TITLE: The Edge of Forever
AUTHOR: Annette Gisby
EMAIL: annette.gisby@which.net
CLASS: MSR x-file/adventure
RATING: NC-17

THE EDGE OF FOREVER

"I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful a faery's child
Her hair was long,
Her feet were light
And her eyes were wild." - La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats.


It was the pain which woke her, a dull throbbing at the base of
her skull and working its way down her back. As she opened her
eyes, she was greeted by a canopy of green and brown above her.
Leaves. Branches. Trees. There was no sunlight to be seen, just
a muted grey green light, as if she was seeing things through
a haze.

She tried to sit up, but failed on the first few attempts, a dizziness
so acute that she wondered if she was going to faint again. Once
she was sitting up, she placed a hand at the back of her head and
probed gently. Yes, there was a bump there all right, but how did
she get it? How did she get here, to this forest?

There was a groan from her left and she glanced down to see an
equally confused Mulder staring up at her. She reached down an arm
to help him up.

"Scully? Where are we?"

"I have no idea. I was hoping you would be able to tell me."

"The last thing I remember, was that we were on our way to Kansas."

"Oh, that explains it then," said Scully.

"Explains what?" he asked, rubbing his head and wincing when he found the
tender spot of his own bump.

"We most be over the rainbow," said Scully.

"Well, one thing's for sure, we sure aren't in Kansas anymore."

Scully stared around at their surroundings once more. There was
something odd, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She
could hear Mulder's steady breathing and her own. That was it. There
was no other noise.

No rustling of leaves, although she could feel a little breeze caress
her face, no birds singing, no insect chirps. There was nothing except
her and Mulder. No sounds of cars from a nearby highway, no airplanes
overhead. She looked up again, trying to peer through the branches at the
sky above, but it was impossible. It was as though they were in a room with
a ceiling made of trees.

Scully stood up and began to brush at her clothes, to dislodge any
leaves or dirt that had been there, but her skirt and blouse were
completely clean. She looked quizzically at the ground, she'd been
lying on a carpet of grass such a vivid green, but there were no
grass stains on her clothes, and no loose debris from the trees
scattered about. Where were the fallen leaves and twigs, pine cones?
The ground looked too clean and she bent down to make sure that the
grass was real.

She plucked a blade of grass to test it. It felt like grass, it looked
like grass, it smelled like...nothing. It had no smell. Scully sat
back down and scooted over next to Mulder. She began to sniff his
neck.

Sweat, aftershave and soap all combined to make one unique smell.
His. She would recognise it anywhere.

"Scully? What are you doing?" he asked, gently pushing her away.

"Sorry," she blushed at the intimacy of what she'd done. It wasn't
something a partner would do, more like something a lover would do.

"There's no smell here," said Scully, handing him the blade of grass.

He sniffed it and looked at her in surprise. "That's odd."

Scully nodded and wondered if he was going to start smelling her like
she had done to him. She wanted him to, wanted to feel his breath on
her neck like a gentle caress and she had to bite her lip from
crying out loud at the imagined sensation. It was the odd situation
they found themselves in, that was all. She didn't really want to
be doing that with Mulder. Did she?

"Hello!" called a voice in the distance. "Do you need some help?"

They both turned to see the owner of the voice, a tall man dressed
in a linen tunic which reached his knees. Two blue vertical stripes
at the edges were matched by the blue of his eyes. Blonde hair and
a blonde beard glinted in a source of light that Scully couldn't
fathom.

"My name is Linden," he said and bowed to them. Scully and Mulder
stood up and reached out their hands, but he didn't seem to know
what a handshake was so they dropped them by their sides and bowed like he
had done.

"We seem to be lost," said Mulder. "Do you know where we are?"

"Of course," smiled Linden, but made no attempt at sharing this
knowledge with them. Scully wondered if they had stumbled upon some strange
cannibalistic cult and they were going to be dinner. Linden didn't look as
if he was contemplating eating them, but then how could you really tell?

"If you could maybe point us in the direction of the nearest town
or village?" began Scully hopefully.

"Oh, I can do better than that," said Linden. "You're on the edge
of Forever. I can take you there."

"What?" exclaimed Mulder.

"Forever. It is my city. The nearest city. I will take you there."

"Thank you," said Mulder and Scully together. As Mulder stood up,
he winced in pain and Scully could see that he was biting his lip
to stop himself from crying out.

"What is it? Where are you hurt?" she asked and rushed to
his side.

"My - my - my leg," he gasped out, his face turning the colour of
oatmeal. "Left one." Scully bent down and ripped the leg of his
trousers to get a better look at his left leg. Just below the knee,
she could see a small piece of bone protruding from the flesh.

How could he not scream with that?

"Is there a hospital in Forever?" asked Scully.

"I'm sorry. I do not know that word," replied Linden.

"A doctor? A physician?"

Linden shook his head. "We have no words for these."

Scully bit her cheek to stop herself screaming from frustration.

"What do you do when you get sick?"

"We never get sick," he replied simply.

"A healer? Do you have a healer?" she asked, inspiration suddenly
dawning on her. His garments were old fashioned, maybe he would
understand the old fashioned word.

"Why, yes. Why didn't you say so before? My sister, Celeste is a
healer. We will take your friend to her."

"Thank you," said Scully, just as she felt Mulder go limp in her
arms. He had fainted. She hoped this city wasn't very far away.
Mulder didn't look good.

"I will carry your friend," said Linden and bent down towards the
prone Mulder. He hefted him over his shoulders, as though Mulder
were a dead deer and Scully shivered at the thought.

The city, if it could be called that, was nothing like Scully had
ever seen before. There were no buildings as such, everything was
carved out of wood or rock, there was nothing man-made at all.

Linden walked towards one of the larger trees and went inside. He
turned and beckoned for Scully to follow him. Once inside, Linden
placed Mulder on some fur rugs on the floor. A few minutes later,
seemingly from nowhere, Celeste appeared.

She was as tall as Linden, a good head taller than Mulder, with
flowing blonde hair that reached her ankles. Like Linden, she was
wearing a short tunic with the two blue stripes. She was so beautiful
that she hardly looked real, more like a fantasy. Mulder's fantasy?

Celeste sat down cross-legged on the rug beside Mulder and touched
his brow. His eyelids fluttered open and she stared at the vision
in front of him, his lips forming a pleased smile.

Scully felt as if someone had just punched her in the gut. He hadn't
even looked to see where she was. He had eyes only for Celeste.

"Come," said Linden. "We must leave Celeste to her healing."

Scully didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave him with that
overgrown Barbie doll who was Celeste. As they reached the opening,
it couldn't really be called a door, Scully risked a glance back and
wished she hadn't.

Mulder was caressing Celeste's cheek. He didn't look Scully's way.

When they were outside, if this strange green gloom could be called
outside, Linden took her hand. She pulled it away quickly, feeling
dizzy and disoriented. His touch was like that of the Kindred, she
felt the desire pool between her legs, her face flaming.

She grabbed the nearest wooden wall to steady herself. "Don't touch
me," she hissed at him.

"I am sorry. The touch was only meant to help you."

"Help? How could that help? Just leave me alone."

"As you wish," said Linden, bowing and walking away. There were other people
walking about as well, men and women both dressed in the same tunics as
Linden and Celeste. Were they like the Kindred? Or were they something else
altogether? They all had a strange look on their face and it took a while
for her to realise what it was.

Contentment. They were all content. Every single one of them.

Scully's legs were like rubber, the after effects of Linden's touch
no doubt. She didn't no how long she stood there, her arms braced
against the wall taking deep breaths to calm herself. The desire was
slow to go and she felt as though her body had betrayed her. How
could she feel desire for Linden when she - when she - but her mind
refused to let her go there.

She walked away from the centre of town, wandering in and out of
deserted alleyways that all looked so alike she was sure she would
get lost.

A sweaty hand was clamped over her mouth and she was dragged backwards into
another smaller alley.

"Ssh, don't scream," said a voice in her ear. "I'm human. Like you."

The hand was removed from her mouth and she turned to face her would be
attacker. Once he may have been a handsome man, but now his face was drawn
and haggard, once rosy cheeks were now grey, as if life had left him but his
body didn't know it yet. His clothes were nothing but rags hanging on a
skeleton with skin.

"I can get you out. You and your friend," he said.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Oh, no. You won't get me that way again. Have you told them your
name? I can't do anything if you've told them your name."

Scully thought back. "No, I don't think so," she said at last.

"Good, good," muttered the man. "And the food. Don't eat or drink
anything they give you. You're lost if you do."

"Okay," said Scully. "That sounds easy enough."

"Oh, but it isn't," he said. "They are strong. They can impose their
will on you, making you drink even though you don't want to. You have
to be very strong to resist them. They can drive you mad with lust,
wanting no-one but them. But you mustn't give in, if you lie
with them there is no way out."

"Oh no!" cried Scully. "My friend. He's alone with one of them. He
might..."

"We must get him out quickly then," said the man. "Which one?"

"Celeste," replied Scully.

"Celeste," he spat the name. "Oh, yes, I know all of her tricks."

He took Scully's hand and dragged her along the warren of narrow
streets until they came to the town square again. They waited a few
moments until Celeste emerged and walked away from the building
that Mulder was in.

"Now!" he said and they both dashed inside. Mulder was sleeping
peacefully, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips and Scully
almost faltered, wondering if he was dreaming of Celeste.

"No time!" muttered the man beside her. Between them they managed
to lift Mulder and run out into the street again. But that was when
they were seen.

"Stop them!" roared Linden and a multitude of tunic clad people rushed at
them.

Scully's anxiety gave her an extra boost and they ran as fast as they
could away from the town and out towards the forest. The thin man
seemed to know his way around and took them to a hideaway in a small cave.

"We can rest now," he panted. He and Scully laid down their burden.
Mulder slept on.

"Won't they come after us?" asked Scully, glancing round, imagining
she was still hearing the sounds of pursuit.

"Not here. It isn't part of their realm. It's a portal back to your
world. They can only come here once a year."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Scully. None of it made any
sense and she was getting fed up. "Where are we?"

"I thought you knew," he said sadly. "We're in the land of faery."

"Don't be ridiculous!" snapped Scully and stood up, pacing the cave
like a wild animal in a cage. "You're telling me that those, that
those back there are faeries?"

"Yes," he said. On the floor, Mulder stirred.

"Celeste?" he whispered and Scully felt her heart sink. "Celeste!"
he shrieked this time, a shriek of fear and confusion.

Scully bent down to him and he looked at her blankly. He didn't
know her. His eyes roamed the cave, looking for the object of his
affection. Celeste.

"Are we too late?" asked Scully. Had he and Celeste already slept
together? How could she tell?

"Smell him," commanded the thin man beside her. "If he has already
been with Celeste, he will no longer have any odour. He will be like
her. No smell."

That made a mad kind of sense, thought Scully, as she thought of
the grass which had no smell. She leaned over him and sniffed. It was
still Mulder, she could smell his soap and aftershave. And him. She
could smell him.

Mulder bared his teeth and growled at her. "Where is Celeste?" he
demanded, gripping her wrist and squeezing hard.

"I don't know, Mulder," sighed Scully.

<And if I did, I wouldn't tell you.>

He released her wrist and she fell backwards a little. Mulder got
up, pacing like she had been a few moments ago.

"You must leave until tonight," said the thin man. "It's dangerous
for you here."

"What do you mean?" asked Scully.

"Celeste has touched him. He burns with the fever. If he can't have
her, he may - hurt you."

Scully stared at him. He couldn't mean that. She couldn't believe
that Mulder would hurt her like that, Celeste or no Celeste.

"Celeste!" roared Mulder and pounded his fists against the wall of
the cave. Small rocks fell where he pounded and Scully realised
then how much stronger he was, how much more bigger he was than her.

He could hurt her if he really wanted to.

"Go!" urged the man. "Come back at sunset!"

"How do I know when sunset is?"

"You'll hear the horns for the Hunt."

"The Hunt?" Scully didn't like the sound of that.

"They will hunt him tonight," he said. "But you must be brave. You
must hold him until daybreak, then you will both be free. No matter
what happens, do not let him go."

"I won't," said Scully as she turned to leave. She was suddenly grabbed from
behind and thrown to the ground, jarring her hip and she moaned in pain.
Mulder sat on top of her, his legs on her sore hips, pinning her arms behind
her head.

He looked wild, his eyes bright with madness and a feral grin on his
mouth, his teeth bared like fangs. Scully was sure her heart had
stopped.

He bent down and kissed her roughly, teeth scraping at her lips. She
tasted blood, hot and metallic as it flowed into her mouth. His
hand wandered down and squeezed her breast. She broke away from
the kiss and turned her head, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Mulder, don't," she pleaded. This wasn't how it was supposed to
happen. There was meant to me soft music and candles, not Mulder
crazed with lust on the dusty and cold floor of a cave.

The man tried to move Mulder off her, but Mulder swung out and knocked him
senseless to the floor. He hardly moved and Scully wondered if Mulder had
killed him. She tried to struggle, tried to get out of his grasp, but Mulder
was too strong. She felt his erection press
into her stomach and he ground himself into her.

"So soft," he whispered, almost gentle. "You're so soft."

"Mulder, stop, this isn't you," said Scully. "Don't you know me? It's
me. Scully."

"Scully," he rolled the word around in his mouth as though trying
it out for size. "Scully," he said again and this time there was
a question there too. "Scully? Scully? Oh my God! What have I done?"

He stood up and she was free. She felt weak and shaken, but the one
person she wanted comfort from was the one who had attacked her and she
sobbed, feeling it erupt from somewhere deep inside her.

In the distance a horn sounded and the thin man woke up.

"Remember. Hold him until sunrise," he whispered and then he was
gone, just vanished into thin air.

"Scully? What's going on?"

Scully rushed to his side and grabbed his hand. "Come on, we have
to get out of here." His leg was completely healed now and Scully
wondered what other magic Celeste would use on them.

As they emerged from the cave, they were surrounded by all of faery
arrayed on horseback. Some of the horses had wings and were hovering a foot
off the ground. Scully thought she might faint from the
knowledge of it. Everything was too strange, too wondrous and she
had to consciously remember to keep holding Mulder.

"Let go of our prey," commanded Celeste.

"If I hold him until sunrise, he's mine," said Scully defiantly.

"Who told you that?" demanded Linden. "It was him wasn't it? The
rhymer? Where is he?"

"Let's see if you can hold him now," said Celeste and waved her
hands in Mulder's direction. Scully was no longer holding Mulder,
instead she held a lion by it's paw. It roared in anger, dripping
saliva from its teeth but by sheer will she held on.

The trial went on, Celeste turning Mulder into all manner of creatures,
a wolf, a snake, a shark, but still Scully held on. She knew that
Mulder's life depended on it.

He was back as Mulder and Celeste waved her arms again. Nothing
happened. She cursed angrily.

"It is the sun," said Linden. "We must go back. You have lost this
one."

"NO!!!" shrieked Celeste and she rounded on her brother, punching
him in the chest. He rocked her gently and then he and the others
faded from sight, vanishing into the early morning mist.

Scully glanced around them. They were on a hill, inside a circle
of toadstools, what her grandmother used to call a fairy fort.

She stood up and moved out of the circle. Mulder followed her, a
frown of confusion on his face.

"Scully? What happened?" He glanced at her bruised wrists. "I did
that?"

"It's okay Mulder. You weren't yourself."

"Who was I then?" he asked bitterly and Scully knew that no matter
what she told him, he would still blame himself for hurting her. It
wasn't his fault, how could she make him realise that?

She sat down beside him, resting her arms against her knees.

"Scully, how could I do that to you? How could I?"

"It's all right, Mulder. It's all right," she said again. Maybe
if she said it often enough he would believe her.

"How can you say that, Scully? After what I did? I almost raped you
for God's sake!"

"But you didn't," she said quietly and he turned to look at her.

"No, I didn't," he agreed sadly.

"Why did you stop?" she whispered, afraid to know the answer.

"Because - because I didn't want our first time to be like that."

Her throat constricted and she tried to swallow around the golf ball
that had lodged there.

"What did you say?"

"I think you know what I said, Scully."

"Yes, I do," she nodded at him and smiled, reaching out for his hand.

THE END
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