Scars

by blood-lust6

The soft scent of flowers filled the air, invading her senses. That smell, so fresh, made her feel, for once, at peace. She opened her eyes, seeing the gorgeous blue sky stretched out in front of her. White petals danced in front of her sight. She laughed slightly.

//Silly flowers trying to be clouds.// She propped herself up on her elbows, a light smile playing on her lips. Looking around she realized she was sitting in a sand dune, wind pushing the soft grains around her body and into the air. She watching, mesmerized like a child, as the sand and flowers tangled together.

//They're waltzing. Remember when we'd waltz together, Meryl?// Her eyes widened as the voice spoke, echoing in her mind. She turned around and gasped.

She stood there, dressed in her black gown and white apron, blue-ebony hair fanning out from behind her. She was smiling though you could hardly see her face. Her arms were overflowing with white flower blossoms. Many were escaping, set free into the air and soaring high above them.

Meryl rose and began to run to her, smiling wider than she had done in a long time. And for once, She wasn't disappearing. This elated her and when she finally got to the top of the sand dune, her heart was in her throat. Meryl blinked in confusion. She should be staring into her eyes, not her knees.

She looked down at her hands and then up at the woman in front of her. She had shrunk. She had returned to her 10 year old self. A 10 year old with a 22 year old's memories and knowledge. The girl in front of her knelt down and smiled at her.

//Hello again.//

//Oh, Ros-// The woman made a shushing noise than rose again.

//It's time Meryl. It's time to dance.//And all at once she opened her arms wide and let the flowers escape. Meryl let out a surprised cry and tried to chase after them, to grab them. She wanted one, needed at least one. But her small hands could no longer reach the blossoms. The sky began to darken, the white clouds turning black.

//Rosemary!// Meryl turned, frightened at the sudden change. She looked to the sand dune where the elegant woman had just stood but now she was gone, replaced by a shapeless shadow. The shadow began to grotesquely stretch over the horizon, growing and growing until it began to swallow up everything in it's path.

On pure instinct she broke into a full blown run. She ran away from it but it was no use. Like a tidal wave, It rushed over the top of her. The inky blackness dripped down from the sky, cutting off her escape. Cold winds blew her back into the darkest recesses of the pit it had formed. She put her forearms in front of her face, trying to block the gail but to no avail. She sunk down to her small knees, weeping. She began to cry like a little child.

//ROSEMARY!!!!!!!///

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Molly's living room was much smaller than the dining room but definitely more homey. The walls were painted a creamy yellow and were decorated with many pictures and paintings. There were only two articles of furniture in the room and one ornate hutch containing beautiful glass dishes and other small nic-nacs.

Molly motioned for them to make themselves comfortable while she sat down heavily into a cushioned rocking chair. Vash was the first to sit down on the large couch across from Molly. It was a very nice couch, embroidered with a white rose pattern. Millie followed suit, leaving enough room for Wolfwood to sit down, if he pleased. But the priest chose to lean in the doorway, a cool air to his leaning frame.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning. I didn't grow up in Big Sky City, Blue Sky City's predecessor. I was born in December City and moved out here to start up a saloon when I was 25. None of the townsfolk were very nice at first. But then the local sheriff and his wife invited me to dinner one night and I guess that's how everything started.

"Bill and Merle Owens were very kind, honest people. Very trustworthy as well. They explained to me that they had been having trouble with a gang of brigands lately and a lot of people didn't trust passerbys much anymore. I didn't think much of it at the time. What town so far out of the way and so small of size doesn't have it's problems with gangs? Only it was weird. They told me that the gangs took only children and then killed the parents. I still didn't take to the idea much until an incident kept happening every day.

"After a few weeks, we became best of friends. So it was only naturally I suppose when they asked of me a huge favor. They had two children, Rosemary who was 15, and Meryl, who was 10." Millie sucked in her breath at the mention of Meryl's name but it was hardly noticeable. Vash looked over at Wolfwood and they briefly met eyes before returning their full attention to Molly. The poor woman was wringing her hands in her dirty apron now. She must have realized what she was doing because then she forcefully put her hands in her lap.

"But anyway, In order to try and get to the bottom of the case faster, Bill and Merle needed to go undercover. They told me they didn't know how long they'd be gone so they..they asked me to keep the children at the saloon and..act like they were my own. It must have been hard for them to come to that conclusion even if it was just an act. I suppose it was for the best though. They didn't want the children to be put in danger should they be caught and leaving them alone wouldn't be the smartest idea either.

"So I agreed. After the first couple of weeks, the girls warmed up to me, Meryl in particular. She was always off and about in the saloon, mingling with the regulars, putting on shows. 10 year old things I guess. Rosemary..Well Rosemary was very shy, very quiet, but also very mature for her age. She had these knowing eyes, as if she could see right through you. Very responsible girl. That's what made it so hard to believe that she took to racing thomases.

"I'm rambling. Forgive me. Bill and Merle didn't tell me anything, just wrote telling how things were going, good, bad, okay, and how long they expected to be gone. I started to think they were close to solving the case because the shoot-outs and kidnappings and murders had all ceased. I know I shouldn't have let my guard down so easily but..I did. One night, maybe a year after Bill and Merle had left, I took Leo home, a drunk regular. He lived right down the road not even two buildings. I felt sorry for him. He had just lost his little girl and his wife had been shot to death out back behind their house. I got him in the house then left him to his own duties. I hadn't been gone but 8 minutes but..by the time I got back the saloon was in ruins and..Rosemary and Meryl were gone. Everyone was furious with me. And why shouldn't they have been? We all loved those girls as our own and I had gone off and done something incredibly stupid.

"I never heard or saw them again, Bill and Merle either. I heard though they had been found out and hung somewhere, sad as it is. After the incident, maybe not even three days after I heard of Bill and Merle's death, the gang came back through town and massacred everyone. Only 7 survived, myself included." At the end, Molly dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief Millie had offered her. The blonde had tears of her own.

"That's awful."

"And you're sure that the Meryl upstairs is your Meryl?" Wolfwood asked, breaking the mood. Vash had to admit he had a point. Although by this time Vash was also certain Meryl was the Meryl Molly knew. Not only had there been his dream and the photograph, there were pictures all over the house of the two girls. And the little one looked remarkably like Meryl..

"Yes. I....I know." Vash narrowed his eyes. Molly had hesitated as she spoke. It almost seemed as if she were hiding something. Determined to find out what, he opened his mouth to speak when suddenly a scream pierced the silent night.

"ROSEMARY!!!!!"

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She stared down at the crystal goblet in her hands, sashaying the red liquid around it's bottom before bringing it to her lips. The bittersweet liquid raced down her throat, setting her esophogaus on fire. Just how she liked it.

The room was old and dusty with cobwebs hanging from every corner. The furniture was decaying. Even the couch she perched herself on was tattered and it's stuffing was poking out in certain places.

She fingered one puff of the white material before ripping it out and throwing it on the floor.

"Look at this, this pitiful place. It's an absolutely disgrace, that's what it is! Grandfather would be outraged to know I call this place home!" She dragged a pale hand through her ivory hair, untucking it from over her shoulder and letting it's length wash over her back.

"Indeed he would. No Songbird should ever have to live in these conditions. But you bear it with such elegance, dear sister. Why not think of permenantly moving in?" The smooth voice slid over the empty darkness. Turning out and sneering in disgust, She threw the goblet and it's contents somewhere behind her. The resulting crach echoed throughout the room, a cold, hard noise against the smooth surface of silence.

"Shut up. What the hell do you think you're doing in here anyway?" Her voice had lost some it's earlier vehemence. She rose from the old couch, a delicate robe made of red silk draped over her equally delicate figure.

"I've come to talk to you, Ebony. My little rats have brought back news."

"What news?" She forced herself to sound uninterested though it probably wouldn't work. It was so difficult having a twin.

A man with pure, ivory hair but youthful blue eyes stepped out from the shadows. Dressed in a simple plum robe and pinstriped pajama pants, He looked the part of a young bachelor. But the smirk on his face made the earlier assumption void.

"News of our little rabbit."

"Oh?" The woman turned, her own blue eyes flashing in the moonlight.

"The rats tell me she's come back to the rabbit hole."