Subj: Petofi's Maze
Date: 1/14/99 5:11:01 PM Central Standard Time
From: miranda

This story takes place in yet another parallel time. Everything up to the end of the 1897 story line is virtually the same and you will be able to clearly see any important differences.

Chapter One

Alone in the Old House Barnabas stared forlornly at the portrait of his beloved Josette. His mood had been predominated by depression since returning from 1897. Losing Josette again was more than he could bear or accept. How cruel fate could be to those in love. Just when Barnabas actually began to believe he would finally find happiness with Josette, reincarnated in the person of Kitty Soames, he was mercilessly snatched from the past and cast back to 1970. As Barnabas gazed at the portrait he once again played over in his mind how his plans to spend the rest of his mortal life in the past with Lady Kitty Hampshire were thwarted.

Barnabas walked through the woods on his way to the Old House to meet Lady Kitty. A branch scratched against his cheek and let loose a trickle of blood reminding Barnabas of his recently acquired mortality. His heart beat in rapt anticipation at the thought of finally being granted happiness with the woman he had yearned for during the past 175 years. His desire to recapture his love with Josette led Barnabas to pursue women whose mere appearance reminded him of his auburn haired beauty. Maggie, Vicki, and Rachel all had embodied Barnabas' undying hope of recapturing the contentment he once knew with Josette.

Now, all the longing and disappointment were soon to fade away like the darkness at sunrise. With Petofi defeated, burned alive in the fire at Tate's studio, and the werewolf curse which plagued Quentin kept dormant due to the magical properties of his portrait, nothing remained on which Barnabas needed to concentrate his efforts except his own happiness with Lady Kitty.

Barnabas quickened his pace and smiled as he thought of Kitty. They would marry quickly and settle into the Old House. Barnabas would restore it to its former glory and they would live out the rest of their lives together the way it should have been before Angelique came between them. Barnabas' thoughts of being united with his long lost love were interrupted by a familiar voice calling his name. It was muffled and far away, but it distinctly called his name. Barnabas stopped walking and listened intently. He slowly turned about in a circle. Was the voice coming from inside his head or was it real? The more Barnabas attended to the call, the clearer it became. "Barnabas!" it called in an urgent tone.

The voice continued to gain clarity. It was a familiar, female voice. Who was it who was calling him? Julia! It was Julia, but she had been transported back to 1970 weeks ago. Why was he hearing her call him? Then the realization dawned on Barnabas; she was calling him back to the present.

"No!" Barnabas mentally protested. He tried to block out Julia's voice. After all this time nothing would prevent him from achieving the happiness he longed for with Josette. Barnabas felt the preternatural struggle. Almost like a tug of war he and Julia fought against each other. His consciousness began to wane in and out of this dimension. Barnabas resisted with all of his might. He used every once of strength in his being, but he began to feel himself being stretched from his body. Barnabas thought of Kitty waiting for him at the Old House. He focused all his energy on her, but he could not fight off the pull on his life force.

With an inaudible scream of protest Barnabas was drawn out of his 1897 body. In an instant of time the body and casket were transported to the mausoleum where it would wait to be released until the later half of the 20th century. Barnabas found himself being pulled through a tunnel of light at speeds no mortal could comprehend. With a final bright flash everything went black. Barnabas realized he was back in his body again and slowly opened his eyes. Julia's concerned face leaned over him.

"Barnabas! You're back! I'm so glad you're all right." Barnabas said nothing in return. As he pulled himself up to a sitting position he recognized the familiar blue lining of his coffin. He stared blankly. He had been torn from his most promising hope for true happiness since Josette was in his arms back in 1795. Mistaking Barnabas' silence for disorientation Julia offered an explanation, "Barnabas… You're back in the present. Everything has changed. The ghost of Quentin no longer haunts Collinwood. The family doesn't even remember it happening, although I do suspect David does for some reason. Once the danger was gone I had hoped you would return to the cellar of the Old House because that's where I last saw your body before it disappeared. I went there every night searching for you. Then tonight, something strange happened. I heard a faint heartbeat. At first I thought it was my imagination, but as I followed the thumping it became louder. Then it suddenly came to me; your body was back in the mausoleum. When it disappeared from the Old House it must have been transported here. I opened the coffin and found you lying inside, but I was worried because you wouldn't respond. I called your name over and over. It seemed to take forever for you to open your eyes."

Barnabas couldn't articulate his pain and disappointment to Julia for days. Julia suggested that perhaps Barnabas needed to come back to 1970 for a reason. Maybe it was necessary for him to fulfill yet another purpose. Barnabas bitterly scorned the idea, remarking how unfair it was that he always had to play the hero in order to ensure everyone's happiness and well being, but his own.

Barnabas ended his reverie and turned towards the window. He must find a way to be reunited with Josette, but how?