In A Prison Of Lies

By Princess Alexandria

Reviews can be posted at:
http://pub17.ezboard.com/fgargoylesxfrm5

Day 7 – Thursday – August 21st

Trini changed her hands to talons and slashed out at his shoulder, intending to make him bleed painfully for violating her home, her privacy, her only sanctuary in this damned castle. He shifted his body causing her to slice nothing but air. She shrieked in outrage, a sound so filled with anger it easily rivaled her gargoyle mates as she moved to kick him again, but he blocked her leg and tossed her away from him. She slammed into the entertainment center and the sound of breaking class barely registered in her mind as her elbow went through the screen of the television.

She got back up ignoring the steady warm stream of blood dripping down her arm. She wanted him out of here now! Her eyes were burning so brightly that everything looked deep red to her. He was crouching down his talons out, ready for battle. His mouth was moving, but she didn't hear his words. "You can't fight me. This is ridiculous, just stop it." Trini took no time to register that as she threw herself at him again.

She slashed at his beak, while at the same time ripping her tail free of her pants. He leaned back to avoid getting sliced and Trini wrapped her tail around his leg, pulling on it hard. It jarred at her spine to use her tail like this, but he fell backwards into the stereo and lost his footing. "Bastard!" She growled as the used his distraction so slice four cuts into his chest. Her hands continued their momentum, splashing his blood on her white walls while he was screaming in pain.

She was ready to kick him again when his foot shot out and connected solidly with her chest, sending her back to land heavily on the coffee table gasping in pain as the coffee table collapsed underneath her. Her chest felt like it was on fire with pain, and she realized that he'd managed to break some bones. She tried to get up but screamed in pain and laid back down gasping.

A loud crash echoed in the room as the door was broken down and Goliath came in with his eyes blazing, with Fox right behind him. Trini growled and pointed at where she was pretty sure Brooklyn was still laying. "Get that bastard out of my home!" She demanded loudly and then started to cough, each shake of her body sending pain through her injured chest. She didn't see the blood on her lips after that, but Fox's eyes widened and she moved around the large male frozen looking at the scene to kneel by her side.

"Trini, your hurt. Don’t try to move." Fox spoke calmly but her blue eyes were like ice when she turned to look at Brooklyn. He was obviously in pain as he groaned and got to his feet. He was bent over a little and held his hand to the bleeding cuts on his chest while tilted a little to the side, favoring some ribs.

"You need to get to the medical lab." Goliath told him with no hint of anger, and Trini glared at the clan's leader. Brooklyn had been in her home, going through her things, and Goliath didn't even do anything about it!

"Take him, and tell Dr. Marsh I need her up here now!" Fox's voice made it clear that it was an order, and Goliath finally took a good look at Trini.

"Why did you attack him?" Goliath's voice was cold as he stared at Trini, but his eyes stopped glowing when he finally got a good look at her. She ignored him and just stared at the ceiling while taking shallow breaths, because those hurt less.

Once Goliath helped Brooklyn out of the room Fox tenderly brushed Trini's hair out of her eyes. "Karen is going to come up here soon. I think you have some broken ribs, and I don't want to risk moving you."

Trini smiled weakly at her lover's tender caresses. "It hurts, but it won't kill me." She whispered to try and reassure Fox.

"What was he…" Fox started angrily, but then just stopped and sighed. "We can talk after you heal." They sat in silence, while Trini did her best to not appear to be in any pain. She could feel that this was more than just some broken bones, but she didn't want to worry Fox with that. Her fey lover seemed to still doubt Trini's immortality whenever Trini got hurt.

When the doctor got there, Trini felt herself tense up and winced in pain when that moved her broken bones. She forced herself to try and relax as the woman examined her and then called downstairs for a stretcher, because Trini wasn't going to be able to walk herself down to the medlab. Trini almost asked Fox to make sure that Delilah didn't see this, thinking it might upset her friend, but then she remembered those cold words Delilah shared in the hallway with Angela. Delilah wouldn't care.

Trini clenched her jaw and barely managed to not scream when the men moved her onto the stretcher for transport. Her body shook with the effort to seem strong, but when the pain receded a little she was proud of her ability to still do that. She couldn't let the doctor's know how much they hurt her, or they'd do it again. She started to get lost in the memories of the experiments with her pain threshold, and the punishments that she received if she screamed. It was only Fox's soothing magical touch that kept her from trying to get away from the men dressed in hospital clothes when the past started to haunt her.

"I was just in there seeing if she had anything that Demona might have asked her to use on us. I was looking through her notebooks looking for spells, or plans, when she came in." Brooklyn was talking quickly and loudly in his own defense. Trini could hear him as she was wheeled out of the elevator. "She completely lost it! She attacked me twice and I finally had to hit her to get her away from me after she cut me up. I swear I didn't hit her that hard. I didn't mean to hurt her that badly."

Trini grimaced as the doctor started to take her in the direction of the loud conversation. She didn’t want to see them, and she didn't want them to see her this helpless. It was humiliating to be beaten so easily. All of her battle training had abandoned her in her anger and she'd just reacted rather than thinking her moves out like she was supposed to.

"I know." Goliath's voice was harder to hear, but Trini strained to listen. She fully expected to hear his approval of Brooklyn's violating her home. "Her bones aren't like ours. I remember how easily they broke. She probably inherited human bones."

Her stretcher was wheeled into the room and the two males stopped talking abruptly. Trini looked away from them and into Fox's eyes pleadingly. It was bad enough she had to be here, she didn't want them here as well.

"Brooklyn, are you patched up?" Fox's voice was cold as she glared at him. He nodded and got off the table. "Then get out. Both of you get out."

The red male had the nerve to walk closer and Trini ignored the pain as she tensed up, getting ready for another battle. "I didn't mean to hurt you like this." His apology was a bit of a surprise, but Trini just stared at him while she struggle to maintain the shallow breaths that helped reduce her pain.

When it became obvious he was waiting for some sort of forgiveness, Trini's eyes flashed in anger. Her voice was weak, "Stay out of my room, or I'll get off this fucking table and…" She growled even though the vibration in her chest hurt. Goliath guided him out of the room, but Trini didn't miss the suspicious gleam in his eyes. He would go back.

"Fox…" Trini wanted her lover to stay and protect her, but she also didn't want him finding her journal. "He's going back." Tears of helplessness started to fall down her face. "My room… I don't want him there." She cursed the pain killer that Karen had started in an IV when she realized she couldn't get up to go after him. Her mind was getting fuzzy, but she needed to be able to think. She turned to the doctor. "Take it out. I have to stay awake. It isn't safe… take it out."

"We need to operate Trini." Karen spoke soothingly. "Your ribs can't heal in that position."

"Wait…" Trini blinked her eyes fighting the anesthetic, "until daylight. It'll be safe then. I can just wait. I need to stop them. They're in my room. I have to protect it, it's the only safe place." Trini started to cry as the effort of fighting the drugs became harder. "I have to stop them." Fox moved to rest her hand over Trini's, so Trini turned to stare into her lover's eyes. The drugs were winning and her head lolled to the side. "Trini loves you Fox." Her voice was raspy and her eyes unfocused as she looked towards the red blur of her lover's hair. Her head fell to the side and her eyes closed. "Can't fall asleep here Trini, I need to protect you. Get up." Trini mumbled before she finally lost consciousness. Fox just stared at her with her mouth hanging open for a moment. It also took the doctor a moment before she was able to start ordering the things she needed to operate.

"The drugs do strange things to people." Karen explained quietly to Fox. "I need to take her into the O.R."

"Of course." Fox spoke distractedly and then caressed Trini's arm before stepping back. "Make sure to call me as soon as it's over. If she comes to without me here, she'll be terrified." Fox turned and marched out of the room with a definite purpose to her stride.

Trini's mouth was dry. That was the first thing she noticed as consciousness slowly crept up on her. She opened her eyes and immediately saw Fox sitting beside her bed. Huh? Where was she? Trini glanced around the room and noticed the IV, and some medical equipment. That's when she remembered how she got here.

"I've got the rooms protected." Fox spoke gently while petting Trini's hand. Trini turned to look at her lover. She didn't know what to say. Brooklyn's invasion had just made her so unbelievably mad, but the fight destroyed so much of what Fox had bought for her. It also ensured that she'd never be trusted by the clan.

The door opened and Karen came in. Trini noticed the woman seemed preoccupied. "Hey Trini. How are you feeling? Any pain?"

Trini took a mental inventory of her body, but only a slight twinge in her chest was uncomfortable. "I'm fine." Karen walked around to the opposite side of the bed that Fox was on and put her chart down on the table while giving Trini a rather serious look.

"That's good." Karen just stared at Trini a little too long, and it made Trini uncomfortable. "I took you in for surgery to try and set your ribs. It wasn't easy, since your body kept healing on me too quickly, but your bones are all where they should be now." Trini slowly, hesitantly moved her hand over her chest and felt the bandages. It gave her a sick feeling to think that someone had been poking around inside her body like that. "I didn't have any blood that I could use for you, because you aren't a match for anything on the shelf." Karen sat down in the chair. "How much do you know about your body?"

Trini really didn't feel comfortable with a doctor asking questions like this. Karen studied Trini's suddenly impassive face. "I just ask because treating you is hard when I don’t know what I'm looking at."

Trini couldn't take a deep breath, because of the bandages wrapped around her chest. "I… I can't." She stammered out nervously. "You don’t need to treat anything but broken bones. I just can't…"

"It's okay Trini." Karen sighed. "I stopped the pain killers, and I'm going to guess that in little while you'll be well enough to go back home. Just let me look at you before you go." The doctor got up and left, but Trini could hear the woman muttering to herself quietly before getting completely out the door. "I wish I could get my hands on that bastard that made you so nervous around doctors."

Fox's sigh drew Trini's attention away from the door that Karen went out. "Trini, what happened?" Trini could feel her mate's confusion, concern, and disapproval.

"I heard someone in my room and I thought it was Delilah." Trini stared down at the hand covering her own while her eyes teared up at the memory of Delilah's conversation with Angela. "I wanted it to be her so badly. When I got inside, he was tossing my writing journals around like garbage and… he almost had the journal I was doing for the counselor. I told him to leave and he wouldn't. He was going to see the journal. I had to stop him."

"Why didn't you just use your magic?"

Trini had to think about that. She normally used her magic first when fighting a gargoyle, but she had attacked him physically. She didn't like where her thoughts were going. She knew he would hurt her, and she'd made it easy for him to do it. "Is Delilah okay?" The clone had seen Trini being wheeled into the elevators, but Trini couldn't see around the doctor to see how her friend had taken that. She just brought it up now to try to change the subject.

"She's fine." Fox's magical touch felt a little intrusive to Trini at that point, but she didn't complain.

"She hates me." Trini clenched her jaw. "I saw her and she couldn't get away from me fast enough."

"I don't hate you." The soft voice from the doorway was unexpected. Trini glanced up to see the white haired female walking hesitantly towards her. Trini put her hand over her mouth to try and keep the sobs inside. "I was going to come to you tonight, after they stopped watching me. I'm under nearly constant surveillance right now. I didn't mean to hurt you, but if they thought that I still cared… I'd never have been able to be alone with you."

Trini reached out a hand and Delilah moved more quickly to Trini's side. Fox looked between the two and got out of her seat to give Delilah her spot. "You two need to talk." Fox rested a hand on Delilah's shoulder for a moment. "I'll cover for you with the clan." Fox gave Trini an encouraging look over Delilah's shoulder and then left them alone.

Delilah looked at Trini sternly. "I was upset when I realized how much was going on in your life that you didn't tell me about." Trini opened her mouth to apologize but one look from Delilah made her shut it again. Delilah wasn't done. "It hurt that you had such little faith in me that you couldn't tell me you'd fallen in love with Demona, or that those horrible things had happened to you. I know your not a spy like Brooklyn believes. I know you aren't trying to drag me away from the clan, because it was you that gave me this clan. They are talking about how you are trying to seduce me into working with Demona, but we both know that isn't true." Delilah's voice got softer as she finally sat down. "I believe you Trini. If you say that you never intended to betray the clan, or if you tell me that you really are spying on your mate. I believe all of that." Trini swallowed hard and watched the serious expression on Delilah's face, "because I know you are my clan. I might be a fool for believing you after I found out that you have lied to me, but…" Tears started to fill Delilah's eyes. "I love you, and if you are lying about caring about me it would hurt more than I could bear."

Trini moved to sit up and ignored the pain that let her know she hadn't healed from the surgery yet. She pulled the gargoyle into a hug and held her. "You are my best friend… I love you." Trini whispered into Delilah's snow white hair.

The sitting up to hug was hard for Trini to do so she had to let Delilah go. "There are more things that the clan doesn't know." Trini glanced around to see that the security camera's were off. She then looked into Delilah's eyes and made a decision. She had to show trust now, because their relationship might not survive another lie. "You said that you thought I was in danger when Demona took me." Trini found that she couldn't look into those innocent eyes and talk about such horrible things. "I was. Demona and I were captured by Quarrymen and taken to Canada." She paused and listened to make sure no one was around. "That was where I was raped. They made me do some horrible things." Trini could see the concern and tears starting to gather in Delilah's eyes. "When we escaped, some of them lived. We hunted them down and tortured them before they died. They were serial rapist. They were the men that raped Kelly. We found the tapes of what they did, and sent it to the police." Trini's eyes pleaded with Delilah. "My mates helped me kill them. If this gets out it would be so bad for them." She sighed. "It would be really bad for me too."

"Oh God, Trini. I'm so sorry I didn't find you. I tried so hard." Delilah's words shocked Trini.

"NO, that isn't your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself for that!" When Delilah started to cry, Trini ignored her injuries and got out of the bed to hold her. Her voice was soft. "This is why I shouldn't have told you. It isn't your fault. It's theirs, and they are all dead now." Trini started to whisper comforting things.

Shortly after Trini was able to convince Delilah that she was in no way to blame for what happened in Canada, Fox came back into the room. "Delilah, Goliath is starting to wonder where you are."

Delilah looked irritated, but then turned to Trini. "You're my friend. I should never have tried to pretend you weren't. Angela may mean well, but she's wrong. You would never hurt me like that. I'm going to tell her that."

"No, you don't have to." Trini caressed the gargoyle's hair tenderly. "As long as I know, I'm fine. They might make your life hard."

Delilah leaned over the bed to kiss Trini gently, even though Fox was in the room. "Pretending I wasn’t upset when you were hurt was hard. Pretending that the mean things that they said about you didn't hurt me was hard. This will be easy."

Trini watched Delilah walk out the door with a determined stride. She whispered to herself. "God, she's so much braver than I am." She couldn't help but think of how she'd never really had the nerve to do that with the clan for Demona or Fox until she had no other choice. Delilah was right. The pretending was harder than the truth. The young female had figured that out so much more quickly than Trini had.

After the doctor removed the stitches that Trini didn't need anymore Trini was free to go. Trini was grateful that the sun rose in the sky shortly before she left the medlab.

When Trini walked into her living room she could see that someone had taken out the broken items. The books and journals were set in neat piles in the corner, and the bookshelf was gone. The television and stereo were missing and the coffee table was gone as well, but she could see a small piece of wood that had been missed sticking out from under the couch. The place looked empty. It looked more empty than it did when Trini was moving in. She thought she saw the glitter from broken glass in the rug, and made a note to not walk around barefoot until she had to take care of that.

Fox came out of the bathroom ready for bed and Trini went into it to get ready herself, even though she doubted she'd be able to sleep. Once she was in front of the mirror she stared at the bandages around her chest. The doctor had asked her to sleep in them for tonight and to be careful during the next day, just in case the healing was done from the outside in, and the ribs were still damaged.

Trini laid in bed staring at the ceiling. She was tired, exhausted really, but she couldn't seem to sleep. Every creak she heard made her imagine that someone was breaking into her rooms. It wouldn't be hard for anyone to come in the door at that point, because Goliath had damaged it so badly it wouldn't lock, but the clan was asleep and their were no visitors in the castle at this time. She finally gave up trying to sleep around 9 am, after getting nothing more than light dozing.

By the time Fox woke up Trini had finished making a pile of things in the middle of the living room floor. She had her grandmother's box, her photo albums, her writing journals, and a few other things that she didn't want the clan to steal from her. She just needed to get a few boxes.

"What are you doing?" Fox asked as she stepped out of the bedroom to look at the stuff.

Trini sighed heavily. She was finally able to breath normally since she took the bandages off. "I'm going to take these things to Domi's."

Fox's expression was completely blank. "I see."

The way Fox said that worried Trini. "I love you, but we can't keep these rooms safe. Last night made that so abundantly clear. I don't want them to take these things away from me." Trini added the CD that she'd burned all of her writing onto before deleting it from her computer to the pile.

Fox nodded subtly. "I'll get dressed and help you carry this stuff down to your car. I want you to be careful with your ribs today."

"I feel fine."

"Just humor me." Fox stepped closer and stared into Trini's eyes for far too long. "I love you."

Fox started to walk towards the bathroom, but stopped to turn around. "How much sleep did you get last night?" Trini stared down at the ground guiltily. "That's what I thought." Fox grimaced and turned to step into the bathroom without saying another word.

Trini unloaded her things at the mansion after work, and had to explain to Domi what had happened the night before. Domi was almost ready to go attack Brooklyn for hurting Trini that badly as soon as Trini told her, and it wasn't even night yet. They found a place for all of Trini's valuables. Trini wanted to go out gliding with her mate, but she was so tired that she fell asleep before the sun even set while watching the news with Domi. Domi just stared at her in concern before getting a blanket to drape over her.

Day 8 – Friday – August 22nd

When Trini got home to the Eyrie on Friday after work, she expected to have to do a little cleaning in her rooms. When she opened the repaired door to her rooms her eyes widened as she stepped inside slowly. Fox was standing in the middle of the living room waving a metal wand along the walls, fixtures, and all the items and furniture. Her body was tense and there was a scowl on her face. "I wouldn't say anything you don't want the world to know right now." Fox spoke in an angry clip. "They bugged the room."

Trini just stared at Fox in shock. "What?"

"I don't think they've been here long." Fox's wand made a buzzing noise and she reached into the light fixture to pull out a small wire like the one that Lex had wanted Trini to plant at NightStone. "I'm betting Brooklyn put them in the night he broke in."

"Oh God." Trini was horrified. Aside from the secrets that she didn't want to share with the clan, this was a horrible violation of her and Fox's privacy as a couple. They could have made love, and it would have been recorded! Fox spent the nearly the entire hour going over every inch of the room, and they even found bugs in the bedroom.

After Fox pulled a bug out from the stereo in by the hot tub she muttered angrily, "He is seriously paranoid. Dammit, David gave them these bugs. They weren't supposed to be used against us." Fox dumped the last bug in the bag she'd been collecting them in. "I just happened to run across one a little before you came home, or I would have had them all removed already." Fox set the bag and her wand down before stepping closer to Trini. "I want you to be safe here. I want us to be able to talk freely and…" Fox looked away and glared at the bag. "We made a commitment to the clan. We're protecting them during the day and they protect us at night." Fox's eyes stared into Trini's. "We can double checking for bugs on a regular basis and I could have a security system installed in just this room, if it would make you feel better. If you think it would help you actually be able to sleep." Fox rested her hands on Trini's shoulders, "I want to do anything I can to make you feel safe."

"Maybe we could look into a security system." Trini spoke a little hesitantly. She really doubted a system could protect her from gargoyles. Fox's magical touch made Trini look up to see that her lover looked unhappy with what she found. Trini was not likely to feel safe and secure here anytime soon. The spying, invading, and attacking that had gone on in her apartment made it feel like enemy territory.

After dinner and some sparring they went to watch television in the Xanatos family living room. Trini's television hadn't been replaced yet. The closer it got to nightfall the tenser Trini got. When Alexander made a loud noise while dropping a large book on the table she actual yelped in shock because she was so high strung. The confused boy apologized for scaring her.

"David, would you watch Alexander? I need to talk with Trini." Fox spoke quietly to David, but Trini's hearing picked it up easily. With the look that Fox gave her, Trini just got up quietly and followed Fox to Trini's rooms.

As soon as they were inside that room Trini felt her tension increase. She began to worry that Fox hadn't found all the bugs. "Trini, I love you." Fox sighed and sat down on the couch, so Trini followed suit. "I think you need a vacation."

"I just started back to work. I can't take time off now."

"No," Fox reached out to hold Trini's hand gently. "I think you need a vacation from the castle. You look like you either want to fight the world or want to run and hide whenever you're home. You haven't been able to sleep in this room for days. The clan is just getting worse because they are so convinced that you are either an unwitting pawn or an enemy."

Trini started to pale considerably as she started to realize that Fox was kicking her out. The air left her lungs in shock, as she felt completely deflated. "You're kicking me out?" She never thought that Fox would leave her like this.

"NO!" Fox spoke quickly and grabbed Trini's hand more firmly. "No, I love you. I'm just saying that maybe you need a little time away from here… not from me. I would just be selfish if I made you stay here when you don't feel… safe. If we give the clan a little time to adjust, if they see that you and Demona aren't partners in crime, things will get better." Fox scooted closer and caressed Trini's hair lovingly. "Maybe just a few weeks. Long enough for you to recover a little from everything… You have enough to deal with right now and living here is just pulling you down." Fox sighed heavily and Trini noticed how upset her lover was with giving her this offer. "The captain actually took over for a little while the other night Trini. She talked to me before the drugs knocked you out." Trini paled at that. "She felt you were in enough danger that she came to protect you. Living here isn’t good for your mental health right now."

"Oh God, I'm insane." Trini gasped out and stared down in shame.

"No, Trini…" Fox reached out and pulled Trini up to look at her forcefully. "You aren't insane. The captain was magically created somehow, that is different from insanity. It's just the stress of living here that is getting to you. Maybe a little time off will help you be able to deal with it, or will give the clan a chance to calm down."

"I don’t want to ever leave you." Trini was finding breathing a little difficult and wondered if she was having a panic attack. She didn't feel safe here, and living with Domi made her feel safe, but she couldn't go weeks without Fox.

"I'll work something out so we can still see each other. I can visit you, we can go out on the weekends. It will just be for a few weeks." Fox's eyes were glassy. Trini pulled her into a firm hug, realizing how hard it was on Fox to even suggest this. It dawned on her that Fox was doing this because she loved Trini that much, not because she wanted her gone. She could feel the love in their bond.

"Just a couple weeks." Trini sighed. "I can do that." They spent time together in the dream realm. It's not like Trini would go an entire day without seeing Fox in some form. Still that wasn't the same as seeing her in person, but Trini did not like the idea that the captain had been talking to Fox. "Just long enough to get my head on straight again."

"yeah, that's what we'll do." Fox gave Trini a watery smile. "Just a brief break. I'm sure that Demona will be thrilled to have you over more often."

They held each other for a while, until it started to get dark because the sun was getting ready to set. "You can stay with her tonight, if you don’t think you will be able to fall asleep tonight." Trini grimaced at her sudden eviction. "And tell her that I have you all Sunday. I want to take you out, so you need to wake up at a decent hour." That helped Trini feel a little better, knowing that Fox was going to make time for her when she didn't live in her home.

Her voice was raspy from suppressed tears. "We haven't really dated yet, have we? Are you asking me out?" She tried for levity, but it was a bit flat. Fox still had the courtesy to smile at her attempt.

"Yes, but if you don’t agree I'll just storm her mansion and take you away by force." Fox took a deep breath. "If you want to leave before the clan wakes up, you can. I know you've been worried about seeing them."

Trini swallowed hard. "Will you tell Delilah why I left?" She hated that she wasn't doing that in person. "Tell her… Tell her to call before she comes to visit, but that I want her to visit me."

"I will. I'll even dress her up in that outfit and drive her myself if I have to." Fox caressed Trini's cheek, "and you can come home any time you want. You don't have to call."

Trini pulled out of the parking garage just minutes after sunset. She drove in silence as she got on the freeway. She felt like she'd lost the biggest battle of all. And the part of her that she'd labeled the captain made her wonder if she'd ever be going home to Fox again.

The End

… of the Summer Saga.

Wow, never thought I'd get to write those words.

Trinity II – The Winter Saga will be coming, but not too soon. I have a few other projects on my plate that will be coming first.

I would like to send out a special thank you to Mooncat, Denis, and Dexter for their support and encouragement, along with the help they gave me in dealing with my writer's block and indecision at times.

I would also like to thank all the readers that actually stayed with me throughout this long writing process.