8 years ago- how Harrison got his scar. Somewhere in Ireland
Background song: Born to die by Lana del rey
In the dimly lit room, their clandestine meetings were shrouded in secrecy, a dance of shadows and whispered desires. Harrison knew he should heed her words, the warnings that hung heavy in the air like the scent of forbidden fruit. But love, that most beguiling of emotions, held him captive in its relentless grip.
The poets, those masters of verse and metaphor, had never captured the essence of a heart swollen with love, pulsating within the confines of a body too small to contain it. Harrison’s love for Katrina defied the conventions of society, a force that laughed in the face of reason, an unyielding flame that consumed his very soul.
He stood there, a lord incognito, dressed as a commoner, drawn to the allure of a life unburdened by the strictures of his station. The common folk, he believed, possessed a freedom that the aristocracy could only dream of, yet their freedom came at the cost of opportunities denied.
“Lord Harrison, I thought I made myself clear,” Katrina’s voice, laced with a mixture of anger and longing, pierced the air as she perched her dance shoes atop a dusty cupboard. Her eyes, once filled with dreams of a different life, now held the weight of years stolen from her. Kidnapped and transplanted to a foreign land, forced into a life not of her choosing, she had become a performer, a pawn in a game of cruelty and avarice.
Katrina, a name stolen from her, replaced with Erin, the alias of her torment. But to Harrison, she was forever Katrina, a name that carried the echoes of her stolen innocence and the memories of a past that refused to be erased.
She was 9 and 10 now, Harrison was 6 and 10. When she was kidnapped Katrina was just eleven and her husband, her kidnapper, was in his 40s, an ugly thin man with a beard that does connect and droppy eyes.
“You did,” Harrison nodded,
“So then why are you here? Lord Harrison why?” She called him Lord instead of just Harrison because as soon as they met, she had seen through his disguised. He had went backstage to talk to her while her husband, her manager was not looking and she had asked him whether it was common for noble men to dress up like commoners, and asked him where he was from because he did not seem to be an irishman or at least fully one- Harrison had told her he was English, son of a former marquis and now earl. He had told her a lot about himself even when she had not asked because she had quite the eyes and aura that made you want to tell her everything. She listened attentively, she asked questions but did not share her own story and when Harrison had asked her whether or not she would talk. she had simply smiled sadly and told him to listen to her dance more attentively and left as her husband called for her.
After that day, Harrison would visit her home while her ‘husband’ was not around, and they had developed a close friendship that threatened to venture into something more. Katrina had told him a lot about herself, she did not use words- no, she only used words when words where necessary and Harrison needed an explanation, she used dance instead. She would dance to tell a story about her life, she would use her body movement to tell him all about her- her and her ‘husband’ the old man were not legally married, but to the people Cian Walsh, her husband knew, they were married- husband and wife though Katrina would never consider such a vile man a husband. She was from the east of Africa, her favorite color was a light red which suited her quite well and her favorite food was Injera, a traditional dish from where she was from. She had asked to know more about him, because she felt like he was hiding more, he had already told her so much but she desired more so Harrison told her more- he told her about the ‘business’ he was doing, how much he cared for them but could not let himself be seen by them not yet, because he fears that he would get too attached to them if that was the case. That he would want to visit them everyday and one way or the other people will be bound to find out about ‘them’ if that was the case and things would go south and that was not want Harrison wanted. They were innocent souls tainted by the evils of the world and Harrison did not want them to suffer an even worst faith under the eyes of the deceitful crowd.
Katrina, Katrina she had hugged grabbed his hand, she had called him kind- caring and she had sobbed when he told her the full story of how the business started. She had wished to meet them, she had told him but she knew she could not as she could never leave Ireland due to Cian Walsh, but she wished she could, she wished she could return back to her homeland, back to her people. Katrina then had impulsively kissed him, and well Harrison had returned the kiss. He had grabbed her by the waist, drawing her close, a rush of passion coursed through his veins as their lips met. In that stolen moment, they had become lovers- Harrison liked to think they were more than lovers, they were soulmates. In the greek myths, they had once talked about how humans were born with two heads, four arms, and four legs but Zeus fearing their power had cut them in half, separating them and condemning them to a life without their other half- Katrina was his other half. The one that Zeus had condemn him into a life without, she owned him body mind and soul, he had found her his soulmate and he never wished to let her go. But she wished he would, because her ‘husband’ started to suspect something and she feared for Harrison life, especially when Harrison had foolish talks of helping her escape, back to her homeland.
"I’m here because I cannot stay away from you Katrina, not when you are here suffering under the hands of your cruel husband,’ He walked closer to her, tracing the cheeks that were slightly swollen- he had hit her, that man had laid his hands on her and Harrison hands tightened at the thought of that. Katrina looked away, “Let’s run away, I’ll take you to Ethiopia.”
“Lord harrison-”
“Harrison, just Harrison.” Harrison corrected grabbing her hands as he placed a kiss on them. She retreated her hands, a sad expression on her face. She wished she could, she wished she could let herself love Harrison, not have to worry for his safety or for her’s, go back to Ethiopia and one day visit his ‘business’ but she could not do all that she could not, because her life was one made for tragedy. She put his hands on her face, using his hands to caress her swollen cheeks, tears trailing down her eyes.
“Harrison, I had never loved anybody, I had never known what love is in a while, but I have loved you and I will always will but you. You have to forget me, you are a noble, you have to return back to your family, you still have your family and I don’t have mine. Return to them, live your life with them and focus on your duties. Find a good bride, but if you do have a daughter, name her after me would you?” Her expression was like that of a defeated soldier, as she forced out a laughter, “Katrina is a good name for a little girl. You will make the best of husbands and best of fathers,” She told him as she grabbed her dance shoes back from the cupboard and began to put them on, today she would be performing as a swan, a swan raised by wolves. It was not a shock that a man such as Harrison had falling in love with a woman who does arts, a woman with a tragic life, it seemed to fitting for him- Harrison the lover of arts falling in love with an art piece.
“I’m going to go to perform, Leave!” She expressed the last part with exaggeration.
“I still think you should run away,”
“And I still think of you as mad, you are mad Harrison. You are mad and have no one to tell you that you are mad so I will to tell you myself. I cannot run away, I do not have the money, I do not know where ill go and i could get caught. Harrison, i am a woman, the world is not safe for women.”
“I know and I have already figured everything out, Katrina!”
“It’s Erin now, Harrison.” Katrina said pushing him away as she made her way through, but as she pushed him away, she was not using force or anything but Harrison stood at an uncomfortable position and he had slipped cutting himself on the sharp edge of a broken glass. Katrina turned to him with a look of horror, rushing towards him , bending down to reach his level. “Harrison, Harrison are you ok?” She clapsed her hands over her mouth, “Your face, Harrison. I’m so sorry I did not mean for this to happen,”
Harrison winced as the pain shot through his cheek, the warm trickle of blood staining his fingertips and her’s as she caressed his face. He tried to maintain a reassuring smile despite the stinging sensation and Katrina’s distressed expression.
“It’s alright, Katrina, it’s just a scratch,” he assured her, though his voice trembled slightly. He could see the guilt in her eyes, and it only deepened the complexity of their situation.
She reached for a piece of cloth nearby and gently pressed it against his wounded cheek, her touch soft and tender. The room seemed to hold its breath as they remained locked in that intimate moment, their hearts echoing the unspoken words that hung between them.
Harrison had always been a dreamer that was true, after all he had all the privilege in the world to dream, all the time to dream and Katrina not so much. She wished she could- she wished she could be a dreamer believe in a harrison and her but she could not. So as she cleaned his cheeks, she placed a bittersweet kiss on it and Harrison pulled her by arms so she would kiss his lips too.
To katrina, that was a goodbye kiss but to Harrison that was just more of a reason he should keep trying to free her from the cage she was stuck in. She went outside to dance and though she told him to leave Harrison waited in her house for her. he knew her ‘husband’ could come at any time but harrison did not care much- let her husband come he told himself. And he did, her husband came after 2 hours, dragging Katrina by the arm. He had not seen Harrison yet, but Harrison watched.
“Why did you come so late you vile thing,” The man said raising his hand to slap her, but before that could happen, Harrison stepped out of the shadows grabbing the man by his hand. The room felt charged with tension as all of their eyes met.
The man, Cian looked at him in confusion and Katrina in horror
“Enough,” Harrison declared, his voice steady and commanding. He had always been a man of privilege, used to giving orders, after all it was how he was brought up- he would soon be a titled man, taking his father place but he hoped it was not that soon of course.
Katrina’s husband turned to Harrison, his expression a mixture of surprise and anger. “Who are you, and what business do you have here?”
Harrison, however, didn’t dignify the question with a response. Instead, he took a step closer to Katrina, positioning himself between her and Cian.
With a swift, unexpected motion, the husband reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. In a desperate bid to protect Katrina, Harrison lunged forward, attempting to disarm the man. In the ensuing struggle, the knife grazed Harrison’s already wounded cheek, reopening the wound and causing fresh blood to flow. Ah yes Harrison knew, he was definitely bound to be scarred there for life. If that sharp thing had not wounded him enough then this would but Harrison did not care much about that.
Despite his age, the man Cian Walsh was shockingly strong, and harrison was still quite young- he was only 16 then after all, while the man was in his 40s-50s. They grappled, stumbling across the room, until finally the older man strength withered away. Cian let out a gasp, cluthing his chest and fell to the ground- he was not dead of course, just unconscious.
Breathing heavily, and touching the place where blood was like a stream. Harrison turned to Katrina, “Go, now,” he urged her, his voice filled with urgency. “I’ve arranged for a ship to take you to Ethiopia. There’s a friend I trust who will ensure your safety. Run, before he wakes up. I’ll handle things here.”
“Harrison, I cannot let you handle this by yourself, this is my fault. I’m sorry I should have never led you on and now I scarred you-i’m” Harrison pulled her into a hug.
“Do not blame yourself for anything, please just go. We might never see each other again but I rather that, than you be stuck with him. please for once in your life Katrina fly, be a dreamer, please leave. Leave this forsaken place please I beg of you.”
She gave him a look pulling away from their kiss, and pressed a final lingering kiss on his lips, and then with, a heavy heart she fled the dimtly light room, leaving behind the man she loved but could never truly have and the monster who she once been forced to call a husband.
Harrison clutch his heart, it felt so painful everything did-- his cheeks, his heart and he did not notice that he was crying till he touched his eyes and his fingers were wet. Katrina, such a beautiful name for a girl.
