25.
It is all so strange, so very odd. What is it that Samuel has got himself unintentionally into? Unintentionally? Perhaps, but perhaps not ... he hardly was going to sit back and do nothing about the fact Delia had gone missing, though this, all of what is happening, he could hardly imagine it even having experienced some of it once before.
Why can't he simply just go home with Delia and get on with life like any two people in love can and do. Thing is now too that all of this, whatever this is, has Samuel questioning as to if Delia loves him at all. He knew, he knows she once did, that is why they married. Things are different now, but do they really have to be? Is the love still there?
There is a purpose, a reason why Samuel and Delia are in this world, a reason why they were here together before and a reason as to why they are here now seperately. Being together the first time around and separate this time, it may be coincidental it may not be coincidental. All the same there is that purpose.
There is a dream like element about what is happening so maybe it is not so strange the effects this place can have on memory, it can come or go like a dream or nightmare. It is no dream however, it is real. So, no doubting as to if any of it will be remembered if and when Sam and Delia survive it all and the if factor of course is more than a bit of a nightmare element.
None of this is as simple as turning on or off a light, or even following direction, if only it was. That would be something now wouldn't it. The Phantom Queen and the Faerie Knight see everything; they see each and every step for indeed they have orchestrated much of it to indeed save their world. Despite their presence and contact with Samuel, he knows not of who or what they are or that his presence is for their safety and existence.
For Samuel now, going forward is almost like facing a phobia. He is frightened of it but facing it is the only way to get Delia back so he can bring her home and this facing of a phobia is something he is more than willing to do. Yeah, the experience first time round may have created a phobia or two, phobias which had hidden themselves away in his sub-conscious only to emerge now that he is back.
Phobia, yeah that is what Sam is faced with now. There is more of a realization of what is happening too, especially having seen and spoken with Delia, only now it is like having an irrational fear of mice and spiders only to have the expectation to come across something which may be some sort of an amalgamation of both mice and spiders only to be way bigger too. Imagine what that kind of web might be like ...
Not a very nice thought now, is it? If only you could believe yourself to not be unlike a cartoon character and wish it all away by simply imagining being Prince Adam of Eternia having the power of Greyskull to turn himself into He-Man.
With the Faerie Knight too, and he always watching, sure he is that crow who is always near-by and watching on behalf of his Phantom Queen. This crow of course does not go unseen by Samuel. If anything, it is the one constant in all this, existing both here and on Samuel's side of the Door.
A forgotten past and an uncertain present in a very strange place is more than a little disorientating. In many ways this is how Samuel feels ... disorientated. The presence now of an old friend may just be what reunites the two, not just as in a past and present but as a couple who always were meant to be. Sure, isn't being in the company of friends what brought Samuel and Delia together in the first place.
Sure, oddness and strangeness go hand in hand in this world, maybe to an extent they do too in the real world but where it is that Owen Barnes wants to sit and speak to Samuel at is indeed a place known as Morgan Fay's bar.
'What the hell is going on here Owen? How are we here? Didn't this place fall when I arrived here?'
'It did and it didn't Sam. All this is difficult to explain.'
'Try to, please.'
'Oh, I will, believe me. You see, you and Delia are here in this world because of your love for one another.'
'Excuse me?'
'Oh, it's true. You two were always meant to be together and it was the hopes that the love the two of you share would save this world.'
'I don't get you'. Samuel's confusion is probably stronger at this moment in time than what it may ever have been prior to now.
'This world can be addictive; sometimes when someone leaves there can be a calling to return. Right now, this world is failing, and it needs to be saved. I led you and Delia here on behalf of two individuals of this world. They believed that your love could save it and bridge the gap between this world and our own.'
'I don't understand Owen. It is a lot to take in and all I am after is finding my wife and bringing her home.'
'I understand that, probably better than you do. What I have to tell you may just help you do exactly what it is you want to do.'
'Alright, alright, I am listening.'
'The addiction I have spoken of ... it is what brought your wife back here. When you and Delia left this world ten years ago ... she felt compelled to come back. Doubt has crept in for her, doubt that you and here are meant to be together.'
'I don't believe that.'
'Trust me Sam. I know what I am talking about.'
'Okay ... what I am I to do then so?'
'Win her back Samuel, show her how you feel. Put her before you. She still loves you ... she just needs to re-find that love.'
'Easier said than done, I have to get to her first and spend more than a few seconds with her but just how is that going to happen?'
Darkness ... that nothingness ravaging this world ... is closing in on this location ... it both goes unseen and unheard by Samuel and Owen
Samuel closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. A single tear rolls down his cheek. This tear is part of the magic needed to save this world and at that it is only half the magic. The darkness ... the nothingness backs off. When Sam and Owen arrived at Morgan Fay's it was empty and void of all life. While his eyes are closed an ambience grows, sound grows, and life grows ... all separate to that darkness which has gone, for now at least. Sam opens his eyes. Delia is sitting next to him. The bar is full of life and the place as a whole is hopping.
What the hell is happening? This is a memory ... to be relived.
It is a last night out before his wedding only five days before the big event; this strangely enough is what is happening. Instead of standing next to Sam, Owen Barnes is on duty behind the bar, keeping an eye on the festivities and of course, Sam is now sitting, not standing. Sam wonders if indeed this is a memory, something like which he experienced once before? It feels real and more real than what he had experienced the last time a memory came his way in this place.
This moment, it is not long after the 'follow the yellow brick road' toast Samuel and Delia enjoyed with the very same friends who had brought them together. They are indeed sitting next to one another, Sam, and his wife to be. She turns to him and takes his left hand with both of hers. He turns to her, and all four hands come together.
'I love you, Samuel.'
'I love you Delia, with all my heart and all of my soul.'
Eyes close and lips meet. When Samuel opens his eyes once more, he is pained to find there is no ambiance, no friends, no Owen and more importantly no Delia. Samuel is alone. He feels a deep loss, he feels an emptiness. Now he can stay right where he is, or he can get on and do something. In all honesty there is only one option.
Another option does show itself. The door he had come through to be in this world, Samuel can see it. Delia had told him to find it and go back through it. That darn door, he can hardly go back through it can he? Of course, he can't, not in this moment and not without the love of his life.
