IT LIVES!

Thanks to the genius of Erin's father, my computer has been resurrected, and (mostly) restored to its original splendor. So, as a celebration gift, I have written a pathetically short chapter twenty five. Enjoy my darlings!!!



Chapter twenty-five

Even through a mile and a half hike up to my favorite picknic spot I had yet to pry an answer out of Stitch and Kitty as to why I felt this way. They had remained unusually silent, which for Kitty meant keeping herself completely occupied with Jay on the way up. Stitch silently watched the wildlife, which at the moment consisted only of a flock of birds that circled overhead. Which left me one person, and one way to get what I wanted.


I turned to Cam, smiling playfully. "It's really muggy out here," I sighed, slipping my arm under his, and pressing my chest against his arm. "Don't you think?"

He glanced down, staring at my chest for a moment and then looked at the sky. "I suppose it's a bit muggy
here, but nothing I can't handle."

"The air doesn't feel... pressurized?" I was digging, and he could tell.


"Nope, just muggy." His eyes darted around as if searching for someone. "Are you feeling okay?"

I sighed. "No, that's just it. I don't feel the same now, and I need some answers."

He stiffened. "I'm sure it's just some leftover feelings from Tony. I'm probably not the best person to ask for advice on that subject. Have you tried Kitty?"

Deflected. With a grumbling sigh, I let go of him and sunk back on my butt on the blanket. Kitty and Jay were busy laughing and eating, Stitch had finished his food and was still staring up at the sky. A ghost of a smirk played at his lips. He was aware of my conversaion with Cam, and yet chose to pretend he had no idea what was going on. I rolled my eyes. This was getting ridiculous. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.

                                                         
                                                                                   ****

We returned home exhausted from a long day of exploring through marshes and trails; everyone hit the showers and went straight to bed. Except me. I couldn't figure it out... why did I feel so different all of the sudden? It was as if that kiss with Stitch had changed me, envigorated me, awakened me to some sudden realization, but it was so far distant in the haze of my existance that I had no idea if it were anything more than a dream. When I got to my room, I threw on my bikini and sundress and slipped quietly down the stairs. As I passed the guest room where Kitty was staying, I heard voices. At first I dismissed them, thinking it was Kitty and Jay, but the male voice didn't belong to Jay. It was Stitch's.


I paused to listen at the door.


"I don't understand that bit, explain it again?" Kitty asked.


"Which bit? The part about the memory capture, or regeneration?" Stitch responded.

Regeneration? What the heck are they talking about? I asked myself, daring to inch closer to the door.

"How it happened. I mean, that's some powerful stuff if it can lock up memory like that."

"That's not all it did, but I can't talk about that right now." Stitch paused, and I knew my eavesdropping had been discovered, so I quickly tiptoed away.

When I reached the hot tub, I didn't bother turning on the lights and just slipped inside. The water made my skin prickle, but the sensation was welcomed. With little to go on, finding out what had suddenly changed within me would make for a long week.
　                                                                              ****

As the week finally came to a close, and we had packed our bags to return again to England, my desperate plights for answers had turned up little as a result. My mom drove us back to the airport, and I could tell she was doing all she could to hold herself together for my friends' benefit. When we reached the airport, and had said our goodbyes, we made our way to the terminal, only to be greeted by one last farewell party.

Rush and the gang were waiting. Over the course of the week they had become good friends with my forein friends, and were just as sad to see us leaving as we were to leave them.

Rush gathered me into his arms, crushing me against his chest. "I'm going to miss you Laela," he whispered, kissing the top of my head. "I'll still be calling you every night."

I felt tears in my eyes. It was harder to say goodbye a second time. "I'll hold you to that." I choked out a laugh. "Bye Rush."

Keltie took the chance to smash me again as I was released by Rush, talking quickly in her high pitched distressed voice. She repeated again and again that she didn't want me to go, or if I had to, to take her with me, which made me giggle. Keltie would always be the over-dramatic one. Our flight was announced and we quickly made our way onto the plane. As I entered the door to board, I looked back over my shoulder to see my friends one final time. I smiled, waving, and instantly stopped, my arm dropping to my side and a scowl coming over my features as Tony stepped out from behind Rush. He smiled, and waved, but I promptly turned away and boarded the plane.

Walking up and down the isles, the stuardess smiled and relayed her memorized instructions. I could tell she hated her job; the smile was fake, her voice was strained, her eyes tired and puffy. She went through this every day, probably multiple times a day. I switched off my phone and relaxed into my seat. My life had changed so completely over the course of a week being home it had taken a lot out of me.

I could hear the howls of a beast outside my windows, peircing the night sky with its incessant calls.
The air in the room was chill with the icy breeze filtering under the wooden door and through the cracks in the stacked log walls. Though the air was chill, I felt none of it. The fire blazed away in the corner of the room. There was no need for a chimney, nor a designated fireplace as this fire was self contained, and would never die, nor become unruly. He had made it that way for me. He always did. I waited on a chair in nothing but my underclothes and a large blanket, curled into the large wooden chair he had carved for us. It alone could fit both of us, and Lupis--who made a more comfortable chair than the chair itself. always answer your questions. No matter which lifetime we're in."

The door burst open with a gust of wind and a flurry of snow as an abnormally large midnight black wolf trotted across the floor, followed by a tall man with curly blonde hair tied back in a panytail. He smiled at me, dropping his large cloak onto the floor and walking across the room. As he approached, the door swung closed of its own accord, leaving me stunned, as usual.

"Vincent, when are you ever going to teach me how to do that?" I asked as he bent to kiss me.

"Soon enough, pet." he whispered breathily, kissing me.

His lips were icy against mine. I pulled away quickly, putting my hand to my lips. "You're absolutely frigid. Don't touch me until you've warmed up." I pointed to the fire, the blanket slipping away to reveal my choice of clothing.

"Waiting in your undergarments, are we Lilly?"

My face turned red. "I'm not implying anything," I bit my lip. "Unless you want it to mean something."

He walked slowly over to the fire, smiling softly, a warm glitter in his eyes. "Always eager to please. That's one of the reasons I chose you for my bride in the beginning, I loved watching the smile that lit up your face when you helped a villager." His eyes shone with the ghost of the past. "You chose me this time, and for that, I will be eternally grateful,"

I slipped off the chair, stepping over Lupis, and padded across the floor. Opening the blanket I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing myself into his back. For a while we stood like that, content in our own little world by the fire. After I time I moved around to stand in front of him, still hugging his waist. He gently tugged the blanket out of my hands and took my hand in his, placing my other hand on his shoulder, and we began dancing. It wasn't uncommon for he and I to dance like this when we were alone. I knew he missed the big city, but when we married, he proposed that we move to the mountains, away from the bustling city. At times I wondered if he wanted to move here because of the elements, the beauty of nature, but other times I thought perhaps he was running from something.

"Vincent," I whispered, glancing up at him. His eyes were closed, but I knew he was listening. "You
said you would always answer my questions. Is that true?"

"Yes, love. I will

"Why do you always refer to us as lifetimes?"


His steps didn't miss a beat. "Because this lifetime will come to an end, and we'll be born again. And we'll love each other then, just as we do now."

"And in that lifetime I'll still be a sorceress?"

"You always have been, and always will be the most powerful sorceress the world has known."

This was what always confused me. If I was so powerful, why could I hardly cause a simple feather to levitate? "Why can't I use my powers?"

"Because they haven't been awakened yet." His eyes opened now, and he looked deep into my soul. "I
can do that for you, if you want."

We had stopped dancing.


"When?"


"Just say the word,"

"Now," I breathed, feeling his hands slip under the hem of my shirt, his fingers still cool against my skin.

Though we had been married for two months, we hadn't consumated our marriage. Vincent said it would be dangerous for us to do so until our cabin had been built and we were away from the humans. Now was that time. He would be the one to give me all the answers I needed. He always would.

The room faded away into a black smoky mist and the image was replaced by something more familiar. Vance.