Just One Kiss: Chapter 2

Sorry about the out of order, guess I forgot to publish or something.  Anyway....

Just One Kiss

Chapter 2

Holy crap, I was dizzy! My head was swimming and the back of my head felt like it was cracked open. I willed my eyes to open, much to their protest. And there he was, crouched low at my feet.

“Welcome back.” He said with a heavy Irish accent. My initial reaction to get away from this strange man took over. But a sudden shooting pain radiating from my right ankle and up through my leg froze me in my spot and I howled out a cry. He edged closer to get me to stop moving.

“You must be calm.” He directed. Another flash of pain convinced me to listen to him. “Please. You must be still. I will not harm you.” While he pleaded with me, I couldn’t help but feel absolutely freaked out.

“You scared me half to death. I thought you were dead.” I paused. “Why were you sleeping in that crypt?”

“I apologize from the bottom of my heart that I have sacred you. It was not my intention to have done so. And as to why I was sleeping there, that be a bit of a story. Things would seem to have gone very wrong.” He said as he looked despairingly around the room he had me held up in. I knew we weren’t in the crypt any longer but to where he had brought me, I had no idea. The late afternoon sun that poured in through a nearby window didn’t offer much in the way of answer either. The room looked to be in ruins.

Chunks of stone masonry littered the floor and I could make out the shape of a derelict fireplace off to the far left wall across from me. I was laying on some sort of hard stone surface, maybe a table. I looked down at my messed up ankle. He had done something to it. It seemed as though he fixed up a makeshift brace for it. Killers and crazy people don’t put braces on wounds they cause, I thought. I turned my attention to him who still was standing by my feet. It struck me then that he wasn’t really wearing any clothing. He was a very well built man, but still.

“Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Clothes? Oh, I had been wearing garments under my armor. But I’m honestly not sure where they’ve gone to. And my armor was rusted through somehow. It appears I only have my braies left.” He gave an awkward but brief smile. What were braies, I wondered.

“Why is that cloth around you waist all ripped though?”

“My braies?” Oh, I understood now, what’s what he was wearing; his underwear. “I needed cloth for your brace and it is all that I had to use. I know I must appear rude. I assure you that it is unintentional.”

“Ok.” Good Lord, did this guy talk funny. My head was demanding I go find my aspirin. But I had no way of getting to my purse and away from him. Not on my own anyway. I had no idea what I was going to do. I think he caught the uneasy look on my face.

“I will not harm you, I swear to it. I feel absolutely wretched that you’ve been hurt. It is completely my doing. I only wish to see you to safety. Is your family far from here?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m not from Ireland. I’m American.”

“American? Where be that?” Had this guy been living under a rock his whole life, I wondered.

“Really? Are you actually trying to say that you don’t know where America is?” I asked, stunned.

“Yes. I would not ask if I did not know.” My mind was completely blown. I didn’t know if I should take him seriously or not so I made a quick decision to play along for no good reason other than my strange sense of curiosity which was winning me over.

“It’s across the ocean. You don’t get out much, do you?” Confusion spread over his entire handsome face.

“Across the ocean? The world is not flat?”

“Um, no.” I supposed he expected me to say more but his bizarre behavior was starting to wear on me. If only I could look past his gorgeous face, I cold label him crazy and maybe crawl out of here as fast as I could manage. But there was something about him that made me want to understand what his issue was and definitely why he spoke the way he did. He truly did seem fascinated about the world not being flat. I wanted laugh but couldn’t bring myself to do it. After my long pause in thought, I wanted to be friendly to him and maybe get some answers. “So, what’s your name?”

“Liam, Liam McCloy.” I froze in my spot.

“You’re named after the guy whose tomb you were in?”

“Nay, it be my tomb. I was named after my brother who died before I were born.” Seriously, I thought.

“Well, then that would mean you died over 550 years ago. 556 to be exact and you don’t quite look like a pile of dust or a bunch bones to me.”

“556….” He repeated in utter shock. “The year be 2011?” His eyes were wide with disbelief. I nodded in response. He paced off away from me, his hand to his chin. I could literally see the wheels of his mind turning.

“But how can this be? Something must have gone gravely wrong.” I could hear him muttering. He walked back over to where I was laying. “Things will be well. I wish to see you to safety and then I will repair what has gone wrong.”

“All right but can I ask what that was all about?” He hesitated.

“If I give my explanation, I highly doubt you would believe my word.”

“From the moment I laid eyes on you, I’ve been confused. What difference would it make more?” Now I really wanted to know what his deal was. He gave a short sigh.

“As you wish. That tomb I had lain in was my own as I said. I preformed my death in order to try to gain my uncle’s true intentions. I slept as though dead but was to be awoken by my betrothed after a short time had passed. But something has happened that I had not planned for and I slept still until you came upon me. My sleep was aided by a potion my friend had made and it was only she would be able to rouse me. I still puzzle at how you were able to wake me which is why I falsely accused you being my Lady Juliet. You do resemble her greatly but I’ve noticed the small differences you possess. But now I must return so I can correct what has happened to me, Lady Juliet, and my home.”

“Ok, I want to make sure I get this right. You took a magically strong sleeping potion so you could catch your uncle acting bad and the one person who could wake you up, didn’t for some reason. And you also have a way to travel back in time to fix everything. Is this what you’re telling me?” Hot or not, he was off his rocker.

“Yes, if I judge all the meanings of your words true. I did say you would think me mad.”

“Mad, crazy, insane, yeah, all of the above.”

“Wait.” He held up a finger for my patience. “There is something I wish to show you. My proof.”

“Ok.” Now, this was something I definitely had to see. He walked to the far right end of the room and began searching for something on the floor.

“This place was my bed chamber and I had a small chest I kept under stones beneath my bed.” He crouched down and started feeling along the floor.

Next thing I knew, he lifted a small chunk out of the stone bricks from the floor and pulled something up out of the hole he created. He walked back over to me, carrying what looked like some sort of ornate box. He held it out to me so I took it from his now dirty hands.

The detail of the chest was absolutely impressive. It was covered in filigree and precious stones. I could tell that it was lined in gold too. It was pretty heavy such a small box.

“It belonged to my mother. Do you wish for me to open it?”

“No. I’ve got it.” I carefully lifted the lid of this richly covered chest. Coins filled the inside.

I took out one and held it up in the glow of the sunlight. They were in perfect condition, just as the box was, with the image of a man on one side and a crest on the other. “Who is on this coin?” I asked.

“King Henry VI. The other side bares the English royal crest.”

“Why do you have English coins?” I couldn’t quit studying this coin that was now worth far more than its original amount.

“Because we are ruled by the English in these parts. It is not the same still?” I looked back at him.

“No. This area is all Irish controlled. The English only have the north now.”

“So, they still have a hold on this island.” He shook his head. I dug through the chest, looking for more treasure. My hands found a small round silver piece with a ribbon of sorts threaded through the center of it. It also had what I now knew as the English royal crest on it.

“What is this?” I held it up so he could see it.

“That be the badge to symbolize my knighthood.” I searched for more goodies in this box of untold wealth that I held in my lap. A ring looped around my first right finger.

I pulled my hand out to inspect what I‘d found. It was a silver ring with a huge sapphire on it and engravings of lions on each side of the setting. “That be my father’s ring. I was never one for wearing such things. But it was left to me, along with his lordship, upon his death. It was my birthright.” The sapphire glinted in the beams of sunlight.

I had to admit to myself, he had pretty good and valid proof of his story. All these coins, the badge (as he called it), and this ring, these things were not something that anyone could just find anywhere. These were the types of items that would be found in museums or private rich people’s collections. This stuff was probably worth millions. And here it was on my lap and in my hands.

“You may keep the ring, if you’d like.” He offered. I marveled at the ring again.

“Oh no, I couldn’t.” I took it off and put it back in the box with all his other insanely valuable things. I closed the lid and held it out to him. He took it back and set it on the floor. “You really are from the past, aren’t you?”

“I’ve not lied. What more proof do you ask?” He stood before me, hands held behind his back, his face stock serious. My eyes glazed over his lean muscled form and back to his stoic expression. Why not, I asked myself, it’s been one crazy day, why not believe him? I gazed into his hypnotic blue eyes and shrugged.

“Ok, I believe you well enough. But I need your help to get me out of here.”

He snapped into action, ready to lift me. “Of course, where would you need me to take you?”

“To my car so I can call my friend to come and take me to the hospital.” The look on his face told me I’d lost him. Just testing, I kidded myself. He dropped his hands.

“My apologies, where and what is a hospital? And how would you manage to call your friend? Is this friend nearby, in the forest?” I really struggled to contain my laughter.

“Wow, ok, um. A car is a motorized wagon that you control, not a horse. I’m going to call my friend over my phone which is a small devise that instantly connects you to another person and you can talk with them. The hospital is where I need to really go to have my ankle checked out by a doctor-“

“You will not see a doctor. I will not release you to a butcher!” He fiercely interjected.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down please. Doctors aren’t like that anymore. There’s been a lot of advancements in medicine since you were around. All that they’re going to do is put my leg in a cast, look at the scrapes on my hands, and probably give me something for my head which is still pounding. So, breathe. It’s all going to be ok, I swear.” He eyed me suspiciously. “You have my word that nothing bad is going to happen to me.”

“Very well. I will trust in you.”

“So, will you help me to my car?” He hadn’t moved to lift me so I felt the need ask again.

“Aye.” He responded, still an unhappy tone to his lyrical voice. “Be you ready?”

“Yes.” He slid his arms beneath my back and my knees and gently lifted me in his arms. I didn’t think I’d be able to get my arm around his powerful shoulder so I tucked it against his solid manly chest. My ankle twinged with pain as he completely removed me from the table.

“Worry not, I’ve got you.” He looked down at me as he cradled me in his arms, his enchanting voice vibrating in his chest. I folded my right arm across my stomach and he began to make his way out of the crumbling castle.