Beyond This Life

Beyond This Life (Pt 2)

"Aghh, Mistress I'm sorry! I---uh---it never hurt before. I---I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, well, it hurts now," I said as I wiped tears from my face.

That wasn't me. It was a crazy hallucination brought on by what I'd just seen.

"Mistress?" Beau said hesitantly. "You called me a vampire....earlier."

"Is that not what you are? And stop calling me 'Mistress,' my name's Cherish."

"Yes, Mis---Cherish. But you used to call us Civilians. You said that---"

"Not now, Beau. This kinda isn't the place."

And that's when we both noticed the entire high school staring at us with opened mouths and giant eyes.

Beau yanked my wrist from where I cradled it and licked my skin in long strokes. I was grossed out and confused at first, but then I giggled because it reminded me of.....of what?

"Mistress, we must go." Beau pulled me to my feet, slipped his hand behind my knees, threw me against his---very lovely---chest, and the ground vanished. It returned, only to be a stone floor. "Your room, Mistress."

I struggled out of Beau's hold. "People call me Cherry, but my name is Cherish. Call me that at least." I brushed myself off for no reason and looked around the room. The bed was pushed against the left wall, big and imposing on the room. Two mediaeval-style wardrobes were lined on the opposite wall, next to them a modern dresser. I smiled. That thing was so out of place. There were three doors: one to the bathroom, one to the closet, and one to whatever was outside this room.

I took one step forward and Beau said, "Mistress? Would you like to remove your shoes? You used to love walking barefoot." He smiled at me, like he was remembering the good ol' days. But he quickly fixed himself. "You said the tiles reminded you of how you must act in front of others."

"Oh, did I? And how must I act in front of others?" I asked, amused. All of this formality was funny, in a way. I just felt like I should've been laughing at him.

He tightened his jaw before answering. "Cold and emotionless, made of stone."

My amusement died. "Well, then. I think I'll keep my shoes on."

"Yes, Mistress."

I walked into the bathroom. The mirror above the sink was large and pretty, the sides lined with snakes gnashing their teeth. I dragged my hand over one snake, felt a current move through me. I couldn't help another smile, like I was remembering the good ol' days. The sink was double vanity, shaped like giant shells colored a pretty gold. The shower was grander than the bed, its size enough to fit more than would ever be in there at once. There were multiple heads and as I caressed one, I swear I could feel the warm water running over my skin. The toilet was hidden by a wall and above it read a sign "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." God, I cracked the biggest grin. That sign ruined the whole room, but I probably wouldn't ever take it down.

"Do you remember? When we made that sign together?" Beau's eyes shined, his smile radiant. "We got so messy with the paint that we....." He coughed and fixed himself again. "Well, we got so messy that your second-in-command had to scold us."

"Why do you keep doing that?" I asked, a little ticked off he kept hiding his emotions from me.

"Mistress?"

"Don't 'Mistress' me. Every time I do something, you smile, but then you hide it from me. Why? Why? Why don't you want to smile?"

"Because I know no matter how many times I smile, you won't remember anything until you want to. Which I also know won't be any time soon."

I sighed. "Take me home, Beau."

"We are home, Mistress."

"I mean the home I've lived at for the last year. I wanna go to that home."

"Mistress, if only you'd try to remember. Four years ago you said you'd never find a better home."

"Four years ago I fell into a coma. What happened during that coma, I don't know---my memory's not very reliable---but I do know that when I woke up, I was normal and I was nobody's Mistress. So take me home. Take me home, Beau."

"Yes, Mis---I mean, sure Cherish."
Beau picked me up and the floor vanished again.