Ascension

by C J M Naylor

  "Ellie?" she said in her mind. "Are you there?"

  Nothing.

  "Ellie? Please, Ellie. Please."

  Again, nothing.

  "I told him the truth," she said. "I told the man I met today the truth. Because of you. Because of what you said. And I'm ready to listen to you about our mother. Please."

  "Ughhhhh," came Ellie's voice in her head. "It's about time."

  Elisabeth found herself letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She felt elated—overjoyed.

  "Can you come to my flat? I know it's late, but please."

  There was nothing, and for a moment, Elisabeth feared she had lost her. But then...

  "I suppose. What is the address?"

  Eleanor didn't take long to arrive at Elisabeth's flat. She sat at the kitchen table while her sister moved quickly around the little kitchen to make some tea. Within several minutes, a steaming hot cup was in front of each sister as they sat across from each other at the table.

  Elisabeth lifted her cup and took a sip, winced at the heat, and then sat the cup down and began.

  "I want to apologize," she said. "My age doesn't excuse what I said, but I hope you'll consider that we were teenagers and I, I don't know, I wanted to be loyal to our mother."

  "And this morning, too?" Eleanor asked.

  Elisabeth sighed. "Ellie, it's hard for me. It still is. But I'm willing to listen now, with an open mind, because I want to get to know Mathias and I don't want our mother ruining it. Please, tell me what she told you."

  Eleanor sat in thought before she took a sip of her tea. Elisabeth she wasn't going to tell her, but then she spoke.

  "There's a prophecy," Eleanor began, "that a group of Timekeepers would break from those of us who understand these gifts are to be used for good, and not bad. These dark Timekeepers would embrace the gifts of the Forbidden Powers. For whatever reason, there is a rumor amongst the Timekeepers that these powers have never been gained by a Timekeeper. I suppose that stems from the same rumor that there is no original Timekeeping family. Our mother possesses these powers. And she has infiltrated other Timekeepers. She has a circle of individuals who know of the original family, of our family, and they are working to become this dark society of Timekeepers.

  "Our mother has these powers. And one of these powers involves being unable to age. Haven't you noticed our mother has never changed our entire lifetime? Sure, her hairstyle has changed, her looks have changed. But she has no wrinkles. She has no grey hair. She is frozen at whatever age she was when she took on these powers. Elisabeth, she gave up her soul for these powers. It's the reason I left. No one should be able to have that kind of power. I began to question whether any of our powers are good. Even the power of us communicating telepathically. And this prophecy, well, this prophecy states that a woman of the original family would give birth to twin girls. When these girls are brought together, they will bring the world into darkness. It's all about destroying everything as we know it and having these two children lead us all in darkness. It's terrible.

  "You and I, we were supposed to be those children. The only reason we're alive right now is because we were twin girls. Like I said, our mother is ageless. I have no idea how old she really is, but I've been secretly communicating with Abigail and we weren't her first pregnancy. She had more than us. They were either boys or single children. She killed all of them. She tried to kill Elijah when we came out, but Aldridge suggested against it. We are alive because she knew she had lost her chance to bear these special children. Now it's our turn. The only way to stop this prophecy from coming true is for both of us to not have children. Now, I can't stop our mother's wrath though, so that is why I left. Please don't think I'm telling you not to have children, but if you do, you'll have to go up against her. And the only other way to stop her, is to kill her. And I can't do that either. No matter how evil she is."

  Elisabeth shook her head in disbelief. She believed Eleanor. She truly did. But she just hadn't been expecting everything that she had just been told.

  "But if our mother is ageless," Elisabeth began, "can she be killed?"

  "From what I gather," Eleanor continued, "she is immortal, but not immune to the effects of actually being killed."

  The thought of not having children had never occurred to Elisabeth. She assumed it would always be something she would do.

  "I don't know if I cannot have children, Ellie."

  Eleanor smiled at her. "I know Lis. And like I said, I'm not telling you not to, I'm just saying that our mother will find a way to make her prophecy come true if you do. Our mother gave up her soul. She'll find a way for one of us to bear children, even if it's in the worst possible of ways."

  "Why hasn't she done that already then?" Elisabeth asked her sister. "If she's that evil, then why didn't she, forgive me saying this, have Aldridge impregnate one of us or something."

  Eleanor closed her eyes. She knew that was something her sister didn't want to think about, but it still had to be put out on the table. If Elisabeth was truly going to cut ties with her mother, she had to know she was truly evil and there was no good in her.

  "My best guess," Eleanor said, "is that she'd rather manipulate us into following her path. If she did any of those horrid things, which again, I wouldn't put past her, she'd lose our trust entirely. And that is one of the components of all of this, including gaining these forbidden powers—gaining the trust of other Timekeepers. It was in her best interests to manipulate, plan, and wait.”

  "I guess I will meet with her," Elisabeth said, "and tell her I will not communicate with her again."

  Eleanor reached out and grabbed Elisabeth's hand. "I wouldn't even do that, Lis. I would just stop talking to her altogether. I might even consider hiding. Dying your hair. I don't know. I wake up, every single day, in fear she'll find me. That something happened to you and now she needs me again. And yes, I know that's selfish, but that woman truly terrifies me. I fear if Elijah hadn't gotten me out when he did, she'd have locked me away. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that my life is precious to her until her prophecy is fulfilled. Yes, she could kidnap me and do the worst possible things to me, but I know that my life is safe until she gets what she wants. It's sad that I have to cling to that."

  Elisabeth nodded and sat there for a moment, thinking everything through. She would need to move. She couldn't stay in this flat. She had to hide. Maybe she could convince Mathias to help her do that. She looked back up at her sister.

  "Will you stay in my life?"

  Eleanor smiled. "Of course, Lis. We'll have to be secretive, but I will be there for you. I promise."

  The two sisters stood up and embraced each other, and in that moment, there was no evil in the world. There was only their love.

  CHAPTER TEN

  December 1924

  The next two years passed by quickly for Elisabeth. She cut off all ties with her mother and eventually moved in with Mathias. Because his father had become ill and upset with Mathias for ending the relationship with Bessie, he went to a spare Headquarters they had for emergencies. It also worked out because he technically couldn't take Elisabeth into the official Headquarters until they were married. Therefore, Elisabeth moved out of her flat in London, leaving no forwarding address in hopes her mother wouldn't find her, and moved in with Mathias at the secret Headquarters located under the Tower of London.

  The Headquarters had two entrances. The first was a passageway underneath that one had to swim through the Thames to get to. The second was a door, hidden by the magic of Time, that appeared on the side of the Tower and revealed a hidden staircase leading downward. They were safe here, the two of them. Safe from Mathias' father and his judgmental ways as well as Elisabeth's mother and her prying eyes. Elisabeth never mentioned her mother or anyone in her family to Mathias. He didn’t know she had any connections to Timekeepers and that she was in fact an original Timekeeper.

  It had been about two to three months into their relat
ionship when Mathias confided in her about his Timekeeping abilities and what he did. Obviously, Elisabeth already knew everything there was to know and more, but she had feigned surprise at his announcement and told him she supported him no matter what.

  The two of them were sitting in their living area of the Headquarters, a fire going in the grate in front of them. Elisabeth had curled her body into Mathias'. His arms were wrapped around her and they were looking into each other's eyes.

  "I love you," he said. "You have no idea how much I love you."

  She smiled at him. "I love you too."

  "I've just never felt anything like this," Mathias went on. "For anyone. Only you. I feel like we can be honest with each other about anything. You've made me an entirely different person. I never wanted to go out into the world and explore, but with you, I feel like we could go anywhere and do anything. I want to travel the world with you. Am I sounding insane right now?"

  Elisabeth's heart had skipped a beat when he said they could be honest with each other about anything. She hadn't been honest with him. She had been keeping secrets about who she really was, what she really knew, and how dangerous loving her could be for him.

  "No," she responded. "You don't sound insane."

  He pulled his arm from around her, stood up, and walked across the room to a small end table. He pulled open a drawer, took out a small object, and brought it back to Elisabeth. He knelt down on one knee and clicked open the small box in his hand, revealing a diamond ring.

  "It was my mother's," Mathias said. "Elisabeth, will you marry me?"

  She hadn't been expecting this. She had no idea why. They had been together for two years now. That was more than enough time for their relationship to progress to this point. But she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. Marriage could lead to many things, including children, and she had no idea if she could do that given the prophecy.

  "Elisabeth?"

  Elisabeth broke herself from her thoughts and looked up at Mathias. He was waiting for an answer. And in that moment, she decided to be selfish.

  "Yes," she said.

  January 1925

  Elisabeth married Mathias on January 31, 1925. It was just the two of them, per Elisabeth's insistence. There was no special dress or flowers, no cake. It was just them along with a priest and a few witnesses at a nearby church. The priest had felt a bit odd marrying the couple, as weddings usually came with many family members and friends, but Mathias and Elisabeth insisted they had none. They were married and a certificate was provided.

  That evening, Elisabeth entered Mathias' bedroom for the first time. Even though they had lived together, they had never slept in the same bad or done anything more than kiss.

  "I love you," Mathias whispered against her neck as he began to undo her blouse.

  "Mathias," Elisabeth said, holding up her hand suddenly, to his chest. "I can't."

  Mathias stepped back and looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

  "I don't think we can have sexual intercourse," she said.

  Mathias rubbed the back of his head in confusion and looked around the room, clearly unsure of what to say. Finally, he looked back at her.

  "If you aren't feeling comfortable or ready yet," he said, "I can wait. Just tell me."

  Elisabeth shook her head. "It isn't that."

  "What is it then?" Mathias asked.

  Elisabeth began nervously wringing her fingers and paced about the room. How could she possibly give him an answer without telling him the truth? The wheels in her mind were turning, turning, turning. Finally, she knew what she could do, but she felt horrible for telling the lie. But then, hadn't she been lying all this time anyway?

  She turned back to Mathias and looked him in the eye. "I don't want to have children.”

  Mathias walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.

  "You could have told me," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

  "I feel horrible," she said, tears coming to her eyes now. These were real tears, even though she had twisted the truth. "I've taken away your ability to have a child of your own. I should have told you before you committed yourself to this relationship."

  Mathias continuously rubbed the back of her head, attempting to soothe her.

  "It's okay," he said softly. "It wouldn't have mattered to me. There are other ways to start a family, if that's what you want, of course."

  She looked back up at him. "Of course. But even then, I just don't know how I can give myself to you completely because of the fear of becoming with child."

  "Well," Mathias said, "there are ways. They recently opened a Women's Clinic here in London over the last few years. I believe they have methods of some sort that would prevent you from becoming pregnant. We also, well, we don't have to necessarily go the whole way, if that makes sense.”

  Elisabeth nodded. She knew what he meant. "Let's try that for tonight, and we can go from there. What do you think?"

  Mathias smiled down at her. "I will do only what you're comfortable with."

  Mathias did exactly as he said he would that first night, and Elisabeth was grateful. But she also felt guilty for not being able to provide her husband with a child. She just couldn't. She couldn't allow her mother to be able to turn her children into something evil. They would adopt as Mathias had suggested. They would start a family that way. And for now, Elisabeth was content with that.

  March 1925

  Elisabeth enjoyed the moments she had with Mathias and never wanted them to end. As of now, their plan was working. They had planned to be married for about a year before they started looking into the possibility of adoption.

  In the meantime, Elisabeth had visited Eleanor at the orphanage. They continued to strengthen their relationship and life seemed to go on with no problems at all.

  That March, Mathias surprised Elisabeth with tickets to the opera. Together, the two of them had a night of fun on the town. However, they both had had a little too much to drink and found themselves embracing each other upon their arrival home. The next morning, when Elisabeth awoke, she knew things had gone a bit different than their previous experiences of being together in that way.

  She turned on her side to see Mathias lying next to her. Neither of them had clothes on and while she had had some to drink last night, she still remembered everything they had done. And she remembered her insistence to Mathias that it was alright. They could go all the way. He had asked her several times, and he too had had a few drinks, but she had said it was fine. Her eyes widened and she began to push Mathias lightly to wake him up. He didn't stir.

  "Mathias," she said, pushing him again. "Mathias!"

  Finally, she pushed him so hard he fell out of the bed and gave a shout.

  He stood up, stark naked, his back to her, rubbing the back of his head.

  "What in the hell did you do that for?" he asked turning around.

  She smiled at the sight of him, completely exposed. He looked down at himself and blushed, covering himself.

  "Why are you blushing?" Elisabeth asked. "And why are you covering yourself? I've already seen it."

  Mathias looked down and then back up at her. "I have no idea. It's weird getting used to this idea of being married."

  He uncovered himself. "It's so nice to be free," he said, doing a twirl.

  "Are you still intoxicated from last night?" Elisabeth asked.

  "No," he said, jumping back into bed and crawling on top of her. "I'm just glad that I'm here, that I'm married to you, and that I can wake up naked next to you."

  She smirked at him. "Well, I'm glad you enjoy being in the nude, but we have a problem. I think I told you to, um, well, you know, last night. To do what we haven't been doing."

  His eyes grew wide and she could tell by his expression he remembered now too. He sat up, a serious expression on his face.

  "We did," he said. "What are we going to do?"

  Elisabeth closed her eyes, trying to think, and then opened them again
. "It's fine. If it happens, it happens."

  Mathias nodded. "I know you're scared. At least, I'm assuming that's what it is. I'll be with you though, every step of the way."

  If only he knew the whole truth. Elisabeth hoped, if she did get pregnant, it wouldn't be twin girls. If it wasn't, they would be fine.

  Mathias pulled away and got out of bed. She watched him walk to the door and open it.

  "Where are you going?" she asked him.

  "To make breakfast," he said.

  "Naked?"

  He turned back to her, a devilish grin on her face. "We're married, dear. Best get used to it."

  Elisabeth picked up the pillow next to her and threw it at him, but he ducked out of the way and left the room.

  Elisabeth removed the covers from over her body and looked down toward her belly, placing a hand over it. A normal woman would not be able to tell this early if she was with child, but Elisabeth knew. She was a Timekeeper and had abilities beyond the normal woman. She began to see quick flashes of the future. She saw herself months from now, just before giving birth, feeling her belly with her empath powers, feeling her twin girls inside of her. And then she had flashes of the present, hundreds of miles away, her mother, having the same premonition. It was as if her mother was right in front of her. Slowly, she lifted her face to meet Elisabeth's, her eyes stone cold, and the most evil of smiles painted on her face. Her mother knew and she would be coming. And nothing could stop her. Her mother would find her.

  And so it began.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  July 1925

  Elisabeth stood in front of the mirror in her sister's bedroom, her blouse slightly raised, her hands on her belly. It was clear as day now to anyone who saw her on the street. She was expecting, and because it was twins, she was larger than most mothers would be. Slowly, Elisabeth moved her hand over her belly and felt the kicking of her daughters. She could see flashes in her mind of her babies in the womb and how peaceful they looked. Would they be able to keep that peace? Or would it all be for nothing?