7,887 BC

The river wound away from her and down into the wide, shallow valley, glistening in the sun like a strand of spider's silk fallen to earth. Her initial observations after finally being freed from the glacier was that many things had changed. The flora and fauna were both unrecognizable, and thicker about the ground. This was a warmer world now- teeming with life. The polar opposite of the harsh winter that had at last swallowed her up and refused to relinquish her for countless centuries. The wind was hot and sluggish, and the air was swarming with insects that tried in vain to bite her. Trees were gathered beside the banks of the river, and as she went farther along and descended in altitude they grew larger and more numerous. Within a week the mountains and the remnants of the ice that lay upon them had faded from view.

At about the same time, she got her first real clue about the nature of her unique and singular existence. She could hear something walking through the forest, but it's gait was unlike any of the animals she had encountered so far. Moving closer, she caught sight of a figure walking down towards the bank of the river. She followed quietly, or at least, as quietly as someone her weight could move. Apparently it was not quiet enough, because when she broke free of the underbrush the creature was already facing her with spear raised.

She watched him closely, weighing everything her eyes could see against the long epoch of her experience. He was quite clearly male, but younger than the bands of hunters and foragers she had glimpsed from the mountain. Here at last were creatures that bore a striking resemblance to her. This one had not yet developed the hair around his face that signified sexual maturity. Although she had seen no females as of yet, and so had nothing to compare herself against, she was fairly confident that they looked like her, mostly because the young hominid had lowered his spear a bit and was staring intently at her chest. She decided to test her theory.

She took a step forward, trying to look as demure and non-threatening as possible. There was a long, pregnant pause in which she was not quite sure whether he would relax, run, or try to hurl the spear through her face. But he made no move and before long her hand had come to rest on his shoulder. She could almost see instinct take hold as he dropped the spear and slid both arms around her.

And somewhere, down in the depths of her unfathomable mind, she felt something. Something she had scarcely believed possible. It was weak, to be sure. More of a curiosity than an urge, and yet... it was most definitely there. The idea appealed to her on some level, why, she did not know.

But perhaps, just maybe, that meant it would bring some answers.

64 AD

The palace was alive with activity. Attendants bustled to and fro, scrubbing and arguing and carrying large casks of wine and olive oil up from the cellars. The emperor's nosiest proxy was standing next to her, rattling off a list of duties.

"He also wishes that Lucius practice the lyre every night until he returns, that he may be ready to perform before the celebrants. Are you listening to me?"

"Yes." She replied.

"Well it didn't look like- never mind. Listen well to what I have to say next."

She turned her head and looked directly into his eyes, as humans did when they wanted to convey that they were paying attention. The proxy met her gaze and then quickly looked away, as though frightened by what he saw.

"The emperor also wishes that his son be coached in... well, in the ways of giving pleasure to a woman."

The proxy let the words spill out in a low murmur. Another interesting thing she had noted about human society was that mating was a very sensitive subject. She waited for him to clarify his statement, but no such clarification seemed to be forthcoming, so she simply asked:

"And he wishes me to do this?"

"Yes." The proxy replied curtly, keeping his voice low enough to avoid giving the passing servants and slaves something to talk about. "Out of all his consorts, the emperor made clear that he trusts this duty to you."

"Very well." She said. "When should this take place?"

"As soon as possible. The boy's aunts are on their way. They should arrive tonight, and of course they will demand to see him, so any... 'lessons' that you administer should be over by then."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, thank Minvera, that is all. Now go. And don't bungle this. It is of the highest importance."

The proxy strutted away, convinced of his own self importance. She made her way through the ornate palace. She was a familiar sight here, and no one stopped her. She had never taken part in any of the intrigues of the court, mostly because she could not bear children. The more important one was in Rome, the more illegitimate children they had. Lucius was the product of one of his father's many escapades, and the woman in question was high enough in status that the child might one day be called upon to act as an heir.

When she entered his room, he was lying on the richly carpeted floor, reading a history book, as he was wont to do. The child was handsome, like his father. Dark brown hair and startlingly green eyes. She closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Hello oracle." The child said, a smile on his face.

It was his nickname for her, as she was the one that had taken over most of his schooling. The other palaces whores were not much for schooling, and if the emperor appointed a well known teacher it would attract unwanted attention to the fact that Lucius existed.
"Hello Lucius. How are you?"

She went and sat next to him on the floor, and he pushed the book away. For some reason he enjoyed her company, whereas most other humans seemed to find her either dull or highly off-putting.

"Well, thank you." Lucius said, practicing his manners. "And you?"

"I am good." She replied, though in truth she had no answer to the question. "Your father has asked me to give you a special lesson today."

"He has?"

"Yes. Have you ever seen a woman that you would like to lie down with?"

The boy's cheeks burned bright red.

"Well... yes, I suppose... I have."

"Do you find me attractive?"

If blushed any harder, she was sure he would burst a blood vessel.

"Y-yes, you are very beautiful." He said, not looking at her.

She reached out a hand, grasped his chin as gently as she could and turned his head back to her. With her other hand she slipped the robes from her shoulders and let them fall to her waist, exposing her breasts.

The boy's eyes widened, and out of the corner of her eye she saw that he was aroused. No matter how convoluted human society became, she was absolutely sure that instinct would always remain.

"Your father has asked me to show you how a woman likes to be touched."

1351 AD

Fat rocks smacked against the cobblestones all around her. Some of them collided with her body and ricocheted off without effect. The crowd was shouting and waving their arms, but they didn't seem to want to come any closer. She could leave at any time, of course, but for some reason, a reason as inexplicable to her as her own existence, she found watching the response of these humans to her invulnerability very intriguing. It was the older males who were doing the instigating. Many of them had shovels or torches or knives. The women and children had come to see the spectacle as well, though most of them were content to hurl scorn up her, which had about as much effect as the rocks did. Eventually she turned and left, seeing that a detachment of guards was wending its way down the hill from the castle. Although a part of her would have liked to stand there until every living being within walking distance had shattered their spears and worn out their arms on her, another part thought that it better to avoid making a huge scene that would be related far and wide. Although she could not die or be hurt, she could be waylaid, as the glacier had proved. She preferred her mobility, and thus wanted to avoid giving mankind any time to figure out how to trap her.

By the time she had left town, the last little boy tailing her had grown bored and gone off in search of more lively entertainment. She left the path and entered the woods, which quickly grew thick enough to hide her from view. She had no scent, and she doubted they would bother to send trackers after her. Running "witches" out of town seemed to be a regular occurrences in the last few towns she had dwelt in. She had managed to stay in this one for less than a year before arousing suspicion. It seemed to have something to do with the pandemic that was sweeping the land. Without any effective medicine they turned on one another, as though by choosing and exiling one of their number they could somehow banish the disease with Twigs and branches snapped loudly underfoot as she walked, and in each place she trod, the earth and it's covering of leaf litter was compressed more than an inch. It was not very easy for her to sneak, but when you were unaffected by any worldly force short of lava flows and ice ages, stealth was a moot point. Over the noise of her own footfalls she could hear something else.

Someone was following her.

She pressed on for several minutes, but her tail persisted. When she turned around, she caught a glimpse of a tall, willowy boy about fifteen winters old clumsily hiding himself behind a tree trunk. She would have surely found it amusing, had she possessed a sense of humor.

"I know you are there."

It was hard to know what to say to humans. Despite thousands of years of practice across hundreds of languages and dialects, it seemed that every word meant something a little different to every human. They did not appear to follow any purely logical rules. The same sentence could evoke ten different reactions in ten different specimens.

In this one, though, it had the desired effect. Slowly the boy emerged. The sleeves of his tunic were tattered and worn, and she could see several bruises and healed contusions on his face.

"You're the witch, aren't you?"

She thought about it for a second.

"I'm not quite sure I know what it means. I'm not quite sure that they do, either."

A rare thing happened. The boy smiled. Smiled at something she had said.

And there it was again. That little flicker of something. It had contained no answers, only more questions. She knew that by now, and yet, having explored the earth, there seemed to be no higher pursuit left than to explore these creatures. Humans were clearly the key piece of the puzzle in that her physical form resembled them, but in the end she was no closer to understanding what had created her, nor why it had happened so long before the emergence of these flimsy, vulnerable versions of herself. At times she wondered if the gods that all humans seemed to speak of were human themselves, and playing some unfathomable human game. If that was what it took, to play that game as best she could, then she would do it. Nothing had ever stood in her way before, not forever.

"Are you badly injured?"

"No, I'll be fine."

They fell silent for a while, the boy swinging his arms awkwardly, looking down at the ground.

"What happened to you?"

"What d'you mean?" The boy muttered angrily, but she could see that he clearly knew what she meant.

"Your face is covered with-"

"I KNOW!" He shouted, and for the first time in a very long time, Jones stopped speaking mid-sentence.

She wanted to hear what he would say next. Instead, he began to cry softly, and sadness was a human emotion that she had rarely practiced responding to. She moved beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder. It was always easier when they were not looking at her face, she found. Staring into her eyes seemed to immediately reveal to most people a hint of what she truly was. She had tried working on it, but it was a fluid, elusive thing that defied imitation.

"I was so hungry... I just- just wanted something to eat and I had no money and- and no one would help me..." he said, the tears running down his cheeks.

As if to agree with him, the grey, overcast sky that had been lurking above all day released a light smattering of raindrops upon them. This downpour quickly grew in intensity, and looking down at the boy, she remembered that humans could become seriously ill if they got too cold, so fragile were their bodies.

"We should find shelter." She said, taking him by the hand.

They walked through the forest arm in arm, her slightly ahead, leading the way. She followed a stream farther into the woods until it ended in a pool. Just beyond the pool was a hill, and as it was well watered it would have the thickest trees, especially in this wood where few of the leaves ever heeded the change of the seasons./p
She found a place where the canopy of thick green needles overlapped enough to block the rain out, and the elevation allowed the water to run downhill instead of soaking the grass underneath it. She removed her shawl and placed it down on the grass, and the boy lay down on it. She lay next to him, and he watched her with his inquisitive eyes.

"Won't you be cold?"

She shook her head.

"What should I call you?"

She had to think about that one for a moment. She considered ditching the name she had most recently taken, but decided instead that she should be more consistent about it.

"My name is Elizabeth."

"Edward." the boy replied. "My name is Edward."

"That is a fine name. I will help you, Edward. Tomorrow we can go find food."

"How?"

She moved closer, and brushed a lock of his rather untidy hair behind his ear, which provided an excuse to get close enough to kiss him. He did not jump with surprise or even hesitate. In fact, he closed his eyes and leaned into it, their lips moving together while outside the cover of the thick branches, the rain roared down in ever-greater sheets.

1887 AD

Elizabeth stood out on the veranda of the palatial estate home, looking over the grounds as the sun set. Since the rest of the family had left, Master Samuel had been going a bit off the rails. He had maintained his boyish smile while his mother and many younger siblings clamored about the dinner table, but now that they were upcountry enjoying the new summer house, and the house was empty save for the servants, he had taken to leaving his evening meal cold on the table and riding down to the pub in the nearest town to get completely drunk.

She needed to stay in his favor, but at the same time prevent him from doing something that might cause him to come to harm and thereby evict her from her hiding place. It was by his good graces alone that she had been retained as an employee of the household long after the original contract to be his nanny had ended. Places to hide her true nature were getting scarcer and scarcer, and with human technology advancing at an ever-increasing rate, she now had much more reason to fear that humanity would one day find a way to trap her. To control her. To lock her away beneath the ground for the rest of eternity, if they wanted to. Not that she would mind. But all the same, she preferred it up here, down among the ants. She enjoyed observing the world as each small part of it's multifaceted biosphere grew and died and grew again. An endless, self-perpetuating cycle leading upwards... to what?

The little pebbles buried underneath the dirty driveway crackled as Samuel's automobile rumbled across it , going much faster than it should have been. It came to a halt with a sudden jerk, sending a small cloud of dust flying. The young master emerged from his vehicle on slightly unsteady feet and made his way up the front steps.

"Evening Elizabeth. You look quite fetching tonight."

"Why thank you Samuel." She said, using the familiar form of address.

She followed him inside, and after closing the door behind him she removed his coat from his shoulders. Before she could pull away and hang it up, he put his arms around her and planted a very sloppy kiss on her lips. She received it equanimously, and let the jacket fall to the floor behind her. Samuel did not seem to notice, or if he did he didn't care. He leaned hard against her, and she allowed herself to be pinned against the wall as his hands roamed up and down her body.

"You must so awfully lonely, cooped up here all day..."

He spun her around and bent her over the chest of drawers that the family's many guests would put their cold weather hats in mittens in without mixing them up. He forced up her skirt, and she could feel his warm exposed skin pressing against hers. With some difficulty, he entered her.

"Oooh god you're tight, El! It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yes." Jones said. "It has been a long time."

1985 AD

They were met on the platform by a man in a dark suit and tie. James was stilling clinging to her hand like a life preserver. He had seemed cheerful the whole way there and had asked her a great deal of excited questions, which she had answered as best she could, but now he was very quiet, as if it was occurring to him that his life was changing forever. The man handed her an envelope with the seal of Gunnerkrigg Court on it.

"There's been a change of plans. You're getting off two stop ahead of the original meeting point. There will be a car waiting."

Someone else might have asked why, but not Jones. In her experience, why was rarely a question that Court employees entertained. She nodded, placed the envelop into her pocket and watched the man vanish back into the crowd. Moments later the train pulled into the station, it's bullet-like exterior gleaming in the sun. The doors opened, and a cool female voice gently reminded passengers to watch their step. The Court was never short of money, and so when they entered the train the conductor immediately recognized Jones and escorted them to a sleeper car in the back, reserved for them courtesy of Jones' many unused vacation days. She had anticipated that there would be more students to take along with her, but this time she had received word that she was to collect the first and come back immediately. Now there was this business with the route of ingress changing. Something was up.

Getting to Gunnerkrigg Court was very difficult, nigh impossible, if one did not know where it was. Great pains had been taken to hide the Court and the Wood surrounding it from intrusion by outsiders. Jones had bumped elbows with high ranking elements of Her Majesties' security services several times in the course of her work, and she got the impression that a very old and very secret agreement existed between them and her James seemed to perk up at the idea that they had an entire train car to themselves and glued himself to a window, watching the scenery speed by faster and faster. Jones busied herself with writing up her post-assignment brief, which would be a much shorter document than usual. The last light of day was fading from the sky as they passed Stevenage and raced on towards Hitchin.

"It is time to get ready for bed, James." Jones said, folding up the paper and placing it in her handbag.

The boy did not protest. It had been a long and exciting day for him, and so he allowed himself to be shepherded into the bathroom and eventually she managed to find his toothbrush within his backpack, which was full to bursting. She retreated to one of the private rooms, which was just large enough for her bunk and an end table bolted to the floor. She unpacked her dressing gown and slipped out of her day clothes. She did not sleep, but it was a human habit that was useful to imitate.

She heard the door behind her open and turned around. Young Eglamore stopped in mid-stride and threw his hands up to block the sight of her naked body.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were in the other one!" He squeaked and ran out.

Jones put the robe on and got into bed, confident that James was old enough to tuck himself in. She turned the light out and crossed her arms over her waist, watching the lights of the houses outside race by, broken now and then by a fence or field. She was close now. Closer to an answer than she had been in years. The Court seemed to be the place to be if one had the kind of questions that she wanted answers. It was only by a stroke of luck that she had come into contact with it's representatives. Or at least, it seemed like a stroke of luck. Jones had since learned that those who were let in on the secret of the Court's existence were typically under observation for a long time before the offer was made.

Above the muffled click click of the train sliding from one section of rail to another, she heard another sound. It sounded like someone crying. She stood up and went round to Eglamore's room. His bedside light was still on, and under the blankets she could hear him sniffling. She pulled back the covers and slid into his bed.

"I'm sorry-" he began, but she put her arm around him and pressed a finger against his lips.

"Shhh- it is alright." She said, pulling him close against her.

She stroked the back of his head gently. Not for the first time and not for the last she marveled at the strength of the emotions that coursed through mankind, and at that thought she felt her own small emotion- regret. Regret that she would never experience these amazing, powerful forces in the same way that living creatures like little James Eglamore would. Still, just because she could feel hardly anything, didn't mean she could not make someone else feel something.

With her free hand she slipped off the loose folds of her robe and slid it out of the bed. His warm and slightly damp cheek rested against her bare bosom. Like so many boys his age that she had encountered, he was not alarmed by this sudden turn of events. Human society had yet to put his blinkers on fully. He could enjoy this as simple pleasure shared between two.

And he was enjoying it. Jones could feel his erection pressing against her thigh. He had hardly started down the road to puberty but it seemed that he was several years ahead of his peers when it came to size. Jones slid a hand down and cupped his penis with her hand, letting it's pulsating length warm her hand. She kissed his forehead and slid his underwear down to his knees. Tenderly she kissed his forehead and began to stroke him. She could feel his pounding heartbeat against her skin, and in her palm with each twitch of his cock. His hands grasped her breasts and kneaded clumsily, his eyes shut tight.

As she increased the speed and the strength of her grip, the boy gasped and fidgeted in her embrace, his breathing fast and shallow. She could feel the heat building in his lower body, and moments later he tensed up and moaned out loud. A small spurt of clear liquid left his cock and decorated Jones' stomach. The boy let out a contented sigh, and leaned his head back down onto the pillow, his eyes fluttering.

"Good night James." Jones said quietly. "I will always be there for you if you need me. Remember that."

"Thank you Mrs. Jones..." James mumbled, fading fast.

Jones took hold of her robe which was lying in a heap on the floor and turned the light out. She went to the bathroom and used a sheet of toilet paper to wipe away the remnants of the boy's orgasm. Then she retired to her quarters, and waited for dawn to come.