11. Record
A/N: I need more and more excuses to do these little things, but I love them so! 333
And I've got to love the response I got from my wonderfully supportive readers – you especially, chiba-x-thanks, 'cause I love those quotes to death – who do a great job of making sure that I keep going. I'm one of those people who thrives on feedback, so you ARE helping. And thanks so much for helping! =333
01. He has been ever so careful, has waited for exactly the right moment to set his plans into motion and – finally – his patience has been rewarded.
02. He loves to put his mark on the weave of history and whisper into the ears of the pawns on the board to change them into his own knights and castles. Each piece will serve its purpose, so it is without any misgivings that he catches his boys on that fateful day, slips up close behind the milder one's shoulder, and murmurs quietly "now!"
03. The man and the boy stand motionlessly on the stage – violent and pale, like grotesquely postured mannequins - as Destiny strokes the golden-copper molding of his timepiece, delighting for a moment in his flawless control over absolutely everything. A few yards away crouches the darker boy, eyes wide and mouth agape with fear and revulsion, perhaps even the mildest stirrings of hate – a snapshot for the family album, he decides. So the little man holds the flow of time for a bit longer, waiting his shrieks of mad laughter to echo from the highest balcony and slowly, slowly die away.
04. His suggestions are always gentle but the ears into which they are whispered never fail to heed them.
05. Desmond wonders how much time it will take to beat the altruism out of this particular child, if he happens to be the one who makes the final cut. He is sure it will not be a rapid process but has no doubts that – if Darren does triumph – the energy spent will be well worth it.
06. He watches them scuffle in the tall, stone-dotted grass from just beyond the lip of the hill, and glimpses the very first flickers of loathing – from both parties, whether they deny it or not – in their eyes. He is delighted.
07. Bravery, he decides, while advancing on his son like a panther and driving in the first real impression he will ever have of his real father, is rather annoying when not set to a useful end.
08. He visits Steven from time to time, watching him mature into something dangerous, defiant and malleable all at once, to give him a few pointers and make sure he ends up where he ought to be. It will not be long before he nudges both game pieces into play.
09. He makes a deal with Hiburneus, who has developed a soft spot for the whelp vampire; keep your nose clean, he tells him, and the boy will not suffer. It is made in earnest – he has always favored the man over Evanna, insufferable as she is – but they both know eventually will break it, and the circus master is well aware of what will happen when the words are nullified and he makes his final appearance in the jaws of fate.
Desmond rises from the groaning chair and casts a long look over the dark desk in his son's caravan, an uncommon display of the bleakest sort of affection.
10. To provide and protection and mercy all at once was not his initial intention, but it appears to be the safest and most expedient course of action. A harried soul will make almost any deal and call it a gracious one, given enough incentive.
11. Their father is there when his children are lifted onto the shoulders of their respective brethren, because he is too proud to pull himself away and too circumspect to allow circumstance to botch his plans. He is hidden in the shadows, the air, and the triumphant laughter of the onlookers; it is in this manner than Desmond sees one emerge from a rickety old coffin after a harsh night of flames virtually unscathed, and the other out wit his enemy and pull himself out of contempt and into exaltation.
12. A bloody little genius, that boy; but he stops and reconsiders his choice of words, because he is no longer a child but a man, fierce and fiery with his plans and his voice, like claws and teeth splitting open the skin.
13. Desmond experiences a warm flash of joy when the action begins; one child walks circles around the other with his plans, placing himself as a cuckoo in the nest, ready to wreak havoc on any bird or beast in it's path. He can see himself in those eyes as though they are mirrors.
14. A lifetime ago (a human lifetime, which – to him – is not so long after all) he would never have allowed himself to miss a natural disaster – the fiery wrath of a volcano appealed to his vengeful side, and the icy indifference of a flash flood sent pleasant little shivers down his spine – but it seems to Desmond that his interest in even such entertaining matters has began to wane. The stench of fear and smoke and flames no longer does it for him, because he has found something that entertains him even more; passionate flames have caught in his boys' eyes, and he loves it.
15. He watches, close at hand, as they run; he follows them down and down into the tunnels; the cries of anguish are loud enough to make the little man dance, and the smell of overcooked flesh is beginning to reignite his lust for carnage – but to top it all is the cunning of this little lord and the sheer desolation he imposes on his princely brother, as well as the utter and complete ferocity with which he pulls him all the way into the battle.
Impartiality be damned –
he might as well have a favorite.
16. Some of the despondency has left those childish blue eyes, but the emotion is still so strong he can almost smell it on him.
17. Steven has the merciless ferocity of a half-starved tiger and all the initiative to pull himself through, and he finds that he likes this combination very much. He shall have to see about that grandson.
18. Desmond – suddenly one son shorter – sheds but a tear at the scene of the crime, but the regret runs somewhat deeper than he allows to surface.
19. Having been well aware for a very long time that something in the cub vampire was changing, he is overjoyed to find a sudden fury in his eyes and his hands, ready to forfeit mercy and burn his own kin for no reason but revenge. Though the act is not brought to a head, this proves to be the critical moment he is waiting for; perhaps he is fickle, but his favored child changes.
The end seems to suddenly be so much nearer.
20. A brief interlude, but the chase is on again.
He follows it with his daughter, eyeing her and growling whenever she looks tempted to intervene. This is Desmond's own masterpiece, and he will allow no interference.
21. They are alone, circling like dogs in the darkness of an overpass – he can taste the malice, the excitement, and the fear in the air. Bloodlust is an overpowering emotion, like breathing cinnamon, and here – in the shadows, by the water, beneath the distant wheels of poison-spitting cars – it is smothers even him.
20. He burns with pride, watching them fight tooth and nail for a prize that they do not know they are eligible to win. Evanna – uncomfortable, he assumes – hangs back a few steps, but her eyes too are locked on the struggling pair, Cain and Abel revived, out for one another's throats.
21. There is no clemency for the frail; he is ready to step in and finish the loser (the talk is becoming something for a bore, though he does have an ear for the suggestion of torture) when the tables turn.
22. Desmond's grin is wide but grows wider still at the incomprehensible shock on both their faces when he confides in the boys his little secret; Steve, fighting to breathe and live just a few moments longer, gapes like a fish; Darren puts on the same look he saw on him years ago at the broken old theatre. Goading Evanna a few feet further so she too must revel in his success, he is forced to catch the laughter at their incredulity on his lips and shove it back down his throat.
23. Destiny is not amused.