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     The attack came without warning. Anika had been gathering nuts and berries, and enjoying the glory of the sun at midmorning when four men on horseback came storming into the campsite, eyes blazing, and arms holding up deadly looking weapons. The young girl froze, a single berry falling from her grasp, and off in the distant she heard the cries of her parents, calling out for her to run, but she couldn't. She was afraid, terrified of these four men, and what they would bring to her village.

     One of the men got off his horse, an attractive creature, powerful and robust, perfect for heavy riding, but Anika wasn't impressed. She was too busy trying not to scream when she saw the man wearing a skull for a mask. He raised a sword, long, clear, and sharp, and the young girl wondered briefly why it had to end this way. She looked her attacker in the eyes, determined not to shy away, and show her fear.

     "I am Death," The terrible man said, and he was right. He was her death, and with a powerful blow, the girl was knocked down, still breathing, but dying, struggling to stay alive for a couple of minutes more.

     The man kneeled beside her, wanting to watch her die, but instead of crying, or begging, the girl turned her face towards him, and whispered so softly that even he had to wonder if she really spoke at all. What she said puzzled the immortal, and would pester him for years to come, and her last two words were simply, "I know."

     Screaming, Lena shot up from her bed, grabbed her sword underneath her pillow, and scanned the darkness of the hotel room for any possible threats. Breathing hard, Lena saw nothing, but familiar stacks of books and papers that dominated half of the room, and a very irradiated Jeff.

     "You okay?" Jeff asked from the floor, rubbing his eyes, and small bread. He was wearing boxer shorts that his girlfriend had given him last Christmas, and his hair was a bird's nest, but even with the sour look he directed at her, Lena was happy she had asked him to come along with her to Canada.

     "Nightmares, about my past," Lena whispered, getting back onto the bed, but not letting go of the sword. The sword was polished, looking rather strange with the steel tinted red, and the skull on the handle. It was the sword designed for Methos' Guardian, a symbol of what Lena was and forever will be which was Death's Maiden.

     "I always have nightmares about my first death," Jeff replied, his voice sleepy. Interested, Lena leaned over the bed, knowing that Jeff had never talked to her about it before. She had found him one day, roaming the streets of Paris, lost within the memories of Duncan's past, just as Lena had been lost when she was first chosen. Knowing how much he needed help, Lena, who was back then, Lass, took the stranger home, and trained him in the ways of the Guardianship.

     "Five hundred years, now that it's the year 2000, and all. It's seems like a long time to me, but then again, you've lived for five thousand, does it get any easier?"

     "No, Jeff, it doesn't," Lena replied, hearing still her parents cries for her to run. She hadn't, or at least Anika hadn't. Even as a child, Anika remembered Methos, and felt sadness that the one she had swore to protect would be her own death. Ironic actually, Death killing his personal Guardian, but that was in the past, and he was not the same Methos, or at least, Lena kept reminding herself of that.

     "It was hard, you know? Like falling off a cliff, where nothing can catch you, nothing, but another's person need to survive."

     "It was the same with me, Jeff. I remember sounds, images, but most of all, Methos' memories, his will demanded my attention, forced me to live again, forced me to walk away from my family, time after time when all I wanted was to stay home, and live a normal life."

     "Yeah, the ultimate high, if you ask me, but it comes with a price, your soul. Sometimes I lose myself, I forget it wasn't me, but Duncan that did such and such. Boy, what I wouldn't give for it to end."

     Shocked, Lena stared at Jeff, wondering if he truly meant it. True, Lena during her many lives considered giving up. Wondering if she could gather up the courage to go up to Methos, and take his head, to end her own suffering, especially when he was Death, and what she saw scared the living daylights out of her. She had to dream of him killing those innocent souls night after night until once Lena caught herself choking the life out of her own husband. That night her husband had left her, saying there was no room in Lena's heart, but for Methos. He was right, and in the future Lena walked away from her families, knowing that if she stayed, she would only be causing them harm.

     Lena also knew that in time she would have to abandon her friendship with Jeff, because in the game that created Immortals, and Guardians alike, there could only be one, and it could be Duncan or Methos, but not both.

     Secretly, Lena hoped it would be Duncan, because she knew the soul of Methos, and wasn't sure if he was strong enough to face the reality of being the last of his kind. He could be the oldest, but last, was unthinkable, even for him.

     "Live, if not for yourself, for Duncan, because he needs you, needs your friendship more than anything," Lena said while burying herself deeper into the covers.

     "Right, old girl, live and grow stronger and fight another day!"

     Laughing, Lena threw the pillow at him, and tried hard to go back to sleep. The future could wait, she told herself, but for now, just live, and be Methos' Guardian.

***

     Evan Musters looked at the approaching car, sensing that the passengers were here to talk, and not fight. Putting down his axe, Evan continued to work on the stalls, hammering two broads together with just one swing. The car stopped, and two people got out. One was a stranger, young sort of fellow, looking barely out of his teens, but he was a Guardian, and Evan could feel he was roughly five hundred, give or take a few centuries. The other passenger was someone very special to him, an old friend that he had thought he would never see again.

     "Well, well, well, the lovely maiden has come home," Evan smiled, seeing the shock on the poor guy's face, "And brought company too."

     "Hello, brother," Lena said, her voice soft. Feeling an old ache in his chest, Evan couldn't help, but feel regret. She would be the last of them, and although it broke his heart, he was glad it was Lena and not the others. Oh, by the gods, what if it had been Tony? What would he have done? Most likely kill thousands, joining Kronos in a bloodbath just for the fun of it.

     "Greetings, my sister of the heart," Evan replied, giving her a hug. She returned it, rather stiffly, but who could blame her? Who could blame him for wanting to run, and leave behind the bad memories that threatened to overwhelm him even now after all this time?

     "Evan, meet Jeffery Simon, Jeffery meet the Guardian of War."

     Jeffery offered his hand, but Evan refused to take it. He would not shake the hands of a Guardian who's immortal tangled himself in affairs that were not his own. Lena looked wounded, and in truth, it was also a message to her, letting her know Methos' betrayal to the four horsemen was forgiven, but not forgotten. Not by Evan, and surly, not by the others.

     "Pleasure," Evan said, watching Jeffery's hand drop. Turning his attention back to Lena, "Your student seems surprised at my appearance."

     With satisfaction, Evan saw Jeffery flinch, for it was disrespectful to other Guardians to assume they were all the same.

     "Forgive me, Guardian, but I expected..." Jeffery gave up, at a lost for words.

     "You expected someone taller, and not a midget."

     Again, Jeffery was silent. Lena, taking pity on her student, spoke in an ancient tongue, a tongue that Jeffery would not understand and Evan guessed that was the point.

     "Tease my student, if you will, but do not overlook the important matters in which we must discuss."

     "I stand by my brothers, maiden, but I will not go against you. The others will, and you cannot fight Tony, and win, you never could."

     "But he has challenged me! He threatens Methos, and wishes to kill him in revenge for Kronos' death! I cannot allow that!" Lena screamed, throwing her hands up in the air. Always so angry, love, Evan thought to himself, why must you always be so angry?

     "Maiden of Death," Evan used the old title, and it had the desired affect on her. She stopped, and looked at him, truly seeing Evan for what he really was, desperate, and broken, "Our brothers fear death. I fear it too. I've lived thousands of lives, and knowing now that I'm mortal since I no longer have Silas to protect terrifies me, and it terrifies them. Believing that killing Methos will take away their pain is foolish, I shall accept that, but I understand what they feel, and you don't because you still have Methos. You still have someone to love."

     Evan turned away, not wanting her to see the tears in his eyes. Yes, he was afraid, but standing with Tony against his sister was absurd. He would rather greet death on his own terms, and not bring it upon others. Silas, oh, my love, forgive my weakness, but even you loved Lena. Even you would have done anything for her.

     Lena took Jeffery's elbow and left her brother to grieve alone.

     "I don't understand," Jeffrey said, looking to his teacher, and old friend for guidance.

     "Evan was Silas lover throughout his lifetimes," Lena answered, knowing how shocked Jeffery would be. It wasn't against Guardianship rules to be your immortal's lover, but it was against policy to remain with him during every single lifetime. Silas had never known about the Guardianship, but he had known the love of his own Guardian, a fact that was rare, but bittersweet.

     "I can't even comprehend what it would mean," Jeffery said, a question in his eyes. Lena shook her head, answering the question. No, she hadn't been Methos' lover, but she had been his slave, his victim, a friend, and yes, there was a time she was his daughter, but he had left her when she had grown up. He was afraid that staying would have killed him, because his little bee would grow old, and he would forever stay the same. Watching your loved ones dying wasn't easy, and Lena had let him go.

     "Where to now?"

     "Home," Lena said, wondering how Methos would react to her. Since she had told him about the Guardianship, he had avoided her, but she knew he wanted only to sort out the facts and reach inside of himself and be at peace, "Let's go home."

The End

Continued in "Death's Daughter."

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