Chapter 2: Ages Past.
The young chamber maid walked briskly out of the artist shop, hugging herself as protection against the chilly evening air. Dressed in her old fashioned servants dress, that fitted in perfectly with the Middle Ages, where she was now, she thought fleeting of the warm winter clothes of 2001, and smiled remembering her very short skirt that she wore as part of her uniform at the Cafe Sonne where she used to work.
Flicking her blonde hair back Dana began to make her way back to the Squires manor where she worked. She thought wistfully of Rick, the young an she had met and fallen in love with at the manor, currently away on some errands for the poncy squire.
It had been four years. Four years since she had been caught in a mysterious portal and transported to this time. At first it had frightened her, but she had quickly discovered that she liked this time far more than her own time. She felt at peace there, like she had come home after a long trip. That's why it had been such a shock when Eike, the man responsible for bringing her there had turned up ten days ago and offered to take her back to their time. She had refused, with difficulty. It wasn't like she had any doubts about leaving 2001, but that Eike was a hard person to refuse.
Even thought there was at most two years separating them, Eike made Dana feel warm and protected, he was almost like a father figure to her. She hated the idea of disappointing him, and it taken every good memory she had of that time to refuse Eike's offer.
As Dana went in past the manor's gate a woman brushed past Dana roughly.
"Hey!" objected Dana. She recognised the woman. It was one of the old, spiteful women who always hung around the town discussing the people of the town, and were always ready to pass on nasty rumors, accompanied by the woman's bratty daughter.
"Get out of the way! This is an emergency!" the woman snapped.
"What's happened?" Dana asked
"The Alchemist's house has exploded! I told you that something like this would happen. That man was a danger to us all, always in that laboratory experimenting. I warned you!" the woman sounded almost gleeful. Normally Dana would have been disgusted at the woman's tone of voice and walked off, not bothering to care if she was being rude, however this news did interest her.
"When?" asked Dana.
"Why, it was only this afternoon!" Dana rolled her blue eyes, only a woman like this would still be so excitable so long after something like that had happened.
Dana was going to just go back to the manor, but for some reason she stopped. She didn't know why and she thought it was crazy, but she just felt compelled to go there. Slowly as if it wasn't really Dana, she turned and began to walk towards the alchemists house.
Inside her head, as she walked Dana could hear a voice, a voice that both frightened her and reminded her of...something.
The Alchemists house was truly a mess. Even now the smoke still came from the interior. Dana paused. She had heard many stories about Dr Wagner, the mad alchemist. She didn't want to go in, she wanted to turn around and go back home, to the manor, but still that voice, that echoey, sinister, male voice plagued her head. Very slowly Dana entered the house.
"Margarete!" the young, light male voice filtered up from the basement just as Dana entered.
"Eike?" Dana said. She went into the basement without any trouble. For some reason she felt like...she knew this place, but that was impossible, Dana had never been there in her life.
There was no one in the basement. Dana frowned. She had definitely heard Eike's voice here, and in the same way she knew exactly where the basement was, she knew that there was no other way out of the basement. Then she noticed the large machine that said 2001. A time machine.
"Eike..." Dana whispered. Somehow she knew that Eike was in danger. For a minute Dana struggled with her feelings, thinking about using the machine to take her to Eike to warn him. To protect him, like a child would protect their parent.
"Go upstairs, you cannot help him now. Go upstairs...and you will find what you are looking for," that haunting voice had come back. Dana didn't hesitate, she almost ran up the stairs, and stopped. When she had come into the house the stairs had been blocked with debris, now however they were clear.
She paused just outside what she knew to be the master bedroom. She knew that inside she would find something that would change her whole life, was she really ready for it.
The voice chimed in her head again, it was getting impatient. It was Dana's fear of the voice that made her go in to the room. The room radiated loneliness and despair. In the center of the room a picture lay on the bed.
Fearfully Dana looked at the picture, which showed two middle aged blonde people, one male, one female, and a very young boy who looked exactly like Dana. As Dana stared at it memories flooded her brain.
It was twenty years ago. The two adults Dana had seen in the picture were there looking after a new born baby. Looking at the proud parents, Dana gasped. The man, Dr Wagner, the baby's father looked exactly like Eike. Same blonde ponytail, same burning bright green eyes. The only difference were the clothes. Dr Wagner was dressed in long brown-black robes. The clothes of a scientist. Then Dana's point of vision moved forward, to the baby and Dana gasped again. It was her as a baby. Dana tried to deny it to herself, but she knew at first sight that it was true.
Suddenly Dana's vision clouded over. When it cleared again she was in the bedroom where her physical form stood now. Helena Wagner was putting the baby Dana into a cot.
"Sweet dreams, Margarete," Helena said. The baby fell asleep, immediately. Silently Helena left.
Dana's vision misted over again, this time when it cleared Dana was looking out of her own eyes, her eyes as a baby. She had just woken up, and was about to give a cry to alert her parents to that fact, when a figure dressed in black entered.
The baby Dana immediately opened her mouth and gave a wail. This black clad being scared her.
Meanwhile the adult Dana stumbled back a step. She knew who this was: the owner of the voice that had made her come here.
The figure in black stopped just short of the cot. Although it's voice was that of a male, it's face was female, almost beautiful, even with it's blood red eyes. It's body also seemed to be female, and it had a tail.
As the red-eyed woman picked the baby up, albeit with a lot of effort. Dana the baby screamed. Nobody came. The woman smiled.
"No one's going to come, Margarete. You're going to play a key part in my existence, isn't that nice?" The woman vanished.
She appeared again, in 1981, but she was panting and gasping. Just the effort of carrying Dana seemed to be exhausting her. She set Dana down in a snowy street and walked off. Dana cried but no one paid attention. A sound like a gunshot resounded throughout the air. When the woman returned she was carrying another baby, one with mid-brown hair.
"Farewell Margarete," the woman said. She vanished. The baby still, with Dana seeing through her eyes looked up to see a huge, dull, grey building. The orphanage where Dana had grown up.
Dana collapsed backward in shock, her head hit the hard floor and she lost consciousness. As her body slumped to the floor and the world went back she found herself in a pitch-black void, in a tunnel of dark blue and purple light. As she sailed through it, a bubble of light came to float down in front of her. Inside the bubble was the woman in black.
"Hello, Margarete," she said.
