&& THE GOLD LACED MIRROR [VINCENT][C]

He shook his head slightly at the water question. No more. Not that he was no longer thirsty, but it was still strange for it to be so clean. He would have to get used to it. He remembered the first week after he woke up, the was sick on and off and his own injuries had made it all worse. 

"So... fa..." He said softly, panting from the water he had drank only a few seconds ago and his dwindling energy, but it did brighten his face some, bringing back some of its color. He was tired. And all he wanted to do right now was sleep. 

"Thanks..." He managed to mutter then loosely grabbed his mask from the floor and dragged it onto his lap. It was right next to his leg, so it didn't scratch the tile at all when he pulled it. He wanted it back on... of if not the heavy mask, at least a bandana or something over his mouth? It comforted him. He felt naked without it. 

Right now, the mask was too heavy to bare putting back on and he didn't know how much comfort it would be to walk around with it until he was strong enough to lift it higher then his head, which he could barely lift onto his legs. He would just carry it to the couch. 

When Vincent tapped on his shoulder, Risk grabbed on to Vincent's hand but kept himself slack for a short moment. When he was ready to try and stand up he said, "Okay I'm ready now." Softly. 

Carrying himself and the mask was too much for him as he began to get up. He dropped the mask at first, but the sudden desire for it to be by his side caused him to stop and grab it before they left for the couch that Vincent said he'd set him on. 


Voices... he heard them a lot. But it was as if his body wouldn't respond to them. There was just not enough energy in his body to do so. But it was good for him to get the rest that he did. He hadn't slept this well in over six months and who knows how long before that. This time, he had no dreams. There was only sounds and feelings. The sensation of touch drifting over his body and there being nothing he could do about it. But they weren't terrible touches, and the voices weren't harsh. So for the moment he didn't need to panic. 

Then... He heard the sound of music... it played near him. Honestly, it wasn't the kind of music that he would probably enjoy, but it was great to hear music again. It had been a very long time. Then he noticed his lack of mask and a sharp sensation in his arm. Not that he could feel any pain, but he did feel the needle and he panicked.

His blank eyes shot open and he screamed. It was definitely an accident that Risk had no idea how it had happened, but some how-- THUD! He had landed on the floor, his breaths were heavy gasps as if he were going into hyperventilation, and he ripped the strange thing out of his arm. Then he stood up, frightened and stumbled out of the room, he didn't know where he was, or how he had gotten there. He couldn't remember. So he just held onto the wall and tried inching down the hall, there was no known place of where his mask could be as it wasn't on his face. And he had no idea how to get out of this place. But it was certain, he couldn't stop his body from shaking and his breaths from heaving.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing and then a voice spoke to him At first he flinched away from it, but he quickly recognized it and the meeting of the strange voice within the mirror that helped him out soon washed through his memory. The voice got closer and closer till it was right next to him and then a pair of hands touched his shoulders. He flinched at the touch, but ultimately he didn't pull away. There wasn't anything Vincent could do to hurt him anyway. 

He could still feel his breaths come in heavy gasps and he just couldn't get his body to stop shaking, but he lifted his arm and then placed his hand over the spot that was bleeding. Why was he bleeding? It didn't hurt. 

"S-ssorry... C-can't feel... Doesn't hurt..." He just couldn't speak. Damn... He hated this. He needed to calm down. He needed his body to obey him again. He began taking deep breaths. In and out. In and out. He could feel his heart go from pounding like a jack rabbit to thumping like that of a clock. 

"I... V... It... seems familiar..." He muttered softly. "I'm... I'm sorry, it been a long time since... Since I've been with people. I don't remember...What does an I.V. do?" 

He followed Vincent along, back into the room he'd just left. He would have looked around if it weren't for his dead eyes. But he really did want to know where his mask was. "M-my Mask, where is it?" He asked holding onto Vincent's arm so that he didn't run into anything or fall if his body dropped in energy again after the adrenaline vanished.

“Oh.. Well it's quite alright. We can get the carpet cleaned... An IV is a medical apparatus. It's used to deliver fluids and medication straight into someone's veins. To help them heal faster... I had you on a solution that should help replenish your body's electrolytes and help get you hydrated again.” 

Hydrated? Oh... Well, he guessed it made sense. He hadn't eaten or drank anything for a very long time. It would make perfect sense that he would have to become rehydrated. 

“Of course there are plenty of other things that we need to do to help you. However, I wasn't going to let them start anything till I had your explicit permission...Like your eyes, don't you wish to know if their condition is reversible?” 

Did he want to know if he had the possibility of seeing again? Sure.... But it sounded kind of nerve wracking. For some reason, the idea of being able to see again and no longer be blind was rather frightening. But he nodded his head anyway, because he was certainly curious about the idea. He decided that he shouldn't worry about it until the subject came up. 

They finally made it back into the bedroom and Vincent assisted him in sitting back down on the bed. He could feel the adrenaline go down, but for once in a long time he still felt energy. He didn't want to lie down again. It sort of felt awkward anyway. Especially with Vincent there staring at him. 

“The mask? Oh yes it's on the nightstand. Though, is there anyway I can get you to wear something else until I can have it properly cleaned? In its current state it would leave grease marks on your face. As well as my pillows. I have plenty of bandanas and ribbons if that could work?" 

Bandana... That could probably work... "Do you have any with Eyeballs on them?" He asked rather quietly. "I... really like eyes. I guess... It would make it better if I could actually see them though huh?"

“It's a very nice mask, but wouldn't you want it restored to its former glory? By the way, where did you come across such a well made one~?”

Risk paused and thought for a few moments. "I don't... Remember..." He muttered to himself more then to Vincent. Then he growled softly in frustration. "Why... I want to remember..."

Then he sighed and gave up. "How long was I out? And... Could I see the doctor now? I don't like waiting for these kinds of things... I get fidgety and nervous..." He asked softly.

Black? Of course he would choose black… Why would he ask something like that? OF COURSE he wouldn’t have a bandana with eyeballs on it. Why would anyone do that? The only reason he liked that kind of stuff was because he felt close to it. It was his greatest weapon after all. His great illusion. “Ah… Black is fine.” He said rather nervously. Then he murmured, “As long as it isn’t pink or purple…”

He thought about the idea of his memories coming back to him and once again he got nervous. Something was hidden behind those memories… Something he was afraid to awaken. It made him fidget when he thought about it, but he didn’t want to awaken it quite so soon. It was something that had kept him up at night for months. Something that bothered him… that he couldn’t remember.

It wasn’t long before the Doctor came and Vincent left the room. It was rather nerve racking to be with another person that he didn’t know and that had no familiarity. But he let the inspection commence because he knew it was necessary for him to improve. He needed to survive this. There was something that he had to do. Someone that he had to find...
_________________________________________________________

It took a couple hours for the doctor to actually do a full inspection of the boy. When he was finished he came out and closed the door so that Chris wasn’t apart of the conversation. “There’s nothing major to worry about although His body is pretty beat up. He may be a carrier of diseases that we don’t know, so I’ll put together some shots to give to him as soon as humanly possible. Its unlikely however, that you’ll catch anything at this time. He is rather thin and his body probably isn’t used to eating a lot of food so he’ll need to start off eating small portions and working his way up. Try to give him simple foods at first. No milk products, it may upset his stomach. Try to get him to drink as much as possible for awhile, cause his body needs the fluids. I’ve reset him up to the I.V. though he’s not altogether happy about it. He’ll have to get used to it for the next couple of days. Cause he’ll really need it. There is something I think you should really know about… It seems as though there are forced scars all over his body. As if someone… or something, periodically beat him. And not all the same. The main enforcer would be a whip. Probably claw marks… He went through some real torture wherever he came from. I would suggest not touching him too much. It may trigger memories.” The doctor paused and looked at his watch. It was late in the day now, and he needed to get those vaccines ready. He had a pretty good idea of what kind of vaccines would be required but they would take a while to prepare. However, there was one last thing he should mention.

“Lastly, about his eyes. He isn’t used to using them anymore and so I think that is why they have gone dark. If he’d been in the darkness for a year longer his eyes probably wouldn’t be recoverable. However, I’m confident in the idea that he may be able to see again in the future. It would take a bit of time, but a surgery would help it move along much quicker. That is… if you can get him to agree to one.”

The doctor didn’t respond to any of Vincent’s “outbursts.” He’d worked with the man long enough to know that he should just let it go. It wasn’t worth any other reaction then an awkward shift in stance. When asked if he’d told any of this to chris he shook his head and became rather… uncomfortable. “I haven’t told him any of this… Well, I tried in the beginning… But he wouldn’t even look at me. He kind of ignored me… Although…” He paused and thought for a moment. Any pressing matters with the boy’s health? Yeah but nothing he could really do about it.

“While he mostly ignored me and what I was doing and saying, he did mutter to himself… He started muttering directions… Almost as if he were moving through some kind of cave. It was mostly difficult to make out. There wasn’t much to go on. He used incomplete sentences and It was like he was mapping a place out in his head. The last thing I heard him say was… ‘I need to save him...’ something… to that effect. Maybe you’ll be able to make more sense of it, but I’m a physician, not a psychologist. I’m surprised you’ve gotten him to talk to you. The only time he turned his attention to me was when I was putting the I.V. back in his arm. He turned to me with a rather dangerous expression… He’s definitely not happy about the I.V. But he didn’t rip it out.”

Once again the man looked at his watch. “I apologize for cutting this short. There isn’t anything major that I could find at the moment and I did a pretty extensive search. My biggest concern is him staying on that I.V. that he’s set up on. Other than that he should be ohkay to move around a bit. Not too much or he may burn himself out. But you can see him when you want. I have a feeling though… He doesn’t seem like the type to like sitting around doing nothing for long periods of time. Perhaps you could make him feel useful in some way? Anyway, let me know if anything strange Physically starts happening. With your permission I’m going to go get those vaccines ready.”

He’d already heard the door open and close and while he hadn’t heard any of the conversation from behind the door, he certainly heard the tones of voices. So when Vincent clapped his hands excitedly Risk couldn’t stop himself from wincing at how loud the sound was. He was so used to the quietness of the mirror that any sharp noise would be shocking to him. Not to mention his senses had become more sensitive since living in the lower part of the maze.

“Good news? If you’re talking about my possible chance of recovering my sight I already knew that was a possibility based on the doctor’s behavior. He was pretty excited about it, simply by the tension in his muscles as he held my shoulder.”

Somehow his entire demeanor had changed. Instead of the rather nervous and timid teenager, he held himself up straight and a serious expression donned his face. His hands were set on his lap and his fingers were tapping the blanket boredly.

“Also… I would really appreciate it if you would stop talking to me like I was the best thing since sliced bread sir. We both know why I’m here and it’s not because I’m going to be your new best friend. You bought my mirror, at a hefty price might I add, and saved me from a long time of boredom and suffering. I owe you my life and probably much more and the expenses just continue to grow. You are looking for me to trust you somehow, which I completely understand, however, unfortunately I don’t trust you. But fortunately for you, I don’t trust anyone, not even people that I may consider to be my friends. Everyone has a darkside that can go off at anytime and I just haven’t figured out yours yet.”

He paused for a moment to think and spoke again before Vincent even had a chance to respond. “I’ve met your kind before. Kind of. In attempting to gain my trust you are searching for some kind of usefulness for me. If you find one, all sliced bread aside, you’ll offer me a job. Probably in a way that will make me believe I’m actually choosing to do so myself. But the reality is I have no where to go except backwards anyway so I want to be useful to you so that I don’t die or worse. So I don’t care what you do to me or have me do, I’ll even take a life for you if that is what you so wish… Because… I believe I’ve figured you out.”

Again he paused… Damn… Of course he would say something bold like that. He was going completely on a limb here and knew that he would possibly lose it if he went too far. He was serious in the idea that he would do whatever Vincent asked him to do, he would probably even torture someone if need be simply because he had no where else to go and was one of the only people who would actually have a stomach for that kind of thing because he’d done it before… Although not for his own pleasure.

“I want to apologize ahead of time for any offense this may cause, It’s not intentional I promise. These are simply observations and theories I have made despite the very short time that I’ve spent with you. First, you worry a lot about your things. Whether those were excuses or not, I haven’t decided, but I’ve concluded that you are very wealthy, love your cleanliness, and pride yourself in your sense of ownership. I, for example, am not a friend, I am Your Toy, Your Pet, Your Object. In the Acquiring of My Mirror and me, it seems as though you love beautiful, intricate, and mysterious things. An Antique collector possibly… But also, and this is merely a theory that I have yet to confirm, you Consistently ask the right questions at the right time and know how to smooth your words to run straight. I can see you deeply valuing information, if only it’s to control me when things may get complicated and something must be done.”

And now this would be the more complicated part that he was so impulsively stating. “You told me that you get queasy about “That stuff,” but I don’t believe you. Simply because you told me quite proudly that your father met his own untimely demise because of an accident you caused. And you weren’t even the slightest bit shocked when I mentioned the death of my own mother. And yes, I did hear the voice of the girl that you sacrificed into the mirror to get me out, which possibly meant that you figured I may be more useful to you than she would be. This leads me to believe that to you the lives of the people around you, save one or two others, are relative while the lives of you and your closest are completely absolute.”

He took a deep breath and continued going in that story-like, serious tone of voice that he had adopted just for this occasion. He was trying to show off. Trying to express his value to the man before him, and he wanted to get it done as quickly as possible before anything else happened, because he didn’t want to wait idly anymore.

“We could even go a bit further and say that you use the financial and political power you have to stretch that power as far as possible because nothing can stand in your way of your ultimate goal. And to grow that big would mean that anything that tried to stand in your way would be crushed beneath your feet like a bug. You are a careful man and must expand because any less would probably end in an undesirable outcome. In that extreme case scenario it would be absolutely useless for me to run away or leave because you will easily find me again and punish me accordingly. Though that may have to be in some other extreme way because my body does not respond to any form of physical torture. As you have probably been told by the positioning and mentioning of my scars.”

With that he paused for effect. He wasn’t sure if torture were a possibility which was why he had mentioned it as an “extreme scenario” and not an absolute fact. Although, the more and more he thought about the man’s character so far and the pieces that he’d put together, the more he thought of the possibility to be true. However, whether the man would do it himself or have other people perform the dirty work, he’d still hadn’t decided. He more or less mentioned it for a reaction more than having an actual theory. Cause it was very unlikely.

“My point is… I want you to test me, in multiple ways. In the end however, my last test if you will, I want to go on a trip to the Labyrinth again and I’ll bring you back some of the most beautiful, Intricate, and mysterious objects you will ever see and all you have to pay for is a team, the supplies, and the transportation. Everything I bring back will belong to you to do with what you will, except that of something that has become very important to me. That will be mine and mine alone. However… Since you practically own me anyway…”