Let her cry, if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing, if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
...And if the comes up tomorrow, let her be
-Lyrics to 'Let Her Cry' by Hootie and the Blowfish
Crimson Ties Part 45
No! Nonononononono! This wasn't really happening!
Such were the screams in Anna's head as she stared in wide-eyed shock at Wufei's body that was bobbing at the edge of the great lake that had been their meeting place for weeks now.
He was so... still... so pale in contrast to the dark mixture of water and blood swirling around him. There was nothing about the image that made any sense for it to be taken as actually being real. Chang was too strong, too fast and too much of a fighter to be alone like this with the inside of his arm cut and his crimson-tipped sword resting on the shore along with his clothes.
But it was real. And his time may very well have already run out.
Finally breaking from her shock, the Vampire shrieked, "Wufei!" In a blur, she hurried into the shallow shore of the lake. Whimpering, she lowered herself to her knees with a loud splash into the thick pool to hold the warrior's limp upper body in her arms. "God, no! Not like this!" she wailed.
A sharp, ragged gasp broke from the living's chest before a violent cough jolted his whole, drenched frame. It was as beautiful a sight and sound as Anna had ever witnessed. There was still time. Where there was life, there was still a chance.
So much blood... even if she managed to seal off the wounds, he was still in danger of slipping away.
Her bottom lip trembling, the Infected shook her head as she whispered brokenly in a rush, "What do I do? What do I do?!" For just a moment, she wondered whether she should simply give the soldier his wish to die as it was decreed that Vampires turning humans was prohibited by the new Council. But that musing was instantly silenced.
Nothing would sway Anna from saving Wufei. Whatever the consequences that fell on her, she couldn't let him die.
At peace with her reasons for her choice, the redhead's fangs grew back in. With a cry, she moved her head down in a fast swoop to bite into the teenager's exposed neck.
* * * * * *
Heero was sitting with Trowa and Midi in their 'home' as they further discussed their thoughts over the meetings taking place halfway across the world between the world leaders and the members of the Vampire Council.
It was going on months now since the representatives of both species had first sat together... something that none of them thought that they would ever see. While the unknown surrounding what was and would transpire was troubling, it was also exciting and relieving that their kind was out in the open now.
"To be able to walk amongst the living," Midi smiled wistfully as she shook her head, "that would be incredible." Chuckling softly, Trowa nodded in agreement and squeezed her shoulder, as he was already imagining doing all of the things that he missed from his human life.
Shrugging, Yuy smirked, "It would be something to-" His words were cut off sharply as he and his cousins sat upright with the pronounced smell of blood that carried on the breeze filtering through the cave. It wasn't just the scent that was alarming... it was how much of it they were picking up. Straining their ears, they could hear a muffled scream of agony that seemed to be approaching the cave.
Before they were finished getting to their feet to investigate the source of the overwhelming aroma, it appeared when Anna materialized wearing only her silver under slip as she carried a writhing human in her arms. Wrapped in the tunic that the redhead had been wearing, the dark-haired mortal's eyes were squeezed tightly closed as he arched back and released a howl of pain.
Too stunned at the sight of the Irish Infected that was dripping water and blood from her waist down, Heero and his cousins froze in wide-eyed panic as she hurried with her charge to the back of the cave. On her way past, her tear-filled eyes shot to them as she begged, "Please, help me with him!"
Moving immediately after them, the family followed her into her bedroom where she lowered the human onto her bed. "Anna," Trowa breathed, face paler than its usual hue when he saw the bite marks in the thrashing living's neck, "what have you done?"
"He was going to die if I didn't turn him!" the blood-coated Vampire cried, her head peering over her shoulder at the others. "I found him floating in the lake with his wrists slashed!" She held up one of Wufei's arms to show the self-inflicted wounds that were beginning to mend thanks to her essence that was flowing through his veins.
When another heart-wrenching wail broke from Chang, she turned towards him again and soothingly ran a hand through his loose, dark hair. Biting her lip, the red-haired Infected glanced back at her family to whimper, "Please, I need help. I don't know what I needed to do to make this easier on him."
No longer worried about her questions, Midi went right into her mothering ways and stepped up beside her cousin. Gently resting her hand on the trembling Infected's back, she leaned in to inspect the writhing living. "Water and some loose clothes, if you boys would be so kind," she requested without looking back to the others.
Barton and Yuy were gone and in mere blinks long with the items. Setting their bearings down beside the brunette, they stepped out of the room to give the girls their space so that they could tend to their guest. Out in the hallway, their hushed voices could be heard in a quiet meeting over what was going to happen.
"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod, Midi. What have I done?" Anna whispered, frantic with worry and fear. As she stepped back from the bed, her cousin peeled back the folds of her white tunic to reveal the whimpering teenager's blood-splattered chest. Burying her fingers into the roots of her hair, she sobbed, "I couldn't let him die like that!"
The 'mother' of the family spun to take hold of her shaking cousin's shoulders with a sharp, "Anna. I need you to focus. What's done is done. Right now, if there's any chance of saving him, he needs blood. A lot of it at that to replace what he's lost."
Jolted back into some sense of sanity, the redhead's trembling settled down. "Right," she nodded vehemently. As Midi's hands fell away, she reached up to wipe her cheeks dry with a softly uttered, "Blood. Got it." Swallowing roughly, she moved to the head of the bed to gaze down on Wufei's face that was twisted in suffering.
Quickly bringing her wrist to her mouth, Anna's fangs grew to bite hard into her flesh. Pulling them away as her dark blood flowed, she sat on the edge of the mattress to carefully lift the soldier up. "Here, Wufei," she urged, holding her dripping wounds to his lips. "Drink. Take everything you need."
Despite the thrones of misery he was enduring, the smell of her blood broke through and his mouth opened enough or him to gulp slowly. A relieved sob escaping her, the redheaded Vampire smiled, "Good. That's good."
Shifting herself, the Irish immortal cradled his upper body against her own as she continued to hold her wrist in place. Euphoric as the waves were that filled her at having Chang drink from her, the overwhelming worries dulled them. Watching Midi working to clean away the dark splotches from the living's skin, she stifled a cry and buried her face into her charge's shoulder.
"Please don't die on me," she pleaded brokenly by his ear. The mere thought of losing the warrior had her trembling all over again as she silently prayed.
* * * * * *
The arrival of the third day of Wufei's turning came as a blessing to all. His body recuperating from the transformation, he slept deeply and peacefully. Still perched on the edge of the bed that she never left, Anna kept her silent vigil. Lightly brushing her fingers over the newborn Vampire's face, she sighed.
Heero, Trowa and Midi couldn't have been kinder or more understanding when the redheaded Infected told them what had transpired over the course of the last few weeks during her watch. There was much to be concerned about over her actions. There was no question that all Infected were forbidden to turn another mortal.
What the punishment would be for any who disobeyed was still unknown. But Anna knew that she would accept whatever fate awaited her. It would all be worth it knowing that Chang was alive... or at least existing.
Frowning when she noticed a crease in the warrior's cheek, the Vampire leaned in for a closer look to appraise that it almost looked as though his skin was peeling. She moved her hand to rub her fingers against it, gasping when a large piece fell away at her touch to reveal smooth, scale-like material beneath.
Anna shook her head, eyes narrowing in confusion. Then, to her horror, boils began to grow and break all over Chang's body.
Jumping to her feet, the Irish Infected slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle the scream that rose from her chest. Her family flew into the room to stand behind her as they all froze in shock at the sight of the scales that were being revealed when the old skin fell away from head to toe.
"Dear God," Midi breathed as she clutched onto her equally stunned husband. "That's his mutation from being born of a second generation Vampire?" Unable to find his voice, Trowa could only shake his head in response. Even if he could speak, he wouldn't have had an answer.
By now, it was already known amongst their kind that any human turned by anything other than an Original Infected was born with a change to their makeup. Some of those enhancements were of a special ability. Other changes... like this... were physical and much more obvious.
For Anna, startling as the transformation was, she also never saw anything more beautiful than Wufei with how he looked wearing those scales. In a very strange sort of way, they suited him perfectly. Almost like a shining layer of armor that a true soldier would wear for protection from all harm while defending that which he believed in and loved.
It was absolutely breathtaking.
Slowly walking up to the bed, she took a deep breath and with a ghost of a touch, rested her hand against the newborn's bare chest. The moment her flesh touched the fine, shiny scales, Chang's gold-rimmed eyes flew open. Heero and the others took a step back, not knowing what to expect and preparing themselves to defend the redhead if the need should arise.
A small smile of relief spreading across her face, the Irish immortal breathed, "Wufei. Oh, thank God you survived." Falling to sit at the edge of the bed again, she threw her arms around the startled Infected as he began to sit up.
Wide eyes blinking, the soldier loosely held the Vampire back with a soft, "A-Anna? How...? Why...? I'm still alive?" And it all seemed to come over him at once when he looked down at his practically shining arms. A cry escaping him, the newborn scrambled back in the bed until he hit the wall behind him.
Panting heavily, his growing eyes stared in disbelief at the scales covering his raised hands and exposed chest as well as his ankles and feet that peeked out of the bottoms of the loose back pants he was wearing. "What have you done to me?" he whispered so lowly that his voice was almost nonexistent.
His hands lowering, he raised his head to look on the scared redhead before him. Glaring heatedly, he shouted, "What have you done to me?!"
He lunged forward, gripping Anna by the neck and squeezing as hard as he could. Too caught off guard and not about to attack back, the Infected whimpered just as Heero charged in to pull her free of his grasp by hooking his arms around her thin waist and dragging her with him.
Fangs showing, Yuy hunched towards the new Vampire, returning every bit as much ire that was befalling him. "She very well could have risked her existence by saving you!" he bellowed. "You were lucky that she cared enough about you to make such a sacrifice when you clearly were willing to end your life!"
"I wanted an honorable death!" Chang screamed, his heated gaze back on Anna as she stood huddled between Midi and Trowa in the other half of the room. "And you cheated me out of it! This is the very thing that I wanted to escape! I had a good life! An honorable life! And you were pulling be away from it! You should have left me instead of turning me into this... this...!" Looking down at himself, he shrieked, "This freak of a creature!"
Shaking, the redheaded Infected let out a sharp sob as Midi pulled her into a tight embrace. "That's enough from you!" Trowa hollered, stalking to the bed to level the newborn with his own fangs revealed and narrowed emerald eyes ablaze. "Clearly, my dear cousin was wrong in what she thought there may have been between you. But you were not at all innocent in making her think otherwise!"
That seemed to strike enough of a reality into Wufei since he reeled back as though he had been physically struck. But that bit of a check did not last long.
Growling deeply, he shot forward to break beyond Yuy and Barton so that he was up close to Anna as tears streamed down her face. Bending in close, he gritted through his fanged teeth, "I never loved you. Now I despise you. I wish that I was never in your loathsome presence."
A sharp whimper bubbling out of her opened mouth, the redhead sobbed, "Wufei, please, I-" Her words... her sheer misery had no effect on the newborn and he flew out of the room.
Rushing into the hallway with her family, Anna caught up to the scaly Infected as he turned back from the cave entrance to meet her wet eyes as he vowed, "I'm going to see that the Council hears about this directly from me. And whatever it takes, I'm going to make sure that you're hunted down until you pay dearly for turning me!" At that, he was off in a bolt of a blur.
"He's too new to be able to outrun us," Heero hissed as he and Trowa prepared to go after him.
With an arm stretching out before them, Anna snapped, "No! Let him go. It's only a matter of time before the Council would find out about this anyway. Those scales of his would make him too noticeable as a recently turned Vampire since he wasn't born from an Original."
Trowa and Midi turned rigid at that realization, their eyes caught in sideways glances that were filled with worry. For Heero, he was only all the more determined as he faced his sister to frown deeply, "But we don't know what that would mean for you. If your punishment were death, I..." His voice cracked at the end and he fell silent while his eyes began to shimmer.
Overcome by her brother's naked emotions, the Irish Infected sniffled and whispered, "I know. But you all could share the same fate by trying to protect me." She bit back a sharp whimper, shaking her head, "And I could never cope with bringing that on any of you."
Drawing a deep breath, she straightened herself and held her head high to nod firmly, "I'd already made my decision to turn myself in before Wufei's transformation was completed. This is my responsibility and I'm prepared to accept whatever the consequences may be."
A hand slapping across her mouth, Midi sobbed against her tearful husband as he wrapped her in his arms. Stepping close to the redhead, Heero breathed, "Anna... there has to be some other way." Even as he spoke the broken words, his knowing that there was no other option was in his tone as well. Still, he couldn't help but hope to look out for her.
Smiling sadly through her running tears, the redheaded Vampire wrapped her arms around him tightly. As Yuy trembled and held her back just as fiercely, she muttered, "I don't have the right to ask you for any more than you've already given me, brother... but it would mean the world to me if you could be there with me when I am presented before the Council for trial."
Heero buried his face in his shoulder, replying just as softly, "You know you do not even have to ask me, brat. Of course I will be there."
"We will all be there," Trowa promised as he stepped towards them. Still in his arms, Midi was too despondent in her sadness to speak but she nodded.
Biting her lip, Anna swallowed roughly as her cousins joined in to embrace her and Heero as well in a group hug. "Thank you... all of you," she sighed.
* * * * * *
True to their words, Anna was never without her brother or cousins' presence during her trip back to the United States where she would be held in Washington to wait for her pending hearing. And just as he had vowed, Wufei was had arrived at the same time to present himself before the Vampire council in a plea to have his maker brought to justice.
If anyone were to say that the Khushrenada's, Merquise's and Peacecraft's were shocked by the Irish Infected's arrival so that she could have herself taken in would have been a gross understatement. Over the many years, their clans had grown quite close as extensions of each others' families. And they were every bit as grievous as Heero, Trowa and Midi over the turn of events.
But easily the most surprised of all was Chang. Clearly having expected the redhead to turn and run from what was due her, he froze at the sight of her when she came to stand beside him before the board of representatives. But that surprise did not keep him from arguing against her, showing the 'monstrosity' that he had become by demonstrating how impenetrable his scales were as he tried over and over to cut through them.
More than worrying over her fate, it was that revelation that struck the redhead hardest and would forever haunt her. The demonstration proved that Wufei had tried to end his existence again... and very likely many times over only to be robbed of his right to die yet again.
Immediately shackled by her neck and wrists, Anna was taken to her temporary cell amongst the other criminals, the immortals that included everything from murderers to thieves and rapists... something that sat bitterly with Heero.
Finally, weeks later at the commencement of the agreements between the human and Vampire Councils and the signing of their treaty, the trials for the Infected in captivity began.
One of the last to be taken before the representatives in their high court, Anna had the frightening privilege of sitting in and watching the others that had been held plead their innocence only to be sentenced to death one after another. And those sentences were carried out straight away with an audience of living and immortal alike to appease the humans.
So severe were the rulings that out of nearly two dozen cases, only two of those lesser charges were deemed as punishable through terms of imprisonment in the new prison that had been built in Antarctica just for the Vampires as they would be able to endure the elements of the cold and dark desolation.
It was with a contented heart that Anna was led, still shackled, into the high courthouse as the crowd standing outside threw things and shouted all sorts of horrible things at her. Though her head was lowered when she stepped into the heavily guarded facility, her resolve remained firm as she walked down the long aisle flanked by filled benches.
With a snort, she wondered over how funny it was that this would be the first time she would witness living and Vampires knowingly sitting amongst each other... what would most likely be her last time to see such a sight.
To Anna's right in the front row before the short railing that separated the front half of the room, her brother and cousins sat along with Karl as they all gave her small smiles of heartbreak and encouragement. At her left, a hooded Wufei was seated in at the end of the first bench. Beyond the edge of his cloak, he glared heatedly at her when their gazes met... only tearing her apart all the more.
Further down the row, a rather pleased looking Meiran flashed a smug smirk that she ignored as she stepped through the swinging door of the railing.
Seated atop pedestals of gold and marble that rose to varying heights, the twenty-one members of the Vampire Council sat in full attention in watching their next captive step up to the bench before them. From left to right of the middle section, those perches belonged to the very anxious lot of Noin, Zechs, Treize, Lady Une and Relena to put the head Khushrenada in the center of the whole panel.
When the loud murmurings through the room would not quiet down, the head of the Council raised his gavel to slam it down with two loud rings. "Order!" he called and silence fell. Clearing his throat, the tall, blonde immortal folded his hands together on the edge of his pedestal and leaned forward.
Treize's struggle to keep his emotions from reaching his expression and eyes was evident as he began, "Anna Yuy, you are charged with turning a human when you knew that bringing them to such an existence was forbidden and could very well be punished with your death." Taking a deep breath, he frowned, "How do you plead?"
"Guilty," she answered without hesitance or regret in her voice as she raised her head. Gasping sharply, Relena covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes at the same time that the crowd around them erupted.
In hearing their first admission of a crime against their own, the mortals were on their feet, screaming and crying everything from 'Kill her!' and 'Murderer!' to 'Bring us justice!' Shaking, the redhead lowered her head again, too scared to look back and see either her family's or Wufei's reaction.
Again, the gavel sounded. This time with five loud cracks before the guards around were able to bring the mass to quiet and return to their seats. By the time the stillness returned, Anna noticed the shimmer in her friends' eyes as they all looked to one another in distress while the other Council members wore an array of different emotions.
Clearing his throat, Treize bit his lip before he managed, "This is certainly a different case than any other that we have seen. Not only havd you turned yourself into us, Anna, but you are standing here before both human and Vampire alike admitting your responsibility in breaking one of our highest laws. In light of all of this, we on this panel will have to deliberate your sentence before it is delivered." Heads amongst the representatives nodded amongst themselves.
"Of course," Khushrenada spoke up, "You could have leniency in our decision of a possible lesser punishment if you were to make amends for your actions by swearing an oath that under immediate pain of death without another trial you never commit this act again." Blinking in shock, the Irish Infected lifted her head to watch the board. She could hear the benches beneath her family creak as Heero and the others leaned forward anxiously.
The head of the board raised his hand when the whispers throughout the room began to rise in both volume and frustration in their tones. "Along with that," he decreed, "you must atone for what you have done by expressing your most sincere apologies for your behavior to Wufei while releasing him of whatever hold he claims you have over him."
Were there air in Anna's lungs, it would have been knocked from them at that. Slowly, she peered over her shoulder towards the scaly Infected to see both the disappointment over the chance she had been given as well as the expectancy in his onyx-and-gold eyes for her words.
Her head shaking, she breathed, "Wufei, I... I don't know what this is between us any more than you do. But whatever it is, I release you from it with all of my being if it is at all possible. And your mutation could very well be on my head as I wished for nothing more than to never see you cut again when I bit into you."
Chang glared at her, not at all content that he'd heard everything he wanted from her without her voiced regret. With a sob that echoed through the silent courtroom, Anna wailed, "But I cannot apologize for turning you. I couldn't let you die-" Over the shouts and hollers of the crowd, her voice was lost under the drone.
"Order!" Treize cried, slamming his gavel repeatedly until there was a calm again.
Shaking her head at her clearly irate charge, the redhead went on to whimper, "And it's not out of selfishness on my part that I couldn't let you go. There is just so much strength and goodness in you that I have the blessing to see that I couldn't let that be snuffed out of this world! Yes, I love you, but more than anything, I just couldn't allow you to not see your own value and why you're a gift that shouldn't be taken for granted! Your life is too precious! So I cannot tell you I'm sorry when I'm not."
On the other half of the room, Heero, Midi, Trowa and Karl watched on with tears running down their faces as they huddled closely for support. Both the mortals and immortals throughout the room sat in stunned silence, eyes wide and some welling up over her moving and unexpected declaration.
And even Wufei was stricken by her heartfelt words. Wide-eyed, he continued to stare at her with a new light of realization in them. Swallowing roughly, he turned his head away when it all became too much for him to look on her any longer.
When she looked back towards the board, Anna's heart cracked all the more in seeing Relena, Noin and Lady Une wracked by sobs as they watched her with damp faces along with a couple other representatives. Zechs allowed his own tears to fall unchecked while Treize had his head lowered to conceal his emotions.
"I happily and willingly accept whatever fate you decide to deliver me," the Irish Infected announced, head high, voice clear and back straight. "You have my word that never again will I turn another under the pain of death. But you will not be able to atone for my actions."
Nodding shallowly after a long and tense silence, Khushrenada lifted his head to show his reddening eyes. "Very well, Anna," he whispered, a small, sad and at the same time proud smile on his face. Reaching for his gavel, he said, "At this time, then, we members of the Council will retreat to our deliberation room to-"
Wufei shot to his feet, cutting him off as he called desperately, "I request a private audience with the Council!" To the shocked rumblings filling the air, he scanned and pleaded to the representatives, "Anna's transgression was against me. I would like the chance to speak with you all to make my recommendation before you come to deliver your sentence."
Stunned by the bold move, Treize looked to the others around him for their silent agreements or denials to the request. There were only nods to be found.
Locking gazes with the hooded Vampire, the blonde Original replied, "As you wish, Wufei. Please follow us into our chamber." He gave the guards a small gesture with his head that brought them forward to serve as escorts flanking the newborn when he moved through the swinging doors.
Slowly filing out of the room through the door beside the pedestals as the crowd began to murmur again, the representatives cast the redhead glances along the way. Biting her lip, Anna watched as Chang followed on their heels without so much as a sidelong look at her before he disappeared through the chamber door.
That was it. He was going to demand that her existence was ended. Without a doubt in her mind that she was going to die, she prepared herself for her deliverance from the world.
TBC...
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