Stealing step by step across the chamber, Penny's face first rose in recognition of her dear friend then dropped in dismay at the state she was in. 'My God.' Penny whispered. Consumed with shock, her emotions froze, face tight with impending grief. She tried to observe, to analyse, to help her friend the best way she could. How long had it been? Not weeks, not months, but a year, at least. She seemed hale and whole, but those twitches and dream-muttering hinted at a nervous condition. What had terrors Kate endured in her long imprisonment? 'My God.'

She spotted the cradle, frowning, concerned. Where was the baby. Who was the baby? And whose baby? She was on the cusp of a revelation, a shocking secret, but her mind, always logical and observant, refused to take this last step, to put it all together, as if the discovery might break itself, as if thinking it might make it true.

'Keep watch at the window. Don't let her see your face. It was what the shifter was wearing when he kidnapped her.' Penny advised Ian, her words hushed, directing him to the window.

Penny sat herself gently on the side of the bed, trying not to disturb Kate. She brushed a lock of hair away from her face, hoping the light, caring touch might soothe her troubled sleep. Waking suddenly, laying eyes on faces not seen in a year or more, could be shocking, and if her captivity had been nightmarish... Penny's own eyes were growing damp and sore.

She took Kate's mobile phone from her purse, brushing through the touchscreen. She'd gotten a lot of practice on this the last couple of days, and had even rigged a way of recharging the batteries. She found the ringtone settings, and played the one Kate had set. A sound could be heard through sleep, and might remind Kate of her home-time; Penny hoped it would be relaxing, would bring her gently to wakefulness. Bells through time. A message bringing friends together. 'Kate?'

Jo/Simon: Lily moves ridiculously fast to the window and you get the impression for all her talk she is not eager to be caught trespassing in areas forbidden. Escape is doable but should Jo wish she can try to sweet talk whoever is coming around the corner. Should she wait and do so she will find it is the butler, looking most irritated to see her. Otherwise you can high tail it with the other two ;P

Penny: Ian looks crestfallen at mention of the shifter and he nods, looking guilty about the circumstances of her kidnapping. As you try to wake Kate it takes a few tries but after a bit she glassily opens her eyes, staring at you blankly. She says nothing, merely sits up in bed and blinks a few times. Whatever spell she is under is still intact it would seem. You do note that she glances to the empty cradle and starts to look concerned, staring at it as though in hopes it will suddenly not be empty. Ian watches with a frown and a glance to you and back to the cradle again but he says nothing. It may be time to call your angel friend he murmurs.

Penny's heart broke to see the blank look on Kate's face, the lack of recognition, and her anguish at the empty cradle. Surely it wasn't only grief and abuse that had extinguished Kate's spark of life, but a binding spell. 'I believe you're right.' she answered sadly, then hissed as loudly as she dared to the ceiling 'Castiel!'

You hear the soft sound of wings behind you and turn to see Castiel who immediately steps forward to examine Kate. He nods greeting to you and Ian but is already to the matters at hand. He kneels by her bed, touches her face with a frown and then turns to you in surprise. The darkness I warned you about Penny, during our unfortunate shower rendezvous, is gone. Ian arches a shrewd brow at mention of the shower meeting but holds silent. She still has a taint in her bloodline but it is not like before he shakes his head. Something is missing...why is there a cradle here? He then turns to look at you and falls silent. I see. Well perhaps it is best we obtain official answers from Kate. Do you wish me to awaken her from her stupor?

Penny paid no mind to their shower encounter. 'Gone? I had thought you were referring to our bloodline. I've been told we are related...' Penny trailed off. She was still maddeningly bound to linear time, still hoping the other possibility would not be true. 'Yes, please lift this curse.' she urged the angel.

Seeing Lily bail, Josephine did the exact same thing, following her as quietly as she could.

Penny: I believe I am... he replies with a scrutinizing frown. You recall I mentioned your own darkness? It's all starting to make sense, but perhaps I should wait until my theories are confirmed. He then turns to Kate and puts two fingers to her forehead, concentrating. A moment later her eyes flicker in recognition and it is as though you've truly wakened her now.

Kate: You see Penny, Castiel and Ian all standing about though Ian is trying to keep his distance it seems. You feel foggy, disoriented and confused. Something tugs at your memory, a baby? You glance to your left and see an empty cradle, for some reason this upsets you. To your surprise you feel long hair brush your shoulders. What is going on here?!

Josephine/Simon: Fortunately you all are able to move with impressive speed though Lily is gone so fast you almost gape. You find yourselves in a courtyard, still within the manor walls, a beautiful square courtyard with plants, bushes, benches, all manner of tranquil settings. Across the square you can see another part of the manor with windows and a set of double doors leading to another area of the house. Lily ducks into some bushes and hisses, Well that went poorly. At least we know how many possible demons there are now, provided there aren't more lurking around here. That's a lot to take on at once. What do we do about that stupid butler? We can always go back where he left us, have Jo lie or something. Or we can keep sneaking I suppose but if we're caught I think we're in some trouble. Thoughts?

"I've never been good at sneaking." He looked at the girls. "I think we should go back to the parlor for now. Wait until we are invited to the the head of household. I will say some prayers and try to get a feel for them. If they are demons, we may be in for a fight."

Not hearing another word, Penny sat beside Kate on the bed, laying an arm around her in support. She waited anxiously for Kate to recover and speak, almost shaking with grief held tight.

Shaking her head, Jo didn't like the sound of that,

"That seems like we're leaving too much up to chance. I say we find what we're looking for, on our own terms, and then get the heck out of dodge." she said, hoping the others would agree.

Simon looked a bit incredulous but was not going to disagree. he had already mentioned his lack of finesse with being sneaky, but it was a sound plan all the same.

Kate took in her surroundings trying to dig her way out of the annoying fog that still clouded the edges of her mind. "What the hell..." she muttered her voice hoarse from lack of use. Penny's arm around her shoulder was comforting but she could not ignore the panic she felt when she saw the empty cradle. Her eyes flicked to each person in the room looking for the obvious thing that was missing. "Where is the baby?" she asked softly, her gaze landing uncertainly back on the cradle.

There had been a baby. Yesterday? Last week? What day was it? Kate ran a hand through her much longer hair. Clearly some time had passed. Things were different. Off. If only she could remember. "What the hell happened to me?" she repeated looking to Penny in confusion.

Her stupor lifted, a shadow seemed to pass from Kate's eyes, showing recognition and a familiar gleam at last. Penny felt immense relief, but also renewed grief at what Kate might have lost. The baby. She put her other arm around Kate in a gentle, caring hug, her movements so easy and familiar. 'I'm here.' Penny murmured. Parting, it was a while before she responded, turning her question back 'Perhaps, first, you could tell me what you know?' She needed to know Kate's side of the story, before she dared put it all together.

Seeing Simon's look, Josephine's mouth shot open in worry, and she extended an apologetic hand,

"I'm so sorry father!" she said, touching his arm gently, "I didn't mean the big H word... I just meant we should get out when we have what we need." she said, hoping that his look wasn't because her words were offensive to him. She didn't know if 'heck' was a curse-word for the religious man, but she wanted to be safe.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:20, Wed 28 Oct 2015.

Simon gave Josephine a gentle smile. "It was not your language that gave me pause. I am...very bad...at being sneaky. I am as bad at it as Lily is good at it." He thought a moment, "But I am not opposed to your plan. Our job here was to be a distraction while Penny found Kate. I trust Penny will do her part, I just don't want her to get caught because we did not do ours."

Jo's look instantly melted into a smile,

"Oh thank..." she paused, "Thank goodness!" she said, clear relief flooding her face. His explanation made sense to her, so she just nodded in response.

"Let's get moving then, shall we?"

Simon/Jo: Lily's face blooms into a massive smile at Simon's compliment on her sneakiness and she laughs at Josephine's worry about offensive language. I am forever cutting myself off mid curse thanks to this man she puts an affectionate hand on the back of his neck and winks at him. He'll make a decent woman out of me if he has his way. In the meantime I think we should come up with an emergency plan. That stupid butler knows I am an Indian that you 'rescued' right? What's to say the stress of my new surroundings didn't make my savage side run amok? I say if we get caught you let me take the blame and claim to have been pursuing me when I panicked and then we got lost. It's easy to believe in a place like this. I think Josephine will have to be the one to tell the tale though. Simon's too good to lie and I'm hit and miss at it.

Penny/Kate: Her memory will start to reassert itself in a moment.Castiel informs all of you, watching the woman expectantly. Ian watches her warily, still wanting to know if he's out of trouble with her yet after the shifter's use of his form to trick her. ooc: I'm going to fill Kate in on some details, so more to come soon enough :)

Simon shrugged, "It sounds plausible. Just don't blame me when it is my fault we get blamed."

"It's like a bad dream," Kate murmured accepting Penny's comforting hug. The memories were returning, all to clear and with them they brought many emotions. She struggled to find the words to explain and it was a long while before she spoke.

"The shifter brought me to Belial," she began with a glance at Ian. "We have been here this whole time. The baby... she choked on her words, "is mine." The tears streamed down her face and she brushed them away angrily. "She's mine," Kate repeated firmly. She went on to explain that her ex fiancee was the father. This was confirmed by Belial himself who seemed to have a great interest in the baby. "It was never about me. Only the baby matters to him. They have not hurt me, even when I tried to fight back. They wouldn't risk the baby. They kept me under that spell because I escaped a few times."

Extracting herself from Penny's hug she crossed the room to the cradle. "They took her away a few days ago." There were so many holes... missing days, weeks, months. Kate sighed in frustration. "And that's all I know."

'Oh, Kate, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...' Penny sobbed, hugging Kate tight, as if her words and touch could quell the pain, and knowing there was no way it could. She watched Kate walk to the cradle, her blue eyes moist, on the verge of tears. 'Do you... do you know if there are other mothers here? Other babies?' she begged.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:36, Thu 29 Oct 2015.

Simon/Jo: It will be alright. I suppose we didn't come here just to sit on our hands so we may as well give it a try. If things get bad though you two run. I expect I will be alright she adds darkly and Simon you realize she is referring to her other self. ooc: Go ahead and roll another hide/ move silently. I will keep the same search rolls from before though so no worries there.

Penny/Kate: It is Castiel who answers. I doubt it Penny. I think we both know who the infant is. I suspect that Kate's former fiance was a Darkmoor and I doubt it was happenstance you two ended up together. You Kate, I believe you are a Blaeden. I think the darkness I felt within you before was your unborn child. Her combined blood hidden within your own dark Blaeden line concentrated the taint. he looks at Penny and explains. I have been studying since our last encounter. I've learned a great deal about both families though this is not the time or place to discuss it.

Smacks forehead.
09:12, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 11 using 1d20+1.  Move Silently.
09:11, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 14 using 1d20+1.  hide.

Penny was honestly surprised, her mouth open but speechless. She'd thought Dalton to be a common cad, a regret for Kate, best forgotten about. She'd paid him no mind. She'd never considered him as a part of Belial's scheme, that he could be one of the two families – a Darkmoor. So, he was her— the baby's father. With shock, dismayed at the scandal, Penny realised that she— the baby had been born out of wedlock, before quickly burying the notion and what it suggested about Kate. She came from a different time, less fettered by social mores. Penny had thought she'd unravelled the whole dreadful tale, but she'd still been surprised. She'd looked into the past, not the future.

'Castiel said we were related...' Penny rose, facing Kate, eyes filled with hope and tears. 'Kate, do you know where we are? ...This is Darkmoor Manor, Devon, my family home. I grew up here, my whole life... The year is 1863. I was born on the 21st of February – two months ago...' Penny trailed off, still fearful to make the inevitable conclusion, expecting Kate to disprove it. She needed to hear it from Kate.

19 and 24

"February twenty first, 1863." Kate muttered looking at Penny as if seeing her for the first time. She was feeling almost back to her old self. Enough to understand what Castiel had been implying. "How is that even possible?"

A few steps brought Kate closer to Penny and she raised a hand cautiously as if to brush her dear friends cheek. And in that moment Kate knew the truth. How could she have missed it before? While there was little resemblance to Kate, Penny clearly was her fathers daughter. The strawberry blonde hair and the clear blue eyes were some of his strongest features.

Kate's hand began to tremble and she covered her mouth in shock. "It's you," she said simply as fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She wanted badly to pull Penny into a hug, to hold her daughter again, even if it wasn't the same as holding the baby. Instead she waited giving Penny time and space to come to terms with this new information and what it meant for them.