Chapter 25

Aubrey silently urged Alin on.  His secret was not hers to tell, and it may not have made a difference whether everyone knew, but she wanted all secrets out in the open.  His eyes connected with hers, begging her to let him keep it silent. 

“Alin,” she started, “if you do not want to tell them, you can keep it a secret.”

He glanced around at the people sitting around him and then let out a sigh.  “It is not important,” he mumbled.

Standing from her chair, she walked towards him.  His face was turned from hers, but when she knelt down beside him and reached up to grab his face, he had no choice but to look at her.  “Alin, I love you; I always have.  Tell me, what do the opinions of these men mean to you?”

Alin glanced around at the others before connecting eyes with her.  “Nothing, their opinion means nothing to me, only yours.”

“You have told me, and my opinion of you has not wavered.  Tell them if you wish, Alin, but do so for yourself, not for me.”

“Fine,” he mumbled, “I will tell them.”  He sat straighter in his chair, before making eye contact with each of the men staring back at him.  “Sit back in your seats,” he said in a lighter tone.  “This is the most complicating tale of them all.”

Aubrey smiled at him.  Instead of walking back to her seat, she sat at his feet, his hand in hers.  If he needed the added support, then she would provide it to him. 

“It is an endless cycle,” he started.  “Time can take away from you, add to you, but what is the worse is when you are stuck in it.”

“He’s worse than you are,” Nathaniel tossed towards Ainsely.  “What is the meaning of the unnecessary words?”

“They would be necessary,” Aubrey snapped, “if you would listen to them.”  Nathaniel sent them an apologetic smile while motioning for them to continue.

Alin took a deep breath. “You are cursed because of your family.  I am cursed because of my decisions in life.  Time has a purpose in every life, and when I attempted to alter that, I was sentenced to repeat my life over and over, each time loving a woman I can never have.”

“Harsh,” Nathaniel mumbled before glancing down at her.  “Is it you?”

“Hmm?” she asked, absentmindedly while rubbing her thumb over Alin’s knuckles.

Nathaniel cleared his throat, causing her to look up at him.  “Are you the woman he loves?”

“Me?” she asked with a laugh.  “No, no, I promise, it is not me.  It is worse; believe me.  If Alin will be able to forgive me once this journey is complete, I shall be surprised.”

Alin’s grip on her hand tightened. “I will forgive you, love.  You are the only one who has heard my story and not thought ill of me.”

“You did not tell us everything did you?”  Luther asked in suspicion.

Alin shook his head.  “No, but imagine living your life over and over again.  Nothing you can do will ever change what happens.  You get to a certain part of your life, one that you can never predict, and you are thrust back into time at the mercy of whomever they left me with.  Each time, I remember what happened previously; each time, I start new once more.  How would you like to live a life as mine?”

“I would not,” Ainsely answered.  “I could not imagine the difficulties you have faced.  Each time you have finally reached your dreams, they are snatched away.  Each time you receive the love you desire, you are pushed back into time.  You are not even lucky enough to start again.  You have the same body, the same face, the same personality.  The only difference is that you are somewhere else.  How do you do it?”

Alin shrugged.  “The furthest I have gotten was ten years.  Once, I lived happily by myself, but as soon as I do anything to change another’s life, I am sent away.  You do realize that in my life, I will never see any of you age.  I will never be able to be your friend for long.  I would be lucky if you even remember me once they send me a way.”

“How are you not changing our lives already?” Luther asked.

“It is part of my curse,” he started hesitantly.  “Each time, I am assigned to a woman, one that I will love, be destined to be with, and I will meet her, but once I do, she must die.”

“What?” Ainsely asked in shock.  “You are confusing me?  You kill women from this time warp you are frozen in?”

Alin nodded, and Aubrey watched as the three men’s face turned to disapproval.  Narrowing her eyes at them, she stood, looking over them all.  “If you would listen to his story, you would realize that the women who he must kill are not those women in which you would want in this world.  Victoria, would you save her if you had the chance?”

“No,” Luther answered without hesitation, while the others shook their head in denial.

She smiled in triumph.  “Those are the women Alin is assigned too.  The women who care for no one but themselves, who destroy other’s happiness for their own selfish reasons, those are the women he has the misfortune of loving.”

“This is part of your curse?” Nathaniel asked.  “You must kill the women you love?”

“Yes. I have tried many ways to evade the process, but each time, it ends the same.  I have tried living with her, running from her, not finding her at all, but somehow, it all ends the same.”

“With her death,” Ainsely finished.

“With her death,” Alin repeated with a nod.  “You might find this complicating, but you do not have to worry much.  Once we finish this journey, I have a feeling you will no longer remember me.”

“Ah,” Aubrey said, bring attention to herself.  “Did you forget that I have seen you once before?”

He glanced at her sharply, causing her to snap her mouth closed, hoping none of his secrets fell out.  “That was a chance encounter, one that was not meant to happen.  One day, Aubrey, one day soon, you will have to depart without any memory of me.  There is no other way.”

“There has to be,” she protested. “If there is a way to break my curse, there is a way to break yours.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Luther said, interrupting the two of them, “but who is this evil woman he is meant to kill this time?”

“The witch,” Aubrey answered without thought.  Alin narrowed his eyes at her, but she just rolled hers in return.  “Have you not wondered why Alin was so persistent in traveling with us?”

“I thought he was in love with you,” Nathaniel said with a shrug. 

Next to him, both Luther and Ainsely nodded in agreement.  “I had thought he was overly attached,” Ainsely said.  “It would explain his behavior towards you, but now that I know this, I am beginning to understand a little bit of this convoluted tale.”

“What is there that you cannot understand?” Alin asked in frustration.  “I am stuck in time.  Each time I believe I can finally move on, I am thrown back into the past with a different victim to kill.  There is nothing complicated about this.”

“I was speaking of the manner in which you treat Aubrey,” Nathaniel answered, “but one day soon, if you are with us for long, you must explain to us all what you keep hidden in your mind. Your eyes reflect the darkness sometime.  It makes you a very scary opponent.”

Alin pushed up from his seat, dropping Aubrey’s hand in the process.  “Are we finished?  I would like to be on the road soon.”

They all nodded in agreement while rising from their own seats.  The three began moving away, readying themselves for the journey, everyone except Luther.  He stood there, staring at her before stepping in her direction.  “Aubrey,” he began, “I do not wish to speak ill towards your friends, but what makes you believe Alin’s story?”

“He is not lying,” she assured Luther.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he shrugged at her answer.  “Remember that because you cannot tell a lie, that does not mean that others cannot.  Be wary of him, Aubrey. There is something that surrounds him that warns another away.  One does not attain that by doing what they must.”

Aubrey watched as Luther walked towards her horse.  Was he right?  Was Alin not to be trusted?  If she thought about it more, who would she be able to trust?  She knew for a doubt that her brother would not do anything to harm her.  She thought that Nathaniel was quite the same.  The man couldn’t hurt her if they had too.  That left Luther and Alin.  Did she think that either of them would do anything to compromise her life, no, but she would remember Luther’s warning.  She would watch them for any signs of traitors, and pray that there were none.