V, truthfully, was almost incoherent. His emotions, brain and heart roiled and churned until he had no sense of self.
He was absent from his body, he simply existed, and went through the motions.
His body was fleeing the scene. He had killed Lilliman. Normally, that would have given him a moment of self-righteous satisfaction. When he took the life of those who so richly deserved it, namely those involved at Larkhill, it cemented his purpose and gave him a moments peace.
That was not the case now.
Bitch!
And that thought stopped him, shook him, and made him aware of himself. He was on a roof close to home, with no memory of how he had gotten there.
He felt the sharp stab of it, the pain again as he remembered her. The fear and shame was written plainly on her face. She looked at him and said, "I'm sorry, I had to!" And ran.
He had called her name. The word rolled off his tongue, holding the sound of his questioning, his disbelief, and his anger.
"Evey!"
He had killed Lilliman with anger in his heart, vengeance pounding in his veins. His blood pumped furiously as he dissolved in to his emotions.
He wanted to hate her, like he had hated so much in this world. He wanted to find her, shake her, scream, call her bitch and whore and see the pain in her eyes as he betrayed her with his words as she had betrayed him with her actions. Had she been able to see behind his mask, she would have seen that betrayal mirrored in his eyes.
And his body began to move.
He lived behind his eyes, not looking, awash in the sea that was his thoughts. She had run, from him. Evey. The only person he had known well in…forever. For as far back as Larkhill.
He felt noxious.
Why? He felt that question in his marrow, it was so deep. He had been completely blind-sided. Never, ever would he have expected this. She was Evey, she had defended him against the detective, she had asked to learn to fight, watched countless movies on the couch with him, she had healed him, and she had talked to him.
He had talked to so few. He had contacts, people he saw in his more natural disguises. Casual conversations. And then there was the verbal jesting he engaged his victims in. Unfulfilling, they never responded with any intelligence.
He had danced around this new addition to his life like a skittish animal. Evey was a wildcard, she was a distraction from his purpose, and he had struggled to remain focused.
Still, she had been unavoidable. And then, he had not wanted to avoid her. He was proud of the shadow galley, true, but she had brought life to his home and she didn't even know it. They had talked for hours about the beauty that lay within, the art, the books. Evey had admired it all, remaking upon it's passion and life. She didn't know that so much of it had come with her. She was a presence, and she brought with her an intensity.
How could he go back there? Those walls would fell oppressive, lifeless, and empty. He would think of her in every glance, in every alcove and room, in every book and painting, she would be there. The silence would haunt him. He wanted to hate her, but he couldn't. He cared for her, he wanted her safe.
Why? Damnit, why? Was life with him really so terrible, that she would risk capture and torture? Lilliman had hinted that she had told him things, warned him about V's plans. Did she honestly think that she could buy her freedom so easily? They would have tortured and killed her no matter what information she offered. She wasn't that foolish.
He could only think of one reason, and he instinctually knew it was the right one. Fear. She feared him, she feared the Fingermen and their black bags, and she feared death.
Fear.
His emotions stilled a little, the sharp edge of betrayal softened a bit. He knew. He could understand fear, if not condone it. He could control fear.
He knew how to loose fear.
As he found himself back in his body, skulking across rooftops. He was nowhere near the shadow gallery. He had turned around, and was now closer to where he began. He was a few blocks from the church.
He started hunting.
Evey ran.
She felt the cool London air on her legs and arms. She was running for her life, and she was doing it looking like a damn doll. She knew she stood out; there was no way to move through the streets stealthily.
She looked around, felling the ringlets on the side of her head brush her face. Everything was a reminder of what she had done. The stupid socks, the ridiculous skirt, these damned pigtails. Every time her fingers grazed across the skirt, or she stumbled in the girly shoes, or felt the air on her bare thighs, she saw his face. That unmoving, striking smile and those deep black eyes.
She heard him say her name as she turned from him and bolted through the door. So much had been said in those two syllables.
Still, she ran, and she ran with all her heart. Fear clutched her as she navigated the streets, felling unsure as to her direction in her panic. She had hoped on Lilliman taking the bait, as much as it shamed her. She would be safe had he listened. She wouldn't be dashing through London, with both the Finger and V looking for her. She was doubly in danger, and it sent adrenaline coursing through her veins. She knew she was terrified.
But she was in control. She was no one's prisoner at this moment and that kept her feet moving.
V found her as she knocked on Gordon Dietrich's door. She glanced back at the street, and the fear in her eyes shocked him, even though he expected it. She was so afraid.
That fear masked the strong woman he knew she was, that she could be. It made her weak. She had run from him, not because she didn't agree with him, but because she feared. She would sacrifice her beliefs in right and wrong to survive.
He could not live with that. She was better than that.
He could give her a life without a fear of death. He could show her what truly mattered.
He felt raw, like his emotions had scoured him. At the frayed edges of his thoughts he was disgusted at the thought of breaking her. He would have to do things…
But he was not important. V was a symbol, and the symbol could do this. V was unyielding and determined to change this world. The fear of the masses had robbed everyone of their freedom, and he would set Evey free.
He would save her.
So sorry it's been so long, there is a lot going on in reality. ;) I am grateful to those of you who have commented, alerted, or who added this to their favorites.