The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
A few days have passed since Chris visited Arthena's house with Kate. Still under strong suspicions about Jerry, he and his promising successor continued investigations into the mysterious deaths around the Forbidden Cavern.
In the other hand, Jerry realized the movement of the soldiers' duo and watchmen were hired to watch over the site. And while Chris and Piers could not approach the location, they continued to study the flash drives they received from Mr. Lionel for any clue they might have missed.
Hotel, Piers' Room
"Apparently, the supposed guardian seems to be a recent invention. At no point did Pierce or Christopher mention any supernatural activity in that cave" Chris commented, letting out a heavy sigh
"Not exactly, we still need to read Christopher's personal diaries, including his 'Final Letter'"
"These personal diaries are the dispensable part of his story. There are intimate relationships venting related to his family and his love life, no big deal"
"Have you read them?"
"I read some and stopped. I don't care about his personal life, besides, the files would not be separated by themes if his personal life were so relevant to his official reports"
"Maybe you're right, but that doesn't mean that all files have been properly separated"
Chris gasped, "Lionel had centuries to arrange each one of them and order them in the correctly!"
Piers sighed in defeat. His boss was too stubborn and very reluctant to read files that could be valuable to the ongoing investigation, "So give me your flash drive, I'll read all the files myself, as for tomorrow you'll be busy with Kate celebrating her birthday"
"What?"
"Come on, I can continue the investigation alone since I'm not afraid of reading about his intimacy"
"Whose tone is this Piers? And who told you I'm afraid to read about his intimacy? I'm not afraid of it!"
"No tone Chris, but your reluctance is evident, and I don't see any problem checking it to make sure we have read as much information as possible about the case. Sometimes people vent about important details in diaries and not in official reports"
Chris breathed deeply again, but to prove his point in not being afraid of it, he handed the flash drive to the young soldier, "You have 48hrs to read all you can, after that you give it me back and tell me if you have found anything that helps in the investigation"
Piers nodded and picked up the small device. Without further ado, Chris returned to his and Kate's room.
As Piers read the diaries of young Christopher Reed, a strange sensation clutched his chest and a sense of sadness plagued the young soldier's mind, especially when he made comparisons between what he knew about Pierce and perceived so many things in common in the dispute that those men had about the same woman that strangely resembled what he and his boss had briefly about Kate.
In Pierce's notes, he always kept in mind in advance to make plans for Katarina's birthday. He knew how much she appreciated that date, just like Kate.
However, Christopher won the "contest" and didn't seem to value the woman next to him, and this indifference of Christopher's hurt Pierce deeply until the day he himself had to learn how to act indifferently towards Katarina as a form of self-preservation.
A self-preservation that Piers himself seemed to understand and put it into practice towards Kate during their complicated relationship.
Maybe if he had allowed himself to enjoy more of what they had, maybe he would be celebrating her birthday the next day.
Maybe if he would've had the courage to face that fear for no apparent reason, there would be him with Kate.
Maybe if he hadn't taken so long to acknowledge that they might indeed be a couple, she might not have had so many doubts and would not have paid attention to Chris, or vice versa.
Maybe if he had taken up and stared with dignity at his own shadow, he might not have lost Kate so easily.
Sorrowfully Piers recalled how things had changed in a year.
In the previous year he was the guy celebrating her day during a romantic trip they made for Hawaii.
She was dazzling that wonderful night, her broad smile brightened the refreshing night. Her high laughter inspired his soul.
At that time it was just him in her heart and no one else, and he was sure of it.
That night they made love for several hours, both were insatiable.
That night he felt complete as he had never felt before, and for a moment he could imagine a future by her side, and he almost asked her to marry him the next morning. Almost.
But fear and duty spoke louder. Fear of going too fast paralyzed him, the fear of her saying no did immobilize him, and the remembrance of his duty as a soldier through Chris's voice echoed in his memory sealed any other opening of such a thought that he might have from that moment on, even though they were still together in their complicated way.
Who would have thought that the man who once warned him about the dangers of getting involved in work and with Kate would be the man who now lived with her in a serious and intense relationship.
The man who warned him about getting involved with her was now the man who had faced everyone for her.
No training he had gone through had prepared him for this terrible pain of love disillusionment, for when he finally tried to take her fight for her love, it was too late. Kate had already made her choice. Just like him.
He was wrong to think he would have more time.
But on the other hand he was sure that even for a little while he could live the love by the side of the woman he most loved.
He had the good fortune to live a love of only the two of them, without sharing. The same didn't happen to Pierce that even after all the love proofs he had given to Katarina, he still had to deal with sharing the small space he had in her heart with Christopher.
Pierce Northman lived to his last days with the frustration of never having fully loved his beautiful lover, the most overwhelming passion he had ever felt. The most dangerous adventure he ever had.
But Piers did. Even though for a few months... Piers Nivans was able to live entirely the love with the woman he most desired.
And perhaps there was a blessing in having read Pierce's confidences during the time of transition. Pierce's reflections served in some way as a sort of consolation to his confusion, or desolation, when he realized that there was someone else in Kate's heart. Someone who had the same name as the old friend /rival in love field of Piers': A Christopher.
With a nibble of lips and a long sigh, Piers continued reading every file, moving on with his duty.
Chris and Kate's Room
Kate was lying on the bed with the laptop on her belly while reading a diary of Katarina's. She needed to understand the dynamics of Katarina and Christopher's relationship as a couple, and she could see that in addition to the problem of inadequate communication, they were both very proud people despite Christopher's good-hearted fame.
With her, Christopher seemed to be another man for most of the marriage. Everything with her had always been different, and Kate needed to understand why that difference. Or at least try to understand for being now on the outside of the situation, as for not even Katarina had been so capable to move the rock that formed around her beloved man's heart. The rock that hid Christian.
As she read Katarina's diaries and outbursts, she could see the famous emotional control Katarina had most of the time- so different from her, and a control the young brunette was trying to rediscover in herself.
But that high control of Katarina was often tested with Christopher and the great stubbornness that the famous soldier had.
It was common for both of them to quarrel over the ghost of Anqelique that haunted their relationship. Katarina's insecurity in that matter made her lose her temper, especially at the beginning of the marriage when Christopher refused to consummate their marriage or simply touch her intimately and as a woman, but did other women/hookers.
Katarina often remembered the period of flirtations and the brief courtship they had. How many times had they kissed on the sly, or at a blind spot inside the labyrinth garden in Katarina's house. The couple had an adventurous side and when they were together they seemed to enjoy breaking the taboos of the time and living the fear of being caught in the act, even Christopher who sometimes seemed reluctant at first, but always surrendered to Katarina's fetish that was secretly the same as his.
Since they were young, the couple liked to be in danger together. They liked to feel strong emotions together. And challenges.
When together, Christopher and Katarina were a unique couple, with a unique dynamic.
Christopher's apparent reluctance served as fuel for Katarina's quest for conquest, and she always seemed to be able to melt her beloved man, besides enjoying playing "punishment."
And the most interesting thing about reading Katarina's confessions during adolescence was the realization that such a "play" had not been a mechanism created by Katarina to get her husband's attention during their marriage, but it was something that began during their flirtation. Of course it was in a very lightweight manner, but it progressed during their courtship. And just like Christian and Katherine who had a sexual relationship without penetration for a long time, so did Christopher and Katarina, but in a somewhat more intense level even during courtship since after the ice break/Christopher's initial hesitance, there had penetration either by Christopher's long fingers or full service with protection.
For a long time Kate believed, and mainly because of her dreams, that Christopher and Katarina had had only a nightstand in which they conceived Christian, but when she read Katarina's diaries she realized that that nightstand was the only time he had come into her without protection, but sex was something they often had despite Christopher's late regret by saying it was a mistake every time they did it. But with regret or not, he always ended up surrendering to the strong sexual instincts he possessed when he was with Katarina.
"This is Chris's thing when we do it in some public space and especially in his office," Kate said with a laugh, "Some things don't seem to have changed that much..."
Katerina was still laughing at herself when she heard Chris entering the room and noticed his rather serious expression.
"Is everything okay?" She asked
"Yeah" he answered in a short tone
"It doesn't look that way"
"It's nothing about you, forget it" he said taking off his clothes and getting ready to take a shower.
Recalling Katarina's accounts of how she used to deal with Christopher when he turned into the cave man and did not want to talk, Kate followed the Katarina's clues and remained silent without pressing him with questions until he was ready to open up. It was difficult for her to contain the curiosity and concern of what had affected him, but it was necessary to keep the emotional control to avoid unnecessary discussion.
Kate wondered how Katarina was able to control herself so much throughout her life and be so disingenuous, but also began to realize that Katarina was becoming a time bomb or a volcano preparing to erupt.
As Kate continued to read and reflect, Chris reflected during the long cold shower to cool down his hot blood. Piers's words did not leave his head and more and more he felt defied and that he should prove that he wasn't afraid to face the past, and he was determined to prove to himself that he was not afraid at all when he finished the shower and dried himself on the towel, then he returned to the room still naked and lay next to Kate and saw what she was reading.
"What are you reading about?"
"The sexual perils of Christopher and Katarina ... but that doesn't interest you, right?"
"Not at all..." he replied, beginning to kiss her arm
The contact of his beard against her skin and the sucking and nibbling he made on her left nipple caused delicious shivers. And like Christopher and many men, Chris liked to relieve his tensions with exercise, whether through gym or through sex. And she knew very well how to be his sexual academy.
She closed the laptop screen and rose from the bed to keep it on the desk.
After reading so many erotic details about the old couple, she herself was inspired to try some new techniques with her boyfriend who playing himself in bed while staring at her with a voracious desire.
Kate had a naturalistic habit when she was alone, and she liked being completely naked in the house or in the hotel room.
Chris was already used to that habit of her's, and even though he knew every detail of his girlfriend's perfect body, he was still in the phase of strong physical desire for her, and the ease access of her naked body got him frequently horny and the interactions that they had always ended up in sex.
Chris Redfield had never been as sexually satisfied as he is now. Of all the women he had in his life, none had been so passionate as Kate. None had aroused his libido as much as she did. He who had gone through moments of abstinence and even some long abstinence was unaware of that fiery side of himself.
And that satisfaction was evident in his mood. Every day he came in a good mood to work and even kept the good mood all day. He didn't look so grumpy anymore. And sometimes it happened that he did not want to wait until he got home at night, and he took advantage of Kate's free time to "have lunch" together. Surely out of work in some nearby hotel or dangerously in his office during the lunch break once or another.
From the bed, he watched his girlfriend seducing him as she walked towards the bed to start the love making.
(*)
The next morning, Chris and Kate were having breakfast in a cafe at Central Plaza.
"As promised, today I am all and only yours. What are your plans for the day?"
"Hmm, a dangerous question. We could go back to the hotel and get laid all day, if you handle me…"
He laughed, "Sound good!"
She laughed too, "Fool! What I really want to know is what are you up for me tonight. You made me bring the dress you bought for me, but I can only wear it tonight. Why so much mystery?"
"Because today is a very special day, it's your birthday!"
"And where's my present?"
He made a face, "I'm present, isn't that enough?"
"Ahh, so you're my gift?"
"It would be an honor to be considered so…"
"My love, you already know that you are the best thing that ever happened in my life! The honor is mine to have you with me"
He smiled lovingly at her.
At the end of the meal, they continued walking around the plaza, enjoying the cool weather of the day. They took several pictures together and talked about what that place meant for their story. It was at that place that the ice between them actually began to break.
The time passed so fast it looked like it had been the day before that Chris watched in delight Kate dancing in public and then drinking in the famous tavern. They also took several photos that day at the festival, but there was only one that had taken only the two of them sided, and it was on that picture that Kate had made the first public statement even on friendly terms about him. And now back to the same place, they took a photo exactly in the same place now as a couple in love.
But it was right after taking the picture that Chris surprised Kate by proposing to visit Katarina's house.
"What? I think I didn't hear you..." Kate asked back, making a surprised face.
"You did hear me. I was wondering if we could visit the place that you felt sick. I'm still trying to understand what happened to you that day. Got me worried"
"It was just a malaise, I'm already fine"
"I know, but... Did it happen so out of nowhere?"
"Yeah...sometimes things like that can happen…"
"Are you pregnant?"
A loud laugh escaped her, "What? Am I pregnant?"
"Why not? As far as I understood your difficulty is in keeping a pregnancy and not exactly in getting pregnant since you have ovulation..."
"I'd know if I were pregnant!"
"Would you? You're already so used to staying long periods without menstruation that maybe this can deceive you and you may not realize you're pregnant..."
"You really look forward to get me pregnant, don't you?"
He laughed in distress.
"You laugh, so I'm right!"
He continued laughing, "Not quite like that..."
"How not? It's not the first or the second time you talk about me being pregnant..."
"I don't deny it wouldn't be bad to hear you're pregnant with my child. I'm already at an age that an unplanned pregnancy is not much of a bad thing. Besides, I admit is quite sad for me seeing you struggling due to your diagnosis. I love you and your happiness is my happiness, and I'd be very happy seeing fulfilling your dream of becoming a mother, but at the same time there is the concern that this dream would die too soon due to your condition and I'd suffer even more for seeing you suffering for it..."
"So you're afraid of me getting pregnant?"
"I'm afraid of your suffering that would be mine too..of being powerless in not being able to support you"
Kate stayed silent for a moment, reflective. His fear was the same as hers, and for this very reason she preferred to believe that once or another she had a more intense and more painful menstrual flow was due to irregularity and stress and not because of the possibility of miscarriages like she had read it happens without women not knowing it.
She did not want to be frustrated by the certainty of being "rotten" inside. She didn't want to be sure that she did once lose a Piers' child who might have been conceived during the romantic trip they had the previous year. A suspicion that made her regain the habit of using protection in all intercourses with him and anyone else, especially Douglas. Actually, she never had unprotected sex with Douglas or anyone else besides Piers and Chris, so she sure that some period's alterations prior to them was not pregnancy related.
But this habit of safe sex ended with Chris. Mostly due to the frequency and impatience that prevented them from holding their fire because of excessive libido. It was only a short while ago they started using protection for another location.
"This is not gonna happen, but since we have this fear in common, I guess the right thing to do is to use protection all the time from now on"
"Then I'd have to have a condom's factory at home..."
She couldn't bear the joke and laughed out loud, "You're going bankruptcy because of this fear then..."
"Exactly! My whole paycheck is going to be used only fox boxes of condom"
"We can also diminish the frequency too while I still don't help paying the bills…Less sexy, more economy"
"What do you mean? We do not even do it that much..."
"Uhmm!" she nodded holding her laugh of incredulity
"Jokes aside..." he said holding her grip, "what I said about having a child with you is true"
"I'm glad to hear that, but don't you think it's a little too early for this?"
He shrugged, "Time is relative, but of course I want to make the most of our life as a couple, because as Barry says 'life changes after kids and couple's moments diminishes drastically'"
"Barry is very wise man! I'd like to meet him someday, you speak so highly about him"
"You will! He's almost a father to me and to Claire"
"Maybe he used to be your father in another life..."
Chris smiled, "It's not be a bad idea"
She smiled back and hugged him tight, "How can you be so wonderful?"
"You're the wonderful one"
"Yes I am!"
They laughed still hugging each other warmly.
"But I'm wonderful just because of you! At your side I feel like the luckiest and the strongest woman in the world! With you I'm afraid of anything or anyone… besides ghosts!"
He laughed
"You're my dream come true! That's why my biggest fear is losing you..."
"You won't lose me. I'll always come back to you, no matter what!"
"And I will always wait and welcome you with the greatest love in the world! You're my safe harbor…"
"And you're my home..."
They kissed lovingly. A gentle kiss, but full of love and devotion. Not always the burning passion was a necessity.
After the love confessions, they continued the walk, holding hands to Katarina's house. And a déjà vu feeling embraced them when they stood before the gate.
They might not have flashes of memories at that moment, but in their spirits there were records of all the times they had stood before that gate when he used to visit her on several occasions when they were teenagers and he would accompany her home as if he were her bodyguard or the times they passed the gate for sneak encounters when she was home alone.
But the strongest unconscious flash was in Chris's mind about the last time he was there. It was when he'd been there to fetch Katarina back home during the troubled start of their marriage.
It was the first time Katarina had taken a step to separation. A separation he didn't allow, even though he was still very attached to Angelique's ghost.
Something inside him didn't let him let go of Katarina. At the time he didn't understand why, but today the answer is simple: Christian.
Another guard was keeping the house, yet he allowed the couple to enter.
Kate was at Chris side, ecstatic with the beauty of the property and the beautifully manicured gardens. As much as she had strange sensations of lightning memories that came into her mind, most of the time Kate walked as if it was the first time she visited the place. And being at Chris's side gave her an extra boost as Chris was always anti-Katarina.
In a way, Kate felt victorious over the ice of her beloved man being melting. In addition Katarina inside her could smile a little at the progress so far, but she could still kept the same serious expression because of the fears of knowing the shadow side of Chris/Christopher too well.
"Before we get into the house, we could look around..." Chris suggested
"Okay..."
And so they did.
Chris could really confirm Kate's account of the house not seeming to be abandoned because of the excess of maintenance Mr. Lionel seemed to have had with the property. Although he wasn't surprised since he knew Mr. Lionel was very fond of Katarina. But a comparison of the maintenance of properties was inevitable.
They circled the side of the house and at distance they could see a labyrinth garden, and immediately memories were activated in Chris's mind, and the captain recalled a dream he had long ago of a place similar to that, too similar.
If only Chris knew it was not just a dream...
Kate was excited at the sight. She had read about the famous labyrinth garden from Katarina's secret diaries, but she was even more surprised at how well detailed Katarina had describe it, and Kate could see every word described in reality. Undoubtedly, Katarina had a tremendous talent for words.
Out of nowhere, Kate ran toward into the labyrinth bushes.
Chris laughed at the sight of his lover running like a little girl in the playground into the tall bushes. Moved only by a keen intuition, Chris followed her into the labyrinth and within minutes he found her waiting for him with a broad smile.
"You always find me so fast!"
Chris frowned in shock. Kate had repeated the same words as the woman in his dream.
"What?"
"Nothing..."
"You frowned... Are you angry that I ran away like this?"
"Of course not... it's nothing about you..."
"So what happened?"
"Forget it Kate... don't worry about it"
"Of course do I worry! I felt..."
She couldn't finish her phrase. Out of sudden, Chris pulled her to him and kissed her passionately.
Once again Katarina's described words came true. That very spot was the only blind spot in the garden, and they were at exact location Katarina and Christopher used to make out, not even her austere father, who always watched her somehow from the top of the windows of the house could see what they did there.
Christopher loved to surprise her with sudden kisses when they were alone during their courtship. It even happened once Katarina did fellatio on him, even taking the risk of being caught, but this was the fun of the play they enjoyed.
They smiled after the kiss. Chris looked up at a window and frowned at the thought of seeing a figure standing the window.
"What again?" she asked, noticing the change in his expression
"A ghost..."
The young brunette felt a chill down her spine, "No! Don't say that!"
"But there was someone at the window... a woman"
Kate frowned between fear and reflection. She remembered that during the strange previous visit, "she" was talking to a woman. Moirai, the mysterious woman.
"Should we go in?" She asked even hesitantly
"Do you still want to get inside even after I said I saw a ghost?" he replied in surprise
"Well, there's something I want to see in there... you say ghosts don't exist... Maybe it was your imagination ..."
"Yeah, maybe..."
Chris remained intrigued. The woman had disappeared as if by magic. She was not so young, but she wasn't old either, but the more intriguing fact was that she looked familiar to him.
Piers' Room
In the afternoon, Piers was in his room reading Chris's flash drive files when he heard someone knocking on the door.
"Good afternoon Mr. Nivans, room service" the beautiful redhead receptionist greeted him jokingly
"Good afternoon Miss Yana, please come in" he replied joking back
"Am I disturbing you?"
"Of course not. You never disturb me" he replied pulling her to him and gave her a kiss
"So what are you doing?" She asked when he released her
"Nothing yet..."
She smiled and blew him a kiss corresponding to his flirtation.
"I thought your shift would be at night today"
"It is, but I had to solve a scheduled thing for tonight that your amazing friend asked for my help" she spoke with sarcasm
"May I know what you had to help him with?"
"Besides having to hide a gift in my personal cabinet since they arrived, I helped him book a special table in the most expensive restaurant in town, as for today is a special day for him and he nagged me about it through phone messages..."
"Today is his girlfriend's birthday..."
"I know, but all that nagging just for a birthday? Or he's very romantic type and doesn't look like it or she's very special kind..."
"You're making me curious about it ..."
"I'm not sure, but I think he's going to ask her to marry him"
"What?!"
"That's right! Because when he arrived, the first thing he asked me was to help him hide a little box that is obviously a ring box, from his girlfriend because he couldn't keep it in the room"
"Marry her? But so fast?" He commented, not taking well the news
"Fast like this?"
"Yeah, it's too fast! There's not even three months that they are dating! And you say he's going to propose her tonight? He's not like that!" He replied with incredulity
Yana noticed the young soldier's negative reaction and remembered that he had already confirmed that he had already had an affair with the "special" brunette.
"Look, I may be wrong..." she tried to ease things
"No, I don't think you're wrong at all... I noticed he was very anxious since yesterday. Back home he had planned a big party for her but he had to cancel it due to the trip... now that you told me that, I start to understand his strange attitudes lately"
"You still like her, don't you?"
"No…"
"Yes you do, no matter how well you disguise it, you don't have to deny that to me, and if you want to vent, I'm here for you…"
He shrugged, "What difference does it make? She's his now... the future Mrs. Redfield..." he said with a tone of debauchery
The redhead preferred to remain silent.
"Anyways, what I really want to know is since when do you have such intimacy with him so he could ask you to hide the ring with you?"
She made a face and looked away in distress, "We already knew each other..."
"From?"
"London…"
"How long?"
"Why all these questions?"
"I'm curious that he trusts you so much... he's not like that…"
"It's not trust... I was his only option to keep the secret from his girlfriend until today"
He laughed, "Oh, I see... I thought it was my imagination the strange looks you had with each other…"
"I think you're still imagining too much..."
"Am I?"
"I think so, and also jealous"
"Not jealous..."
"Right... You don't have to be jealous of me since we have nothing concrete and we're just banging…"
"Don't put it like that, I like you more than just a good bang…But…"
"But?"
"I need you to be honest with me"
"About what?"
"I'll get straight to the point... Did you ever have sex with him?"
She held her breath and cleared her throat and nodded, "It's been a while ago..."
He let out a heavy sigh and laughed, shaking his head to the sides.
"What are you laughing at?"
"My world and his world must be very small for us to have two women that live in different continents in common as far as I know... or three if I count his sister..."
"What? You fucked his sister?"
He laughed in distress and made a silence sign, "It's our secret, huh!"
She made a startled face, "Your world is definitely tiny!"
"Tell me about it!"
"So you and his sister are fucking behind his back?"
"It's not behind his back…we just think he doesn't need to know such details"
"I understand, but I'll start praying for your souls for when he learns about it…He seems to be a jealousy guy"
"Don't be dramatic. Claire is not a little girl anymore, plus it's nothing serious…"
"Does it matter if it's not serious? You're fucking his sister!"
"And he fucked my girls too…"
"Your girls? Do they have a name?" she teased him
"You know who they are…"
"Am I your girl?"
"Aren't you?"
"I don't know…we don't have anything serious either…"
"Still his paws touched you…"
"Ahh, But it was only once... I was too wasted to remember it…"
He laughed
"I think you're more bothered because of the pretty one…" She remained in incredulity
"Kate is past, I'm over it… but you're my present, I still can imagine his paws on you…and I don't like how they look"
She dodged his approach, "And I see his sister's on you…"
"So you can relate to what I feel…"
"I do and I wonder if you slept with his sister to get revenge for him stealing your girlfriend?"
He laughed loudly, "Of course not! It never even crossed my mind. How can you think such a thing?!"
"I've seen a lot of things and especially about couples" she replied with a shrug
"Is that why you'd rather not have serious relationships?"
"Not really. I like my freedom, the absence of emotional blackmail, attention demanding and jealousy..."
"I understand..."
"But then... are you still sleeping with your boss's sister?"
"Does it matter?"
"Not really... I don't mind sharing when the rules are clear..." she said in a seductive tone
He smiled, "Did you share him?"
"Does it matter?"
"Is that a yes?"
"You seem very interested in knowing details..."
"I don't want too many details, I'm just discovering a side of you that I didn't know and that aroused a lot of my curiosity, but not about him... but about you!"
"Are you thinking of sharing me?"
"Not with him!"
She laughed out loud, "I would never do that again!"
"You did not like to have sex with him?"
"He's not my type..."
He laughed wryly, "His future wife kept saying that ..."
"For repetitions... I've already had my share of him..." she replied, complementing the phrase in a seductive voice, running her hand over his abdomen, lifting his shirt, "I prefer you... over and over..." she whispered in his ear moving down her hand to his groin
"That's why I like you and don't want to share you with anyone..." he replied before kissing her ardently
"Not even with another girl?" She asked sassily, breaking the kiss
He gasped, "You're pushing me too much..."
"Is that a no?"
He shrugged, "Not being the same girl you shared him..."
She made a face, "Oh come on don't be an ass! A fourth girl in common with him makes no difference..."
"For me it does!"
"Eva is cool. Fun, beautiful! Flexy!"
He frowned thoughtfully, "Eva... Evana? A blonde one?"
"Yes. Do you know her?"
"Not personally…"
"Yet…" She teased again
He laughed without knowing for certain if he would jump in on that adventure, then kissed her ending the subject.
Piers and Yana had an emotionally intense but free relationship. Ever since they met, they felt a powerful instantaneous and unexplained attraction, at least not to him, but for her there was an explanation. Like the other inhabitants, she had unconventional beliefs and believed in some dreams revelations about her relation with that group of Americans.
In a distant past, Yana and Piers had been a couple who belonged to a nomadic group and had been married for many years and had several children. They had a happy union at that time.
But in the 17/18th century, Yana was Tatyana, a Russian dancer who worked in that same hotel where in the past it had been a Gentleman's Club.
Tatyana had a cousin, Evana, who worked at the same location as a dancer and singer.
Both were immigrants from Russia and despite the formal work as artists, they also accepted some extra offers from noble clients, but there were 2 special clients: the young Christopher and Pierce.
Though they had slept with the two knights, each one had their favorite one. Evana preferred Christopher, Tatyana preferred Pierce and for many years they had an affair that only ended when he and Katarina began dating after Christopher's alleged death.
At the same time, Tatyana had a bastard son of Pierce and hid him for a few years.
Even though she had no preference for Christopher, Tatyana didn't reject him and became one of his main mistresses during his early marriage to Katarina alongside her cousin and his favorite, Evana.
Now in the 21st century, Yana didn't want to repeat the same habits of the old century and despite the only relapse a few years back then, she made sure to keep distance from Chris, especially when she met him again the first time he came to Bohma. She didn't recognize him right away and he seemed to not had recognized her right away either, although when they realized who they were, naturally they continued playing not knowing each other, especially in this second visit as she didn't want trouble with Kate and noticed Kate's stares at her, then during a dream she recognized Kate as being Katarina and realized Kate's unconscious stares at her.
She recalled very well the dream she had about Katarina and Tatyana's encounter.
Flashback
Christopher and Tatyana were having sex at one of the rooms of the Gentleman's Club when they noticed they were being watched by a figure at the doorway and immediately stopped.
"Katarina!" Christopher spoke in shock
"Do not stop! Finish what you are doing." she replied and then turned to the woman on the bed, "He is awesome and he feels delicious inside, does not it?"
"What the fuck are you doing here?" he said removing himself from the redhead's folds
"Watching you fuck. Is not it obvious? Oh, I am glad to see you wear protection with her, it is already enough Pierce having a child with the whore you are fucking…"
"Get the hell out of here!" he ordered her
"I will not! I want to see and learn from the professional what she has that is so unique that captivates my husband to fuck her every day. She must have something I do not. She must do something I do not. As a dedicated wife I want to learn how to please my husband, so continue from where you left off"
"As an obedient wife, get the hell out of here!" he spoke walking towards her and grabbed her by the arm, and tried to open the door which was locked
"I will not!" she shouted releasing her arm from his hand
"Katarina open this damn door" he tried to grab her again but she dodged him and ran towards the scared woman covering her body on the bed and pulled the sheets abruptly exposing the naked body of the redhead's
"Fuck that damn whore!" she yelled
"Katarina…"
"Why are you covering yourself bitch? No room to be shamed! All you have I do too, and there is nothing he had not seen! Show me what you got that keeps him so interested!" she spoke gritting her teeth and pulling harshly the woman by the hair
"Katarina let go of her"
"Spread your legs bitch and stop crying. You are paid to please not to cry"
"Please…" the redhead whispered
"Please what? I hope you are not begging me to fuck you"
Christopher managed to grab hold of Katarina and she started crying. He demanded Katarina to give him the keys but she refused it.
Tatyana paralyzed the very first moment she saw Katarina's furious gaze behind the initial cold manner.
Everyone in town knew about Katarina's and Christopher's catastrophic union. Everyone knew who Katarina was and who she used to be. Even herself did.
The fury in the once joyful noblewoman confirmed a disrupted woman.
Everyone knew about her immense love for Christopher.
As she watched the struggling couple and the desperate crying betrayed wife affected her deeply. As a woman she could understand the noblewoman's pain. She also had that feeling deep inside for a lost love, but she had accepted her non-deserving to be loved.
But Katarina still struggled to be noticed, to be loved, however for how long? She surely was a strong woman but already seemed close to the edge.
After that day, Tatyana decided to stop seeing Christopher. She knew there would be other hookers he could get to continue destroying his wife and family, his fame…but at least she would have the peace of mind of not be the one who helped tearing Katarina O'Gregon apart.
Later, she heard the rumors that Katarina had left home…
End of Flashback
The interior of Katarina's house was definitely very similar to a house he had dreamed of a few times throughout his life. The pictures of the O'Gregon family hung on the walls, the furnishing and the sumptuous decoration. All in perfect condition. But what most caught the attention of the captain of the BSAA was the stairs. The central stairway leading to the west side and to the east side.
Kate headed for the east side, the same side he had dreamed of repeatedly.
Flashback
"Where is she?"
"She's locked in her bedchambers"
A young man was hurrying up the stairs after questioning one of the maids at the location.
At the top of the stairs, he came across a young blonde woman who was looking at him nervously, "Eliza, give me the keys to her chambers"
"Please don't fight with her anymore..."
"She's the one who provokes this situation! Who does she think she is by leaving home like that and abandoning her daughter who is still a baby?"
"Maddy is fine and she's under my care! Kat isn't..."
"You are the aunt, not the mother! Katarina shall stop being irresponsible! She is a mother and a married woman now! And married to me! We have responsibilities as a couple and she is missing all of them! Open the door or give me the keys!"
"If you came to fight with her, then I won't give you the keys nor open the door… I'm sorry…"
"Then I put that shit down!" He replied angrily
When he came across the large double doors and shouted, "Katarina, open that door!"
No response.
"Katarina, I'm tired of your stupid game. I know you're in there, open the damn door or I'll put it down now!"
"What the hell is going on here? What shouting is this?" A middle-aged woman, mother of the O'Gregon sisters, asked coming across the other corridor.
"I came to get Katarina"
"Like this? By making threats?" The woman replied
"I'm tired of having patience with this whole staging of your daughter, she's my wife and it's with me and her daughter she has to live with!"
"Your wife? Your marriage was not even consummated"
"It was consummated a long time ago! And that's why she got pregnant!" He replied referring more to Christian's pregnancy, because he had already noticed that Maddy was not his daughter
"You treat her badly! You made her get like this! If she suffers, it's your fault!"
"My fault? If she suffers, it's because of her own fault, because of her lies!"
"Then separate, a marriage without consummation has no validity! Leave my daughter alone! You only hurt her and that's why her late father and I were so opposed to your marriage! We knew you were not good. You're a vulgar plebeian!"
"Shut up! You don't know anything about me, get out of here!" He shouted loudly, controlling himself so he would not lose control anymore and end up doing something he would regret, and then turned to the door," Katarina, open the damn door now! It's your last chance before I break it!"
"Get out of my house!" Mrs. O'Gregon shouted
"I won't! You get the hell out of my house! By marriage, this is my house now! I am a man and the law favors me!"
"Christopher, you're an asshole, you're idiot, you're very far from being a man!"
The man raised his trembling hand. He wriggled his fingers in order not to proceed with the aggressive act.
Elizabeth opened her eyes as she snapped at the thought that Christopher was going to hit her mother. He was out of himself. And again the young blonde tried to intercede for her sister.
"Chris... Look at you... you're not like that..."
"Your sister made me get like this!"
"For your own fault! Everyone knows you cheat her publicly! You say you're a family man, but you prefer the sluts!"
He laughed scornfully, "That's why I'm here, I've come after the slut!"
Paafff
The noise echoed the hallway.
Mrs. O'Gregon could feel the burning in the palm of her right hand after striking her son-in-law's face, "Never talk like that to a mother! Do not ever curse the child to a mother! Katarina is still my daughter! I have endured for many years an unfaithful and aggressive husband for the well being and for the sake of my daughters, for as you yourself have said, the law favors men. But my Katarina doesn't have to live the same shit as I did and if you even have some decency like she used to say, then get out of my house and come back when you're calmer and when you can talk decently to my daughter! But if you cannot stop being that monster, give her the divorce!"
Christopher could feel the burning on his left cheek, but felt an ardor that stung him deep in his chest and made it ache. A pain that reminded him that he was not that monster, "I won't divorce her, she set me up and now she has to keep the guts to handle me to the end!"
"Then act like the noble man she believes exists in you. Do you want to talk to her? So recompose yourself as a nobleman and talk decently! The two of you made mistakes, there's no need to keep arguing! Stop pointing out who made more mistakes, you're even! But if you refuse to end the bitterness and intend to use the marriage to punish her, I tell you that you will be making the biggest mistake of your life and you will be creating the monster you will regret to have known!"
End of Flashback
Kate opened the door slowly. Chris felt a slight headache being at that place. A chill breeze ran through their skin, but they realized it was just wind blowing from an open window. And again Chris had a déjà vu.
Flashback
A few days have passed since the discussion with Katarina's mother. Their separation was the city's biggest gossip/scandal.
Christopher was increasingly affected by the murmurs about his personal life. And when he was home he felt the weight of loneliness and worry.
It was not for things to be like this. This was not how he imagined it to be. In fact, he no longer knew what he had thought by proposing a marriage of appearance to Katarina.
Katarina! The girl who was never able to hide her feelings for him.
The girl who had the courage to face the traditions of family and society to stay with him.
The girl who always dreamed of being his.
They had already gone through so many things and she seemed to have an endless joy that delighted him and made him feel well next to her even when he was confused. Reluctant.
How could he believe that proposing to Katarina a marriage without touch, without intimacy… They who had already been so intimate so many times?
How could he believe that Katarina would be able to live without love?
How could he believe Katarina would be able to share him with another woman? She who always dreamed of being the only one? She who tried to take revenge on him by allowing another man to touch her just to make him jealous and make him feel the same uneasiness that she felt when she learned that other women had slept with him?
She who made him feel the same pain of jealousy and betrayal after impregnating by another man and lie that Maddy was his child.
He needed to find out who was the other man was after having his Katarina in his arms and planted a seed in his garden!
He could understand her relationship with Pierce, but he could not understand how anyone else had been able to make her surrender.
Was it a rape? Would it have been consensual? He needed to know what the other man had! Not to give Maddy back to her biological father, that was out of question! He liked Maddy too much to do that. Maddy filled a space of pain that Christian had left. Christian was irreplaceable, but Maddy was his little princess.
The silent, lonely house reminded him of how much he missed Katarina's contagious joy. Her beautiful voice when she sang, or the good energy he felt when she danced. It was that side of hers that he missed truly.
But his proposal destroyed what he liked the most about her. And the daughter with the traces of another's made the rainbow of her being turn into grey ashes for being a constant reminder of the part of another man she did not love.
Maddy was the memory of non-love. It was the fruit of non-love.
All that one day he dreamed of either with Katarina or with Angelique had been destroyed. He lost both. But maybe with Katarina there was still a chance that he could feel life again.
Calmer, he returned to O'Gregon's manor. Lucy opened the door to Katarina's bedchambers and left them alone.
Katarina was lying on the bed, unmade, disheveled, extremely thin. She looked like a living dead. The perfect features that gave her the vigor of beauty were trying bravely to resist amidst the bones of the jaw and shoulders were more evident.
Seeing Katarina so destroyed, almost dead, made him suffer deeply. He was killing the gypsy girl with his indifference.
The antithesis of love is not hatred but indifference.
He walked slowly to her bed and sat down.
Her eyes were so deep.
He knew that Katarina no longer wanted to eat. Much less live, especially after hearing his fight with her mother. Since then she had stopped eating completely and forcibly drank some water so she would not be completely dehydrated.
"Kat..." he whispered.
"Did you come to say goodbye?" She said with a weak voice
"No... I came to take you home..."
"Here is my home"
"No more... Your home is where your husband and our daughter are"
"What husband? I do not have a husband..."
"You will... if you come home you'll have a husband. A present and dedicated husband who will never let anything go missing for you"
"Faithful?"
"Yes. I will no longer meet the sluts"
"DO you promise?"
"I promise!"
"But…of all the things you said you will give me, I just want the one you didn't say… your love"
"We will work on this together. We will build our unique love, but as long as you stop fighting with Angelique"
"Do you still see yourself in the position of demanding something?"
"Of course, we both made mistakes, but I'm willing to build something of ours from here onwards as long as Angelique remains untouchable and I'll remain silent about Maddy"
"Are you remaining silent about Maddy? I have been a lot more silent than you in all these years"
"Maybe it's true, but at least my secrets never hurt each other, or anyone. I can't say the same about yours..."
Even weak, she gasped. Proud. Damaged pride. The damage was already done. Angelique was not an untouchable ghost, but a relentless shadow between Christopher and Katarina's happiness.
Katarina returned home, but not to safe harbor.
As the years proved it…
End of Flashback
Chris and Kate stared at the room in silence. There was a lot of history in that place. Many memories that only their spirits had full access.
In that room many erotic adventures took place between Christopher and Katarina during courtship whenever Katarina was alone at home when her parents had to travel together.
There were many good memories in that place, it was a place that seemed to hold the energy of hope for a promising future. Katarina's contagious joy still seemed to exist even if faintly, after all, there was her safe harbor throughout her maiden life. She just left it when she married Christopher.
That spot almost became her final bed when they separated for the first time. But Christopher refused to let her go.
The hope of a promising marriage began there, even the time proving that the personal differences they had and the strong geniuses were stronger that became reasons for the great marriage failure.
Kate looked at the wardrobe and next to it, on the floor, there was the trunk that Katarina took everywhere. A trunk that always made Christopher complain about the uselessness of taking it to all the places they lived. But Katarina was reluctant to let go of that object and of the sentimental appreciation contained in there.
"So it's really here..." Kate commented.
Chris looked at the object and unconsciously frowned, "Was that the reason why you came here even knowing there's a ghost in the house?"
"Yes…"
He rolled his eyes.
"I needed to make sure the dream was really weird..."
"As in?"
"Are you willing to listen to me without judging me?"
He nodded, "Say it"
"I saw this trunk the day I got sick, but I thought it wouldn't be here since Katarina took it wherever she went, including the prison she was allowed to keep it with her. Then she took it to the barn at Lake House. So I thought it'd be there because there was the last place she stayed. It doesn't make sense Mr. Lionel to have kept some things there, but to have brought this trunk here..."
Chris shrugged. He also had no answer to her questioning.
"And if the dream is stranger still, if I open it... there will be personal objects of all Katarina's children. There will have 8 sectioned parts and in each space there will have the name in the order of birth of each child"
"8? I thought she had seven children..."
"Yeah, you're right, but as I read her diaries, I found out that she got pregnant other times during her marriage to Christopher, but ended up in miscarriages. Then because of the miscarriages she created a method and the 8th space would be of the child that passed the 5th month of gestation, that's why Christian has a space in it..."
"Ah, I see... that makes sense..."
"Yeah..."
"So will you open it?"
"Should I?"
"You came for that, didn't you?"
"I don't know, I'm scared..."
"Scared of what?"
"Of confirming I'm getting crazy... and that the memories I have are not just dreams... Not to mention that the window was not open when I came here the other time... it does not make sense it's open now"
"Maybe the guard opened to refresh the place..."
"I don't know..." she gave a shrug
"It's the only rational explanation, Kate!"
"And what is your rational explanation for the 6 lights I saw?"
"In the dream?"
"Yes"
Chris made a face without knowing the answer.
"Katarina had 7 children, but there were only 6 lights"
"You can't be sure the lights were the children!"
"Yes I can. The lights took on the forms of when they were children, except Christian who remained as a light"
He made a face, "And which one didn't come to the party?"
Kate bit her lip with sorrow in her eyes, "Henry..."
Chris frowned with a serious expression and sighed deeply. Unconsciously, he put his hands on his waist.
"Henry did not forgive me..."
"What?"
"I meant he did not forgive her..."
"Maybe if we take in account Mr. Lionel's crazy theory, he might be born again and that's why he didn't show up..."
"You have a point... You may be right... but why did not he say anything about it?"
Suddenly a cold breeze passed through them and Chris took the action of closing the window.
"Final Letter..."
He heard a female voice whisper close to his ear. He looked sideways, but saw no one.
"We'd better go. This trunk is not important anymore" he said hastily
Kate nodded in agreement. She took one last glimpse at it. There would still be time to open it when she had enough courage to make sure the memories were not from a dream, but real.
Thank you McTamale for the review! :D
Well, I know the chapter is huge and the next ones will be too because BT is finally ending very soon, however not Chris and Kate's story xD
Beyond Time's essence plot was to show things feelings and events that live on across the time, throught lives. The karma or situations of life that we may not understand why we go through it. Yet, there's no absolute rule that specifies each issue we deal with. What happens to the characters in this story is just an example of the causes of their current issues.
But the next level of BT's saga will have another essence and will be more focused on the results of the now, it doesn't mean there won't be any important mention about the past, but the present, the fresh now is what matters on the next level of their story and they will live the reflection of the past and that's why the next level will be called Mirror of Time.
I'm thankful for everyone who is reading my work and specially the ones that are on my boat since old works.
Thank you everyone for your attention and support! :D
This is not the end yet, so...
Stay Tuned!