Ch. 6
She groaned, rolling over away from the voice. No sooner than had she done so when a small cry came from her lips. Looking around, she found herself sprawled on the stone floor. Laughter was heard coming from the sofa, this made her scramble to her feet and face the laughing person.
"Oh, it's you," she said a bit sourly.
"Where have you been, Kat?" he asked once he contained his laughter.
"Kat?"
"Short for Katherina."
"Oh."
"So, where were you?"
"Hospital," she answered quickly.
"Are you all right?"
"I suppose, but I can't remember why I was there."
She stretched her arms over her head in an attempt to brush off the stiffness that usually comes after waking abruptly from a deep slumber. As she did, she ended up wincing in pain; if her companion noticed, he didn't comment. She then proceeded to sit down next to him and look into the roaring fire.
"Hello?"
"What?" Kat asked startled.
"I asked you how it was possible for you to be in a hospital."
"I told you I don't remember why I was there," she responded frowning.
"No, no. Not that," he said shaking his head, "I meant how did you get out of here, if there is no way to leave."
"…"
"Doesn't it feel like more than a day has passed since we saw each other last?" he asked, "If I were a betting, man, which I am, I'd say that we're in some sort of a dreamworld."
"You know, that seems like a good possibility."
"What, you expected something stupid?" he asked raising an eyebrow.
Kat shook her head, smiling as she pushed him.
"Ow!" she cried softly, grabbing her left arm.
"What's wrong?"
"My arm, it feels really sore," she said massaging it gingerly.
"Here, give it," he said holding his hand out.
She warily gave him her tender arm, and let out a hiss as he began to massage it. Pretty soon, she found herself relaxing.
"Better?"
"Much. You've got amazing hands," Kat said honestly.
"Oh?" he asked, "That's odd…"
"What is?"
"A girl usually tells me that after I…" he left the sentence hanging, wiggling his eyebrows.
"You know," Kat said in a husky voice, moving closer to him, " I wouldn't be surprised."
She ran a finger down his chest and heard him hitch a breath.
"Do you know what I'm thinking?" she asked coyly.
"I have a good idea…"
"Really?" she asked again, brushing her hand down his arm.
"Yes."
"Let me tell you anyway," she said whispering in his ear, causing him to elicit a low growl, "You're a bloody pig."
She pulled away grinning from ear to ear at his shocked expression.
"I'll have you know that I'm not that easy."
He glowered at her.
"Oh my god, loosen up!"
They spent the rest of the time getting to know each other –or at least trying to, with the limited knowledge they had. It turned out that he had a good relationship with his mother throughout his life, and a strained one with is father up until his death. He was an only child, but that was not to say that his parents hadn't tried to have more children. He also attended a select boarding school near the Scottish border, where he had a small close-knit group of friends.
"Why was your relationship strained?" Kat couldn't help but ask.
"Well," he started, running a hand through his hair, "See, when I was younger, my father was great. You know, caring and devoted. However, as I grew up, I started to notice many things that I hadn't otherwise. For example, the way that he treated my mother. I never noticed the coldness between them as a child, nor the bruises that regularly appeared on my mothers face the following day whenever he came home late from work. I remember being ten when I asked my mother about these things and she sent me out yelling. However, the thing that I won't forget is the look of fear and surprise in her eyes when I asked her."
"That same day, I stupidly confronted my father about this. I was sent to the hospital after the beating that he gave me. When I returned home one week later, he lectured me on how I was never to question what he did, for any reason. Now, that isn't all. I know there is something else, but I can't remember."
"I see," was all that she could manage to say.
"Well, enough about me. Tell me about yourself."
"I too, have a strained relationship with my parents," Kat began albeit a bit uncomfortably after hearing his story, "I've always had the impression that I was an accident or at best a burden on them, but I've don't have such -"
She stopped mid-sentence, staring of at some point beyond his shoulder. Getting a bit self-conscious, he nudged her softly.
"Are you all right?"
"Wha-?" she asked confused.
"You stopped talking suddenly and got a glazed look in your eyes."
"I saw some things that couldn't have been true," she said quietly. At his questioning gaze, she continued, "I saw myself at different points of my life, and in each one, my mother was always hitting me. Not spanking, but really beating me."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"It's impossible because my mum never came near me unless absolutely necessary, let alone hit me."
He leaned back, and frowned in thought. He took a while to form his thoughts into words.
"I'm not a doctor, but do you think its possible that you might have repressed those traumatic events?"
"How- Why would I suddenly be remembering them now?" she asked skeptically.
"It might have something to do with this place. Think about it, before you zoned out, you were saying something along the lines that although you had a strained relationship with your parents, they were pretty decent people. All of sudden, you saw that it wasn't so," he paused, rubbing his neck, "Am I making sense to you?"
"I think so," Kat replied quietly.
"So, anything else?" he asked.
"I've got three best friends, all of them guys," she said a bit distracted, "I also go to a boarding school, with two of the them, where we usually go on a whole bunch of adventures. I love to read, and have a very independent cat."
"All right, now that we've gotten that out of the way," he said, smiling, "How about we get better acquainted with each other?"
Kat stared at him in shock, but before she could comment, he tapped the side of her head.
"Loosen up!" he said laughing, "I was joking!"
"Shut up," she said grinning, "Say, we never did decide on your name, did we?"
"I was thinking about that, and decided that neither name suited me."
"I was thinking the same thing," Kat said admitted, "There is much more to you than I'd first thought."
He grinned at her like a cat.
"Don't do that, it doesn't suit you," she said without thinking, "See, you seem like the kind of person that regardless of the actions you perform, you have an ulterior motive. Like whenever I open up to you, you are all sympathetic and whatnot, but in the end you are trying to get in my pants."
"Hey, that is-" he began to argue, but at her skeptical look, "Ok, you do have a point."
"Though so."
"So, what's your new suggestion?" he asked intrigued.
"Some think along the lines of Damien."
"I like it," he said, "I've always though of myself as Satan's spawn or minion."
"All right, then," she said straightening up.
"What?"
"My name is Katherina," she said extending her hand.
"My name is Damien," he replied smiling, shaking her hand.