Taniya_K Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Story Title: Veritas Vos Liberabit Type of story: Short fic Main Characters: Aden, Belle, Roman, Morag, Irene, Annie, Geoff, BTTB rating: T Genre: Drama, Angst, Suspense Does story include spoilers: No Any warnings: None. Summary: Love changes people. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes to a point of no return. --- Silence greeted him as soon as he was led forward. Silence, that, he soon realised, was only so quiet as his attention began to lapse. A small jolt from ahead, and everything from the small murmurings around him to the echo of footsteps all came back to him. The atmosphere was tense and the air was humid, but none of it really registered. Nothing truly had been registering for months. This wasn’t for him. A loud clanging noise broke him out of his thoughts of the past once again. The guard in front of him had unbolted the door without him even realising that they had come to a stop. The guard behind him prodded him gently with a hand on the shoulder, urging him forward into the small, plain room that would be his home for the months to come. Morag had told him that they would appeal, but none of it had sunk into him. It didn’t matter anymore. “Meet your new cellmate, Stone.” The guard who had been in front spoke up for the first time, addressing the man who was already in the room. “Try not to kill this one.” These words, however, seemed to stick in his head. There was some kind of twitch on the speaker’s mouth, but he couldn’t decipher whether it were a smile, smirk or sneer. A witty line was the response, but he didn’t manage to catch it. Instead, he simply stood there as the three other men swapped small words before leaving. “He wasn’t kidding, you know.” Stone said in a rough voice that made his head snap over to him. Finally taking the time to see him, the first thing that stuck out were the thin, circular rimmed glasses that rested on the crook of his nose. It made the man’s build and height look somewhere less threatening. His hair was a darker shade of sandy blonde, and his eyes were a deathly black. Yet, he could sense no harm from him. Whether that was just simply a misinterpretation or not, he was fairly certain that the crime he had committed would not have been worse than his. “Quiet one, eh? You got a name?” “Yes.” His voice was raspy, like someone who hadn’t spoken for days or weeks. “Got a first one at least?” Stone asked him after a slight pause, having poised himself on one of the cots in the room. “I’ll start then. Kevin.” Kevin Stone. He repeated the name in his head to see if it clicked, if he had heard about him before. If he had, there was no doubt that this man would be dangerous, even if his current demeanour betrayed it. But then again, who was he to tag someone as ‘dangerous’? “Right. Whatever, then. But let me tell you that there aren’t many guys in here who have the courtesy of trying to be nice first. In fact, there’s a total of 3. The rest are nastier than your worst nightmares.” Stone informed him in a matter-of-fact tone that was accompanied with a look of disgust. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in with them.” Stone threw himself back onto the bed to lay down and pulled out a small piece of paper from under his pillow. He was sure that there was a photo hiding behind it, but it was out of sight for him to be sure. Instead, he walked over to the other cot. It was covered with a murky green throw and a grey pillow sitting at the top. Sitting down on the edge carefully, he stared down at his feet before letting out a small breath. Slowly, he leant forwards and managed to rest his elbows on his knees to keep himself from toppling forwards as memories came flying to his head. People who were nastier than his worst nightmare were almost impossible for him to imagine, but he had no intention in wanting to find out whether his assumptions were true or not. “Aden.” He spoke, swallowing hard are he kept his eyes on his fingers before him. “Aden Jeffries.” “Well, it’s good to meet you, Aden Jeffries.” Stone replied in a bored tone that would have irritated him if he had the tiniest care in the world about it. About anything, in fact, other than whether he wanted out of all of this or not. A shaky breath left his parted lips as he slipped a hand up his sleeve to find what he was looking for. A small scar, running diagonally across his forehand. It had only been a scratch, but the constant picking at it had changed it into a permanent, superficial mark on his body. The only thing that he currently had on him that was from Belle. It was ridiculous, he knew that. But it was all he had left of her now, and just knowing that she had touched him there, leaving a mark for everyone to see, though not intended, gave him an odd sense of serenity about it all. Closing his eyes, Aden begged with himself to not take him back to their last conversation. However, as it had been with him and his mind nowadays, it betrayed him. Suddenly, the dark and coldness that had swept over him then was back again, sending a terrifying tingle down his spine. They had promised each other that time would pass quickly before they got to see each other properly once again. To see, and hold, and love. While one had wept, the other had assured that everything would be ok. That they would be strong enough to carry on without them, while the other begged them not to leave and how it was not fair. Fairness. That was something that was a rare treat in his life. Even then, as he battled to keep the tears at bay while shutting up the voices in his head that carried on from his last moment with Belle, things were unfair. He shouldn’t be there. He shouldn’t be thinking about Belle. He shouldn’t have given in. He shouldn’t be alive. --- Time had passed slowly. It had only been over a day when Aden began to wonder whether he would be able to handle it all. There was nothing in his life right then that made him want to get out of bed, or cot, rather, in the morning. There was nothing that made him want to fall asleep with the eagerness of what the next day would hold. If anything, it was the night that entranced him the most. The only time it was almost entirely quiet and so dark that he could let his emotions free, no matter what they were. With his second night in that place approaching, Aden laid completely still in the empty cell. It wouldn’t be empty for long when Stone returned from his trip to the bathroom, but it was enough time for him to gather his thoughts and get a grip on reality. He had been living out of it for so long, it hadn’t occurred to him just how hard reality had become to cope with. That day, the first whole one, had been one of learning. Learning how to keep to himself, learning how to keep others out and learning how things worked in there. He had also learned, from a short visit from Morag, his lawyer, and Roman, his friend, that they were doing everything in their power and ability to achieve an appeal as soon as it were possible. To this information, Aden had merely shrugged and nodded in thanks. No questions had been asked on his part, though he had been bombarded. How was he? Was he being treated alright? Did he get sleep? Has he ate? The list had gone on and on until, thankfully, the guard in charge had told them that time was up. Aden was pretty sure that there was more left to tell him, but no-one added anything and he hadn’t cared enough to prompt them. Just before they left, Roman had slipped a small envelope across the table towards him. He hadn’t had the energy to ask what it was, especially when he was sure the chances of getting an explanation was pretty low. Now, laying on his cot, he pulled the envelope out from under the covers where he had hid it earlier. Whether that had been from Stone, or from himself, he wasn’t sure. But the curiosity was killing him now. It was the only urge that he had had for a while now, and mixed in with Roman’s sympathetic look as he had passed it over to him, it gave him a new burst of energy and want to open it. Sliding a fingernail under the flap, he let it glide smoothly until the glue that sealed it was separated. Without patience, he turned it upside down and allowed the contents to tip out over his chest and some onto the mattress next to him. Aden dropped the envelope next to him as he took it in. The small sized items with a glossy look and colourful fillings could only be one thing. Sitting up as his eye caught sight of one of the photos, Aden fought away his emotions once again. Slowly, he counted to 5 like he had been taught and let go of his first urge, which had been to crumple up every single one, or push them back into the envelope and hide it again. Instead, he lifted a shaking hand and gathered them all into a pile, swallowing repeatedly. Having down part 1 of his actions, he lifted them into his other hand. The light that shone into he cell was dim, though it only made the pictures more beautiful. All of them were from his room. He recognized the pile, as he flipped through them, as the ones he had selected as his favourite, but never getting around to doing something with them. With his heart thumping harder than it had in ages, Aden paused at one certain photo. It was his ultimate favourite one simply because it was so casual. Belle, dressed in a white t-shirt with a small black design curving it’s way up her side and skinny black jeans, smiled shyly yet happily at the camera as she leant against the log barrier on the Summer Bay beach. Her hair was flying to her side due to the breeze but it only made her more beautiful in front of the blue sky and high noon sun. He wasn’t sure how long he had been gazing at the photo, lost in the happy memories of the day, when a voice spoke up, interrupting his thoughts. “That your girl?” Aden’s head snapped up towards where Stone walked lazily to his own bed, sitting on the edge of it with an eyebrow quirked in question at him. “Yeah.” He managed to get out, shuffling the photos back into a neat pile and reaching out for the envelope with the intent to replace them “She’s a catch.” Stone simply stated. There was no leer or smirk attached to it, so Aden took what he said at face value and stayed quiet. His eyes were now locked on the top photo, the envelope laying discarded once again. “She was.” Aden murmured, brushing a thumb over the picture as he successfully kept back the lump forming in his throat that seemed to appear at the single thought of her. “She was, what?” “She was my girl.” He clarified, still not looking up at Stone, who showed understanding on his face. “I have a girl. Camille. She’s my English rose.” The smile in his voice was clear; something that Aden knew that came to his face whenever he spoke about Belle. “It’s hard, you know? I’ve only been in for 5 months, with another 8 left, hopefully. But knowing she’s out there makes it easier.” “Belle’s not out there for me.” Aden told him straightforwardly. “It might not seem like that, but I’m sure she is. I haven’t seen Cam in 5 months. Didn’t want her to see me here, to see the lowlife that I really am.” Stone carried on. “But when I get out, I’m going to change my life and win her back. I don’t care what it takes. Even the world.” “I’d go to hell and back to know that I could have Belle out there for me to win over.” Aden admitted, stuffing all of the photos but one into the envelope before shuffling back on his cot so that he was leaning against the cold wall behind him. “Maybe she is.” Stone countered with a shrug as Aden tilted his head upwards towards the heavens to keep his tears back before looking back down at the girl who completed him, standing without a care in the world apart from the camera that he didn’t know how to use, smiling up at him in the photo. “What you in for, anyway?” “Murder.” He told him without hesitation, knowing that somehow, his cellmate had been left out of the loop of the prison gossip mill. There was a stiff and uncomfortable silence that lingered until Aden spoke once again without another glance at him. “Don’t worry. I’ve been in the nuthouse for the past couple of months. I won’t flip out on you.” “Righto. Sorry. You just don‘t seem like the guy to…” Stone trailed off, clearing his throat discreetly as he carried on a moment later. “She’ll be there. Love’s crazy like that.” “It’s not like that.“ Aden said in a toneless voice as thoughts whirled around in his head. He should have been stronger. He should have loved her more. Or less. He should have stopped himself. “What’s it like then?” Stone asked him with a hint of irritation. “She’s the reason I’m in here.” He admitted with a shake of the head as a single tear leaked it‘s way down out of the corner of his eye, not caring for the world what Kevin Stone, a petty thief and drug possessor, would think. “I killed her.” --- Not sure whether to carry it on or not. It was orginally meant to be a oneshot, but it seems vague to me, so lemme know what you think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leah1234 Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Did not see that ending at all!! I think you should definitely continue. It 's great to be able to read your incredible writning again. Can't wait to see if this will continue xxxxxxxxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAURZY! Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Aden killed Belle!?! OMG Brillaint, just what i'd expect from you! Looking forward to seeing where you go for it if you decide to continue with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 WOW! That ending left me stunned. And that doesn't happen often with fics. Adens thoughts throughout was written extremely well. He seemed so hopeless and like he just didn't care about anything any more. Well that ending certainly explained that. About whether to continue or not, I'm torn. I think this works really well as a oneshot. And I wonder if carrying on will take away from that. But at the same time I can't help but want to know all about what happened. So whichever you decide will be fine by me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradyell Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Oh my good god!!!! i am crying my eyes out here!! You sooooo have to continue!! I'm guessing that this is a euthanasia type thing, belle asking him to end her suffering whilst she was ill! At least i hope that's what it is! Toatally brilliant Taniya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissOlivia22 Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Not sure whether to carry it on or not. It was orginally meant to be a oneshot, but it seems vague to me, so lemme know what you think Don't you dare! You cannot leave it there and then vaguely mention that you may not carry on XD You should definitely continue, you have us all on the edge of ours seats with questions... *Puppy dog eyes* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraPhilly!! Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Wow!! Oh my God, Taniya, that was one of your best pieces ever!! I was gripped until the very end!! Fantastic idea, fantastic story!! well done!! ...xXx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitmanfan Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 OH My God you have to carry on I need to know what happened. that was written really well Taniya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sephy Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 I think the replies above me some it all up, but just in case you haven't got it WOW! Absolutely brilliant! That ending was a shocker! I honestly did not expect that. I kept on trying to think what kind of situation Aden may have gotten him into until you mentioned he was in for murder. Even then I thought it was for someone else. Maybe Larry, or someone who had hurt Belle, as the summary kind of suggests. Never in a million years did I think it would be Belle. I'm so intrigued with this now. I've never read a fic with one half of my favourite couple murdering the other. Yet I am still so intrigued. I applaude your courage, also, to post such a oneshot/fic when there are many Adelle fans who would be ready hunt you down for this. Including yourself, I think. Personally, I think you ought continue this into a short fic. Mainly due to the fact that I want to know more. Leaving it as a oneshot would be fantastic too, but it leaves so many questions open that I have no imagination to answer. Once again, this was absolutely brilliant! There are no words to do it justice. Writing at it's best, here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Zoe~ Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Taniya that was brilliant Like everyone else has said you have to continue, I want to know what happened, Fantastic writing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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