at it, realized that she had wound it around her own wrist without even realizing what she was doing. Another tremor ran through her body. She considered throwing it back at him, almost started to do it, when something caught her eye.
It was a stain. She knew almost instantly what it was too.
Blood. [I]Her[/I] blood. From before.
She felt all the colour drain from her face as she looked up at Will, who was watching her intently, his eyes gleaming strangely.
And, she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she had been tricked.