Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 08:24:10 -0800 Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Selma McCrory <94smccro@ULTRIX.UOR.EDU> Subject: (Repost) fanfic: _Change of Perspective_, 3/4 A Change of Perspective by Selma McCrory Copyright 1993 part 3 Greer continued staring at the sword. She tried to prevent herself, but she could not. _My own sword?_ she thought. "Now, let's teach you to use it. Come on, I know somewhere we can practice," Alberta told her, apparently amused as Greer stared at it. Greer was barely able remember to close the case back up. She automatically locked the back and front doors. Alberta hauled her to the car. * * * Alberta and Greer sat on the ground. Greer was tired. Alberta had taught her what she called the "basic moves," and Greer found that it was quite tiring work. She now knew how to hold a sword. She knew how to block a swing, and she knew how to swing towards the right spot. She also learned what not to do, such as get enthusiastic and overextend. And for the moment, she had to deal with Alberta's sword coming near her neck every couple of minutes. Greer wondered briefly if she was dreaming all of the things that had happened to her. She was always dazzled with the swordfights she had seen, although now she knew why the victors seemed so tired. She listened to Alberta, who was lost in memory. She kept talking about Silas, her mentor. "He taught me how to fight, although he said I was good with an axe. Quite slow and clumsy, since I was used to hacking firewood, not people. You would have liked him. In fact, if he were still alive, I'd seek him out and have him train you." "He's dead?" "Yes. He died, in 1846. Leland killed him. That's why I'm after Leland. He has to be stopped. He's killed quite a few of us, all immortals who would have left him alone." "1844," Greer muttered. She wouldn't have thought that Alberta's memory would be so bad. _Things must get blurry over two hundred years,_ she thought. "Yes, that's right, 1844," Alberta continued blissfully. Then confusion crossed her face. "How did you know that? I know I didn't tell you." Greer was not expecting Alberta to draw her sword and place it against her neck. She stayed frozen while trying to come up with what to say. She finally sighed. "Oh, dear," Greer said. "Alberta, I'm not your enemy. How I know, well, that's going to take some explaining." The sword was removed from across Greer's neck, but it still stayed threateningly near. "This had better be good." "Where do I start?" Greer wondered to herself. Then she had an idea. She pushed up her sleeve until the tattoo on her wrist was bared. She showed her tattoo to Alberta, who appeared puzzled. "I am part of an organization called the Watchers," she told Alberta. "We have been watching and recording the history of the immortals for centuries. No one is sure where we started. We always record and do not interfere. We are trained to watch and to be inconspicuous." Greer rested her hands on her knees so the tattoo was still in sight. "I watch for a couple of months, then am pulled off so that the person that I am watching does not spot me. I carry this tattoo, as I have for thirteen years, to tell other Watchers that I am one too. Or was." She looked at Alberta square in the face. "I was assigned to watch you when you arrived here a couple of weeks ago. I know where you've eaten, what you've done, what has happened to you," Greer said, starting to wave her hands in the air, as she often did while talking. "I know about your history, since I read your file before I started following you. I also know about Leland. I know the Watcher, Robert, that's watching him." Greer fell silent, unsure what else to tell Alberta. She knew that she could not betray much more than what she had said. Alberta looked down, and then back up, her face a mixture of curiosity and rage. "How long...how far do my records go back?" "I think the records go back to 1788, although I know someone was able to piece together the date for your first death in 1783," Greer said. Inwardly she wondered, _how do you tell someone that they've been constantly watched for a couple of centuries?_ Alberta's expression was thoughtful, and she was silent for a couple of minutes. "So you are not watching me anymore," she said finally. "No." Greer said. She spoke plainly and honestly, as she wanted Alberta to understand her position. "I stopped watching the minute I woke up again in the warehouse. However, they don't know that." "But you're still reporting in." "I'm feeding false reports. I really hate feeding false reports, but I have no choice, you understand?" Greer looked downcast and confused. "My closest friends are all Watchers. I wander around so much following immortals, that my friends all have to understand what I'm doing." Greer rested her chin on her hands. "I've got a few friends that aren't Watchers, but it's hard to keep up a friendship when you're travelling all the time. I hardly get to see my family, except at odd times," she said, sighing. She thought of all the family meetings she had missed during the years. "I've known Robert for the last 5 years, on and off, since we've worked together before. Ditto for Michael. He's my supervisor for this current job. We used to talk a lot about getting married. I wonder if I should talk to him. I guess I can't now." "Maybe someday, you'll be able to talk to him." Alberta told her consolingly. Although it was apparent that she didn't know what to do with Greer, she had switched back into a gentler mode. "Yes, I hope so," Greer said sadly. She looked at Alberta. "You believe me?" "I think so." Alberta said, somewhat unhappily. "I hope you'll understand that I don't think well of your career choice." Greer nodded. "At the moment, I'm not feeling too good about it, either." "Good," Alberta said. She got up, dusted herself off, and stood there looking at Greer. "Do you want to practice more?" Greer asked. She wasn't really ready for more practice, but she could do it if Alberta said so. Alberta firmly told her, "This is enough for today. You really need to rest." Alberta lapsed into silence as they walked back to the car, and stayed silent all the way back to Greer's apartment. Greer herself worried that Alberta might decide that the Watchers were a threat, and start eliminating them. If that happened, the more radical factions of the Watchers might take that as an excuse to start killing immortals again, just as they had a year ago. * * * Alberta had shown up the next day, and the day after that, to train Greer. She had explained to her that although she was not comfortable with Greer's past, it really didn't matter to her now. Shortly after Greer had had her second day of training, Michael had called to inform her that Robert had found Leland. She had been tired, and some of it must have crept into her voice, since Michael had inquired about it. She told him simply that the woman had been very active, and she had been tired out from it. She almost told him about what had happened to her, but finally, she couldn't. It was a warm, sunny Saturday when Greer decided to take a walk in a local park. She wore the trenchcoat that Alberta had given her. Hidden under the trenchcoat was her sword, since Alberta told her to carry it as much as possible. Alberta had gone off to hunt Leland, and she had told her pupil not to follow her. Greer, not anxious to run into Leland again, had agreed. Besides, she had seen Alberta's expression. _She doesn't trust me yet,_ Greer thought sadly. Greer stopped in a low valley. For a second, she didn't know why, but then she recognized the chill down her spine that meant that another immortal had come near her. She looked around, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. She swung around in time to see Leland coming down the low hill that she herself had come down. For a second, she wondered why he wasn't dead. Then she realized that Alberta hadn't caught up to him yet. "Good afternoon," he said politely, as he came within ten feet of her. She took an involuntary step backwards. "I think we need to talk again." "I don't need to talk to you," she said coldly. She still remembered his grabbing of her. "Good grief, the woman's been infected by her," Leland said, waving his hands towards the heavens. "I'm not as bad as she paints me. I kill, yes. But so does she. And so will you. Do you find that wrong? Do you find me wrong?" he asked her. He then looked at her seriously. "She is bent on revenge, plain and simple. The worst thing I ever did to her was to kill her teacher, as part of the Game." part 4 (conclusion) coming up soon... Selma McCrory "Maybe what this world needs 94smccro@ultrix.uor.edu are more Selmas." saselmam@ultrix.uor.edu -Time Trax =========================================================================