And with our love, through tears and thorns
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm
A time for us, some day there'll be a new world
A world of shining hope for you and me
-Lyrics to 'A Time For Us' performed by Loreena McKennitt
Crimson Bonds Part 19
"The world's Representatives are now arriving at the Capital building for what could very well be another day for the history books," one of the many journalists announced into her microphone as she smiled for the video camera recording her.
A light, late summer breeze tugged at her long, blonde hair as she continued, "Deliberations over the Vampire registry are scheduled to begin at nine a.m. Eastern Time and are expected to last hours before the secret ballot vote to follow-"
Cutting herself at the sight of one of the more famous face amongst the players of the notable event, the young woman gasped, "And Senator McAdams has just arrived!" Along with all of the other reporters, she spun and ran for the Representative, calling, "Senator McAdams! Senator McAdams!"
Nancy adjusted the front of her deep red suit jacket and kept her head lowered to the swarm of people rushing for her. Pushing her dark sunglasses higher to shield her eyes, she kept her steps at a fast clip with a few quiet words of 'excuse me' and 'no comment at this time' over the shouted questions desperately trying to get anything out of her before she delivered her argument to the Senate.
Luckily, she had a little extra muscle to help her make her way up the tall stairs leading to the Capitol's lobby.
Flanking her front and her back, four bodyguards dressed in dark suits with handguns holstered at their waists intimidated enough of the surge to keep them at bay. Loathe as she was to have accepted the insistence of her superiors to bring the added muscle in, McAdams had to admit that she felt a lot better having them around on this day.
No telling what retaliation she might receive after the day's vote. And having already received untraceable death threats over the weeks, she was not about to take any chances. There was the added benefit of fending off the media storm until she was able to go public once the Senate had decided the fate of the registry.
It did not take long for the press to realize that they were not going to get through to the woman of the hour and quickly shifted their gears at the arrival of the Khushrenada family.
Much to their pleasure, it was Zechs Merquise who stepped forward. Deemed the official Speaker of the Vampire Council, he was the one that every reporter wanted to see take the lead as it meant that there would, indeed, mean a comment was coming.
For the last couple of weeks, Treize had stepped into his brother-in-law's shoes by addressing questions since he was the one at the forefront of the arguments being made in defense for their kind.
While Khushrenada had a charm and a winning smile, Zechs meant business. Never one to divulge his emotions while keeping a professional air when making a statement, Merquise demanded attention and respect.
Coming to a halt at the foot of the steps as the flashing cameras and microphones pushed their way to him, the long-haired Vampire raised a hand to bring the slew of requests and inquiries to silence. "At this time, there is nothing that we are allowed to say in regards to what is about to transpire," he informed in a clear, matter-of-fact tone.
He paused to take a deep breath and concluded, "However, we would like to say to the Vampires and the livings of the world that we hope for nothing more than to reach an agreement that our races may both be happy with in our co-existence. May this be a good day for all of us. That is all."
Straight, to the point and no room for further pushing the matter. That was Zechs.
Of course the reporters standing by would have liked to have had more than what was offered, but what was given had been more than any of them had expected from the Council. Murmuring amongst themselves, the crowd stepped aside for the Infected while the video camera continued to roll in capturing their ascent to the lobby.
Just as they had been instructed, the Senators within the open-air entrance did not speak amongst themselves for the simple matter that no one wanted misinformation being spread around that may affect the crucial vote upon their shoulders. Instead, there were warm smiles and heads that bowed in friendly greeting for the Vampires walking amongst them.
Senators Stacy Hall, Eric Dobson and many others of their closer friends were visibly frustrated that they could not do more to reassure them, but handshakes and kisses to their cold cheeks for the immortal women were added to their ways of greeting to make up for that.
A profound somberness settled over the Representatives, they slipped indoors and shuffled beyond the gold-trimmed doors leading to their round atrium. It took little to no time for the observation balcony seats to fill with Vampire, Companion and living alike.
Taking his place in those high-rise chairs behind the Council, Quatre let out a long sigh of air that he had been holding in his chest since his family arrived in the Capital. Grinning nervously to the equally anxious faces of the Chosen bearing the same thick, gold band on their arms, he took what comfort he could in the waves and nods he received in return.
Once the Representatives were in their seats, the guards standing by closed the doors to the hall. Dressed in his black robe, the Senate Moderator rose to the elevated stage at the center of the room and gripped the edges of the podium there.
Staring up at the men and women watching him, he began, "We have a very long and significant day ahead of us, ladies and gentlemen. There is little point in dragging this out. Senator McAdams will take the floor for her opening argument followed by Senator Treize Khushrenada to respond."
Very slowly spanning the onlookers to make as much eye contact as possible, he requested, "Keep in mind the millions of lives and existences that you hold in the balance to make a fair and right decision here. Put aside all of your personal goals to think of those who will be directly affected by whatever you choose."
Each word that was spoken came with a thick, heavy seriousness that the weathered man took his time in drawing out. It was what made Trinoi Levinski the perfect Moderator- no one appreciated the severity of what he and his peers were doing in that closed off atrium than he did.
And that respect for their duty was impossible for anyone else in the room to absorb into themselves. Throughout the space, the Representatives righted themselves in their chairs, swallowed roughly or reacted in some way to the challenge that had been thrust upon them.
Gesturing to the young woman sitting across from him, Levinski announced, "Senator McAdams, you're up."
Nancy took a deep breath. Rising to her feet, she brushed down the front of her knee-length, black skirt and secured her digital tablet in her other hand before rounding the stage. Taking the stairs up to the podium, she lowered her speech's key points on the flat surface and took in her audience.
"This is a momentous morning, friends," she opened, keeping her back to the Infected as to have her own little way of not including them as being her 'friends.' No point in putting on fronts at a time like this. "And it is with the millions of livings' lives hanging in the balance that we must take this opportunity whilst we have it..."
* * * * * *
Anna gripped the wall of rock beside her as she swallowed the whimper that had risen in her throat back down.
Her other hand trembling from the pain coursing through her, she extracted the long needle that she had plunged into her abdomen. Panting for air to ebb the intense discomfort that came from her weekly shot, she squeezed her eyes closed tight and rode out the worst of the waves burning their way into every fiber of her body.
Finally, after what felt like a brief eternity, the worst of the effects began to dull away.
Releasing a sharp puff of air, the redhead straightened herself from her tight curl that her body automatically doubled over into. Hands trembling, she dropped down to pick up her thick, silver metal corset and snapped it around her torso to cover her exposed bra and midsection.
Not far beyond the entrance of the cavern that she had snuck into, she could hear her brother call, "Anna?" Gasping sharply, the Vampire pulled her orange tank top over her head to conceal any trace of her armor beneath.
Only when her hand gripping the syringe tightened enough to shatter the fine glass and metal into millions of dust particles did she bolt from her little shelter to meet up with the braided Hybrid wandering along the rocky hillside flanking their rest stop of Lake Bolsena.
A smile of relief brightening his face at her materializing before him, Duo sighed, "There you are, sis. I was starting to get worried."
"Yea, sorry I took longer to scope the area than I expected to," Anna giggled through the intense cramps that threatened to make her shudder. "Got a little distracted there."
Much like her dear sibling, she had a hard time ever being able to outright lie. But omitting what had distracted her was a little easier to swallow. The last thing that she ever wanted was for the bit of pain she dealt with from time to time bringing an end to their eventual attempt of bringing a child into the picture.
Peering out to the shimmering lake that filled the twisting and turning landscape, Maxwell commented, "I can see how it would be easy to get caught up by the scenery here. It's definitely another beautiful place that we'll have to visit once the dust of everything that's going on has settled."
He missed the small grin on his sister's face with the back of his braided head pointed at her thanks to his taking the bait she had set to keep him unawares to what she had really been preoccupied by.
Only a couple of miles below them, the camp that they had set was in plain sight by their vantage point. Shielded by a light blanket, Charles lay on his side in a deep sleep by the small fire that held off the growing darkness of the sunset that had begun.
Chewing on the inside of her cheek as she stared down at her son, Anna frowned, "We should let him have at least another hour or two of rest before we get a move on again. As close as we are to that Rogue, we'll be on her and whatever else she has ready for us before the next morning."
A very good thing for everyone involved, indirectly and directly, Maxwell noted to himself. Nodding firmly, he replied, "Yep. At least we closed the gap with Barone's putting up enough of a fight to draw some of her blood."
When the Infected at his side did not move, he draped an arm around her shoulders and smiled, "Charles is going to be fine, Anna. He's strong and one of the fastest of all your kids." Grinning, he added, "Besides, you know that Shinigami and I won't let anything happen to him when we do find that Rogue. I would say the same for you, but I know you can hold more than your own without my help."
Troubled as she was, Anna couldn't help but giggle at that. Easing considerably, she carefully nudged her little brother in the side to not cause herself any jarring that would spur on her growing abdominal cramps. "Just so long as I don't end up having to look after all of you," she snorted.
Chuckling deeply, Duo kissed her temple and lowered his arm to his side as they began descending the inclined hill where they stood. Now that he had some alone time with the Siren, he inquired, "So how have you been feeling lately, sis? I can't imagine you missing taking those shots now that Heero and I saw the logic in waiting."
Mentally taken aback at the sudden comment given the timing, the Irish immortal covered up a near slip in her footing and shrugged, "Oh, they weren't anything I couldn't handle. I can't lie and say that they're pleasant exactly, but I've been through a lot worse in my long existence."
That was the most she was willing to share on the topic. One day they would be trying again, so it was her own decision to go on with the process as usual so that there would be a better chance of the hormones working when the time came.
His violet-and-silver eyes blinking, Maxwell frowned deeply as he slid to his sister's side. Well aware of her knack for belittling anything that inconvenienced her, he found himself beginning to worry like Heero over just how bad an ordeal she was coping with.
Gently taking hold of her chin to turn her face towards his own, he murmured sincerely, "Anna, you don't have to hold anything back with me. You're more than capable of taking on whatever you feel up to, but please don't ever assume that you're obligated to do anything unpleasant to yourself for me or Heero..."
In little more than a whisper, he said, "Neither one of us want that for you. We wouldn't want a baby if it came to that."
A whimper catching in her throat, Anna's lip quivered as tears filled her eyes. Throwing her arms around the Hybrid's neck, she kissed his cheek.
Of course she had always been aware of how much her brothers loved her, which only made it all the more worth the little bit of sacrifice on her part. "It's nothing," she declared quietly, meaning every bit of the sentiment as the whole truth. "No need to be worried at all from this point on, ok?"
Caught up by his own emotions, Duo allowed a couple of tears to slip as he clung onto the Vampire. Smirking, he asked, "You're sure?"
"Hey," the redhead laughed as she pulled away to smack his arm. "What happened to trusting me to make up my own mind?" she snickered with a raised eyebrow.
Maxwell raised his opened hands in submission, chuckling, "Alright. it won't come up ever again. And no going behind your back by going to Wufei." To the flash of shock and anger on the Vampire's face, he exclaimed in a rush, "Ithoughtaboutitbutdecidednotto!"
Folding her arms, Anna huffed, "Well, you are lucky for that. I love Wufei dearly, but he tends to be especially protective of me. You can believe that he would have made out what I am going through as a lot worse than what it is. Not to mention you would have royally pissed me off by taking that measure. Heero must have warned you since he only had to exist through that mistake once to know to never try it again."
The frustration melted away at the sight of the braided Hybrid swallowing roughly. Sighing, the Infected shook her head, grinning, "But I do appreciate your caring about me that much to take the risk if you felt that you needed to." She wrapped his arms around his neck again kissed his cheek to make it known that all was forgiven.
"I love you," Duo smiled as he hugged her back with a peck to her temple. "And I can't tell you enough how I wish I had a dozen sisters like you."
Anna replied in kind, "I love you, too." Rubbing the top of the Companion's head as she pulled back, she smirked, "Come on. We have to get our game faces back on and finish this. I wouldn't mind being back with our family tomorrow, if we can have everything go as planned this evening."
Excitement returning to his face, Maxwell replied, "No argument from me there. I have been sorely missing Heero."
With their loved ones in mind as always, the agents bolted down the remainder of their descent together and returned to camp.
* * * * * *
"To conclude my part in opening this debate, I speak on behalf of countless humans who secretly live in fear because their law enforcers have forced them to walk amongst creatures that we still have little understanding of," Nancy pleaded with her onlookers.
Locked in place behind the podium that she mentally saw as her personal pulpit from which she was delivering God's word, the Representative shook her head, "There are many others, like myself, who cannot believe that we do not have a full disclosure to what the Vampires are or what they are capable of while they know all there is about our kind. Because of this, they should be treated differently... regulated by tighter registration requirements."
Having reached the climax of her argument, Nancy drew a deep breath and announced clearly, "On behalf of my friends and supporters who have called upon me to be their voice, I am here to demand that it be required of every Infected throughout the world to wear identification tracking neck braces."
Gasps and outright cries of both shock and outrage filled their room as even those members of the Board who seemed to have been losing interest in her long speech woke up at that notion. His head lowering in a deep slump, the Moderator shook his head with closed eyes of tiredness as a clamor of shouts and hollers rose from the Senators, most of which rose from their chairs to point and flail their arms angrily at the young woman.
None were more taken by surprise than the beings sitting in the Vampire Council. Eyes wide and jaws slacked, they stared numbly at the suddenly nervous Senator before them. "S-she cannot be serious," Relena breathed once she could find some semblance of her voice. At either side of her, the rest of her Clan were in varying states of reactions.
Treize, ever the delegate, was the most contemplative. His mind working over McAdams's plan of attack, he was already coming up with how to incorporate and tear it apart when he had his chance to speak. Disgusted as he was over this surprising idea, he was grateful to have the backing of the majority of his living peers... so long as their displays were genuine.
It certainly was helping to regain his faith in humanity.
Nancy was shaking inside as she literally stood in the middle of a firestorm response she had brought on. Feeling very much alone, she spun and shot the Moderator a fiery glare for allowing the commotion to continue for so long before she could explain herself and follow with a counter suggestion.
Clearing his throat, Levinski flashed her a sheepish smile that she was all too keen onto as not being very authentic. As he rose to his feet, the older man slammed his gavel upon the flat surface of his desk, shouting, "Order! Order!"
Faces still glaring, those on their feet returned to their chairs and fell silent along with the rest of the audience. Nodding to McAdams, the Moderator gave a grin born out of reined in satisfaction and said, "You may proceed, Senator."
Inwardly lowering her raised feathers, Nancy tore her heated gaze from him and collected herself.
Frowning deeply, she took hold of the edges of the podium again as she sighed, "I apologize for the offense that I clearly caused." To herself, she glanced over the calm Vampire Council, cursing inwardly, 'Damn those Infected. If they'd just shown even a little anger, I might have had something to work with. Venomous heathens. I shouldn't be so shocked that they are only giving off their true, emotionless selves.'
"This was a mere idea for keeping better tabs on the Infected. Data chips are, to this day, the best way of locating and identifying their carrier," McAdams went on. "However, they cannot be merely inserted, as a Vampire's body would reject them over time. Though I can understand the... upset over a neck brace, I would like to make another consideration in the form of arm bracelets."
A new angle already sorting itself out, she smiled and spun the twist. "Bracelets like what their Companions wear. After all, it would be almost a sweet way of showing their union. Silver bands for the Infected to help them stand out while at the same time bearing the update we should have had in the registration tracking system to begin with."
Grumbles spread throughout the space, but at a considerably lesser level of a response compared to the last suggestion made. There were even a few eyebrows raised and silent conversations exchanged amongst the Representatives who seemed as if they might give the notion a chance.
Rejuvenated by that, Nancy grinned, "See, the ones I stand for are not beyond compromise. Just keep that in mind when Treize Khushrenada takes the stage, as he will argue against even this subtle a change to the Treaty."
Like her, every eye in the room fell on the so named Vampire. But the Councilman's face remained calm and unreadable of any feeling to the direct insult. Another display of quiet calm that would only win over the delegates out of respect. For McAdams, however, she could swear there was the hint of a smile in those gold-rimmed irises watching her.
"Time and time again, it had been the livings who have had to trust without questioning," she was swift to continue so that the focus shifted back to her. "It is time that the Infected showed the same for us by taking this little measure to give us a peace of mind for our safety. I thank you for your time and hope that you dwell long and hard over this matter before casting your ballots today."
Closing her digital tablet, the Senator stepped away from the podium. As she descended the stage, she felt the stares of every man and woman in the room following her until she returned to her seat.
Levinski stood behind his desk once more to address the board. "At this time, I would like to call a brief recess for lunch. I will remind you that we are to carry on professionally beyond these doors and are not permitted to leave the Capital building until this matter is settled. We will resume in one hour's time, when Councilman Khushrenada will have the floor to counter."
The gauntlet had been lowered. And Treize had little time to pull his argument together in the hopes of lifting it from the chopping block.
Only at the smack of the gavel that finalized the brief adjourning of the meeting did the Councilman allow himself a small grin of anticipation at having the chance.
TBC...
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