A Forever Promise

"M...Mara..?" She sat opposite him, grinning. Edmund sat up. He surveyed his surroundings, blinking in confusion. Where the hell was he? He was in a train carriage.

The noise, rumble of wheels on the track was familiar. He looked out of the windows. A visually common, though unknown, landscape hurtled by. He stared into the middle distance, expecting to recall…something.

A smattering of panic whispered along the pit of his stomach. What was going on? He looked around the carriage. It was new, brand new. The upholstery was modern; leather-covered seating, wood and aluminium framing and flooring. How had he got there?

A suppressed giggle from Mara snapped him into the present. She was laughing openly, relishing his confusion. He watched her enjoying his discomfort. She stopped chuckling, composing herself.

"You look like a confused toddler." She smirked. Edmund remained silent, his discombobulation remaining. "I suspect", Mara began, settling into her role as the person in control, "you are wondering what is going on?" She paused for effect, watching Edmund's expression closely. Confusion reigned. He stood up unsteadily, the carriage swaying as it thundered along.

"Mara, what's going on? Where are we? Where are we going?" As the torrent of questions poured from him, Edmund struggled to maintain a facade of calm. As she stood to face him, she was still smirking.

Their eyes met, an eyeballing battle. The smile faded from Mara's face, her expression severe, betraying her true feelings. She turned away, not wanting her fury to best her. Edmund looked out of the window again. There was still no landmark he recognised and the train was not slowing.

"Mara what -" his words halted as she turned swiftly to face him, eyes narrowing as her face contorted angrily. She opened her mouth to speak and stopped, turning from him again. A perplexed Edmund was unsure of what to do. Nothing was making sense.

"Um, Mara, why are we on a train?" She turned slowly this time, a smile-cum-grimace beneath her angry eyes.

"Because you lied." She hissed.

"What?" Edmund was utterly dumbfounded. He lied? About what? Seemingly reading his mind, Mara answered his question.

"You lied about us! You lied to me! You said there was no one else for you!" She stated wild-eyed. Edmund looked to his wrist, wanting to know the time. No watch. He searched his person for his mobile. No phone. What time was it? It was still daytime wherever in the world he was. Was he awake? What day was it? He must be dreaming.

"Ow!" Mara slapped him. "Don't ignore me!" As he rubbed his face, Edmund realised he was not dreaming. This extraordinary situation was real. He stepped back from the increasingly furious Mara.

"What...what's going on? Why are you here? Why are we here?!" He looked out of the window again, "where are we?!" He pleaded.

Mara was laughing again. She was the baddie. She was the antagonist, the supervillan and she knew it. It could be no other way. She would revel in the role.

"Remember when you said I was the perfect woman for you? That you could not see yourself with any other?" Mara demanded.

Edmund shook his head. This was madness. The accusations continued. "You", she pointed in his face for emphasis, "said we would grow old together! You -"

"What the hell is the matter with you? Why are you talking like this?" Edmund interrupted forcefully, hoping to get a grasp on proceedings. Mara, convinced of her purpose, would not be dissuaded.

"'why are you talking like this?'" She mocked. "You know why!" She turned away again, pacing the small carriage floor. He watched her warily. They had history. He thought he knew her, but he had never seen this facet of her personality. This Mara, he did not know.

The train bucked violently as it sped up, causing them to stagger in the carriage. Edmund went to the window, looking to see where the train was headed. Looking both ways, all he could see, were carriages rocking as the train rocketed along. The landscape remained as impenetrably commonplace as ever.

Mara was cackling gleefully. He turned furiously towards her once more. "Tell me what's going on! Where are we going?!" A mischievous look replaced Mara's cackling.

"Do you know what time it is?" She waited, observing his anger and frustration. "How silly of me! I took your phone. Of course, you don't! Probably don't even realise it's Saturday!" She guffawed.

"S-Saturday?" Edmund's eyes widened much to Mara's enduring glee. "Saturday! I'm getting married today!" He was frantic.

"Don't think so..." Mara muttered, his anguish adding to her enjoyment. Edmund was panicking now. He rushed to the doors of the carriage and exited to the corridor. Mara followed after him.

"I have to stop the train...! I've got to get off!" He was talking to himself, ignoring Mara. "Need to find out where I am! How do I stop this damn train?!"

"You can't." He stopped at her words. "What do you mean?" With rising desperation, he grabbed her. "What are you talking about?!"

"I'm talking about," Mara was not smiling or smirking anymore, she met his angry eyes defiantly, unblinking, "a promise you made to marry only me. You said that if you did not marry me, you would not marry, anybody."

Edmund let her go, shocked, "I asked you to marry me! You ended it! You didn't want to get married!"

"I was not ready." Mara stated as though it should have been obvious.

"That was eight years ago! You left the country!" She shrugged her shoulders; "I was not ready." Incredulous, he stepped away from her.

"Jesus, Isabelle must be wondering where I am!" He was frantic once more, a solution to this nightmare he found himself in, refusing to present itself. Mara had more to tell him.

"No, not at all. Isabelle is not wondering where you are." She stopped talking, savouring his undivided attention at the mention of his fianceé's name.

"She on the train," Mara informed him. "What?! Where?" He demanded.

"I'll tell you when you're warm." She grinned. He grabbed her again, pulling her towards him threateningly. "Where. Is. She?! Where's Isabelle?!" "Cold." Shocked, he released her. He would have to find Isabelle. He checked the next carriage, looking for her.

"Isabelle! Isa!" Edmund bellowed. Behind him, Mara followed: "Lukewarm." He moved to the next carriage. Still lukewarm. Two more carriages; "you're getting warmer." Mara teased. He looked back at Mara.

"I'm not lying. You're getting warmer." A realisation. He moved quickly down the corridor, heading towards the front of the train. Behind him, a gleeful Mara continued with her lexicon of heat-related words; warmer, toastie, heating up, hot.

"Hellfire! Burning up!" She screamed excitedly. They were three carriages from the front of the train. Edmund burst into the carriage: "Isabelle! Isa! Isabelle!" He confronted Mara, "where is she?! You said she was on the train!"

"She is." Mara looked up. He followed her gaze, looking at the ceiling. "What are you..." he suddenly understood what she meant.

"Jesus Christ, Mara! We have to stop the train! The driver has to stop the train!" Edmund rushed out of the carriage, turning towards the driver's carriage. The driver's carriage was empty.

"It's automatic," Mara explained matter-of-factly.

"How do we stop the train then?! We need to stop this fucking train!" He screamed.

"Easy." She pointed to a large red button on the driver's control panel. Edmund rushed to the button. He was about to press it: "I wouldn't do that." Mara cautioned.

"Why not? I need to stop the train!" He pleaded. She nodded, understanding. "We are travelling at about one-and-twenty kilometres an hour. So, the short explanation is inertia." He was confused. Mara clarified, "When we stop, darling Isabelle will keep going," she explained, miming a plane crashing, "splat!" Edmund smiled, "You're lying! You sound like a Bond villan!" Mara showed him a video feed of a restrained Isabelle sitting on a chair attached to the top of the train.

Colour drained from Edmund's face. He stepped back from the console. "What are we going to do," he murmured, "what do you want?" Mara gave him his choices.

"Here are your options: Press the button and forget Isabelle or in about," she looked at her watch, "twenty minutes we are all going to die." By her expression, Edmund could see she was serious. She carried on.

"The end of the track runs into a mountain. I'd guess we are about fifty kilometres away."

"This is crazy! Mara? Mara? You cannot be serious?" Edmund asked, even though her expression told him the answer. Only the sound of the train remained. Mara sat serenely, patiently, waiting. The minutes passed. Edmund glanced at her furtively, trying to discern whether she was as scared as he was. He jumped up.

"I'll stop the train! I'll stop the train..." he blurted. Mara looked at her watch and smiled. "It doesn't matter now. You're too late." She fell silent.

"What...what do you mean?" Again he asked a question he knew the answer to. Mara stretched out a hand to him.

"Come and sit with me." She said gently.