Date: Wed, 14 Jun 1995 17:17:40 +0300 Reply-To: Marko Lidman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Marko Lidman Subject: In The Dark III of VII Hmm, not many responses to the date... Please correct me in any errors! ----------------- IN THE DARK (c) by Marko Lidman PART III 1702, France, Anjou Francis Carrera trotted back to the town. He knew he wouldn't be safe there, but he had to say farewells to his father and pick up some of his things. He got to his fathers shop and stepped inside. His father ran to meet him as soon as he saw him. "Francis, where have you been? One of your friends came and told me the soldiers had taken you to lord Daumier's mansion." "Eh... I cannot stay here with you anymore. I've done some less than honourable deeds and for some reason lord Daumier seemed to want my life for it." "What do you mean 'seemed to..', if you have already been released why do you think you have to leave me? It's not going to be too long before I leave this shop to you." "Father, lord Daumier didn't release me. I escaped, and before escaping I killed lord Daumier in a duel." "Son! What are you talking about! You couldn't challenge a lordship, common men are not allowed to do that!" "It wasn't really a challenge. He tried to murder me but accidentally got one of his own men... Father, I really DO have to leave you for some time. Someday I'll come back to you, but for now I'm going to disappear somewhere far away." "You've got my blessings with you. Go now if you want to but I expect you to come back someday." "I'll go and get some of my stuff from my room." Francis took out one of the pouches of gold he had taken from lord Daumier. "Father I want you to take this." "Son I have more money than I need. I haven't got so many years left anymore and you need the money more than me. Just come back to visit me after this is over. In fact, I think I'll be moving back to south to live with my race, the basks, as soon as the war with the Spaniards gives me a chance. Come to see me there." "I will father, I will." Francis ran upstairs to his room and took out his saddlebags, filled them with all the stuff he thought he would need and added some others. He wouldn't suffer hunger that was for sure. In his saddlebags and pockets he carried more money and jewels than a guy could hope for. Francis hurried back downstairs and embraced his father for good-bye. Both father and son had watery eyes. Francis went to his horse and made it ready for travel, filled his waterflasks and mounted. -------------------- Dorine Daumier sat in her fathers workroom. The room had been cleaned of blood and bodies had been removed. She still couldn't understand what had happened here, behind the locked door. 'Why did we find my fathers sword thrust into one of our own guards. Had the guard worked for that burglar? No, that didn't sound believable. It is a shame that there is no survivors except for that burglar who got away.' She knew that her father had planned to punish that burglar with all his skill. He had not been a saint. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Dorine answered. The door opened and her fathers servant came in. "Lady Daumier, I found the paper you told me about. But I must say that it is most unconventional for you to take your fathers place as the ruler of this region." "I know it is unheard of and so on, but you saw the paper with my fathers and king Ludvig XIV's signatures. I am the lawful inheritrix of this seat." "Oui, lady Daumier. I really wonder what your father had to do to get the kings signature into this document!" "It's not for you to know or understand, servant!" There was an another knock at the door. "Come in you too," Dorine said to the man who was the new commander of her troops. As commander Mansard stepped in, Dorine could see that he was frightened and she prepared herself to hear some bad news. "Lady Daumier, I... I just found out that your fathers body is missing ... and so is his horse!" "How can he be missing? Didn't I tell you to have the servants to prepare him for funeral, maybe they took his body somewhere." "No, your ladyship. I found the servants and some soldiers killed and the body taken away!" "But why would anyone want to have my fathers body?" Dorine kept her outlook calm although she felt like a frightened little girl in the inside. "I don't know, but I'll surely find out about it!" "Order some of your men to follow the possible tracks and ask around the town and countryside. Someone must have seen something. Now get out, both of you!" "Oui, your ladyship," both men said in unison and retreated out of the room. Badly shaken Dorine sat by her table. 'What is this all? There has to be some kind of an answer in this room!" She turned to look at all those drawers full of papers and shelves full of books, 'There surely has to be...' As Dorine started to go through papers, her dead father was in the adjacent room, very much alive, listening. He knew he had left some devastating papers behind him but could not do anything about it now when his adopted daughter was there going through them. He surely wasn't going to kill off his own daughter. 'Let her find out then, she is quite capable of handling it,' ex-lord Daumier muttered to himself as he turned to pick up the remaining money from his chest. 'Damned burglar, I never thought he might be this much trouble. Some day soon he is going to pay.' -------------------- 1702, France, Auvergne Francis Carrera headed south-east. He had decided to go to Marseilles for no other reason than it was far away and only about ninety miles from nearest border. He followed river Loire's tributary Vienna to its beginning, then he crossed the province-border and got from Limousin to Auvergne. After travelling eighty miles more, he stopped in a little village, called Le Puy. Until now he had been lucky, he had not had to fight off any robbers and he still had his fortune with him. Nevertheless he felt like putting something in a safe place for possible bad days to come. Here, in Le Puy, he could see a place he surely wouldn't forget. Puy, as he was told, was a name which referred to these strange stone-formations; they were like loafs of sugar, but seemed to be about 150 feet high, maybe even more. There were two of these formations in near vicinity of the village and on top of the other there was a church build of stone. Francis rode to the base of this puy and dismounted. Then he started the long climb of stairs to get to the church. He felt a strange sensation in this place and it made him wonder about something that had been in his mind for some time. 'Could it be that all this healing stuff I've been experiencing is a some kind of gift from God? And if it is, then why did I get it and what is it all about? I just hope I get the answers before anything else like this happens to me!' When Francis reached the church, a monk came out to meet him. "Welcome, traveller, to this safe haven in this troubled world." "Merci, father, I've been travelling long and hard and I would be happy to stay here and rest but I'm afraid I do not have enough time for that. I'll just give my prayer and after that I would be happy to give a little donation to your church." "I'm really happy to hear that. With this war and tax rates people seldom have anything left to give our church. Go pray your prayers and after it you can come to me. I'll be out here to get some fresh air and admiring this view." "Oui, father." Francis continued his way inside the church and wondered again where he stood in the great plans of God himself. He hadn't thought about donating anything, the words had just come out, but idea itself wasn't so bad. After all he did have money to spend. Francis kneeled before the spirit of God and had his private prayer. -------------------- "This view truly is great, father." The monk turned to see Francis approach from the temple. "Yes, I don't know why this church was build here almost 900 years ago, but I'm grateful for the view also." "Father, I've done some bad things and experienced something I didn't know existed, but I do believe that it all was meant to be. I think I've experienced some kind of conversion. It's all so strange." "What do you mean, son? You seem more troubled than I would expect from a man of your age." "Father, a few months ago I think I died, at least I wounded mortally, but in the morning I woke up healthy. Don't look so scared! I was scared at first although I didn't really have time to be at first, but after that I came to think of something: What if God has some special mission for me? Now I would like to hear what you think of this. If you don't believe me I..." "Son, I believe you. I can see in your eyes that you speak what you think is true. I'm not the one to say that you are wrong but there is some of my order who would accuse you of blasphemy and witchcraft and have you burned for it. I don't really know what has happened to you but I can assure you that it isn't anything dangerous, if it were you would never come here to speak about it. If it were a curse or a damnation, I'm sure the devil wouldn't have guided you here to God." "Merci, father. I thank you for your words. I have a favour to ask from you. I'm going to Marseilles into hiding and I would like to leave some of my money in here to safe, I'll give you an extensive donation if you can just keep my money here for me." "Of course, my son, you can trust your money to us and I thank you for your donation." Francis the saddlebags he had been carrying and took out almost all of his money. Six pouches of gems and two of Louis d'ors, the money he had taken from lord Daumier. "I don't know how valuable these gems are, but I'll donate three pouches to this church and leave the others to you for safekeeping. Ah, well, if I don't come back in twenty years or so, the church can keep all of it." "Merci, my son. May I ask your name, so I can pray for you?" "Oh, I'm sorry, father, my name is Francis Carrera and I'm quite homeless right now." "In Gods house you will always be at home. Go now, son, to find your purpose in this world." "Oui, father. Farewell." Francis Carrera turned and walked to the stairs, then he turned and waved his hand to still watching monk. Monk waved his hand back and so Francis started his way down the stairs. -------------------- The monk watched as the man who had called himself Francis Carrera rode off to south-west, to Marseilles. Then the monk turned and went inside. Soon he met another of his order and they both withdrew in to one chamber. "Brother, this guy who came here today was one of them. I would like to take his case." "Yes, well, he knows you. If he sees you he may suspect something and you know how delicate this thing is." "Yes, but I'm sure I can manage. As the guy himself said, this is some guidance of the God, more than that boy even suspected!" "You can take his case. But be careful, these are hard times." "Oui, brother." -------------------- And all comments to address below... * The secret of a warm heart is a fireplace | __ (just throw it in to the flames...) |/ \ Check out my WWW-page for a cool gif of a rapier O[&%&%&%<====>================================================- \_____/|\__/ Dedicated Amiga-user now and in the future | -Rapier (malidman@kauhajoki.fi) * (http://kauhajoki.fi/~malidman/) =========================================================================