A/N: This is a Chelsie AU one shot, based on ChelsieSouloftheAbbey's story, "Who We Truly Are". If you haven't read it yet, this will not make sense. This is based mostly on Chapter 13 (London, 1901) and beyond. This is also inspired by Taylor Swift's song, "Wildest Dreams". If this weird concept has not completely thrown you off, please read on.
They traveled together out of the city, out of the crowds, noise and dust. It was his favorite spot. She could see why. The branches above the clearing made a ceiling of leaves, speckling the lush ground with pins of sunlight.
He was hesitant to show the place to her. Not proper, screamed his brain, but this was their last day (a whole day!) together. Before they would be parted. Forever.
She thought of what churchmen would say as his fingers caressed her unbound hair for the first time. The pious housekeepers who lectured against the temptations of men couldn't help her. She kept thinking that today was all they had. She thought they would have this one day, this one moment. After a few minutes, she did not think at all.
He had been so disciplined for so long, that it was hardly surprising that he would have reservations. Doubts. He was in no position to marry her, no matter how much he wanted to. But in the end, he could not, would not, fight the love she bore him, this passion that raged out of control.
Her lips were swollen, her face aflame. His body shook, overwhelmed with the effort of love. His familiar voice cried out unfamiliar sounds. She lay afterwards in his arms and in the glow of the coming sunset, dreamily running her fingers through the grass and wild daisies. They were ignorant of the fact they had just made a child. It was an end and a beginning all at once.
Nothing lasts forever.
They kissed when they parted, heartbroken lovers. She hoped he would remember her. Even if it was only in his dreams. When she knew she carried their secret, she felt all the regret of their lost chances. He encouraged her to do what was best. Her heart broke once, when he chose a family to which he had no blood tie. It shattered when she gave their child away.
When she first came to Downton, they both resolved that no one should know about their prior acquaintance. She had to hide the fact that his voice was well known to her. His tall, handsome figure striding the halls, upstairs as well as down. She seemed little more than a stranger to him. Then she was given the keys to the house. They walked together, equal partners, but still separated from each other.
They faced tragedy and triumph. She fretted over his exacting diligence. He worried when he thought she had cancer. They watched their daughter grow, so close, yet so far away. They watched others love her, and she love them in return. A day trip to the beach beckoned. They walked hand in hand in shallow water. It was the first time in years, and she hoped.
Then came his accident.
And he began to remember, to regret. The memories that he had suppressed followed him with a vengeance. Hindsight burned his vision.
He dreamed of fire and screams, of her tangled hair in a forgotten meadow, her changing form. She lay next to him, a comfort. She watched him sleep, their limbs side by side.
She remembered what had past. He reached for a common future.
They were together again.
I am well aware that ChelsieSoul has not finished her story. I don't know what happens after chapter sixteen, so ended this little piece rather vaguely.
If you loved it, hated it, or anything in between, let me know.
