Beloved

Chapter Two

Fw: Beloved 1-3meTojakehall91a@gmail.comOct 7 at 11:22 PM

Hide original message----- Forwarded Message -----From: Kayleigh Hunt To: Janine Hunt Sent: Friday, April 27, 2018, 06:47:44 PM CDTSubject: Beloved 1-3

Chapter One

The first thing I noticed upon waking was the lack of birds chirping outside my window. It was usually my favorite part about mornings, so the lack of song was disconcerting, but I was too exhausted from my late night of post-graduation fun, to really care. Yesterday I said, "Goodbye" to one chapter of my life with a late night of movies and gossip with my best friend LeAnne. Today, the real fun would begin. We had scheduled and planned every little detail months in advance so this day and this night would be perfect. We would start the day with a massage at our local spa, then shopping for the perfect outfit for my first night out clubbing as a college graduate. We had a hair, nails, and makeup appointment at 2 pm which would give us just enough time for lunch and a glass of wine. To say I was excited would be the understatement of the century.  

As I stretched, I opened my eyes, fully expecting to see LeAnne sprawled across my bed. But when I looked, not only was she nowhere to be found, but I was not in my bed, let alone, my room. "Where am I?" I thought hazily. The only window, a small, arched thing, was about five feet too high for me to see outside, but from what I could tell, it was cloudy out. That was strange to me, considering the weather was supposed to be perfect and sunny all day. A detail LeAnne and I checked meticulously, considering she was dead set on having lunch and wine outside today. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, which I was now realizing was easily half the size of my bed, and immediately regretted it. The cobblestone floor was ice cold. I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped myself in the blanket, thanking God that it was made of thick fleece. "Where am I, a castle??" I thought sourly. I looked around at the brick walls and high arched ceiling and realized I might be right. I had never been anywhere like this before, at least not in real life. My dreams were another story altogether though. I had a very vivid imagination, which was making things much worse, at the moment.  

A knock at the door had me looking for a place to hide, like a child, instead of a twenty-two-year-old woman. I didn’t answer the knock, instead I sat there dumbfounded, hoping whoever it was would just go away. Much to my chagrin, a young girl, maybe twenty sauntered into the room, looking very pleased and dragging a cart behind her. The smell of my favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes, had my stomach growling, and I realized how hungry I was.  

"Good morning Cassetonia!" The young girl said in a melodious voice. "I hope you slept well! My name is Bethany. I brought you your favorite breakfast. You'll need your energy. We have a full day planned, so eat up and get dressed." She said as she pulled something out from under the cart and set it on the bed next to me. As she stood there smiling at me, I realized she was waiting for some kind of reaction or response. "Cass" I said. " Everyone calls me Cass." 

This seemed to please her and she picked up the box she had set on the bed before and sat down in its place. She wheeled the cart over to me and handed me the fork, motioning for me to eat. There was something about her that made me trust her instantly. As I began eating, she began talking, which sounded much more like singing, to me.  

"I'm sure you're confused, as was I when they first brought me here. Everything will be explained shortly though, I promise. And, trust me, there's nothing to be afraid of. No one here wants to harm you. I can't say much, but I will tell you that you are a very lucky girl. Everyone has been patiently awaiting your arrival for some time and we're all very excited, so you'll have to excuse us if we're a little overbearing at first. This only happens once or twice a decade. Are you finished?" She asked, as I popped the last bite in my mouth. I nodded, still too dumbfounded to speak. "Drink your juice and get dressed. I'll be back in five minutes to collect you." She smiled as she handed me the box before I could tell her I didn't have any clothes. "A graduation present. The first of many, I can assure you." She said with a small smile and a slight roll of her eyes. 

I lifted the lid to find a beautiful blue floral romper with puffy half sleeves and a plunging neckline. The same one I had been saving for since I first saw it at my favorite boutique in London. "Is this from Oxygen?!" I exclaimed as I jumped up and held it against me. "It's perfect! Thank you! How did you know?"  

"Oh, don't thank me, darling. I didn't plan any of this. I'm simply here to be your friend and make you more comfortable." Bethany explained.  

"If not you, then who?" I asked. 

"I can't say. Once you're dressed, we'll head to the ball room where things will be explained better. There's shoes in the cart as well. I'll leave you to it." She said with a smile as she exited the  

I waited for further explanation but, instead he motioned for me to join him at a small round table that was set off to the side. As we sat, he began to explain further, "I've been waiting a very long time for you, and I can't even begin to explain how happy I am to finally meet you, after all these years. My name is Winston, and just as I am yours, you are mine." 

“Excuse me?!” I exclaimed. “I belong to no one, especially not some mysterious stranger who kidnaps me and expects me to just go along with whatever he says! How dense do you think I am?” I demanded. This beautiful psycho just smiled and said, “I love how strong-willed you are.” like he had known me my whole life or something.

“You don't even know me!” I yelled as a threw my hands into the air.

“On the contrary, Cassetonia, I've been watching you much of your life.” He must have seen the horrified look on my face, because he quickly followed with, “Oh Heavens, no! Nothing like what you must be thinking! I just meant that for the last seven years I've been keeping an eye on you. I watched as you broke a boys heart, I watched your high school graduation online. I celebrated with you when you got into Oxford and I was in the crowd when you graduated four years later.”

“So you're my stalker, then. And you've brought me here to do what? Marry you? Mate with you?! How does that saying go? 'Happy wife. Happy life.'” I leaned forward and looked him right in those piercing blue eyes and continued. “Well, I can assure you that if you don't let me go, I will make your life a living hell.” I vowed.

“Cassetonia, I don't want you to be unhappy here. I brought you here because you are my soul mate. I mean, haven't you ever wondered why it never worked out with anyone else? Why, when you broke Adams heart when you were seventeen, yours wasn't broken as well? The two of you were much too close for my comfort and yet, you didn't shed one single tear for him. It's because you were never in love with him. You were never meant to be with him. You were always meant for me. Just as, during my entire, long life, I've never loved anyone, because I am meant for you.” He said as he looked deep into my eyes and placed his hand on mine.

"This is absurd!" I exclaimed as I jerked my hand away from him. "Things like this don’t happen in real life. Books, yes. Movies, yes. My wildest dreams, yes. But real life? No way. Is this a joke? Did LeAnne put you up to this? LeAnne! You can come out now!" I began shouting as I stood up and started looking behind the massive amounts of curtains hanging. "Haha! Very funny! You got me!"

I could hear them mumbling behind me as I searched frantically for my friend and attempted to eavesdrop.

Winston looked almost crushed as he looked at Bethany and said, "Maybe you should take her to see Duke now."

"Sure." Bethany replied with a small smile. "Are you meeting us for her graduation dinner, like you planned?"

"I don't know Bethany. I didn't think it would be this hard to convince her of my love."

"Give her time Winston. It's a lot to take in."

Winston sighed and I couldn't help but notice the crease in his, otherwise perfect forehead. "It didn't take you this long. As soon as you met Murphy, you were as smitten as he."

Bethany placed a hand on his shoulder as Murphy spoke up for the first time. "Bethany was a lot more skeptical than she let on, mate. It took several days for her to fully let her guard down and a full year before she realized this wasn't a dream. It'll take her some time to understand her new reality. She'll come around and then she'll be just as keen as you are."

I walked back over to my three new acquaintances after checking behind every curtain in the massive room and not finding LeAnne anywhere. I sighed and looked at Winston. "Can I go home now?" I demanded.

"Bethany and Murphy will take you to see a dear friend, Duke. You'll make arrangements with him and his Court and I'll see you tonight for your graduation dinner." With that, he took my hand, brought it to his lips, and brushed the most gentle of kisses across my knuckles. "Please give me a chance. Until I see you again, my darling Beloved, I'll be missing you."

I stared after him as he gracefully walked away, somewhat slouched over, in a defeated manner. Good Heavens, even his back is beautiful. I thought to myself.

Bethany danced over to me, laced her arm through mine, like we had been friends our whole lives, and sang, "Shall we?"

"Lead the way." I replied glumly.

As we walked, Bethany and Murphy filled me in on their love story. Bethany liked to talk, much like LeAnne, so all I had to do was listen and nod every once in a while. It was comforting in a way. Bethany had been brought here on her eighteenth birthday and many others that lived here had been as well. In fact, almost half of everyone here had the exact same story. The majority of the population had found their Beloved. Only a handful remained that were still waiting. Murphy was one of the few lucky ones who didn't have to wait long for Bethany, she explained, as Murphy chimed in to tell me that Winston had not been so lucky and had been waiting four times as long as most.

"Is this really real?" I whispered, half to myself and half to Bethany.

"Yes love. Consider yourself lucky. I know I do." She said as she smiled back at Murphy. "Most people search a lifetime over to find their soul mate, meanwhile yours has been here waiting for you, your whole life."

"Beth, that’s enough." Murphy scolded.

"My whole life? Care to elaborate how that’s possible?" I asked skeptically.

"I've already said more than I was meant to. I apologize, Cass. Sometimes when I get excited, I have a hard time not talking. Duke and Winston will explain everything shortly."

We walked outside where it was pouring down rain. Bethany tried to pull me to the awaiting car quickly, but I pulled my arm free, walking slowly, enjoying the feeling of the large, fat rain drops smacking me in the face. Once in the car, I couldn't contain my smile. Being a pluviophile, rain always made me joyous.  

Bethany drove for only a few minutes, while I sat in the back seat and Murphy sat in the front passenger seat, next to her. They held hands and exchanged adoring glances every so often and it was obvious the love they shared. "Murphy doesn't drive." Bethany explained with a slight chuckle. "Only because I never learned." Murphy responded with a boyish grin. The car rolled to a stop in front of a large white house with teal blue shutters and big double doors to match. I loved this house instantly and knew that I would be fast friends with whoever lived there. The dahlias and chrysanthemums growing out front strongly confirmed this.

We walked up the stone path to the front doors and just as Murphy went to knock, a sweet looking old man with white hair and bottle-cap glasses opened the door on the left and welcomed us with a warm smile. "I've been expecting you! Hello Murphy! Hello Bethany! Welcome Cassetonia! My name is Duke and I am pleased as all get out to meet you!" He exclaimed in a strong southern twang. I absentmindedly noted how interesting it was how many different accents there were here with Dukes southern accent, Bethany's American accent, Murphy's Australian one, and Winston's and my own British accents. This place seemed to be made up of all kinds of people from all different walks of life. Duke ushered us inside, out of the pouring rain, where it was cozy. There was a fire burning in the central fireplace and the house smelled of coffee. I took an appreciative whiff, which Duke noticed and, in turn, offered me a mug of warm coffee, which I graciously accepted.  

We sat in the small living area, Bethany and Murphy on the blue striped love seat, Duke in the big gray accent chair, and me on the dark gray fainting couch. It was immediately my favorite piece of furniture seeing as though I had one back home just like it in my reading nook.  

"That's where Winston always sits too." Duke said to me with a smile as he cleared his throat. "I know how confusin this must be for you, so I'd like to explain what's goin on here and to do that you need to know my story. I grew up on the Louisiana bayou, where witchcraft and voodoo were not just legends, but part of everyday life. My godmother was one of the best African herbalists in the south. People traveled for hundreds of miles to be healed by Mama Jean. So when I got sick, I knew she would be the only one that could help me. The doctors told me I didn't have much longer to live and I just knew that if Mama Jean had anythin to say about it, I would live a long and healthy life.

“Now, there were legends about my sweet Mama Jean. People said she was over a hundred years old and that juju kept her from agin. Your people call it voodoo nowadays. So I went to see my Mama J and sure enough, she knew just what to do. She called upon her ancestors and Mother Nature and Father Time and the next time I went to see those Western doctors, they ran the tests three times to be sure and even then they couldn't believe that I was completely healed. Now, Cass what I'm about to tell you is a bit hard to believe at first so i need you to keep an open mind. Can ya do that for me?" I just nodded, too fascinated to speak, or too afraid to trust my voice, I couldn't tell. "Cassetonia, that was five-hundred and twelve years ago. This photo rightchea was taken in the year 1820 and as you can see I haven't changed a bit" I sat there staring, for what seemed like hours, because he was right. In this very old, black and white photo with frayed edges and a missing corner, there he stood, laughing, with his arm around....”Is that Winston?!” I exclaimed. “Indeed it is.” He nodded. “Winston is very old as well. When I met him, I had been Immortal for twenty-eight years. I had watched all of my friends and family grow old and die, and I was very lonely. All I had left was my Mama Jean. I had been living with her for some time, very secluded from everyone and everything, when Winstons Mama came to the house looking for her. She was a wreck and that's puttin it nicely. She had been cryin for hours and had blood all over her clothes. She explained that her son had been in a terrible accident and she had traveled all the way from Suffolk to beg for Mama J's help savin her sons life. She explained that her son was a good man, who had always taken care of her and their family farm, and the accident was a result of that. Ya see, while tillin up the field, gettin ready to plant wheat, he hit a rabbit hole and got knocked off the tractor. The rotary tiller ran over him and he had deep cuts all over his body. He had lost so much blood and been hurt so bad that she didn't know if her boy would even be alive when she got back. But she had heard of Mama J's abilities and had to try. Mama Jean didn't even waste time packin, she just grabbed what she needed to perform the Ceremony and we were on our way. When we got there, he was so blue we thought it was too late, but the doctor assured us that, while he didn't have long, he was still just barely alive.

“Mama Jean had Winston's mama talk to the doctors outside the hospital room while she performed the ceremony and I helped. It was magical, and if you choose to stay here, you'll see for yourself. After everything was said and done, Winston still had to heal and that took some time, but heal he did! Ever since then, we've been thick as thieves! After Winston's mama died, he came up with the idea of creating this place. Ya see, we had drawn some attention to ourselves, seein as though we weren't agin like the rest of the folks around us, and people had started whisperin, sayin all kinds of things. Winston's favorite tall tale was that we were vampires.” He said with a chuckle. “I didn't pay no mind to any of it until we got word that they were plannin on arrestin us and chargin us with murderin a young girl. That was the moment I finally agreed to Winston's idea of movin here. He had found this place on one of his many expeditions that he threw himself into after his mama's passin, and he almost couldn't find his way back, which made it perfect. We moved here the summer of 1708 and built that castle you're currently stayin in. Slowly, over time, Mama Jean sent us people that were knockin on deaths door - good people, not criminals by any means. And for some odd reason, becomin Immortal changes a person. Every bit of good in a person is intensified and every bit of bad is minimized. It's honestly quite glorious and every time we see it, we're in awe. It never gets borin watchin a Ceremony be performed. After about fifty years, Mama Jean decided to join us here in Saluto, on account of folks bein afraid of her. Ya see Cass, people fear what they don't understand and that's why I'm attemptin to explain everythin to you as best I can. After some time, we noticed people gettin lonely, but even though we had a fair mixture of men and women, no one was fallin in love and gettin married like we had thought they would. In fact, a couple people decided to leave. Those few people felt drawn to the outside world in a way they couldn't explain. When they left, they didn't know where they were goin, what they would be doin, where they would live, nothin. They had no plan they just knew they had to go, that there was somethin pullin em. The first to leave and find their Beloved was Edmund. He was drawn to Charlotte in 1802 and they fell in love instantly. He brought her here in 1815, after she had continued to age and he hadn't. At first, we tried reversin what we had done all those years ago, but when that didn't work, Charlotte asked if she could become Immortal so she could be with Edmund for all of eternity. Mama Jean had no qualms with that so we performed the Ceremony and they've been together ever since.

“This is my Beloved, my sweet Pearl.” He said with a sad smile as he handed me a photo of a beautiful woman in her fifties. “My Pearl was very religious, and although she decided to stay here with me, she did not believe in becomin Immortal. She lived a long, happy life and died in her sleep when she was ninety-two years old. That was about fifty years ago and I still miss her dearly. It's never gotten easier like I hoped it would. Every single mornin I wake up just as in love with her as I was the day we married. And every single mornin I grieve her passin like the day it happened.” He said as a tear rolled down his cheek. His voice shook as he said, “Every day I have to live with the fact that I'll never see my Pearl again, for there is no after life for the Immortal.” He stopped then and grabbed a handkerchief from the front pocket of his vest and dabbed at his eyes. “It never gets easier.” He whispered.

By now, we were all choked up. I, myself, had been dabbing at tears and as I sneaked a glance at Bethany and Murphy, I realized Bethany had her face buried in Murphy's chest and was quietly sobbing. “Bethany and Pearl were great friends.” Murphy explained. “It never gets easier for her to hear this story.”

“I built this house for her as a weddin present. For months I would disappear for hours at a time and she would beg me to tell her what I was up to.” Duke continued with a smile. “All the secrecy was worth it in the end though, just to see the look on her face the first time I brought her here. She had the time of her life decoratin and plantin flowers and arrangin and rearrangin furniture. Every bit of this house is a reflection of her angelic soul. Now, she will forever be my angel.”

Duke looked at me, smiled sweetly, and said, “I hope you and Winston fall just as madly in love as you were meant to.”

I sighed. It seemed to me that everyone here was crazy. They must all be bonkers to think I would just give up my entire life and everything I had worked so hard for, for a complete stranger. The fact that I felt an electric shock racing through my entire body every time we were in the same room together was not enough proof that we were meant for each other. Call me skeptical or bitter but I had decided a very long time ago that I was going to live my life alone, as far as romance goes. Nowadays, there were other ways to have the four beautiful children I so desperately desired, such as sperm donors or adoption. Yes, I truly believed I could have a wonderfully happy and fulfilling life without a man.

“Duke, how do I get out of here?” I begged while giving the saddest puppy dog eyes I could muster.

“Just give him a chance Cass. A month. A year. All he wants is a chance to love you the way he's been waitin to his whole life.” He responded while patting my hand. “If you don't want to stay, then after some time, if you've really given him a chance, I'll send you home.”

“I refuse to squander my life away for a whole year when I can tell you right now, the end result will be me going home. Even if I have nothing left to go home to. I'll build it all back up if I have to, but I can assure you, I will not be staying here.” I responded with defiance.

“You just think about it, ya hear?” Duke replied with a sigh, as he got up and walked to the kitchen to help Murphy wash our coffee cups. That was about the time but stomach started growling and simultaneously, Bethany walked over to me and offered to go grab some lunch before getting ready for the graduation party. I graciously accepted and we said our goodbyes to the men and left. We had lunch at a small cafe in town that was quite beautiful. I had a turkey club and a side salad, that were both absolutely exquisite, albeit simple. Bethany filled the hour with endless chatter. I knew she thought I was listening, but my mind was elsewhere, because on the way here I saw a small airport and had immediately begun planning my escape.