Love Beyond Universes

2

The chirping sound of singing birds woke me up. I opened my eyes to see the room kissed by the bright sunlight. Am I late, I thought, as I noticed the room's ceiling. It was a painting of a magician doing some tricks, which triggered my memory of yesterday night's memory.

I went to Sienna's house, and while leaving I met a lady. She placed a wand on my head and I fainted. I couldn't remember what happened after she carried me

Maybe, am I in her house?

I woke up from the bed and looked around the room. It was full of skulls, bones, a skeleton, and some terrifying paintings. Then, my eyes fell on a portrait of a young woman, in her late twenties. She was dressed in a glimmering black gown, draped in a leather black cape. She had aqua-blue eyes, narrow and long nose and dark red lips.

Dark red? Those lips... Where did I see her?

As I thought hard, I remembered seeing her last night in Si's garden.

So it's that lady's house!

Taking away the white bedspread which was draped on me, I got off the bed and went towards her portrait. She looked plush, but she also seems like a femme fatale.

Who exactly is she?

"Good morning, Mr Jones." I heard a bold feminine voice from the doorway. As I looked there, I saw the same lady from the portrait. I looked both at the portrait and her and confirmed that it was her. She strolled majestically towards me with a coffee mug.

"Here. Have this. You must be tired," she said, extending her coffee mug to me. I looked down at her hands. The nails were painted black and it was overgrown. But I also found something weird. That was her index finger which was longer than the other fingers.

I looked back at her, while she gestured at me to have the coffee. She looked so terrifying that I couldn't help but accept the coffee. I sat on the bed, while she sat on a sleek black leather sofa.

I slurped the coffee, which tasted good, while she started to speak. "I know. You must be wondering who I am, right? Fine, I'll tell you now."

My eyes went wide out of curiosity and I came to the edge of the seat, still slurping my coffee.

"Hi. I'm Claudia. Welcome to my land, Claudius," she said, which baffled me.

"Claudi—What? Come again," I freaked out, as I realized that I'm not in London.

"Welcome to Claudius. This is where you're going to live forever," she repeated, waving her hands dramatically.

Shocked, I stood up from the bed. "Wh—what do you mean, Miss...?" God, I couldn't recall her name!

"Claudia," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! What do you mean by that? Aren't we there in London?"

"You were there until last night. But from this moment, you belong to myself and Claudius," she purred seductively, looking intently into my eyes.

I was perplexed by her sentence, and I didn't know how to respond.

"Don't be confused, Damien. I'll tell you why you are here," she whispered in a deathly tone, while I sat on the bed, composing myself.

"I was born with a fantabulous prophecy. Guess what it was?" She said before pin-drop silence conquered the room. "'She, who was born in May, will have everything in her life,'" she said, with head down, thus reciting her prophecy. "'She shall be named after a vampire, and she shall conquer the world with her power. She shall be the creator of her universe and let her rule its people. But, to retain it, she shall marry a man from Earth in the third week of the spring season. He shall be born in the summer season and have a scar on his right eyebrow,''" she continued to recite, leaving me shocked. I was born in July, which is in the summer season, and I do have a scar on my right eyebrow.

"This is scary," I whispered, while she didn't notice me and was still reciting.

"'And only if she marries him, she shall make everything hers.''" As she was done, she looked up at me with a powerful look. "Now... Understand this, Damien. Even fate favoured me. IT'S ME AND ONLY ME WHO IS RULING THIS WHOLE WORLD OF CLAUDIUS!" Her loud voice roared through Claudia's. "And even if you want to, you could never change fate, Damien," she whispered, coming closer to me. "You are mine. And you will remain as mine. Nobody could ever dare to change this." Her tone was so threatening that I wanted to cry. "You don't have to be afraid. This is like your home. You can do whatever you want in Claudius, you can meet everybody, and you can go wherever you wish, except... To Earth. Sleep well. I will leave now."

She got off the chair and walked out, and soon with one snap, she became a powder of gold and vanished.

***

I was standing on the balcony, rewinding my last day on Earth. That long kiss with Sienna stood fresh, although I was going to get married to Claudia. The garden was unlike my mood. It looked so serene and refreshing with its exotic flowers that make you wonder if Claudia is the boss of this beautiful land. And, it was that beautiful land which reminded me of Sienna.

"Damien?" I heard the voice I never wanted to hear calling me. I looked back to see Claudia coming along with a man. This time, I was least bothered about her but the man gained my attention. He had cocoa-brown eyes and blonde hair, thus making him look handsome. I didn't know why but something was telling me that he would bring some hope.

And also some unexpected events.

Word Count: 992 words