The Beast In The Castle

by Daniella Wright

  “Tell me your name.” I implore pleadingly. She hesitates, folding her hands atop the table.

  “Just call me Jenny. I have had many names across the timeline. Immortals scarcely keep the same name for long.” She murmurs, averting her eyes. My heart swells, and I am more certain of my feelings than ever.

  “I’m… Jameson.” I mumble, cheeks turning purple as she turns to consider me. She is as beautiful as ever, but I suppose an immortal being has all the time in the world to master any beauty secrets. My mind flickers to the moment we shared in the future, but I realize with a start that it has not happened for her. Not yet, anyway. I swallow thickly, uncertainty rising in my throat. There is much I want to say to her, but everything seems to fall so short. What I feel is unmistakable in my mind. I open my mouth to speak, but as if reading my mind, she holds up a hand to interrupt me.

  “I’ve not seen many time travelers in my time. From your expression and… actions, I suppose you know me a bit more well than I know you.” She smiles, though the expression is visibly forced.

  “How do you know I’m a time traveler? And not an immortal like you?” I implore, and she glances to my hand.

  “The wound on your hand. Were you an immortal, it would have long healed.” She says simply. I feel as if she is somehow preparing me for some devastating blow, but certainly she cannot know what I intend.

  “I… feel like this meeting was fated. As if it is destiny. I feel like you and I,” I begin, but she only laughs humorlessly.

  “There is no you and I, Jameson. I’ve lived many a year, and have had many a lover. You are not the first to approach me in this manner, and I am certain you will not be the last. However, in my time shared with mortal beings, one thing remains the same. I am always the one who is forced to say goodbye.” She says drolly, resting her chin in her hand and idly stirring a spoon in her cup. I feel as if my heart is being ripped clear in two, but even I can see the logic of what she is saying. I am but a mortal, and even though I could offer her my world, my world is but a speck in her life. I open my mouth to speak, but she seems uninterested in what I have to say. Even as she is rejecting me, I am certain she is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon.

  “I think you should be going, now.” She says carefully, and I stare at her but for a moment longer before rising from my chair. The pain is unbearable, but I can’t force myself upon her. I won’t. Instead of offering any further argument, I turn my back to her. I inhale a shuddering breath, and hope that future travels will somehow seem less bleak. However, it seems as if nothing will ever be the same, knowing that she will exist in my time, yet… I can never have her. The knowledge rests heavily on my mind, but I slip out of her home and back to my time machine. It seems there is little left to do but go home and consider my future.

  Chapter 5

  Even home alone, left to my own devices, I cannot stop thinking about her. There is no question in my mind nor heart that what I feel for the immortal woman is nothing short of love. I know, however, that I cannot force her to endure my short life. Even with a time machine, I cannot make myself live forever. Even to look at my invention now feels me with dread and uncertainty. I know in my heart that in each timeline, I will somehow find her. Whether or not it is my intent, I cannot deny the feeling that she is my soulmate. I know she is meant for me, and I for her. Struck by a sudden thought, I lurch upward in bed. It’s a longshot. A near impossibility. But with all the impossibilities that have proven true in the past few days, I have to give it a shot. I have to find her.

  I rise out of bed and dress as nicely as I am able. I feel woefully underdressed for my intents, but I have little money beyond what I have spent on the creation of my time machine. I cannot afford the luxury of silken garments. I wonder if this fact alone will make her decision, but I cannot allow myself to linger on the what-ifs. I simply know I have to find her and make my proposition. For better or for worse, at least I will have tried. I can go to my grave knowing that I did all that was possible to make my soulmate my own.

  I slip out the door of my home, for the first time in perhaps months. Everything seems dreadfully normal, exceptionally plain, but when I think about the future where everything seemed a funeral march, I remember that she could make even that possibility a good one. Smiling to myself, with love in my heart, I follow a path that seems to have ingrained itself in the very fabric of my being. I receive glances from those I pass by, but pay them little mind. I know that the purpose with which I walk may seem strange, especially to those who may have briefly met me in the entirety of my previous life. I feel a tug in my chest, and I know I am on the right path as I turn to the left at the end of my block. As I approach the park, I spot her almost immediately. My saliva has grown impossibly thick, and I know that my entire future hinges on this conversation. I walk towards her, and it as if she feels my presence. She turns to face me when I am but a pace away, eyes narrowed in careful consideration. I offer her a smile, but she is too lost in thought to reciprocate. At least, I hope she is simply lost in thought.

  “I have a proposition for you, Jenny, if you will give me but a moment of your time.” I say carefully, and she continues to trace her eyes up and down my form. There is a strange look of incomprehension, and I wonder if she has somehow forgotten me.

  “I’m listening, Jameson.” She says quietly, almost too quietly to hear. She seems to be wrapped up in thought, but I hope that her decision to at least hear me out is a step in the right direction. Her eyes are drawn to my hand, but I can only wring them together uncertainly as I begin to speak.

  “I know my life will be a short one, compared to yours. A speck in this massive existence you call your own. But I love you, Jenny. Of that I have no doubt.” I begin, and she makes as if to interrupt. I continue on, unwilling to be rejected so swiftly. “I have something that not many can boast, a time machine. And it was through that machine that I was able to know you and fall in love with you. My life may be a short one, but I can at least prolong our relationship in some way.” I continue, knowing I sound nothing short of crazy.

  “Jameson…” She tries, but I continue relentlessly.

  “Live this life with me. Together. And every day, I will take a trip into your future, to be with you. In a way, it’s as close to eternity as… as I can come. I know it’s very little, but I can’t ignore the feeling that we are fated to be together.” I finish lamely, hands tensing at my sides. Her eyes are locked on my hand still, and the only thing that seems certain is rejection.

  “I… that’s not going to happen, Jameson.” She says quietly, and I feel my heart drop into my gut. I bring my hand up to wipe my eyes, staring uncertainly at the spot where my wound had been only scarce moments previous. The skin seems to ripple before my eyes, and I am certain I am hallucinating. It’s obvious I’ve lost my mind. Slowly, the skin begins to stitch together, forming a flat plane of flesh as if the wound had never been present at all. I blink slowly, drawing my eyes away from the anomaly and back towards the immortal woman. She smiles, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes as she steps towards me. She grabs my hand, pulling it towards her lips.

  “What… what’s happening?” I inquire bleakly, certain I am near death. She looks around us, noticing that we are receiving our share of stares. She takes me by my newly healed hand, pulling me down the path that winds around the park. My mind is blank, and I allow her to pull me because there is little more that I can think to do. If I am not near death, I may as well be. I will be forced to live the entirety of my life without her. I blink as I am tugged through a doorway, and recognize some of the decor from her house in the early 21st century. Before I can speak, her lips are on my own. I press desperately against her, as if it is the last moment I will ever see her. She pulls away, caressing my cheek tenderly. “Jenny…?” I ask quietly, and she begins to laugh that melodic laugh.

  “Our space and time works in mysterious ways.” She says simply, rubbing her thumb against the healed part of
my hand.

  “What…” I begin, and she pulls me in for another kiss. She pulls me along, guiding me on an unfamiliar path with a certainly unfamiliar destination. She opens another door, and I can see a plush canopy bed just beyond the door.

  “I did not want to say how I very much feel the same. From the moment I lay eyes upon you, I knew you were special. Your offer is very kind, and were the situation different, I would accept it in a heartbeat. However, it is unnecessary.” She murmurs. She draws me closed to the bed, slipping her gown down off of her shoulder. Everything seems to be moving impossibly fast, and I am certain that my expression is contorted in near laughable confusion. She only smiles at me, continuing to slip her gown off.

  “Unnecessary…?” I inquire hesitantly.

  “The space time continuum works in mysterious ways. I thought, when I saw you, that I sensed something strange. When your hand healed, it was only confirmed for me. Tell me, have you noticed anything strange about your travels?” She murmurs, and it is all I can do to focus on her face. I think as best I can, and it suddenly strikes me.

  “When I traveled. There was a gap between the safety doors. A strange and brilliant light enveloped me before our every meeting. I didn’t think much of it, but…” I trail off, looking uncertainly between my own hand and the vision standing before me. She steps towards me, brushing a lock of my shaggy brown hair away from my eyes. “What does this mean…?” I inquire haltingly. She smiles, leans in, and pauses but a breath away from me.

  “Welcome to the world of immortality, Jameson. Not even the bounds of time can constrain you now.” She murmurs, and our lips meet once more. Her bare form is pressed against me, and though I know there are perhaps more pressing matters, all I want now is to feel her flesh against me. She pulls my pants down, and I feel myself spring free with a strange sense that everything was falling into place. Not just in the sexual sense, either, though I suppose that is relevant as well. She presses against me, and I feel her from all the most tantalizing angles.

  “Does this mean… you love me too?” I implore, and she brings me close, lowering me to the bed.

  “I have never not loved you, Jameson. As you said, it was fate. It seems there are things that even I cannot understand.” She smiles, and I feel her settle between my thighs. I am inside her all at once, and stars explode behind my eyelids as she slowly rocks against me. This is an outcome beyond any I could have expected, and I can do little to react to her slow and gentle motions. While my mind is racing, my body is reacting as only a man’s can. As she presses solidly against me, her soft cries of my name echo melodically through the room. It’s my name she’s crying out. My name.

  “Jenny,” I gasp, elation flooding my veins. She smiles down at me, and another shift of her body and I feel as if my body is alight. I can feel her all around me, and she buries her face in my shoulder as she seems to reach her own peak as well. We continue to rock against each other for a long moment, simply reveling in the closeness. A soft chortle of disbelief spills past my lips, and she tilts her head to consider my expression. “I could stay like this… with you… forever.” I murmur. She goes still, before pressing a tender kiss to my Adam’s apple.

  “Well, that’s very well a possibility.” She says coyly.

  “A possibility, huh? Us staying like this forever?” I tease.

  “Perhaps not like this. But forever, I hope” She corrects. Warmth blooms in my chest and I smile, wrapping my arms around her. I’m overwhelmed by feeling of true happiness for perhaps the first time in my life. Only now, I realize, there are many moments like this to come. An eternity of moments, spent with the woman who’s heart I had somehow managed to grasp. I hum thoughtfully, brushing a hand through her hair. Her breathing is evening out, and I can feel her falling asleep in my arms. Of all the impossibilities, this is perhaps the most compelling of all. As I feel myself beginning to drift off as well, ready to give way to sleep, I speak just loudly enough for her to hear.

  “Forever. That sounds good to me.” I offer. She simply snores in return. I consider her through weary eyes, blinking them closed and sagging into the bed. “Forever.” I repeat, drifting off to sleep. Premonitions were never my thing, but then again, never had immortality been my thing either. However, the dreams I have spoke of an eternity spent with my first love, my last love, and my only love.

  Forever.

  THE END

  Taken By A Monster

  ~ Bonus Story ~

  An Erotic Alien Abduction Romance

  Adrianna Summers

  A young woman with a big heart who made a lot of bad choices in her youth. She’s wise, though, and very adept at adapting to her surroundings and different situations. She isn’t timid, and far from weak, but she is terrified of one person

  Robert Foster

  Adrianna knew Robert Foster from her youth. They were young lovers, and at one point, she loved him dearly. He got into the bounty hunting business, however, and began down a dark, seedy path that Adrianna knew would destroy her.

  She makes a break from him, leaving him when he and his crew are ambushed by a rival gang of bounty hunters, taking one of his space ships and fleeing.

  * * *

  Chapter 1

  “Peace. Calm. Nobody will suspect anything.” I swore to myself as I tried to walk as unsuspiciously as possible. All I had to do was get to the spacecraft. Once I do that… once I do that I am safe. I could escape to the world in which my own caring is not a fatal flaw.

  Eridia.

  The name itself is pretty tacky. As if ‘Where Dreams take Flight’ is a good name for a planet. The only reason it is so popular despite its cringe-inducing name and it’s overly tacky title is because it is true. In Eridia, you trade pure freedom for safety.

  I would never make that decision on my own, and he knows that. I love my freedom enough that I wouldn’t give it up. Which is specifically why it is the perfect place to hide in plain sight.

  Without the fear of the end of the world. Of being roughed up by a gang. Of… of the people you should be able to love and trust most in the world…

  No time to think of that. It happened to me, it was awful, but it ends tonight. If I wasted time bemoaning my past, all I will be doing is slamming the window to my future shut. I finally got to the area where he left my ship. My beautiful baby ship that I build myself, with my own two hands welded every part of it. Silly me, I even named it L-8. It was supposed to be a pun because everyone else was too late (get it? Late, L-8? It’s- oh forget it!) to stop me.

  When I saw it, I gasped. It was tied up in such a way that I almost cried. It would almost be better if he sold it so it wouldn’t be harmed the way she so clearly was. She was a beautiful red and blue disk-shaped aircraft – I put so much time and work into forming her myself when I was twelve – that I used to fly across the cosmos with.

  Sure it wasn’t fancy or beautiful as I didn't have a big budget when I was just a kid, I took whatever parts I could get. It was more beautiful than any other spaceship to me because it was an extension of me. But now… the rusted metal, the iron chains wrapped around its form. It made me gnash my teeth. I wanted nothing more than to rush back at him, to attack him. To make him feel every moment of pain I could possibly put him through, for hurting not only my body, not only my self-worth but the object that was symbolic of my very soul.

  I almost actually turned around to go back to him. To demand his apology. L-8 was more than just a ship. She represented my hopes and dreams and my future. She represented who I was and who I wanted to be when I was oh-so-innocent.

  This… this felt like what he did to me. Destroyed parts of me that he didn’t like. Tore down. Hurt me on purpose, yet also just let me be hurt by the things around me. Put a chain around it so it couldn’t escape. I would make him pay. I could make him-

  As I glanced down at my arms I winced. Oh right. The problem – I recalled Looking at the barely healed gashes and the blotchy red bruises, tied back up by some ga
uze – was that I couldn’t make him do anything. Petty revenge wasn’t at all worth any of this possibly continuing.

  I needed to leave as soon as possible, so I had to let go of my anger. Anger isn’t worth it. A moment of triumph isn’t worth it. I need to leave him, and never see him again. Only then could I be safe and happy and… I could make everything better for myself.

  I used some old spray to de-rust it – thank god for things working for once – and burnt the chains off with a mini-flame thrower. My ship is fireproof – it had to be, to get through the thick atmosphere on some planets – so it didn’t burn.

  Too bad that awful man is right sometimes. I am dumber than I think I am. This was a realization I made, as I touched the door to open my ship. Forgetting that it had just been ON FIRE I wasn’t ready for the way my skin sizzled. I can’t believe I had actually forgotten just how hot it was in my haste to enter the car. I stared at the charred flesh of my hands. Beautiful espresso skin charred. I would need a skin graft in order to heal the skin, and then more time to build up the callouses.

  I choked back a scream – I can’t let anyone hear me here, they may warn Robert – as my eyes overflowed with tears. Why am I such a failure? Why do I ruin everything I try to do?