A Hawk Talks...

[adze.livejournal.com]

It's late one evening, and Aidan Sullivan has had a few too many to drink. He doesn't normally drink a lot, but once a year, he overdoes it, trying to block out the memories.

"I was married once - a long time ago. I fought in the war, came home, and married the girl I'd loved since I could remember. She was the prettiest girl I'd ever..."

"Anyway, I got a decent job as a gamekeeper for Lord Salisbury, and moved into a cottage on the estate. It was a good couple of years. On our third wedding anniversary, I hid a picnic in the woods, blindfolded her, and dragged her out there. I'll never forget the look on her face when I took the blindfold off."

"And then they came, out of nowhere. These things, with the head of a wolf, and the horns of a stag, they'd come for her. I fought one of them, but another one hit me with something, and I passed out."

"When I came to, she was gone, but they'd left a trail. So, I went after them. I kept on, and I kept on, even when the thorns cut away at my flesh, and eventually, I found this Castle, where no Castle should be. And in the gate, I saw my wife, and Him. I shouted, and she looked at me and smiled. Then He saw me, and the next thing I knew, I was in a cage."

"I don't remember too much about the next... I don't even know how long it was. He used me for hunting, for tracking whatever he wanted tracked, and for ripping it apart. Most of the time I was a Hawk, but sometimes a Hound, and sometimes as other things, things I'd never seen before. And in all those years, I never saw her again."

"One day, though, there she was. I was flying, free, and above the Castle, when I saw her through a window. And then I remembered. The whole thing, my whole life. And I went for Him, and ended up in a cage again."

"It took time, but I managed to get out of the cage, and searched the Castle for her. I found her, grabbed her, and ran. Ran for home, ran for the way out."

"When we reached the woods, she screamed. She screamed for Him, begging Him to come and save her, to stop me taking her away from Him. I could feel the thorns in my flesh again when he caught up with us. There was just this flash, and I saw my wife reaching out to Him, and I fell through."

"Oh, I tried to get back. I tried for ages, but I couldn't find my way through. It's been five years now. Five years to the day. It would have been our wedding anniversary."

"I don't know if she wanted to stay, or if it was just something He did to her. I don't really know if I want to find out. I don't know if I love her any more, but I know I do miss her. and I'll be damned if I'll let anyone else go through what I went through..."