Promised to You

by Gina Cole

  Promised to You

  Timeless Brides

  Gina Cole

  Contents

  Introduction

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Afterword

  A Lifetime with You

  Enchanted by You

  Handfasted to You

  About the Author

  Long ago, in a world beyond the mists…

  A tiny sting sends librarian Gwen Ivers running for her epi-pen only to have a magical woman named Eve trap her into a sick game of ‘keep away’. When everything fades away, she slips into another world that seems to come straight from the books–including a knight in shining armor!

  Gawain de Grene was shocked at the scantily clad woman that appeared before him. Taking his fealty to heart, he was not about to let some fierce venom spewing wench come between him, his God, or his duty. The Defender of the Poor and Maiden’s Knight is suddenly pledged to the magical Gwen as a gift.

  Can a bit of magic, a bond between soulmates, and test of Gawain’s undying loyalty to the crown be too much to overcome? Or will their love create a brand new tale written in the stars?

  Foreword

  Dear Reader,

  I had such fun imagining what (and how) the stories could get twisted and warped over the centuries. When reading and researching the character, there were so many variants of Gawain’s life and death – that I made my own!

  Completely fiction, lots of fun, and super sweet with a spot of heat!

  Much love,

  Gina

  https://www.oldenglishtranslator.co.uk

  Chapter 1

  “This is jacked up,” Gwen muttered under her breath, staring in horror at the garden center at the local hardware store she was having to inspect. Working as an OSHA safety inspector had its ups and downs. She was always conscious of the rules and regulations of what was best for everyone – and this investigation was not the best for her!

  Her epi-pen was tucked handily in her pocket and she almost considered calling her boss to have someone else take this job. Unfortunately, she and the dictator (as she liked to call him) didn’t get along very well and this would simply give him an excuse to give her the boot finally.

  The jerk had it out for her and there was no hiding it. She ought to report him to the department of labor, except the douche probably would sprout all these mysterious documents claiming she was the problem, that she was the issue at hand. They always said that you never knew someone until they died, you divorced them, or you gave your notice… actually, you could add ‘spilled coffee down the front of his shirt’ to that list as well.

  She wouldn’t let him have the last laugh either.

  Gwen put in for a transfer already and was hoping to hear back something this week. She’d do just anything to get away from the dictator. She knew her job; she just didn’t require him micromanaging her every second of the day, nor spot-checking her reports repeatedly.

  Dick.

  That’s fine.

  She would stay far away from the flowers and bushes covered in bees. She was there to investigate a fall that resulted in a hospitalization. This would be a standard evaluation of the norm. Was there water? Were obstacles in the way? Were the water hoses put up or strung across the aisles? She’d do a walkthrough, take photos, and then write her findings in the report. Simple. Easy-peasy.

  Getting out her camera from her bag, she glanced up to see an employee walk past her. A woman of average height with permed black hair that was pulled in a side ponytail. She smiled easily as she saw her wearing bright floral bellbottoms and a vest emblazoned with the name of the store on the back.

  Gwen wasn’t keen on being out here in the garden area with all the bees, but this lovely creature seemed to be in the zone. She was even dancing a little bit as she walked down the aisle away from her. Taking several photos, Gwen looked up and grinned. The woman was now dancing as if she hadn’t a care in the world. Maybe she had those tiny earbuds on and was listening to music? Sure enough, she started jerking a thumb to each side and dancing wildly with her back to Gwen.

  That was just so… awesome, Gwen thought to herself.

  What was it like to be so unburdened, so carefree, that you didn’t give two figs about what people thought? What was it like to never have to worry about food allergies or bee stings? It was obvious the more unburdened you became, the more you apparently enjoyed your life. Right now, was the happiest she’d been all week – and that made her realize how wretched her boss made her feel.

  Seeing the strange hippie woman dancing all alone in the silence of the closed off garden center just seemed truly sad when you boiled it all down. She’d let the sourness and ugliness of the world around her pollute her life. Nothing made her happy, she felt so burdened, and wanted an escape.

  “So why don’t you?”

  Gwen shook her head and realized she hadn’t taken the photo of the aisle yet where the hose was carelessly piled up loosely. That was a trip hazard. Was the woman being snarky at her?

  “Excuse me?” Gwen asked carefully. They were supposed to comply with any investigation on site and she rarely got pushback, but hippie chick was staring her down now.

  “I said ‘why don’t you’?”

  “Why don’t I take the photo?”

  “Why don’t you escape if you’re so unhappy?”

  Gwen stared at her dumbstruck. Had she said it aloud? She could have sworn the woman was listening to music and that the idea had only crossed her mind.

  “Don’t just stand there gawking and laughing at me. Make up your mind, girl. What do you want?”

  “I think I need to wrap up and go.”

  “Well, that is a decision, but I think it’s a very poor one and awfully short-sighted. Think bigger – with no limits.”

  “This is weird.”

  “Weird could be my middle name, if you want. It’s actually Mabel, but ‘Weird’ works too. So long as you say ‘hello’, we are good.”

  “What?”

  “Do I stutter or something? I haven’t had these many problems… well, never mind. Ixnay-that-idea-yeah because every time seems to have its own opportunities and I’m supposed to learn with each visit.”

  “Are we even talking English anymore? You aren’t making sense and I’m out of here in just a minute – maybe less.”

  “Yep. Do your picture-thingies and I’ll be patient.”

  “I’ll rush to make sure you aren’t bored at work.”

  “Goody! This is gonna be fun!” the strange woman said, giddy with laughter and excitement as she clapped her hands joyfully. Gwen looked at her warily and turned away to finish taking the rest of the photos of the scene. She could see why the woman fell and there had already been several things that stood out. She hesitated as it occurred to her that the dictator would probably be spot-checking this report since she’d found so many things to write up.

  “Are you ready?” came an eerily calm, sing-song voice from nearby. Gwen looked over her shoulder uncomfortably, expecting to see the woman turn into Pennywise or Chucky from the horror flicks. Instead, she creeped her out royally in another way. Gone was the ponytail on the side of her head, as well as the brightly-colored floral pants. Instead, she stood there in a plain looking gown and her dark hair hung around her face like something out of ‘The Ring’.

  “Sweet baby Jesus!” Gwen yelped, backing away. Her knees hit the back of the table directly behind her. Her camera clattered to the ground as she plopped hard, flat onto her back, onto the table full of flowers and bees.

  Bees?
r />   Crap!

  Gwen yelped and jumped to her feet just as she felt the painful stinger sink into the skin of her palm, quickly followed by a few others. The tiny insects were good and pissed off now, swirling around her. Where was her epi-pen? She knew from experience she would need treatment right away. Her allergies were severe and she always carried an epi-pen with her after the last incident.

  That landed her in the ER.

  Wincing, she felt several more stings in her hair and on her arms. Panic was starting to hit as she felt her pulse begin to race. Where was her epi-pen? Yanking her cellphone from her pocket, she quickly dialed 911 as she felt her lips swelling. A wave of dizziness hit her and she bumped into another table. Glancing up, she saw the woman walking slowly towards her. She couldn’t handle this freakshow right now, she needed help immediately!

  “Fo away!”

  “I don’t think so,” the woman said calmly. “My name is Eve and I’m here to help you.”

  “Melp me? I meed my fen anf ish gone!”

  “This pen?”

  Horrified, Gwen saw the epi-pen appear in the woman’s pale hands as Eve smiled warmly at her. She blinked and heard the whistling starting as her windpipe was closing of its own volition. Being stung once was enough to create this nightmare – but she’d been stung repeatedly.

  “Pfweese?”

  “You need an escape, remember?” Eve said gently.

  “Mot wike dis!”

  “Then what? This little clicky-thing won’t fix things. No, you need a new outlook, a second chance to do something bold, something fun. You need…”

  “Mwy duckin’ effyfen wite duckin’ fow!”

  “Wow! Do you kiss your momma with that mouth?” Eve recoiled, laying her hand that held the life-giving epi-pen on her chest. She shook her head at Gwen and then to her ultimate horror… Eve chucked the precious medication over her shoulder, sending it clattering to the ground off in the distance.

  “FO!”

  “Fo’ sho!” Eve grinned. “This is your chance to grab your life, maybe a little death, by the hands and just go for it.”

  “Mwy wife? Ewer dunna kiff me!”

  Gwen was finding it extremely hard to focus and breathe as she tried to walk past Eve but the woman kept blocking her pathway. She fell to the ground as her head spun. Her heart was slamming in her chest erratically. She was dying.

  Laying there on the wet concrete from where the plants had been misted, she saw several bees were still buzzing about the woman’s dark head. She stood there looking at Gwen, almost expectantly. Was she expecting her to die? Did she want to watch the life be snuffed from her as she strangled to death?

  “Fidon wanna fly,” Gwen wheezed and felt a tear slip down her cheeks into her hairline as the irony of her words hit her. Her swollen lips and tongue were making it so hard to form words correctly. She didn’t want to die, fly, or cry… she wanted to live.

  Eve knelt down beside her and gave her the most serene smile as she picked up Gwen’s hand in hers. She looked at their joined hands as her heart fluttered and skipped several beats. She was unable to draw her breath in any longer as her throat closed off completely.

  “My sweet girl… you won’t just fly. You will soar in your new life.”

  Her lungs burned painfully against the need to draw in life-giving air and the inability to do so. Blackness tinged her vision as she knew she was suffocating. Gwen closed her eyes in defeat at the injustice of it all and the fact that her last moments on earth would be just as uneventful as her life had been. Another person was controlling her once again, this time instead of the dictator taking away her happiness and ruining her career – this strange woman was taking the remnants of who Gwen was and letting her simply slip away.

  It just wasn’t fair.

  Chapter 2

  Gwen rolled over, drawing a deep gasping breath into her lungs. Her fingers dug painfully into the soft ground under her cheek as she sucked in air repeatedly to get rid of the feeling of suffocation that lingered in her mind. She was alive? She had been completely certain that she was going to perish on the floor of the garden center in front of that nut job of a wom…

  “Now, now. No reason to get dramatic or call me names.”

  A bored voice interrupted from nearby, causing Gwen to freeze instantly. She pinched her eyes closed for several moments, trying to make her breaths as soundless as possible.

  “You can’t hide. I can still see you.”

  “Could you let me pretend we are not having this conversation?” Gwen chirped, before cracking an eye open to see exactly where the strange woman, Eve, was at. There was moss all around her, craggy stones, and leaves sprinkled on the ground. A small stream was nearby. She watched stunned as a deer came out of the bushes and stepped forward to drink, ignoring her like she was nothing.

  She was in the middle of a forest – with Bambi – and Looney Tunes?

  “Eve,” the dark-haired woman corrected immediately.

  “I must have hit my head when I fell,” Gwen whispered, sitting up gingerly. She took a moment while Eve watched her with her head cocked to the side as if she was listening to something or focusing elsewhere.

  Good, she thought.

  Her mind was a whirlwind of things and felt like it couldn’t focus on the singular thing pounding at the front of her brain. This was all so strange around her. The silence was creepy and gave her goosebumps.

  There were no sounds of cars, no dull roar of planes in the background, no electronic whine of a radio nearby. It reminded her of when she went to her grandparents’ farm as a kid… except the silence was broken by the livestock – chickens, cows, and horses. She heard the water splashing and a faint pop of a branch breaking off in the distance – but that was it.

  Where was she?

  “When,” Eve corrected.

  “Excuse me?”

  “If you are going to ask a question – ask the right ones.”

  “I didn’t say anything to you.”

  “No, but you did ask something.”

  “Are you psychic?”

  “Meh,” Eve said casually, shrugging. “Psychic? Supernatural? Empress-extraordinaire? Fantastically-flighty? Spock-off-her-crock? You pick…” Eve grinned at her.

  Gwen couldn’t help but stare as she replayed the last few minutes in her mind, trying to figure this all out. Putting her head down in her hands to stop the spinning, Gwen focused hard. If this was a report, she’d use bullet points, she thought wildly.

  Bee sting.

  Stings – plural.

  Allergic reaction.

  Pass out.

  Wake up?

  Not dead.

  Dead… doesn’t feel things – does it?

  Weird woman.

  She won’t go away.

  Kidnapped – possibly lost?

  Definitely moved…

  “Relocated,” Eve chimed in.

  “SHHHHH!” Gwen barked angrily as she processed. This made Eve giggle as she watched her, perched easily against a large stone rock.

  Lost in the woods.

  She’s still here.

  When – not where – according to Eve.

  When?

  Why is it a ‘when’?

  …WHEN?

  Gwen looked up slowly, her head craning around in dawning horror as she took in her surroundings again, seeing it truly for the first time. The forest around her was wild with vegetation. There were no signs of anyone tromping through the underbrush, nor of it having been cut back, mowed, landscaped, or beautified at any point. No footprints in the grass, mud, or mossy ground nearby.

  There were no signs of anything off in the distance. No yellow tape markers, wooden plank walkways, or those construction pickets hammered into the ground with plastic flags stapled to the top. No bottle caps, cigarette butts, or paper wrappers carried on the wind. Everything was clean, raw, and untouched. Her eyes slid around, taking in everything, before focusing back onto Eve’s smiling face.

 
“You are a clever one,” she said happily, clapping her hands together. “I adore having a smart project to work with.”

  “When… am I?” Gwen whispered painfully.

  “Fifth century – and wonderfully romantic, I’ve heard.”

  Eve looked utterly pleased at the announcement, just before snapping her fingers. The simple gown she had been wearing now looked even more ancient. Homespun. Gwen’s slacks, polo shirt, and Nike’s were gone in the blink of an eye, causing her to jump in alarm.

  Instead, she was garbed in a similar gown that hung loosely on her and was pinned at the shoulders. Her rubber soled Nike’s were replaced with simple leather… things? They barely resembled boots or a weird pair of old Uggs with no fleece linings whatsoever.

  “Fifth… as in the number five?” Gwen croaked painfully as she tried to take in what was going on. This had to be a dream. There was no way she was truly here and her mind couldn’t grasp on the idea that she’d been transported to another…

  “Relocated,” Eve repeated. “I’m a relocation specialist.”

  “Those people move persons from place to place.”

  “And you did,” she agreed, nodding happily. “You moved from one place to another place.”

  “You said fifth century. That is not a place – that’s a time.”

  “You say potato – I say tomato.”

  “That’s not how the saying goes,” Gwen argued, dumbfounded, getting to her feet. “You have to put me back where I was.”

  “Why? So, you can die?”

  “I’m not dead already?”

  “Do you feel dead?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never been dead before!”

  “Don’t yell at me.”