Okay guys. First of all, thanks for all the wonderful feedback! I really appreciate it 3
And then… What happened with this chapter… I can't explain it. I wrote it for 2.5 hours straight, it sucked me in, it was like I was watching it as a movie in my head, and its atmosphere is still around me even though it's been an hour since I finished writing it. It was definitely the strongest writing experience I've ever had, and I have to admit that at times I'd liked to just stay smelling the early summer with Olivia. When I finished writing, it was as if I woke up from a dream that had felt really real. I don't know if it'll be conveyed to you through the text, but I really hope you'll feel at least some of it.
And to add to the "epicness", I have to add two soundtracks: "Love Suite" -Thomas Bergersen in the first two parts, in the last part "Mountains" - Hans Zimmer.
I hope you like it!
(NOTE! In this "other reality" Olivia is only 30 years old!)
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And then the woman wrapped her arms around her, the coldness spread to her every cell, and the world went dark around her.
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Year 1948
Olivia stood on the porch of the house, leaning on the white painted railing, watching the butterflies dancing in the summer sun, the flying bees, listening to the joyful singing of the birds, and took a deep breath. The air smelled of fresh, summer morning dew, flowers, fresh leaves and the lightness that the early summer brought with it and spread to the environment along with the gentle wind.
A fly flew onto her face, tickled her nose, and she brushed it away, remembering her floury hands. The morning had been busy: the owners of the manor were going to throw a party for their neighbors today, and she had woken up in the wee hours of the morning, whirled around the kitchen like a whirlwind, and seemed to have finished everything before the owners had woken up.
The wind swirled from behind the house, carrying the faint smell of baked cake to her nose, and she closed her eyes, enjoying her short well-deserved break, letting the sun warm her face and the birdsong fill her body.
"Good morning!"
A happy voice made her open her eyes, and a smile immediately spread across her face when she saw the comer. A young woman, 23 years old, was standing on the dewy grass in front of her, her blond hair dancing in the light breeze and glittering in the sun, her blue eyes looking at her happily, and a warmth, quite different from that of the sun, ignited within her.
"Good morning, miss Austin," she smiled, watching as the light blue dress matching the woman's eyes fluttered in the wind. "A beautiful day today."
"Just right for a garden party," the woman nodded with a smile. "Are the pastries ready?"
"Almost," Olivia answered, glancing towards the house, behind the windows of which she saw movement. "I think I need to go finish them before I start making lunch."
The woman glanced at the same window as her, then stepped closer, and with a mischievous expression on her face, she leaned towards her and whispered:
"After we've eaten, let's go swimming. The water is warm, and you have plenty of time before you start preparing the party."
Butterflies began to flutter in Olivia's stomach as she looked into her warm blue eyes, watched as a lone strand of blonde hair fell in front of her face, reached out to move it behind her ear, but then a call from inside the house made them flinch and step away from each other.
"Christina? Where are you?"
"I'm here, mother," the woman rose to her toes as she answered her mother, the window of the house opened and an older, also blue-eyed and blond-haired woman peeked out.
"It's almost lunch time, could you go find your brother? He must be up to mischief again," she shook her head before turning her gaze to Olivia. "Mrs. Hanson, why are you still standing there? Mr. Austin and your husband will be coming out of town soon, and they must be hungry," she rushed her, Olivia nodded and turned to go inside. But before she had time to grab the doorknob, she felt a warm breath on her neck as a whisper reached her ear:
"I'll wait for you on the path behind the big spruces."
And Olivia didn't turn as she opened the door, but the warmth tingled inside her like ants had run through her veins.
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Olivia had quickly cleaned up the table and the kitchen, changed into a lighter dress, and before she stepped out the door, she quickly glanced at the clock. She would have about an hour to spare before she had to return to the house to prepare the garden party, so she stepped outside, closed the door, walked quickly across the yard, looked around, and when she was sure no one was seeing, she picked a light blue flower from the ground, took a deep breath and started walking along the path.
Christina was waiting for her on the path, just as she had promised. Warmth flared up in her chest, she took a few running steps, and then she stopped in front of her. Christina looked at her with a smile.
"You came."
"Of course."
She raised her hand, carefully tucked the flower behind Christina's ear, lightly touched her cheek at the same time, and a light blush rose on the younger woman's cheeks.
"Oh, thank you, Olivia. It's beautiful."
"Like you."
They started walking one after the other down the path, and sooner than she would have liked, they saw the lake, sparkling behind the trees, blue, clear, inviting. Christina turned to look at her, laughter flashing in her eyes, and then she grabbed her hand and began to pull her.
"Come!"
Laughing, they ran across the meadow, butterflies fluttering around them, fluttering in her stomach, all-encompassing happiness bubbling inside Olivia as she watched the blonde hair flowing, and she could have run forever, listening to the contagious giggling of the woman running in front of her. Finally they stopped on the shore of the lake, stopped to breathe the fresh air, watched as a lone waterfowl took flight a little further away, and then Christina grinned.
"Let's go to the water."
"But…" Olivia only managed to say before Christina had pulled off her dress, hung it on a tree branch, looked at her questioningly and ran into the water, screaming. Olivia blinked, drops of water splashing on her face, and then Christina took a dip, swam a few strokes and turned to look at her.
"Come on, Olivia! The water is wonderful!"
"I… Don't…" She hesitated for a moment, knew she didn't have long before she had to be ready to help in the kitchen, knew swimming wasn't one of the things she was expected to do in her spare time, but the lake sparkled invitingly, Christina's laugh was attracting her like a magnet, and finally she shook her head.
What the hell.
She pulled off the dress, tried the water with her toe, grimaced when she felt its coldness, but then stepped into the water and started swimming after the other woman.
For a while they swam, slowly, enjoying the refreshing coolness of the water, enjoying the summer heat on their faces, enjoying each other's company, but eventually the coolness began to penetrate too deeply, and they swam to the shore, got out of the water, and sat down on the beach to dry off. When they were dry enough, they pulled their dresses back on, fixed their hair, and then started walking towards the house.
But when they reached the meadow, the same meadow they had run through moments before, Christina stopped. Olivia turned to look at her, noticed her sad expression, and frowned in concern.
"What's wrong?"
"I just…" She hesitated, brushing a blonde strand of hair from her face. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like if there were no rules? If we could live as we want?"
Olivia swallowed, knowing exactly what she meant, but asked nonetheless:
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... Would everything be different? Would we be free? Would we be forced to resign ourselves to living on men's terms, pretending they are all we want?"
Nervousness ignited in Olivia's stomach, and she quickly glanced around. "I love my husband."
Christina looked up. "I know you do. But…" She sighed, took a step towards her, and lightly grabbed her hand. The nervousness inside Olivia was accompanied by a flame of warmth. "If you had the chance to choose... Is he the one you would choose? Would you need him?"
The words got stuck in Olivia's throat, she wanted to run, but some even greater force begged her to stay, and she couldn't help but look at Christina's beautiful face, big, blue eyes that seemed to see right into her soul.
And she didn't run, she didn't turn her head as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to hers.
Olivia tasted summer on Christina's lips, the lake water, the warmth of the sun, the hope of youth, and she returned her kiss, running her fingers through her blond hair, letting the rest of the world disappear around her, and only the song of her soul was ringing in her ears as Christina breathed a sigh of relief against her lips, deepened the kiss and pulled her to the ground with her. The meadow's grass tickled her skin, the ground was cool, but Christina's body against her was warm, her hands so careful, so soft as they slipped under her dress, so different from her husband's hands, but so much warmer, gentler, better…
Until a strong tug lifted her weight off of her, Olivia opened her eyes, the warmth giving way to horror as she realized she was staring her master, Christina's father, straight in the eyes.
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Her whole body ached.
Her skin was on fire.
Her swollen lips were throbbing in time with her heartbeat, one of her eyes was swollen almost shut, and constant chills ran through her body.
The night was dark, not even the birds sang. The floor of the outhouse was hard, rough, unforgiving to her bruised body as she was leaning against its wall, waiting, hope charred to ash, future crushed at her feet.
She had kissed Christina. For a fleeting little moment they had been lying in the meadow, butterflies fluttering around them, and for the first time in her life she had felt truly happy.
But like butterflies, the moment had only lived for a short time.
And now she was waiting here, in cold and pain, waiting for her death.
She was so engrossed in her own world that she didn't hear when the door opened softly, moonlight streamed into his little prison. It wasn't until she heard a thin, quiet whisper that she raised her head.
"Olivia!"
"Christina?" Fear flared inside her, not for herself, but for her. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help you, fool," Christina hissed, quickly glanced at the house behind her, and then waved her hand. "Come!"
"Where?"
"I don't know, but we'll find it out," she answered, her voice more determined than ever before. "Everything will turn out for the best, as long as we are together."
Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes, the words got stuck in her throat, and she shook her head, protesting.
"No. I won't let you ruin your life because of me. Your parents will forgive you eventually, you have a future, but I…"
"You are my future," Christina's voice broke, and Olivia looked up, looked into her eyes sparkling in the moonlight, and bit her lip. "Because I love you."
"I…" Olivia tried to find words, her ability to speak was gone, and a sob escaped her lips as she whispered: "I love you too."
"So, let's go!" A cold hand grabbed her hand, pulling her up, and her legs started to follow her, despite her muscles not seeming to obey her commands. And then they ran, hand in hand, Olivia oblivious to the pain but taking a proper breath for the first time in a long time.
Until the door slammed behind them, an enraged roar split the air, they flinched, turned to look behind them for a second, and saw Christina's father storming towards them, his rifle flashing in the moonlight.
"No!"
Christina started to pull her, picking up her pace, blindly they rushed down the path, panic throbbing inside. They heard heavy footsteps behind them, panting, and they quickened their pace, despite knowing, knowing painfully well, that they had lost their chance to escape.
The lake appeared in front of them as if out of nowhere, but Christina didn't slow down. Behind them they heard a thump and cursing, apparently her father had tripped, and that gave them a few more seconds as they rushed to the shore of the lake.
But unlike Olivia had expected, Christina stopped.
"What are you doing?"
"We can't escape," Christina's voice was barely audible, a stifled sob, and the blood froze in Olivia's veins as she looked at the woman staring at the lake, realizing what she meant.
"No."
"I won't let you die alone."
"Christina, no, you…"
"It's not up to you!" She exclaimed, her voice echoing on the lake, and Olivia took a step back, shaking her head furiously.
"I won't let you die because of me!"
"But because of me my father will kill you!" She screamed, voice hysterical, her body shaking violently. "And there's no way I can live with that!"
"No!"
The footsteps were getting closer, at any moment the man would appear from behind the trees and end her life, panic was screaming in her ears, but Christina wiped her eyes, took a deep breath and held out her hand.
"Like I said, you are my future. I have nothing left without you."
Olivia gulped, wanting to protest, wanting to do anything to make her head turn. But something in Christina's gaze stopped her, made her powerless, told her there was nothing she could do, and slowly she lowered her gaze to her outstretched hand.
"Together."
For a couple of seconds she hesitated, tears streaming down her cheeks, but then, her whole body shaking violently, she raised her hand, slowly, slowly extended it towards her, ready to make a decisive decision…
"LIV!"
A new, unfamiliar voice cut through the air, making her freeze in her tracks. She turned her head in the direction of the sound, squinted, but saw nothing.
"Did you hear that?"
"What?" Christina looked at her in confusion and turned her head in the same direction as her. "No."
She listened, waited, but hearing only footsteps approaching, she shook her head, thought she heard wrong.
But just as she was about to grab Christina's hand, she heard it again.
"Liv, please!"
"That voice," she spun around, trying to locate the source of the voice, but it seemed to be heard everywhere, as if the wind was calling her as it swirled around her.
"Don't leave me…"
The voice broke, and some new feeling, unrecognizable, but so strong that it made her knees buckle, ignited inside her.
"Olivia, we need to go!"
"Wait," she hissed, took a step away from the water and strained her ears.
"I... I love you. I know I never said it to you, but I… You mean the world to me, Liv."
That voice. At the same time so foreign, but at the same time so familiar, that her every cell seemed to come alive, begin to vibrate, pull her towards it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark figure appear from behind the trees, stop at the shoreline, but for some reason she was no longer afraid.
"OLIVIA!"
Christina's shriek behind her startled her, it didn't sound at all like the same, warm, loving woman she loved. Instead, her voice sounded hollow, menacing, dead, and she turned around, fixed her gaze on her and took a step back. The warm glow in her blue eyes had changed, it had turned into an empty, dark anger that made her blood freeze in her veins.
"WE NEED TO GO!"
"No," she shook her head, took another step back. "No."
"OLIVIA!"
"You are not the Christina I loved."
"Liv, please…"
Elliot.
The realization hit her so hard that it almost knocked the air out of her lungs, but at the same time it seemed to fill her whole body with something, as if some inexplicable, immeasurable force had flowed into her limbs. And then she saw him, on the sand a few feet from her, slumped to the ground, tears running down his cheeks.
Elliot.
Of course it was Elliot.
How could she have forgotten him?
And she glanced at Christina, her unnaturally glowing skin, made up her mind, turned on her heel and ran. She felt ice cold hands grip her skin, but the new power inside her was stronger than them, she jerked herself out of their grip, ran, ran, heard a bloodcurdling scream behind her, saw Elliot look up, and without stopping, at full speed, she crashed into his arms.
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Her lifeless body in Elliot's lap flinched, her eyes snapped open, and she took a furious breath.
"Liv!"
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And if you're confused, don't worry. Everything will be explained in clear English in the next chapter :D