“To who?” Her face dropped into an ugly scowl. I held up my left hand where my wedding sapphire ring still sparkled and pouted apologetically. OK maybe it was a little mean, but she seemed like trash and she most certainly had not been waiting for Jack whilst she was selling her body to the poor paralysed man in the corner who couldn’t do anything to stop her. So sad.
“Tommy is this true?” She turned to face him shocked.
Jack looked at me and then at the woman. “You married this - this girl thing?” She gasped.
Jack looked at me with wide eyes and then turned to face her again. “I suppose so?”
“You suppose?” She gasped.
“Yes,” he said, a little more confident this time. He stood from the table he’d been pushed on by her and scowled. “Jealousy makes you even uglier.”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek as if she were about to cry and looked at the two of us. “Consider this a wedding gift,” she said as she slapped Jack’s face to the side. Beatrice turned to face me and raised her hand to slap me but I caught it, watching her face contract into pain as I tightened my grip. Then I grabbed a bottle of rum on the table and smashed it against her head.
“Likewise,” I smirked.
For a moment everything was silent and everyone looked at the passed out girl on the floor with greasy strands of matted blonde hair and smashed glass. Alcohol dripped onto the floor and the room held its breath - before the small man let out a cheer and everyone threw their hands into the air echoing his cries.
The problem with saying Jack and I were married was now they expected us to act like we were. Mr Red-Beard was blatantly asking Jack if I was any good in bed to which he shrugged shyly. And across the table, Jamie was looking me up and down sussing me out curiously. He knew something was up.
Avoid him.
After more drinks and food were forced down our throats we were finally allowed to go to a room after we’d said goodnight to the woman with grey hair and Jeremy who stood at the bottom of the stairs smiling.
“Ah, sorry we haven’t gotten much time to catch up Uncle Jeremy.”
He shrugged, wrapping Jack into a hug. “We’ll catch up in the morning right Thomas?”
Jack smiled crookedly. “Yeah we’ll stay for a bit in the morning.”
“A bit?” the woman asked, upset.
“We-” Jack sighed and looked at me for a moment. “It’s probably best not to tell you for your own safety. Just know that we have to leave.”
“You’ll be back though right?” Jeremy grinned, showing his gums.
We pursed our lips and nodded guiltily. No, we’d be hung for our crimes and if they found out you hid us here then you’d also be hung.
We were too selfish not to leave though.
“That was interesting,” I said, leaning against the bedpost. Jack stood by the window, peering through the curtains cautiously. You could never be too safe. But it was hard to see anything past the rain pattered windows. A steady, calm rhythm of rain enveloped the room and the distant rumble of thunder made me grateful for the heat of the fire.
“Sorry, I didn’t remember that part of this life. We should have carried on as soon as I felt the slightest sense of familiarity.”
“You didn’t know,” I replied, shrugging off the cloak and hanging it by the fireplace that crackled and snapped at us.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest, conscious the shirt was incredibly see-through when wet and plopped myself down by the fire.
When I opened my eyes, feeling my face grow hot from the heat I turned and faced Jack, almost letting my mouth drop open when I noticed he’d taken off his shirt, leaving it in a wet pile with his shoes and sword. I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the fire, focusing on the glowing flames and resisting the temptation to turn and face him. I wouldn’t be able to draw my eyes away from the smooth, hard muscles of his slightly tanned body - and they looked so good with the fire shining against the wet muscle.
“Ah! Here,” Jack exclaimed. I snapped out of my daze and took a deep breath before facing him. I watched the muscles of his back contract as he sifted through drawers of clothes before grabbing an old white nightgown with three-quarter sleeves and silk bows. It was a size too small but I turned away from Jack and pulled it over my head anyway.
“Do you need help with the buttons?” Jack asked, his back facing the wall. I walked over to him, finding my hands were trembling slightly and turned around so he could help me.
“I think this was my mother’s,” he said lowly.
“She was tiny.”
“She usually is,” he replied, his hands were rough and calloused in this life as he clumsily fiddled with the tiny buttons on my back. Cold fingers brushed against my neck and my body jolted slightly - a flood of heat and goosebumps scattering across my body.
“Who were they in this life?” I rasped.
“I can’t remember. They both died when I was born,” he said quietly. I turned to face him our chests only millimetres away from each other.
“I understand.” I placed my hands on his chest.
He frowned. “Sorry. Here I am complaining about not having parents when you-”
“You read my files I’m guessing?” I smiled. He nodded his head with a grimace. “It’s okay. My recurring theme just happens to be that my mother’s go crazy and try to kill me. Yours is that you die a lot. Shit happens.” I smiled again and looked down so I could tie the string at the front of the nightgown but then Jack grabbed my hand.
Jack gulped and parted his lips, looking down at me even when I tilted my head back up. “Nova,” he breathed, closing his eyes and connecting our foreheads. His hand slipped between the fabric of the nightgown and lightly traced the skin along my collarbone. My head tipped back slowly as his cool fingers began working their way further down, his head lowered as his stubble grazed my neck. I swallowed my moan and opened my eyes.
My hand came up between us and rested lightly on his chest and then I closed what little distance there was between us and kissed him until we were completely absorbed in each other.
Absolute darkness, a safe haven to the world outside: Just the two of us connected by our pasts that were bent together to form something beautiful - something unexplainable.
I didn’t know why we did it. Even whilst we knew it wouldn’t work in getting us home. We did it because we could and because we found comfort in each other. Two people, who had met intending to kill one another - now sought comfort in one another.
Once we tore ourselves from the darkness we were both panting. I tried to grasp my surroundings for a moment before realising we were completely wrapped in each other. I hadn’t tied the front of the nightgown so our bare chests were pressed against each other - warm skin still glistening from the rain - hearts beating together in unison.
I gulped savouring this moment before he would pull away and we would keep our distance like every night. I closed my eyes, swallowing my whimper and pulling away first before I had to endure him being the one to do it.
But then his eyes flitted open as he came back down to reality and he pulled me back to his chest, his hands wrapped around my waist.
I was surprised when he lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine and was even more shocked when the kiss turned heated and his tongue began to graze my lips. Somehow he’d backed me onto the bed, lowering me onto the mattress so I was sprawled out in front of him. He paused, taking me in for a moment and I winced as cool air brushed my skin, but it didn’t take long before he’d closed the distance between us again and was kissing a trail of hot kisses down my neck.
“We can’t,” I gasped as he pulled my inner thigh behind his back so it wrapped around him. My actions completely contradicted my words though and they fell on empty ears when I used my leg to tug him closer to me and god the sound that came out his mouth made every part of me turn red.
He sank into me for a moment, his head tucked between my shoulder and my n
eck as he breathed deeply. Then reluctantly he rolled onto his side, tugging my leg with him though. “You’re right,” he groaned.
Dammit no. I wasn’t right. I was wrong, keep kissing me.
But there was still that voice in the back of my head that told me it would be too far. Kissing was already too far for two people still supposed to kill each other. We hadn’t crossed that line. There was just an unspoken truce right now. What stayed in 1661 stayed in 1661.
Well, at least that’s what we told ourselves.
No more words were spoken between us, just the sound of our breathing as it calmed down. Jack pulled me even closer to him - if that were possible - and wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my head until I fell asleep.
I slept well - if it weren’t for the awakening surprise in the morning I probably would have slept longer.
A light was flashing in my eyes. As soon as I opened them and they adjusted I realised a flame was floating in front of me. I jumped, rolling into Jack’s bare chest and looking up at Beatrice’s makeup stained face.
I shrieked, grabbing the dagger from Jack’s side of the bed and holding it out to hit her but Jack had grabbed my arm tightly and forced it down between our bodies.
“Bitch,” Beatrice hissed. The door swung open to reveal Jamie and Mr Red-Beard.
“Found her!” they shouted and Jamie stormed in. “Beatrice,” he snapped. “Go home.” The woman glared at me one last time and whipped her hair to the side, stumbling out of the room.
“Apologies.” Mr Red-Beard grinned cheekily. “Get back to it.” He winked, closing the door shut.
“Did she just hold a candle in your face?” Jack grumbled, his voice raw from sleep.
“Mhm,” I replied shell-shocked. He grumbled and grabbed my waist pulling me back into him, then his leg slipped between my thigh and I tried to catch my breath at the sudden heat between us. I closed my eyes, willing my heart to slow down and listened to his breathing as he fell back asleep - leaving me to try to avoid the conflicting feelings of wanting to stay with Jack but wanting to leave this hellhole.
CHAPTER 30
Time: 15th September 1661
Location: Unknown Village somewhere near Scotland. Still.
We slept for a long time, savouring the comfort of the soft sheets, the warmth of each other and the rich earthy scent of 1661.
When we were finally up, we got dressed in our clothes and Jack scowled as he searched under the bed.
“Where’s my hat?”
“Beatrice threw it somewhere downstairs. It’s probably ruined Jack.”
He groaned, hoisting himself up and grabbing hold of his maroon cloak satisfied with how dry it was now, mine was still damp.
“I’ll buy you a new one.” I fought off my smile.
He didn’t reply, just took my nightgown and folded it gently. “What about this?” I asked, bringing out a piece of grey cloth and using it to cover part of his hair. “That’s better, now you look more like a pirate.”
He watched me for a moment, his eyes softened and he smiled gratefully. “Let’s go.”
Downstairs was surprisingly quiet and Jack led us over to a table with his aunt and uncle, Jamie, the small man and Red-Beard.
“You’ve been up there a while!” Mr Red-Beard winked at us and we both laughed awkwardly and sat down as Jack’s aunt brought us some food.
“When are ye leaving?” someone grumbled, watching us eat at the same time as juggling different questions fired at us. Jack looked at me and then around the room.
“Now.”
“And when will you be back?” Jamie asked brightly, I looked at Jack.
“One day.” Jack shrugged.
And then we were off, back on the road galloping through the scenery - leaving the village Jack lived in once upon a time in the distance.
“So Thomas,” I said after a while of listening to the horse’s hooves splash in the newly wet mud. There was a faint fog in the air just starting to clear up. “Why did you leave?” He turned his head to the side. “Was it, Beatrice?”
He shook his head. “No, I can’t remember what it was exactly. I was running from something.”
“And you met the Count whilst on the road?”
Jack nodded his head. “He’d been stopped by a group of bandits and I saved the day... as usual. That’s where I appeared in this life.”
“As usual?” I raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that Raven. We still haven’t found the well.”
“Ah but we’re close,” he leant forward as the horse picked up its pace. The fog had cleared now and the ground was a little harder.
“Can you feel it too?” I asked, referring to the sensation in my chest - a feeling that picked up every now and then, barely noticeable but there. I could tell it was the feeling of being close, and the feeling would only grow and spread to your whole body the closer you got to it.
“It’s like heartburn,” Jack grumbled irritably.
“How many days do you reckon?” I asked.
“Only a few,” he replied. “If you’re feeling alright we’ll carry on to the next town - it’s a while away from here though.”
I let him know I would be okay and we carried on for the rest of the day. Riding a horse was not the most pleasant feeling but sacrifices had to be made - especially when they relied on a whole bunch of people from the future.
I tried to block out thoughts of the future as much as possible and for the last month every time I fell asleep I wondered if the next time I opened my eyes I would be in a new life far into the future because my friends pulled the cord.
In fact, a small part of me was starting to want to go home less desperately. I was actually enjoying the 17th century - although the lack of flushing toilets, Wi-Fi and electricity was a bit of a let-down. Something was refreshing about being outside in non-polluted and contaminated landscapes. Everything was so different here and I’d been a part of it once.
A long time ago I had pictured what the future might look like - never imagining it would be as insane as it was now. Mind you in 1661 I wouldn’t have been able to comprehend a camera let alone a holographic screen, virtual reality and a pristine white city named Prospect.
Once I had imagined that after I died I would go to heaven as everyone told me I would - I would pray, abide by the Bible and live my life knowing I would either go to heaven or hell. Never had I thought it possible to be reborn again and grow the same way I did every life - with the same hair, same nose, same chin and the same body.
But maybe that still happened. Maybe there was a heaven and hell, maybe there was a God to everyone else. Maybe I had this power for a reason. Maybe we all had a purpose and everyone else was just there to add to its effect.
I didn’t know. I didn’t like to think of it, I just liked to live my life as it came.
But I did want to know what would happen if I had another life. Would it be different now I knew I had past lives? I wondered if this whole Rebellion thing wouldn’t have happened. Would I have carried on with my life and died, then been reborn and sought after by the government - everyone I knew in my current life, Gina, Vix - all old or dead.
What happened now?
⚔
We were avoiding town after town as Jack had spotted posters of our faces a few days ago. We were desperately trying to seem as less English as possible knowing the history between the Scots and English and we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves.
We’d started to be more cautious than ever, knowing Redcoats could be anywhere and so we avoided the direction of Edinburgh like the plague and tried to follow the sensation as much as possible, sticking to the woods. We were well into Scotland by now and we began enjoying the landscape of the Scottish highlands.
We had been travelling for six hours across empty hills at night when I heard a familiar sound, a consistent engine and the sound of planes getting closer. I clutched onto Jack and looked up into the sky, shrieking as three German warplanes soare
d overhead. The sound of machine guns echoed over the hills and the whooshing of the planes that circled the air in a uniformed structure began shooting as our own air force chased after them. I screamed as the wailing sound of sirens flooded the hills and searchlights scanned the sky. Then I felt an urge pull me from the disaster surrounding me.
“My baby!” I began shrieking, jumping to the floor and stumbling through the streets of rubble, an explosion from the local corner shop shook me from my feet and my fingers grasped at the broken glass of a door. “My baby!” I screamed hoarsely as someone grabbed hold of my shoulders, lifting me into the air in the opposite direction of my baby. I screamed - kicked and screamed until my throat was raw. I was left sobbing, rocking back and forth with my eyes clenched tightly shut and my hands covering my ears from the loud sounds. “My baby,” I sobbed.
It continued around me. The collapsing of buildings - the utter emptiness and shattering sounds - the whine of sirens and heavy gunfire - the sound of a falling bomb and the silence that followed before the bang.
I screamed - unable to move, paralysed.
I lost track of time completely.
CHAPTER 31
Time: 18th September 1661
Location: A hill somewhere near Scotland
“Nova!” Jack shouted into my ear, peeling my hands away from my eyes and wiping floods of tears away from my cheeks. I opened them cautiously, checking the sky was no longer filed with white light, fire and bombs. Now there were thousands of stars - a cloudless night and Jack’s tanned face. I held my hands out in front of me touching his face, the dark hair above his lip and froze.
“It was a hallucination. I’m fine.” I cleared my throat. I stood up from his lap and wobbled uneasily.
“Are you okay?” Jack’s eyes were wide with surprise and I looked away before my face betrayed me.
“I’m fine,” I snapped, running a shaky hand through my hair.
NOVA: The Time Bender Series Book 1 Page 22