Thread: Au-delà du Temps: Beyond Time (LeatrixSage x SacrlettRose)

For each step he took closer, Adelaide took a step back, her hands held slightly up between them as if she meant to hold him back. He was maneuvering her. Knowing that didnt make it any easier to quash the need to run as far and fast as she could in the other direction, and eventually she was going to run out of room. His promise of pain for trying his patience didnt help matters, other than to make her bright blue eyes flash with disbelief that he would dare to threaten her, and her already racing heartbeat trip over itself to go a little faster. She asked her questions, but he simply watched her as if she were a spoiled child playing at being innocent of some naughty thing she had been caught at red-handed. His dark eyes followed her every movement, measuring and calculating. It made her think of the self-defense courses Miriam had pressured her into. Problem was, she couldnt seem to recall what the hell she was supposed to do. Addie felt the wall at her back before the heel of her foot hit it. There was nowhere left to go, and he didnt stop until he was well within arms reach. He asked for her pardon as he bowed, and despite her will to look unaffected, that queasy feeling was coming back again. His sharp French had switched to the Queens own English, and the entire world seemed to tilt beneath her feet as he addressed himself as the Marquee of Wessex. The last Marquee of Wessex had died in the French Revolution, his title reabsorbed by the crown, and then sold back to Italy almost a century later. Addie frowned at him, her mouth opening to call him a liar, and then the world spun and her head crack against something hard. Pain blossomed in the side of her head, bright lights flashed behind her eyes, and then the world went dark. -- The next thing Addie knew, her head was throbbing, and her left hip and elbow ached. She hissed as she reached up to touch her temple, feeling the bump in her skin and the bruise that surely enhancing the tenderness. She must have hit her head pretty hard when shed fallen. She didnt feel any cuts or scrapes, so she guessed the mirror hadnt broken. Mrs. Mills must have found her. She had probably gotten her neighbor to come help get Addie off the floor and into bed. Theyd left her in the lovely dress that had tangled around her feet and tried to kill her, but she couldnt complain. What a messed-up dream , she thought as she stretched, feeling for any other tender places. Her eyes ached, and she didnt want to open them. If shed knocked herself out, though, she doubtless had a minor concussion. She was wondering if Mrs. Mills had called for an ambulance when a far too familiar voice seeped into her ignorant bliss and made her eyes snap open. Addie was not tucked safely into bed at Mrs. Mills upstairs apartment over her shop, nor was she in a hospital, or even her own bed, having dreamt everything. As her bright blue eyes found the man from her dream standing against a stone mantle, watching her, she had to come to terms with the fact that she was not dreaming. But, if she wasnt dreaming, then she simply had to be going insane. Because this wasnt possible. It was not possible that he was who he said he was. It was not possible that she was here. She wasnt even sure where here even was! He apologized for earlier, and Addies hand jumped back up to the sore spot on the side of her head. It wasnt from falling in the backroom of Miriams shop, it was from him knocking her head against the wall. I understand very well, vous le cul. Tu m'as assomm! she accused him of knocking her out, which they both knew he had, and called him an ass for good measure, even as he was making it clear that he would be the one asking the questions. Je ne sais pas, she threw at him again as she got to her feet. The world spun, and Addie hissed again as she pressed her hands to her forehead. She staggered, and then sat right back down again. Merde, she muttered as her elbows dropped onto her knees and her head hung in her hands. She let the world settle down, and then she sighed. Her eyes began to burn, and she furiously blinked back the tears that threatened to overtake her. She was not going to cry. Weakness was simply unacceptable. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, and then raised her attention back to the man. He looked the part of a rake, the very picture of a perfect gentlemen that flirted with unruly behavior for kicks. Maybe he was Wessex. If she remembered her historical figures correctly, he was well known for sowing wild oats far and wide without ever producing a proper heir. His title had slipped right through his cousins fingers, and that was the end of his line. If only she could remember his actual name. Only then did she notice the glass hed set on the table, and the whiskey within it. She wrinkled her nose at it, pushing the glass away. The last thing she needed was alcohol to make her even more addled than she already was. Addie, she sighed. She was either insane, or actually talking to the Marquee of Wessex. If she wasnt mad, and he was who he said he was, then she was going to have to give him something. Giving him her name seemed harmless enough. Adelaide Aedler, mon nom. Ah, prfrez-vous le franais ou l'anglais? Vous avez dit que vous tes Wessex, alors ... Anglais? I am going to assume, English. Addie stood, more slowly this time, and padded barefoot around the longue to put it between them while her mind tried to unravel the situation she found herself in. She was gaining ground, putting obstacles between them to make herself feel safe. It helped to keep the panic that was fluttering around the edges of her thoughts at bay. How did I get into the room? I dont know how I got into the study, she went on, sticking with the truth because her mind couldnt conceive a believable lie to give him. I fell, and then I was in that room. And, if it is a secret room, what were you doing there? I am assuming you should not have been, otherwise I dont see why you cracked my skull against the wall. She was pacing, and when she noticed it, she stopped to turn and face him, lifting her chin a notch to hide her unease. I think weve gotten off on the wrong foot here. I dont even know where I am. So, you could either just stand there and wait until I figure it out, or do me a favor and tell me where we are right now.