THE BLACK FLOWER: An Elena Duran Story 0/18 Standard disclaimer: the concept of Immortality and the characters of Juan Ramirez and the red-headed Immortal witch (Cassandra) belong to Rysher and are copyrighted by them. This story is for fun, not for profit. The original characters of Corazon Negro and the Immortal brothers, Don Lucas and Don Carlos Munoz de Magana, are copyrighted by Julio Cesar; the other non-canon characters are copyrighted by Vi Moreau. The Immortals Mariaelena Duran and Don Alvaro Duran are original recurring characters with a lot of history by now. To find out more about Elena Duran and her relationship to our heroes, you can read other Elena stories, available in Ann Fountain's archive: www.seventh-dimension.org and Ann Fountain has our permission to archive this story at the Website. or in the following Website, which belongs to Vi but was carefully put together by Janeen Grohsmeyer, thanks, Janeen: www.erols.com/darkpanther/moreau.html Acknowledgements: Vi and Julio Cesar especially want to thank our ever-faithful beta reader, Janeen Grohsmeyer, who betaread for us, AGAIN, and told us to cut, again. I hope you learned something about Aztec culture, Janeen--we did. Michelle Wolfe was also invaluable in giving us her perspective. Vi also wants to give a special thanks to her wonderful and patient husband Ken who gave us many logistical and tactical ideas, as always. Julio Cesar wants to thank all the brave and gallant people of our continent who fought against the injustice and genocide of five hundred years ago. May their beliefs and spirits walk with us forever. And a very special thanks to Vi for inviting me to play with her beloved Elena. This story is rated PG-17 for language and explicit violence. There are many religious references and God is often mentioned by the characters because seventeenth century people were on the whole very devout and religion was a large, immediate part of their lives. No slur or criticism is intended towards ANY religion. This story is the first of what we hope are several collaborative efforts by Vi and Julio Cesar. If you liked it and want us to continue the tales of Elena Duran and Corazon Negro, please let us know at: Vi Moreau (vmoreau@adelphia.net) Julio Cesar (divad72@prodigy.net.mx)