Through the Archway

Chapter Twenty-Five -- Part Three

Rebekah's heart dropped, but she smiled at Taylor regardless. "No, its fine," she said. "He's just... Gone. But maybe he'll come back like you did." She tried to keep her tone positive, but her voice broke at the end.

Taylor smiled back, drawing Mark's coat around herself more securely. "I–I'd like to go home now, I think." She said.

Mark looked up hopefully. "I can take you," he said.

"I'd like to go with Rebekah," she interrupted. "If that's okay." Rebekah nodded, hoping that even if she couldn't get through, Taylor might be able to.

Mark's face fell. "Oh, yeah..." he trailed off. "Of course."

Taylor smiled at him. Evelyn and James helped her to her feet and walked her toward the archway. Taylor hung back. She was staring at Mark mournfully. "I'm sorry I don't remember you better," she said, looking at him a little confused. "I just... Need time."

"I'll make sure she doesn't get lost again," Rebekah said. She imagined how difficult it must be for Mark, unable to get through the archways without the assistance of one of them.

Mark nodded, but said nothing. Evelyn looked directly at Rebekah.

"I'll make sure sure Thomas doesn't get away with this. Anyone of it." Beside her, James nodded.

Taylor stepped back through the archway, and Rebekah made sure not to let go of Taylor's hand once she was through.

* * *

Rebekah's room was now a makeshift fort.

Taylor had showered and changed, resulting in a spark of randomness that Rebekah had recognized as an attempt at her usual bubbly self. They had used Rebekah's bedspread and pillows, and Rebekah had snuck down to the pantry to steal more sheets.

Rebekah sat under a low sheet, once again letting the light emit from her palms. The little orbs bumped up against the sheets. Taylor was sitting across from her, shifting through old photo albums that Rebekah had given her to help jog her memory.

"Any progress?" she asked, crawling over.

Taylor turned the page. "A little," she said. "But not much." She sighed. Rebekah studied her. She had tied her hair back, and her eyes were brimming with tears. She had refused to take off Mark's jacket, however, and Rebekah took that as a good sign.

"Do you remember when Mark proposed?" she asked.

Taylor's eyes widened. "We're engaged?" she asked, her cheeks flushing. Rebekah nodded, grinning.

"I don't remember that!" she exclaimed, causing Rebekah to jump. "Shouldn't I remember something like that?"

Rebekah didn't know how to answer. "So... How much of him do you remember?"

Taylor looked down at the photos, and a tear fell onto a photograph of she and Mark standing in front of the doorstep of their cottage. "Little things," she said at last. "I remember a picnic we had once... I remember his little brothers, Benny and Tim," she laughed. "I remember, mostly, that I loved him."

"But you can't remember why?" asked Rebekah, dodging as a little orb of light went rouge and zoomed past her ear. It exploded into hundreds of tiny sparks behind Taylor, who didn't do so much as flinch.

"No," she said flatly. "I wish I knew, but it's all just blank!" she threw her hands up in frustration, knocking over a pillow.

"Well," began Rebekah, "What else do you remember?"

Taylor frowned. "You. That I was — am — your handmaiden and that — that I lived with Mark... I remember David — Mark's best friend. You said something happened to him?"

Rebekah nodded somberly. "He disappeared," she said. "I thought at first that he might be looking for you but... His father just died and —"

"King Henry died?" Taylor asked. "But that means Thomas will be in charge soon! There's only Queen Catherine left to stop him if David's out of the picture!" she looked pale and frightened. "Mark will lose his job and —" she broke off when she saw that Rebekah was smiling.

"Why are you smiling? This is horrible!" Taylor nearly shouted.

"You're remembering things! Keep talking!" Rebekah chirped. She set aside all the problems Rebekah had just listed. Together, the group would find some way of fixing it. Helping Taylor was the only thing she could do. Taylor blushed.

"It's not that big of a deal," she insisted. "But I can't believe that David is gone! And you've had no luck in finding him? He didn't leave any sort of message?"

"No," Rebekah said. Her heart dropped at the thought of David alone and in danger. "I just hope that we can find him soon..." she trailed off. "Did I tell you I'm betrothed to Thomas?"

Just as Rebekah expected, Taylor dropped the photo–album and her eyes widened.

"WHAT?!" she screeched. Rebekah shushed her, pocking her head out of the fort and waiting in silence for the sound of footsteps. None came. Rebekah breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her head back in, feeling a childish sense of safety as she burrowed herself inside the fort. Maybe she would never be found here; maybe she could stay here forever...

"You're betrothed to Thomas?!" Taylor hissed, her face red. "Any reason you're just mentioning this now?"

Rebekah sighed. "It hasn't been officially announced yet, but Thomas just put the ring on my finger. I couldn't move. It was like he had powers..." she looked down. "I don't know what to do, Tay." She looked up at her best friend, the only person who could understand how she felt.

"We could run away," Taylor suggested. "Ooh, or we could kill Thomas, I'm sure I could get hold of some poison, no one would know."

"No," said Rebekah, laughing. "I'd be found, and knowing Thomas; locked in the dungeons." Despite the situation she was in, Rebekah felt overjoyed that she had her best friend back with her.

Taylor looked at her with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Becca," she said sadly. "I'll think of something — maybe we could frame Thomas for something, or —"

Rebekah sighed. "It's okay," she said. "Well, no, it's actually not — but we'll think of something. We always do, right?"

"I guess," said Taylor, though she looked doubtful. "Well, in the meantime, we could distract ourselves by looking for David."

Rebekah smiled meekly. "So, you're sure that you never saw David?"

"No, I —" Taylor paused, then doubled over, clutching her head as though she had a migraine.

"Taylor?" Rebekah asked. "Taylor, what's wrong?"

Taylor moaned, and then sat up straight quite suddenly. "I remember something," she said gasped. "I was in a room... It was all white, and I think I might have seen him... He was panicked — He tried to free me — I think."

Rebekah stared at her. "Then what?" she asked eagerly.

"I — I don't know," she replied shakily, "It's blank after that. Rebekah, I'm so sorry!" Rebekah forced a smile.

"It's okay," she said, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach. She only hoped they wouldn't be too late to save him. She picked up the photo album and flipped through it, staring at the pictures of herself and Taylor doing various things. There was an old one of her and David at a gala. She stared at it, wondering if things would ever be the same again — though she doubted that they would. She found herself laughing at the thought of herself wishing for things to go back to the way that had been, when just weeks ago, she had been wishing for things to change.