DISCLAIMER: The storyline, all new characters, new character development, new developments are my intellectual property. Glorioux
Homecoming?
...The room filled with light, he heard dog growls. He definitely smelled his wife's fragrance.
He opened his eyes slowly, his heart about to burst out his chest. He had company. He reached for his dressing gown, put it on, and stood up.
In front of him, Darcy saw several beings, but they weren't human. One was a beautiful young woman who looked like his wife, dressed in a tunic with men's trousers and a cloak; the being, her father, from that fateful wedding night, was dressed the same. Three females and three males wore similar garments and similar helmets; there were also a few animals, a large hound, a smaller one, and a large bird that might have been a white owl.
But most importantly, his wife was there, or one who resembled her. Maybe he was wrong because she was much paler than his wife but still stunning; her long wavy and shiny hair fell in cascades down her back; she dressed like the others.
She stood between her father and, he guessed, her mother, the one that looked like her. Goodness, his wife wasn't wearing a cloak, but instead, she had wings like her father's that disappeared in minutes; it was her, his Elizabeth. His heart rejoiced and nearly cried in gratitude; she was back, his wife. It was an odd feeling.
Darcy was tongue-tied; he believed to know her father's identity; he was one of several half-brothers. Darcy was aware of the danger he was facing. Hopefully what he knew was right, he read that the brothers didn't end human life unless it was in either self-defense or defense of others.
The powerful beings in his father's secret books lived in realities, or he would say universes, that some called the underworlds; the worlds where some dead souls go after death. The books didn't say whether the brothers were good or bad but spoke of their might; of their powers not known to humanity. They were fierce and feared warriors who fought the dark hordes or commonly known as armies of demons, demons that took over 0worlds.
The brothers were emperors over many worlds; indeed, Elizabeth's father was an emperor who ruled over many. Ironic how badly he had messed up, he had married Elizabeth who was a princess like none in Earth, and what? Was something the matter with him?
He wasn't entirely repentant for marrying her. In here, in his world, he had a more significant advantage, and in his arrogant view, they shouldn't have left her alone. She was his. Thus, he would claim her. Except, what? Except something bothered him, the feeling of wrongness.
"Look at my wife before you say anything. Did you know that your miserable uncle violated my wife? He was an adult, and she was but a child who recently had her first blood," he stared at Darcy, hard.
"I am sorry, but that is not my fault," Darcy answered. Although he was still arrogant, bile rose up to his throat just thinking about it. He didn't want to believe all said about his uncle; it made his head starting to hurt, and breathing was becoming difficult, fragments of a nightmare threatened to break thru the surface of his consciousness.
"His transgression wasn't without consequences." Lizzie's father stopped to kiss his wife's brow; she was visibly upset. He leaned and whispered something, and she nodded her head.
"In any case, your uncle's father had tried the same with my wife's mother; it happened before she married her young sweetheart, his best friend; may I add, he married not knowing what had happened to his young bride, she was ashamed and kept it a secret. Your grandfather went after them with a vengeance; he even ruined them financially."
Darcy was dumbfounded; now he believed all he had heard thus far, "I didn't know." That was all he said. The new knowledge had planted a seed of doubt, of awareness; a key to open the door of locked memories, his headache intensified. He heard Lizzie's father, and he wasn't sure what was so troublesome.
"Did you know that my wife's father was a, hmm, an earl, just like your uncle. Her grandparents were duke; I would say that he comes from great stock, don't you agree?"
An earl, Mr. Bennett was one, Richard had told him. Darcy nodded, what an arrogant fool he had been, thinking that his wife was beneath him.
"Ah, there is more, your uncle didn't know that she was my wife. You see, once in a while during special times when many conditions are met, mostly in the physical plane, the portals into many realms open. Those cycles occur with predictable frequency. When the portals open, I and my brethren, along with very nasty creatures, can cross here and into other realms. The portals are in places where different realms intersect." He stood between his wife and daughter to caress his wife's head. His wife seemed to relax.
"That day, I saw my to-be-wife sitting on a rock and noticed her tears. It was the day her parents died. It had been a few hours since the accident happened, well, not an accident, since their murder." He looked at Darcy again; the implication was horrid; he knew that her father was telling the truth.
"Yes, she sat by the angry sea and was thinking morbid thoughts. We knew what she was planning; it just couldn't come to pass." His arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders.
"I'd never seen such a clean soul, it called me from far away. That same day, I asked her to come as o…err, my bride when she was older. We made promises, in your terms we were married, but she was left untouched, only a chaste kiss on her hand; she was only a child after all. Too bad that we left her unprotected against your uncle. He was, and is, depraved and saw her as easy prey. We protected her the next time I saw her, right after the attack. '"Unfortunately, it was too late. We were all forbidden to kill him, lucky for him."
The words were poisoned rain falling on Darcy, imagining his uncle's deeds was revolting; still, he tried to concentrate and listened.
"I offered her brother riches, to make his life easier, but he was and is too proud. After the violation, Thomas sent her away to hide her from your uncle. Poor my dear, having to hide for years in a remote place; while your uncle made Thomas' life miserable, during the entire time, because he wanted to find out where he hid ou...er, wife."
"We came for her six years later, the earliest time that Thomas would allow. He insisted that we repeated our vows in front of a man of God. I took her away when she was 18." He waited for the impact of the words to reach William Darcy.
'My dear Lord, she just turned 12 when it happened, so young. My uncle had to be over 18; it was in Oxford.' Darcy thought and remembered Richard's comments, about Bennett's sister being a little young, but tasty. He felt ill.
"When she became with child, carrying a new life, we had to bring her back. A pregnant female cannot stay in a world like ours after a specific time. In our societies, new life is only possible for us, not for those whose bodies have previously died. Staying was not an option; it is dangerous for the mother and baby because evil spirits crave new life and life giver.
When I brought my wife back, her brother had married already. I had left him means, but he was too proud; after your grandfather ruined them, he found money to be an issue.
My wife stayed in a house next to her brother's home. Thomas didn't want anyone to know of their relationship; he worried that your uncle would find out. By that time, Thomas was a broken man because your uncle had taken away the woman he loved, your aunt."
"I see, I see," was all William Darcy could say.
"Soon after my wife gave birth to my darling daughter, my princess, tragedy struck. We still don't know how your uncle found out that my wife was back. It happened right after she gave birth. We were distracted; everyone was celebrating when your uncle tried to abduct her. During the fouled abduction, amongst other things, my Eugenia was mortally wounded. We had to bring her back without the baby." He looked sad.
"Why?" Darcy asked.
"When I brought my wife back to our world to heal her, she was nearly dead; unfortunately, she was needed to bring our daughter back. She would have needed to walk on her own free will, pass the portals on her own feet while carrying the baby on her arms. We knew that the portals would close within a few hours after she crossed back and no longer carrying new life. We also knew that the portals would stay closed for all of us until L'behj became of age."
"I see," he didn't. The idea of leaving your child behind filled him with apprehension and anxiety. He would never leave his baby behind, or just as unthinkable was to have your child taken away from you.
"Eugenia was ill for a long while. We knew that my wife would not be well before the portals closed. The rules are complicated. So I talked to her brother and left my baby with him and his horrible wife. My daughter will tell you the rest."
Elizabeth spoke for the first time, "Yes, I will." Her voice sounded like music to Darcy's ears. Her father nodded and continued.
"We must leave now. My wife can only stay here for hours at a time because she was practically dead when I took her back. Those are the rules since had she stayed here, wouldn't be alive; thus, we foiled eminent death. I had to take her away, and we had no choice. Perhaps we could have healed Eugenia here, but we couldn't risk it, as it were, we had already lost too much."
Lizzie's mother was crying; the feeling of grief was oppressing. Darcy was trying to make sense of all said. He was missing something; the father had implied some things, something about 'we' but what? Later, he would think about it at some other time.
"I see, so why are you here, are you bringing me back my rightful wife?" Darcy demanded, clearly forgetting who were the beings dealing with him.
"Listen well, L'behj will need to stay until she gives birth. She isn't yours, if there were another way, she wouldn't be here. Since we have learned much she won't be alone; they will stay with her," he pointed at the females and the males.
Darcy could see them better; they looked like warriors; every one of the tall males was lithe but also strong, and the females were much of the same.
Each one had the glowing patterned lines on their faces. They were winged, but the wings disappeared in front of his eyes; and, he was now sure that the cloaks were wings. Judging from their aggressive stances, they were to look out for his wife.
They carried strange weapons: armbands with attached cylinders, daggers, swords, bows, large tubes hanging from slings. He would say they were armed to the teeth, living arsenals.
"Heed this warning, her wicked stepmother is plotting with my enemies. She is a fool and cannot see that they are agents of darkness. She wants, hmm, Lizzie back. It is for financial reasons; she is selling her to them. She plans to lure her, probably with one of her sisters. I have someone watching her, but she is crafty."
"Why not kill her? "Darcy asked; if they didn't, he would.
"We cannot, not until the foolish Fanny female tries to cause us harm. A renegade, not one of us, is working with her to take my daughter, to control us. She thinks that he is a human who desires her, foolish woman. He is a half-monster. They are others here with him, who are equally dangerous," he shook his head.
"But remember that now my daughter is of age, and she grew up here. Because of that, while she is here, the portals where we crossed are open to us. However, each use weakens the portals; the portals being points of entry."
"They," Darcy pointed at the warriors, "cannot stay here, how will I explain them?"
"They will." He looked at Darcy carefully. His eyes blinked; obviously, he was amused.
"Now I see, you are one of us, one of my people, although not from recently. Hmm, be watchful, you are at my mercy. I am your liege, funny," he smirked and broke into an uncharacteristic raucous laugh. Everyone, but Darcy, joined the laughter, "You see, you will be compelled to obey me."
Darcy harrumphed.
"Don't be fooled, the portals are no longer locked; we think that is related to my daughter growing here, as I explained before. As for you, hmm, your ancestor is known as Jealousy; he is called so because of a curse. He is of high birth but cursed by one of my brothers for going after his wife. It is evident that he had a child with a mortal, but he must not have known it. "
Darcy, was stunted with the revelation; he was like them, how so?
He kissed Elizabeth who held on to both parents crying, "Mommy, Daddy don't leave me, I will be alone," she looked very young.
"Darling it is the only way. You are not alone. You know it," her father told her.
It downed on Darcy; she was with child, maybe she would be with him; his eyes lit, tonight was looking up.
"No, you will not use my daughter. She will do as she pleases," the father could read him and 'talked' inside his head. "That day, I gave her a gift of forgetfulness, thus, be careful what you say around her, or you'll answer to me."
Darcy didn't understand and wanted to ask, but he was cut off.
"We must go," the father announced.
Her mother sobbed, "I don't want to leave her, there must be something we could do. How can we leave our family here? Your brother," she looked around, "said that maybe we could stay in."
He looked sad, "No beloved, if we did, the portals that separate the worlds of light would break. As it is, we," he looked at the warriors, "shouldn't be here at the same time, It is too dangerous we must go, soon. Maybe, once she..."
And just like that, mid-sentence, they went; indeed, her parents left, but the others remained. To his amazement, now, they looked human dressed suitably for the period. They wore expensive yet understated garments; their weapons were no longer visible.
Elizabeth's light colored clothes were plain; now, she braided her hair with ribbons. She was human but still breathtaking, how could have he ever thought she was just tolerable?
He knew because male eyes couldn't notice her, but he had made her visible; it was his doing, his fault.
The smaller dog cried, and Elizabeth picked it up. The dog licked her face, and she kissed his head. The giant bird stood perched on a coat rack, his eyes on Darcy; not bird's eyes, they belonged to a sentient being. Darcy couldn't stop staring.
Elizabeth spoke to him for the first time, "His name is L'Roy, meaning the king; he has other brothers named the same. He is a, well, a something else, a mighty being. The hounds are Merlin and Wind. Same goes for them, or maybe not." She and the others grinned.
She pointed at the females, "You can call them: Miss Smoke, Miss Grey, and Miss Stone" she chuckled, "very appropriate. As for them," she pointed at the three males," you might use their first name, Leo, Gavin, and F, err, Echtwulf; use whatever last name suits you. Alas, they don't have one, or not one that you could pronounce."
"They will not stay," he answered firmly.
Echtwulf was in front of him in the time it takes to blink an eye. Darcy noticed the inhuman eyes, he growled and showed his teeth, a predator, "I tend to differ, our rooms must be near hers."
"L'roy, fire," Elizabeth ordered. Right away, a high flame came out of the bird's beak to light a fireplace.
Echtwulf smiled again, regular human teeth. For a second he could see strange beings under their skin, and, then, they were back to normal.
Wind, the larger dog, walked in circles smelling and growling.
Leo looked at Gavin, "There is one here that consorts with an enemy, we need to find him. Do you have guests?"
"Yes, but they are asleep."
Darcy gave up and called Mrs. Reynolds, "Find them rooms in the family wing, near my wife's room."
Mrs. Reynolds hadn't heard anyone come in, but she sensed the power all around and understood. "Mrs. Darcy welcome, we will have your room ready." She lowered her eyes; she thought that her young master was a fool.
She lowered her head in respect to Lizzie. Oh dear, her daughter had been right, poor young master. She would tell her people that Mrs. Darcy was back. They would want to meet her and protect her.
"About that, "Elizabeth looked at Darcy, "I shouldn't sleep alone; my parents told me." Her eyes were no longer timid. She was not asking; instead, she was telling Darcy how things would be.
Darcy didn't like to be ordered by anyone, nor he wanted to sleep with anyone and had never done it. It was simple, he shunned intimacy. His parents weren't loving and fought all the time.
Darcy just nodded, not about to fight with whatever was in front of him, this was dangerous, he would talk to her later.
Mrs. Grey told him, "Don't talk, nothing will change. Listen to your wife, my Lady's word rules. You still don't understand, do you? Each one of us would give up our existence for her."
He saw the face of a strange creature, beautiful yet feral. They could hear his thoughts. He knew better than to ask. His life had changed; it looked like he was no longer in charge. He hoped to be wrong.
A/N She is back, but only because he is needed. It would seem Elizabeth is no longer a shy flower; if she ever were one. Shall we read ahead?
