A/N: This chapter has been revised taking in the constructive comments given to me in some of my reviews. Please enjoy the revision.

Disclaimer I do not own Vincent or any of the Final Fantasy Characters in this story. Valayris Valk is my own creation thought.

Valayris staggers down the stairs. The wound's throbbing distracts her causing her to stumble down the remaining steps of the staircase.

"Ms. Are you ok?" the innkeeper asks.

Standing up she gathers her composure feeling a little stupid for her clumsiness.

"Yes I'm..." Valayris winces as the pain flares up again, "Fine."

"Are you sure?" the innkeeper pushes.

"Yes," Valayris states sharply.

Valayris was tired of people questioning her on answers she had already given them. She was tired, in pain and not having the greatest day she didn't need anything else making her day worse. Throwing up his hands the innkeeper turns back to his work. Valayris feels guilty for her rudeness, the innkeeper didn't know about her day and her inner workings.

"I'm sorry," Valayris apologizes, "I didn't mean to come off rude."

The innkeeper nods and gives her a quick smile. In that smile Valayris finds understanding, something she hadn't seem in quite sometime.

"In these times everyone is a little edgy, its alright, I understand" the innkeeper says.

"Thank you," Valayris says.

The innkeeper nods as Valayris staggers for the door. Opening the door she accidentally bumps into Reno.

"Valayris you should be..." Reno starts.

"Not now Reno," Valayris states walking past him.

Stunned by Valayris abruptness Reno watches her walk away. Valayris walks around the inn coming across a small garden. The flowers greet Valayris with their wonderful fragrances. Taking in a deep breath she feels the beauty of nature fill wash over her. Bending over Valayris examines the flowers in all of nature's glory. The simple pleasure of taking time to smell the roses is cut short by the wound's reminder it was still there. The pain drops her to a knee as she tries to sigh out the pain.

"What was I thinking?" Valayris asks herself, "If I just explained everything to Vincent I could be in his arms asleep...probably not now that I think of it. Well at least I would be in bed relaxing, not here with my wound acting up like it is."

Getting to her feet she begins walk again, "See I'm just like everyone else I make mistakes too."

"Why does everyone think I'm better then everyone else?" Valayris asks, "Just because I can do this."

Snapping her fingers a tiny silver spark appears.

"So what?" Valayris sighs, "Big deal."

Finally Valayris stumbles across a bench.

"Oh thank goodness," Valayris sighs sitting on the bench.

Breathing steadily the pain subsides.

"Ok, I get the point," Valayris sighs, "No throwing my body in front of bullets anymore."

"That is probably a good idea," a voice says.

Jumping Valayris looks to see an elderly gentleman she did not recognize.

"I finally found you young lady," the gentleman says.

"I'm sorry Sir, do I know you?" Valayris asks.

"I'm Dr. Marks," the doctor says extending his hand, "I'm the doctor who stitched up your bullet wound."

"Well doctor I owe you my life," Valayris says shaking his hand.

"I'm glad your recovery is a quick one," Dr. Marks says, "It was a nasty wound."

"I'm a good healer," Valayris smiles.

"I can see," Dr. Marks says, "You're bodyguards aren't very good ones are they?"

"Bodyguards?"

"Yes, I told them specifically little to no physical activity." Dr. Marks explains.

"What makes you think they're my bodyguards?"

"The way they fuss over you like they do,"

Smiling at the doctor she blushes.

"They fuss over me?" Valayris asks herself mentally.

"The enigmatic fellow was by your side the entire time. If it's not too forward for me to say I think he might be quite taken by you," Dr. Marks says, "If you have to pick between those him and the fellow with the red hair, do your doctor a favor pick the enigmatic fellow."

Valayris laughs, "Ok, but I don't think he would ever put me in a position to chose him over Reno."

"Well my dear," Dr. Marks says taking a hold of Valayris's hand, "Being a man myself."

Valayris laughs internally at the opening to this lecture.

"This is going to be good," Valayris tells herself.

"I can tell he cares deeply about you. Every time I came to check on you he was there, sitting next to you encouraging you to come around. No man would do that for somebody he didn't care about."

"Maybe," Valayris sighs, "It just seems that I'm only a duty to him nothing else."

"I'm not so sure about that. I don't claim to know a lot but I know a lot about the things I do know which are fixing people and men."

Giggles Valayris places a hand over her mouth.

"Oh please child, let that happiness show. This town is under Deep Ground pressure we need all the happiness we can get, especially from a great white mage like yourself."

"Ho...How did you know?" Valayris asks, "No one is suppose to know."

This would be bad, if more people find out about her being the legendary white mage. People would talk giving Deep Ground more of an opening to find her, putting more of a strain on her and Vincent's mission of staying alive and out of harms way.

"No human being would recover that quickly from a wound like that," Dr. Marks says gesturing to her wound.

"Dr. Marks please..." Valayris starts.

"You're secret's safe with me dear child. Only if you promise to trust me about your dark and mysterious bodyguard."

"But..." Valayris starts, "He just doesn't understand and I don't think he wants too."

"I have a feeling there's something more to this problem then the surface stuff." Dr. Marks tells her.

Valayris drops her head.

"How did you get so good at reading people?" Valayris asks, "I mean I have magic to help me with that, you just do it without divine help."

"It's a gift," Dr. Marks replies "Want to talk about what's really troubling you?"

Vincent watches Valayris and the doctor talk. The conversation seems to be pretty intense by the tears falling from Valayris's eyes. Vincent wants to protector her from her internal sadness. That type of suffering was something Vincent knew all to well. He had suffered in darkness up until Valayris had unknowingly shown him there is happiness in even the darkest world. He wants to go to her and be there to comfort and support her but his heart could not take any type of rejection, not after Lucrecia. The pain Lucrecia had willingly or unwillingly inflicted upon him all those years ago still weighs on his heart. Yet Valayris's silver light was beginning to remove some of that darkness. Lost in his thoughts Vincent fails to notice the doctor leave and walk off.

Vincent then begins to wonder if Lucrecia's memories would ever let him love again. Lying in the deepest darkness chamber of Vincent's heart there was a part of him that just wanted to love and be loved. His mind swims with all the ideas, memories, and thoughts, preventing him from noticing someone entering the room.

"You need to work on your guarding skills," a voice says reaching Vincent in his tiny world.

Jumping Vincent reaches for his gun and turns to see the doctor. Dr. Marks sees Vincent's hand on the gun puts his hands up.

"Don't shoot I come in peace," Dr. Mark says his hands in the air.

"Apparently my guarding skill do need polishing," Vincent agrees releasing his grip on his gun.

"Sorry to have startled you," Dr. Marks apologizes, "Didn't I tell you guys no physical activity for at least two days,"

"She's stubborn," Vincent says defensively.

"Try harder," Dr. Marks replies, "She needs to heal right."
"Yes doctor," Vincent sighs.'

"I've brought her pain medication and as her doctor I strong advise you to go down and talk to her."

"Huh?" Vincent asks the last remark taking him by surprise.

"As her doctor I think you need to go talk to her," Dr. Marks says.

"Are you sure it's me she wants to talk to?"

"Yes I am sure." Dr. Marks tells him, "Just be gentle with her and she'll open up. Compassion and understanding are the two things that girl needs right now."

Vincent looks at him questioningly. Vincent's mind struggles trying to process all the thoughts he had been thinking before the doctor entered and now he was trying to process all the things the doctor was telling him now.

"I prescribe apologizing for anything you may have done wrong. That will get her to open up."

"Thank you doctor,"

Nodding Dr. Marks leaves the room.

Quickly Vincent heads to the garden finding Valayris still sitting on the bench she was at earlier.

"Valayris," Vincent says

"Vincent, wha...what are you doing here?" Valayris states hiding her face from him.

"I came to apologize for anything I have done to upset you. That was never my intention," Vincent apologizes.

"I'm the one who is sorry, Vincent," Valayris sighs wiping away the last remaining tear.

"Why do you say that?" Vincent asks sitting down next to her.

"Because I snapped at you about something you didn't even do," Valayris says looking at Vincent.

Vincent sees her face for the first time, her eyes were red and puffy and the remains of her silver tears leave shimmering trails on her cheeks. There was that sadness again, the sadness Vincent hopes would leave her one day and maybe with his help.

"It just upsets me when my life gets put on a pedestal above everyone else's," Valayris says.

Turning her face away she finishes quietly, "Especially above people I care about."

Vincent couldn't make out the last part of her statement, she had uttered it too quietly for Vincent's ears to hear yet he didn't want to ruin the openness of the moment so he didn't dare ask her to repeat herself.

"Is there a reason behind that, something I don't know about?"

Valayris lets out a little laugh. Vincent may have parts of her figured out but the thought that he knew everything made her laugh.

"Trust me Vincent, there is a lot about me you don't know," Valayris replies, "But because of people thinking my life is more important...I lost my mother."

"How...?"

"When my mother was pregnant with me, they found out that I was a 'mage baby',"

"'Mage Baby'?" Vincent asks.

"I contained the genetic makeup to become what I am today."

"So 'mage babies' are white mages?"

"No, no, the type of mage you are depends on how you develop in the womb. They saw that I had the potential to be one of the greatest mages of our day. The down fall to being that type of baby is those baby's feed off the mother's energy as well. This allows the genes to charge giving us that 'magical energy'."

"That must be taxing on the mother,"

"Yes it is, well, only if the mother does not have any 'mage' genes in her. If I had a 'mage baby' I would be fine."

"You mean 'mage babies' don't happen to mage parents?"

"Nope, we are a rarity among humans, rare, sparse, and random."

"Oh I see,"

"When they found out I was destined for 'greatness' they decided not tell my mother about the danger she was in."

"Danger?" Vincent ask trying to make sure he understands everything she told him.

"My mother was not a mage herself. I was slowly killing her from the inside. She was exhausted 90 percent of her day and the doctors told her its because I was her first child. They could have aborted me to save my mother. Yet my life was valued over my mother's. I was going to be a powerful ally when I was older. They never told my mother she would die, they never gave her the option. My mother died because of me."

"What?" Vincent asks in disbelief.

Vincent couldn't believe the doctors didn't give her mother the option to live or to sacrifice her life for her child. At least Lucrecia choose to sacrifice her body for her child and to science.

"Because my life was valued over my mother's she was allowed to die,"

"How do you know this?" Vincent asks, "It doesn't seem like one of those things you tell a child."

"My father gave me my mother's necklace for my birthday one year. When I touched the necklace all this stuff came to me in a vision. White mages have visions to signal their powers are about to peak. When I asked my father about it, he told me the entire story. From that day forward I vowed never to value my life above anyone else's."

"Yet because of your mother's sacrifice the rest of us are able to enjoy your company," Vincent states.

Valayris blushes looking down at her lap.

"What a sweet thing to say Vincent," Valayris says.

Vincent's heart lightens for a moment with her remark. He seems to be helping her which made him feel almost happy.

"Yet, I can understand your frustration when people say that,"

"Thanks," Valayris sighs, "I don't mean to get that way. I know people don't know well unless they've heard stories about me and I know people don't mean to upset me but it still..."

"Hurts," Vincent says finishing her sentences.

"Yes, it does," Valayris sighs.

"You also need to understand though, that to the people of this land you are their only hope for survival so they highly value your life. Just remember I'm always here for you."

"Thanks Vincent," Valayris sighs snuggling closer to him.