========================================================================= Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 10:55:27 -0400 Reply-To: JJSWBT@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Wendy Tillis Subject: Isabel 01/13 Here we go again. Standard disclaimers apply. My characters are *mine*. Almost everyone else was borrowed from Rysher & Co. My thanks to Angela, Lisa, Deb, Monique, ZK, and others too numerous to mention for their support. Very special thanks to Scott and Marina. Thanks to Katja for technical assistance delivered. ( Special apologies to Edward Khmara, Michael Thomas and Tom Mankiewicz). ================================ Isabel By: Wendy Tillis jjswbt@aol.com Copyright April 1996 Part One ============== September 1997 "Ah, it was good to be back in town." Duncan thought. He had been in Italy for the last three months and hadn't realized how much he missed Seattle until he got here. He walked down the street , stopping in the various ethnic food markets that lined the street. He greeted most of the owners by name and in their native language. "Being 400 had to have a *few* advantages" he thought. Coming out of the Chinese grocery, he heard his name being called. " Duncan! Duncan MacLeod" Duncan turned at the familiar voice of Father Matthew. Father Matthew was hurrying up the street after him so Duncan stopped and waited for him. " Duncan! Welcome back, I didn't know you were in town." " I just got in last night, Father. How have you been?" " Good, good. Am I going to see you at Mass this Sunday? I have some exciting news." "What news?" "No, no, you don't get off the hook that easily!" The priest smiled. " You come to Mass and find out." " All right Father, I'll see you there." Duncan signed inwardly - he had hoped to sleep in this weekend. "Good, Duncan. It *is* good to have you back. The old neighborhood just isn't the same without you. . . And where is that young friend of yours? Where's Richie?" "I don't know, Father. But - he wrote to say he would be back before Christmas, so I expect we'll see him soon." " Great. Got to run. See you Sunday - don't forget." Father Matthew turned and started back down the street the way he had come. " Good bye, Father." Duncan called, then turned back the way he had been going. Oh well, he didn't really mind going to church . ======== Duncan came out of the elevator the next morning and looked around the dojo. Empty. Business was down. A new place had opened up a few blocks away and many of his customers had moved over there. Duncan couldn't blame them. The new dojo was bigger, better equipt and had showers that always had hot water. Hell, he'd go there himself if he didn't own this place. And - his own absence for the last few months hadn't helped. Peter, his new manager, was a nice kid but he wasn't a great manager. Duncan supposed he was going to have to take a more active role in running this place if he wanted to stay in business. He wandered into the office and settled down to read the newspaper. A few minutes later he felt the presence of another Immortal approaching. He sat up and looked toward the door. It *could* be Richie - though it seemed way too early for him to be back in town. He wasn't due for another month at least. Duncan reached for his sword and took it from its resting place beside his desk. Duncan heard footsteps coming up the stairs and then saw a woman enter the dojo. He stood up and went to the door of the office as she crossed the floor toward him. She was tall, maybe 5' 10". Youngish, perhaps mid-twenties. Long black hair pulled back. The woman was dressed in jeans tucked into knee high black boots, baggy fisherman's knit sweater visible under an open dark brown drover's coat. As she got closer, she pulled a medieval broadsword from beneath the coat and held it pointing at the floor. He held his katana at his side, also pointed down. The woman continued toward him and stopped about six feet from the office door. She didn't speak, just stood looking at him. "I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod." Duncan said, though as the intruder *she* should have announced herself first. He smiled to himself. Richie loved that line - the sound of the ritual challenge. Duncan could remember hearing Richie trying to come up with a similar opening: 'I am Richie Ryan of the Clan Ryan.' It had made them both laugh. In this case, the woman did not look impressed. " I am Isabel" she stated simply. It wasn't a challenge, just a statement of fact - as if she had said 'the sky is blue.' Her voice held the slightest trace of an accent - Italian maybe, or Spanish. It was very faint, much less obvious than his slight Scottish burr. He had to admit she radiated confidence, a sense of self-assuredness. It occurred to him that this was not a "young" woman. "Did you come for my head?" Duncan asked curiously. She didn't seem threatening although she held the sword as if she was quite comfortable with it in her hand. " No, this is more in the nature of a courtesy call. I'm new in town and I've always thought it best to introduce myself to anyone that might be about. So there are no misunderstanding later." " Are you staying - or just passing through?" " Staying. I'll be here at least a year. One can never tell for sure, though." She looked around the empty dojo. " Is there anyone else in town I ought to know about?" " No, not really." Duncan had no intention of giving this strange Immortal any information on others of their kind living in the area. " How did you know to find me?" " You're famous. The name of Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod echoes through the centuries." She paused. " And . . . I happened to cross paths with Gregor last month. He said you were here." " You know Gregor?" " We've met." She saw Duncan's troubled look and went on. " Don't worry. He had his head last time I saw him. I mentioned I was heading up here, he said you were in town. No more than that." "Ah." There was an awkward pause as he searched for something else to say. She spoke first. "I'll be going. I just wanted to touch base. It's so embarrassing having someone pull their sword on you at the grocery store just because you startled them." She smiled then and Duncan realized she was rather pretty. She had been tense before and her features had seemed hard. Now, as she smiled, her whole face softened and lit up. Her eyes were a curious shade of green. No grey. No, grey green - like the color of a Highland loch on a cloudy day. "Would you like to stay -have a cup of coffee or. . . " She looked as if she was considering it, then said: "No, not a good idea, I think." " If you change your mind, feel free to stop by." " I don't think that will happen, but thank you anyway." She put her sword back under her coat, turned and walked out. Duncan went back into the office and out the katana away. He settled down again to finish the paper. 'Interesting morning" he thought. ================ The alarm went off and Duncan rolled over and hit it. "Why am I getting up so early" he wondered. "Oh yeah, church." His memory restored, he got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. After a shower and shave, he was awake and ready for breakfast. He scrambled some eggs and checked the weather - cold and windy. The usual. After eating and a second cup of coffee, he got dressed. He almost put on a shirt and tie but didn't. He hated ties. He wondered if that came from having been hung a few times in the past? Duncan settled for a white turtleneck, dark brown trousers and a brown and tan tweed sport coat. Good enough. He grabbed the dark brown suede coat from the coat rack and headed for the door. "Sword?" he thought. "Hmm, four blocks to St. Thomas' , then holy ground, four blocks back - leave it at home." He went out, down the stairs to the street and walked toward the church. There were quite a few people heading to church this morning - Father Matthew must have put out the word that he wanted a big crowd. Duncan wondered what the announcement was about. Nothing bad, he assumed. Father Matthew had been too upbeat for that. Arriving at the church steps, Duncan suddenly felt the presence of an Immortal. He looked around but didn't spot anyone . He went on into the church. Yes, the feeling was definitely coming from inside. Oh well, this was holy ground. He was safe. The church was crowded but he found a spot to sit in the very back , near the door. He tried to scan the crowd - looking for another person doing the same thing, but no one seemed to be looking about. Curious. He shifted uncomfortable on his seat. The knowledge that another Immortal was around - but not knowing where he was - always set Duncan's teeth on edge. The "buzz", as some Immortals called it, wouldn't stop until the two Immortals clearly identified each other's location. It was like having a small bell ringing inside your head with no way to turn it off. Just then Father Matthew appeared at the altar. Duncan tried to concentrate on what he was saying. "Welcome! It's good to see so many new -and old - faces here today. Before I go on with the regular service, I have an announcement to make. Some of you know that I have been trying for three years to start a youth center here at St. Thomas' but that we've never had the resources. But now we do. A very generous anonymous donor has given us enough money to buy an old building near here to use as the center and to also rehabilitate and supply it with everything we need. But - a youth center also requires staff. Today I am happy to be able to report that St. Thomas has been blessed with two new helpers - Sister Michael," He motioned and a small woman in a dove grey nun's habit stood up and faced the congregation. "and Sister Gabriel." A second nun stood. This one was tall and Duncan immediately realized it was the Immortal woman, Isabel. The bells in his head stopped ringing. She made no sign that he saw him. The two nuns sat back down. Father Matthew was still talking. "The Sisters come to us from the Sisters of Perpetual Mercy in London. They want everyone to know that the new building needs a lot of work so volunteers to help out will be greatly appreciated. We'll be making up a committee to organize the work that needs to be done - I expect everyone to donate some time to the project. The Ladies Auxiliary have arranged for a small reception in the church meeting room immediately after Mass today for anyone who'd like to stop by and say hello to the Sisters. I'm sure you'll all want to make them feel welcome - and the cookies look good too." He chuckled at his little joke and then turned serious again. "Now, let us pray. . ." Duncan let the familiar phrases of the Mass wash over him as he considered what had just learned. The bold and mysterious Isabel was really Sister Gabriel. Interesting. He would have to try and arrange to talk to her in private sometime. He was interested in her story. She hadn't seemed very "nun-like" the other day in the dojo - but then nuns weren't quite what they had been when he was young. . . . ============= Scotland 1608 "But Beth, I love you!" "And I love you, Duncan. But I'm bound to the Church, you knew that!" "But if you told your father, surely he wouldn't make you take the Vow. Not if he knew you didn't want to. He wouldn't force you. . ." "Duncan! Stop. He isn't forcing me. I've known all my life that I was bound to Church. Since I was old enough to talk, I've heard the story of how I was promised to God, how my father promised that if my mother lived- her laying there dying in childbirth - that he would give the child to God. God answered his prayer. Mother lived. The child - *I* - lived. I canna just refuse to go." "Beth. Please. We can run away, get married. By the time they find us it will be too late, we'll be married, you'll be carrying my child. Please. If you go, I'll never see you again. I canna bear that." "My father gave his word." "Och- you canna be bound by a promise your father made *for* you - before you were even born. It's not fair - he had no right to make that promise for you." "Oh? And is *my* honor not important to you then? I'm a MacLeod and my word - my family's word - means something! You are destined to be Clan-chief someday - no one asked you. It was 'decided' before you were born. Would you just walk away from that?" "No - of course not. It's my duty. It's. . " "So!" Beth cut in. " And tell me why *your* precious honor is so much more important than mine? Duncan - I love you. But I love God too. And my duty is to God. Just as your duty is to the Clan. You'll find another woman - and you'll be a great Clan-chief someday. Let *me* be who I am destined to be. Be happy for me." "Happy? No, I canna be happy for you." " but I understand. I do." He took a deep breath. "When do you leave?" " Next week. I'll take my first vows at Easter, in Inverness. " " So soon? Well. We'd best be getting back to the village. No use having rumors started about you now." He started to walk away. " Duncan?" Beth caught his hand and then kissed him on the lips. He was only 15 but he already knew the difference between a 'friendly' kiss and a 'passionate" one. This was just a kiss between childhood friends. She stepped away from him and then, gathering her skirts, she ran up the path toward home. When she left the next week, Duncan arranged to be away from the village. He never saw her again. =================== The Mass was ending, people going forward to take Communion. Duncan had not taken Communion since Darius died. He had not been to Confession since then either. He wasn't even sure he believed in any of it now. After the service, the crowd moved into the church basement meeting room. There were cookies, little tea cakes and coffee. The two nuns stood together and greeted all who came up to them. Sister Gabriel, Isabel, seemed to be doing most of the talking. Sister Michael seemed to just nod and smile a lot. Duncan made his way over to the nuns. " Welcome to the parish, Sisters. I'm Duncan MacLeod." Sister Gabriel extended a hand and Duncan shook it. Sister Michael just smiled and murmured hello. "Nice to see you again, Mr. MacLeod. I didn't know you were a member of the Church." Sister Michael looked at her curiously and Sister Gabriel went on. " Mr. MacLeod and I met the other day when I was out." Sister Michael accepted that explanation and then moved away to speak to Father Matthew. "It's always best not to lie if you don't have to. Don't you agree?' She smiled. "Yes. I must say, this is something of a surprise, I would never have guessed you were a nun the other day at the dojo." " Oh, nuns have changed a lot in the last 1500 years, you'd be surprised at some of the things we do. The habit is strictly optional now. I wear it when I think the parishioners expect me to - weddings, funerals, church functions. Otherwise it's street clothes for me. Sister Michael likes to wear the habit so she does - more often than not. " "You said 1500 years, is that how long you've been a nun?" "Hardly!" She laughed quietly. "No, I think it would take a saint to be in the Order for that long and I fear I don't qualify - on many counts." " How long have you been a nun then?" They were both keeping their voices down and expressions carefully neutral as they talked. " About 50 years - this time. I joined right after the World War. I . ." Before she could finish, they were interrupted by Father Matthew. "Sorry to interrupt, Duncan but I want to introduce Sister Gabriel to a good friend. We're going to start work on the Youth Center next Saturday, 8:00am. You'll come and lend a hand?" " Where is it - I'll be there. " He was looking at Isabel speculatively. " On Montgomery Street, just before MacArthur. You can't miss it. It used to be a grocery store. See you there. " Father Matthew answered. Duncan went back up stairs and walked out of the church. He didn't have anything he *had* to do next Saturday. A little remodeling might be fun. And it would give him a chance to talk to Isabel, no - Sister Gabriel - again. He made a mental note to think of her as Sister Gabriel. Sister Gabriel, don't forget it. =============== End Part 1