Caleb sat at the kitchen table in the Boarding house drinking a glass of juice with Matt, there had not been any conversation on the walk over and this whole situation was making him feel uncomfortable. Caleb had called home as soon as he had arrived and asked Merlyn to come and get him, he liked the Boarding house and appreciated everything Miss Holt had done for him previously; however, he had outgrown this place and wanted to be with his family, especially after what he had witnessed Gail do.
Matt had taken a hard hit to the head and was still nursing his wound. Caleb could not tell whether he was more upset over the injury or that Lucas was his father, he suspected it was the latter. This whole thing had taken him off guard and he did not know how to handle the situation, he was not ashamed of who his real father was; however, he felt bad at how Matt had found out.
Caleb chose to put that out of his mind for the moment, he had more pressing matters to consider like his cousins actions. He did not understand how she had done what she did; however, it reminded him of what he had once done to protect Merlyn and he wondered if she was different like him. He had known Lucas and Merlyn were different, but had not considered Gail was too. With the look on her face after she had forced Lucas and Matt apart, he gathered she was as confused as he was and he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her. 'How's your head? Do you remember much of what happened' he asked, trying to establish how much Matt knew.
Matt let out a bitter laugh then touched his head gently with his hand and grimaced at the sharp jolt of pain which surged through him. 'I remember enough...how long have you known?'
'About Gail?' Caleb asked surprised.
Matt narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Caleb, 'Gail? What about Gail?'
Caleb gave himself a mental shake when he realized he was talking about Lucas and forced a smile. 'Oh nothin', she's alright...I've known for a while'
Matt let out a small laugh and shook his head in frustration. 'How long is a while Caleb? Is this common knowledge?'
Caleb shrugged, he did not want to talk about this now that he had establish Matt did not appear to remember what Gail had done.
'Is what common knowledge?' Merlyn asked as she entered the kitchen.
Matt rolled his eyes, then got up to find himself some tablets to dull the pain in his head.
Merlyn watched Matt for a moment then regarded Caleb curiously as he stared out of the kitchen window, clearly avoiding eye contact with everybody. 'What have I walked into?' she asked with a nervous smile, then her smile disappeared when she saw the angry look on Matt's face.
'You know, I'm the one that was locked up as crazy but I'm starting to realize your whole family is damaged!' Matt snapped at Caleb.
'Hey!' Merlyn yelled protectively.
Caleb felt something dark rise within him and he jumped up off his seat. 'We're damaged? We ain't the ones who drove drunk and killed our family'
'Caleb!' Merlyn yelled, not believing what she was hearing.
Caleb disregarded his sister and embraced his darkness, it felt good to speak out for himself and witnessing Gail let go had gave him a sense of confidence. 'You know, we cared for you and looked after you when you were let out of the nut house but all you can do is judge us...You don't deserve us' he snapped, then stormed out of the kitchen leaving Merlyn to deal with Matt.
Gail reached the edge of the property quickly and surveyed the trees around her, she had expected Lucas to find a way to catch up to her by now; however, he was nowhere to be found. She had noticed a dark figure following her ever since she had entered the woods, at first she thought it was some trick conjured up by Lucas but now she suspected this was something else.
Ever since she had figured out who Merlyn was, she was a lot more open minded and willing to accept the strangeness that appeared to migrate towards her. She was confident that the dark figure would not hurt her and she had other things to attend to at this moment in time; however, she made sure she was aware of the location of the dark figure as she moved deeper into the woods, in case her initial instincts were wrong.
Gail smiled when she spotted the familiar clearing and rushed towards it, she had not been here for a while due to Lucas' warnings and she felt at ease when she stepped out into his families burial site. She walked slowly past the rows of graves until she found one offset far away from the others, as though it did not quite belong. The grave called to her and she felt drawn to it, more so than she had been to her own parents graves and she needed to see it.
As she approached the grave, she noticed the dark figure appeared closer now. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then opened her eyes to see the pretty blonde woman who she suspected used to own the Wicca shop she was fond of. This was the woman that had disappeared when Merlyn was last here with her and it was a relief knowing no permanent damage had been caused.
Right now the blonde woman disregarded her and focused on the dark figure lurking behind a tree, deep down she knew this was Lucas' mother and she suspected the dark figure was Malcolm. She was past trying to explain how these things could come to be and although she wanted to know more about Lucas' past, she disregarded the apparitions and turned her attention back towards the grave.
Gail knelt down in front of the grave and ran her finger gently down the stone, like the rest of the graves this one was unmarked; however, it felt different to the others and the stone appeared more corroded. She wondered if this was the first person buried here and if so who started this unusual grave site.
The wind picked up around her and she sensed there was not much time, she could hear yelling from the trees and somehow knew this Malcolm was trying to interfere with her plans; however, she refused to allow that. It had taken all her strength to open herself up to whatever this was and she was not ready to stop now, something had drawn her here and for better or worse she would find out why. 'Alright, here I am...' she said calmly, closing her eyes '...You wanted me and now you have me, so show me what I need to see'
The wind speed picked up and was so strong she felt her whole body being pulled from side to side, she tried to remain still on her knees with her eyes closed waiting for a response. Suddenly the wind pressure dropped and everything around her felt calm, Gail opened her eyes to find the mysterious dark haired woman standing on the other side of the grave looking down at he. She took a deep breath to help find her courage and stood up to meet whatever this was, when she stared into the blood shot eyes she gasped in horror and everything went black.
Lucas stood surveying the room he had found himself drawn to, it was filled with even older antiques than he was used to and he could not believe he had not stumbled across it previously in his adult life. This was the room that he had dreamed of and being in here gave him a faint sense of trespassing, as though he was that small boy again sneaking into a place where he did not belong. The thought was preposterous as the was his home; however, he sensed a presence in the air that did not want him here.
Lucas laughed and walked deeper into the dark room, he was not one to be scared away and the thought that something was trying to deter him from inspecting this room just made him want to be here all the more. He glanced around curiously and retraced the footsteps of his younger self, it did not take him long to locate the large painting hanging on the far wall with a dark red velvet sheet draped over it. Lucas approached the painting slowly and stared at it for a moment, he sensed something lurking behind him; however, he would not allow himself to be distracted, he was the master of this domain and he refused to believe anything would act out against him.
The presence came closer and Lucas let out a smug laugh. 'You seriously wanna mess with me?' he said aloud and shook his head in mock disbelief. He smiled to himself when he felt the presence back off and then turned his full attention towards the painting, he did not know what significance this had but he sensed it was important.
He allowed himself a moment to admire the fine craftsmanship of the red velvet sheet before pulling it down gently to reveal the painting fully, it was a large portrait of a woman just like he had seen in his dream. He stepped back slightly to take in the full painting , the attention to detail was outstanding and it was evident that a lot care had been taken to capture the beauty of the woman's figure. His eyes started at the bottom of the woman's cream dress and he slowly followed it up to her head, her face had been scratched out just like it had in his dream; however, he could still admire her soft features and her flowing brown her.
Lucas inhaled deeply and shook his head, even with the face scratched off it was obvious this was the woman who he had witnessed drowning in the vision he had shared with Gail. He was not oblivious of the resemblance to his love and he felt a deep heat begin to rise within him. He had felt like he had known Gail before when he first laid eyes on her at the Temple farm, he had disregarded the feeling when Caleb had jumped out of the window as he had been distracted with finding his boy; however, he had known her then and began to wonder what else his young self had uncovered that was buried deep down.
Lucas smiled devilishly and ran his fingers gently down the painting. 'I'm comin' for you love' he said aloud and turned to exit the room.
Gail stood at a clearing in the woods staring out into the Trinity river, it was so peaceful here that she actually started to think of it as her favorite spot in town. Gideon ran up to her and nipped at her ankles affectionate, she bent down and gave the dog a playful push then ran closer to the water to allow him to chase her. She laughed as Gideon caught up to her and tried to jump all over her, then pushed her dog away gently and waded into the water.
The feel of the freezing water on her bare legs made her shiver; however, she loved it and the current brushing against on her skin was like washing away all of her negative feelings. Gail let out a low moan as the water tickled her skin then lay back in the water and allowed it to engulf her, she disregarded the cold and allowed the peacefulness of this place to wash away all of her tensions.
Her attention was taken away from her calm surrounding when Gideon began to bark aggressively, she let out a loud sigh then turned towards the direction of the intrusive sounds. Suddenly something hit her on the head forcefully and she felt blood running down her face. Gail tried to stand up in the water; however, hands gripped her hair tight and pushed her head into the water. The hard blow to her head had had left her dazed and weak, she struggled in an attempt to raise her head above the water but he struggles were unsuccessful.
Gail felt her lungs begin to tighten as water began to flow down her throat, she fought and thrashed out in an attempt to loosen the grip on her head; however, it was too late and she knew her struggles were useless. She did not want to die in this place that had previously brought her so much peace and her thoughts turned to Caleb and Merlyn before she began to choke on the water that was filling up inside her.
As she struggled to take her last breath she felt herself being pulled back up to the surface and she was now face to face with the mysterious dark haired woman, who was twin. Gail stared in horror at her pale gaunt skin and blood red lips, when the lips parted to reveal sharp yellow teeth she tried to scream; however, she could not breath, let alone make a sound. Her twin pulled her face close to hers and kissed her lips softly, then slapped her hard across the cheek and screamed in her face.
Gail awoke with a start laying on the ground in front of the empty grave marked R.B, suddenly she began coughing violently and water came out of her mouth. She rushed to her feet and took a large intake of breath then stared frantically around her, it appeared she was in the far end of Lucas' backyard a short distance from the wooded area. She did not know what had just happened but she could not get enough air into her lungs and had to take long deep breaths to calm herself.
'Am I interrupin' somethin' Miss Emory?' Lucas asked appearing out of nowhere and leaning against a tree close to the grave.
Gail spun around to face him, this was no longer a game and she could sense something dark just below his surface. She attempted to slow her breathing to cover what she had just experienced and forced a smile. 'What could you possibly be interrupting Sheriff?'
Lucas let out a small laugh and began to slowly circle the area around the empty grave. He spotted Malcolm lurking behind a tree in the wooded area not far from them and shot him a warning glance to keep out of this, he smiled to himself when his father obeyed and disappeared. 'So, I take my time and you decide to have a little nap...is that how this goes?'
Gail watched him carefully, he had the look of an animal stalking it's prey and for the first time she started to consider what would happen if she could not control him. Lucas was a control freak, much like herself and it was a constant battlre for who was in control in their relationship. She was the dominant at her home and he was the master of his, they would play and both try to get the upper hand; however, that was the ultimate rule. It now occurred to her that she had involuntarily displayed certain qualities that would tip the scales here and she had been too caught up in finding the truth to consider how a change in power would affect her lover.
'Cat got your tongue Darlin'?' Lucas asked as he appeared beside her.
Gail took a sharp intake of breath, still recovering from what she had experienced then exhaled slowly. She knew better than to show weakness against someone like Lucas and just needed to buy herself some time to regain her composure fully. 'Well watching you trying to insert your will on everybody does become tiresome Sheriff, it can't be helped if it's so boring that it sends me to sleep' she said cattily and took a few steps back in an attempt to create some distance between them.
Lucas shook his head and smiled, then reached out and took hold of her arm gently. He knew something had happened as it was written all over her face and he did not appreciate his domain assisting her, even if she did appear to have a connection with his families past. She tried to pull away from his grasp; however, he tightened his hold on her arm and pulled her to his chest. 'You think this path you're takin' is safe Gail? You need me to show you all the pitfalls to avoid' he whispered in her ear, then inhaled her scent.
Gail could sense the darkness close to his surface trying to break free; however, she also sensed his desire. She could not figure out what was going on with her while he was interfering and needed to find a way to create some space to allow herself to think. She felt the presence within her clawing to be released, she would no longer refer to it as Rosemary as that indicated it was a separate entity and she was starting to believe that was not the case.
Gail knew what she had to do to take his mind off her activities, but she was not happy to willingly allowing it in her current state. She inhaled deeply then smacked him hard across the face, using his shock to her advantage she pulled her arm free and ran into the woods at the back of the property.
Lucas watched as she retreated and smiled, she could not run from him and he would enjoy hunting her down. As he entered the woods and began following her path he could feel his manhood harden, she had ran ahead and created a significant distance between them; however, she was in the deepest part of his domain now and there was no escape.
The thrill of the chase made him excited and he quickened his pace, he was not far from the clearing now and his desire increased with each step. He could not allow whatever this was to continue, he was the master not only of his property but of this town and that demanded respect. Her actions of late were not only disrespectful to him and his ancestor, they were also a blatant disregard of his orders. When he reached her he would take his time to uncover the truth, she would tell him what she knew and then he would decide the best course of action.
Gail reached the grave site with a few moments to spare, she looked around at the graves apologetically and cursed herself for what she had become. She felt something here with her and closed her eyes to regain her focus, when she opened them she saw the blonde haired woman who she suspected was Lucas' mother and did not want her to witness what she was about to do. 'Go...please' she whispered and the woman nodded then obediently disappeared.
When she was sure there was nothing else present she began to walk towards the grave positioned farthest away, she was still drawn to it and she could not banish it's calls from her mind. Before she could reach her destination she sensed Lucas was near, when he emerged from the woods she could see the malice on his face and tried to push down her fear.
'You thought you could run from me Miss Emory?' he asked as he approached her position and released his twin into the atmosphere.
Gail tried to back up towards what she knew deep down was her safe place on this cursed property; however, something dark crossed over Lucas' face and she felt as though hands had reached out from the soil to grab her ankles, she was frozen and could not break free. 'You misunderstood my intentions' she said trying to remain calm.
Lucas licked his lips in anticipation as he closed in on her position, he could sense she was attempting to hide her fear and it pleased him that she was finally starting to understand his power. 'Misunderstood?...' he asked curiously, '...In what way Darlin'?'
Gail inhaled deeply to calm her heart rate, there was no fighting the hold he had on her; therefore, she would just have to do what she had planned right here and have faith in her instincts. Gail closed her eyes and let go of her fear, she allowed the barrier she had fought so hard to keep up drop and felt the presence within her flow freely. 'Oh in every way possible Sheriff' she said playfully and stepped out of his bind effortlessly, then began circling the graves close to them.
Lucas and his twin sensed the change in her instantly, he wanted to be mad at his twin for releasing her so soon; however, he was intrigued as he still sensed Gail in control, but she had appeared to have released her darkness also. He watched curiously as she walked slowly around the graves and stopped in front of one in the middle of the second row, then spat on it viciously unlike herself. 'Now now Miss Emory, there's no need to disrespect the dead'
Gail had fully accepted the presence within her now and it had made her see more clearly. This grave was of the woman who had drowned her apparent self and she could not stop the involuntary action she had just taken. She did not linger at this grave for long, if Lucas was in fact at his most powerful like she suspected she would not make it easy for him to figure out what she could see; therefore, she turned her focus elsewhere and approached Malcolm's grave. 'Oh please, you're telling me every fallen person deserves respect?' she asked kneeling in front of the grave and sensing his anger behind her.
Lucas inhaled deeply as she gently ran her fingers over Malcolm's gravestone, that bastard deserved no respect and it infuriated him seeing the mans gravestone being handled with such care. He could hold back no longer and stormed over to her, bent down to grab her arm then pulled her up roughly. 'You've been a bad girl Gail, I can't have you runnin' around like you have been'
Gail smiled mischievously then pulled her arm free and turned her back to him. She stepped out of her long skirt and slowly took off her cardigan, then glanced over her shoulder suggestively. 'I suppose a bad girl needs to be punished' she teased and bent over to unzip her boots.
Lucas felt his manhood throbbing in his pants, he had not anticipated it being this easy; however, watching her bend over in her lace black thong made him put his initial plans to one side and he could not control his urges any longer. He walked over to her while she was still bent over and placed his hand on the inside of her thigh, then slowly moved it up to her sweet spot. He smiled as she let out a low moan and pushed his fingers inside of her.
Gail had to work to keep her balance as she stepped out of her boots with his fingers playing inside of her, when she straightened up she felt his free hand brush over her stomach and pull her back into him. Gail moved her hair to the side to allow him to kiss her neck for a moment, then pulled his fingers out of her. 'That's not quite the punishment I had in mind' she whispered, then led him towards a tree and placed his hands on her behind.
Lucas moved his hands to underneath her vest and clawed his fingers down her back. He knew exactly what she meant now, it was not often she let him take the place only he had ever be allowed and he did not recall a time were she had actually suggested it. All other thoughts disappeared from his mind and all he could feel was his desire for her.
Suddenly Malcolm's presence appeared at his grave and shouted to his son. He tried to remind him what he needed to do and warned him not to be controlled by this heathen. Lucas closed his eyes to shut out the yells and concentrated on his love, he wanted to take his time with her and continued to caress her back and her hips slowly.
Gail knew by the way Lucas was caressing her that she had nearly accomplished what she had set out to do here, which was to display her loyalty to him; however, she sensed some interference. She could not see or here him, but sensed Malcolm was close and suspected he was trying to guide his son. Gail leaned back into Lucas and reached for his hand and placed it between her legs, she moaned loudly as he played with her then turned towards him and pushed his chest hard to create some space. She smiled playfully at his wounded look and shook her head to indicate the action was not a refusal that he clearly thought it was. 'I want all of you Lucas...what are you waiting for?' she goaded.
Lucas narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head. 'You think you can handle all of me?...' he laughed devilishly, '...Well alright then'
Gail took a step back as Lucas approached her standing tall and turned her around roughly. He parted her butt cheeks then unzipped his pants and thrust his manhood deep into her behind, providing no doubt of who was the dominant. Gail let out a loud moan of pleasure and pain, then gripped the tree in front of her with both hands. Lucas had unleashed his darkness to match hers and his pounding in and out of her was relentless.
Lucas had allowed his twin to take some control and the merging of them both made this act all the more pleasurable. This was his place and only he alone had taken her this way, the fact that she allowed him to have her like this and in what could be seen as a demeaning manner reaffirmed her loyalty to him. Lucas gripped her hips tight and called out her name as the pleasure became more intense with each thrust. He could sense her pain; however, she was not asking him to stop so he continued to allow his twin to play rough.
Gail bit her bottom lip to stifle her yells of pain and tasted a spot of blood in her mouth. When she looked past the tree she saw her past self smiling and tried to relax knowing the pain would be more severe if she was tense. She focused on the small bursts of pleasure breaking through the pain, she would not quit or be seen as weak; therefore, she would allow him to continue in the rough way that he had asked for. Deep down she knew this treatment from him turned her on and she began to feel her orgasm building within her.
Lucas sensed her released coming and quickened his pace, he bit down hard on her shoulder and drew blood as his climax hit then smiled when he heard her call out with her release. He remained in her for a moment stroking her back tenderly, then pulled out of her gently and cleaned her up with his handkerchief.
Gail inhaled deeply and stared at her apparent past self curiously, she closed her eyes then focused all of her strength on the black void within her and when she opened them again her twin was gone. Gail stood up and ran her hands through her hair, then went to walk past Lucas to pick up her skirt; however, he pulled her to his chest.
Lucas kissed her passionately and stroked his nose on hers. 'Now you understand who's in charge' he said staring deeply into her eyes.
Gail held his stare and nodded is mock obedience, as she knew she was supposed to.
His grip tightened on her arms and his look changed to something darker. 'I need to hear it Gail...I can't allow you to continue how you have been'
Gail continued to stare into his eyes defiantly, then chose to swallow her pride on this occasion. 'I know who's boss now' she said bitterly and allowed him to stroke her cheek.
Lucas smiled and kissed her lips softly. 'Come on, lets continue this somewhere else...we've tarnished this sacred place enough for one day'
Gail pushed down her defiant nature and nipped at his bottom lip playfully, she did not want to remain on the property here with him; however, she did not have a choice after what she had started and she needed to ensure he trusted her. Lucas held out her skirt for her to step into, then placed an arm around her shoulder and led her back to the house. As she turned to glance over her shoulder, she saw her past self stood shaking her head in disappointment.
Gail smiled cunningly at her twin, this was the safest option for now and she would deal with everything else another day. This was far from over, contrary to what Lucas thought; however, she would play nice for now.
-The end-