Cathryn awakens early the next morning. She cries out a name that she
cannot remember the moment it passes her through her lips. The girl braces
herself as another flashback hits her like freight train, knocking the wind
out of her. As she waits for it to pass her by, she clutches the numerous
blankets on the bed to her chest.
A much plumper version of her current self stands against the wall in a decorated room. There is a large banner above the refreshment table that reads "Happy Halloween" with smaller letters below it, reading "Brought To You By The BSC Program Committee."
"My school-college," she realizes. "I must have been attending a dance here."
An unfamiliar girl in an outlandish costume, which consists of little more than lingerie and a large wig, is speaking to her. It seems as though the girl is trying to convince her to dance. Moments later, the girl that had been speaking to her frowns and walks away, disappearing in the crowd of moving bodies. She must have refused to dance. Idly, the girl wonders why as the scene in her head progresses.
Cathryn simply stands there, watching her peers have a wonderful time. She is not enjoying herself at all. Just then, a average sized man wearing a man from a familiar musical approaches her. He barely had to say a word and she was putty in his hands. He leads her to the dance floor, a slow song playing in the background. He has beautiful gray eyes and rather long blond hair. And when the song ends, the girl looks hopefully at her partner and asks him to go outside. He does not respond. Before the embarrassment sets in, the girl runs from him. She returns to where she had been earlier.
When she turns to watch the dancing mass, Cathryn once more finds the man she had been dancing with. He explains his hesitation to her and she understands, dancing several more dances with him before he ends it. She begs him to stay, but he refuses. It seems he has somewhere he must be. Suddenly, his lips are upon hers and there is a surprised look on her face. It would seem she had never been kissed before that moment. How strange it seems to think kisses were, at one point, not a daily thing in her life. She seems to find Marcus' lips pressed to hers more times a night than she can count.
Marcus. The very thought of him causes her heart to ache. It brings a tear to her eye. How could he do that to her? Couldn't he just wait? She is not just some rag doll he could treat in anyway. All these thoughts pass through her mind as she drifts off to sleep.
***
It has been several nights since what Cathryn has come to call the "incident." It hurts her too much to include any more details in her thoughts of what had occurred. For the past several days, the girl had barricaded herself in her room. The only person allowed entry has been Mrs. Stoddard, as the elderly woman brings her food. Once the sun sets, the door to her room remains shut. Of course, Marcus had made attempts at entry in the first few nights. Each time he was faced with a bolted door. Eventually, he stopped trying but often Cathryn wakes to find a neatly written note on the floor by her door.
Cathryn has never been so glad to have the housekeeper here. She is willing to go on any errand that the girl asks of her. The older woman is often called upon to take trips to the house's vast library. Anything would do as long as it does not remind her of what had almost taken place. More often than not, the novel fails to take her mind to another place. Nearly everything leads her thoughts back to what had passed between Marcus and herself. It causes her to question every supposed truth that she has been told. More than anything else, it causes her to question her resolve on the matter of Gabriel. Has she been on the incorrect side of the line all along? If not, how could Gabriel have kissed her with so much love when Marcus could not refrain from such brutal lust? Should she, no, could she, forgive him for what he had almost done?
If she can't forgive him, can she possibly leave? Even if she can raise the courage to leave him, she has nowhere to go. At least, nowhere that she is aware of. Damn this infernal amnesia. She can always go to the police and hope that someone has been looking for her in her absence. She can't even be sure that there is anyone to look for her. It is a very sad thought but, somehow, thinking it seems right. 'What about the man from my memory?' She thought, 'Surely he would be looking for me. He did seem to care for me.' She is afraid to stay, afraid to go. Until she can decide which course of action is best, she is stuck in the middle.
***
Marcus sat at his desk in the library. There were several texts before him but he could not concentrate enough to read a single word. He had mad ea grave mistake. Connor had told him that the girl must willingly come to his bed. The thought must have originally been hers. The desire for physical intimacy, initiated by Cathryn, would have sealed her to him. As any other man, of course Marcus would have been all too willing to bed her. Yet, knowing all this, Marcus had chosen the wrong path. He tried to force her into it. His impatience and desire to see Gabriel destroyed may have cost him not only his revenge, but the girl as well.
He had tried to tell himself that Cathryn was unimportant. Charlotte had been the brightest light to have ever entered his life, 'Cathryn could not compare to her,' he thought. Nevertheless, Cathryn still shone. It was a different radiance, but it was still beautiful. Marcus shook his head. His life was an unnatural one. The one true love of his life died hundreds of years ago. How could the slumbering girl upstairs have even fit in his life? Yet, he could not imagine the present without her.
Unfortunately for both Marcus and Cathryn, if things were going the way he feared, his last chance for revenge would lie in the girl's death. He had come too far to let such a heinous crime as Charlotte's untimely demise be affected by lingering feelings for a mortal girl. How he had tried to convince himself that killing the girl was the correct course of action. Yes, Marcus could be cruel, very cruel. But when that malice would tear out a piece of his heart, would he have gone too far?
***
Reading the page over and over again, Gabriel has managed to come up with a rough translation of the words on the page. "Release your grip on her mind, let her eyes be opened." he whispers quietly to himself, skipping to the end of the second couplet, ".set her free."
Gabriel had studied Gaelic once. Members of his mother's family had moved to England from Ireland in order to arrange a marriage between his grandmother and grandfather. The woman had the most wonderful tales, which easily kept the restless adventurer at her feet for the duration of the tale. During that time, he had picked up some of the words more frequently spoken by the older woman. As the boy aged, the stories turned into lessons about both Irish culture and the beautiful Gaelic language. He had thought the lessons a game at the time, but now he was glad for them. His task would only have been that much harder without his elementary knowledge of the language. It was entirely possible that he could have passed the spell by all together.
The creature pulled his thoughts back to the present. In the future, he had all the time in the world to reminisce, but right now he needed to concentrate on taking care of Cathryn. This would be his last chance and he could not bear to think that he may make a grave mistake that would cost the girl her life.
He carefully read through the instructions, all written in English, as well as the list of tools required. Gabriel abruptly stood and searched the room for a small sack to carry the necessary tools and ingredients in. Quickly, he packed all of the necessary items into it. He must work quickly, for the following night he would put his plans into action and save Cathryn from Charlotte's fate.
A/N: Well, things are going to get progressively more interesting and the next chapter is going to be the most difficult to write. The spell is going to actually be spoken in one way or another and that involves research. It'll be in Gaelic and if you know Gaelic, don't yell at me because it's all coming from a translation website. Soon I'm going to redo the entire story, making it better in all possible ways.
And, of course, thank each and every one of you so much for taking the time to read through this. Special thanks to those who review *hands out some virtual cookies* and wicked special thanks to Ian for putting up with me. (I likes to inflate the boy's ego by randomly making him think he's more important than he really is ( ).
A much plumper version of her current self stands against the wall in a decorated room. There is a large banner above the refreshment table that reads "Happy Halloween" with smaller letters below it, reading "Brought To You By The BSC Program Committee."
"My school-college," she realizes. "I must have been attending a dance here."
An unfamiliar girl in an outlandish costume, which consists of little more than lingerie and a large wig, is speaking to her. It seems as though the girl is trying to convince her to dance. Moments later, the girl that had been speaking to her frowns and walks away, disappearing in the crowd of moving bodies. She must have refused to dance. Idly, the girl wonders why as the scene in her head progresses.
Cathryn simply stands there, watching her peers have a wonderful time. She is not enjoying herself at all. Just then, a average sized man wearing a man from a familiar musical approaches her. He barely had to say a word and she was putty in his hands. He leads her to the dance floor, a slow song playing in the background. He has beautiful gray eyes and rather long blond hair. And when the song ends, the girl looks hopefully at her partner and asks him to go outside. He does not respond. Before the embarrassment sets in, the girl runs from him. She returns to where she had been earlier.
When she turns to watch the dancing mass, Cathryn once more finds the man she had been dancing with. He explains his hesitation to her and she understands, dancing several more dances with him before he ends it. She begs him to stay, but he refuses. It seems he has somewhere he must be. Suddenly, his lips are upon hers and there is a surprised look on her face. It would seem she had never been kissed before that moment. How strange it seems to think kisses were, at one point, not a daily thing in her life. She seems to find Marcus' lips pressed to hers more times a night than she can count.
Marcus. The very thought of him causes her heart to ache. It brings a tear to her eye. How could he do that to her? Couldn't he just wait? She is not just some rag doll he could treat in anyway. All these thoughts pass through her mind as she drifts off to sleep.
***
It has been several nights since what Cathryn has come to call the "incident." It hurts her too much to include any more details in her thoughts of what had occurred. For the past several days, the girl had barricaded herself in her room. The only person allowed entry has been Mrs. Stoddard, as the elderly woman brings her food. Once the sun sets, the door to her room remains shut. Of course, Marcus had made attempts at entry in the first few nights. Each time he was faced with a bolted door. Eventually, he stopped trying but often Cathryn wakes to find a neatly written note on the floor by her door.
Cathryn has never been so glad to have the housekeeper here. She is willing to go on any errand that the girl asks of her. The older woman is often called upon to take trips to the house's vast library. Anything would do as long as it does not remind her of what had almost taken place. More often than not, the novel fails to take her mind to another place. Nearly everything leads her thoughts back to what had passed between Marcus and herself. It causes her to question every supposed truth that she has been told. More than anything else, it causes her to question her resolve on the matter of Gabriel. Has she been on the incorrect side of the line all along? If not, how could Gabriel have kissed her with so much love when Marcus could not refrain from such brutal lust? Should she, no, could she, forgive him for what he had almost done?
If she can't forgive him, can she possibly leave? Even if she can raise the courage to leave him, she has nowhere to go. At least, nowhere that she is aware of. Damn this infernal amnesia. She can always go to the police and hope that someone has been looking for her in her absence. She can't even be sure that there is anyone to look for her. It is a very sad thought but, somehow, thinking it seems right. 'What about the man from my memory?' She thought, 'Surely he would be looking for me. He did seem to care for me.' She is afraid to stay, afraid to go. Until she can decide which course of action is best, she is stuck in the middle.
***
Marcus sat at his desk in the library. There were several texts before him but he could not concentrate enough to read a single word. He had mad ea grave mistake. Connor had told him that the girl must willingly come to his bed. The thought must have originally been hers. The desire for physical intimacy, initiated by Cathryn, would have sealed her to him. As any other man, of course Marcus would have been all too willing to bed her. Yet, knowing all this, Marcus had chosen the wrong path. He tried to force her into it. His impatience and desire to see Gabriel destroyed may have cost him not only his revenge, but the girl as well.
He had tried to tell himself that Cathryn was unimportant. Charlotte had been the brightest light to have ever entered his life, 'Cathryn could not compare to her,' he thought. Nevertheless, Cathryn still shone. It was a different radiance, but it was still beautiful. Marcus shook his head. His life was an unnatural one. The one true love of his life died hundreds of years ago. How could the slumbering girl upstairs have even fit in his life? Yet, he could not imagine the present without her.
Unfortunately for both Marcus and Cathryn, if things were going the way he feared, his last chance for revenge would lie in the girl's death. He had come too far to let such a heinous crime as Charlotte's untimely demise be affected by lingering feelings for a mortal girl. How he had tried to convince himself that killing the girl was the correct course of action. Yes, Marcus could be cruel, very cruel. But when that malice would tear out a piece of his heart, would he have gone too far?
***
Reading the page over and over again, Gabriel has managed to come up with a rough translation of the words on the page. "Release your grip on her mind, let her eyes be opened." he whispers quietly to himself, skipping to the end of the second couplet, ".set her free."
Gabriel had studied Gaelic once. Members of his mother's family had moved to England from Ireland in order to arrange a marriage between his grandmother and grandfather. The woman had the most wonderful tales, which easily kept the restless adventurer at her feet for the duration of the tale. During that time, he had picked up some of the words more frequently spoken by the older woman. As the boy aged, the stories turned into lessons about both Irish culture and the beautiful Gaelic language. He had thought the lessons a game at the time, but now he was glad for them. His task would only have been that much harder without his elementary knowledge of the language. It was entirely possible that he could have passed the spell by all together.
The creature pulled his thoughts back to the present. In the future, he had all the time in the world to reminisce, but right now he needed to concentrate on taking care of Cathryn. This would be his last chance and he could not bear to think that he may make a grave mistake that would cost the girl her life.
He carefully read through the instructions, all written in English, as well as the list of tools required. Gabriel abruptly stood and searched the room for a small sack to carry the necessary tools and ingredients in. Quickly, he packed all of the necessary items into it. He must work quickly, for the following night he would put his plans into action and save Cathryn from Charlotte's fate.
A/N: Well, things are going to get progressively more interesting and the next chapter is going to be the most difficult to write. The spell is going to actually be spoken in one way or another and that involves research. It'll be in Gaelic and if you know Gaelic, don't yell at me because it's all coming from a translation website. Soon I'm going to redo the entire story, making it better in all possible ways.
And, of course, thank each and every one of you so much for taking the time to read through this. Special thanks to those who review *hands out some virtual cookies* and wicked special thanks to Ian for putting up with me. (I likes to inflate the boy's ego by randomly making him think he's more important than he really is ( ).