Topic: Tales of a Fox Hunter

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2009-09-30 02:14 EST
The morning I found out about Etienne's imminent arrival was a morning like every one before it. I woke shortly before dawn and stayed in bed, watching the sun rise over Rhydin's rooftops. I love watching the sky's colours - first the soft, muted dove grey of predawn, then slowly, almost imperceptibly, pinks and oranges and salmons bloomed on the eastern horizon. It was as if there was a flower garden in the sky and every morning was spring.

When it was done and the sun was above the line of buildings in the east, I got up, made my bed and then went to the ewer and washed the sleep from my eyes. Glancing briefly into the mirror that hung above the washstand, I smiled at my reflection. Tendrils of wispy red hair had escaped their nightly braided binding and floated around my head, giving me a somewhat angelic look, I thought. I turned from the mirror, hands busy loosening the braid and combed through the tangles with my fingers. Standing in front of my open wardrobe, thoughtfully chewing my lower lip as I selected the day's clothing, I rebound my hair, this time in a loose, messy knot that hung against the nape of my neck. Today, I would be seeing a few patients and doing work in the gardens, so a pair of worn and faded jeans and a soft button-down shirt were slipped on before I descended the two flights of stairs to the kitchen on the ground floor of the house.

My sister-in-law, Gemma was hard at work, preparing breakfast. There was bacon frying, eggs cooking, potatoes being kept warm in the oven, biscuits baking. I caught the unmistakable scent of coffee as well and knew that my brother, Nick, would come downstairs soon, rubbing at blurry eyes, scratching a chin that was in desperate need of a shave and running a hand through his too-long, shaggy hair.

I set the table, putting out three plates, two coffee mugs, one juice glass and three forks and knives. I put a pitcher of ice-cold apple cider on the table, along with butter and peach preserves. Then I sat, quietly discussing the day's work with Gemma - laundry, the weekly baking, cleaning the house, canning the excess vegetables to have during the winter.

Nick stumbled into the kitchen and took a seat at the table opposite me, bleary eyed and rumpled from sleep, exactly as I'd expected. Gemma put a mug of coffee in front of him, and then added a plate heaped with bacon, fried eggs, potatoes and two biscuits, and I nudged the preserves over to him with my elbow. He grunted his thanks and then began eating, a sign that he was pleased. Gemma and I exchanged a smile and then joined him. We were silent as we broke our fast earnestly, the only sounds that filled the kitchen the occasional scrape of utensils against plates.

Nick cleared his plate and sat back, cradling his coffee in one hand, the other idly tracing the grain of the wood in the table. Gemma and I exchanged a look. Nick's behaviour could mean only one thing; he'd had a Dream the night before and was reluctant to bring it up.

"Well," I prompted him, spreading a thick layer of preserves on one half of a biscuit before taking a big bite. Gemma smirked, knowing the question would annoy her husband. He liked doing things in his own way, in his own time.

Nick frowned at us both and drained his coffee before sitting forward, his elbows on the table, drawing a disapproving look from Gemma. "I had a Dream last night, Ali," he said in a conspiratorial voice, as if it was some big, secret revelation.

"I know, Nick," I replied, disinterestedly. I really was excited to hear the Dream, but didn't want my interest to go to Nick's head. He had enough trouble fitting through doorways as it was now. Gemma hid another smirk behind the rim of her coffee cup.

"Oh' Well, then you don't need to hear what I Dreamt, do you? If you know so much already," he said petulantly, childishly pouting that I had ruined his grand announcement.

"Come on, Nick. Out with it. You know we're all sitting on the very edges of our seats, giddy with anticipation. Don't prolong the suspense!" Gemma replied, tongue firmly in cheek.

Nick gave his wife a bland look and then pushed a stray bit of potato around his plate, drawing out the moment for as long as possible. When he sensed that we were fairly bursting with impatience, he grinned smugly, knowing he had us on the hook. "There's someone coming through nexus, Ali. Someone important," he intoned gravely.

My brows shot up in surprise. "Who, Nick" Who's coming" Why are they important?"

"A Knight from a foreign land. He'll arrive hurt, confused, in pain. He'll need you to help him, Ali. In fact, he'll depend upon it."

I blanched and glanced down at my hands, which were gripping the edge of the table in front of me tightly. "My help, Nick" But..." I trailed off and looked up at my brother, pain and anguish in the sky blue depths of my eyes. He gave me a soft, supportive smile and reached out, laying his hand over mine. I closed my eyes against the vision his touch brought - the first time he saw me, the day I was born. Was this the way he always saw me" Tiny, weak, defenseless" Then I realised that it was the moment that he'd promised himself that he'd always take care of me and look out for me no matter what.

"He'll help you, too, Ali," Nick said softly. "That I promise. I've Seen it, after all," he added confidently.

I frowned softly, looking back down at my hands, mulling over my brother's words. Help me" How" By taking away my Gift' That would be...well, that would just be beyond phenomenal. But I wouldn't, couldn't be that lucky. Maybe he'd teach me to control it somehow. One corner of my mouth curled in a lop-sided grin as I considered this. Control would mean I wouldn't have to wear gloves outside the farm. Control would mean being able to actually touch my patients without fear of discovering their deepest, hidden secrets. I sighed softly.

"But, you'll have to go to the Inn to retrieve him," Nick said wickedly. "And since I wasn't shown when he'd come, you'll have to go every night until he shows up." This news was delivered with only the tiniest hint of malicious glee. He and our late father had worked hard to keep me from visiting the Red Dragon Inn, in the interests of keeping me out of harm's way. Someone with my particular Gift would certainly have a hard time of it in such a place. They'd painted the building black in my mind - devils and demons cavorting nightly, debauchery on the bar's counter top, all sorts of lewd and anti-social behaviour happening upstairs in the rooms for let. And now....Now I would be forced to go there every day until the Knight made his appearance. Nick was practically vibrating with the delicious irony of this fact. He loved me, but there were times when he thought I needed a healthy dose of sibling torture.

My mouth gaped, my chin wagging on my chest. Gemma swatted Nick, murmuring something about not teasing his little sister, and then said to me, "Catching flies, Aliss Evelyn?" I shut my mouth promptly, colouring at Gemma's comment. She laughed and then she rose from the table and began clearing away the breakfast dishes while Nick and I further discussed Nick's Dream.

"Do I have to go to the Inn, Nick" Couldn't you do it' Please?" I wheedled and whined and pleaded but Nick was firm - it had to be me. I had to be the one to help the Knight after his violent and surprising arrival in Rhydin. My face had to be the first he saw; Nick was adamant in this. I finally, after much arguing, agreed and left the table, going out to my gardens and losing myself for the remainder of the day in the quiet of plants. I'd begin my nightly vigil at the loathsome Red Dragon that night.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2009-10-27 02:24 EST
A lance of sunlight laying across my face woke me the morning after the Harvest Masquerade Ball. I stretched luxuriously, groaning as joints popped and muscles flexed, and turned onto my side, reaching out for "tienne across the nest of blankets that served as our bed. As my hand encountered only emptiness, my eyes snapped open and I gasped. How could I have forgotten" He was gone, back to his own time and place. My heart felt as though someone had plunged a dagger into it and I curled up under the blankets and wept.

It was hard for me to believe that only a fortnight had passed since "tienne had come to Rhydin. So much had changed during that short time. I had fallen hopelessly in love, gotten engaged, agreed to help Nick resurrect Cameron Horse Farms, learned to control my Gift...and now all of that stood poised on the edge of a knife, a drop to certain doom on other side of the precarious perch.

Three days ago, Rathanael, an angelic messenger from "tienne's god, had appeared to tell "tienne that he had just three days to prepare himself for a return trip to Paris. His fellow Chevaliers de Templiers were still imprisoned, held on charges of heresy, conspiracy to overthrow the French King...and worse. Torture and death by burning awaited them. Rathanael said that "tienne would rescue them and bring them back here, to Rhydin, where together they would start a new order of Knights, Les Chevaliers de Saint-Michel, charged with...well, that part wasn't quite clear yet. But it would involve saving the world at some point, we had been assured.

"tienne accepted this news with his typical quiet, faithful stoicism. I raged against the angel, coming just short of cursing him. How could he take my Love from me before we were married" How could he endanger the future I'd Seen for us " three beautiful, curly blond-headed boys who were all the spitting image of their father" How could "tienne and Rathanael's god seemingly deliver "tienne from the same fate that awaited the other Templiers just to send him right back into the same situation' The angel, of course, gave me no answers, just told us to be ready three days hence, at midnight, and disappeared.

With this Sword of Damocles now hanging over our heads, we determined to enjoy the next three days as much as we could. We spent every waking moment together, working on one of the run-down houses on Cameron lands, restoring it to perfect condition so we could move in after our wedding. Our nights were spent curled up on the floor of our newly renovated parlour, entwined in each other's arms in front of the hearth, talking, reading out-loud to each other, making love.

"tienne and I had attended the Ball the night before dressed as Romeo and Juliet, the star-cross'd lovers from Verona who met with a tragic ending. I hadn't thought that perhaps my choice of costume would foreshadow our own future. Rathanael, damn his eyes, had shown up half-way through the evening to remind "tienne of his promise. He would be waiting for us at midnight. We left the party soon after, spirits dampened and anxious to say our private good-byes.

The angel, true to his word, popped into the parlour at midnight, scaring "tienne and I both nearly out of our skins. With a smirk and a snarky comment, the angel left us to dress, going out to the stables.

I left our nest, dressing myself hastily in my shift and "tienne's cloak and went out into the cold night after the angel. There was something I wanted to speak to him privately about.

I stood in the doorway of the stables and watched as the angel fed the big grey destrier, Gris, and my smaller hunter, Torch. I cleared my throat and said softly, "I want something from you."

Rathanael turned, crossed his arms and arched a brow at me. "What is that?" he asked.

I met his eyes boldly and said, "I want your word that you will keep him safe while he's apart from me. I want you to swear it, Rathanael. Swear to me that you will watch over him." The angel paused a moment, the corners of his mouth pulled down in thought. "He will not go if you do not give me your word," I said firmly.

"I cannot promise you that, Aliss, but I will promise to bring him back alive."

"That is not good enough. I want your word that you will keep him safe from harm. Swear it or he'll not go." I said this as if I could keep "tienne against his will.

"You must have faith, Aliss." In him."

"I put my faith in you...and your god."

The angel looked surprised. "You have no faith in your beloved" Do you doubt him' Do you fear he will fail" He needs you, of all people, to believe in him."

I gave him a disgusted look." "Of course I believe in him." Of course I have faith in him. But, from what he tells me, your god is whom I should put my faith in."

"I am not privy to God's wishes; however, I know that Michael has plans for him. That he has a purpose."

I sighed." "You will not swear to keep him safe?" You will not give me your word?"

"I will do what I can, but there are things I cannot see," the angel said firmly.

I narrowed my eyes at him and stomped back into the house, muttering blackly under my breath. When I returned to the parlour, Rathanael was already there, helping "tienne into his gambesons and chain mail. The white mantle, emblazoned with a fiery sword, the archangel Michael's symbol, went on last. Seeing "tienne standing before me in his full Knightly regalia took my breath away.

I glanced at the angel, my jaw clenched tightly. Rathanael left us then, going outside once more. I sighed and said to "tienne, "He will not give me his word...he will not swear to me that he will keep you safe."

"tienne frowned at me. "I will be fine, Ali. I do not need his word to know that."

"But I don't. Don't you understand that?" My voice trembled as I fought against the tears that pricked my eyes.

"tienne came to me and laid a hand against my cheek. I threw myself into his arms, sobbing against his chest. "Why won't he do this for me" Why won't he just promise me he'll keep you safe?" I wailed.

He held me close and stroked my hair, trying to comfort me. "Perhaps he cannot." Perhaps it is not allowed." He lifted my chin to face him. "Is my promise not enough' I cannot believe God would deliver me from the dungeon into your arms only to let me die. I will not believe that."

I looked up into his beautiful, warm brown eyes, my face solemn and tear stained. "I'm so frightened, "tienne," I whispered.

"I am not afraid, Ali, because I know God will protect me," he answered.

I sniffed and raised my hands to wipe my face." "When you pray, you are talking with him, right?"

He nodded. "Oui, ma chere. C'est vrai."

"Then I will do this." I paused for a moment, chewing my bottom lip in thought. I looked back up at him and asked, "How do you pray?"

He smiled and pressed my hands together. "Like this. Just close your eyes and tell Him what is in your heart."

I nodded." "And he will hear me?"

"He will hear you, ma chere amor."

I stepped back from "tienne then and he finished dressing " sliding on the mail gloves and tucking his helmet under one arm. When he was done, he took me in his arms once more, holding me closely, his body trembling with unshed tears. I kissed him, softly, chastely, and he turned, going out the front door to disappear in a shock of white light.

I slowly closed the front door and returned to our nest, sinking down on my knees in the middle of it. I closed my eyes, pressed my hands together like he'd shown me and began praying to a god I had never heard of fifteen days ago.

"Please," I whispered, my voice thick with tears. "I'm to tell you what?s in my heart, but my heart is so full of him, there isn't room for anything else. Keep him safe, watch over him and bring him back to me."

?tienne would be gone only three days, but I knew I wouldn't breath the entire time.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2009-10-28 01:02 EST
The lance of sunlight that had woken me had moved about a foot while I lay huddled and miserable in my nest of blankets. I sighed and roused myself, feeling guilty for indulging in self-pity when there was so much work to be done. The house, which had stood empty for five years, wasn't falling down but there was enough work to keep me busy and hopefully keep my mind from lingering on "tienne's absence.

I dressed quickly in jeans and one of my brother Nick's cast-off shirts before neatly folding the blankets and setting them aside. I went to the basket of food in a corner of the parlour and dug out one of the few remaining pears, a hunk of cheese and a small loaf of black bread. As I ate, I wondered whether "tienne was safe in Paris, breaking his fast as well, possibly in the company of his brother Templiers.

After finishing my breakfast, I smoored the fire in the hearth and slipped on my boots. I went outside, to the small three-stall stable that "tienne had finished repairing just the day before. Gris and Torch greeted me with soft snorts and nickers and I turned them out into the corral beside the stables. I mucked out their stalls, adding the soiled straw and manure to a new pile that was growing behind the building. I covered the floor with a new layer of clean straw, forked out some hay and replenished the horses's water before returning to the house.

Nick was building kitchen counters and cabinets for us and before he could install them, I had to clean away five years worth of dust and cobwebs. I attacked the accumulation of grime with a vengeance and soon lost myself in clouds of dust, heedless of the webs that lay over my hair like a bridal veil.

Hours later, though it could have been only minutes for all the attention I'd been paying to the world outside my own thoughts, there was a soft tapping at the back door. I straightened from the kitchen hearth and glanced around the room. The floors sparkled, the warm honeyed oak boards glowing in the sun that slanted through the spotless windows. "tienne had told me that he'd never had a home before " he'd been raised by monks until he was old enough to join the Templiers and then he'd lived in tents and strongholds, surrounded by men and horses. I smiled softly; I'd give him a home to be proud of.

The tapping at the back door once more roused me from my thoughts and went to see who it was. I opened the door and was greeted by the view of my brother's russet hair shining in the afternoon sun. I glanced past him and was surprised by a wagon piled high with furniture and boxes, and by the presence of Alex, Nathaniel and Josiah Brown, our farrier and his teen-aged sons. I looked back at Nick, a brow raised in question.

Nick shrugged a little and said softly, "Since you're living out here now, I thought you'd want your things. I've got your clothes and books here, some furniture...a bed." The last was said in a somewhat strangled voice and Nick's eyes slid over my shoulder, no doubt looking for "tienne.

"Well," I said, stepping aside so the men could come inside. "Come in. I'm sorry but I haven't anything to offer you to drink or eat. I....Well, I wasn't expecting anyone."

The Browns trooped past me, carrying boxes full of clothing and books, and made reassuring noises. They hadn't expected refreshments; they'd come to work. I pointed them up the stairs to the bedroom farthest to the back. They carried their loads up the stairs, leaving Nick and I alone in the kitchen.

"He'll be gone then?" Nick said, refusing to meet my eyes, instead looking around the room as if the clean walls held the secret to communicating with me.

"Yes. He's gone. He left last night, after the Masquerade." The relationship between my brother and my fiance had been strained since I had told Nick that "tienne and I hadn't waited until we were married before we'd slept together. In fact, Nick had been so incensed at this news he'd punched "tienne, bruising his jaw and further driving a wedge between the two most important men in my life. "tienne had left, refusing to sleep another night under the same roof with Nick. That had been four days ago; I hadn't seen or talked to Nick since then.

"The roof looks good. Sturdy, safe. The stables, too," Nick said. He looked down at me and I could see the unspoken apology in his storm-cloud eyes. He took a step closer to me and reached out, his fingers gently brushing a cobweb from my face. "I'm sorry, Aliss," he whispered.

I closed the distance between us and hugged him tightly, my head tucked under his chin just like when we were children. "It's not me you need to apologise to; I'm not the one you hit," I answered.

He sighed and kissed the crown of my head. "When he comes back, Ali, I promise." He released me and stepped back. "Help me lug in this furniture before it starts raining." I nodded and followed him outside.

A few more hours passed in companionable silence as the men and I worked, unloading the wagon and arranging furniture. Soon the kitchen had a table and six chairs, and the parlour held a crushed velvet sofa, a wingback chair and two bookshelves. Our bedroom held a bed, a washstand with a ewer and pitcher, a wardrobe and my hope chest. Nick had even brought food " the larder was stuffed with apples, pears, squash, an entire smoked ham, a rasher of bacon, potatoes, eggs, a wheel of cheese, some flour, coffee and sugar.

The Browns refused a meal, instead accepting a few packets of medicinal teas and a salve for burns and were on their way back to their own house, driving the wagon. Nick left soon after; the skies were filling with rain clouds and a breeze had sprung up.

I stood in the doorway of the house and watched as Nick rode away. I had enjoyed the men's company, even thought we hadn't spoken more than ten words during the entire time. Now that they were gone, the house seemed too big, the emptiness echoing.

I shut the door and retreated to the kitchen. I wasn't really hungry, but I knew I had to eat. I fixed myself an omelette and a pot of tea and then went upstairs to unpack boxes of clothing and put them away in the wardrobe. Nothing of "tienne's was in the boxes; he'd taken it all with him when he'd left. It was almost as if he had never existed; he might have been a dream for all the evidence he'd left behind.

My fingers brushed across something metallic and circular. I pulled it out of the box and held it in my open palm. It was a brooch that had belonged to "tienne's mother " the only thing he had of her. He'd given it to me, entrusted this tiny bit of himself into my keeping. I closed my eyes and curled my fingers around the brooch so tightly that the edges of the jewelry dug into my flesh. I laid it aside, propping it up on the base of the candlestick next to the bed and continued emptying boxes.

When I finally finished, I judged the time to be near midnight. I stretched, working the kinks out of my limbs and stripped off my clothing, shrugging on my shift and washing my face before slipping into bed. I closed my eyes and prayed silently to "tienne's god, asking him once more to keep my Love safe and return him to me. Then I snuggled into the covers and fell asleep. I'd survived the first day alone. As long as I could keep busy, I knew then I could survive the next two.