Hope Anchors the Soul

[Christian Ward]

Christian's confused expression mirrored that of the memory-Diana's. What the hell was going on? He looked back to his Diana for a brief moment, but he couldn't stop from watching the strange scene before him unfold. His hand unknowingly tightened on Diana's shoulder.

[Diana Ward]

Diana's throat tightened as Christian's hand tightened on her shoulder. She simultaneously wanted to hold him (or be held rather) and wanted to disappear in disgust.

***

"Foreplay darling." he answered with a casual shrug, he turned serious then as he dropped Redding to the floor and stood in front of Diana, his eyes burned with intensity as he grabbed her face and pressed his lips against hers. She choked on his forced gesture and tears of pain escaped her eyes as his hands burned her face and she cried out.

"And because you're pretty when you cry."

It was true, in Steele's warped mind, Diana was a goddess when she cried as she did now. She hung there helpless and at his mercy, too confused to do anything but ask, "What now?" she asked in reference to Redding.

"He's yours." Steele said, "He's a present."

"He belongs in jail!" Diana said ardently.

"No! No! No!" Steele said his features twisting in an ugly way. He brought a knife up to Diana's throat, "No, my love...You know what he deserves, what he truly deserves." Steele's words were almost a caress as he dragged the blade across Diana's skin lightly only cutting her slightly at the waist where he turned the blade.She winced.

"No. I won't. I..."

"You will!" he spat putting the knife in her hands and releasing her bonds. A moment later Redding was chained as she was.

"Now Diana! Do it now!"

"No!"

[Christian Ward]

The scene was unfolding and Christian couldn't look away. He felt Diana shift as she stood next to him and his arm intuitively wrapped around her shoulders. Still he watched.

Christian moved suddenly, almost taking a step forward as Steele's knife broke the skin on the other Diana's stomach. He caught himself; it was a memory. He looked again at his Diana. Why are we here? he asked himself. But the draw of the scene pulled his attention back to the trio.

[Diana Ward]

Diana pressed her face into Christian's shoulder as he watched what was unfolding. She had experienced it, she had no need to watch it again.

***

At Steele's command Diana threw down the knife. She wanted to run but Steele was there to stop her.

"You're pathetic." he sneered, "Crucio!"

Diana screamed in agony as she felt the pain ripple through her system.

"Crucio!" he yelled again, madness in his eyes as he delighted in her pain.

Eventually she stopped screaming as the pain took over her mind and she merely began shaking.

"Are you going to listen now?" he asked when she stopped spasming. He placed the knife in her hands again.

She nodded. He helped her to her feet and had to hold her to keep her upright which burned her skin all the same. She apologized to the unconscious man and drew her hand back. At least he wouldn't suffer as she had.

"Just a little blood Diana...don't kill him...not yet."

Or maybe he would.

***

"I can't..." Diana cried on Christian's shoulder, "I can't watch this anymore."

[Christian Ward]

He felt a strange need to protect Diana and as the sadistic Steele used the Cruciatus Curse, Christian held Diana tighter. Christian was no stranger to the Unforgivables and had even used this same curse on Diana before he realized who he was to her, or who she was to him at one point. The memory of Diana screaming as their unborn son spasmed in her belly made Christian cringe and he held Diana closer as if the action could take back all of the horribleness he had inflicted upon her.

[Diana Ward]

Diana reluctantly pressed the blade against Redding's skin piercing it, his eyes shot open then as he looked between her and Steele. He shook his head no but he was still gagged and couldn't speak.

"Good you're awake." Steele grinned, the ropes became tighter and held Redding suspended in the air. There was fear in his eyes as he saw Diana with the knife, but more fear because he knew of Steele's reputation, he had hired the man after all.

Steele removed Redding's gag, "What are you doing?! She's the target! Are you insane?!" he yelled as soon as he was able.

"Change of plans mate." Steele said calmly, almost gleefully as he took in Redding's shock and outrage, and then fear.

"Now, cut him here Diana."

Diana groaned, "Steele...I don't...I don't want to do this...please don't make me."

"You do want this...you just don't know it yet." He stood and came behind her, his lips just at her ear, he took her hand in his and held it, it still burned as he touched her.

He guided her hand to Redding's flesh and began to make shallow cuts as the man cried out. As blood began to cover Diana's hands and naked body, the burning she felt from Steele's hands faded.

Finally there was nothing left, they had taken a pound of Redding's flesh, literally. He was suspended and barely conscious dripping blood and in deep agony. Diana had resisted the urge to throw up several times, but tears had gathered on her face all the same.

"You see him now...do you see it my love?" Steele asked as Diana shook in his arms.

"It's in his eyes...see how he begs you to end it. He knows no greater relief than a merciful death, it's all he wants and you have the power to give it to him, or to deny him. Isn't it glorious?"

Diana stared at the mad man who claimed to love her.

"End it my sweet. End his suffering. Together we'll end all their suffering."

Diana looked back up at the man. He did beg with his eyes. He wanted death, to be released from his pain. With hesitant steps she plunged the knife into his heart.

"That's my girl."

***
Diana held on to Christian burying her face in his chest.

[Christian Ward]

Killing was simply part of his job, seeing death didn't faze him. He wasn't even particularly disturbed by Diana's role in the man's death. But Diana clearly was.

"You did what you needed to, to stay alive," he whispered as she pushed herself into his chest. "You put him out of his misery."

Christian had killed many witches and wizards in his line of work, but he didn't find the joy in it as Steele had. Christian made it quick; he went in, got whatever he needed, and finished the job. There was no satisfaction in the loss of life. There was nothing for Christian that even remotely resembled the gleeful expression in Steele's eye as they collectively watched Diana plunge the knife into Redding's chest.

[Diana Ward]

Diana pushed back at him, "To stay alive?!" she asked incredulously, but her anger wasn't with Christian, rather it was with herself.

"I stayed with him for three months Christian! Three f*cking months!" she cried, "I was so scared to leave, and the things he did..." she started shaking again she couldn't look at him, but brought her eyes up to his anyway, "The things he made me do..." she said as a tear escaped rolling down her cheek.

"Whistler...Whistler taught me how to stay alive." she swallowed then said in a bitter voice, "Steele taught me how to kill."

She turned away from him trying to compose herself. "I lost myself...I just got so lost." But by the end of the three months Diana had become a killing machine. She never took joy in it as Steele did, but she could do the job. In retrospect she probably wouldn't have survived if Steele hadn't taught her what he did, but she had to question whether or not her complete loss of innocence had been worth it.

[Christian Ward]

Christian had not been expecting her to push him so roughly in response to what he thought had been a comforting comment. He took a half step backwards to steady himself. Her expression as she confessed to the long-term hostage situation gave him the urge to want to try to comfort her again. A tear rolled down her cheek and Christian wiped it away with his thumb before she turned her back to him.

"Whether it was one day or 90, Diana, you did what you had to do. I knew Steele, or knew of him anyway. He was ruthless. He would have made you do it one way or the other. It's not your fault a lunatic like Steele was hired to kill you and fell in love with you instead." Christian paused a moment as he thought about his words, then hurriedly continued on.

"If half of the stories you've told me are true, Steele's f*cked up training saved your sweet ass several times over. You were handed a bad lot but you've made a pretty good run of things since." Other than running into me.

[Diana Ward]

She spent three solid months in the care of certified psychopath. She had written off her deeds as 'necessary evils'. She had told herself she was over it, but clearly her subconscious knew better. She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes to stem the blank vulnerability in her features.

Diana let his words comfort her, "I thought I could do this, but I don't want to go any further Christian. I don't want you to see any of this. I don't want to remember any of this."

[Christian Ward]

He understood why she wouldn't want to relive these moments. Every fight had been a battle for her life, for her daughter's life. It was personal and when things got personal they got messy. It was one of Christian's rules that he not allow his work to mingle with his personal life and it had served him well...until Diana. F*ck, this moment was the epitome of sloppy hit wizarding; memory-less standing in his estranged pregnant wife's subconscious trying to find an attacker to stop a murder that he had very recently been plotting himself and which would now also end his own life. There was no other version of Christian who could understand her wariness quite like this one.

"You don't really have a choice, Diana. If you won't see it through for your own well-being, think of his." Christian reached out his hand and placed it on Diana's stomach. If the dream assassin was successful, not only would Diana and Christian die, but Liam would perish too.

"You fought this long for our daughter. Now do it for our son."

[Diana Ward]

Diana closed her eyes as he used very effective leverage against her shame and wariness. She would do anything for her children.

On a deep sigh she folded herself into Christian's arms and the dream changed. They were once more with Steele, at the battle scene they had just left.

Diana looked up and caught Christian's eyes, something thrilling flashed through them as her lips curved into a sensuous smirk. Everything about this place had been one nightmare after another, Diana was wary about what the next scene would be, but this part she could enjoy.

Her injuries returned and she grimaced, but it didn't prevent Diana from facing Steele. They were surrounded by fire, Diana was wandless, weaponless, but there was something in her eyes that exuded strength and determination. She had pure grit.

"Here I am Steele."

"I've missed you." he said a true expression of loss on his features, "Why did you leave me? We were so good together."

"Still living that psychotic dream? It's over Steele. You can kill me or let me go, but I will die before I become your puppet again."

There was a terrifying hardness in Steele's eyes as he snarled, "So be it."

[Christian Ward]

She fit perfectly in his arms and he wasn't sure why but Christian gave a small smile as he held her. He met her gaze and caught the new look in her eyes. He inhaled and suppressed an inappropriate thought.

She was instantly bloodied again, Christian would never be used to the sudden changes and effects the subconscious created. Things were connected, but also disjointed.

[Diana Ward]

Diana’s presence distracted him long enough for Diana to work a spell wandlessly. Steele attempted to use his wand to attack her, but couldn’t move his hand.

“Oh you clever little b*tch” he hissed.

Diana rushed him as he was temporarily incapable of returning an attack. Her priority was his wand which he had dropped in his paralysis, but he gained feeling too quickly and caught her instead. She adjusted using his momentum in addition to hers and elbowed him in the solar plex causing him to double over.

She was graceful in a lethal way. Her attacks kept coming and Steele was stuck on the defensive. She wasn’t as skilled as Christian would have remembered Diana, had he any memories, but she was still extremely talented.

Steele’s superior strength however began to turn the tides as he landed a blow directly on Diana’s jaw. She grimaced and stumbled backward a bit. He came forward with another attack that brought her to the ground.

[Christian Ward]

The only memories Christian had of Diana were of her cleverness when escaping from the hit wizard posing as a waiter. She was quick on her feet and very cunning, but he had seen very little fighting from her at all. It had been mostly running and little gadgets that, admittedly, intrigued him.

But this...this was a show worthy of the name. Christian watched, enthralled and excited as Diana moved. She was more graceful than he would have imagined her in such a situation (though he knew her to be agile in other regards). He looked at her admiringly.

He lunged forward on instinct as Steele knocked Diana to the ground but nothing he did had any effect on the memory. He was impotent to help her and suddenly had an overwhelming urge to do just that.

[Diana Ward]

Steele stood over her, he reached behind him to pick up the knife he held in his back pocket. With a quick flick of the wrist the blade extended.

Diana lifted her head to look at him.

“It was fun while it lasted kid.” He held the knife in his hands, tossing it back and forth with ease, “So tell me, how do you want it?”

Diana felt the strength and hope filling her chest as she shook her head at him.

“It could have been different…If only you had the strength to do what needed to be done.” he said as he crouched down.

“You’re right. I should have had the strength to do this months ago.” she said kicking him back and revealing the wand she had landed upon. She didn’t hesitate, Steele had taught her well, “Crucio!”

[Christian Ward]

Christian rarely found joy in the Unforgivable Curses but he couldn't help but smile as Diana tortured the man who had kept her prisoner for three months. He suddenly realized that he was now the man keeping Diana prisoner;not in her subconscious memory but in the real world. He held her captive to preserve his own life. He was a bastard.

[Diana Ward]

Diana held the curse for a while as Steele spasmed in pain. There was no remorse or victory on Diana's face. She granted Steele's final wish as he writhed on the ground in agony until the look came into his eyes. He silently begged for death, and Diana in all her glory, mercifully granted his request.

Steele died with a smile on his lips.

Diana turned to Christian, then as if remembering, "Simms..." she said rushing over to the man.

[Christian Ward]

The look on Steele's dead body was disturbing;lifeless and happy. Christian didn't look away.

When Diana became lucid again he would have to ask after this Simms. Not that he was jealous...

[Diana Ward]

"Simms?" She reached him and checked his injuries. She sighed in relief as she was able to locate a thin pulse.

"Alright Simms. It's over now. C'mon, let's get you home."

Diana felt lighter than she had in months. She was out of Steele's prison for good and the man couldn't hurt her anymore.

They apparated and the dream shifted.

When she rounded the corner to Simm's flat she slowed down, her feet became heavy.

"Something isn't right." she said to herself, she turned and saw Christian and pieces began to click into place.

"Christian..."

Simms suddenly disappeared, and she looked at her husband as though she were trying to figure something out, "Let's go, we've got to go."