Insanity Chapter 1 by Kayla Chavi Genre: Drama/Romance Rating: R Email: kaylachavi@yahoo.com Website: http://www.angelfire.com/ky2/todream/index.htm * * * Some of you might be confused at the rating of this story after you read this first chapter. This chapter is no where near R, however, it will come to that rating at some point, so I decided to rate it R right from the start. I hope you enjoy this, its a little darker then most of my stuff and will be a lot more serious. It will become a romance, again, this chapter doesn’t even hint at how it can become one, I’ll leave that to your imaginations, but I promise it will become a romance ^.^ Now, I haven’t been receiving any kind of feedback for Outlaws, so that’s why I’m releasing a new fiction before the previous one is finished. While I will finish everything that I start, it might take longer if I don’t think people are looking forward to it. I was spoiled with AAFH getting anywhere from 100 to 200 emails after each chapter. So, if you do like Outlaws, or if you don’t, tell me please! I don’t know if because its so different than AAFH that people don’t like it or what. . .*sniffles* I would just like to know for my sanity’s sake. Now, I hope you enjoy! * * * “You don’t understand why she’s here, do you?” Darien turned away from the window and looked at the man who had silently come up behind him. The other man was tall and pale with white blond hair. His eyes were a strange red violet, and if you hadn’t seen him up close it would be easy to mistake him for an albino. Darien shook his head and sighed, “I’ve observed her for three days now. According to her file she’s supposed to be here. If that were true, then you wouldn’t let her out of that room. Not even you are that stupid, Diamond.” Diamond laughed quietly, “She’s here for other reasons than her mental state,” he said simply, “Even with those reasons, however, its not enough to keep her here. Her family is paying us extraordinary amounts to keep her in the Complex. Because she was diagnosed at such an early age, and because they somehow were always able to keep her certified as a lunatic, she stays here.” He watched his dark haired friend closely as they looked through the window. The younger man was tall and well built with intense blue eyes. Handsome but not arrogant or egotistical. True, this man didn’t lack companionship when he wanted it. The keyword being ~when~ Darien d’Vego was a solitary and busy man. His patients were is life, he devoted himself to them completely, he cared about them completely. That was the reason he was considered one of the best entering his field and that was the reason the main reason why the Complex had hired him. Or at least, that’s what the Heads had told Diamond. Darien sighed and looked out the window again. “And because her family pays the Complex so well, none of the Heads are going to make an effort to prove that she’s stable enough to live by herself?” “I knew you weren’t hired for your looks.” Darien shot his friend a cold look. “And again I ask, why was I hired?” “You are the best in your field, Darien. You have credentials that make most of the Heads look like idiots. You also have a very high level of moral integrity.” Diamond looked out the window as well, dutifully repeating what the Heads had told him. “She’s only a sixteen year old girl. Her last doctor tried take advantage of that. She broke his arm.” He paused for a long moment, “In short, Darien, you were hired to watch this girl and to get to know her. The Heads want to find out how she thinks and why she is the way she is.” “Bullshit.” Diamond laughed, “Exactly. I don’t know why you’re here anymore than you do. I’m not privy to that information. Just be the best damn doctor you can, that’s all you can do.” Darien sighed and shook his head. “Will I have any other patients?” “A few,” Diamond turned and looked at him, “That’s not important at the moment. It’s time for you to meet her.” Darien nodded and bowed mockingly, “Lead the way.” The other man rolled his eyes and turned to go, “Oh and Darien,” he stopped and looked at him, “She’s not like anyone you’ve ever met before.” “Of course she not,” he said seriously, “She’s only insane.” Diamond rolled his eyes, lightly punched Darien on the shoulder, before leading him to where he would meet his new patient. * * * She was sitting in the middle of a large playroom, holding a little girl with strawberry blond hair in her arms tenderly. Her quiet voice was singing a lullaby. Her long blond hair hid her face as it fell around her in gentle waves. Diamond and Darien just waited off the to the side for her to finish, not daring to interrupt the peaceful scene. When the song ended the young child opened her cinnamon eyes and looked up at her intently. “Do you believe that dreams can come true?” she asked hopefully. She was quiet for a long moment, “I think it depends on the dream, Small Lady. What dream do you have that you want to come true?” The little girl was quiet. “It’s a dumb dream,” she muttered and looked down at her and the older girl’s hands. She had intertwined them tightly and was now holding on it what looked to be a painful grip. “Dreams can’t be dumb, Small Lady,” she didn’t even look pained as the child held onto her. “I dreamt. . .” “Go on.” “I dreamt that I had a mommy and daddy and that they came and took me out of here and that we lived in a beautiful white building and that they didn’t think I was crazy for seeing things that the doctors say aren’t there and that they loved me. They wanted me,” she looked up and met the blue eyes of her bestest friend here. “Do you think that it could come true? Maybe even just a little bit?” she asked hopefully She received a smile and a kiss on the nose. “I think that’s a possible dream, Small Lady. Anyone would have to be insane not to love you. And I‘ll always be here for you. I‘ll be your family.” “Always?” “I promise, Small Lady.” The little girl giggled and then looked up suddenly. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at Darien and Diamond. “They’re here again and they want to take you away again.” Darien raised an eyebrow at this little girl, wondering why she was so bitter. He met the girl’s eyes that he had been watching for the past three days and found himself almost lost. Not because they were beautiful, which they were, but because they held a depth and clarity in them that most people who were admitted to institutions like this one, didn’t have. He blinked and watched her as she stood. Her long blond hair fell past her knees and was the color of gold. Her skin was a pale white, like it had never seen the sun in a very long time. He made a note to talk to Diamond about that. People couldn’t get better if they were locked in dark rooms with no access to light. “Run along, Small Lady,” she said to the child clutching her hand. “I will see you tomorrow.” The little girl nodded and then looked Darien straight in the eye before looking up at her friend. “He won’t hurt you. He’s different.” She then let go and walked to another corner of the room where several other children were playing. The blond girl didn’t move, she just stood there in the middle of the room, forcing Diamond and Darien to come to her. “How are you today?” “I’m locked in a huge building and not allowed to leave, Diamond. How would you be?” Darien chuckled quietly before regaining his composure. The girl’s gaze flickered to him for a brief moment while Diamond shot Darien a glare, and then back to the white blond. “I take it that he’s the replacement.” “Yes. I’d like you to meet Darien d’Vego.” She looked him over, studying him intently with her unblinking gaze. The only sound in the room for a long moment was coming from the children playing. Darien met her eyes, refusing to be intimidated by her. After a moment he extended his hand. She looked at him and then at his hand before taking it and shaking it firmly. “Serena Kalkaylakia Raquel Melina Ele Quinn Kyra Chavi.” She paused, “Call me Serena.” “It’s nice to meet you, Serena.” She smiled slightly and withdrew her hand before turning to look at Diamond. “He’s younger than the last one.” “He has the best credentials.” “He has no experience.” “You’ll break him in with no problem, Serena.” “He’s a man.” “He has more integrity than I do.” “That’s not that hard.” She was silent for a moment. “He’s sexier then the last one.” “I’m sure you’ll survive.” “It’s not me I’m worried about.” “You’re sixteen years old.” “I’ve lived around you most of my life.” “Serena. . .” She looked back at Darien who had just watched this exchange closely, not letting the fact that she was talking about him as if he wasn’t there bother him in anyway. “He’ll do.” Then she walked away. Darien looked at his friend and raised an eyebrow. “There is no way that girl is a lunatic.” He watched after her until she was gone from the room, “She’s a teenager, possibly a genius, but she’s not insane.” “Just wait, Darien. I bet you dinner that by the end of tonight, she’ll have you convinced.” * * * Soon after meeting Serena, Darien met his three other patients. All of them were children and none of them were as old as Serena. In fact it appeared that she was one of the oldest ‘children’ kept in this part of the Complex. The first child was a young boy of about twelve years old with long white hair that reached about his mid-waist. He had clear gray eyes, and like Serena they held no confusion and had a depth that amazed him, especially since this boy was blind. Not normally a certifiable case, except he claimed to be able to see. While medically, it was true that he was blind, he could paint or draw any object that was placed behind him, not in front of him. The other two children were two young girls, one of which, was the girl from earlier that Serena had been singing to. She was five years old and incredibly outspoken. She claimed to see people and objects that weren’t there and insisted that she had some form of magic. The other was a girl of eight or nine years old with dark eyes and hair so black that in places it almost looked like a very dark green. Her parents had her admitted here when she claimed to be clairvoyant and that she had control over time. “So what are we supposed to call you?” the boy asked, looking at the area over Darien’s shoulder intently. “Darien,” he said simply and sat down with them cross-legged on the floor. “What I am supposed to call you?” he asked using the same skeptical tone that the boy had used. The dark haired girl giggled and idly twirled a piece of her long hair around her finger. “I’m Kunzite. My file says that its Karl Nathan, but I hate that name. Call me Kunzite.” Darien nodded, “I like Kunzite better,” he said simply. He was being honest as well, not trying to tell this boy that just to make him feel better about himself. If he had learned one thing from working with children, it was that they always knew when adults lied to them. So he didn’t lie to children ~ever.~ And by the skeptical looks he was receiving from these children, it was obvious, at least to him, that they had been lied to before, probably repeatedly. “I’m Setsuna,” the dark haired girl said, “My mother was Japanese and my father was from California, so my first name is really Diane, but I like my middle name better.” “So you’d be happier if I called you Setsuna?” She shrugged, “Anything’s better than Diane. I only answer to Setsuna,” she pointed out “That’s good, I only answer to Darien,” the doctor winked and in spite of herself, Setsuna giggled and grinned. Darien looked over at the youngest girl, who had been watching him closely. “What about you?” he asked her after a moment of meeting her eyes. “Somehow I think that Small Lady is a nickname rather than your true name.” “You thought wrong, Mr. d’Vego,” she said and didn’t smile. Her cinnimon eyes bored into his blue, as if she wanted him to look away. “I have no name. I have no parents. I have lived here my entire life. Small Lady is what Senna calls me.” “So what do I call you?” he asked evenly and recalled her file to memory. She was telling the truth about not having any parents and that the Complex had been her home for all five years of her life. However, she had been given a name. Apparently, the young girl was offended that they would call her Jane Doe, and knew that it was a name given to the unknown women of the world. The child was quiet for a long moment, “You can call me Rini. Everyone else does except for the Heads.” “And Serena calls you Small Lady.” “Yes.” “Does anyone else?” Rini smiled almost deviously, “Mamoru calls me Small Lady.” Darien raised an eyebrow when he saw that both Kunzite and Setsuna rolled their eyes at the mention of Mamoru. “I see. Who’s Mamoru?” “Senna’s Protector,” the smile was still on the little girl’s face. She was playing with Darien and he knew it. Some children told lies because it was something that made them feel safe. Others did it for the feeling of power that came with the knowledge that they knew something that someone else didn’t. And then there were children who did it because it was fun to play mind games. Normally those children weren’t five years old. Then again, normally five year olds weren’t diagnosed as lunatics. “Rini, how many times do you have to be told that Mamoru isn’t real?” Kunzite said scornfully. “Not even Serena can see him and she sees everything.” The little girl sighed heavily, disappointed that her fun had been ruined yet again by the blind boy. “And how many times do I have to tell you that I’ve seen him, talked to him, and I know that someday he’ll come and get her out of here?” “I wish that I had never told you what Mamoru meant in Japanese,” Setsuna sighed and looked at Darien. “Rini really is crazy, the rest of us are just different.” Darien laughed and shook his head, “You know, in ancient times, being different and unique used to be something that people were killed for.” He watched them closely and had two pairs of eyes looking at him intently, the third pair was looking at his shoulder. “Everyone who wasn’t like everyone else was considered crazy or a witch.” Three pairs of eyes widened. “However, my point is, that if you were truly crazy, your sentences wouldn’t make sense and you would think that you were perfectly normal and everyone else was insane.” “Who says we don’t think that?” Kunzite asked. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t have even tried to talk to me. I’m considered to be a part of that ‘normal’ world. ” Darien stood up, “I don’t know what kind of doctors you’ve had in the past, but I’m not going to be like your normal doctor. I’m not going to ask you weird questions and I’m not going to ask you to look at pictures and tell me what you see in them.” “Good,” Kunzite interrupted, “Because I can promise you that it wouldn’t work.” Setsuna and Rini laughed and Darien smiled. “What I am going to do, is hope that you talk to me, trust me, and tell me what you do or don’t see. I want you to know that I’m going to believe anything you say,” he looked down at Rini and gave her his own devious smile, “Within reason of course. There is a difference between elephants marching around in your room, and dancing elephants with pick tutus.” “The ones with tutus are really there?” Setsuna asked seriously. “Exactly,” Darien winked. Rini laughed and then nodded, actually giving this new man a sweet and honest smile. Kunzite smiled slightly and Setsuna looked up at him with a little bit of awe on her face. “And if you trust me and work with me instead of against me, then I’ll do everything in my power to give you what you want.” He paused and met the two girls eyes squarely before looking at Kunzite the same way. For some reason he wasn’t too surprised when he saw the boy’s eyes focus on his face and nod ever so slightly. “Now if we’re done doing the boring stuff, I’ll let you get back to having fun without the old guy,” Darien joked before turning to go. “Darien?” He turned around to see all three of the children standing together, Kunzite in the middle, holding the hands of the two other girls. “Yes?” “Will you help Senna too?” Rini asked quietly. “She. . .” Darien smiled ever so slightly, “I’ll try and help Serena as much as I can,” he promised and then left. “I like him,” Kunzite announced once Darien was gone. “I think he’s cute,” Setsuna admitted shyly as she sat back down and picked up the doll that had been discarded when Darien had come into the room. Rini just shrugged, “I think he’s the one.”