I feel awful for not updating sooner Y_Y Busy week, but I wrote up a few chapters that I hope you'll all like. Enjoy!
Arielle sat by a window in her room. She sighed and looked out over the rolling landscape as she recalled her mate's words bitterly.
He stood by the door while she stood by the bed, her hair was a mess and her robe wasn't tied securely enough, her chest peeking out from the red fabric. He looked at her, "You will not leave this room. It's not safe for you out beyond these walls."
She huffed in frustration, "I heard you the first time. You can't keep me locked in here forever, I will not be a prisoner in my own home." She objected firmly.
His eyes darkened and he scowled, "My word is final woman. If I catch you outside of this room I will chain you to the bed. You will tell me that you understand." He waited for her answer.
Shaking her head she walked up to him and leaned upwards towards him, "No."
He issued a throaty growl and then grabbed her shoulders, roughly flinging her to the bed. She lay awkwardly on her back on the edge of the bed and looked up at him with a determined look in her eyes. He pressed all of his weight onto her body, pressing his lower body forcefully against hers.
He spoke, "I will not risk your death, even if that means keeping you prisoner in our room. You are mine now and will remain so for the rest of eternity. You will not jeopardize that!" He yelled in her face, shaking her twice to get his point across. He dropped her, or more of flung her, backwards onto the bed and then walked away.
Shaken, but not scared, she sat up and then stood on her feet. Just as she was storming towards the door she heard a heavy thump against the wood and when she reached it she found that he had placed a block on it; she was officially trapped.
It wasn't their first fight and it certainly wasn't their last, she hated that he won more than the fact that they fought. After he left is when she tied her robe properly around her body and then sank down into a wing backed chair by the window. She stared at the greenness outside her window and wanted to be down by the stream. As she stared she saw her mate stalk towards the stables, moments later he thundered out and made his horse turn to face her window before galloping away over the hills. She sneered at his figure and then looked at the room around her.
A new set of memories came to her as she took a moment to remember where she was and how she got there. She had been with The Kurgan for only four months and in that time had tried her best to readjust to Highlander life. The first week had been terrifying since she knew nothing about the time she lived in. She had no idea how to do everyday things, let alone how to be a count's countess. But The Kurgan was patient with teaching her, just like he was when he stalked his victims.
Her first month had been spent exploring her new home. Her mate and master showing her everything she would need to know about, telling her what she had to do and what she didn't have to do. She had always wondered what being a noble was like, a duchess or countess. She had also received a lot of help from the woman who worked in the kitchens, the elderly red haired woman named Mel. Mel had become her maid in a way, helping her get used to tying corsets and stays on her dresses. And then there was the issue of her having clothes at all, something The Kurgan ordered Mel to work on until Arielle had enough dresses.
The woman proved to be an amazing seamstress and was able to create simple, yet lovely gowns that Arielle came to love. She had to change her entire style to fit into this new era that she lived in, no longer dressing as a bohemian or hippy, but as a noble would. She came to accept it with ease. Clothes was no issue but learning how to cope in a world without the same technology was something she was intrigued by. It took a few weeks but she got used to the idea of living a simpler life without computers, phones or electricity. She didn't mind.
What was hardest was trying to find what to do with herself. Being the mate of The Kurgan meant that she didn't have to cook or clean for herself anymore. She came around to the idea of being waited on and in place of working she spent every moment with her mate. He taught her everything she needed to know, what things were called, how to handle servants, and most surprisingly was how he taught her to act as a countess.
"I am a count and certain responsibilities come with that title," he said to her one day. "Being my mate makes you a countess."
She grinned, "Does that mean we go to balls?" She asked eagerly.
He nodded, "But not many of course. Only when someone feels threatened and wants to gain my favor."
"What about other Immortals? Do they attack you here?" She asked.
"Sometimes," he said. "But I defeat them easily enough."
"Are there many of you?" She looked at him.
Again, he nodded. "Legions of us. A lot are ones your world doesn't even know exist. Many are created by other writers from your world and are given life here where we continue to fight for The Prize."
She became confused, "But all the movies and MacLeod. I thought The Prize was already won."
He grinned, "The Prize has never been won here. Only what you see. But what you see isn't all that is real."
She smirked and they continued with their riding lesson for the day. Most nights were spent in a love making frenzy, both of them feeling like they could be taken away from each other at any moment in time. The second month is when The Kurgan finally introduced his mate to the world. Already people had guessed and talked, rumors spread about The Kurgan Woman but no one knew for sure. Not until they were invited to a small ball at a king's castle. Arielle had never been so nervous.
Her mate showed no fear, only pride and aggressive obsession. He had Mel construct a deep midnight blue gown of velvet. It was off the shoulder and lined with black lace, tight sleeves ended at the elbows where the velvet flared into bell sleeves and more black lace made fingerless gloves. The skirt had been expertly stitched to have folds and provided a natural flare that moved with each step.
It was around this time, before they were to set off for the ball, that The Kurgan came to her with a gift. He found her admiring the dress in the floor length mirror in their room. She was touching the glass mushrooms around her neck that had accompanied her to this new world. He knew that they had been a gift from her dead brother. His boots thudded heavily on the wood floor as he crossed the room to her.
"Take them off Arielle," he said in a low voice.
She grabbed them and her eyes went wide, she tensed, "I. . .I can't." she whispered.
He grabbed her waist with both hands and turned her to face him, her gaze was low. He cupped her chin with one hand as he directed her gaze to what his other hand held. Dangling from one finger was a silver chain with a single pendant. A red opalescent crystal cut in a tear drop shape, set upside down in slightly dark silver setting. It had a rustic look that vintage lovers craved, the metal beaten and old looking.
She tentatively reached out and took the pendant in her hand. She closed her fingers around it and kept her gaze to it while she gave him two short nods. His fingers curled around the transparent ribbon of her past life and he yanked it off. She clasped the new necklace around her neck and the red gem contrasted nicely with the deep blue of her dress. She looked up at him.
"I want you to wear this for me. This is your life now," he said.
He did, however, put the mushrooms back into her hand. As an Immortal he knew how important it was to have a keepsake of one's past. Every Immortal's sword was a keepsake of their beginnings. Their entrance to the ball was a grand one and The Kurgan further astonished Arielle by proving that he was an adept dancer. Effortlessly swirling her around the dance floor. The king who had invited them took an interested eye to Arielle and watched her all evening; he didn't dare go near her though. Not with her mate hovering by her side every moment. That night The Kurgan took her to the king's own bedchambers while the dance wore on and made love to her in the other man's bed, they went back to the dance with Arielle weak kneed and red in the cheeks, her mate grinning darkly by her side.
That night was the first night The Kurgan suspected that Count Hartmann was spying on them. His valet kept a particularly close eye on the new woman, a move that didn't go unnoticed by The Kurgan. In the following two months life continued on for the new woman. The Kurgan took her on little trips to the village he ruled over and showed her his life. Among the weeks he also battled another Immortal. A small man from France who never had a chance of winning. A snob and full of himself he underestimated The Kurgan's precise movements and was easily dispatched. Arielle watched the spectacle from the front steps of their castle, she couldn't help but admire the ways her mate fought, he had a dark sort of grace in his own way.
Finally they entered the current month of Arielle's new life. The Kurgan had dealt with a man he knew was a spy from Hartmann and after an incident in the village he, along with huntsmen he hired, began making morning and nightly rounds of his property. He found small signs like disabled traps, there seemed fewer animals in the woods as if someone was hunting them to live out there. He also found remains of fire pits and small camps that the past men thought he would miss. It wasn't until the one night where Arielle ventured into the village for a day and ended up staying late into the night that The Kurgan was able to confirm his suspicions, he had hidden them from his mate because he wasn't sure himself. He cornered a wiry man with shaggy black hair and fought with him for only thrirty minutes before stabbing him, therefore killing yet another spy. The fight was cruel when he more of played with his victim before killing him.
He was already frustrated enough and going home to find his woman gone both amused and angered him. This new spy, though, was different from the rest, he was clever. Able to kill The Kurgan's own livestock on his own property presented a worthy challenge, but what made him furious and made him lock Arielle in their room was the fact that this spy, whoever he was, had managed to steal one of her things and send such a straightforward message to them both. No one knew just how the spy got a hold of the cloak but The Kurgan chose to believe that it had been left in the stables and not stolen from their room.
Coming back to reality Arielle thought to herself about how out of placed she still felt. Being from a different time and space gave her a unique air about her. She knew that the way she spoke would often confuse the servants, using terms and phrases they didn't quite understand. The Kurgan didn't care when he used out of time terms and in that made Arielle somewhat relieved. With him she felt exposed and a little lost, which is why she stuck to him as often as she could.
She knew her life was in danger and she partly understood her mate's reasons, but she couldn't stand being cooped up in her room for days until The Kurgan caught the current spy. She suddenly stood up and began going through her master's clothing, trying to find something she could fit to her size. She found a shirt that he wore in the winter, a simple shirt with long sleeves. She dug through every piece of stitched clothing he owned until she found a tighter pair of trousers that tied at the knees and waist, she fitted it to her body even though they still ballooned a little around her legs, she told herself to remember to ask Mel to make her a pair of pants that fit her one of these days.
What is she doing?! O_o