Note: In the end of the movie, when Finch is speaking on his experience at Larkhill he has a series of thoughts and images flash by. Of these images, of things that he believes may happen, there is one with Evey in a green dress and a man in her mirror. I believe this is Finch, or quite possibly Dominic. Anybody know? Hell, it could've been a flashback to Gordon, but I think he was referring to the future at this point.
Btw: Correction in my first chapter. The flowers are Scarlet Carsons. Whoops.
Thank you for your continued support! Keeps me writing diligently.
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"Oh I do believe.. In all the things you say.."
Evey's eyes peeked open just a bit. It was morning. Despite the fact that no sunlight ever entered the Shadow Gallery, she knew. She must've fallen asleep on the couch after Dominic left last night.
"What comes is better than what came before."
Evey shifted about on the couch for a bit before it registered that it was music that had awoken her. It suddenly caused her to stir and slowly rise from where she slept. Music? Thought Evey as she slowly crept around the couch and towards the center hall in which the jukebox was located. The last time she had heard this particular melody was the night she left. When she left him with promises that she would return before his revolution. Oh Evey. She thought. Why did you wait so long?
Evey had hardly noticed how quickly her heart was beating as she slowly stepped around the couch and out into the main hall. She bit her bottom lip hesitantly; half hoping that V would be standing there, hunched over the jukebox. Oh, V! She would cry. Passed that point, she knew not what to say. But, God, did she want to see him standing there. Listening to their music.
"V?" She gently uttered.
A figure stirred in the shadows until a simple tug and click of an old fashioned light bulb brought light into the dimly lit abode. It was only Finch. Only, simply, invariably Finch. "Oh dear. I hope I didn't upset you."
"Oh." Evey bit her tongue a bit. "Not at all Eric. Not at all." Evey felt a weight in her stomach as her heart sunk.
"Thought it was best I'd wake you up. Seeing as how it's nearing noon already."
Noon? Evey's eyes widened just a bit. So it wasn't quite morning anymore.
"I noticed that you weren't at your corner and got a little worried. You know..." Finch raised his fist to cover a cough and idled before a moment before heading towards the exit. "I'll walk you to work, if you wouldn't mind keeping an old man company for a bit?"
"That would be delightful." Evey smiled as she quickly headed to her room to change. Her room, V's room. It was all the same now. Ever since he died, her room felt cold and lonely. The towering pillars of books offered no solace to her lonely soul, despite their offers of magical lands and happy endings. Since that day, she had taken lodging in his room. The feeling of his presence still lingered in that room. Evey knew well the little nuances which littered his room, and she appreciated every single one.
Evey and Finch chatted casually on their stroll towards her shop corner. It wasn't very far, perhaps about fifteen minutes distance from the Shadow Gallery. Upon arrival Finch offered her a gentle wave before heading off on his own business.
She quickly began to set up her shop. It was a simple deep green metal stand, self containing and of a circular shape. Beneath the main display, which expanded left and right with flowers of several sorts, was a drawer in which she kept the majority of her supplies, as well as a stool so that she may spend the day sitting about and chatting with passers-by. It wasn't a big shop by any means, but it was a labor of passion. Most prominently displayed among the other flowers were the Scarlet Carsons V loved so much. Little did she know that not so far away, by a lonely window, sat V as he admired her roses.
He had taken note that Finch had walked her to her shop, just as he often does when she doesn't wake up on time. V winced slightly at Finch's presence. It wasn't because he disliked the man. No, far from it. It was simply that V had come to face the terms that Finch had probably unveiled to Evey the severity of his imprisonment at Larkhill. Perhaps more. He had known all along that Finch would eventually reach Evey. He had expected as much. V had torn from the pages of Delia's diary the ones that pertained to his particular case in the hopes that he would keep the intimacies of his internment secret. One factor he had not counted on after his "death" was that Evey and Finch would be drawn so close together. "No more secrets, V. No more locked doors." He would say to himself in a reassuring tone.
V had often wondered about Evey. How close was she to Finch, really? What were her hobbies now? Did she have friends now? For the only times in which he observed her were from his room, when she tended to her flower shop. If he had dared more, he would be no better than the invasive regime which he had recently ousted. Not wishing to partake in the role of the "Eyes" and "Ears" of the former Norsefire administration, he gave Evey her privacy. However, he granted himself one selfish indulgence- admiring her among the roses.
Whenever Evey was not to be found at her stand, he entertained himself with movies or books.
It was during darker times that he pondered his own existence.
A new face? A man had approached her stand. Of course, this was initially of no alarm to V- for many a man stopped at her shop to buy roses for their lovers. However, this man had been chatting with her for a good ten minutes now, and on familiar terms it seemed. Upon closer inspection, V recognized the man as Finch's successor. Dominic. The man who three years prior conked poor Evey into unconsciousness. The man who was ultimately responsible for his reunion with Evey.
Dominic leaned towards Evey, whispering in her ear and casually handing her an accordion folder full of documents. "Intel has gathered some information about a possible Norsefire assembly."
"Thank you, Dominic." Evey would smile and quickly tuck the documents away alongside her supplies.
So, they had become acquaintances. V, however, did not know the depth of their relationship. They were clearly friends, yes. More than that? He could not deduce from their meeting. The truth being that they were simply platonic. What V did not know was the depth of Evey's involvement in the government, as well as her late night escapades under his name.
Dominic came and went, as did the day. As the evening approached Evey began to take down her shop and shut the compartments for her display. However, in her haste she forgot the folder which Dominic had handed her earlier in the day. The thought slipping her mind, she took up her belongings and headed off.
A chance.
V quickly began to prepare his outdoor attire, which remained the same as before. His trademark Fawkesian mask, wide brimmed hat. Hastily robing himself, he glanced over at his reflection in the mirror.
"What do you expect to find?" His image sneered at him through the glass of the mirror. "To be discovered is to condemn her. She cannot know you."
"Such is my love, to thee I so belong, that for thy right myself will bear all wrong." V had no intention of being discovered. Evey could never know his touch, as he could not know her's. The thought tore him up inside, and in order to spare her the torment of loving a man who could not return her affections, he had remained in seclusion.
"Fool." Retorted his silhouette. "Every breath you take is a testament to your cowardice. You're dead to he-"
V quickly vanished through the window and out onto the fire escape which was located just outside, ignoring the thoughts which raced through his head. Sometimes, in his loneliness, his guilt got the best of him. Left to wallow in his solitary misery, he felt as if he were going mad. There was a time when loneliness had once been his solace, memories of Evey made his seclusion unbearable.
It didn't take long for V to creep through the quickly darkening street and to Evey's flower stand. It was even quicker for him to pick the lock which lay between himself and Evey's documents. Hastily he snatched them up, and closed the doors of her cabinet once more as he retreated back to his abode. She would not notice until morning, by which time they would be back as she left him. She wouldn't have even the slightest inclination to believe that they had been abducted at all.
Upon his return V wasted no time in his inspection of the documents, but paid scrutinous care to not damage or displace anything. He took a seat upon his modest bed, and proceeded to open the documents.
Within the folder he found a myriad of files, photos, and letters which were in reference to the surviving Norsefire party which plagued the north of the country. He had heard about them in the news. He detested the very survival of the party, but he no longer had a means to act. He had played his part. It was time for the people of England to seize upon their liberation and prevent such extremists from ever regaining power again. V began to flip through what appeared to be schedules of meetings, profiles, and other miscellaneous information in regards to the party. It appeared that a meeting was being held the following night, in a pub not too far from V's part of town.
Despite the abundance of information in regards to the Norsefire party, V was unable to discern what connection Evey had with them. Could she? No, no, no. V put suspicions from his mind.
He resolved that he would don his infamous disguise and spy upon this meeting. Whatever Evey's connection was to these damned fascists, one thing was made apparent through contents of the folder, she would be there tomorrow night.
V made sure to place documents and folder alike into their respective places before the morning was to dawn. Evey won't suspect a thing, he reassured himself. I will venture to this assembly merely to quell my curiosity regarding Evey's possession of these documents. Nothing more.
And so, V retired.
Evey was already sound a sleep. She had remembered about her documents just as she arrived home and decided that she would retrieve them the following morning. She needed plenty of rest for tomorrow night. For once again, she would need to disguise herself under V's identity.
Evey did not know how long it would be until the country was free of the Norsefire disturbance. Nor did she know what to expect the following night.
One thing was for certain. "V" would make an appearance.
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Thanks for your reviews! Sorry it took so long. I've been sick lately.
