Mak refused to put me down until we reached the inn. When my feet finally met the ground, my knees buckled instantly. Mak just looked down at me, smirking. I glared, not getting up.
"Aren't you going to ask for help?" he asked eventually.
"Nope."
"You can't sit there forever."
"Wanna bet?" I stared forward, crossing my arms.
"You're impossible."
"You're a douche."
"How mature."
"Ne ne ne."
"How old are you?"
"Three."
"You-" he sighed. Hehe, I won.
I sat there and waited for him to think of some clever comment. When he said nothing I looked up at him. He was staring to his left, stalk still. If something freaked him out enough to silence him for a good minute then I really didn't want to know what it was. Unfortunately my eyes slid over to follow his stare of their own accord.
My blood ran cold at the sight of the man. He was average height for a man in his early forties. His hair was brown and thick to his ears. He wore plain slacks that fit in with the time period along with boots and a linen shirt. And his eyes... they were black, with a ring of purple around the pupil. There was just something about him, something chilling and eerie that had me wanting to run for my life. But at the same time... I felt the weird urge to go to him, to listen to what he had to say and follow his orders... I hated the feeling, especially as there was also a soul-deep hatred radiating out of me towards him. It was the strangest mix of hatred and reverence.
"Hello Roslyn," he took a few steps forwards. "It's not a name I would have chosen of course, something for along the lines of Kira would have suited you better."
Hatred, fear and submission hit my like a physical blow. I jumped to my feet and hit behind Mak before I even knew what I was doing. I wanted away from this man.
"How do you know me?" I demanded, voice shaky. I was literally shaking in my boots.
"That is quite the story," he laughed, it was a dark sound. "I never would have if your mother hadn't found a way to get into contact with you. Fortunately I was able to use that event to work my way out of our contract."
"What are you talking about?" I looked out further from behind Mak. "How do you know my mother?"
"I told you, that is a long story," he shrugged.
"Who are you?" Mak demanded, snapping out of his trance like state.
"My name is Malrik," the man said, walking further forwards. I cringed back. There was this feeling of evil following that man. "But of course you already knew that."
"Mak," I grabbed his sleeve, unable to stop myself. "Who is he?"
"A demon," Mak replied stiffly. "Rose, stay back."
"No need to say it twice," I muttered, still hiding behind him.
"Now now little half wolf," Malrik laughed, but it was an angry, offended sound. "I am not just a demon, I am a king."
Demon king? Great. I didn't even know there was such a thing, and now he was here, and he knew me. I didn't really want to know how.
"Is there a situation here?" a voice came from my right.
We turned and saw a man standing there, an olden time police man. He had his hand on his hips, back straight, drawing him up to all of his 5"8 height.
"Not at all," the man, Malrik, replied easily, but there was a flare in his eyes.
The man took an instant step back, crossing himself and holding the crucifix at his throat.
"I see that this time is not the most opportune moment to introduce myself to you," Malrik started walking the rest of the way to us. "The 22nd century would be better for this."
The closer he got, the worse the fear swept through me. We had to get away from him. This man was evil, bad, dark, we had to get away. I clung to Mak's arm as my heart tried to pound through my chest. I had to get away. We had to-
The ground fell away.
There were birds squawking and the roar of water. I was lying on something soft and there was a salty breeze... I opened my eyes and blinked, confused. Where was I? I saw brown...and water. The sea. This was my first time ever seeing the sea. It wasn't night, but not day either. The sky was pink and orange. Dawn.
I sat up, looking around. There was beach as far as the eye could see, and Mak lying in the water a few meters from me. With the water coming in he would drown if he didn't wake up or I didn't pull him up...
Indecision flared through me. So many of my problems would be solved if I just let him drown. That thought only lasted half a second though. I didn't have it in me to sit by and let someone die. Even if it was Mak. I pulled myself to my feet, stumbling a little at the incline on the beach. I made my way over to Mak and sighed. He was completely out of it. I leant down and grabbed him under the arms, then pulled. Mak's a muscled guy, so he isn't light. I had to jerk until my back was sore to get him safely out of the way of the water. It was ridiculously difficult considering I was still wearing the bloody dress.
Then I turned on my heel and walked off, picking up my skirts as I went. Sure, I saved his life, but I was not going to stick around. I walked up the beach towards the bushes at the top. When I was there, I looked back over the beach. The sun was just on the horizon, pink and orange lit up the sky. The sea was just... beautiful. It actually brought tears to my eyes. The sight was stunning... with the blue of the water and the peaceful lap of waves. I decided that I wanted a house on the sea when I grew up.
Mak sat up. I stared at him for a long minute, too caught up in the atmosphere to realize what was happening. When he turned to look at me, my heart jumped into my throat. His hair was blowing in the breeze, his face calm and serene. Something in my chest squeezed, then fluttered. I had never seen Mak like that before, in that way... and it scared me. It must have just been the scenery that made him look like that. It had to be.
When he started to stand I remembered that I was trying to get away from him. That moment had been a mistake, just seeing Mak as part of the stunning landscape and not realizing that it was Mak. So I turned and ran for it. I picked up my skirt and ran as fast as physically possible. I didn't really know where I was going, or where I even was, I just knew that I wanted to get as far from Mak as possible.
There were bushes and shrubs everywhere. I jumped and hopped like a madwoman, not looking back, not looking ahead, just looking down. I had to be sure I didn't trip. I knew Mak was fast, but I'd had a head start. Not to mention that he was still out of it from only just waking up. I made it through the dunes and buses and to a field beyond them. I guessed that I was still in the past otherwise this beach would have been crawling with people in this weather.
As I ran through the lush grass I stumbled on the hem, heart stuttering. I wasn't even sure why I was so desperate to get away from Mak. Sure, I really did not like him, but at the same time it wasn't like I had a good reason to be so desperate to get away. It could have been that I was scared of how I felt when I was looking at him by the sea... but I really didn't want to think about that.
A force hit me back on, knocking me flat to the ground. Before I could hit, I was twisted and so I landed on my back, thumping my head back into the earth. Mak sat calmly on my hips, breathing heavily, arms crossed.
"Can- I help you?" I panted, trying to pull air into my lungs through the dress.
"Where exactly are you going?" he asked, the poster boy of calm, not sounding at all out of breath despite that he was still panting.
"I-" I tried to think of some elaborate excuse, but nothing came to mind.
"There you are," a pissed off voice came from our left side.
Our heads snapped to the side at exactly the same moment. It would have been comedic if it hadn't been our new acquaintance glaring down at us.
"Uh-" I thought desperately of something to say, but my mind had gone on vacation since the beach and was determined to stay that way.
"Let's start this again Roslyn," Malrik walked up until he was right at my arm, staring down at me, ignoring Mak as if he wasn't even there. "My name is King Malrik, I am your grandfather."
My jaw dropped.