CHAPTER 4 - The Voice Within Tries Again
Elizabeth sighed contently, as she moved closer to Will, listening to his heartbeat. She couldn't remember feeling this happy… ever…
They had stayed in bed all day, neither wanted to leave the other. She could feel Will's hand stroking her thighs; obviously he still thought she was asleep.
Will started laughing. "I do know you are awake…" He gave her thigh a gentle slap.
"So? It is not a crime to want to stay asleep next to you," she replied softly.
"I suppose not." He laughed again. "Were you expecting a package?"
Elizabeth raised her face to stare at him. "No, why?"
"Because there's an owl outside," he pointed to the window and sure enough there was a large barn owl hovering outside.
He slowly sat up and reluctantly left the bed, walked to the window and took the package from the owl. "It's addressed to you."
She took the package from him and read aloud the letter. "Elizabeth, I realized this morning that I did not give you your Christmas present. I hope you won't mind it being a few days late." Elizabeth paused to draw a breath. "Wear it always, it will protect you. Salazar."
She stared at Will, shrugged and opened the package. Inside was the most beautiful necklace either of them had ever seen. Will looked at it from behind her. "Well, that's nice." He reached down to pick it up. "Allow me."
Elizabeth swept up her hair, as he placed it around her neck and fastened it. The necklace was made in the shape of a serpent. It circled around her neck in a coil of gold inlaid with small rubies and emeralds. The head forming a pendant of cut opals with two larger rubies for the eyes.
"You look beautiful," Will said as she turned to face him. "What I wouldn't give to be that necklace right now."
"Thank you," she blushed profusely at his statement.
"I'm serious! That lucky head, it looks quite pleased sitting there," he touched the necklace softly. The serpent's head was sitting just above her breasts.
"Maybe we should go get something to eat. I'm feeling a little light-headed," she replied breathlessly. "And I'm hungry," she added.
Will grinned at her slyly. "I'm feeling a little hungry myself."
"I meant for food," she cried hotly.
"So did I. What did you think I meant?" he asked innocently.
Elizabeth pulled on the rest of her clothes. "Never mind," she muttered as she stormed out of the room towards the Hall. "With any luck dinner will have started."
Will paced back and forth, breathing heavily, trying to regain his composure. He pulled his shirt over his head, muttering darkly. When he was dressed and composed he walked out of the dungeons and towards the Hall, before turning and walking out into the grounds.
His mind was racing. "I've had girlfriends before, what's so different about Elizabeth?" He sat down by the lake. "She's just a means of pay, it's not like I like her or anything."
From somewhere behind him he heard someone gasp and start to sob. He turned his head just in time to see Elizabeth running back towards the castle.
"Elizabeth!" he screamed. He sprinted after her, his heart pounding against his chest as he caught up with her. "Look at me!" He grabbed her arms and turned her to face him. "Elizabeth?" he whispered.
"Let me go, Ranulf! I have nothing more to say to you." She struggled though he wouldn't let her go. "Let me go!"
William stared at the tears rolling down her face, until a strange thought crossed his mind – she liked him! She'd only ever cried when Charlie had died and if something reminded her of that.
"Ranulf, you're hurting me!" Elizabeth screamed but he barely heard her.
He gasped as a sharp pain hit him in the stomach and he doubled over, gasping for air. When he lifted his head moments later, he was alone. Will walked back over to the lake. "How could I have been so thoughtless?" he muttered. "I should have known. The signs were there-" he broke off as a giggle emerged from the water. He'd been to involved in his thoughts to notice the ripples in the water.
"Who's there?" he called into the darkness, only to hear another giggle in reply. "I warn you, I'm armed."
Will stood up quickly as a figure emerged from the water. He gasped, took a step back and fell to the ground. "Elizabeth?" he mumbled. Elizabeth walked towards him, the smile still playing around her mouth. "I thought you were angry at me and up at the castle."
"I can be if you want me to," she whispered.
Will shook his head, grabbed her hand and pulled her down. "Don't leave me ever again. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it."
She pushed him back into the grass and lay on top of him. "I still don't believe you."
Will's mind was racing. "I don't know what else to say. What do you want me to say?"
"Tell me what you feel." As he faltered she continued. "What do you feel right now?"
"I'm bloody relieved, and happy, I thought I'd lost you." He paused as she began unbuttoning his shirt.
She pressed herself closer to him. "Don't worry, Will. I won't hurt you. Keep telling me how you feel, relax."
"You don't know how good this feels at the moment." He moved his hands down her back before pushing her away. "What are you wearing?"
He stared in horror at the small, red, flimsy, transparent bathing suit he had bought her. "You must be freezing!"
"Being near you keeps me warm." She pushed him back down. "Do you love me, Will? I have to know."
Will stared at her in confusion. "Love is a strong word. I like you a lot," he replied tactfully, though he regretted it the moment the words left his mouth.
"You don't love me?" she cried, standing quickly. "I love you,"
He stood up and hugged her tightly. He felt horrible. "I do love you, Elizabeth. I love you so much," he whispered as realization hit him.
Elizabeth threw her arms around him happily and kissed him hard as she pushed him back against a nearby oak tree. He tried to slow her hands down, but gave up as soon as she began nibbling on his earlobe. Will moaned in satisfaction, his mind began to fog over. The stars winked back at him playfully, Elizabeth was alone with him. He was completely relaxed, until Elizabeth's screams punctured the air.
"What? What's wrong? Elizabeth, talk to me!" He stared down at her outstretched hands; the red pentacle had burnt itself into her palms. The identical mark shone brightly on his chest. He raised his head and stared in disbelief as Elizabeth's form changed to Chantelle. "Elizabeth?"
"No! Chantelle! You should have been more careful," she laughed coldly. "Elizabeth knew I'd try something like this. You don't know how easy it was to get you to admit you love her."
"Where is she?" he asked breathlessly. "Is she all right? If you have hurt her…"
Chantelle stared at her hands. "Bloody hell, that hurts. She's right where you left her. That potion will only last for a little longer; you better watch your back." She turned as voices floated over to them. "Until next time, Mr. Ranulf, take care." Then she ran off through the forest towards the castle.
"William!" Will felt weak and clammy, his legs collapsed out from under him. "Ranulf!" Salazar held him up and turned to Godric. "He's not well, let's get him back inside."
"What the hell is that?" Godric pointed to the pentacle burned onto his chest. "Will, what is that?"
"Elizabeth," he panted.
"Tell us what happened!" Salazar shook him. "What about her? Is she all right?"
"She's going to-to…" Will was floating in and out of consciousness.
"Take care of him. I have to find Elizabeth!" Salazar ran ahead into the castle and frantically looked for any sign of her.
He found her sitting on her bed, with a shirt that looked like William's. Salazar sat beside her on the bed and she'd told him what she'd heard. He sat quietly through it all; knowing that to tell her he was unconscious would tear her apart.
"Where is he? I want to give him back his shirt," she mumbled quietly. When Salazar didn't reply she turned a tear-stained face towards him.
"He's, well, after you ran off, he came face to face with that girl." Salazar made a helpless gesture with his hands.
"And what? Tell me!" She stared at him for a moment. "He can't be… dead. The spell, it protects him. He's fine! I have to go see him!" she turned her back to him.
"There's no point." Salazar grew silent as he saw the determination in her face. "Only for a few moments."
Salazar preceded her into the room where Will was laid. She took one look at him and turned away. "Can I be alone for a few moments? I want to say some personal things."
"Of course, we'll be just outside." The founders walked outside, pausing only to glance at her.
Elizabeth waited for the door to close before she looked at him again. "Will? Wake up!" she whispered but he didn't stir. She shook him and tapped his face gently, but still he didn't move. "William, please wake up!"
She shook him harder her voice rising. "You can't leave me here, Will! You can't die!" Elizabeth began to sob softly. "It was my fault," tears rolled down her cheeks. "Why did I fall in love with you?" She looked down at his pale face and saw the dull red pentacle on his chest. "Why didn't it work? It was meant to protect you… I killed you!"
Elizabeth began pounding his shoulders angrily. "How can you do this to me? I love you! Please, come back!"
Salazar grabbed her around the waist her pulled her away from Will, preventing her from hitting him again. Rowena and Helga had tears in their eyes, even Godric looked helpless. Salazar, while he remained stony-faced, he had a slight air of compassion about him.
"Come, Elizabeth. You need some rest." Salazar half-carried her to her room, the other founders following. When he had put her to bed Godric pulled out a vial of clear liquid.
He handed it to her solemnly. "This will help you sleep. We'll stay nearby tonight just incase you need us." Then the four founders left the room silently.
"Elizabeth! Elizabeth, help me."
Elizabeth sat down next to the lake trying to determine whose voice it was. It couldn't have been a student's; they had all left this morning. It definitely wasn't one of the founders; they were in a meeting. It sounded so familiar.
"I need you, Elizabeth. Save me," the voice floated towards her from the forest. "Help me."
She stood and walked slowly into the forest. She peered around her, and everything was thrown into darkness. Everything was silent, the voice had stopped and nothing seemed to exist in here. Elizabeth continued deeper into the forest, jumping at every twig that snapped under her feet.
She saw a bright light through a gap between two large trees. She walked towards them but jumped back as they began to last out at her. Elizabeth knew she had to get to the other side; something was waiting for her there.
One of the vines wrapped around her legs, she'd stood in the one spot too long, and it dragged her towards the trees. As she got closer some of the other smaller branches whipped her face and stomach. Elizabeth struggled but the vines only tightened their grip.
Just as a larger branch swung down to hit her, she kicked the trunk hard, the vines let her go and she jumped into the light.
She couldn't see anything for a few minutes, everything was white and blurry. When the light had dimmed and her eyes had adjusted she realized she was standing on the roof of the castle. Someone else was standing there with her.
A boy was standing near the edge of the roof, staring down towards the ground, muttering sadly to himself. Elizabeth couldn't think of his name, she knew him; she just couldn't quite place her finger on his name.
His brown hair was lightened slightly by the moonlight and he was holding a book of some kind, which he repeatedly glanced at. She took a step towards him and felt the entire castle shake beneath her. The boy swayed slightly but he didn't seem to notice.
"Excuse me? Who are you?" she asked trying to direct his attention to her. He just turned his head and smiled. At that moment, thousands of thoughts raced through her mind. Then it clicked, "William!" She didn't see him nod, she knew he had but at that moment a stabbing pain shot through her.
Elizabeth fell to her knees, she stared at Will and all he did was point at the night sky. She looked up and gasped, there was the full moon and there was blood on it! She closed her eyes in pain and when she opened them she saw black hair. Suddenly, everything clicked into place – Chantelle, the full moon, the blood…
"Will!" she called, staring around for him. She screamed in horror. He had one foot hanging over the edge poised to jump. Elizabeth ran towards him but stopped almost instantly as the castle shoo and he fell off.
"WILLIAM!" She dove off the rooftop and grabbed his hand. "Don't leave me, Will."
"Help me," he mouthed, though no sound came out.
Suddenly, William shot back up to the roof of the castle and Elizabeth's last image was of Chantelle kissing Will and stabbing him before the book Will was looking at hit her in the face. 'It wasn't a book, she realized. It was the portrait of herself she'd given him for Christmas.'
It was too light for her to hold onto and it floated back towards Will. She saw him fall to his knees. "Will!" she screamed before she hit the ground.
"Elizabeth. Wake up. It was a nightmare." Rowena gently shook her awake.
"Where's Will? Is he all right?" she asked sitting up swiftly.
Rowena smiled kindly. "He's still in the Hospital wing. William is going to be fine."
"Can I go and see him?" Elizabeth got out of bed before collapsing back down on it.
"Maybe in the morning, you have no strength left. I think he's sleeping." Rowena laughed softly. "You both need your rest. I promise you may see him in the morning. Drink this," she handed Elizabeth the vial. "You didn't finish it before. Goodnight, Elizabeth."
As soon as she finished the potion Elizabeth was asleep. Rowena sighed heavily. "Goodnight," she muttered again before the left the room.
