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Chapter Text

The night was dark and the air chilled. There was a slight burning scent on the wind, along with an even slighter scent of blood.

The stars sparkled above like distant diamonds against a clear black sky. The familiar universe called, beckoning for its mistress to return. But she dared not to heed it’s call, not now. Something else called to her this night, drawing her in, on this equally familiar mortal plane, to a specific place of significance she’d long left behind.

She didn’t quite understand the specific reason why she had returned to Nevermore Academy, after so long away from it. She only knew that there was something there to be remembered or found or accomplished. Maybe it was all of those things to be done, though she did not know what it could possibly be. As she glided across the empty grounds of the place she had once briefly called home, like a glowing white ghost, silent and haunting, she followed the invisible gravitational pull toward the mysteriously ruined Iago Tower, a intimately familiar spot. 

Remembering her time there, flashes of a pale face came forward from memory. Dark piercing eyes, smile as bright as the sun, warmth of arms wrapped around her. A loving voice echoed in her ears, making her smile bittersweetly. 

She didn’t know why he came to mind. She hadn’t thought of him in a very long time, since she left Nevermore, in fact. He had been only human, nothing more, nothing less, or at least that was what she told herself to keep from the sorrow she felt for leaving all those years ago.

But no matter. Surely, he was not the reason why she was returned to the academy. That was absurd. He had to be old and gray by now, withering away as mortals do, probably with a family of his own somewhere far away from this place. Perhaps death had already claimed him, a thought that quickly turned her mournful, a stabbing ache filled her chest, despite knowing perfectly well that was the way of mortals, such as he. Death came for them all, in the end, and there was little sense in worrying over it. 

It was the way of things, after all.

Still, for whatever reason, the memory of him, of that time, would not leave her. The echoes of him stayed with her as she traveled into Iago Tower, running like shadows as she went up the winding stairs to the destroyed portion of the clocktower. The flashes of him grew stronger with every graceful, soundless, gliding step she took. They haunted her, taking her breath, making her move quicker as if in attempt to get away from the chasing memories, long buried and thought forgotten.

Further into the unknown, she climbed without understand the reason clearly. Just a pull. Only a feeling. Merely a beckoning. She was being driven. Up and up and up. Faster and faster, and faster. Until she reached the top and finds the wreckage of a recently fought battle. 

Sparks fall from the ceiling and up from ruined machinery like bursting fireworks. Glass and dirt debris scatter across the floor, along with toppled equipment and fallen wiring.  Yet, she was unafraid and uncaring to be cautious, only curious, as she moves into the room. She stepped along the broken bits on the floor, dancing around them as she sought to discover what had brought her here, to this former battleground. 

Guided around by the invisible thread, she went around the wreckage and ruin until she came upon the thing that had drawn her in; a familiar, but impossible figure slumped against the machinery still standing on the floor. The ghost that had chased her all the way up there was real and unchanged from the memory, making him utterly impossible.

Isaac Night. 

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, as it remembered all that had been. Memories and emotions came rushing to the surface, long buried, but still prominent, despite her and the passage of time. 

As she examined him from a distance, she noticed red streaks of blood running down the side of his face and black smudges of dirt that accompanied the crimson. He was injured, if not dead. She drew a little closer on silent feet, her eyes drawn to the bloodless stub at the end of his right hand. There lacked an open wound, but there were loose strings around the circumference, stitchings hinting toward his hand having been reattached at some point and then removed again. 

It was strange and puzzling, but nothing that could not be mended, if he were still alive. 

What was even more perplexing was how youthful he looked, as if not a day had gone by since last she saw him. Yet, he was mortal, this she knew, and many years had gone by. He should have been old and gray, but it seemed time had somehow stopped for him. 

But that was impossible. Something else was at play here, something that felt darker, sinister.

Isaac sat there, head hanging down to his chest, mop top of curls hiding his face. The familiar ticking sound of his clockwork heart echoed quietly amongst the louder intermittent sounds of sparks from the broken machinery around them. And, as she drew closer still with bated breath and crouched down beside him, she could see his chest move as he softly breathed. 

He was alive!

Relief filled her, as she released the breath she had been holding, glad to not have to mourn him. 

“Isaac,” she whispered softy, with affection she could not help as reaching out a gentle hand to brush back the curls from his face.

It took a moment, but Isaac lifted his head and looked up at her with a dead, unfocused gaze, as if he had lost all hope, all reason to live. With a slight humorless smile and a gruff, groaning voice, he asked her, “Are you death come to take me back to Hell?”

She was taken aback by such a question, but then the question itself lead her to immediate conclude that Isaac had died, probably not too soon after she had left, and had somehow been resurrected. It pieced together the puzzle of how he looked as he had thirty years ago. Yet, there were still so many pieces to put together in the mystery of what had happened and how he got here.

For now, she concentrated on him, on the present moment. 

“I am not,” she answered him, still running her fingers through his hair in affection. “But you should already know that.”

Isaac blinked rapidly, his dark eyes coming to life as he truly looked at her, finally realizing who it was he was speaking to. A confused expression crossed his features as he sat up a little straighter, hissing in pain as he did, before speaking the name that had once been hers for a brief time, “Elizabeth?”

“Yes, more or less,” she replied, her hand dropping from his dark curls. “Although that name is not truly mine, no more than the girl you remember is who I truly am.” 

A pause, then painful recollection, and finally a slight nod, accompanied by a doleful response, “That’s right. I remember.”

A brief moment of silence fell between them then. 

Isaac looked away, his eyes cast downward, gazing at nothing, while it was clear his mind was wandering through thoughts. Though she could not say what those were. 

While he lost himself to his own contemplations, she studied Isaac, remembering their time together and simultaneously wondering just what had become of him since to not have aged as he should have as a mortal. Curiosity had her wondering how he ended up wounded and sitting in the darkness amongst ruin. 

She recalled Isaac was a brilliant mind, ambitious with a god complex. He had cared little about people. They were little more than test subjects for his inventions, some which had saved lives, including his own. Yet, she remembered how he had been hellbent on saving his sweet and gentle, younger sister — Francoise — from the monster within her. Borderline obsessed, it hadn’t mattered what it took, at what cost, or who he harmed to achieve his goal. He would have stopped at nothing and that had made him truly dangerous. To himself and to all whom were around him.

A mad scientist, as he was known. 

Yet, despite that, she had loved him…and loved him still. 

Because, he had helped her from the bleakness of scrambling in the darkness of lost memory. He had given her hope and renewed purpose and a reason to not give up. And there had been more to him than his dark flaws. Everyone had both light and dark within them and Isaac was no different. She had seen the lighter side of him, the side that not many others saw. 

He, in spite of his cold detachedness, had loved her too. 

They had loved each other, even though neither of them knew the truth of who she truly was or how her true identity would eventually part them. That love had burned so brightly that she had forgotten herself, giving up caring to know who she was, having grown content to be unknown to herself, if only to stay by his side. 

Whatever had happened since she left Nevermore and however it was that he was here now, she made a decision in that moment. It was impulsive, considering all the unknowns of the situation, but she wanted to help him, no matter what the story was for how he came to be there amongst the ruin around them. 

“Why don’t we go somewhere better than this wreck of a place,” she suggested gently, touching his arm missing a hand. “I can heal your wounds and grant you rest.”

He did not move or respond immediately, seeming content to stay there and rot, but she was stubborn, almost as stubborn as he was. 

So, she tapped him on the shoulder in such a way that would be familiar to him, a memory from the past, as she rose to her full height and gracefully offered him her hand, “Come on. Let’s go.” 

Finally, Isaac rolled his eyes up to look at her, first her face and then the hand she offered him. He gazed at it contemplatively, hesitating as if he were weighing his options, before choosing to take it and allowed her to help him up from the floor.

He was unsteady on his feet, wobbling like a tree in the wind. 

To help him balance, she threw his arm over her shoulder, allowing him to lean on her, and then aided him in getting out of there. 

Slow and steady, they made their way down the winding stairs, eventually making it outside into the coo, moonlit night. After, together, they left the ruin of Iago Tower behind. She, as a bright light to offer guidance in the darkness, lead her companion away from Nevermore into the shadows of the surrounding forest.

And with that, they disappeared like ghosts, vanishing into thin air before the world awoke and could discover them. 

To Be Continued….

Chapter Text

Thirty Years Ago….

Isaac Night was of a brilliant intellect and one of the most powerful DaVinci Nevermore Academy had ever seen. Because of that fact, his already inflated ego was regularly stroked by professors and other students alike. Praise and admiration were an every day occurrence, as he showed off his prowess for knowledge and ingenuity. 

He was popular amongst his peers, but he cared for close to none of them. They were insignificant things that he had little time or patience for. And he did his very best to stay clear of most them, unless he had some use for those lesser creatures — either as gofers or test subjects, their only uses.

However, that did not mean that there were not a few at Nevermore that he admired and respected. His biology teacher, Professor Orloff was one of those few. In fact, he was Isaac’s favorite teacher with a great mind that challenged and inspired, despite his advanced age. Then there was the newer teacher at Nevermore, Augustus Stonehearst, a normie who admired Outcasts and their potential. Despite his normie status, he also had a brilliant scientific mind that Isaac gravitated toward and did not think less of the professor for his lack of Outcast ability. 

And, aside from them, Isaac did keep one friend; Gomez Addams, his roommate. Despite himself and prided upon detachment, somehow, someway, Gomez had managed to break through that armor of coldness and gained Isaac’s warm affections. A rare thing that was thought outright impossible amongst their fellow classmates, none whom could do the same. 

Yet, it meant that the haughty boy with the clockwork heart was still capable of kindness and friendship. 

Then there was the one person whom had always had his affection and love. 

His beloved little sister, Francoise, who was only a year younger than him. They had together endured a painful childhood at the hands of their physically and verbally abusive father, whom hated normies and refused to allow either of his children interact with them. Although for the early part of Isaac’s life he was bedridden due to a terminal heart defect, so he hadn’t been able to acquaint himself with anyone outside of family. This had lead to a lonely existence prior to coming to Nevermore for the Night siblings, leaving them to depend on each other for comfort and friendship in the darkness that was their home with their father. 

Isaac would protect Francoise from anyone or anything that would try to harm her. Which was why he held to the dream of finding a way to slay the the monster she carried within her that was slowly killing her with every transformation. That was what he spent most of his intellect on, trying to solve the puzzle of saving his sister through the power of science. 

If anyone could save her, it was him. After all, he had once saved himself with the invention of his clockwork heart, when nobody else could.  All he needed was to study and design and work out the equations that would one day grant him the answer to the problem. 

When not in class, that was what Isaac focused on with obsessive precision. Desperate to do the impossible, to give Francoise the freedom from living in fear of the Hyde and keep her from one day dying from the curse.

At first, he spent his time hold up in the vast Nevermore library, sketching and scrawling, reading and working, pouring over texts and journals looking for anything to aid him in his quest. Eventually, though, Professor Stonehearst built him a secret laboratory in Iago Tower to not only continue his studies, but to experiment and test out his theories undisturbed. 

It gave him freedom to go as far as he could without being talked down or outright stopped. Nothing was forbidden in the hidden world of the clocktower, just what he needed for his ambitions.

It was in this space of free thought and lax morals that began a love affair that would be unlike anything that he had ever experienced before. Not that he had any prior experience in romantic love. Falling in love was never of interest to him. It was a stupidity that got in the way of one’s ambition.

He had a barely acknowledged fan base of amorous girls (and some guys too), who apparently liked him for his handsome face and his aloof nature, according to Gomez. But not one of them had interested him in the slightest. They all admired him from afar, none truly daring to try knowing who he really was. He was just a fantasy to them, an ideal figure to get off to. It was moronic and a waste of time.

Isaac had told his friend as much too, but Gomez just shrugged with a sly smile. 

That was because Gomez knew the truth. 

There may have been a time or two when he chose a willing victim from this gaggle of admirers, using his charm to seduce a female to use for pleasure’s sake. A simple pastime for when his raging hormones demanded it, in times when it made focusing on his work impossible. A frustrating biological nuisance, to be sure, and one he could not always escape, submitting to it, if only to clear his head. 

But sex wasn’t love.

And he had never been in love before — never intended to be.

That is until that fateful night in Iago Tower, when she intruded upon his lab for the first time. 

Absurdly long white wavy hair cascaded down all around her, shielding much of her body from view. That was the first thing he noticed. The next was that was standing perfectly still at the semi-transparent clock face and staring out into the darkness. Finally, he noted that she was not dressed in a school uniform, but in a white dress with thin fabric that floated around her in layers. Her small bare feet poking out beneath it. 

She did not move, speak, nor acknowledge him upon his entry. 

Isaac, for his part was intrigued and annoyed in equal measure by this unexpected guest. 

He had heard the buzzing whispers rumors amongst the student body about a white haired ghost that had been allegedly haunting the halls of Nevermore. 

For weeks, stories and theories about the identity of the alleged apparition were created by a few students and then passed along like a game of Telephone until they were muddled together into completely new ones. Some thought the ghost was of a former student that had taken their own life after going mad. Others believed it was a teacher who had been murdered in order to cover up a scandal — a torrid affair of some kind. And there were many other rumors speculating who the ghost was. 

It was ridiculous. The imaginations of morons with nothing better to do than to create implausible fictions to frighten each other with. That was what Isaac had thought of it.

However, now that the creature in question was standing in his lab, his thoughts on the matter changed, shifting from skepticism to wonder with irritation mingled in from start to finish. He didn’t like surprises nor did he care for others to invade his solitude. It took time and focus away from his work, his singular obsession, and he hated to be distracted from it. 

Despite this, Isaac found his curiosity gaining the upper hand over his powerful wanting to work. This girl had the whole school lit up with talk of her, capturing the imaginations of everyone. Therefore it was impossible to be anything but fascinated by her, whoever or whatever she was. 

Quietly putting down the notebooks and texts he had been carrying under his arm on a nearby table, he slowly and cautiously moved closer. He wanted to investigate her. He was curious to find out if she really was what his peers said she was or not, while simultaneously desiring to get her to leave Iago Tower, so that he could resume his work in peace.

Isaac drew closer, taking measured steps toward the girl to get as near as he dared. He had no idea what she was capable of, if anything. Because of that fact, it stood to reason that he remained vigilante, ready to combat her with his powers if he had to, should she turn out to be something dangerous.

He reached about five feet from her, this statue of a girl, before she realized she was not alone and turned with inhumanly fluid grace to look at him. 

She was inhumanly gorgeous, unlike anything he had seen before, and she quite solid with no ghostly transparency in sight, meaning she was not a ghost at all. But there was a strangeness to her that Isaac could not name. It was some kind of otherness that surrounded her, like as if she were not human. 

The girl was much short than him. She had to look up slightly, even from the small distance between them. With a stoic expression that gave nothing away, she gazed at him with incredible blue sapphire eyes that seemed much older than she otherwise appeared. Her mouth, plushy pink rose in color against pale alabaster skin, parted slightly, the longer they stared at each other, as if she was readying to speak. Yet, she did not. Not a word.

A little annoying, to be sure, but he just figured she was shy and didn’t know what to say. Or maybe she was a mute and couldn’t speak.

“Hello there,” Isaac spoke softly, inching a little closer, while she watched him with that perfect stillness, like a deer caught in headlights. 

As an animal faced with a threat would, the girl bolted, turning swiftly and scurrying away with a soft, melodic, “Forgive me” left in her wake. 

Acting solely on impulse, without thought, Isaac gave chase, not wanting her to disappear just yet. “Hey! Wait,” he called, following her, as she weaved around the shadows of newly implanted equipment and scaffolding that was above them. 

He didn’t understand what had possessed him to go after her, when her leaving his lab was exactly what he wanted. But he just couldn’t let her get away. One look upon her face and he wanted to know her. He wanted her to stay.

She nearly made it to the exit. 

However, at last minute, Isaac managed to reach her, grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her to a stop before she could vanish into the night. She allowed this, stopping without a fight, but dared not to look back at him. She was tense, ready to take flight at a moment’s notice.

“Please, don’t be afraid. You’re safe here,” he told her. “Please, stay.”

Isaac realized he sounded like he was begging and he loathed it. Yet, he hadn’t been able to stop himself before it was too late.

But it had worked.

The girl turned her gaze back upon him, a glimmer of uncertainty shining through the emotionlessness. The tension in her subsided almost right away and she seemed accommodated to his plea for her to remain.

Relief filled Isaac then. He was glad that he would not have to suffer the madness of obsession over this encounter and all the mysteries that would have remained unsolved about her had she left.  

“Who are you?” He asked her immediately, as he released his hold on her wrist and stepped back. 

The girl licked her lower lip, as if nervous, before quietly answering, “They call me Elizabeth. Elizabeth Einhorn. So, I suppose that is who I am.”

Her voice was angelically soft, sweet and gentle like a beautiful melody. Yet, after she spoke, she seemed surprised by the sound of it, as though she hadn’t said a word in a very long time and had forgotten what her own voice sounded like. 

But that wasn’t possible. Nobody could keep silent for the length of time it would take to forget what they sounded like. 

It was odd, but what was more so, was what she actually said. She used the word ‘they’ and implied whoever that was had given her name to her, meaning it was not her name at all. Yet, accepted it as hers. Probably because she didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t like she knew her real name. 

She must have been an amnesiac with total loss of memory.

This girl, Elizabeth, her adopted name, was a mystery wrapped up in beautiful packaging. 

And how she intrigued him so was an utter threat to his work, something he should have truly despised. Yet, he could not find it in himself to hate the danger of distraction she spontaneously brought him. Instead, he willingly invited in her company, welcoming her into his hidden world without malice or contempt. 

Isaac did this, not yet fully understanding the implications of such hospitality or the course of fate he would soon find himself on. 

All from simply not letting the girl go.

To Be Continued….

Chapter Text

Present Day….

He never spoke a word nor did he dare a single glance at his familiar rescuer, as they made their journey.  

Not even once they were safely away from Nevermore and all that had transpired there.

She didn’t speak nor look at him either.

Silence was what lay between them at the moment. The only sounds that broke through the quiet were of heavy breath, the quiet rustle of foliage, the slightly louder snapping of twigs, and the various sounds of night animals around them. 

Elizabeth (not her real name he knew, but it was the only one Isaac knew), despite her small frame, bore much of his weight as she aided him through the dark woods with surprising ease. She didn’t struggle in the slightest, as he leaned on her for support with his handless arm around her shoulders.

Eventually, they had reached their destination. 

She had brought them to a large well-maintained two story house hidden deep in the forest, not too far from the school. It was a white Victorian style with a wrap around porch, a turret on the left, and a black gable roof. The house seemed very out of place amongst nature, especially with how new and immaculate it seemed, but Isaac paid little attention to that fact. 

He was defeated and in pain, both physically and emotionally.

A battle was lost and his beloved sister was dead. He had failed to save her, despite given a second chance to do so. 

All because of that damned Addams family. They had prevailed in their interference and had nearly sent him back to the grave. It was only luck that had kept them from succeeding there. Insult to injury, his right hand had regained its sentience and escaped him, returning to the people that had taken it from him in the first place. Leaving him, once again, incomplete and powerless. 

As he stewed in his thoughts, Elizabeth helped him up the porch stairs and into the out of place house without issue. 

Surprisingly, the lights were already on as they came inside, making it easy to navigate since it would have been pitch black otherwise. Lamps on tables and chandeliers hanging from ceilings provided the illumination — a soft glow amongst the shadows of the dark.

Isaac was guided by his gracious host into the violet and white sitting room directly to the left of the front door and finally relieved herself of his weight by gently helping him sit upon a red velvet couch parked in front of a large unlit fireplace. 

A few seconds later, the fireplace roared to life, all on its own, as if it knew it had guests to offer warmth to. A curious thing, indeed, but not unexplainable and decidedly unimportant.

They finally looked at each other again, the first time since leaving Iago Tower. Their eyes met; brown connecting with dark blue. 

All the feelings he had possessed for her thirty years ago came rushing back in. A great flood of love and longing, but also heartbreak with a hint of bitterness consumed him as he gazed upon her. His mechanical heart ticked and whirled a little faster as these emotions took hold and he wanted to reach for her, touch her, kiss her lips, tell her how he missed her, yet he dared not act on such impulse. 

Isaac, instead, distracted himself with observation of her. He was taken aback by what he saw in those intimately familiar sapphire depths. Her eyes were different now than how he remembered them. The color was the same, but within her dark orbs swirled what looked to be galaxies, none of which had been there thirty years ago. It was as if her eyes carried the universe inside them. 

It was strange and incredible and Isaac’s mind began to whirl with wonderings as to how her eyes contained galaxies. The universe couldn’t really in her eyes. That seemed impossible. It was, in fact, insane even to consider. Yet, they seemed real. He could not devise a way for them to be false. How would one even pull off such an elaborate illusion as the universe in their eyes? No, it had to be true. Those were truly her eyes. There was no other conclusion. 

As the fire danced, Elizabeth turned her gaze away and then gracefully knelt down before him, inspecting his condition with those strange eyes. As she folded the fabric under her legs, his eyes noted that she was wearing a flowing white dress not unlike the one she had been wearing that night they had first met. 

Was that on purpose or just a coincidence? 

As she busied herself with looking him over, Isaac quietly observed her further with much intrigue, a common theme in their first meetings. She was just as beautiful as she had been thirty years ago. She mostly looked just as she had back then, a near spiting image of that mysterious girl, as if the passage of time had no hold upon her. There was not a single sign of thirty years gone by in her features. 

Yet, there was a certain…ancientness to her now. She appeared to be youthful — childlike — but it was in her eyes. They had wisdom and experience within their dark depths that contradicted her physical appearance. In fact, the age depicted those sapphire eyes went far beyond that of any living human. 

Isaac started to wonder how that was possible, but quickly remembered that Elizabeth was not as she seemed. He vaguely recalled the past. Those last moments they had together flashed before his mind’s eye, back when everything had changed, including her, and the bittersweet pain of loss that came with it.

Putting that time aside, so that it did not crush him all over again, he focused on his observations of her as she was preoccupied in tending to him. 

There were things about her that weren’t exactly new, but unfamiliar to Isaac.

Aside from the strange changes to her eyes, Elizabeth’s absurdly long white hair that hung like a curtain all around her, moved like ocean waves with each movement, no matter how small. It also reflected the firelight now and again as if it were made of glass instead of hair. Overall, she carried an ethereal glow about her, shimmering with otherworldliness that had been lacking years before. 

Except for that single moment, Isaac recalled.

These things had actually existed then, but they had manifested so quickly that he hasn’t had the time to really see any of these differences clearly. It was like a dream that one cannot remember, save for a few hazy images, upon waking. And then she had left, vanishing without a trace. 

It had been bittersweet ending to the only romantic relationship he had ever known. 

She had been his first and only love. 

Just then, Isaac was jolted from his thoughts, when she spoke to him.

“Your injures are not terribly bad,” stated Elizabeth, looking up at him with a soft smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Nothing that cannot be easily healed.”

He had momentarily assumed that she was going elsewhere in the house to get supplies to clean and dress his wounds. 

That was not what she did, however. 

Instead, Elizabeth adjusted her position on the floor before him, lifting herself onto her knees fully and splayed her small hand upon his chest on the opposite side of his clockwork heart. She closed her eyes and a few seconds later, Isaac could feel a pulsing warmth where she touched him. It started there and quickly pushed outward, spreading all over until every fiber of his being was consumed with it. 

The pain of his body dissipated almost instantly. 

The severe aches and throbbing agony from being thrown off the high rising scaffolding by his Hyde nephew and then thrown again from the massive explosion of equipment at Iago Tower faded into nothing. He could also feel the gashes at his temple and across his left cheek close until it was as if the wounds had never existed. Even the blood, dirt, and soot that clung to his skin vanished into thin air, leaving no evidence of the ordeal he had survived. 

He felt…refreshed — anew, reborn. 

It was miraculous, quite literally, what Elizabeth was achieving with this power of hers, which he had never known she possessed. 

What was even more extraordinary was when that warm flowing feeling came down his right arm and a new unblemished, fully functional hand materialized at the end of the stump, before his eyes. It was surprisingly painless, the mystical regeneration of bone, tendons, muscle, and flesh. He was grateful for that, but more so simply to have a right hand again. 

A DaVinci was nothing without it.

Isaac could feel the subtle electric sensation his telekinetic ability come to life as his new hand formed, like a switch had been turned on in his body. It had been a similar feeling when he had previously sewn his former right hand back onto his arm. 

Once his new appendage was fully regenerated, Elizabeth pulled her hand away from his chest and opened her eyes, looking up at him with a satisfied smile. 

He gazed back at her with a mix of amazement and a thousand questions as to how she had done what she had. But before he could say anything, exhaustion took hold of him — a phenomenon he had not experienced since resurrecting. His whole body grew heavy with it, causing him to sag against the couch for support.

“You’re fully human again now,” Elizabeth told him, as if he had asked about his sudden fatigue. “No longer of the undead. May the locals and their brains rejoice.”

She laughed lightly, but it felt hollow or perhaps forced. 

However, Isaac was suddenly too tired to react. He could not even muster the words to question how she knew about his zombie status or how exactly she had cured him of it. His eyes grew heavier by the second as sleep made demands of rest upon his body. Everything in his screamed for it.

Elizabeth noticed this and moved in quickly to help him to his feet. As she put his arm around her shoulders and practically carried him from the sitting room to the main stairs, she spoke to him, but he failed to register what it was she said. Slow and steady, she guided him up to the second story, even though he was on the verge of collapse. His body, heavy with the need for rest, screamed at him for it. He just wanted to lay down. It didn’t matter where.

Climbing the stairs, even with Elizabeth’s help, felt like it took forever, but it was mere minutes when they reached the top. From there, they made their way down the hallway to the left, to one of the bedrooms. Upon entering the softly lit room, Isaac, still aided, staggered to the queen sized bed with a simple gray comforter (which was all he cared to notice) and collapsed onto it. His eyes immediately closed and the world swiftly faded to black, as dreamless sleep finally claimed him.

The darkness held him, for how long Isaac did not know, but when he finally awoke, bright rays of morning sunlight shone through the bedroom window. He could hear the birds chirping outside, singing a song of morning greeting. Blinking rapidly with a quiet groan, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, scrubbing his hands over his face. 

As the effects of sleep left him, he remembered all that had transpired before his eyes had closed.

Elizabeth….

Just as he went to push himself up onto his feet to go in search of the ethereal beauty, Isaac’s hand landed on a neatly folded pile of new clothes at the foot of the bed. His eyes then caught the sight of black Doc Marten boots lined up on the floor to go along with them. 

He realized that he was still wearing the white lab coat he had died in, along with the blue sweat pants and brown long coat over the lab one that he had commandeered from a couple of victims. A pair of old brown shoes were still secured to his feet too. He had been wearing all this for weeks now (or longer in the case of the lab coat). To say the least, he could use something newer and cleaner to wear. 

Speaking of cleanliness, Isaac happened to look to the left in investigation and noticed that the bedroom had its own ensuite bathroom. Of course he would not be able to shower the way normal people did, not with the gaping hole that contained his mechanical heart, but he knew well how to make due. Even though her strange power had already taken care of the dirt and grime, he wanted to be presentable for Elizabeth, especially after having been apart for so long.

He got to his feet, took the pile of clothes (save for a pair of black socks) with him, and disappeared into the bathroom to wash and dress for the day, before he went to find the girl. 

Before long, Isaac came out looking like a new man. 

His messy mop of curls had been washed under the bathroom sink. Said sink conveniently had a tall bridge faucet that made it relatively easy to do so. Once throughly cleaned, he chose to not slick his hair back like he had done at Nevermore, leaving his curls loose around his head, save for where they naturally parted in the middle. 

Surprisingly, there had been a few scented soaps and colognes to use. So, he had stripped of the old clothes and used the bathtub with the pull down shower head to cleansed his skin (while avoiding his clockwork heart), before applying the weakest of the colognes. 

Once satisfied, he had quickly brushed his teeth with the toothbrush and toothpaste apparently left for his use. After, he had finally dressed in the new clothes given to him. 

Everything fit him perfectly, as if the clothes had been tailored to him. The outfit Elizabeth had selected for him consisted of black trousers, a tucked in white tee shirt, and a black cardigan to go over top (of which he pushed up the sleeves past his elbows).  

Leaving the bathroom, Isaac sat down on the bed to quickly put on the socks and boots, but upon standing up and heading for the bedroom door, he hesitated right as he reached for the doorknob, suddenly became nervous. He swallowed thickly, as Elizabeth’s mentioning of his former zombie status echoed through his mind. 

If she knew about that, then what else did she know about him? About what he did and what he attempted to do? 

A heavy pit formed in his stomach, not out of shame or guilt for his actions, but out of fear that she would not look at him with love if he went downstairs, only hate and disgust, now that she had time to reflect on things. He had already lost his sister to death. He did not want to lose his lover by means of her rejection. He couldn’t bear it, to lose everything. 

Isaac may have told Wednesday Addams that Francoise had been the only person he had truly loved in their final battle, but that was a lie, of course. It would send him into madness if Elizabeth ended up lost to him; a worse scenario given that the ethereal beauty was tangible, unlike his dear sister, whom waited for him in the afterlife.

Yet, the invisible pull toward Elizabeth was stronger than any of his fears or doubts. It breathed life into him, and after a moment, he opened the bedroom door and made his way downstairs. 

To find her. 

To face her.

To be with her.

To Be Continued….

Chapter Text

Thirty Years Ago….

Every day after that fateful first, Isaac had the company of Elizabeth whenever he was in his lab. It was silent company, where the girl would stand at the clock face, staring at who knows what, in that perfectly still way of hers. Yet, he didn’t seem to mind it too much, save for the fact that she truly was a distraction from his work. He found his focus constantly diverted from his designs and calculations to the white haired beauty just a short distance away. 

He wondered about her. From who she was to what manner of creature she was. She didn’t seem ordinary or human. She was very other, a trait excluded from Outcasts. Everything about her screamed it, that otherness. Though he hadn’t witness much of her movements (not with her penchant for standing still as a statue), from what he had seen, every movement had a certain grace to it that no human could muster. They were fluid, glides, even the subtlest twitch held this strange unnatural elegance to it. 

Fascinating to watch, to be sure, but only made the wanting to know her greater still. 

One day, Isaac had found the curiosity too much to ignore. Putting aside the sketching he had been working on, he got up from his desk and approached the girl. When he came within a few feet of her, she whirled around with her head down and a glare, as she shouted, “Don’t!”

It was the oddest thing he’d seen and he hadn’t any idea as to why she had responded in such a defensive way. Had someone tried to harm her in the past? Was that why she turned on him? He didn’t like how the very thought made his stomach twist and his chest tighten with anger. He wanted to tear apart whoever would harm her. It annoyed and frightened him in equal measure. 

He didn’t want to care. Caring was a waste of time and did nothing to advance his ambitions. But it scared him how powerful the avenging protectiveness that came over him was. For a nearly complete stranger, at that, when it had always been reserved for his sister only. Yet, it felt weirdly right in this instance, regarding her. 

What the hell was becoming of him?

Surprised by Elizabeth’s defensiveness, Isaac stopped dead and put his hands up to show he didn’t mean her harm. “Whoa, it’s okay. It’s just me,” he murmured gently, as if he were trying to soothe the savage beast. 

Elizabeth head lifted then and the glare faded away from her sapphire eyes, as she blinked at him with calm recognition. 

“What are you looking at?” Isaac asked her, out of mild curiosity.

She quietly replied, “The night sky.”

Immediately after answering him, Elizabeth seemed surprised by her own voice again. Her reaction to it made sense now, since she hadn’t spoken a word in the days since their first meeting, not even in greeting. She simply stood at the clock face and ignored everything else, including him. And as far as he knew, when wandering the halls of Nevermore, she never said a word to anyone who briefly encountered her. 

Silence and stillness were Elizabeth, it seemed.

Isaac gave her answer to his question a puzzled look. Just what could possibly be so interesting about the night sky? It was just the twinkling of stars, passing of satellites, and moon phases. Nothing that could keep one captivated night after night, endlessly. 

“The night sky is pretty,” he said awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. 

Elizabeth stared unblinkingly at him for a moment, making him suddenly feel naked and vulnerable under the weight of her gaze. Then her jewel-like eyes dropped down to his chest with a look of inquisitiveness that came over her features. She took a few gliding steps toward him, near enough to touch him, and splayed her hand over his mechanical heart. She closed her eyes with upmost concentration. She did not move or breathe or utter a word. 

Her touch surprised him, having not been anticipating it not really familiar with being touched by others, save for his sister. He jumped slightly at the nearness of her, more than from her actual touch since he could’t really feel it, beyond a gentle weight on his artificial heart. He couldn’t say if her hand was warm or cold or anything really.  Even so, Isaac keenly watched her, mild amusement mixed with uncertainty. Just what the hell was she trying to do? What could she possibly hope to do?

He tried to be patient, as he didn’t want to scare her away, but his bemusement eventually got the better of him. With a slightly laugh and a smile, he softly asked, “What are you doing?”

Elizabeth’s eyes opened, but failed to look up at him, and her hand dropped from his chest with a heavy sigh of disappointment. “Nothing. Forgive me,” she whispered, turning away from him and returning to her vigilante stargazing.

Isaac was very confused at first, but quickly deduced that the girl had expecting something to happen or else she wouldn’t have been so letdown by the fact that nothing did. But what could it be? What had she been trying to accomplish? He did not understand it.

Whatever it was, he felt like he had just been the test subject of an experiment and it had failed. 

That Isaac didn’t mind much, being the scientist he was, but what he could not stand was the way Elizabeth simply turned away from him and went back to staring out the clock’s windows. He wanted to engage her in more than silent companionship, despite his dueling desire to carry on with his work. 

“Hey,” he reached out to touch her arm, gaining her immediate attention. “Talk to me. Please, talk to me.”

Elizabeth turned slightly and softly gazed at him, but her expression was also guarded and unsure. Yet, she quietly told him, “I don’t know why I’m here or who I am, but there is a shadow of memory, just out of reach. I think I was once old and wise and powerful. I could heal and save and change fates. I thought…I wanted to try….”

Her voice wobbled and her face contorted as if she were starting to cry. However, there were no tears to be shed. It was almost as if she were incapable of the physical act of sadness. Another oddity, to be sure, but then she was full of them — a strange creature, indeed.

“You were trying to heal me,” deduced Isaac, not quite sure how to feel. “To give me a healthy, normal heart.”

His mechanical heart was a great achievement, one that could have easily failed but had been worth the risk of death, if it meant being able to not be sickly anymore. It had proved just what he was capable of doing with invention and genius. The idea of not having it ticking away in his chest to remind him of his greatness left a bitter taste in his mouth, despite the pure and innocent intention. 

Isaac was thankful Elizabeth failed in her attempt.

“Forgive me,” she uttered as she tried to turn and flee; to leave Iago Tower. 

She probably thought he was angry with her, since he didn’t offered understanding or any indication he wasn’t upset by what she had attempted to do.

He wasn’t. Not really. Not enough to wish her to leave anyway. His sour feelings were surprisingly minimal, but that was only because she had not succeeded. If she had then things might have been much different. 

Isaac stopped Elizabeth, grabbing her arm gently as she began to scurry away. “It’s okay,” he finally reassured her, despite his less than pleased feelings about the matter. “You were just…trying to help.”

Elizabeth turned toward him, cautious relief etched upon her sweet face. 

“You really are just a lost little kitten, aren’t you,” Isaac murmured without mocking, daring to be bold and reach out to brush back some of the feather soft hair that framed her face. 

“Lost, yes. I’ve been searching every day for something that is out of reach,” admitted Elizabeth, speaking freely, as if she had a great weight on her chest that she needed to let out. “Perhaps I will never find it.”

It was like she was speaking in riddles. What she was saying seemed nonsensical. 

Part of him wanted to offer to help her, but he ultimately refrained. To help her would take away from his work and it would not be of any use to him or his ambitions, namely saving his sister from the Hyde within her. That was his focus, his dream, his purpose. 

“I’m sure that you will,” Isaac offered, encouragement instead of actual aid. “Amnesia typically doesn’t last forever. You’ll find yourself. One day.”

It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. While it was true that amnesia could be temporary, it could also be permanent, depending on the circumstances. A severe traumatic brain injury or degenerative disease could make memory loss permanent. Elizabeth was far too young for the latter, but the former was certainly a possibility. 

But he offered the comfort of a half-truth just because he wanted to give the girl hope. 

Elizabeth smiled at him slightly, “Yes, of course.”

Silence came between them then. It was just a pause, a beat, a moment, but it was as if the world around them suddenly vanished and for that brief second, it was just the two of them. All else did not matter.

All that existed was quiet breath and the ticking of Isaac’s clockwork heart.

But the spell quickly broke, when the sudden loud clanking, whirling, pulling sound of the elevator brought the world back into focus. 

Blinking rapidly with a hint of awkwardness that came with the realization he had been staring at Elizabeth, Isaac turned toward the sound, distracted by it and whomever was coming into his lab. After a few minutes once the elevator screeched to a halt, he was greeting by the smile of his sister, Francoise. She came bounding over to him with a light, springing step. Her shoulder length brown hair swung side to side and she had her hand clasped behind her back until she reached him, where she threw her arms around him in a warm hug, he immediately reciprocated. 

“Still working late, I see,” she said, as she pulled back to look at him. “You always forget to take care of yourself. Have you eaten? Should I go get you something? Did you sleep last night at all?”

Isaac chuckled at Francoise’s mothering of him. She was always doing that, worrying about his well being. “I’m fine,” he reassured her. “You don’t need to worry.”

“Oh yeah? Well, if I don’t, who will?” She asked, pouting and putting her hands on her hips. 

That question prompted Isaac to look behind him, where Elizabeth had been standing just a second ago, only to find she had mysteriously vanished. He was mildly disappointed that she was gone, but at the same time, glad for it. He loved his sister greatly, but he found he did not want to share the strange girl with anyone else, even Francoise. 

He liked having a monopoly over Elizabeth, like was something only for him and nobody else — a secret made for him.

“What are you looking at?” Francoise asked him, breaking through his thoughts. 

Isaac turned back to his curious, suspicious sister and smiled warmly, “Nothing. So, what brings you here after curfew at the risk of your dorm mom’s wrath, little sister?” 

She shrugged nonchalantly as she began to casually move about the room, “No reason. Just wanted to check up on my brother.” She paused and then asked him, “Did you hear that last night there was another attack on the townsfolk by those strange black monsters?”

He shook his head. Of course he hadn’t. Gomez may have mentioned something about it, but a lot of times he tuned his friend out, especially if he was concentrated on something far more worthy of his time. 

“Everyone’s in a panic, afraid of what the normies might do to outcasts should it keep happening,” said Francoise, her eyes wide with worry. “Of course they blame the attacks on us, even though black shadow creatures are not part of our community.”

“And yet, you still wish to join the normies,” Isaac replied with a crooked smile.

His sister frowned at him offendedly, “I just don’t want to die because of a hideous uncontrollable monster within me that is already slowly killing me. It scares me to think that every transformation leads me closer to death. If becoming a normie is what it takes to not live in fear, I’ll do it. I just want to live, you know that.”

“I know,” he told her. “I don’t want you to die either. That’s why I’m here, toiling away for an answer; a cure to save you. Still, normies are so…normal. Boring. You have to admit that.”

Francoise rolled her eyes at him with a slightly playful smile tugging at her lips, “Yes, but I would rather be boring than dead. Anything is better than death.”

“Of course,” he replied, reaching for and drawing his sister to him affectionately. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you live. No matter what. I promise you that.”

“I know you will,” she murmured into his chest, as she wrapped her arms around him. 

It was brief, just a quick display, before they parted and Francoise took her leave. 

“Don’t stay up all night again,” she called to him, as she made her way into the elevator. “We have exams tomorrow and you don’t want to fail because of sleep depravation.”

Isaac rolled his eyes at her this time and laughed lightly, “Like I could fail.”

Francoise joined him in laughter, just as the elevator began its slow descent to the bottom Iago Tower.

With her gone, Isaac went back to work, sitting at his desk to continue scratching notes and finishing designs. 

He expected to see the now familiar white flash of Elizabeth, resuming her vigilant night gazing. 

However, she never reappeared that night. 

Strange.

Stranger still was the fact that the absence of her presence made him feel…lonely. An odd feeling he wasn’t sure he had ever known. It was like there was something missing from the quiet shadows of his lab, something important, something he didn’t want to be without. Yet, it was gone, leaving him feeling a little hollow.

Upon realizing what he was thinking, Isaac shook himself of such nonsense and forced himself to focus on the work before him. That was what mattered. That was the only thing that mattered.

Francoise needed him. 

He would not fail her.

Yet, despite his best efforts to remain committed to the promise he made his sister, Isaac found himself constantly distracted by the empty space where Elizabeth had been, glancing over at the illuminated clock face every five minutes with wonder and longing to see her again. 

Damn….

To Be Continued…. 

Chapter Text

Present Day….

The first thing that Isaac heard on the way downstairs was the distant melody of a piano being played. It was a soft melancholy sound, but also gothic and dark. There was nothing sweet about it, just a gentle intensity. Really, it was a bittersweet symphony of song. Beautiful in its lament. 

He followed it. 

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he let the music guide him to its creator. 

Down the hall of the lower level and then to the right, into a large room of the same purple and white color as the sitting room. 

The space was most definitely a music room, as there were more instruments than a piano occupying it. 

There was a violin case and a couple different types of guitars propped up on stands, along the wall. 

Beyond that, there were a few velvet chairs facing each other with a low table between them that had a beautiful white rose and purple lilac center piece. Tall floor to ceiling windows with dark violet curtains framing them let in an abundance of light. 

It was the space in front of these windows that the piano occupied and there was the ethereal beauty he had come to find. She was sitting at the large instrument with graceful, proficient fingers gliding over the black and white keys. Seemingly oblivious to his presence, Isaac quietly moved into the room with his hands casually shoved into the pockets of his trousers, watching her keenly as he did.

Elizabeth’s entire being shimmered like glass in the light that poured in from the windows behind her, a clear sign of her otherworldliness. She hadn’t done that thirty years ago, but she hadn’t needed to. It had been quite clear even then that she was something other than human. It was just now the evidence to that fact was indisputable. Especially if one considered all the oddities that had been witnessed the night of his rescue from Iago Tower. 

Isaac didn’t know how long he had been out, but it must have been at least a day, because the beauty before him was dressed differently. Still in a flowing dress, but instead of white, it was a pretty lavender color with a large violet ribbon tied around her. Her feet were bare just as they always seemed to be. Her absurdly long white hair was neatly tied with a simple ribbon and draped over one shoulder. 

She was as lovely to look at as he remembered. 

Before long, with measured strides, Isaac had reached the piano and her. He stood there a moment to listen to the dark, haughty melody she played so expertly, enjoying it greatly. Then he made his presence known to her by means of a simple greeting, “Hello, Elizabeth.”

She acted as if she had known he was there the entire time. She did not look up in surprise nor did she stop playing. She softly smiled as her hands continued moving over the piano keys, replying, “That is not who I am, love. Wouldn’t you like to know my true self?”

That’s right, thought Isaac. She was someone else. Elizabeth Einhorn, the girl he had known, had been a facade — a fiction put upon her by another. Though she looked mostly the same, she was like a whole new person. Someone he didn’t really know. Or at least, that was what he believed.

“Of course,” he nodded confidently, as he leaned casually against the side of the piano.

Yes, he wanted to know who it truly was that he fell in love with. Although, there was a part of him that was apprehensive toward such knowledge, afraid that everything might somehow change the moment he knew the truth. 

But that was ridiculous. She didn’t seem very different from the girl he had known. In fact, aside for some physical differences, she was very much as he remembered. The only difference now was that she was wholly herself, whomever she had been before they had met that fateful night in Iago Tower.

The beauty ceased playing for a moment, her hands hovered over the keys, as she looked up at him and told him, “My true name is…Eternity.”

As soon as she said that, she began to play again, just as a lower, quieter pitch than previously. Probably so that they could talk to each other without shouting.

Eternity….

It was an incredibly odd name, as strange as she was. But, for some reason, it suited her. She was eternal, a creature untouched by time. Unlike him, she didn’t have the excuse of being reanimated as a zombie that slowly regenerated with each human brain eaten until returned to the exact appearance prior to death. She was simply ageless. 

Speaking of his former zombie status, Isaac, upon thinking on it for the first time since waking, found himself quite happy and grateful to no longer need to eat brains. Since Eternity, as she was truly called, had restored his humanity fully, he realized he no longer had the taste for them. Neither the cravings for people’s brains nor the predatory desire to hunt and kill existed now. In fact, he found the memories of the experience to be off putting now.

“It’s a beautiful name,” Isaac complimented Eternity, partly to distract from those disgusting flashes of memory. 

The ethereal beauty looked up at him with a sweet smile that caught his breath and made his mechanical heart tick a little faster, as she continued to play her dark melody, “Thank you.”

Just then, right at a quick and quiet pause in the musical piece she was playing, his stomach made a loud grumbling sound. Brains might have been off the menu, but he found that he was practically starving for food. Normal food. He’d kill for some breakfast; eggs, bacon…the works. 

It had been a long time, being dead for thirty years and then a brain eating zombie, but he could remember it well. He embarrassingly salivated over the very idea of delicious food. His stomach grumbled quietly with the hunger he suddenly felt. 

Somehow, Eternity sensed his need for sustenance. She abruptly stopped playing and looked up at him inquisitively, before gracefully rising to her feet and abandoning the piano. Holding out her hand to him, she said, “Come. There’s a fully stocked kitchen at our disposal. Let’s get some breakfast.”

Isaac didn’t know how she knew, but did not question it. He was not dealing with an ordinary person. Anything was possible where she was concerned, including supernatural senses that not even Outcasts possessed. 

Instead, he put the hand she had restored into hers and let her guide him out of the music room toward the kitchen at back of the house to the left. She playfully tugged him along, making him laugh lightly, despite himself. It surprised him a bit too, considering how somber things had been since she came across him in the ruins of Iago Tower. Yet, she was now of a lighter heart, a complete contrast from before. 

Once they were in the rather spacious open kitchen, Eternity released him from her hold and set about gliding around the space, gathering the ingredients and tools needed to cook breakfast. She was right. The kitchen was full stocked with everything one might need to prepare a wide assortment of foods. It almost seemed too convenient, especially taking into account the hidden, isolated location of the house. 

As he pondered this, Isaac watched the ethereal beauty. She moved about with practiced easy as she gathered a carton of eggs, a pack of bacon, a tub of butter, and half gallon of milk from inside the white refrigerator and placed them on the countertop of the small island behind her. Once that task was accomplished, Eternity went in search of a bowl and a frying pan next. The frying pan was easy to find hidden away in a lower cabinet by the stove, but the bowl she sought happened to be in a cabinet above it. 

Rather comically, in a humanly fashion that contradicted her otherworldly status, looked up at it with her hands on her hips. 

Isaac was humored by the sight, but puzzled by it too. 

He vaguely remembered the powers and abilities she had displayed thirty years ago. He recalled it had been when she had returned to herself in those last few moments before she vanished from Nevermore and from his life. Because of that brief glimpse, he knew that she could do things such conjure objects into existence and use telekinesis to bring opponents to their knees and return one’s humanity to them — that last one being more recent, obviously. 

So, why wasn’t she using her powers now? Surely she could bring down the bowl easily with them. 

“I do not like to use them for trivial things, such as fetching objects from too high of places for me to reach,” said Eternity, answering his question as if she had heard his inner thoughts. She looked from the bowl to him then, “You’re tall. Mind giving me a hand and getting that bowl down for me?”

Isaac fumbled a bit, having been taken aback by her answering a question he had not asked out loud. Add telepathy to her repertoire of abilities, he thought. He quickly recovered from his astonishment and came over to fulfill her request, stretching up to get a smallish ceramic bowl that was turquoise in color down for her. It was a relatively easy feat for him, even without using his own ability — a benefit of being taller than average.

With a smile, he handed the bowl over to her, “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” she smiled in return, taking the bowl and then turning away from him toward the island in order to get to work on breakfast.

Isaac continued to watch Eternity, still fascinated with the fact that she was something other than human and yet knew how to do ordinary human things with such ease, as if she were one. But he knew that was not the case. She was something else, something far beyond humanity. A god, perhaps? 

“Not a god,” she said without looking at him, in that disturbing telepathic way of hers, as she cracked some eggs into the bowl and mixed them together. “Though, it is quite easy to think that of me, I suppose. However, I detest the association.”

“Then what are you exactly, if not a deity?” Isaac asked. 

His question made her pause in her task and finally look at him, “I am simply…me.”

That answer was cryptic as hell, guarded and secretive. 

Isaac didn’t know if the reason for that was that she did not trust him with the truth or if it was something else, but it didn’t sit right with him, whatever the case. 

The doubt of her love and the fear of her changed feelings from before resurfaced, making his mind spiral into maddening worry. His insides twisted all over again with this devastating feeling that Eternity no longer loved him. She was all he had left now. He needed her love or else he might drown in the pain and sorrow of loss. 

“Do you love me?” Isaac asked Eternity quietly, the question slipping out before he even realized it had escaped him, while she turned back to her task. 

He drew near, until his could feel the warmth of her body and the floral scent of her invaded his nose. She looked up at him with those galaxy-filled sapphire orbs, pausing again in her work, as he reached out to cup her soft cheek gently. He heard her sigh and keenly watched her while she momentarily closed her eyes in response to his touch. 

“Do you still love me?” He murmured, the sudden urge to kiss her coming over him in a powerful, all consuming tide wave of impulse and a demand for reassurance. 

Eternity gazed at him with such love that it radiated all over her features, from the shining in her dark eyes to the soft smile that stretched over her pink rose lips. She turned to him fully and put her arms around his neck, pulling herself against him, his arms automatically wrapping tightly around her waist in response. 

“Of course, I still love you, Isaac,” she told him sweetly, her fingers threading through his curls as she did. “Nothing has changed in that regard, I promise you that. I may have not known myself back in the days at Nevermore, but I was still very much me. It was still my heart, my love, my everything that I gave to you then and of which you still possess now.”

Her words brought much comfort to Isaac’s paranoid mind, but then Eternity lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and drew his mouth to hers in a passionately meaningful kiss, banishing it completely — along with the ability to think at all. 

Her soft, plushy lips moved over his in a gentle caress, in a way that was sweetly seductive. It was slow, almost timid the way she kissed him, as if she was unsure if she should, but grew bolder over the span of the minutes her mouth was latched to his. 

From such an innocent gesture, the atmosphere between them quickly shifted into something powerfully heady. It became thick with it. A spark turned into a flame rapidly, which then turned into an inferno that could barely be contained. 

Isaac sighed a breath of relief into her mouth, his arms tightening around her and pulling her into him more, if that were at all possible. His mechanical heart ticked and whirled faster as his blood began to heat with wanting more from just the simple affection she offered. In his growing desire, he moved a hand upward along her back under the copious amount of hair until he could thread his fingers into her locks where they met her scalp, fisting them so that he could tug her head back and take control, deepen the given kiss. 

When Eternity inevitably gasped in surprise at his roughness, Isaac moved in. He took immediate advantage of her slightly opened mouth to slant his over it and thrusted his tongue into the warm, wet cavern, tasting her distantly familiar sweetness thoroughly. He tasted every inch to his contentment, enjoying the way she pushed into him, fingers tightening in his own hair as she moaned quietly. 

Ravaging her mouth with insatiable hunger that had spontaneously combusted in him, Isaac maneuvered Eternity around, so that she was pressed against the island counter, pinned there by his body. She clung to him desperately, as their mouths danced with fiery passion, breathless and needy. One of her slender legs boldly lifted and curled itself around his hip, while her own hips rocked forward into him enticingly, fanning the flames until they were nearly out of control.

Isaac responded by shifting his weight and thrusting a leg between her thighs, pressing intimately into the heat there at the apex. She moaned into his mouth wantonly, resting her weight on his thigh and writhed with abandon, desperate to find relief. He could feel the moist heat of her through the thin fabric of his pants and it nearly undid him. 

Yet, somehow, he managed to show restraint, realizing that this was happening too fast, too out of control for his liking. With that little bit of self-control he had, Isaac tore his mouth from Eternity’s and rested his forehead against hers with closed eyes, while he caught his breath and calmed his raging blood.

Once he could manage it, he pulled back to look at her. He rathe smugly enjoyed the flush of her skin, the heave of her chest, the fire that burned in her sapphire eyes, and the swollen state of her lips. And the thing he found the most pleasing was the fact that underneath all that was the love she held for him, shining as brightly as her lust. 

Eternity smiled lovingly at him, her own breathing slowly returning to normal. She detangled her fingers from his curls and sweetly caressed his jaw with her fingertips, while he returned her smile with one of his own. 

Wordlessly, they reluctantly separated from each other. 

With the air still thick with desire, but mixed with contentedness, Eternity returned to her abandoned task of making breakfast. She went about cooking the egg mixture in a frying pan on the stove, along with the bacon which went into another pan to fry. The kitchen quickly began to fill with the delicious scents of eggs and bacon, making Isaac hungrier than previously. 

All the while, Isaac stayed close to her, occasionally putting his arms around her in a sideways hug and laying kisses along her neck or her bare shoulder affectionately. Her reassuring words combined with their impromptu making out had been more than suffice to put his mind at easy about her feelings toward him. 

Before long, breakfast was complete and after plates of food were made by Eternity, she led him over to the small dinning table a short distance from the kitchen island. Isaac sat down first and as she moved to sit beside him, he quickly, playfully, grabbed her around the waist and tugged her down to sit laterally on his lap. She laughed in that melodious way of hers and kissed him in response. 

It was so…ordinary, despite the fact that they were not, but Isaac found that for once in his life he actually didn’t mind it. In fact, he enjoyed it. It was the bliss of quiet affection, simple domesticity between lovers. 

And Isaac found himself to be…happy. 

At least, as happy as one such as he could be. 

To Be Continued….

Chapter Text

Thirty Years Ago….

Elizabeth’s presence had been missing from Isaac’s laboratory for the past two evenings, ever since Francoise’s visit, and it nearly drove him to madness. The hollow apparition of her taunted him in the place her illuminating form should have been. Although, he would never let on that it was. He could maintain his cool, collected mask easily enough, hiding away what he was truly feeling, keeping his secrets intact. 

He knew she was still around. 

The whispers of the white ghost still echoed through the halls of Nevermore, mixed with an ever increasing level of frightful mutterings about the black shadow creatures that had continued to kill normies in town. Sometimes the curious whispers and panicked mutters simultaneously traveled throughout campus. 

Isaac paid the latter little mind, but the former intrigued him, more than he dared to admit. He listened to the whispers without giving it away that he was at all interested in student gossip. He did this all in an attempt to find out the locations Elizabeth haunted most. 

Not that he had any intention of seeking her out since she ceased her vigil in Iago Tower. Of course not. That was absurd. He had more important things to tend to, like his experiments and designs and his quest to save his sister. Those were his focuses.

He was simply curious. 

Yet….

Isaac couldn’t escape the invisible pull toward Elizabeth. No matter what he did, his focus on his studies and his work was shattered to hell. It annoyed him, infuriated him, and left him little choice, but to succumb to the need to find her. 

Then, with his decision made and as he began to formulate a plan in his brilliant mind to seek her out, Isaac happened to see a flash of white out one of the hallway windows. He had been passing between classes the afternoon of the third day since he’d last seen her when it happened. The familiar sign of her stopped him in his tracks and drew his attention to the Quad outside, where some students were congregating during a break between their classes. 

As he looked closely, peering down through the glass, Isaac could see a group of girls faced off with…Elizabeth! 

That was surprising, but he found a greater source of the emotion when he witnessed her standing protectively in front of Francoise, whom huddled behind her as if she were afraid. Afraid of the students or of transforming, he wasn’t sure, but his blood boiled at the sight of his sister cowering in fear. 

The girls were clearly a bunch of bullying harpies with a prejudice against Hydes. Isaac knew this well, because this wasn’t the first time someone had harassed his sister for what she was. They always did it out of fear and hate. 

Angry coursed through him like lava, heating him from the inside out. His right hand itched to unleash vengeance upon his sister’s tormentors. He could feel his telekinetic power awaken in his fingers from his quiet rage. He could hurt them easily, even with glass and brick and distance between them. He wanted to. 

However, before he could do anything, he saw Elizabeth take a measured step forward. She said something to the girls that he could not hear, but whatever it was that she said, it struck terror into them. They each shrank back from her and then quickly dispersed, fleeing from her. 

Isaac’s power receded immediately upon seeing that the situation had been taken care of. 

Once the bullies were gone, Elizabeth turned to Francoise with a gentle expression. She laid a kind hand on her shoulder and seemed to ask after her well-being. 

That was the last thing that Isaac witnessed before he turned and briskly made his way to them. Partly to check on his sister, but more so to see the girl who infuriatingly stole all his focus, driving him to madness. He hurried as quickly as he dared, completely forgetting about the class that was about to start in the process. 

His clockwork heart ticked rapidly with the combination of effort and anticipation as he raced down stairs, corridors, and hallways.

It didn’t take more than a few minutes to reach the courtyard. However, despite this, by the time he got there, Elizabeth was gone and Francoise was standing alone. Disappointment gripped him tightly, a heavy weight upon him, but he dared not show it. 

When Francoise saw him, she smiled brightly and approached excitedly, beginning to ramble in great detail all about Elizabeth and how she had come to her rescue. 

However, Isaac heard none of it. At least, not really. He was too preoccupied with the missing white-haired beauty and the longing that held him captive. He found himself continuously glancing around them, trying to catch sight of the girl, while trying to make an effort to listen to his sister’s exciting tale.

Then, in his peripheral vision, he saw another flash of white, which caught his immediate attention. His head whipped around just in time to see Elizabeth’s silhouette disappear into the shadows of Nevermore, vanishing from sight like the ghost everyone thought she was.

Disappointment turned to determination. If the girl would not come to him, then he would seek her out instead. 

“Are you even listening to me, Isaac?” Francoise asked, seeing that his attention had wandered elsewhere. 

Isaac quickly turned back to his sister with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “Of course I am, little sister. However, I have to get to class. Don’t want to be late.”

With that, before Francoise could say anything else, he turned on his heel and took his leave of her, heading back the way he came and disappearing into the hallow Nevermore halls like a man on a mission. 

He went to class as he had originally intended, but Isaac’s mind was not at all on Professor Orloff’s lesson. His determination to find Elizabeth had intensified after seeing just a glimpse of her, which meant he took his plan making that much more serious. While the professor rattled on about things that should have interested him, he was instead remembering the whispered tales and mapping out the places the girl was said to have wandered to on a fresh page in his notebook. 

And once he had the possibilities written down, Isaac made moved on to plans to follow each lead until he tracked Elizabeth down. It was obsessive to an unhealthy degree, but he didn’t give a damn. There was just this unexplainable need to see her that would not leave him alone. He had to simply bring her back into his orbit of existence. He just did. 

When classes ended for the day and the dark of night came upon Nevermore, Isaac made his move to find Elizabeth, wherever she was haunting. It was well after curfew, but that particular rule had never meant anything to him anyway, having been given special permission to go to Iago Tower whenever he wished. In other words, the curfew that ruled the rest pf the school did not apply to him. Being an inventive genius had it’s perks. 

Because his peers were safely tucked away in their dorms and the staff members on guard wouldn’t bother him, he was free to wander the empty halls unimpeded. He had memorized a list of possible places that Elizabeth might be haunting in place of Iago Tower and he had a order of operations to search each one. 

But, as it turned out, his careful planning was for naught. 

Isaac had just been heading to the library as his first stop in his quest, when he heard the distant melody of a piano in the opposite direction. Although there was a slim chance the person playing was a teacher or delinquent student out after curfew, it was unlikely. Therefore, he changed course and followed the hauntingly beautiful sound down the hall, listening as it grew louder and louder, until he found himself in front of the closed door of the music room. 

Slowly, he opened it and entered. His mechanical heart ticked quicker with anticipation for what — or rather, who — he would find behind the door. Slipping inside with the silent grace of a predator on the hunt, he scanned the dark room until he found the piano and it’s player. 

There she was…

Elizabeth…

In the shadowy darkness only illuminated by a bit of moonlight that poured in through the windows, she was sitting at the grand piano, completely immersed in the dark melody she played. She seemed to glow with the light of the moon, shimmering in that way that no human — outcast or normie — could. 

She was truly beautiful, taking Isaac’s breath away as he gazed upon her from across the room. 

Isaac was overjoyed to see her there, more than he wanted to admit. At once, his mind found peace in her presence. The relief of it washed over him. Before he even realized it, he moved toward her with measured steps, as if she were pulling him to her with just her very existence.  

He came up to her, but Elizabeth didn’t seem to notice him. She was simply too engrossed in the music she crafted with graceful fingers dancing over the keys. So, he went around her and sat down next to her on the piano’s bench, watching her with quiet awe as she carried on without acknowledging him. 

Isaac tried to wait patiently for her to finish the lovely song. However, he found that too difficult and, in hopes of gaining her attention, quietly called to her, “Elizabeth.”

It worked, because Elizabeth’s fingers stopped mid-note and looked at him, her face blank and her body perfectly still. 

“Where have you been?” He murmured to her, his hand itching to reach out and run his fingers through her hair affectionately. 

He refrained from doing so, but did find himself wondering if her locks were as soft as they looked and then he inwardly grimaced at having the very thought. 

Since when was he so sentimental? What was happening to him?

At once, Elizabeth’s expression became animated, regaining Isaac’s attention. She smiled at him slightly and whispered, “Isaac. Isaac Night. I know you. If I were blind, I would still know who you are.”

She was acting peculiar and Isaac wasn’t sure what to make of it. He had never seen anything like it before and it was a bit concerning. 

Then, her face shifted into a twisting form of confusion as she said, “Who am I? What am I doing here? What is it that I’m seeking in this strange place day after day? I knew, I did, but I have forgotten. Tell me, what is it?”

Elizabeth gazed at him like a lost child asking a stranger for help. She looked helplessly lost and suddenly frightened. 

It baffled him.

“You’re Elizabeth Einhorn,” replied Isaac, not knowing what else to say.

When he spoke that name, a sort of recognition came over her and the fear left her. She seemed to come back to herself from wherever she had gone. “Ah, yes. Forgive me,” she said, sapphire eyes downcast and fingertips brushing across the center of her forehead. “I lost myself for a moment.”

“Where have you been?” Isaac repeated, just as softly as before. 

“I’m here now,” murmured Elizabeth, looking at him again. “That is what matters.”

He frowned at her slightly, not caring for her cryptic speak. It was rather annoying, especially the fact that it lacked in answers to her absence. However, he chose not to press, for she was right. She was here now and that was all that really mattered, especially after all the madness he had gone through when they had been parted. 

Sitting down on the bench beside her, Isaac allowed himself to give into the earlier impulse to run his fingers through Elizabeth’s hair. With a gentle touch, he reached over and brushed back the locks that framed her rounded face, feeling the silky wispiness of her white hair, before boldly caressing the equally soft skin of her pale cheek. 

The simple skin to skin contact warmed his entire being, sending electricity through him until every fiber was alit with the sensation. His breath quickened and his clockwork heart ticked faster. It was unlike anything he had ever known before. 

Elizabeth did not move away in surprise nor rejection of his affection. In fact, she leaned into it, her sapphire eyes fluttering closed. She sighed quietly, before lifting a hand to cover his with an affection all her own. 

Isaac swallowed thickly with emotions that he had never felt before, not with anyone. His very soul soared with them and his stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. His entire being felt hot as if it were going to burst into flames. The whole ordeal was intense and frightening and new. 

Was this love? 

Was that what this was called? 

Could he be in love? 

Was that even possible? 

Was that why he had gone mad being apart from her?

He wasn’t sure, but whatever name these feelings possessed, he could not turn from them.

When Elizabeth’s eyes opened and gazed at him with sweet adoration while still holding his hand to her face, Isaac could not help himself. He found he was absolutely seduced by her gentle warmth. Acting on these things he felt, with his unoccupied hand, he boldly pulled her to him and kissed her lips gently. 

Elizabeth tensed in his embrace a little at first, but then she quickly melted into his kiss, leaning into it. Her hand released his and almost immediately both arms wrapped around his neck, pressing closer to him. She half moaned into his mouth as his danced over hers. Before long, he tightened his arm around her, holding her to him closer still. He then dared to dart his tongue out, slipping between her slightly parted lips to taste her sweetness there. 

Time seemed to stop in that moment. The world around them paused and then disappeared completely. There was only the two of them. 

Isaac felt a powerful desire come to life and course through his entire being, setting the blood in his veins on fire. He felt feverish. His body was alit with passion. His clockwork heart raced and his breathing became labored, as need built up with an intensity he had never known before, especially not with any of his previous conquests.

This was definitely new. Unnervingly so. 

But he dared not stop. He didn’t want to. In fact, he wanted more. 

As the minutes ticked by, Isaac grew hungrier for Elizabeth and she likewise for him. She held onto him tightly, pushing herself into him as of she were desperate to get closer. Her hands buried themselves in his slicked back hair, fingers threading through his curls, holding on for dear life. 

For his part, Isaac practically ravaged her with his mouth from her lips to her jaw line to the slender column of her neck and back again. His hands caressed her body seductively, itching to remove the barrier of clothing that kept them from her flesh. Instead, one hand settled on her hip, while the fingers of the other tangled themselves in her soft locks at the base of her scalp, if only to keep some sense of control over himself.

He wanted her. More than he had wanted anyone before her. It was different, this wanting. It was more than lust. He wanted all of her, everything. An evening of carnal pleasure would not suffice. He wanted her presence at his side, her companionship. 

“Mr. Night,” called the boom of a familiar voice.

Breathless and delirious with wanting, Isaac wished to ignore it, whoever was calling him.

“Isaac,” the voice called again, loud enough that he could not ignore it. 

Reluctantly, with a slight growl of frustration at being interrupted, Isaac pulled his mouth from Elizabeth’s and leaned around her to see who would dare. To his surprise, Dr. Augustus Stonehearst was standing in the doorway with a nervous, wide-eyed expression. It was almost as if his mentor was afraid. Though of what, Isaac could not say. There was nothing frightening about the music room. 

Yet, he noted that Stonehearst’s fearful gaze were zeroed in on Elizabeth. But why, Isaac didn’t know. Did he know something about the girl? Perhaps about her past? Perhaps, who she really was, before the amnesia? If so, then was there a reason to fear that person, whoever she was? 

“Dr. Stonehearst,” Isaac exclaimed in surprise, his voice rough with residual lust for Elizabeth. He quickly got up from the bench and approached the good doctor. “I was just —.”

“I know,” Stonehearst interjected, his face twisting and distorting with discomfort. “Trust me, I saw.”

The teacher’s eyes flickered over to the piano again and the fear in them was immediately replaced by relief. This caused Isaac to follow his gaze and he saw that the piano was no longer occupied, meaning Elizabeth had vanished once again.

That ache inside Isaac from before returned at her absence, but he did his best to ignore it in front of Stonehearst. He turned back to his teacher as unbothered as he could muster and asked, “Did you need something, Dr. Stonehearst?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, hands clasping behind his back, “I was just coming to check on Nevermore’s star student’s progress on his pet project. Perhaps we should head to Iago Tower and talk, hmm? These walls have ears, after all.”

Isaac nodded with a polite smile, “Of course.”

With that, Stonehearst swiftly ushered him out of the music room, but it did not go unnoticed by Isaac that the normie teacher glanced back into the darkness nervously, as if he worried that Elizabeth lurked there still. 

Puzzling over this, Isaac wondered more curiously than before; Just what exactly did he know about Elizabeth that could make him fear her?

To Be Continued….

Chapter Text

Present Day….

After breakfast had finished, Eternity got to work cleaning up the dishes, taking both their plates away into the kitchen. This had meant Isaac had to release her from his embrace and allow her to leave his lap, where she had remained throughout their shared meal. He did so with great reluctance, but not before playfully trying to convince her to stay by holding her tightly in his arms and refusing to let go. He enjoyed the way she laughed in that light, melodious of hers, as she half-heartedly insisted to be let go of. 

Once he released her and she gracefully darted off to the kitchen sink, Isaac sat there at the table and watched Eternity with keen interest; almost like he was a man truly in love or something. Every fiber of his being ached to go to her, to simply be near her. Any distance, even the smallest, was too great to him. He dared not refuse such a desperate, aching plea of his soul and quickly vacated his chair to stroll over to where she was. 

Eternity stood at the large, stainless steel sink with the water running from the tall, curved faucet, washing the dishes she had used to cook and those they had used to eat. She was humming a quiet tune to herself as she did. Her humanness, not unlike that which she had possessed thirty years ago, truly baffled and intrigued Isaac. She shimmered and shone like a goddess, but did the dishes like any other ordinary person. 

It was quite the sight to see, especially in a somewhat humorous sort of way. She was truly a strange creature, indeed. 

Isaac could not help but to grin at her as he approached, charmed by her interesting contradictions. He casually leaned against the counter beside her with his hands buried in the pockets of his trousers, watching her like a man possessed. He took in every bit of her beauty, the perfection of her humbling him, making him wonder how such a creature was with him now.

Especially after all that he had done. The smile slipped from his face then, as did the light-heartedness from his being. Surely Eternity knew it, an assumption made from her mentioning his time as a zombie. Perhaps, she knew all of it. Yet, she was here with him, loving him anyway. 

“Aye, I know what you’ve been, what you’ve done, and what you tried to do,” said Eternity without looking up from her task. “Granted, your resurrection as a zombie came about through of no fault of your own, so your killing spree can be forgiven. Though, it is good we did not meet again sooner than we did. I would have certainly killed you.”

Finally, she looked at him pointedly, pausing in her scrubbing. 

Isaac wasn’t surprised by her blunt admission. He had gathered, thirty years ago, in those last moments together that she, the real her,  was the hero type — a savior of the innocent. So, it was logical that she would have ended his monstrous reanimation, if she had been around at that time. 

“Well, it’s a good thing that we didn’t then, isn’t it?” Isaac replied evenly.

Eternity nodded with a small smile, returning her attention to the dishes, “Aye, it is.”

Thinking about when they had met again, he grew curious, “Why were you at Iago Tower that night?” 

“I cannot explain it,” she answered, brows furrowing a bit. “It was simply fate. Originally, I had come to this mortal plane for a moment’s peace from duty, but destiny brought me back to Nevermore, to Iago Tower, to you.”

Eternity looked over at him again. This time, it was a loving expression that crossed her youthful face. She smiled affectionately, which made Isaac’s mechanical heart stutter in its radiance. 

“And, despite all that has transpired, you still chose to save me, to give me back my humanity and my right hand, knowing what I did,” he said, with some disbelief. “The revenge I tried to take.”

“I did, out of the selfishness of my love for you,” replied Eternity, honestly. “That, but also because the past is the past. It is what you do from here on out that matters. You can be better than before, that is what this opportunity can be. I believe that and I believe in you.”

She stopped doing dishes completely then, turning off the faucet and wiping her hands on a towel, before turning toward him. She closed the small distance between them and reached up with a gentle hand to cup his cheek tenderly. 

Isaac swallowed thickly with emotion. He felt so much in that moment, all from Eternity’s unconditional love. He had done things that she surely abhorred, that probably disappointed and angered her, but she gave him her love and forgiveness anyway. The emotions he felt in that moment caught in his throat, a tight ball forming there and tears sprang up in the corners of his eyes. 

He had once been regarded as a cold person by his peers, but nobody could say that now as he fought back tears.

“You know, I was lost to darkness once, long ago,” Eternity told him. “I became a cold, merciless killer, whom cared for nothing and nobody. Angry and vengeful. But it was the unconditional love of my closest allies that pulled me back from the edge, returned me to myself, helped me find my way out of the darkness. That is why I offer you such now. Sort of like paying it forward, as mortals say.”

It was hard for Isaac to imagine Eternity being anything but the angel he knew. He had a hard time wrapping around the idea of her being a murderous monster — a villain in other people’s stories. 

That was the second time she used that word — mortal.

Although, he had already figured as much, the use of that word implied that she herself was not mortal, but immortal. Ageless. Timeless. It gave it away, just as much as the ancientness in her sapphire eyes did. 

Pushing away the tears and the emotions she had invoked in him, Isaac mirrored Eternity, reaching to cup her cheek in his hand and quietly asked her, “What manner of creature are you? Actually?”

“I am… an immortal, as you’ve already figured out. Over three thousand years old, I am,” she admitted to him, speaking slowly with uncertainty as she did. “But more so, this womanly form is not my true one. I am something else, something of myth and legend. A strange white beast of a species that is as old as the sky, old as the moon. There has never been a time without us.”

Eternity was being poetically cryptic and Isaac rather disliked it. 

He wished for her to speak plainly and not in riddles. 

“And what timeless creature might you be?” Isaac murmured, pushing her to give him a satisfactory answer.

“Would you like to see it? What I really am?” She asked him, her galaxy-filled eyes suddenly glimmering with excitement. 

Isaac stuttered and stumbled a bit in surprise by the question and Eternity’s sudden willingness to show him her true self, when she had been so reluctant to share it with him. “Uh, yeah, sure,” he answered clumsily. 

Eternity smiled softly and taking his hand into hers, “Come then. I will show you.”

She tugged him away from the counter and practically dragged him over to the sliding glass door located just on the other side of the dinning table, where they had eaten breakfast. He chuckled in amusement at her antics, but went along with it. Once at the glass door, she pushed it open effortlessly and went through it, pulling him along after her, carefully enough to ensure he didn’t trip or fall. 

Once outside, Isaac was surprised to find that the weather was warm and alive with greenery like that of the Spring, when it was supposed to be cold and withered of Fall. He found himself wondering just how long he had been asleep after the escape from Iago Tower. Had it been months? That was unsettling, if so.

“Don’t worry, love,” Eternity reassured him as she continued pulling him along away from the house and into to the surrounding woods. She had heard his thoughts again and answering them. “It’s only been a day since you closed your eyes.”

“Then the forest and the weather?” Isaac asked.

She smiled mysteriously at him as they went, “It is the way of things where my kind are present.”

So, Eternity was causing the newness of Spring with her presence alone. Another new feature to her that had lacked thirty years ago. Although, he wouldn’t really know if it had been lacking, since she had always been within the walls of Nevermore. He simply assumed that to be the case considering her lack of abilities at the time.

Before long, the ethereal beauty had led Isaac to their destination; a large clearing in the woods. Rays of sunlight poured down from above, breaking through the gaps in the canopy of the surrounding trees. Birds chirped from the branches, singing a lively springtime song, while squirrels and chipmunks scurried across the forest floor, rustling foliage as they went. 

The forest was alive around them. 

Eternity let go of Isaac’s hand once they had arrived and took several measured steps away from him, before turning to face him. 

He watched her keenly, patiently waiting for the secret of what she really was to be revealed.

Isaac didn’t have to wait long.  

The air around them grew electrified with energy. The trees rustled and the bird’s song fell silent. There was also a burning scent on the wind from the stirrings of power. It was the ramp up for what was to come.

With arms angled outward, hands open, eyes closed, a bright white light suddenly engulfed Eternity completely. A few seconds and from that light sprung — a unicorn! 

Upon observation, it turned out that unicorns were not cute horses with horns as often portrayed. In fact, there was very little about them that actually looked like a horse. They were not silly, cartoonish things to be mocked nor to be a cause of embarrassment. Instead, they were fierce beings that commanded respect and revered with their majesty. Their ferocity was contradicted by their smallish size. The head of the unicorn before Isaac barely reached his shoulder, forcing him to look down upon her and her up at him slightly. 

The unicorn stopped once she emerged from the light, rearing upon twiggy legs and cloven hooves, letting off a cry akin to a whinny, but at a higher pitched and melodious like a sweet song. 

Coming down, this new version of Eternity looked upon him, swinging her deer-like head side to side briefly, then let off another, quieter cry. She danced upon her hooves, swaying side to side with the gliding grace of shadows. Her long mane rippled down her back with each movement, just the same as her hair did in woman form. There were also long feathery bits of hair at the back of her ankles that did much the same, rippling and waving like flags in the wind.

Her lion-like tail, thin and long like a whip, swung back and forth behind her excitedly, while her long pointed ears moved this way and that as she caught the different sounds around her. Her single spiral horn protruding from her forehead was a pale seashell color with a hint of bluish purple and it was elongated like a sword, sharp and deadly at the point.

The moonlight-like shimmer about her was far more intense than it was when she stood as a woman. She was divinity incarnate in her mythological form, far more than she was in human one. 

Isaac felt tears springing up in the corners of his eyes as he gazed upon the unicorn, mouth agape, breathless. The tears fell down his cheeks and his body suddenly felt weak before the creature. His legs nearly gave out at the very sight of her glory, her magnificence was simply overwhelming, as if he were truly looking upon something holy, sacred. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced or would ever experience again.

“This is what I truly am,” spoke Eternity, her voice just as smooth and sweet as in woman form.

Eternity’s ability of speech was a little surprising, considering no other creature that wasn’t human could do so. 

“You’re beautiful,” Isaac whispered, barely able to articulate a word under the power of her presence. He dared not approach. He stayed where he was, unwilling to move closer for fear of soiling her divinity with his mortal touch. 

She let out another melodious sound, tossing her head a little in what Isaac assumed was a display of happiness.

Then, just as quickly as the unicorn had appeared, it was gone in another flash of light, returning Eternity to her womanly form. 

“There, now you know what I am,” she said to him with a soft smile, once the engulfing light vanished. 

Isaac nodded slowly, still recovering from the sight of the unicorn. Doing his best to collect himself, he licked his lower lip, taking slow steps toward her, and eventually replied, “Yes, I do and it is unbelievable, but it’s not enough. I want to to know more than what you are. I want to know who you are.”

“I know,” whispered Eternity softly, as she watched him approach.

He reached for her, drawing her to him with his arms wrapping around her tightly. She embraced him in kind, resting her head on his chest, while he gently pressed his cheek to the top of her head. 

“I know what information it is you seek,” she told him, her voice slightly muffled by his chest. “But, in truth, it makes little difference, for I am the same person with and without that knowledge. I am simply…me.”

Isaac hummed in response, “Perhaps, but I still want to know. I want to know it all.”

“Aye,” Eternity sighed, contented in the warmth of their embrace. “And you will, in time. There’s no hurry.”

She lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him adoringly. 

Isaac smiled softly in return, before leaning down to capture her lips in a gentle kiss. 

“Come, let us return to the house,” murmured Eternity, removing herself from between his arms. “There is something else I would like to show you. A gift.”

He looked at her curiously then, as she offered him her hand again. Taking it, they walked back to the house, strolling unhurriedly this time. They were happy in the company of each other, being lovers and all.

Just as they reached the edge of the clearing that held the house, Eternity paused suddenly and turned her head toward something in the forest around them and standing perfectly still. Out of curiosity, Isaac’s gaze followed hers, but he could see nothing out there, just shadows and trees. 

“What is it?” He asked quietly, out of concern mixed with curiosity. 

Eternity did not answer immediately. However, after a moment that seemed to go on forever, she finally unfroze and turned away from whatever it was that had drawn her attention. “It’s nothing,” she said cryptically, putting on a smile that failed to hide the trouble in her eyes. “Come.”

With that, she lead the way back into the house. They went through the sliding glass door that had been left open, which she promptly shut behind them once they were inside. Before leaving the closed door, she briefly peered out it, still as a statue, watching that same spot in the distance. 

Isaac hadn’t a clue as to what it was that had her attention. But he knew there was something out there or else Eternity would not have been distracted by whatever it was. Little did he know, the past was stirring again. The dark shadows were reawakening — on the horizon — to wreak havoc in their lives once more and finish what had been started thirty years ago.

To Be Continued….