Amanda released a final glass-shattering wail and collapsed into Duncan's arms. The
two of them lay together, quietly regaining their breath for a moment. Then Amanda
rolled off of the dark haired Scotsman she knew so well, had experienced this so
many times before, and laid down next to him. Her dark eyes sparkled a bit
mischievously as she looked at the Highlander. Duncan noted that they do this most
of the time, anyway.
"I think you are getting me confused with Connor.," said Duncan.
"No, it's you. I know you've lost someone close to you recently. Take it from me, we
can't dwell on that stuff. Carpe Diem, Duncan! You need me around to point that out
to you."
"Well, are you cheered up yet?" she asked him expectantly.
"You were trying to cheer me up? I thought you were just bored?" Duncan retorted,
the hint of a smile on his face.
"Whenever I come around, it seems that you are deep in one of your funks, Duncan.
It's not healthy. You need someone like me around to loosen you up. Stop being so
deadly serious."
Is that a marriage proposal?", Duncan asked, smiling a little.
"No, that would be serious again," Amanda says with a shake of her head. "I'm
talking about fun! Besides, is marriage really useful for our kind? We might end up
killing each other at some point, given enough time."
Duncan chuckled at this.
"And since we can't have kids, kinda kills that reason for getting hitched. So what's
the point? I'd rather cut out the formalities and get right to the good stuff!", she
added with a wicked grin, one hand reaching under the sheet covering Duncan.
"Standing on ceremony is something you've never had patience for.", Duncan
agreed. "I don't see you having patience for motherhood either, honestly.", he
added as an afterthought. Then seeing the dark glare suddenly directed his way,
and feeling her hand stopping mid grab, realized he may have said the wrong thing.
"What do you mean?", Amanda asked. "You don't think I could be a mother?"
"Uh...", Duncan said, looking for a way to change the conversation gracefully. This
was the last thing he thought would offend Amanda. She hated kids! "I've just never
seen you as the mothering sort. You don't have the patience or the instincts. I've
seen you around kids. You just don't seem to care for them. But there's nothing
wrong with that..."
"Duncan MacLeod, if I wanted to, I could be a great mother! I can't help it if I can't
bear children!", Amanda snapped.
Duncan was really confused now. "You could always adopt..."
"I don't want to adopt!", Amanda snarled. "I don't want to have kids at all. But I
don't see where you get off telling me I couldn't be a mother!" With that, she
imperiously turned away from Duncan, and dressed.
Duncan barely got out an "Amanda..", before she slammed the door.
He stared at the closed door, wondering just what had happened?
Amanda strode down the street, her dark eyes burning. She was angry, and she
wasn't even sure why. She knew, deep down, Duncan was right. She WASN'T fond of
kids. And they didn't like her very much, either. She had originally come from a time
period and culture where women were judged by the ability to have children, and
she was SO grateful for being an Immortal and escaping that particular trap. Yet to
have Duncan point that out, after an intimate moment...
Is it that she interpreted what Duncan said as hinting she was...inadequate
somehow? That is not what he meant, but was that what she felt? That she was
somehow incomplete? Already too much introspection for herself, she strode on,
trying to find a moderately classy place open at this late hour...
When she felt something...it was like the Quickening felt at the presence of an
Immortal. But even though it felt supremely powerful, more intense than anything else
Quickening related she had ever felt before, it felt ill defined, no personality. Just
pure force. She took a step in the direction she thought it might be, and was
suddenly overwhelmed with the sense of a Quickening surge. More intense than any
she had ever felt before. Pure power. No memories or sensations, just pure power!
She felt as if she might come apart...
And then she opened her eyes. She was in what looked like a well-appointed green
house, in a very comfortable lounge chair. Sitting across from her was an elderly
woman, dressed in what looked like a white nun's habit. The woman stared at her
intently, sipping from a wine glass.
"Who are you?", Amanda asked, sitting up. "Where am I?" She was aware of a slight
buzzing sensation inside herself.
"That's more introspection than what We usually expect from you, Amanda," the
woman said in a rich speaking voice. "To answer your question, we are in your mind.
It's the easiest way for Us to manifest ourselves to you. As for Us, well, that's harder
to explain."
"Try.", Amanda said, her voice with a hard edge.
The woman chuckled, and said, "All right. Have you ever wondered why all this is,
the Immortals, the Gathering, the fighting, the Prize, and so on? Of course you
haven't, not much. You don't spend alot of time thinking about the whys and
wherefores of all this. You just do. No harm in that. In fact, it is why We picked you."
"Picked me for what? And who are you?", Amanda repeated.
"Wine?", the woman offered. "To the point. We are the entity who monitors the
Game, who reports on it's progress, moderates where necessary, makes sure the
rules are followed, ties up loose ends where we can. The Game does not have much
farther to go, you know. Couple of years, a few centuries. Doesn't really matter. Fact
is, it's mostly over."
"Who wins?", Amanda asked, taking the proffered wine. She took a sip after sniffing
it, and was very impressed by it's flavor.
"We don't know," the entity answered. "It's lots of fun to bet on, though. As I said,
We are just here to maintain the boundaries. One loose end needed tidying up, and
They have decided now is the time, and you'll be the vessel thru which it'll happen."
Amanda's eyes widened. "What do you mean?", she asked, now concerned.
"Throughout the game, there have been Immortals who, for whatever reason, have
given up their Quickening with no one to receive it. Too much over the ages. They
have ordered me to bring it together and reintroduce it to the Game. It was a pain in
the backside to go hither and thither thru space and time to gather it all up, thank
you. But now I'm done. You will be reintroducing that missing Quickening to the
world."
"How?", Amanda said, pretty certain she would not like the answer.
The mysterious woman took the wine glass away from Amanda, saying, "You
shouldn't be drinking this in your condition." She then smiled, not unkindly, and
said, "Congratulations, kid. You're going to be a mother!"