a/n: This is where the typical author puts a disclaimer, but seeing as this is fanfiction, I'd say that's a disclaimer in itself. My life is pretty shitty right now so writing takes ages when I do get time to actually write- you know family stuff and high school stuff interfering. I apologise for this.
Ps. I realise that my tense in this story is all kinds of fucked up, but it sounds weird when I stick to one tense. In my mind anyway.
Pps. I know this chapter will have a lot of just 'stuff' in it. But this is the whole, setting the scene chapter you know, not too much dialogue yet. But don't worry- it'll come.
I felt my bones jar as my body flung itself forward out of the darkness and into a… bed? Its frame was a sturdy metal painted a peeling white, flakes of paint curling away like dying insects. My blanket was flat and heavy. I could tell it used to be white like the bed, but age had taken its toll, and the fabric had gone yellow like tea-stains. I tried to sit up. Suddenly I was aware of every injury I had inflicted on myself last night. Last night. Once again, I lifted a quivering hand to my chest only to find flesh and skin, as smooth and white as ivory. My hands still felt deathly cold. But if I was here, was Victor a dream then? It must have been. I pulled the covers away to assess my injuries. Bruises blossomed all over my body like wildflowers, and I could feel the nasty sting of a thousand small cuts on my face and arms. My veil was all but ruined- torn to tatters by the thorns I had struggled through before collapsing, before… I froze. Through all the shock and pain, I hadn't even thought about where I was or who it was who had picked me up last night. Cautiously, I lifted my feet out of the bed and onto the cold hardwood floor- they too, were spotted with bruises and old blood. I crept across the strangely bare room to the only door- a big old wooden thing with a doorknob that looked like it was about to fall off any second. Just as I was about to grasp the knob, it turned suddenly and began to rattle violently. I quickly scanned the room for something to defend myself with, but finding nothing, I jumped under the covers and rolled over, pretending to be asleep. The doorknob continued to make rattling noises behind me, and I heard a quick stream of curses before a loud thump and the door crashed open. The sound of soft footsteps and two voices murmuring to each other quietly floated across the room from the now open door. One belonged to man, or a boy was more likely- he sounded young, worried. The other belonged to woman; calm, confident and motherly. I strained my ears, trying to hear what they were saying- the woman's voice rose above the boy's, cutting him off.
"Relax Kai, I checked on her half an hour ago- all her vitals are normal. I don't think she's seriously hurt- she probably just took a little more than she was used to and passed out."
The boy, Kai, was silent for a moment before speaking, his volume matching the woman's.
"You sure it's drugs? She didn't have any of the signs, only bruises."
Now that I could hear him clearly, I was surprised at his voice. It was soft and lilting, though not at all feminine. The woman breathed out heavily through her nose.
"I don't know Kai! That's the only explanation I have for any of this."
Kai was silent again.
"Should we try and wake her? If someone was trying to hurt her we need to take her to the police."
"No- let her sleep. We'll talk to her when she wakes up."
I let all this new information wash through me. These people probably didn't want to hurt me- guilty people don't involve themselves with the police, but what were they talking about drugs for? Why would I have needle marks if someone gave me poison? Poison came from plants! Not from thin sticks of metal or bone. I was confused. Before I had time to ponder my decision, I lifted myself out from under the yellowing covers and turned myself to look at the pair. The boy's face was pale, like the moonlight that I always loved. His cheekbones were high and defined, and gave me the impression of a faery. His eyes were the colour of molten silver, framed by long lashes as dark as the messy mop of hair that covered his forehead, sticking out at odd angles. He was tall and lanky, like he hadn't quite filled out yet, backing my guess that he was only young- 17 at most. The woman was the complete opposite. Her face was round, sparkling blue eyes peering out from rosy cheeks. Her light brown hair pulled back into a loose bun, tendrils framing her young face. While Kai was tall and lanky, the woman was short and plump, similar to how Victor's mother had looked. The pair both wore the strangest of clothes- Kai was dressed all in black, crumpled pants beneath a long sleeved shirt, made from a soft looking material. The woman was dressed similarly, though her pants were an odd blue, and her shirt was as red as the rosehips that dotted the briars. The woman wore makeup, I noticed, marking her as a noble. That was odd. Usually only poor people would help someone on the street- nobles had neither the desire nor the compassion. The woman stared before leaping into action, bustling towards me at a frightening speed. Kai started to walk over too, but the woman snapped at him 'to make himself scarce'. Kai rolled his eyes, an extremely rude gesture towards a superior, and loped out of the room, shutting the door behind himself with a slam. When he was gone, the woman pulled a chair up to my bed and paused before speaking softly.
"What's your name dear?"
I went to speak, but the noises that erupted from my mouth scraped like the mortar and pestle the family physician used to grind herbs. The woman, offered me water in a glass, and I drank greedily, wincing at my lack of manners. This time when I spoke, I managed to answer her, albeit hoarsely.
"Emily. My name is Emily Carter."
Unlike most nobles, she looked unsurprised at my last name. My father's perfume shipping may have bought us riches and fine titles, but it couldn't give me the respect all the old money had.
"Well Emily, my name is Miss. Carthright. Do you have any family around?"
Though it had happened after I died, I felt the pain as if I were still there, "No. Plague took my mother and father- I never had siblings."
A strange look contorted her face, before she pulled it back into a cheerful mask.
"Plague did you say? Do you mean they got the flu or something? It was pretty severe this year."
Flu? What was she talking about? "No Madame, my father… they think rats on his ship brought back plague from his trading in Moscow."
There was that odd look again.
"Of course Emily, how could I forget? Honey… can you tell me why you were unconscious in a forest?"
Well, she didn't waste time I suppose.
I could feel her studying my face, gauging my reaction to the question. I couldn't very well tell her that I had risen from the dead- that would just get me a straitjacket and a one-way ticket to Bedlam. So I decided to lie. "I… I'm not quite sure what happened. All I remember is waking up in the forest and then being here." Her warm eyes searched mine- I knew she knew I was lying. However, she simply smiled.
"Well Emily, that's okay if you don't want to tell me- I won't involve the police. But if you want to stay here, I'm going to have to lay down some ground rules. So, are you going to stay?"
I thought about my options. I couldn't go back to Victor- he was with Victoria now. I couldn't find my way by myself- most seventeen year old girls were married by now with husbands to support them- I just couldn't do it. Really, besides a job here, the only other option would be for me to join a nunnery- but I knew for a fact He didn't exist, at least, I never saw Him in my afterlife. I made my decision. "Yes Miss. Carthright, I would be forever in your debt if you let me stay. I could work as a maid or a tutor if you have children." She looked baffled before laughing so hard her eyes disappeared beneath her rosy cheeks.
"Upon my soul child- how old are you? I'd say you're much rather suited to school than to working. Besides- everyone helps out around here, we don't hire cleaners."
Her reaction confused me almost as much as the words. "But Miss, I'm already seventeen!" Her grin broadened.
"That's plenty young enough to be in school missy. In my house, we complete school- no year ten drop outs! Now come on! Let's get you out of those rags and into something clean!"
She grabbed my hand and exclaimed 'dearie, you're cold as ice!' as she led me through the door, turning the broken knob without any struggle unlike Kai, and apologising when she touched the tender skin. The walls were painted a rich green, which suited the dark wooden floors. She gently pulled me down the dim hallway and into a white tiled room with a large white tub made of what appeared to be ceramic rather than the dark metal I was used to. As she ran water into the bath from pipes in the wall, I stripped myself of the dress and veil I had worn solid for 10 years. It was a strange thing. This dress was both a relic of my mother, and a reminder of the day I was murdered by a man I thought loved me. Though my body had healed, the fabric of my wedding dress, or more accurately, my shroud, was still torn where Barkis had run me through with the long dagger he kept in his coat- the dagger that had destroyed countless hearts before mine. I was still staring at the dress when Miss. Carthright snatched it from the floor, tutting at the torn material and gave me a gentle push towards the steaming bath. I waited for her to leave before lowering myself into the hot water, gasping at the sensation I had not felt for a decade- warmth that soaked into my bones, leaving me relaxed and happy. I found an odd flask that read, 'Body Wash', and assumed that meant soap, lathering the strange-smelling liquid over my body. The water rapidly turned a murky grey and when I was sure I was clean, I wrapped a towel around myself and emptied the bath. Disgusted, I rinsed the sludge that had settled along the bottom just in time before Miss. Carthright burst through the door and placed some clothes on a small table, proclaiming how 'they might be big since you're so small but until we can go shopping they'll have to do!', bustling out as quickly as she had entered. I quickly changed into the clothes she had left me: a pair of soft baggy grey pants, like what a farm boy would wear except with rich material, and a massive, bright red, long sleeved shirt with a riding hood made out of the same material. They were comfortable, but I felt uneasy wearing the clothes of a man. A pair of thick socks came with the outfit, but I waited until I left the room before putting them on, as she hadn't given me shoes to protect them from the wet floor. When I got to the hallway, I looked down the direction we had come from, only to find no one waited for me. I turned around and screamed when I saw a dark figure stalking towards me from the shadows. I fell to the ground sobbing, scrambling backwards until my back hit the trunk of a tree. Twigs sliced my flesh as Barkis raised his hand, the blade glinting in the moon's icy light as he brought the knife down "Please don't kill, take my jewels. Please don't kill me, take m-" My plead was cut off.
"Hey, hey! It's alright I'm not going to hurt you! It's me! I'm the one who found you in the forest remember?"
His panicked tone pulled me back, and the hallucination slowly faded. It was that boy."K-Kai?" He began patting my shoulder awkwardly.
"That's my name. I also answer to handsome, cutie and dashing".
I laughed- a strangled noise that made me cringe. He pulled me gently to my feet.
"Bloody hell, your hands are cold as death itself!"
I smirked inwardly at the cruel irony. He smiled, a crooked sweet smile, the kind of smile that would have made my heart miss a beat. Not anymore.
"You alright? Do you want me to call Nancy? She's better at getting the girls settled."
I put two and two together and assumed by Nancy he meant Miss. Carthright. As much as she made me feel at ease, I felt embarrassed at the thought of calling her for such a trivial reason, "No, I'm fine… Is there any way I have to go or…" He laughed at my uneasy manner.
"Well if you're hungry I can get you dinner… which is kinda why I came, but then you freaked out and, well you know the rest."
As he spoke in that odd way of his, I realised I was famished. He grinned again.
"I feel like I haven't eaten in ten years".
Very smiley, this lad. Barkis was smiley as well. "Me too." I offered a wry smile. He had no idea.
After I had shovelled down the eggs and toast in the most un-lady like manner possible, earning more than a few laughs from Kai, he showed me to my room, which I was to share with three other girls around my age. He leant against the frame of the door for a moment, prompting some appreciative glances from two of the girls, and a scathing glare from the one studying in the corner.
"Well, goodnight then Emily. You girls be nice to her!"
He winked mischievously and ducked out of the room. I walked over to my bed, which was situated next to the window, and having nothing to put away, sat down on the soft covers. For a moment I listened in to the other girl's conversation, but only hearing talk of boys, I quickly tuned out. I wanted nothing to do with that right now. Instead I drew the curtains and looked out at the view, stopping short.
I was in Lainsborough, I knew it from the ocean. The same ocean I had gazed at every night before my murder, shining under tonight's full moon. But the small fishing town I once knew was completely and utterly gone. The lights from thousands of houses twinkled in the inky black like fireflies in a meadow, replacing what once was the impenetrable darkness of the forest. Not including cities like London, this was the largest collection of buildings in one place I had ever seen. A harsh wind rattled eerily through the bare branches outside my window, whispering misfortune and death. How long had I been gone? I felt like I was in the Inbetween for only a second before returning. Victor might be an old man by now… Had sixty years passed? Or more? Was he dead? The mere thought made me feel like my heart was being crushed. Just because I couldn't have him, didn't mean I didn't still love him. I turned around to look at my room companions. The two girls were talking loudly and giggling, nudging each other rather violently. I cleared my throat, but before I could say anything, the girl with the messy black hair glanced up and launched into action.
"Hi I'm Sam, seventeen, dad used to hit me."
She gestured to the small blonde wraith next to her.
"This is Bethany, sixteen, orphaned. And that grouch-", she jerked her thumb at the studying girl, "-is Amrit, seventeen, dumped at a train station when she was six. What about you? I'm guessing… drugs?"
I was so taken aback by her abrupt statement, that for a moment I was speechless. I didn't know why everyone kept thinking it was drugs, but I guessed that was the easiest story to go along with. "Yeah… they found me unconscious." The girl nodded as if this was rather significant.
"Uh huh. I did 'em too, until I got away from my old man. It gets better".
She smiled sympathetically. Unsure of how to respond, I decided to get straight to the question that had seared itself into my mind. "Um, how long ago was 1763?" She stared before bursting into raucous laughter.
"Well that came out of nowhere, honestly, I wouldn't know- ask that brainiac."
Amrit turned around, and I saw that her skin was brown like the southerners that sometimes traded in our little port. She was beautiful, in an exotic way which was completely at odds with her blank expression.
"1763 was about 253 years ago."
Her voice was bored and sounded slightly irritated at being interrupted. She grimaced at me- trying, I think, to smile, before turning back to her studies immediately. But I wasn't worried about that. Nausea rose up like poison inside me. Victor was definitely dead, which meant last night was a dream. It also meant that it was 2016.
*A rude interruption from the author* Yes I know it's boring and lame and the ending is abrupt, but I've worked a plot out and this is how I have to start. (It's hard stuff writing!)
