Present Day, 1813, London, A Regency Romance Story:
My breasts were pushed so high up that it would take a mere chin tuck from me to go from a graceful swan-like daughter of a viscount to a goose pumped with air, ready to be turned into an exquisite meal of Foie Gras. Simpletons. These people were simpletons. Cruel, cunning, and wicked. But simpletons. For all they wanted was wealth. And land. And gold; inlaid with rubies and diamonds of course. The women were simpering fools going after men with the highest title, and naturally the wealthiest. And the men. Well, the men wouldn’t be able to tell a woman apart from a stick, not if the stick had a pair of tits and an ass attached to it. Even better if said stick came with a sizeable dowry or a land deed. People remained the same no matter which world I visited. Sex and money were always going to be the things the world ran on. “Christina, what are you doing here all alone?” Mama whispered, her teeth grating. “Nothing really,” I daintily took a sip of my champagne, pretending to be the sweet innocent child of God that I always was. But alas, mama wasn’t fooled by my act. “You ought to have a dance. Or two.” She glared then grinned. “I should have known better. None of these fools impress you, do they? I used to have that same crazed look in my eyes when I was your age.” “Mama!” I exclaimed astonished. “I do not wish to hear about your scandalous adventures!” She squeezed my waist. “Sweetheart, scandal was my middle name.” She paused, surreptitiously looking around. “The Duke of Rochester is rumoured to be attending.” I rolled my eyes. “He happens to be quite mysterious. No one has seen him for the last five or so years. He was out exploring the world.” She shrugged. “Or so they say.” She smiled at me and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Go find him. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.” I scoffed as I chugged the remaining of my champagne. There wasn’t a lot Marie Simmons wouldn’t do. Her sweet smile tugged at the broken heartstrings in my chest. She wasn’t my real mother. Mine had died even before I had turned two. Yet, when I had woken up as the daughter of viscount James and viscountess Marie, I felt like I had been reborn with a set of new parents. Even in this world, it was rare to see a couple as madly in love with each other as those two were. As sad as it would be, tonight would have to be my last night in this world. I had stayed for as long as I could. A year in every Storyworld. No more. No less. That was the deal. With whom, I don’t know. I rarely tested the boundaries of it, for I knew all too well that this was not my home. The bell at midnight would mark a year in this world, and I had to leave before the Storyworld itself began attacking me.
Within the few words spoken between the unknown entity and me, I had quickly realized that if I stayed too long in one place, then all the nine worlds could collapse entirely. My death to it was inconsequential. And since I was only a guest here, I had no choice but to obey its rules. Years ago, I had given up my former life to live in this universe of never-ending stories. Storyworlds. It was a universe that laid beyond the realm of realities, slumbering ever so silently. I had been too much of a coward to deal with the mess that I had created and when my world became a raging haze of nightmares, I had known that the only way to save myself was by entrapping myself in the golden cages of my dreams. I grimaced around the tight strings of the corset. This world was not for the fainthearted. Or for the breathless. Nonetheless, after living a thousand lives, I had figured that I finally had gathered enough courage to stir some trouble up in this story too. Lanterns holding candles were strung high up diagonally across the dancing square, where several couples swayed in beat to the music of the string orchestra. The square was cleverly placed in the middle of the estate, with the gardens surrounding it, fenced in by the large property. People flocked around, chatting and buttering each other up, dressed in the finest silk and adorned in gems so big, they all seemed preposterous. It was late into the evening, yet the ball was going on strong, with alcohol filling the empty hole that fatigue left behind. I was rushing against the clock to find a quiet place to open the portal when I heard someone singing - quite terribly might I add. A snort escaped my mouth as I hung behind the pillar of the southwest garden. Which tone deaf fool was uttering this blasphemy? I clenched my hand around my waist, wheezing as I struggled to hold my laughter in, not even realising that the idiot had stopped his torture on everyone’s ears. Peals of laughter slipped out and I jumped in astonishment as someone tapped my shoulder from behind. “Was that as bad as it sounded?” A soft-spoken voice whispered into my ear. I turned around and my heart came crashing down. My eyes widened in shock as I looked at the male in front of me. No, it couldn’t be. How can he be here of all places? “What? No more unbecoming sounds coming out of your mouth?” His voice was rough. The kind that grated on your nerves but made your skin tingle with a weird sensation. Breathing became hard. Well, it was already hard. But it became damn near impossible now. A person’s face could be the same. But the aura, the presence that this man exuded. The intensity of it. How could I ever forget? Before I said something damning, I slipped past him into the maze, hoping he wouldn’t follow me. I cast a glance to the clock tower. Fifteen more minutes. “Why did you go so white?” I cleared my throat. Clearly, he wasn’t going to leave. “That was the most foul, most wretched thing I have ever heard.” I managed to get out, before mustering my courage for
more. “It sounded like you were in abominable pain, seeing only your death on the horizon.” His laughter stopped me in my tracks. I glanced back at him and sucked in a heavy breath at the uncanny similarity of his features to the one I had longed to see years ago. “Well, then mission accomplished I would say.” “What?” I said like an idiot. “It was the only way I could get rid of that girl, you see.” He grinned like he was internally thumping his chest in victory. Neanderthal. I strode forward lifting my skirts to leave, yet a small part of me was still perplexed at the words uttered from his mouth. A glance behind told me hadn’t quite following me “That is horrible of you.” “Is it?” He didn’t break his stride. “The girl has been following me around like a madwoman for days now. It was the only way to get her off my back. Nobody wants to spend their entire life with a singer. Much less a horrible one.” Another glance at the tower. 10 minutes. I needed to get ready to open the portal. Blue light flared from my fingertips as my ancestral magic came to life. It was an untameable beast, that as hard as I tried, I still struggled to control. “Who are you exactly?” I asked. He stopped in his tracks, grabbing my arm, causing me to collide into his chest. My cleavage grazed his velvet coat, the friction causing goosebumps to litter all over my skin. His voice dropped to a low baritone. “Am I to presume you didn’t know who you were laughing at?” I blinked at him. His ego was bigger than the size of this estate. “I don’t know your name or your title, but I can say one thing with absolute certainty.” I took a step forward and trailed my fingertips gently over his corded biceps. Little zaps of lightning from my fingers were shocking him, yet he didn’t look down. Our breaths mingled and I swear on all that’s holy, with that alone, the night got a hundred times hotter. He swallowed hard. “What?”
One syllable. Barely audible. “You are the most arrogant, the most egotistical man I have ever met.” He chuckled at the accusation, likely not hearing those words for the first time.
I snapped my eyes shut as the sound of his laughter brought back unfiltered memories, that I had long shut in a box and hidden away from my conscious mind. Laughter echoing between the two of us as he rained kisses down my neck, half- naked on a picnic blanket, under the blinding sun. The way his eyes burned with emotions when he looked at me. His scent on my pillow. The way his hate was as passionate as his love. I pulled away from his embrace, barely keeping my tears at bay. My heart was beating in my ear and yet, all I could remember were the groves of his lips against mine. I began to walk away when I heard a “Wait!”
I hastened my steps, my magic flowing freely from my hands now, casting us in a blue light. A circle began to form a few feet away from me.
“Wait. Galina, wait.” He nearly whispered the words. And with a gasp, I spun back looking at him. He only looked back at me, confused all the same.
I stared at him, my jaw dropping ground, shell shocked when the sharp toll of the bell forced me out of the spell. Before I could take another step or speak another word, a dagger whizzed past, nicking my ear. I pressed my hand against the cut and saw a black liquid rather than the crimson I was so used to seeing.
Six assassins ran towards me from all sides, holding swords high up above their heads. All dressed in black, they nearly blended into the night. A glance at the clock told me I was too late to make my escape and now the world was treating me like the intruder that I was.
I looked back at the portal as it steadily swirled, shining into a black abyss.
“What...what is going on?” He spun around, unsheathing his gun from his holster on his waist. I sighed in frustration. This was all his fault. I pulled out the sword from underneath my dress and began walking backwards. I pulled the sword in closer, getting ready in a fighting stance. I grabbed his hands and threaded my fingers through his.
“You are coming with me.” He stumbled behind me, as the assassin on our right swung his sword down into an arc, stopping only when my sword collided against his. With a quick flick of my wrist, the assassin’s head detached from his body and fell to the ground.
“What...what...what are you doing?” I twirled and smirked at his astonished expression. We were standing at the edge of the portal now.
I touched my lips to his cheek and whispered. “See you on the other side, you monster.” I stepped back and swinging with my hips with all the power I had, I landed a high kick straight to his sternum. His scream echoed around me as he fell into the black pit.
I looked completely out of place as walked across the bridge right over the Thames. I was ferociously rubbing on the streak of blood left on my cheek when I felt him stand beside me. I tipped my head up. Glaring at me apparently came easy to him. “Where. Are. We?” Acid riding on the edge of his words.
I laughed. At him. At me. At the situation we were in.
“Welcome to London 2021, dearest husband.”
Comments