Name: Roslyn - Species: Unknown

Name: Roslyn - Species: Unknown 25

I walked, trying to muster up the feeling that I needed when I time swapped. No matter what I did or thought of, the sensation simply would not appear. Eventually, frustrated, I started heading back to my room. I ran straight into Malrik: again.

“Ah, Roslyn,” he smiled down at me. “You look upset, what could be the matter?”

“Nothing,” I shook my head.

“Have you been trying to shift out of here?” he crossed his arms. “Now, now Roslyn, you have to be a demon to do that.”

“I thought I was a demon,” I looked him in the eye, not bothering to deny what I had been doing.

“Not demon enough,” Malrik shrugged.

Great, now my grandfather think’s I’m inadequate.

“Well, I’m sure that upsets you greatly,” I told him, walking past.

“Have you given any thought to what I said about your father?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied, and kept walking.

I had nowhere else to go, so I just headed  back to the room they gave me. I surprised myself when I managed to find my way back to the room on my own. I opened the door and walked in, then instantly froze. Mak was still in the room, and he had apparently just come out of the bath. He was wearing boxer shorts and a towel around his shoulders. My pulse rate shot up. He was damn fit… oh my God I did not just think that!

“Like what you see?” Mak turned, smirking at me.

“Uh-” I stammered idiotically.

“What?” he walked towards me, dropping the towel on the bed as he went. Stupidly, my brain sort of turned off and I just stood there as he walked right up into my personal space. It’s not like I’ve never seen Mak topless before… but this was different. There was a change in the way I see him, and I’ve only just noticed it.

He stopped half an inch in front of me, staring down into my eyes. I looked up at him, jaw hanging.

“You’re too close,” I murmured, my voice quieter than I liked.

“So?” he kept walking and I had to back up quickly. “What are you going to do about it Rose?”

“Sod off,” I grit my teeth, trying to snap out of it.

“Or what?” he laughed.

My back hit the door. I stared wide-eyed at him, trying desperately to think of what to do. Get away, yeah, I have to get away from him. I tried to spring to the left, a desperate bid to get away, but he just threw an arm out, shoving me back against the door. Then he stepped forwards, right up into my personal space. I tried to cringe back, to show him that he disgusted me, but my heart sped up instead. I hated the change in how I felt around him, my mind still loathed Mak, but something in my body was reacting to him and there was nothing I could do about it.

I honestly don’t know who moved first, but suddenly we were kissing. I was repulsed for about a minute, my mind desperately screamed for me to turn away and gag, but my body would have none of that. I couldn’t help but turn to mush in his arms. He pulled me against him hard, arms winding around my waist almost uncomfortably tight. The bare heat of his chest radiated down onto me, speeding my pulse.

His shoulders dipped as he pushed me back, shoving me back into the door. My head hit with a serious ‘bang’ and pain shot through my head for a split second. I gasped in pain, which just allowed him to deepen the kiss. A warm, tingly feeling spread through my stomach. It was strange and completely addicting.

Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled back. My eyes slipped open, staring at Mak.

“Rose?” he murmured.

“What?” I couldn’t even muster the strength to shove away from him, I didn’t even want to.

“I love you.”

“I- don’t hate you.”

“I know, love,” he grinned, hugging me against his chest.

“I’m not your love,” I said reflexively.

“Yes you are.”

I opened my mouth to say something, probably sarcastic, but no sound came out. I sighed, resigned that I couldn’t win against whatever force was making me act like this. I wasn’t like me, but I couldn’t do anything against him. I just stood there.

I closed my eyes, wishing we were home, at the manor. I knew all I needed to know, the only real thing I wanted was to find my mother. I wanted out of hell. I didn’t care for my father or my grandfather in fact. I knew there was more to the story, I just didn’t know how to find out what was happening. And… I wanted Mak’s help with it. It might have just been my mushy state of mind, but I wanted him with me when I found my mother. We just had to get away from here…

The floor fell away.

We landed with a crash on a hard floor. Pain shot through me as we hit, but somehow Mak managed to twist so my head didn’t hit; but his did. I heard the crack. We lay there, still and hurting for a long moment.

“Mak?” I murmured.

“Hmmm?”

“Are you alive?”

“Yup.”

Then the murmuring started. My head snapped up to find a crowd of some two hundred strangely dressed men and women, staring down at us. It must have been quite the sight too… me in a short white dress on top of Mak, who was clad in only boxer shorts.

“Rose, I think we’re in the time of Queen Victoria,” Mak said quietly.

“Again?” I sighed.

“Dare I ask where you came from?” a cultured voice asked from my right.

I looked up, meeting the gray eyes of a well-dressed, twenty year old man. He had his hands behind his back, deep red hair slicked back, eyebrow raised.

“Uh-” I did not know what to say.

“You seem to have appeared out of thin air,” the man said, not looking one bit confused, only interested.

“Rose,” Mak tapped my shoulder. “Up you get.”

“Good idea,” I murmured, rolling back onto my heels to stand. Pain shot through my ankle and before I knew what was happening, I was going down. Strong arms caught me, scooped my legs up and I was being held bridal style. Pain was shooting up and down my leg, my ankle throbbed and burned like it was being laid in hot coals.

“Thanks Mak,” I breathed. “I think I broke my ankle.”

“My lady, my name is Lord Sinclair,” the man holding me replied. I blinked in shock and looked up. I found those intense gray eyes bearing into mine.

“She would be mine,” Mak snapped from my right. I didn’t even get a chance to look at him before I was pulled up and into another pair of arms. I blinked up at Mak, pain still making my head fuzzy.

“My apologies, sir,” Sinclair told Mak. “Now, again, may I inquire where the two of you came from?”

“Up above,” Mak replied curtly. “I’ll be going now.”

Mak walked us out, through the crowd of people, to the huge doors at the end of the hall and into another huge hallway. Then there were men in uniform, a lot of men in uniform.

“Sir, please come this way,” a big bald one stepped in front of Mak.

“I don’t think so,” Mak told him.

“That was not a suggestion sir,” the man said again. “We have orders to escort you upstairs.”

“Mak,” I put my hand on his arm. “There are too many of them.”

He looked at me for a long moment, then nodded. Mak followed the men down the hall, then up some stairs. We ended up locked into a huge bedroom on the top floor, with no explanation as to what was happening. There was no way this was going to be good.