Date: Sat, 15 Oct 1994 20:05:56 EDT Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: the dungeon of souls Subject: "Unwelcome Inheritance" Act I, parts 9 & 10 "Unwelcome Inheritance" by Caile Donachaidh Kane Act I, parts 9 & 10 comments (& flames) to NOTE: Depite what one listmember (who shall remain nameless) called "a serious breach of canon", the fearless (or maybe just ballsy and stupid) author will continue posting her story. Maybe she's going to hell for this one, or maybe the Highlander gods _just_ _won't_ _care_... _Part 9_ Shae sat curled up in one corner of the couch, tea cup in hand. Duncan was sprawled in the chair opposite. "Tell me more about the visions," he said. Shae chewed her lower lip for a minute. How much should she tell him? "What do you want to know?" "How..." Should he ask? "How they make you feel. Do they always frighten you?" She shook her head. "Sometimes it's like... I should be reading something into it. Like I should be looking for something, a moral, perhaps." "A moral?" "Yes. Like, I shouldn't make the same mistakes twice. It seems as though there should be a narrator, telling me what to think. And..." "And?" Shae smiled at him. "Sometimes they're simply an annoyance. Sometimes I just get pissed off at it." Duncan stood up, and began pacing. "And then, there are the scary ones. Right?" "They're the most frequent. For instance, I've never actually... taken a head. But in dreams and visions, I've done it dozens of times." A tear slipped from her eye. "*Those* are the ones that I wish I could forget." He sat down beside her and took her hand. "Just remember that you're not alone. I'll be here for you." Shae smiled weakly. "That doesn't make it any less frightening," she said softly. She leaned her head on his shoulder for a long time, and they both sat quietly, not wanting to spoil the silence. _Part 10_ Shae tossed and turned in her bed. Her sleep was deep, but not particularly restful. Her subconscious mind wrestled with the dream, and at last gave up. She drifted upwards through darkness into a soft sweet pleasure. She was kissing him, his fair hair, his red lips. Suddenly, he jerked away from her, and left the bed. He stood in his smallclothes, staring at her in hatred and disgust. She called his name, but could not hear her own voice. He drew his sword, she began to weep. He spoke to her angrily. She felt her own anger come up inside of her, and she rose from the bed in only her white shift. She lifted a sword from the table by the bed. Shae struggled to recognise it, it was so familiar... The recognition faded. The battle was swift and the ending simple. The headless body of the fair haired boy crumpled to the floor, and she with it, screaming through the Quickening as she realised what she had done. Shae fought to wake up with a strangled cry, finally doing so with the sweat soaked sheet clutched in her trembling hands. Her breath came in short gasps. Duncan came running into the room, looking as though he'd yanked on his jeans in a grest hurry. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, frantically. "I heard you scream..." He trailed off. Good God, she was as pale as death. He came and sat by her on the bed, and she fell into his arms, burying her face in his chest, her body shaking with sobs. He stroked her hair until her breathing was even, and she turned her face up to his. It was streaked with tears, and to Duncan she looked like a hunted animal for the wild look in her eyes. A wave of pity and sorrow and something else he couldn't identify washed over him as she related her dream in a halting voice. "This is the worst, by far," she said at the conclusion. "It's always darkest before the dawn," he replied, trying to be reassuring and feeling stupid. Where did *that* idiot remark come from, he asked himself. Shae laughed weakly, and hugged him. "How terribly trite. Yet I pray it's true, because I want this to be *over*. I don't care *how*." He understood her insinuation - God, was she *that* desperate? - and shook his head. "I promise you, there will only be a happy ending." "I wish I cold believe that. I guess I'm supposed to be learning from this, but it scares me meore than it teaches me." He took her chin gently in his hand. "I think you could learn more by letting it take its course, instead of fighting it." "But I..." He cut her off with a smile and a shake of his head. "I'll be with you. All the way. No matter how frightening it gets, _I'll_ _be_ _here_." He started to get up to leave but Shae wouldn't let go. "Stay with me," she said in a pleading voice. "Don't go back on your word as soon as you've given it." Duncan could feel his eyes filling with tears. If he stayed, he wouldn't be able to keep from feeling that he was taking advantage of her, of her fear. But, if he left, he might not be able to forgive himself. And he could feel her hurt almost as acutely as if it were his own. "Please," she said. It was at that moment some unconscious decision was made. He kissed her, and none too gently, either. Then he pulled back, afraid he had misunderstood her plea. But she was smiling, and her eyes gleamed in the moonlight. She lay back and pulled him to her, and they both left fear behind for a little while. ********** further parts will be forthcoming =========================================================================