In A Prison Of Lies

By Princess Alexandria

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http://pub17.ezboard.com/fgargoylesxfrm5

Day 6 – Wednesday – August 20^th

Trini studied her mate's face. It was obvious to her that this bothered her. Angela had finally come to visit, after turning Demona down, and it was because Angela didn't approve of her lover. Trini knew that Demona had wanted to see her daughter for a long time, but this was going to hurt her.

Angela glared over at Trini, irritated with her presence. Trini realized that her staying would just make this even harder. She didn't want Demona to feel like she had to defend Trini from Angela's comments. "I'll go make a snack?" Trini spoke quietly.

Demona smiled softly at Trini with appreciation. Leaving was the right choice. Demona then turned her attention to her daughter. Trini didn't wait until Angela verified she was staying, she marched out of the bedroom quickly, and didn't see Angela staring after her.

She did, however stop just a little down the hall to eavesdrop for a moment when she heard Demona speak so lovingly. "Angela, I'm glad that you are finally visiting me, but if you hope to change my mind you can't." Trini took a deep breath and continued down to the kitchen.

"You told me you were joining with Marie." Angela snapped out not as quietly. "You lied to me!"

"Well, I couldn't very well tell you the truth." Demona's voice was rising as well, and Trini found herself stopping at the end of the hall rather than proceeding to the stairs. "Things with Trini are complicated." Demona's voice started to calm down and Trini wanted to stay and listen, but she continued down the stairs. She didn't want to invade Demona's privacy with her daughter, or more accurately she didn’t want Demona to feel like her privacy had been invaded. Trini desperately wanted to hear this conversation.

The carrots and celery gave her something to concentrate on. She couldn't hear anything from here, and was a bit embarrassed that she'd left the stereo off so that she would if things got loud upstairs. Her need to protect her mate was warring with her understanding that it wasn't her place this time.

The pile of sliced vegetables grew slowly, because Trini wasn't rushing. She wasn't taking this back upstairs. Demona would bring Angela downstairs if she was actually going to stay for a visit. Trini doubted that the female would stay, so she fully expected to be eating lots of carrots and celery tomorrow.

The sound of the gargoyles coming down the stairs made Trini tense up. Apparently she was wrong. Angela was staying. Trini took the carrots and celery out of the Tupperware she'd been putting them in and laid them out on the plate. She set that on the kitchen island and moved to get some sort of dressing for it.

"I'm not going to yell." Trini whispered to herself. Demona needed a connection to her daughter, and if Trini had to swallow her pride, or take verbal abuse she would just suck it up and take it. Demona loved her. She didn't need to rise to the bait. There wasn't anything that Angela could say that would make Demona leave Trini. She continued her internal pep talk as she finished preparing the snack. She could hear Demona giving Angela a tour of the mansion. That was either to show off or give Trini time to prepare.

Trini sat down quietly at the island. She didn't bother snacking, because they were noisy foods and would make it hard for her to eavesdrop. Angela and Demona were talking in the living room. No voices were rising, which was a good sign. Trini knew that Angela's willingness to visit now that the clan knew where the mansion was could be the break Demona had been hoping for. She knew that Demona had to play this carefully to not alienate her only child, and she didn't want to ruin it for her lover. Angela didn't really hate Trini, she just didn't understand. It wasn't hopeless. Maybe Trini would be able to salvage this friendship. Angela knew her mother wasn't a monster. She was willing to forgive the past, so maybe she'd be open minded enough to forgive Trini's.

"You have a beautiful home mother." Angela was speaking softly. Demona had managed to calm her daughter's anger a little before bringing her downstairs, but Trini was worried that when Angela saw her it would ruin that. She felt a strong urge to slip out the dining room and up the stairs out of sight. She might have, but she knew that Demona considered that running and would not be happy with her cowardice.

"Thank you." Demona answered and Trini could hear they were getting closer. She took a deep breath and prepared to play hostess. She felt like a nervous wreck. She didn't want Angela to humiliate her in front of her mate.

Demona followed Angela into the kitchen and Trini could see the love and pride in her lover's eyes when she looked at her daughter. She looked at Angela like Goliath did when he was talking about books with the female. Trini stared down at the vegetables, feeling like she'd rather leave. The wave of jealousy didn't make her feel very proud of herself.

Angela's eyes traveled over Trini and then Trini noticed the stare landed on Trini's new wings. Trini tensed up waiting for the stinging comments that she suddenly felt were going to come her way. She could imagine them easily.

"Trini." Angela's voice was still cold, but it sounded less arctic than it had last night, or when Angela had found Trini and Demona gliding. Trini turned her eyes to Demona, not really sure what she should do now. It was obvious that Angela was barely tolerating her presence.

"I may have made too many carrots." Trini stared down at the plate, trying to make very light conversation that wouldn't start a war. Her fists were clenched under the island counter as she tried to keep her own anger in check.

Demona smiled tenderly at Trini, but she didn't see that because she was staring at the carrots she'd just mentioned. The gargoyle walked up behind her and moved her hands underneath Trini's caped wings to rub Trini's shoulders. "Thank you." Trini allowed Demona to pull her back into the gargoyle's body for a hug from behind. She couldn't feel much through the artificial wings, but the way Demona was not hiding their intimacy to make Angela feel more comfortable reassured Trini, when Trini didn't even realize she needed reassurance. Trini didn’t look up to see how that was received, or she would have seen the quickly covered look of surprise on Angela's face. "I love you." Demona whispered in Trini's ear before letting her go and moving to sit down at the island, while waving Angela towards another seat.

Demona was trying to keep Trini in the conversation, and Trini felt bad for her mate. It was a hard job since Angela was obviously not interested in talking with Trini, and Trini was staying silent to try and keep herself from saying all the things that she was thinking about how their relationship was none of Angela's business. That Angela didn't have the right to come into Trini's home and act like Trini was the invader. That's how Trini felt, she felt like the invader in this family tension. She didn't want to be the reason Angela left the mansion or didn't visit her mother again, but she was so tired of not feeling safe and comfortable in her own homes. The continued glares when Demona didn't seem to be looking were getting on Trini's nerves and she was starting to fantasize that she could kick the young female out of the house.

"Angela, the Breeders moon is coming up." Demona reached out to take Angela's hand. "I'd like it if you came to me with your questions. I'll help you any way that I can. I also know of some potions that will ease the delivery of your egg."

Trini noticed Angela flinch at the mention of the Breeder's moon at the same time that Angela avoided looking at Trini at all. Trini sighed quietly, knowing that Angela was having trouble with the idea that Demona had already flown Trini. It was obviously something that Angela didn't want to think about.

Trini reached under the counter to rest her hand on Demona's knee. "Honey, I'm going to get ready for bed." She didn't want to make this conversation any more awkward than it already was. She was not able to fight back the blush that covered her face when Demona brought up the Breeders moon. It was an infinitely personal thing, and knowing her mate she was going to be very forthright with the information she planned to share with Angela. Trini just wasn't up to the embarrassment.

"Oh, Alright." Demona turned to look at Trini briefly and nodded. Trini gave a weak wave to Angela and left, managing to not run even though she wanted to.

Trini was very tired, but she didn't think she'd be able to sleep with Angela in the house. She just didn't feel comfortable with that, so she walked past the stairs to find her purse on the entryway table. She'd picked up some paint chips from a hardware store that morning and if she could pick the color of her office walls she could get the paint and have the room ready before the furniture arrived.

"Mother, she's acting with you." Angela spoke quickly. "That isn't at all what Trini is like. She's pretending to be something she isn't just to hold you!" Trini stopped her digging through her purse for a moment before starting again to try and find all the paint chips she'd tucked into it. Angela's voice became more pleading. "Mother, she's far more conniving than you realize. She's a liar and a thief. I don't want to see you hurt again. She's up to something." Trini stood completely still as Angela's words became more angry. "It can't be a coincidence that she's sleeping with two of the richest females in the city."

"She isn't after money." Demona's voice held a note of a growl. "She isn't trying to use me. Trini loves me."

"You're blind when it comes to mates mother." Angela's voice was a bit flat. "Or did you forget Thailog?"

"How dare you…" Demona growled. "She is nothing like that bastard. I know exactly how much she loves me. I've seen the evidence of her love so many times. I did not make a mistake choosing her."

"Yes, the difference is that Trini lets you know she's cheating on you. That's such an improvement!" Trini flinched at that and stopped looking for anything in the purse as she stood still and tried to remain completely silent. She felt a wave of embarrassed pain. Trini's relationship with Fox was making Demona look like a fool to her daughter. How many of the clan would see it that way? Would they taunt Demona about only having a half time lover? "You deserve so much better mother. You don't need to settle for this." Angela spoke gently, and Trini felt tears come to her eyes. Demona did deserve better. She didn't deserve to be ridiculed for loving Trini.

"Angela." Demona had calmed down from the beginnings of her rant. That was actually showing a lot of self control from her, because the way her voice had been rising, Trini was sure that it would continue to get louder. "I appreciate your concern. You are welcome to visit. I want to see you more often, but don't talk about my mate like this. I may have believed at one time that Thailog or your Father would stand by my side no matter what, and I was wrong on both counts, but I've seen her do it. Trini has proven herself to me. She has nothing left to prove."

"How has she proven herself? How can you trust her when she's cheating on you every other night?!" Angela's voice was rising to the point that Trini didn't even need her enhanced hearing to listen. "Dammit, mother… you can do better. You deserve so much better than this!"

Trini stared down at the triple rings on her finger and caressed the one connected to her gargoyle mate. It was so hard to not march into that kitchen to defend Demona from Angela's comments. "Trini is the best thing to happen to me in a long time." Demona's words were clipped. "She's my mate and I love her. While I appreciate your concern, I want you to stop insulting her in OUR home."

"Just tell me how you know she isn't going to stab you in the back like Thailog did? How can you trust her when she is so…"

"She just isn't going to do that." Trini could practically feel her mate's frustration in the way her voice trembled just a little. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I know that Trini is loyal where it counts. That will have to be enough for you."

"She's telling the clan that she's spying on you."

"I know. She is." Trini could hear the conversation calming down a little, and decided sneaking away now would be better than being caught standing in the entryway if the gargoyles decided to leave the kitchen. She thought she could hear one of them moving around in the kitchen.

She'd have plenty of time to spend alone while Demona and Angela talked. Trini picked out the colors for her office, resisting the desire to go with some blue because it didn't really go with the rest of the house. It was still going to look good and should highlight the painting Andrea gave her quite well. She removed her wings and placed them in the closet in her office, but then just stared at them for a while.

Trini reached out to rest her hand on the wing finger before sliding it over the wing. The metal was smooth and still warm from her body. Gliding tonight had felt so amazing. Trini willed herself to focus on the more pleasant memory. She was able to do what all those bullies in school couldn't. She was able to do what the clan took for granted. Twenty years after that was supposedly taken away from her forever she was finally gliding. Her mates gave that to her. Trini closed the closet door gently. There was really no way to pay them back for giving Trini a piece of her soul back.

She dumped the paint chips she didn't plan to use and took the others with her when she left the office. She almost locked the bedroom door when she went in, but then realized that if Angela planned to leave, she'd probably go out the balcony door. The drop from this side of the house was higher and would be better for taking off. She pulled pajamas out of the drawer and left the bedroom door wide open while locking the bathroom door. She had to play with the lock a little to figure it out, since she never used it before. She wanted to make sure it worked. It would be too embarrassing to have her lover's daughter walk in on her.

The long hot shower helped to ease her tension, but Trini was really hoping that Angela was gone before she got out of it. She didn’t feel comfortable falling asleep, when she knew that the female would probably go through their bedroom to the balcony on her way out. When she came out of the bathroom and didn't see Demona, she knew that Angela was still in the house. Damn. She hated wearing the pajamas, because she'd gotten used to sleeping naked, but she didn't want to be naked with someone else walking through her bedroom. It took her a while to get used to being naked in front of Demona and Fox. She still sometimes got shy about it. She wasn't ready to risk Angela seeing her.

The door to her room opened an hour after Trini fell asleep. She just groaned quietly at the creaking door and rolled onto her side. She didn't wake up as the lavender female stood quietly in the doorway staring at her with an expression of irritation on her face.

"Angela, here's the transmitter I was talking about." Demona spoke softly as she walked into the bedroom and handed a small device to her daughter. She spared a moment to just stare at the sleeping woman in the bed and a smile tugged at her lips as Trini seemed to smile in her sleep when she heard Demona's voice.

"I'll try to visit when I can." Angela spoke softly as she started to walk towards the balcony door. She obviously stopped herself from saying more as she stared at Trini before opening the door and stepping out.

Demona came back in after Angela glided away and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "You don't normally sleep this soundly." Demona spoke quietly while she reached out to caress Trini's hair. "Well, you did get Angela to come and see me, just not the way you had hoped."

The island looked as bleak as it ever did. Trini stared at if from the normal entry place to the dream realm. The voice behind her startled her. "Finally sleeping I see. Did you skip sleeping to avoid me, or was it just that you don't feel safe in that castle anymore?" Trini turned and was surprised to see the captain smirking at her in her typical arrogant way. "Thanks for the boat. I decided that I'd come to you this time." The captain glanced around as if checking out someone's home for the first time. Trini stood rooted to the spot she was standing until the captain leaned against a large boulder and started to talk again. Trini moved to stand closer to her at that point. "The sisters are still laying low. Whatever they are up to is taking up time that they could sit in here and teach us to blast boulders into pebbles."

"Have they seen you?" Trini stared at her double, and all the things that she didn't like about her were painfully clear as she realized how embarrassed she'd be if the sisters saw this vicious female.

The captain's eyes burned red. "Don't worry, those sluts never travel to the island." The captain's angry glare didn't ease as she stared into Trini's eyes. "You can still hold you head up high at the family get togethers. They don't know how screwed up you are." The captain pushed herself off the boulder energetically while her voice grew louder with faked enthusiasm. "Speaking of family get togethers. Angela sure is quick to visit her mother now. You know why don't you? She's working on driving a wedge between you and Demona." The captain's look of fake sympathy made Trini almost growl. "If anyone can get Demona to leave someone that she loves, it would be Angela. Perhaps it's too soon to start painting walls at the mansion. You might not be staying. You did keep the receipt for the furniture right?"

"My mate wouldn't kick me out just because Angela doesn't like me." Trini glared back at the captain.

"Yeah, tell yourself that you believe that, but if you really did you wouldn't have been so snoopy tonight. You're worried and you should be. Angela all the family that Demona has, and she's very mortal. Demona knows that if she wants to be a part of her daughter's life, she can't waste time… but you have all the time in the world." Trini clenched her fists and stared out at the island that she really wished her double was sitting on now.

"I'm too tired for your painful jabs today. Please, just stop it." Trini spoke quietly while using her arms to hug her body, trying to keep the cold air at bay. The captain looked at Trini sharply before a predatory grin was aimed at her. Trini grimaced, wondering why she'd even bothered asking for a little mercy from this one. It would probably only make it worse.

"Well if you don’t want to talk, I'm sure we can find something else to do." The captain called over her shoulder as she marched towards the city that Trini grew up in. Trini was forced to walk quickly to catch up with the captain, both leery and curious about what the captain wanted to do.

Trini groaned as consciousness came back to her. She was surprised when she looked towards the dresser to see Domi doing her hair. She'd slept through her lover's change. "Did you sleep at all?" Trini croaked out, her voice still heavy with sleep.

"Yes, you were just too tired to notice me."

Trini rubbed her eyes at that. "M, sorry." She mumbled.

Domi turned to stare at her. "Fox and I didn't see you in the dream realm. Where were you?"

Trini stared at Domi a little blankly. "Trini? Are you sleeping with your eyes open now?" Domi stopped brushing her hair and stood up to come to the bed. Trini blinked a few times, pulling herself out of the memories of the night she'd spent talking with the captain. She was still so tired, she might have been falling asleep.

Trini moved to sit up, hoping that would keep her awake for a little while. She wanted to be awake enough to talk to her mate.

"Where were you last night? I know you were asleep, but we didn’t see you."

"I went into Seattle." Trini stared down at her rings and started to spin the single one. "I was surprised you didn't show up. You showed up next to me when I was in the castle."

Domi studied Trini. "You left Marie out again. We spent the night with her." Trini stopped playing with her ring when Domi's hand moved to rest on top of it, stopping her. She looked up into searching eyes. "Why did you try to keep us away?"

Trini started to open her mouth to say that she hadn't been trying to do that, but she remembered her relief that her mates weren't seeing what the captain was showing her. "I just needed to see some things." Trini sighed heavily. "I love you, but I don’t want to have to always share everything."

"As long as you're alright." Domi reached over to the alarm radio and turned the volume up. "When this goes off it should be able to wake you, no matter how tired you are. I'd give you the day off, but you just started back. There would be too much talk. Get some more sleep, you look like you're about to pass out."

"Is everything okay with Angela?" Trini asked rather than laying back down.

Domi went quiet as she moved to caress Trini's hair. "She wants to visit more. I told her she could."

"Well, that's good." Trini smiled at her lover, but she could see that Domi was still troubled. Trini swallowed. "I'm sorry."

The confused look that Domi gave Trini let her know that Domi didn't know what she was apologizing for. "I'm sorry that our relationship makes you look bad." Trini couldn't help but think that their relationship made it look like Domi had truly just settled for the first person that seemed interested. It's what Angela must be thinking.

"Don't worry about things like that." Domi pulled Trini into a hug. Trini hide her grimace at Domi's subtle agreement that it was making her seem like a fool with Angela.

After the workday was over Trini was reluctant to leave. She just stared out her office window towards the castle and found herself trying to figure out how long she had until sunset. Normally she'd be eager to see Fox at this time, but Fox came with a house full of people that hated Trini or saw ways that they could use Trini. She sighed heavily and grabbed her purse, said goodnight to her mate and left. She hated that she'd even briefly considered not going home to Fox because of the others. She could endure a hell of a lot to be in Fox's arms.

Trini was sitting on the floor in front of Fox's reclined body on the couch so that she had access to a table and could still be close to her lover. Trini was quietly working on the journaling that the counselor had asked her to do on a regular basis. She was supposed to write about anything real and personal that she wanted to, but she had to pay attention to how she felt, and what she did. Basically the counselor wanted the captain to write this stuff, Trini thought with a grimace as she was forced to re-examine pieces of her past the way that the captain made her do it. Trini hadn't really mentioned the existence of the captain to Vicky. She knew she'd sound insane if she did. Trini liked to believe that her magic was partially responsible for her new night-time visitor and that she wasn't truly insane.

"Fox?" Trini put the journal down on the coffee table and turned to look at Fox. One glance from Trini and Fox hit mute on the television. Trini swallowed a little nervously. "Should I tell Vicky about the captain?"

Fox went quiet for a moment while she considered it. "If you think you need to, you should. You would need to explain a bit about magic to her though" Trini just nodded at that. She wasn't sure she was comfortable telling the human about her powers. She just wasn't sure she could trust Vicky to take it well, or to not betray her for her power. "Have you seen the captain lately?" Fox moved to sit up and patted the couch for Trini to sit next to her. Trini felt her cheeks start to blush at the memory of how the captain had taken her on Trini's Breeder's moon before Demona had a chance to. Trini sat facing Fox on the couch.

"I've seen her a few times." Trini admitted and then quietly proceeded to tell Fox about the visit to the island during her stone sleep. Her skin flushed in shame, but she needed to know what Fox thought about her indiscretions with her double. It couldn't be called cheating, and it wasn't incest, but something felt wrong about it. She also started to tell Fox the details about what had happened in the captain's cabin.

When Trini looked up after having addressed most of this confession to her feet she wasn't able to tell what Fox was thinking. She pushed out her magic and got a confused wave of concern and arousal from her mate.

"Would you like me to be more dominant?" Fox asked while caressing Trini's ankle with her own foot softly. "Is that why she is, because you aren't getting that at home?"

Trini blushed. "I don't think that's why she does that." She started to nibble on her lip as the fantasy of Fox doing those things to her distracted her from her confessions.

Fox moved to crawl over Trini and stare down into her eyes while resting her body's weight on the hands resting against the couch's arm on either side of Trini. "I'm sure that I could find chain strong enough to hold you down. I could make you completely vulnerable to my touch." Fox moved closer and Trini whimpered with arousal when her lover rubbed against her. "I could take you to the edge so many times that you squirm helplessly, straining to pull free of your bonds and achieve release, and I'll still deny you that pleasure." Fox's lips were mere inches from Trini's. "I do have strong enough chains. We could do that tonight."

"Can't. I need to be able to protect myself." Trini felt a wave of disappointment. "Maybe in the morning?"

Fox leaned back and the seductive teasing glint to her eyes was gone. "You don't feel safe here." She stated flatly. It was clear that Trini had upset her with that unthinking comment.

Trini didn't know what to say. It was true. When the gargoyles were awake, Trini didn't really feel safe. "I'm sorry." She spoke quietly, feeling guilty for feeling the way she did. Fox crawled off of her and Trini started to miss the closeness. She stared into Fox's eyes wondering if she'd angered her lover, but Fox looked more concerned than anything else.

Trini hesitantly started to write in her journal some more since Fox was quietly staring at the T.V. Trini could tell that Fox wasn't really seeing it. The redhead was deep in thought.

As it became closer to sunset Trini could actually feel herself getting tenser. "We should go spar." Fox spoke shortly after moving to caress Trini's shoulders. "How about you change into something we can fight in?" Fox smiled at Trini when Trini got up to change. Sparring sounded like a good idea.

Her face became troubled as she worried that she might miss Delilah. Maybe her friend was ready to talk to her again. "Well, I can't wait in my room all night on the off chance she'll be ready." Trini muttered quietly as she got dressed. She would only be in the gym for a while. If Delilah really wanted her, she would be able to find her. Delilah knew she sparred with Fox, she knew Trini's cell phone number too. It would look odd to take the cell with her downstairs, but Trini tucked it into her pocket anyhow in the hopes that she'd get a second chance.

No one called her during the two hours that she worked out with Fox. Trini found her concentration wasn't that good and Fox managed to land several punches that should have never got past Trini's defenses. She could tell that Fox wasn't even trying that hard. Trini was just too preoccupied.

"Are you still practicing with Demona?" Fox asked as they stepped into the elevator. Trini could hear the real question. How the hell was Trini getting worse rather than better at sparring?

"I…" Trini sighed. "I thought maybe she'd call, or try to find me." Trini stared at the floor readout, "She didn’t. God, what if she never forgives me?"

Trini could feel Fox pulling on her shoulder to make her turn around. It was a gentle touch, but the intention was clear, so Trini turned to face her lover. The gentle blue eyes that stared back at her held sympathy. "Delilah's not going to abandon you." Trini gave a weak smile to her lover to acknowledge the kind words, but she wasn't so sure that Fox wasn't wrong.

When they walked past the library, Trini found herself looking in. Elisa was talking quietly with an upset looking Goliath in the corner. Trini clenched her fist and tore her eyes away. Elisa had done it. Trini's steps became more mechanical as she walked away from the library and the one human that she'd trusted more than any other. Demona warned her. Trini sighed and continued to stare ahead. She didn't notice Fox's glance at the heavy sigh.

Fox left to read to Alexander before he went to bed. That boy had a pretty late bedtime. Probably had something to do with his living with gargoyles. Trini sat at the kitchen table and quietly ate her orange. She hadn't even bothered to turn the lights on, since she could see well enough.

The sudden brightness surprised her and she turned towards the light switch to see a surprised look on Delilah's face. It was obvious that the gargoyle didn't realize Trini was in there. "Delilah?" Trini spoke quietly, a note of hope in her voice.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you." Delilah said with no hint of the caring she normally had in her voice. "The clan thinks you will try to mess with my mind."

Trini swallowed hard at the hostility. "I wouldn't try that." Trini stared into her friend's eyes. "I miss you."

Delilah stared at her and Trini felt like the gargoyle was staring through her. The noise of someone else coming down the hall had them both turning towards the doorway. Before Trini could say anything else Delilah turned to look at her, and Trini found she couldn't speak. The naked pain on Delilah's face shook her to the core. Delilah slipped out quietly, obviously concerned about being caught in the same room with Trini.

"Delilah, there you are." Angela's voice carried down the hall easily. "I was worried that she'd found you."

Delilah's voice was much quieter, but Trini gasped quietly in shock at the words. "Don't worry. I know who my real clan is now." Trini had never felt so rejected. It was a struggle to keep herself from running away from them, but the only way to get further away was to go past them first. She sat quietly and listened to Angela's tirade against Trini disguised as concern for Delilah, before the two left.

She continued to sit in the room, not even trying to eat her snack as she listened to the silence of the halls. She finally got up and dumped her orange. She'd lost her appetite.

She found herself moving more quietly than normal, because she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She wasn't feeling like dealing with the hostility and distrust tonight. When she was almost to the door to her rooms, Trini thought she heard someone moving around inside. Her heart started to beat faster and a hopeful feeling filled her chest.

The door opened quietly and Trini made sure to lock it this time so that they wouldn't be interrupted. She could hear the sound of pages flipping and figured that Delilah was glancing at a magazine while she waited. She had her mouth open to thank Delilah for coming, for giving her a chance, when she froze and stared at a gargoyle that was most definitely not welcome in her home. The red male hadn't seen her and Trini watched is horror as he flipped through her journals full of writing ideas. He tossed that one on the table and reached for the next. Trini saw it wasn't a writing journal, it was the one she had just started for counseling.

"What the hell are you doing in here?!" Trini growled loudly her eyes blazing as she took a menacing step into her living room. The journals she'd spent years keeping were tossed onto the table like garbage. Her appearance stopped his reaching out for that last journal, the one with her personal feelings, her doubts, her pain. If she hadn't come back when she did her heart would have been laid bare for this bastard to see. It made her feel violated.

He turned to look at her, his own eyes blazing. "You're hiding things. I won't let you betray the clan, I'll find it, whatever it is!" Then he had the nerve to start to reach for the journal as if she weren't there. Trini growled and moved forward without any thought, kicking him as hard as she could in his side. The force of that slammed him into the bookcase. Shelves fell and the books and binders toppled to the ground.

"You Bitch!" Brooklyn growled as he spun around, looking ready to attack. Trini's heart was hammering as she realized that as a full gargoyle he'd be stronger, but she didn't back down. An angry scream echoed off the walls and she released her anger, her sense of betrayal, and her pain on the male unlucky enough to be the last straw.