In Another Live
Harry Pearce was tired. He was more often than not, these days. At sixty-five years old, he certainly felt his age. He hauled his tired body through the house and into his favorite armchair. He took a deep breath to prepare for what was coming, trying to organize his thoughts and figure out just where to start. Because contrary to popular belief, the beginning isn't always the best place to start. And for this story, the beginning wasn't entirely relevant. But some background was certainly necessary before he really could delve in.
Luminous blue eyes watched him with excitement, and Harry grinned upon seeing the prettiest smile he'd ever known. No use waiting any longer. Time to start.
"I've lived a whole other life that you know nothing about. And in many ways, I hope you never do. But I want you to know me and know my past, because it's made me who I am. All those mistakes I've made, it sometimes feels like guilt and regret would swallow me whole. You see, in another life, I was hard and ruthless. I was a finely tuned machine of intrigue and destruction. All for the best causes, of course, but death and pain followed everywhere I went. I shudder to think now, that I once lived contentedly in those shadows. But I am forever grateful for that other life. Because it was in living another life that I happened to meet a lovely young woman with a brilliant mind and beautiful eyes and a strength of moral character I had never known."
Harry paused, remembering back to the first time he saw her, when she hadn't really caught his attention yet, when he'd doubted her strength and ability, when he thought he understood the course his life would take from that point onward. How foolish he was.
With a fond smile, he continued, "Her name was Ruth."
Author's Note: This is just the very beginning! There's a whole lot to come, some of which will be canon and some of which will be my own flight of fancy diverting from things I don't want. I expect my updates will be rather sporadic for a little while, until I get a good grip on where we're going, but please stick with it and let me know what you think. I have so much I'm going to pack into this fic, and I think it will end up pretty long. Stay tuned!