Charlotte's Law

"You've gotta believe me!"

Camden was at Brand's Pub within an hour and a half. The driver looked at him expectantly as he helped him climb out. Camden brushed off his outstretched hand and climbed down himself. He turned to look at the pub, and in the window, he saw them. Kenn and Charlotte sat there, talking and smiling.

"Wait 'ere, I'll be back wiv th' money in a bit," Camden didn't wait for his response, entering the pub and jogging over to their booth. He tripped over his dress and fell on his face, just barely catching himself.

"Oh my!" Charlotte exclaimed, offering him a hand. "Are you alright?"

Camden accepted her hand and stood up, brushing himself off. She looked at him oddly as he stood there grumbling.

"I'm fine, thanks," Camden stared at her a bit. She wore male clothes, and her once-long hair was about shoulder-length now. Her eyebrows and nails were obviously not as pristinely kept either. She seemed to be in her early twenties, but Camden knew she was actually thirty.

"You seem familiar," she admitted. "Do I know you?"

"Err, we may've met sometime," he admitted. "Are you Charlotte Grimwey?"

"Yes, I am," she raised a bushy eyebrow at him. "And this is my brother, Rodney. Is something wrong?"

Camden sighed and pulled up a chair at their table, without being invited. Charlotte's eyes grew wide and she took her seat, staring at Camden intensely, as if trying to figure out where she'd seen him before.

"Okay, listen," he started, "this is gonna sound real crazy, but you 'ave to understand. I'm from a diff'rent timeline, and I messed everythin' up by tryin' to save someone for a guy driven 'alf mad wiv grief. 'E scared me, so I didn't dare question 'im. Even now, me mem'ry o' that timeline is fadin'."

"You expect us to believe that you're a time traveler?" Kenn laughed. "Come now, brother, we must get away from this crazy little girl."

Kenn started to stand, but Charlotte put her hand over his, communicating with her eyes. Her gaze was very serious, and she almost looked as if she was dreading Camden's next words. Kenn shut up immediately and sat back down, glancing between the two and then turning his rapt attention to Camden.

"I'm a boy, actually," Camden rolled his eyes. "Me name's Camden. Anyway, the person I saved was you, Charlotte. Kenn, you're the one 'o asked me to. You started a schoo'. I can't quite rem'ber the name, but it was for diff'rent people, like me and Charlotte. Queer people 'o didn't feel right in their bodies or didn't quite match up wiv society's normal tendencies. You made it 'cause of Charlotte. You wanted to save as many o' us queer folk as ya could, since ya couldn't quite save her."

"What are you implying?" Kenn asked skeptically.

"Charlotte 'anged 'erself," he replied solemnly. "Then yer parents grew ill and died as well. You lost yer 'ole fam'ly in a two monf span."

"You're mad," Kenn stood abruptly. "Come now, Charlotte. We've other places to be."

"Please," Camden pleaded in desperation, staring straight at Charlotte. If Kenn wouldn't believe him, maybe she would. "You've gotta believe me!"

"You're him," Charlotte said quietly, barely audible over the roar of the pub.

"What are you on about, Sharlie?" Kenn asked, exasperated. He slumped down in his seat again and ran a hand through his wild hair.

"You're the handsome stranger," Charlotte whispered. "You're the one who saved my life, right here in this very pub. You talked me out of hanging myself."

"You'd considered hanging yourself?!" Kenn exclaimed. Charlotte nodded and sighed.

"I was going to do it that week," Charlotte admitted. "I even got a book about tying knots so I'd know how to tie it properly. Then a boy just like me showed up at my favorite spot and talked me out of it. I considered it a sign, like maybe he was my guardian angel, sent by God to save me and convince me that it was alright to be so queer. I told you and mum the very next day. Mum and Dad disowned me, but you were just old enough to leave them, and you took me with you. You believed in me, not once doubting my confessions. It was all because of Camden. I'm alive because of him."