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| Colleen stored the aged violin back in the vault. She made a mental note that her will would remain as it was. She was likely to outlive Ali given the nature of things, but some things were just the right thing to do.
His refusal to take the violin had surprised Colleen but had not hurt her feelings as he might have thought. Given what she had asked of him, she understood. Her tattered memories had had one more set of stitches added; Ali was a man of integrity. He could easily have given lip service to the promise to not sell the Stradivarius and sold the instrument for the high price it would command at any auction.
She made a trip to her banker in Rhydin City and made arrangements for an account to be opened. Considering the potential value of what she had offered, the sum of five thousand gold was a pittance. A letter was delivered to Ali's shop by courier.
Ali,
Last night when you refused the Strad, you helped a piece or two of my memory come back into place. You are a man of integrity who would, in my opinion, rather not make a promise to a friend that could easily be broken if the right circumstances were to happen. In light of this, I have decided to give you a more practical birthday and wedding gift. Enclosed with this letter is information regarding the bank account that was opened this morning in your name. All that is required is that you provide the bank with a signature.
Take your lovely Fio on a trip, buy something you need or that your heart desires. Buy that bike back if you haven't already.
Colleen | |
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| 27 Sunshare 1277
Your grandfather made an apple pie for the first time. He was quite pleased with himself! There's a certain knack to pinching the edge of the crust and it takes a bit of time to get it perfect. The finished pie was very good and we topped it with some sweetened cream. I think the next experiment will be strawberry shortcakes. I say cakes because they are made in small servings for individuals. Your father is fond of strawberries.
He brought me these lovely plants called cloud thistle. He's always doing thoughtful things like that. I'm especially fond of his wood carvings. He is very skilled and those gifts have come from the heart. In time you will learn that giving of yourself is usually more important than giving of what your purse holds.
Winter is several cycles away, but I'm already putting up some berries and apples for the winter. The new house will have a root cellar among other things that we don't have at the cottage. It will serve as cold storage for the butter I make as well as the fresh milk from our cow. I have considered getting another cow, but I think that will wait until the two of you are a bit older. The cow we have produces enough milk for us now, but growing children need more than adults.
It will soon be time to go to my homeland and claim the crossbred horses. We can house them in the new stables. Those that remained behind are about a year old now. Saoirse's foal should come around the end of Warmgrow.
Your Papa wanted to know if you are ready to learn to ride yet. By the time Yearpass comes you should be sitting up well enough on your own that we can get you up in the saddle and get you used to feel of one. Of course, by then it will be too cold for children so little to be outside much. I think, though, that we can find a way to get things underway. Maybe a sleigh ride or two would be a good idea. We'll see what the winter brings.
I have spent the last couple of tendays working on a new dress. I shall need it soon. One day, I'll tell you all about that event.
It is hard to believe that it's been two years since I arrived here. Summer will be upon us very shortly. Now that I figured a way to keep the pair of you settled outdoors, I shall have little or no difficulties getting work done in my garden. Next year, though, will prove to be a bigger challenge. Four small feet running about can cause a great deal of mayhem. So, I think I should set aside a part of the garden for both of you to play in. I'm sure you'll be mud from head to toe, but that is what soap and water is for! | |
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| 13 Sunshare 1277
Your grandfather has moved into the cottage with us. Thankfully, we get along well despite each of us having stubborn moments from time to time. I must admit that there is a sense of great comfort in this for me. He reminds me of my own beloved grandfather. I hope you will enjoy as close a tie to him as I did to Daideó.
You, Raymond Michael, are named for your grandfather and mine. Lark Aleysia, you carry the name of your father's mother as your second name. It seems that middle names are not necessarily a tradition here. My own mother gave me three names, one of which was the surname of my grandfather. Kirin Fand, my children, is not the name my parents chose, but one that was chosen for me due to unusual circumstances. Fand is the name of a sea goddess, she was called the "Pearl of Beauty." Pearl was Daideó's pet name for me.
In quiet hours when you are napping, I spend some time writing down the stories Grandfather Raymond has to tell. I try not to tire him, but when it comes to telling stories about his family, he could go on for hours. Stories of shearing a dog and and chopping down saplings for a treehouse are my favorites. It is important to know who we are, who come from. The Lexingtons on the farm in Pigeon Creek are who your father comes from. You are part of that family and its history, you are part of its future.
Something I hesitate to write. Your father worries that he will not see you grow up. Should that happen, you are what he will leave behind. Eventually, you will be what we leave behind. No matter who questions the circumstances of your birth, know that you are loved. Carry that with you always. It is as much a part of our legacy to you as land that is passed from parent to child. | |
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| 1 Gentrain 1277
And so, you are here, the pair of you; just a bit over a cycle old. Four tiny hands and feet, twenty fingers and toes all accounted for. I thank Danu and Nostrella along with Hannah, Kai, and Cailin for your safe arrival. Nostrella is a goddess of healing and many here believe in her power, many do not. Danu is the mother goddess of my people. Those of us that come from her are called the Tuatha Dé Danaan (we say this too-ah-hah day dah-nuh-n) which means the people of Danu.
You are children of two worlds, but you will grow up in this one. I am quite happy that neither of you has my ears. It will be easier for you to get along in life without being labeled as a half breed or an outlander. Life is not always easy for either of those. My happiness at your lack of pointed ears pales beside my joy that both of you are healthy.
Your births are recorded with the magistrate in Dreven as such: Raymond Michael and Lark Aleysia Lexington, son and daughter of Willam Lexington and Kirin Fand, born in good health on the twenty-fifth day of Fadefrost of this year, and so sworn by said Willam Lexington, a major in the Order of the Silver Moon Knights, before the officer of the court and these other witnesses.
I have had little time of late to write these memories down! I have been busy tending to you and revising the plans for the house. It seems that your grandfather is considering remaining near Dreven. I have not discussed it with your father, yet, but I have added an extra room to the plans for the first floor, just in case. Your Grandfather Raymond has promised stories for you. I have thought about asking Malie to write them down as he tells them.
Your brother, Vittal, first came to see you when you were a bit over a tenday old. While he seemed a bit uncomfortable at first, I think in time he will adjust well to having a brother and sister. It cannot be easy on him having returned from an extended time on patrols to find that not only had the pair of you arrived, but that your papa's father and brother were here as well. A large family tree has blossomed or maybe one might say that it has been dropped on him. I can only imagine how awkward (at best) that this is for him. It warmed my heart to watch Vittal and your papa with Raymond Óg. (Óg, I might note means young in Irish and is oft used to distinguish a younger namesake from an elder.) Time, patience, and a bit of faith are what is needed.
I was always taught to do my best to treat people kindly. I sometimes fail in this, but I do try. My advice to you, my children, in this regard is that a small bit of kindness might go a long way. Buying someone a drink or a meal when you can afford it and they cannot is a simple way of showing regard for other folk. If asked for recompense tell the person that they owe you nothing save to do a good turn for someone else when they are able. This good turn need not involve money as some might think, it may be the giving of one's time or skills. This was a lesson passed on from my grandfather. | |
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| On the eighth of Bitewind, Kirin had word that Will had gone off on patrol. Since it came from Kai and not Will himself it was a sign that something was not right. While it was not uncommon for Will to go off on a patrol with his knights at any given time, it was unlike him to have not told her. In the end it was simple, he needed time to think. The last time he went off like that, Kirin had delivered the news that Bug was coming.
On the thirteenth, Kirin arrived at the Crosswinds just in time to hear something that made her blood run cold. Ollie Faswell was an odd boy to say the least. That night, he was being particularly strange.
"When I was little, sick people used to send for a special killer to kill them. Well, not all sick people just some of them." And after much rebuttal from the crowd of adults, he asked, "Well, what if the healer can't help them anymore and they just want to die? DO you think it's a good idea to kill them?"
Kirin just couldn't believe it, it was mind boggling! That boy is getting stranger all the time. I wonder just what he is up to. Where is he going with all of this? Has he lost what little mind he has left? And what did he just ask....
"I mean, what if her arms and legs were cut-off or something like that and she said, Kill me! Please Cris if you love me, then kill me. Would you do it?"
By Danu, the boy really is crazy!
"Or would you stick her parts in a sack and run off to a healer with her and get them sewn on? He paused and turned to Pol. "Well, what if she was bleeding really slow or something?"
Pol's right! Ollie IS a morbid child! Where's the dog? I thought he was supposed to be track of the little...
"I want to try everything everyone else has tried and more." The boy smiled. "I'll leave no stone unturned."
Good goddess, the boy has lost it... did he ever have it?? And what IS it anyway? What was that noise? Oh... it's Brigi! When the door bangs it's usually her or Kendra. No, no, boy don't annoy the Dwarf.
"Didn't I get ye a job that ye shirked? What in Mursuckin's beard were you thinkin'??" Brigi asked
"I don't remember but I'm a free agent now. You know, on my own, so I can do whatever I want. Well, almost whatever I want."
For Bug's sake, woman stay near Will, this could get ugly! Gah... Brigi's angry, I would be, too, if that boy was annoying the ...
"Boy, ye got mushrooms in yer ears. I AIN'T TAKEN YE ANYWHERE! Ye call me red again, yer dead."
Oh, grand, I wanted to be wrong. Ollie's taunting Brigi. Well, damn. My aim is off, I missed hitting him with my drink! What in ... Oh, bloody hell! Brigi's loosed Banda on the boy. CRIMNEY!! The cat's gone prehistoric, she's huge!! And the boy... he's gone daft! His eyes are not his own! Good goddess! They are that bastard Lembic's! I can't move my feet. It's as though he's paralyzed me to the spot! Will? Where are.. oh, there you are! We're all standing here in morbid fascination! The cat just ripped open the boy's throat. I swear on Bug's life that this is that thing's doing... and, no, not the cat. She's being used so the boy will suicide. That beast in him has chosen this. He has no right!
"Kirin," the Major said, though he didn't look at her.
I asked about wood.. the body needs to be burned before that evil infests and it rises aga... Gods! What is that.. it's cold.. it's.. oh, loverly, it's HIM... he's out. He has to be stopped.
"Will you just go, woman?"
It's Will.. how can I make him understand? I know what he expects, but I know this beast must be stopped. So does he. The portal is ready, if Lembic can be lead to it, he can be destroyed. I can feel that shadow trying to follow as I leave. It's cold, it's evil, it feeds on hate. It wants innocent blood and it's not getting Bug. | |
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| People that have lived long lives have many stories to tell. Many of them about their own exploits or their memories. Such would be the case with a woman born in sixteenth century Europe. And to top it off, she remembers living another lifetime. I've always wanted to fill in pieces of Colleen's history. There have been various places established in her history as well as points in time, but few have been made into tangible form.
Some things that were documented:
She met her first love at 14. c.1533
She had her first child in 1535 at 16 - She was made to believe it was a stillbirth
April 1537 - her second child was born and kidnapped
December 1875 - Colorado territory somewhere near Pike's Peak.
In August 1888 - London
In the 1920's, she was traveling through the Middle East and Asia
In 1920, she was in India, somewhere near the Taj Mahal.
In 1922/1923, she was in Egypt. She was noted in play as having said the last time she had been to Cairo was when Carter was digging in "The Valley" meaning the Valley of the Kings.
In October 1996, she was in London
In November 1996 she was in Colorado.
One of these days, I'll get around to making a proper timeline and piece together stories. In the meantime, I'm looking for a bit of inspiration. Has any particular place or event that has been mentioned by Colleen or Kirin in play caught your interest? It's possible that those snippets might be worthy of expansion. Feel free to drop more than one idea out for view! | |
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| What had she been thinking? Delivering special meals to a hospital that already had a fully stocked and staffed cafeteria? Crazy, that's what it was! Or was it? Helping out an old friend, that's what she told herself it was. But was it really?
After years and years of maybe, maybe not, someday, never, on again, off again, Colleen was tired, worn, and lost. She needed change and maybe doing volunteer work of some sort would fill the gaps that had begun to open. She had plenty of things to do on the farm, but her children had slowly taken over one job or other. To lighten the load, so they said. The four oldest had found their places in the world. Chrisy was back and forth from Eldicor, but the boys found their places in the family businesses. The other children from nearly seventeen year old Garrick right on down to four year old Mir had lessons during the day. While she took an active part in her children's education, field trips, swordsmanship, equitation, and language studies, there was much she left to the professionals.
And so, she found herself bringing in meals for Riverview Clinic's Chief of Staff and the Director of Administration. Anya and Ali were often overworked. Colleen had seen the effects of forgetting to eat on many people. If Ali forgot, the wheels would turn slowly for the needs of the hospital in general. Anya, on the other hand, literally had lives in her hands. She had prepared simple things for lunches; salads, soups, and hot sandwiches. Dinners were a bit more elaborate. She was in day five, Friday, of her experiment and dinner for the evening was a Caesar salad, lasagne made with rich cheeses and ground beef and garlic bread on the side. She topped it off with dessert. What else besides something she often specialized in? Chocolate and in this case, chocolate mousse. Once that was delivered, she could begin planning the next week's fare.
On her way out, she couldn't resist, Collie stopped by the nursery to admire the newborns. She heard the oohing and aahing of the family and friends as they peeked in at their particular favorite. Something inside her felt that pull, that need to hold a tiny new life, but she had plenty of her own children. As she pulled away, she felt a sense of emptiness, a sense of loss. She muttered under her breath about getting back to the business at hand and getting her head out of the clouds, but she always had been a dreamer and part of a dream.
The rumor mill had been buzzing at the Red Dragon that for the first time in years, Colleen MacLeod might just have a date for Valentine's Day. She thought about putting money on the opposing side, but decided to let fate go where it would. | |
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