My View From the Window ~ Chapter Nine

“.............It’s no use....” Tifa sighed in defeat, wringing out the damp towel in her hand and placing it

lightly back atop my forehead. “......Her fever’s getting worse....and I can’t seem to break it....”

My body, reclined beneath several layers of various quilts and sheets atop Vincent’s bed, continued to

shiver violently and sweat, causing my unconscious form to writhe and twist in agony, as if tortured by relentless

nightmares. My face, noticeably flushed from the intense pyrexia, had become considerably damp with

perspiration, and my breaths came out ragged and forced.

Cloud, sitting backwards in a chair by the bedside, ran a hand through his hair. “..............Do you think

she’ll be all right....?”

“..................I think so....” Tifa turned to face him, stroking a strand of brown hair that fell before her

eyes away with her fingers. “.....I...I managed to get her out of her sweaty clothing into an old button-down shirt of

yours, Cloud, so that might help some..........But....but where this fever came from...and so suddenly.....it could be

serious....”

Vincent, who stood silently at the doorway leading into the bedroom, cast a glance towards her.

“..........Ughh.....nnnnn....!!” My insensate frame continued to shudder and turn restlessly on the mattress,

spilling droplets of sweat spilling down my crimson cheeks and across my eyes, which were sealed shut from the

torment of incubuses that lashed out mockingly within my mind.

Damien, who sat on the edge of the bed beside me, cast a melancholy glance down at my writhing body.

“.....It....it looks like she’s bein’ constantly tortured in her dreams.....”

“.....................It’s best if we just leave her for now....” Tifa said softly, exhaling a sigh and gradually

shifting to her feet. “........We should just see how she fares tomorrow........The best thing we can do at the moment

is let her sleep and allow the fever to break on its own....”

“.................I’m stayin’,” Damien declared after a pause, directing his vision up towards her. “........I’m

gonna stay the night here with Eliza till I know she’s ok.”

“................................Like hell you are.” Vincent finally left his position against the doorframe and came

up behind Cloud. “There’s no way I’m about to let you stay here,” he retorted darkly, glaring over towards my

companion through irritated scarlet eyes. “Eliza will be fine. I’m not about to have your whole goddam assembly

of pickpockets watching after the poor girl. Go home.”

“...Hey, you wait just a second, you lousy son of a--”

“....Please, Damien,” Tifa interrupted pleadingly, glancing over towards him. “...May...maybe Vincent’s

right. Let’s just leave it at this...”

Damien remained silent for several moments, then breathed out a restless sigh, got to his feet, and left the

room.

*****

“.......Are you sure you’ll be all right....?” Tifa questioned worriedly, casting one last glance back in

towards Vincent as she stood at the top of the staircase. “....That wound on your head.....It won’t--”

“...I’ll be fine,” Vincent assured her. “It’s getting late now....You should have left with that Damien kid

two hours ago. You didn’t have to stay this long. Just go home, I’ll be perfectly all right.”

“.................If you say so....” Tifa sighed and glanced down the stairwell after Cloud as he headed out

towards the bottom door. “....Just please, take it easy. I....I know what you think about her, but

please--please--don’t get carried away....she’ll be all right, I know she will...”

“.......................You should head home before it starts snowing again.”

“............Vincent....” she whispered hurriedly, casting a glance over her shoulder before she started down

the stairs after Cloud. “...........Be careful, please......I....I was walking past your bedroom a few minutes ago,

and....and I heard someone crying.....” She directed her vision down towards her feet, immersed in some sort of

thought. “.....I....I automatically assumed it was Allie sobbing in her sleep, but....something about her voice....it

wasn’t right, Vincent....Please....don’t get too close to her until we know she’s all right, ok....?”

“....Good night, Tifa.” Vincent watched after her as she slowly descended the staircase, but he hesitated

before softly shutting the door and heading back into the darkness of the living room.

*****

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed twelve times.

Vincent slowly ran his eyes over the words printed on the book in his hands, bathed in the dim golden

lighting emanating from the feeble lamp situated on the table beside him. The soft sound of snow and ice tapping

delicately against the window swept melodiously about him, like the enchanting whisper of an invisible temptress.

He rested his chin against the palm of his hand, distantly flipping the page in the publication he was perusing and

exhaling a weary sigh. A whisking squall fluttered lightly against the windowpane, causing the dizzying whirl of

snow to dance around in a wondrous spectacle of feathers against darkness.

An ominous shiver ran through Vincent’s veins.

He froze for a second, then felt his breaths gradually emerge into the air as tufts of mist. He hesitated for

a second, staring blankly over his book towards the floor. The sleet continued to beat against the window.

There was a thick, nauseating pause. Vincent’s exhalations continued to fog in the air.

A soft creaking noise came from behind him.

His body turned tense, then slowly reached upwards and gently pulled his reading glasses from his face.

The sound came again, from the depths of the hallway behind him, significantly louder and longer this time, like a

door slowly being pushed open. Vincent continued to gaze down at the floor, the icy air encircling his body like a

tortuous snare, then gradually placed his glasses down on the table alongside him.

Another squeaking noise came from behind him, considerably different than the first, not the squeal of

rusted hinges but more like the sliding of staggering footsteps across floorboards, growing tediously louder as they

proceeded down the hallway towards his back.

His eyes never left the floor, but the clusters of breath appearing before him had become ragged and short.

The noise continued to grow louder as they grew closer to his back, agonizingly slow and eerie in the

darkness about him, slowly blending into the sound of snow ricocheting against the window. Vincent swallowed,

listening to the advancing footsteps brush against the back of his neck. His eyes slid silently to the right, and the

hand laid upon his knee slowly tightened into a tense fist.

All at once the sound stopped.

Vincent froze, attempting to hear any further noise from behind him. The weather outside beat

relentlessly against the windowframe in the darkness, and the lamp situated at his side dimmed slightly into the

depravity. He forced himself to shift up with his back pressed against the couch behind him, then immediately

spun about to face the doorway.

A dark shadow sat leaning against the doorpost.

Vincent gaped at the form for several seconds, then slowly turned his whole body towards it. The former

silence slid back into the misted air. “.....................................Y....................You......................” Vincent

stammered after a pause, feeling a heavy lump settle into this tight throat. “..............What........what are you

doing......?..........”

I continued to stare over at him through dark, misted eyes, resting heavily against the doorframe beside

me. I was clothed only in a baggy white button-down shirt that almost fell to my knees and dropped down one

shoulder. My face had turned significantly paler and painted with several droplets of sweat, hidden beneath

numerous locks of damp blond hair that sprawled across my complexion. My breaths were heavy and long, hazing

softly in the cold air creeping into the room, escaping the icy, conniving smirk that had lurked up onto my ashen

countenance.

“................Why........why did you get up....?....” he asked me softly, gradually faltering up onto his feet.

“......That fever you had developed.........it could get worse if you don’t rest.....”

I didn’t move from my position against the doorpost, leaning all my weight against the frame and staring

over at him through unfocused, sullen eyes. All at once my sneer grew larger, and a series of amused, malicious

laughs escaped my lips. Vincent gaped over at me in silence, shifting an involuntary step backwards, and felt some

sort of unusual emotion tearing viciously into his stomach. “...............What....what are you doing...?” he inquired

placidly, watching me continue to giggle maniacally in the dim light of the lamp beside him. “............Allie,

you’re ill.......you.....you shouldn’t be--”

“.........Always the polite one, aren’t you, Mr. Valentine...?” I asked him raspily, finally ceasing my

sudden laughter and grinning derisively over towards him.

He froze. “...............What....?”

“....Heheh....” I finally left the doorpost and staggered several drunken steps into the room. “........Oh

come now, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me...? I could pick you out of a crowd anywhere, I could, since you

appear to have stayed reasonably unchanged these past decades....Heheh, I suppose I haven’t quite been as

fortunate....”

“...........” Vincent gawked blankly over towards me, then stumbled back another foot or two. “.....Allie,

have you gone insane....? I....I know it’s just the fever talking, but--”

“....Hahahaha!!! Is that what you think, my dear Mr. Valentine?” I interrupted mockingly, gazing over

towards him from beneath my sweaty bangs. “That I’m just the demented ramblings of some sort of influenza...?

Heheh......Vincent, my dear bastard, you really haven’t changed at all....But changed enough that you can’t even

recognize the sound of my voice.....”

Vincent stared straight through me for several moments, then choked on an escaping gasp and toppled

numerous steps regressively. “...............What..........what the hell.............No, no, that’s insane--!!”

“...Is it really, Mr. Valentine...?” I scoffed tauntingly, now maybe two or three feet before him. “So much

so that you won’t even believe your ears....? Then why stalk this poor girl for so long....?”

“...............Allie, go back to bed.......” Vincent ordered hoarsely, his panting breaths appearing hazily in

the air before him. “............This is one hell of a fever you’ve got......and not going to have it drive me insane as

well.....”

I threw back my head and emitted another loud, contemptuous laugh. “.......Is that what I’m doing to you,

Vincent...?” I mocked, wavering another two steps towards him. “Am I driving you insane...? Poor baby....How

terrible it is that you finally receive a dose of your own medicine....”

“........................How are you doing this.........?” he stuttered unsteadily, pressing himself protectively back

against the wall. “................It’s..........it’s impossible.............but...but I’d recognize the sound of your voice from

anywhere.....!!”

“Heheh....you were a little.....obsessed with me, weren’t you...?” I chuckled darkly, shifting myself up

before him and glaring scornfully up into his face. “.......Is that why you’ve been following this girl around

everywhere, Vincent....? You think she’s me....?”

“................L.............Lucrecia.......” A dim tint of scarlet had spread across Vincent’s sweating

complexion. “.......It’s....it’s you.........the one that’s been haunting me day and night for thirty years...!!!!”

“...Hmph.” I smirked, then seized him lightly by the collar and pulled his face closer to mine. “....You do

have a one-track mind, don’t you.....?...Though I must say, I am rather flattered that I managed to make such an

impression on a bastard like yourself...”

“.............I......” Vincent’s body had subtly begun to quiver, and all at once he whipped aside and escaped

from my grip, staggering several clumsy feet back into the living room.

“........What’s the matter, Vincent...?” I asked him derisively, leaning confidently back against the wall

behind me. “Thirty years ago you’re completely captivated by me and now suddenly you’re terrified...?...Heheh...I

don’t think you know what you want, Mr. Valentine....”

“......Ugghh...” Vincent forced himself to swallow, then shakily leaned his weight against the chair beside

him in order to avoid collapsing. “.............Why won’t you leave me alone, Lucrecia....?.....Why...why must you

torture me for the rest of my life.......?...”

“...Because you won’t die, dammit!!” I snapped furiously, thrusting an enraged finger out towards him.

“....You want to know why I can’t simply let you waste away?! Because you goddam won’t, you bastard!! You’ll

never feel the pain I went through!! You’ll never know the agony of death!! You’ll never know what it’s like to be

betrayed and double-crossed by your own goddam companion!!”

“........Have...haven’t you made me suffer enough....?....” he questioned hoarsely, feeling the agonizing

passion from earlier cleave mercilessly through his gut. “.......I....I never meant to betray you....and...and yet I

haven’t been able to sleep....I live with this arm, this face...........Lucrecia, I...I only wanted to help you.....I only

wanted you to fall in love with me....”

I was now bent at the waist, gazing drunkenly down at the floor with my face hidden by a mass of blond

knots cascading down over my pale skin. Several moments of silence passed, and all of a sudden my shoulders

began to quiver.

I slowly lifted my face, casting my hair back over my shoulders and revealing an amused smirk and two

trails of tears sliding down my cheeks. “......Heheh......Vincent, you’re so naive.....” I staggered several steps

towards him, standing only several inches from him once more. “...How can you think for one moment that all the

scars you received in life can possibly live up to the hell I was forced to waste away in....?”

I suddenly grasped onto his collar angrily and whipped him roughly into the chair situated near the large

window, then stormed forward and stood before him. “.....You can possibly think that you could make it up to

me...?” I chuckled mockingly, placing a knee on either side of him and leaning in towards his face. “...Worthless

bastard......are you going to deceive this poor little bitch as well...?”

“.....Ughh.......” Vincent stared towards my face through incomprehensive scarlet eyes, and several

droplets of sweat slithered down his toneless countenance. “........L.....Lucrecia.......what....what do you want from

me....?....”

“.........Heheh....” I slowly leaned forward and placed my lips up against his ear. “....To destroy you like

you destroyed me.”

“....Nnnnn....!” Vincent gaped towards my smirking face disorientedly, watching me gently seize a lock

of his hair and entwine it around my fingertips. “........No......you leave Allie out of this.......Your bout is with me

and only me, Lucrecia......I won’t have you harming her simply because you want to get to me....”

“...Alas, the girl is a sacrifice, sadly enough...” I admitted leeringly, slowly pulling his face towards mine.

“...But, it is a small price to pay for the revenge I will finally receive. I need a gate to get to you, my dear

Vincent....this young woman seems to do the trick, no...? Heheh...”

“.....What....what the hell are you doing...??” he choked in shock as I reached forward and unbuttoned the

top two clasps on his black tunic, and his face turned a noticeably darker shade of crimson.

I sneered amusedly up towards his blushing complexion, emphasizing the motion as I snapped open his

third buckle. “.....Heheheheh....I know what gets to you, Vincent......I’m going to eradicate you, Mr. Valentine,

mentally and physically........This ought to cripple your last stroke of sanity, eh...?” I let out a jeering laugh as he

continued to gape up at my face with his hazy breaths misting into the air before me. “.....What’s the matter,

Vincent...? Thirty years ago and you would have died happy to have me this close to you.....What happened, Mr.

Valentine?? Hm?? You afraid to answer me???”

“....Uughhh...” Vincent’s vision fell to the floor beneath him, and I could feel his panting breaths brushing

against my stomach.

“....Whatsa matter, Mr. Valentine?” I whispered tauntingly, slipping my arms around his neck and pulling

him close to me. “Are you scared? Heheh...poor Vincent.....you never really did know what to do with yourself,

did you....?” I stared down at him for several seconds, then leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly with a

mocking kiss. “..........Now you’ll have nothing to worry about....”

Vincent felt a sharp internal jolt as a cold metallic object pressed up against his throat, and with one quick

glance downwards he could see the glinting form of his revolver grasped tightly in my right hand and aimed

straight at his neck. “.........It’s over, Valentine....” I hissed victoriously, slowly cocking the weapon in my hand.

“You thought I’d forget about you after death.......Heheh.....Truth is, I was only messing with you......”

Vincent gaped woodenly up at my smirking face, then slowly fluttered his eyes shut. Dimly he could hear

the sound of my amused chuckle echoing in the darkness about him. “........What’s this, Vincent....? Can’t you

fight me back...? Heheheh...”

Warm liquid splattered against Vincent’s bare chest.

Vincent cringed for a second, then gradually opened his eyes and gazed in astonishment down at his

heaving torso. Numerous droplets of blood trickled in conflicting streaks down his colorless skin.

He gaped at himself in bewilderment for several moments, then languidly elevated his gaze to my face

above him. I was gawking blankly past him with shocked, unfocused eyes, feeling the steady rivulet of blood

streaming relentlessly from my mouth and flowing down my chin. I tediously lifted my free hand to my lips, then

stared unabashedly at the ribbons of scarlet streaking across my palm. “..........Wh.....what.....?...” I choked

hoarsely, gradually feeling the gun in my hand slip free from my clutch and fall dully to the carpet. “.....What...the

hell.....?.....”

Vincent watched me vacantly as I exhaled a choked moan and collapsed backwards, toppling awkwardly

off his lap and landing heavily on my back onto the floor. Drops of crimson sprinkled misshapenly across the

floor. “...Ughhh....” I gagged feebly as I lifted my hand to my mouth again and blood streamed between my

fingers. “.........What.....what the hell are you doing??!”

Vincent stumbled roughly to his feet, his open shirt revealing his blood-stained chest panting heavily in

the darkness, and gaped down at my writing form at his feet.

“....You.......you stupid bitch!!!” I shrieked harshly, clawing angrily at my enflamed stomach and emitting

another ear-piercing shriek of agony. “Are...are you fuckin’ out of your mind?!! Aghhh...!! What the fuck are you

trying to prove??!!” I choked pathetically, causing numerous more beads of scarlet streaking across the floor. I

shuttered violently for a moment or so, then twisted viciously as another contortion gripped my body. “Dammit!!

I...won’t...give...in!!!!” Another smothered howl escaped my blood-stained lips, and immediately I began to tear

maliciously at my skin. “You...you goddam whore!!! You think...you can subdue me...??! Aghhhh!!!” I sputtered

angrily, strangled by the remorseless flow of blood absconding my throat. Gradually my violent chokes became

mollified and fainter, and though my breaths heaved viciously I slowly shifted onto my side and huddled against

myself, shuttering mutely and panting. “....Brrrrr....” I whispered quietly after a pause, squeezing my eyes shut

and grabbing hold of my arms in order to warm myself. A quiet sob escaped my lips, and I hid my flushed

countenance beneath the loose strands of blond tangled hair that fell across my face.

Vincent continued to stare down at my quivering form against the carpet, then gradually bent at the knees

beside me, reached out a shuddering hand, hesitated, and placed it gently against my trembling shoulder.

“....L......Lucrecia........?” he called softly. “.....Lucrecia, can you hear me....?”

I shivered again and clutched my arms again, emitting another subtle lament and burying my face into the

sanguineous carpet beneath me. “..............Nnnnnn.....Damien..........”

Vincent gazed down at my shaking figure for several more seconds, then slowly extended his hand

forward and brushed aside the locks of sweaty hair masking my face, revealing a pair of tears sliding down my

cheeks, escaping from my closed eyes locked away in slumber. Vincent stared at my dreaming face for several

seconds longer, and soon all surroundings faded away into the tapping of sleet against glass.

~ End of Chapter Nine ~

* Author's note ~ Whoo, weirdo chapter!! What the hell was I high on when I thought this up??....I mean....lol, j/k! Ok, tell me honestly, is this story really going anywhere?! But who am I talking to, no one's reading this stuff in the first place!! -_-;; lol, ok, well....maybe next chapter I'll get the plot moving towards a point...? but don't count on it, folks. =) btw, am I totally ruining the *mood* with these stupid things...?*

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