Time's Mistress

Escape

"Brother, wake up, it is time. All of the preparations have been completed and there is something else." He opened his eyes and looked at his sister expectedly. "I can finally feel her!" His eyes grew wide at the news. "We must hurry before the connection disappears. Who knows when we will have another chance like this. We need to go now and quickly. She feels far away and is only increasing in distance the longer that we wait here. Joel is already waiting outside for us. He is very excited at the prospect of finally finding his bride to be after ten long years. She must have grown so much."

He quickly rose from his spot on the floor and made haste gathering his things. This was his chance to get his sister back and complete their family once again. But they had no idea that the person they were going to find was no longer their sister, but a complete stranger. The shock of their lives were about to ensue.

****************

Since she had put that crack in the tank a few days ago, she had been in deep meditation. She was organizing and destroying her thoughts to focus all of her energy on getting stronger. She still could remember nothing of her past or herself, but that would never stop her. She was going to break free of this tank and destroy the people that held her captive. But she would get answers to her questions first. The happier she was with them, the quicker their deaths would be. It sounded like a fair trade to her considering they were marked for death anyways.

She'd been regaining strength and motion in her all of her muscles. It felt like she had just woken up from a very long sleep. And she fully recharged and ready to take on this world, whatever it may be. She put herself into a deep sleep the night before her escape. But instead of rest, she found excitement behind her closed eyes.

****************

She felt the comfort of that same bed under her as she sighed before opening her eyes. Like last time, she was without clothes. But unlike last time, she was without fear as she got up to put on the robe that was sitting on that chair in the corner. She felt eyes on her yet saw no one. She sighed to herself.

"There is no point in hiding this time from me woman. I know that you are there. I can feel your eyes on me. And the room is heavy with your need." She heard a light chuckle that made her heart skip for an unknown reason. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt those same arms wrap around her as the time before.

"You seem so eager to be in my presence my love. I didn't think you would be back so soon. She looked down in the dim light to reveal pale white skin covering arms and delicate hands. The nails were short claws that were painted black. The polish sparkled in the dim lighting. Lines were craved into the skin. They looked almost spiderweb thin as her eyes roamed the flesh that she been presented with. Without thinking, she ran her hands over the arms and hands. The woman behind her gave an involuntary shudder at the contact.

"I have some questions and I'm hoping that you have answers."

"Is that really the only reason you wanted to come back to our chamber my love? Or is there something else? A desire for me that you are not ready to admit yet." She placed a kiss behind the woman's ear after she said that only to see the goosebumps raise on her lover's arms. She smirked. "Just admit that you feel something and then we can move on from there." Her tongue touched the shell of her ear. "I know that there is a desire for me. A desire that only I can touch. A craving that you have never felt before you met me." She whispered them seductively in her ear before taking it into her mouth. The woman in front of her shuddered from the desire building in her body for her.

"You answer my questions first, then I will tell you everything that I feel when I am around you." She felt the woman perk up slightly, with a smirk planted on her face. She liked games too apparently as she felt the excitement.

"You have a deal."

"Before, you were talking about a war. What was happening right now?"

"It is the war between demons and the creatures on Earth. The demons want to take over while everyone else wants them to return to hell to rule that realm. But they refuse and have been at war ever since."

"How long has this been going on?"

"For all of mankind's history. The humans were always at war with them, but the demons were just in costume basically to keep the truth from coming out. But once they got tired of hiding, they showed their true forms and began an all out war with all of humanity. Which is why the world, well the environment is basically destroyed on Earth right now."

"But how do I fall into place with that? How do I, I mean how do we fit into that picture?" The woman behind her grew excited at the mention of them. She pulled her love closer slightly rubbing their bodies together to create a new feeling between the two. Something the one behind had been craving and waking the other even more of her desires for the woman behind her. She felt a tongue run along her neck ending with her earlobe in her mouth. Her teeth scrapped it softly as she felt defined fangs run along it. She pushed herself back into the woman unconsciously. Her body and heart craving more, but her head had no idea why. She heard the woman behind her groan as she gasped in surprised. The burning in her veins grew stronger with every moment.

"Answer me, please." The last word came out choked as she felt the hand that was around her start to caress her side.

"We have a story that you are unaware of my love. But you will only know the full extent once you set me free. Everyone believes that they know who and what we are, but they are wrong." The woman's hand traveled inside of the robe to move her fingers over the heated skin of her side and belly. She could feel the tattooed designs as she ran her fingers along the designs. "We were always together from the very start you and I. But some things happened along the way and you forgot who you were and who I am. I have been searching for you ever since." She came dangerously close to her breast as she continued. "We were always the ones to keep the peace between races, but when we were separated, that changed. No one was in control and everything went into chaos. But when you set me free, we will restore the balance and punish all of those who dared to do that to us. They will pay for their greed."

She touched a spot on her breast that was particularly sensitive and the woman moaned. The fire in her belly grew with even more need as the touches became more heated. "This is how I know my love, that you are mine, and I am yours for all of time." She trailed heated kisses along her lovers neck and her hand continued its work. The other woman felt her knees turning to jello as everything continued. All of a sudden, her back was against a wall as the woman kissed her hungrily. She had been wanting nothing more than to be in the presence of her since she had been taken away. She would make sure that no one was going to separate them ever again. She felt arms wrap around her as a hand went into her hair and the other was exploring her back.

She untied her lovers robe as her skin burned hot with desire.

"I know you better at this moment than you know yourself beloved. And I will make your mind remember me as your body already does." The woman under her groaned in need. Why did this feel so good? Why did her body want this so bad? She could feel her heart beating in excited need and love. But why was this happening?

"You are already becoming more of yourself my love. You are returning to me." She said against her lips. "All I want is to take you and never release you, but I must. For you must break out of that tank that they have you in and seek out where they have sealed me. Once you do that, all that is left is giving yourself to me, heart, body, mind and soul. Only then will the seal be broken and I will be free to return to you."

"But I don't understand. When I think of you, I feel so much guilt and yearning. I cannot stand it at times." The woman pressed her face into her neck.

"There is no reason for guilt my love. This was never your fault. But you are the key to releasing me and fixing everything." Confusion swam in her head but she heard a voice, one that was inside. Telling her to believe her. She felt her heartbeating wildly. "My mark looks as beautiful on you as it did before." She touched where she had bitten before. She gasped at the sudden pleasure that raced through her body. "As much as I would love to continue this time with you, you must go my love. Break free of your tank and go to the only uncharred tree that you can find. That is where you will find the seal to release me." She looked into her eyes with those glowing greys before kissing her passionately before pushing her back to the bed to fall through once again. To return her to other realm where she needed to get to.

***************

She opened her eyes to be in that tank again. But this time, she was ready. It was time to break loose. She had been moving her limbs more and more over the last few days and it felt with the water that she was ready. Even if she did break out and her muscles failed, she was confident that she would recover quickly. She thought about that woman and her words. She looked down to the arm that she no longer had half of. She felt her anger boil at having the limb gone. She would kill everything and everyone that had a hand in taking her precious limb from her.

She went into her meditative state and relaxed her body. She felt her muscles relax before tensing up to get ready to break it. She gave two strong kicks and all hell broke loose. The tank burst open and sent all of its contents spilling out. She was left hanging by her breathing tube. In her rage, she reached her hand up and yank the tube from the machine that was attached to. She slammed onto the wet platform.

She ripped the tube from the throat and out of her mouth. The motion caused her stomach to relieve itself of some of her bile as she coughed. She could breathe in the fresh air finally. The air was sterile as an alarm sounded over her head. After she caught her breath, she sighed and used her legs to boost herself up. Her legs were shaking, but pride showed in her eyes as she stood on her own. Her revenge would be assured. It was already written.

She looked around, her eyes glowing wildly. The lights were flashing bright red as the alarm sounded. She walked around until she found a sealed door in the wall. She saw a pad for a password. She growled as she kicked the door and sent it flying off of its hinges. It banged against a wall across from her. Excitement ran through her body as she saw the flashing white lights of the hallway. She turned away from the dead end and started walking, breaking open every door that she found. They were all empty. She growled as she reached the second to last door. She opened it to find some lab coats hanging there. She grabbed one and buttoned it closed once it was secure. It only reached down to her mid thigh, but just like in the other world, it was better than nothing.

She left and forced her way into the last door. She smirked at the panic on the faces that she found there.

"So you are the creatures that have been keeping me here, locked in that horrid tank." They stared at her in shock. They could see the alarms going off, but all of the cameras had been empty. They had no idea where she was. "I have questions for you little mice and I bet that you have the answers I seek. So if I was you, I would tread very lightly." They gulped and nodded. She smirked. "Good. First question, how long have I been in that tank?" Her eyes searched over them, waiting to see who was going to answer.

"It has been 10 years my lady." The shock slammed into her. The man grew worried by her silence. "You have been asleep for ten years malady. That is why we put you in that tank. It was laced with chemicals and magic to keep your muscles from disappearing in time. That is the reason that you can walk so quickly. It had all of nutrients to allow your body to grow and to preserve it from the hands of time." She looked at the man. And felt rage as she clinched her fist.

"And my arm, what happened to it?" She demanded. All of them put their heads down in fear after they answered. It was a woman who answered with a trembling voice.

"Our master did that to you my lady. He wanted to kill you to offer you to our lord as a sacrifice. But in the process of the battle, he managed to cut your arm off and throw it on the alter. But after you flew into a rage and almost killed him. He is lucky to be alive, but you have disfigured him for life. He now hides away in secret from the world. All if his orders come from an intercom that is satellite connected. That is how we talk to him." She felt her anger grow again as she thought about how she couldn't remember such a moment in her life. She let her rage get the best of the her as she lifted the man into the air and broke his neck. She did the same to the woman as she screamed in frustration.

She stormed out of the room and stopped at a door that ended the hallway. She punched the control panel next to the door and it opened. She shielded her eyes from the scorching sun that greeted her. She inhaled deeply and exhaled before looking around. The ground was charred black. The were no sounds and no plants. No life seemed to inhabit the land that she stood on. She looked around and everything looked the same for miles. She thought about the woman and how she had to find her. But how was she supposed to know what direction to go in if everything looked exactly the same?

She left from one challenge only to begin another. What was her life turning into? At least in that stupid tank, she had no worries.

At that moment, she felt a pull from somewhere deep down in her body. But she wondered on it for a moment before she decided to go the opposite direction. She had no time for playing and feelings. She had to find the tree that she was searching for. She needed her memories back and the answers to her questions.

She walked for a while and started to feel thirsty, but there was no water in sight. She continued on her path until she found an old house in the distance. She walked over to it and knocked before entering. It seemed abandoned. Dust lined all of the furniture that was left. She went to the kitchen to rummage around in the cabinets finding old expired cans of food. Hidden in the back behind mounds of canned good, she saw a plastic bottle. There were 4 in fact. She smiled in excitement. The fates were being good to her today.

She downed the contents of one completely and pulled the others out. She needed to take these with her. She had to find something to carry them. She destroyed the house searching for something. She came upon some old jeans and a flannel red and black shirt that were her size. She put them on with a smile. Finally she had some clothes on. She grabbed an old jacket and hat that was hanging up. They smelled like mildew, but still, it was better than nothing. Finally, she found a backpack. The black material looked strong and sturdy. She stuffed her water and jacket in there along with a blanket that has head found. She looked around and found an old axe on the side of the house. How convenient She thought. She liked it though. So she took it. You never know if you will need something this, even if the land was a wasteland now. She walked passed the old tattered couch and decided to sit. Her feet were a little sore considering she hadn't walked this much for a very time. And she couldn't find any shoes.

Already, the bottoms of her feet were turning black, but she didn't care. She was just happy to be out of that place, finally.

She decided a short nap was in order.

**************

"Do you feel her brother? I feel her closer than ever before. We can almost reach out and touch her." He nodded.

"It looks like she did a number on this lab. I don't know what happened, but either way, it looks like she left on her own. Her footprints go that way, towards the old meadows." She nodded.

"We must make haste to find her. I can't imagine how she is feeling right now. She must be terribly lonely and searching for us." Her brother nodded.

"Let's go. We have my sister to find." They nodded and set out again. They would find her this time, no matter what.

***************

"That was a daring escape that you pulled my love. I am proud of you." She whispered in her ear has her lover sat on her lap on the chair across the room. "But you still have yet to see the mark that I have placed on you."

"Mark? What mark?

"The one that I gave you when I bit you."

"That very first day." The woman smirked.

"Exactly. You are marked as mine for eternity."

"That is a long time. I am human after all. Besides, how do you know that I actually want to be with you?"

"You have yet to pull away from me. Not since that first night, and even then, it wasn't you actually running away. I know that you desire me. I know that I cause feelings to stir up in you." She smirked.

"I will admit, for some unknown reason, my heart does flutter when you are around and my body heats up with something that I have never felt before. And when I leave, I do tend to think and dwell on our time together."

"That my dear, is what you would call the makings of love." She smirked proudly and kissed the woman's neck. "I am just happy that you have gotten out of that place finally. It won't be long now until you have awakened me by opening the portal into your realm once again." She made her turn her head and pressed her lips against hers as both of their eyes closed. The day that we will be together is a day that all of the realms will rejoice. Our union will change the current course of history."

"I don't know how you are so sure about that. And besides, I told you, I don't know if I want to be with you."

"You will be mine. I have told you many times already. All it takes is for you to stop being so stubborn and just admit that you love me. I already love you, more than you could know."

"But you also said that we were together before. If that is true, you have been holding onto those feelings for a long time. At least ten years." There was silence.

"You have been gone from me for longer than ten years my love. And before you ask, don't. Because you will find out everything in time, like I have told you." She sighed.

"Why must you be so stubborn and not tell me anything?" She heard that chuckle that she loves coming from behind her as a whisper reached her ear.

"Because it is not my story to tell, and only you know every single detail that is correct. You have to leave it up to your memory now my love."

"Sometimes things are just to important to wait for my memory to return." There was that chuckle again. She felt her heart skip a beat.

"And sometimes, you need to learn to be patient. Time waits for no man, but you are not a man my love. You are far more than you'll ever know. But you must remember that first." She kissed her again, but softly, feeling their kiss with love and the passion that she felt for her. She was happily surprised when the other woman return it with much of the same. She groaned as her paled skin companion deepen their kiss. She could never resist her lips. It was like she was hypnotized with every touch that she gave her. If only she could remember why. She surprised both of them, when of her own accord, she shifted her body to be straddling her lover in the chair.

"I must admit something to you." She kissed her passionately as she settled herself into her position. Her hands tangled into her hair and pulled her flush against the woman underneath her. Her hands roaming her back, slowly making their way to her behind. "I will admit that I have an unexplainable attraction to you. And that your kisses send me far beyond the universe. They burn up my insides and I have no idea why. But it doesn't feel wrong, so I will not deny you what you want. But I will not make it easy for you either."

She quickly stood and turned to walk away. "I will see you soon." With that, she jumped into the bed, disappearing back to her realm.

****************

She opened her eyes feeling like something wasn't right about this house anymore. It felt different. Then she heard a sound coming from outside. She jumped to her feet and ran towards the closed door. It was a group of three people. They had fur hoods lining their heads and goggles on their faces. She had to make a choice to stay and fight or to run. She thought about the woman and what she said. She was becoming more of herself with each visit to her. She didn't even know who she was to know what she would do.

She sighed. Why was everything such a hard decision to make. And then, there was her arm. She might be able to take two of them maybe, but the third would be a problem no doubt. It would be better to go for now, until she could remember herself. She saw them closer now from the window. She turned and grabbed her things before walking out of the back door leaving it wide open. In front of her sat a forest of burned trees. That would be her next spot to look. There was bound to be a clue to what she was searching. She heard the group enter as she was leaving the back door.

"I feel her so close brother. She has to be here or near."

"I agree sister. Even I can feel our connection growing."

She felt a strange pull on her gut as she heard them talking. There was something familiar about them. But she had no clue what it was. Instead of running out of the door, she made a sound loud enough for them to hear while she made a slow exit. Her interest had been peeked. And she was set in her mind, if it came down to it, she would kill all three of them without a second thought.

"I heard something this way, hurry brother." She heard their hurried footsteps. She was about 20 feet from the house when she heard them shout. It was the voice of a woman.

"Hey, wait.... stop!" She paused in her steps as she heard feet running towards her. "Please wait." She heard the woman panting behind her. She turned to look at her with interested eyes as she saw the woman tear the goggles from her face as her hood fell. There were tears streaming down her lightly tanned face.

"We have finally found you Iris."

The woman looked on in surprise. Who was this woman and why did she call her that name? No memory came to mine as she looked over her face. Her dark brown hair that matched in color to her eyes. She looked her over but saw nothing of interest. She realized that she was no longer interested in conversing with the woman. So she turned and walked away without saying a word. She had a tree to find. She paused. Maybe this woman knew where she could find it.

She turned again. "Do you know where I can find a tree that still lives?" The woman looked at her in shock. She saw no recognition in the woman's face at all. She looked at them like strangers. She took the moment to look her sister over. She had gotten taller. Her skin had become more golden with age. She was sure that her tattoos had grown to cover her entire body by now. And her midnight colored hair looked like it hadn't been cut in years. It reached down to her butt in gentle waves. She was sure it was like that even under the hat that she wore. The strange thing was her eyes once to be a shade of grey that was like liquid metal. But now they had changed. One eye was a lighter shade of grey while the other was a bright green with grey lining the irises. Her eyes seemed to glow, even in the afternoon sun.

And her arm, her arm was gone! How did this happen? She felt tears streaming down her face as she looked at her sister's arm. From the elbow down, it was gone. She could tell by the way that the sleeve hung over it. In her only hand was an axe. She was leaning on it. She took a few steps over to her sister crying.

"What happened to you sister? What happened to your arm?" The woman glanced at her missing arm before shrugging with a sigh.

"That is not your concern. What I want to know is where the tree is that is still alive. I must find it." Iris looked at the woman calling her sister impatiently. The woman took a step closer as Iris saw two men running out of the house and stop when they saw her. They too took off their hoods and goggles to look at the sight in front of them. "If you will not tell me, then maybe your friends can answer my question." She switched her intense gaze to the two men. One with soft brown eyes and braids going down the first of him. The other with eyes so dark, they almost looked black. His head was shaved. He looked at her with so much longing that it almost disgusted her for some reason.

"You two men, I have a question and hopefully you have an answer." They stared at her in silence. "Do you know where the tree that still lives is? I need to find it quickly." The man with the dark eyes let a few tears slip past his eyes as he looked at her.

"Do you not recognize me my love? I have been searching for you so that we may marry." She looked him over with disinterest.

"You must be confused. I do not know who you are or have any interest in you. I just need to find the tree that is still alive. The only one that is not burned into char." She looked at them with frustration. They just stared at her shock. She didn't remember them, she didn't remember anything...