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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 14, 2006 23:58:36 GMT -5
Suspecting that the wisest course of action was silence, Percy simply knocked again.
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Post by Vianne Giry on Nov 15, 2006 0:00:06 GMT -5
*Vianne shook her head wearily.* "Leave me be!" *she called out, resting her aching head against the windowpane.*
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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 15, 2006 0:06:12 GMT -5
Percy closed his eyes and then simply pushed open the door.
He was silent as he shut the door firmly behind him and waited for her to turn around.
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Post by Vianne Giry on Nov 15, 2006 0:08:32 GMT -5
*Vianne gritted her teeth and whipped about, careful to keep the pistol hidden.* "I said I was not--" *she faltered and turned pale as her eyes fell upon her husband.* "For the love of God, Percy, leave," *she said in a tight voice that sounded nothing like her own.*
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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 15, 2006 0:10:42 GMT -5
Percy said nothing for several minutes, simply stared at her.
"Why didn't you come to me?" he said quietly. "I could have explained. Why did you rush off in the middle of the night?"
His voice was purely the Scarlet Pimpernel's.
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Post by Vianne Giry on Nov 15, 2006 0:16:09 GMT -5
"Wha--" *she looked around the room as though seeking the logic in this situation and failing to find it.* "You think that I wanted any explaination from you?" *she said in a derisive tone, pacing to stand behind a small escritoire, putting distance and the solid object between them and giving herself some small kind of relief.* "That I would be unable to consult my own understanding? This may come as a surprise to you, but I've been relying on my own intelligence and instincts for quite some time, without reference to anyone else when it came to my own well-being."
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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 15, 2006 0:18:24 GMT -5
Percy's blue eyes were as sharp and unrelenting as swords.
"Obviously you did, in regards to the letter your ladyship left me," he said quietly. "You seem to have drawn conclusions that are not the truth, Vianne. If you are willing to listen, I will set them to rights."
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Post by Vianne Giry on Nov 15, 2006 0:20:14 GMT -5
"The truth is not to be found in words, Percy," *she said with exasperation.* "Your wife and I have the same face--more than an uncanny resemblence...we could be the same woman. But I'm not." *she shook her head resolutely.* "I cannot be that."
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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 15, 2006 0:25:53 GMT -5
Percy regarded her cooly for a few moments, then anger sparked in his eyes.
"Never, never, never did I for an instant compare you to Marguerite," he said bitterly. "It would have been my own folly to do so! If you knew--" and here he stopped suddenly, the words too painful to get out.
After a moment, he continued.
"Yes, you look like her, but that was not why I fell in love with you. I fell in love with you, with your courage and fire and willingness to love. I love you, Vianne Giry, not a ghost."
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Post by Vianne Giry on Nov 15, 2006 0:36:00 GMT -5
"If I knew..." *she murmured.* "But I did not. You saw to it that I knew nothing. And when you praised me, you praised one thing--my beauty. Always my beauty. The beauty of a woman who died and was miraculously restored to you." *She glared sternly at him.* "And now this? These fine words and this...this love, as you call it?" *she almost spat the word.* "Love does not lie...love may...twist and injure and break and kill...but it always seeks the truth." *She tossed her head back, her pride twisting in her gut and threatening to make her vomit as she steeled her nerves against terror.* "But I can see that no amount of talking will ever induce you to abandon this madness and leave me alone..." *she said slowly, in a tone of sad realization as she raised the gun she held and levelled it at Percy.* "You have ten seconds to abandon this room and never return to me," *she said, not even daring to take her eyes from him long enough to mark the time on the clock on the table, so she began to count aloud.* "One...two..."
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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 15, 2006 0:43:13 GMT -5
"Vianne," Percy said softly. He showed little fear of the pistol...until he looked at the barrel.
No...oh God, not again...
It came crashing back...the gun, the jammed barrel, the twisted madness, the bullet flying, not towards him, but away from him, the scream, the blood...
He would not let it happen again, not to this woman that he loved more than life itself.
Lunging foward, he caught the pistol and ripped it out of her hands. Shaking, he uncocked it slowly and stared into Vianne's face while he reached into the barrel and pulled out a thick piece of cloth.
"It would have killed you," he whispered brokenly. "It would have killed you, not I, and that is not something I could bear..."
He set the gun on the dresser and gently took her hands.
"You must listen," he whispered. "For your own sake, you must."
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Post by Vianne Giry on Nov 15, 2006 0:48:19 GMT -5
*Vianne looked in horror and disbelief at the gun, shaking as she realized what had nearly happened.* I would not have taken my own life before...I could not...I cannot...now... *The thought brought her back to herself, and she withdrew her hands from Percy's grasp and went to sit wearily on the side of her bed.* "You must go," *she said simply, not meeting his eyes.* "I will not listen to anything you have to say. You would have made a murderess of me...for your sake you must go..."
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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 15, 2006 0:51:36 GMT -5
Percy fell to his knees.
"You must listen, Vianne. You must! Do you not understand? What occured just now...a reccurance."
He looked straight at her.
"That's how she was killed, Vianne. Marguerite had a gun, and the barrel was jammed. She bled to death in my arms, still screaming in madness...lost to me for over two years."
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Post by Vianne Giry on Nov 15, 2006 0:54:31 GMT -5
*Vianne closed her eyes and shuddered, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. She was covered in a cold sweat and couldn't stop trembling as her head felt as if it were on fire.* "God, am I possessed of a devil...of a ghost...?" *she pressed her hands to her face, trying to hold back her tears in vain.*
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Post by Sir Percy on Nov 15, 2006 0:56:27 GMT -5
"No, no, my love. You are two completely different women...and it may not appear that way, but I DO see the difference."
He shooked his head and gently took her hand.
"You are not Marguerite. She is not you. It is merely some amusement of Fate that you look like her, that this happened."
"Vianne, I swear it," he whispered.
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