Timeless [h.s]

Thirty one

Stuart

He stared at me for many minutes. The silence between us was deafening and I'd take his anger, his questions, his outrage over the mute shock. Harry's green irises seemed almost translucent in that moment, his face expressionless in a way I had never seen before.

I thought about what could be crossing his mind, trying to understand what he wanted to ask, which doubts I could answer. The only thing that gave me some hope was the fact that he remained seated, despite the impossibility of what I had just confessed.

"Harry, please say something. You can ask me all you want, I promised you there'd be no more secrets and I'll stand by it." I desperately wanted to take his hand and gently squeeze his fingers, but I knew I shouldn't, not until he had some time to process it.

"You want me to believe that somehow you've lived for almost four hundred years without an explanation, a motive? This is too fucked up." He got up, making my heartbeat increase. I was certain he'd leave and slam the door on his way out, but I felt much better as I watched him pace around the white room, his image reflected on the multiple mirrors and giving me a full vision of him, every possible angle of his gorgeous self.

"If some part of you didn't believe me, you would've left by now. You found Oliver's old portrait, Harry." He stopped pacing but kept his distance, listening to me intently. I wanted to coo him and be sweet, but I also felt like he needed a reality check. He either believed me or didn't, and if his brain wasn't ready to face the truth, I needed him to leave before I started to cry. "My name is Charlotte Marie Elizabeth Stuart and I was a queen once upon a time. Are you ready to listen to the rest of my story?"

His eyes softened a bit and I wondered if it meant he was giving me a chance or preparing himself for goodbye. Every second felt final, as if my entire life choices could be altered just by his words.

"Every sensible cell in my body tells me this isn't natural and I shouldn't believe in you; when I look into your eyes and think about our old conversations, it makes perfect sense. You asked me to trust you and I honestly thought it wasn't possible, not after all the lies, but the more I learn about your life, the more I understand you and the reason behind your life choices." Running his hand through his dishevelled hair, Harry surprised me once he took a seat closer to me. He picked my left hand delicately and entwined our fingers, making my heart flutter like it always did whenever he showed affection.

"At first I had no idea about what was going on. I knew what I did would cause me to hang, and even though I was free for the first time, the grief of losing Harry drove me mad. I rode back to the castle in haste, hands bloodied, clothes left behind. Eleanor was the first to see me, thank heavens." I sighed, remembering that day. Everything felt blurry and definitive. I knew my life would be altered forever, but I never imagined it'd blow out of proportion, not in the endless life way.

"She had always been my best friend, but what she did for me was beyond any expectation I could ever have. Her family took me in and supported me through many generations. They knew something was wrong with me but no questions were asked, not even once. El managed to slowly bring me money, a lot of it, she knew I would need it. A few years later, about five or six, she caught pneumonia and died. By then, I had already realised something was wrong with me, I was not ageing. I couldn't even attend her funeral because everyone thought I was dead."

"When I heard of her passing away, it was probably one of the saddest days of my life. I had been living with her family for a while and they were all lovely and caring, but she was my sister, we had been kindred souls since birth. I felt very lonely, without purpose. Merely a week later, her husband was found dead and their child left parentless. Obviously I had no idea Oliver had forged his own death, aware that, like me, he wouldn't be able to live among those he knew without raising suspicion." I sighed, taking a deep breath and remembering the sweet face of their small boy. His presence was probably the only thing that prevented me from doing stupid things back then.