Chapter Text
two weeks.
she had given herself two weeks. two weeks to suffer and mourn and scream and cry. and she had done all of it, she had screamed, and cried, and broken every dish in the gallery. she had turned on all the lights and hunted for him, calling, screaming his name. "V!!!" she had yelled "there are no more shadows! you can't hide anymore!"
but he had not come, he had not roused from his eternal slumber, because as strong as Evey was she was not strong enough to bring someone back to life. no matter how hard she tried, and how much she prayed, and how much she begged. she knew that it was silly to even entertain the idea that he may come back, he was dead when she put him on the train. the explosion surely would have killed him if his injuries hadn't, and if that wasn't enough well the whole of parliament had fallen on him. he was dead, truly, he was gone. and she was alone. and she had given herself two weeks.
it was not enough time to get over him she knew, but if all she did was sit around then she would never get up again. she pulled herself from the couch, taking in a shaky breath she turned to face the rest of the gallery. she had a purpose now, he had given her a purpose. he had laid out the blocks for a new world and now she needed to build. the idea of fulfilling his wish filled her with determination, she started off down the hall. the first step of her plan would be getting together an outfit, and she knew just where to find it. the perfect place to find what always gave her strength, the place to find him.
but he wasn't there, his room was empty she knew it, of course she hadn't gone into it just yet. she hadn't been able to bring herself to, not yet. but she knew it was time now. she took the keys that she kept in her pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open and stepping in with one quick movement so she couldn't chicken out. her breath caught in her throat as she was hit by the stale warm air of the bedroom. the room screamed V, with deep maroon walls and a dark four post bed, paintings and statues littered the walls and floors. scattered around where vases full of wilted roses. there was a vanity off to her left side which housed an array of small boxes and chests, she guessed for disguises. there was a wig stand and hook for his mask, and a small box held a series of orange pill bottles all for different people. most of them where pain killers or antibiotics, daily things. she sighed "oh v," she muttered "you even stole medications..."
she turned from the vanity and spotted what she guessed was the bathroom, approaching it she pushed on the large wooden door. inside she was greeted with a nice shower, a bath, and clean and well organized sink that was stocked with toiletries. she ran her hand over the sink quietly as she stood in the sterile room. she spotted the door to the closet then and walked over, opening that final door she swallowed shakily. inside where rows upon rows of black clothes, shirts, vests, pants, gloves, hats, boots. everything he wore daily, it was there, he was there. even if his body wasn't, the clothes that made him where there. she tried to hold back the burning in her throat, the pain in her eyes as they watered. the clothes where too big for her, she'd need to tailor them, thankfully she could do that easily with his sewing room. she gently gathered what she needed, a shirt, some pants, one of his smaller vests. as she went to leave the closet she noticed a switch beside the door, it looked similar to a dimmer switch and she figured it must have been to the lights. she turned it, expecting the closet to darken, but to her surprise the walls of clothes began to move with a loud angry growl. the dark clothes moved swiftly, making room for more everyday average wear, suits, dresses, even t-shirts. she stared at the new array of clothes with wide eyes. she couldn't imagine v wearing any of it, especially not the bright graphic t-shirts or the red sneakers on one of the dressers. it made her laugh, how many times had they walked past each other while he was in one of his disguises, he probably wore a surgical mask when he was out. plenty of people did with all the sickness out there. she laughed, doubling over as tears streaked down her face. "oh my god!" she laughed as she shook her head "oh my god..." she mumbled as her laughter turned into tears. she cried then, holding his clothes close to her chest as she sobbed loudly.
when she felt as if she could function again she righted herself, inhaling deeply she turned and left the closet. the sewing room was just down the hall, she had found it while on her hunt for him. it was stocked full with large bolts of expensive luxurious cloths and spools of fine thread. she wouldn't need much of it, she sat down at one of the newer machines and silently started to alter the clothes, making them fit her smaller frame. once she was done she stood in front of the full length mirror. she could sense his approval in the air but she also knew that he would have found her hilarious in these clothes. she smiled shakily as she wrapped one of his spare cloaks around her shoulders. she had plans on how to improve the fabric of these cloaks to make them a little more hardy, she knew that a fate like V's would not be out of the question for her, and she had to stop that. but she didn't have time for that now. she turned and walked swiftly out of the sewing room, determination on her face.
stopping by the armory she was able to find her prey, a set of slightly smaller silver knives, throwing knives, not his typical weapon of choice. he had always preferred the drama and the weight of his daggers. she hummed quietly as she felt the weight of the knives in her hands. she left the armory to gather a few other small things before leaving the gallery. she would be back later so she locked the door tightly. leaving the tunnels that led to the gallery was difficult for her, she hated the idea of being away from the one place he was, the place that still had hints of V. but she had to do this.
the streets of London where alight with chaos, without their government the people ran rabid, without their leaders the remnants of norsefire frothed at the mouth and fought like rabid dogs for power. but in all of it she knew that the revolutionists where right there, ready to step up and she was going to take that last step, the step to organize. making her way to the remnants of parliament she found one of the larger crowds, ranting, raging, throwing bottles and bricks and fighting whoever came near. she silently walked through the crowd, her head down, covered by a thick brimmed hat. people moved for her, like the red seas parting, she approached a stage which had been erected near the crumbling remnants of the building. the people standing atop of it looked at her and their eyes widened. they crouched, helping her up. a hush fell over the crowd as she stood straight and moved the grab the hat. taking the hat from her head she moved and threw it into the crowd suddenly, sending them gasping and sprawling. people had believed she was V, of course they did, but she didn't want to be V. V had been a symbol, an idea, and he had been right when he said that was not what the people needed after today. they needed a leader, they needed a guide. was she ready to be a leader? a guide? no. but she had to be. she lifted her hands high, palms exposed, fingers spread. quickly someone rushed, holding a microphone up to her lips. mumbles of her name and shouts of acknowledgment filled the air. "friends!" she called as she looked over the crowd, she sounded confident and calm, she was not. "turn not to the rubble in search of your guidance, turn not against each other as you outrage at the actions of your government." she spoke loudly into the microphone "a leader sleeps somewhere amongst you!" she shouted. "and while they do i will be here!" she called "offering guidance and aid! i will be here! in the light that V has turned to us! i will be here! and we will build from what he has left!" as she spoke the crowd began to scream and cheer. people chanted her name, they chanted V's, they danced, they hugged.
and for the first time in two weeks, Evey smiled.