A/N: I decided to write another story after deleting my last one, something fun and creative in between my classes. I really didn't like my old character and I hadn't really the old story through. So, I took some time, regrouped and planned this out. I've taken a lot of backstory from the Outlander series and have worked my OC into the plot but this will not totally be a crossover, just some Outlander themes you'll see running through the story. It is a tenth walker and eventual Legolas/OC. I do not own any of the characters except for Kate and any other random characters, I'll let you know of. I do not own and did not create any characters from Lord of the Rings or Outlander. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy this small bit of drabble.
"Hi, I'm calling for Kate Mackenzie? My name is Janice Duncan, I'm a nurse at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, calling on behalf on your Aunt, Amanda Mackenzie. As I'm sure you know…she's not been doing well and has stopped treatment. She asked me to give you a ring and asked if you could come see her? She knows it would be a bit of trouble but to be honest…I'm not sure she has much time and I thought you might like to be updated. Give us a call back."
"Hello! This is Nurse Janice again, calling for Kate Mackenzie on behalf of your Aunt, Amanda Mackenzie. We haven't heard from you and your Aunt asked us to call you again, said she had things to discuss with you face to face. Normally I don't leave such detailed messaged but your Aunt says you're a surgical resident and you'd understand. She also says that might be why you haven't ringed back yet? As I said before…she really doesn't have much time left and it would be good to have family near. Give us a ring and let us know if you're coming, maybe we can set up a face time? She's been asking for you a lot."
"Nurse Janice again, sorry to have missed your call. I understand you were in surgery…if you might tell us if you're coming to visit your aunt? Thank you."
"Dr. Mackenzie, you got a call from Raigmore Hospital, in Scotland? Would you like me to take a message?" Kate Mackenzie sighed, deftly suturing a small hole an artery while her attending worked on repairing a ruptured spleen.
"Is there somewhere else you need to be, Dr. Mackenzie?" Dr. Stevens, her surgical attending asked, not bothering to look at her. "Or is saving the life of this boy less than appealing to you?" Kate shook her head furiously.
"No. No sir." She said firmly, though worry and more than a little guilt was beginning to settle in her stomach.
She knew her aunt was not doing well but Dr. Stevens was not someone you wanted to let down in the OR.
He was the top trauma surgeon on the east coast; if you ever wanted to be successful in your career and have your pick of fellowships…you needed a glowing recommendation from him. Anything less than that and she might as well just give up now.
And Kate was not doing that, she fought too hard to carve out a future for herself as a trauma surgeon!
Her Great Grandmother, Claire Randall was a brilliant surgeon and Kate would be one too, she was determined, she owed that much to her family
Even though she was only a second-year resident she had some favor with Dr. Stevens who saw a natural aptitude in her, and she wasn't going to blow it. Her Aunt could hold on. She'd be fine. She hoped.
She just needed a few more hours! Then she would be on her booked flight to Scotland.
The phone rang again, and rang and rang, the chime of her iPhone like nails on a chalkboard.
Kate could have died right there, with every ring she grew more and more uneasy.
Everyone knew Dr. Stevens opinions about phones…while he couldn't outright ban them given the length of surgeries sometimes, he could ostracize any resident that thought themselves important enough to leave their phone with a scrub nurse.
"It's Raigmore again, Dr. Mackenzie. Would you like me to-"
"Turn my phone off please." Came Kate's clipped reply. Silence filled the OR and Kate looked up to see her attending coldly staring at her. "I-I'm sorry. I-My aunt is dying, a bit of a family emergency but I'll be there soon, so it's fine. It's fine, I'm sorry." She finished lamely, turning her eyes back to her task at hand.
"Dr. Mackenzie, can you tell me what happened to the patient?" He asked calmly after a moment of excruciating silence. Kate gulped nervously, and took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Patient presented with multiple contusions over his body, broken arm and multiple puncture wounds to the abdomen that appear to be made by…by a sword which was found, still in the abdomen when he was brought in by emergency personnel. The injuries resulted in a lacerated spleen, and gallbladder, and parts of his large and small intestine will have to be resected due to severe and irreparable damage. Patient was malnourished and hypothermic, family is unknown. BP was low due to severe blood loss. Appears to be around 16. Maybe younger."
"Is this something you've seen before? Have you surpassed all the other residents in your education so remarkably that this surgery has bored you?"Dr. Stevens asked coolly. Kate swallowed loudly, knowing this was a trap and yet unsure how to answer.
She had royally screwed up and everyone knew it.
She could feel the eyes of every nurse, resident, attending, anesthesiologist and surgical tech boring into her, waiting for her reply.
"No! Absolutely not! This is by far the most interesting case I've ever seen!" Kate insisted.
And it was! It had been quite an exciting time to a bunch of cut-happy surgeons when the paramedics brought the boy in, remarkably still alive, screaming and raving about something, orcs he called them, breaking down a wall.
The boy was dressed in ill-fitting armor, and looked like he really had just stepped off the field of battle! The other surgeons whispered about it being some role-playing game gone awry; it was suspected that a few cosplaying kids had injured the boy and were too scared to take him to the hospital in case they were caught.
Kate wasn't sure about that. The injuries looked intentional and the way the boy was screaming, he looked petrified!
And with all his talk about raving about the fall of men, that they would all die this night, there was no way anyone could get any information out of him.
They finally were able to wheel him into emergency surgery and Kate was called upon by Dr. Stevens personally to assist him. She was elated at the time, feeling quite proud of herself, maybe too proud.
This was her hubris and boy was she paying for it now!
Dr. Stevens surgical mask and light obscured most of his features but Kate knew enough about the man to realize that she was in for it.
"Then why the hell would you come into my OR with your personal matters?!"He screamed, thankfully too deep in the kid's abdomen to physically throw anything. "Your aunt is dying? I DON'T CARE! This kid is dying on my table, who knows what hell he went through! I don't give a shit about your personal matters. Scrub out, Mackenzie, you're off my service until you realize that the only thing that matters in this OR is the patient on the table."
Kate was humiliated.
Blood rose to her cheeks, betraying her embarrassment to everyone else, especially to that pain in the ass, Sloan, who reveled in her public humiliation. She knew that sorry excuse for a doctor would jump at the chance to slide into her spot as Stevens's number one.
Kate stood there a moment, in shock and embarrassment it was only by sheer stubbornness she didn't cry and further shame herself. She always cried when she was angry.
Kate muttered an apology and moved to the scrub area, knowing it was useless to plead with him.
She furiously ripped of her surgical mask and gown and methodically began scrubbing her hands and upper arms, a bit too hard. The more she scrubbed the angrier she got.
Angry that Dr. Stevens knew how important her Aunt was to her and couldn't bend this one time.
Angry that Sloan was moving into her spot and not at all subtle about glancing over at her.
Angry that she didn't turn off her damn phone.
Angry at herself for allowing herself to be so publically humiliated and screwing up a potential once in a life time surgery, and possibly her career as a trauma surgeon. And for the briefest moment she was angry at her Aunt too for having them call again when she knew she was leaving to catch her flight tonight. What possibly could have happened in the last 6 hours?
Kate instantly felt her cheeks redden as shame filled her.
Shame and guilt and she hated herself because there was no one else to blame but her and Kate knew damn well a lot could happen to a patient in six hours.
She sighed, shutting off the water, and leaned against the sink for a moment, collecting herself and staring absently at her arms that now glowed a pathetic pink from her furious scrubbing.
She gave a halfhearted smile to the nurse that was coming into the scrub room, nodding in acknowledgement. Sarah, Kates favorite nurse, handed her the cursed cellphone and gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Give it a month, you'll be back on his service." Sarah said encouragingly. "Trust me, he likes you, he'll forgive you. If he didn't like you he would have had me throw your phone in with the waste. Sorry to hear about your Aunt."
Kate took the phone and thanked the nurse for her encouragement and sympathies and watched as the nurse ducked back in.
The patients BP was dropping, he probably wouldn't make it. Poor guy. Kate thought sympathetically. What happened to you? She wondered, her mind wandering back to the sinister looking sword that they took out of him.
Whoever had done that had to him must have been toying with him before delivering the final blow, she realized and was instantly sickened. She would never understand how people could do such a thing.
She watched through the glass and the energy in the room picked up and everyone jumped to action.
Surgeons crowded around him now, the energy becoming more and more tense. His heart had stopped. They tried reviving him, surgeons and nurses hurriedly doing what they could to keep him alive.
Kate remembered when they brought the boy in.
"The wall is down; the wall has fallen! The orcs are coming!" The boy yelled, clearly scared out of his wits and the familiar smell of urine filled the air. "Help me please, I do not want to die! Please." He begged
They tried reviving him again, while Kate angrily shook her head. She should be in there, helping!
"We'll all die. The orcs will kill us all, elves, men, women, children!" he screamed.
They shocked his heart one last time before Dr. Stevens called time of death, meeting her eyes through the glass.
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Kate hastily walked through the halls of Raigmore Hospital, scanning the room numbers for her Aunt's room. She paused for a moment, quickly chugging the rest of her coffee before chucking it into the trash and continuing on.
She was exhausted! She had left the hospital, grabbed her bags and went straight to the airport. Flying had always made her nervous and she was too strung out on Redbulls, anxiety, and the humiliation of her last surgery still to calm down enough to sleep on the plane.
After safely arriving in Scotland she checked into a cheap hotel, after learning her aunt had sold their family estate, Lallybroch, and hopped into the rental car to take her straight away to the hospital.
She mentally chided herself as she strutted down the halls, boots clicking on the tile floors. She should have taken a nap at least. She should have called her aunt sooner. She should have been here sooner.
She was sure everyone must think she was a terrible niece, too busy with her life to stop and check in on her only living relative's, but she knew her Aunt would understand. She had always been supportive of Kate's education and career path, but that knowledge didn't quell the guilt churning in her stomach.
She walked into her aunt's room, quietly pushing back the curtains and looked down at her sleeping Aunt fondly for a moment, before setting her purse down and picking up the clipboard at the edge of the bed, scanning for doctor's notes and vitals.
Kate frowned at the monitor next to her bed. Her vitals are everywhere! She thought, flipping back to the chart to confirm.
The doctors had still not come to an agreement on what exactly plagued her Aunt, finally settling on a vague diagnosis of some malignant cancer.
But Kate knew.
Too many trips back in time through the stones at Craigh na Dun.
Kate shut the file and put it back in its place, settling down in the overstuffed arm chair as she considered her Aunt's health and how it had gotten to this point.
Time travelling had its costs, she thought bitterly, shivering at the memory of the one and only time she went through herself.
The Mackenzie family had a long history of time travel, spanning back to her Great Grandmother who had first discovered this odd... "talent", for lack of better words.
When Claire, a retired army nurse had arrived in Inverness, with her than husband Frank Randall, she had no that she would be sent hurtling through the standing stones of Craigh na Dun, meet and fall in love with Jamie Fraser.
Their love was a thing of story tales, so great that she had been told the story time and time again, and it brought forth a daughter, Briana Fraser, Kate's grandmother, who married Roger Mackenzie and the two of them had two children, Jem and Amanda Mackenzie.
Over the span of her family's generations they had traveled through time, to and fro until finally settling back in time with Briana's family and no one had traveled since, not until Kate had been born.
Jem Mackenzie, her father, lived there now, it would probably be about 1812 then…he sent Kate to the future…to get a proper education he said. Women have much more of an advantage in the future, not like you would here. You're far too bright for this time, love. He had told her.
She was only 5 or 6 at the time so she didn't have much say when her Aunt Amanda volunteered to take her across the sea to Scotland and through the stones. Away from the only life she ever knew, the family and home she loved, to a strange world that was far too loud and too busy for her taste.
To this day Kate never knew exactly why she had been sent away, only the theories she had concocted in her head, as children often do. Maybe her father didn't love her enough. After her mother died, maybe he just couldn't love her anymore, or she had been too naughty to take care of? Sure, he had told her it was for an education, but what that really it? Her father was so on edge at that time, grief stricken and exhausted, she knew he was hiding something from her.
But, she was only a child then, and as the years passed Kate had tried to make amends with her father, in her own mind. She reasoned with herself that he had done what he thought was best, tried to set her up with a bright future and career, but there was no denying that it troubled her to think about it, and a small part of wondered if maybe it had been because she was just…a bad kid?
But, Kate had learned to love this new world, to grow with the times, and had developed a bond with Aunt Mandy that filled the space a mother might have, had she remembered what it would have been like to have one.
Aunt Mandy still went back, time and time again, each time bringing back a letter from her father, or some gift, and always an emerald or diamond or any other gem, for required protection.
It was well known amongst her family that to cross through time you needed a gemstone to keep you safe, not a blood sacrifice as other travelers were inclined to believe. And there were others, Kate couldn't be sure of how many exactly, but she knew. Every few years or some Kate would meet one, at the convenience store, a coffee shop, the hospital. The hairs on her arm would stand on end, and an electric current would race through the air until her eyes would meet the others, staring slack jawed at each other until Kate looked away.
She was always the first to look away, to break contact.
She would disappear into the crowd, or rush to her car, pretending she couldn't hear the poor confused soul calling after her, just looking for answers.
But she didn't have any answers for them. She wanted nothing to do with them or their gifts; she didn't want to swap stories or bond over their shared adventures. She wouldn't help them find their way back or explain what had happened to them, make the transition easier for them. She just wanted to forget! To shut the whole awful nonsense out and never speak of it!
This wasn't some fun superhero origin story to her, this was her life! An awful and terrible genetic mutation that she couldn't shake, and so she would push it away, not wanting to learn how time travel worked or what to look for, or have far she could really push herself with this.
She couldn't forget though, often at night she would wake screaming and covered in sweat from the nightmares.
Traveling through time takes a toll, physically and mentally.
The feeling of being shredded cell by cell, an electrical sensation pulsing through you when you make it back, your body trying to piece itself back together confused and shocked by what has happened beyond all logic until your body is left spasming uncontrollably, gasping for breath.
And then there is the space between.
That horrifying space between time and space, totally sensory deprivation and yet she could hear them all, everyone who was lost in between, could feel them grabbing if she wasn't careful…
"Kate?" Her aunt called softly "You came." a small smile on her mouth beneath the oxygen mask, shaking Kate from her thoughts, thoughts she would much rather not think of.
"Hey auntie!" Kate said, smiling warmly. "I told you I was coming. I'm sorry it took me so long…this year has been rough. I'm not really supposed to take time off and…I wasn't expecting you to come back. What happened? You told me you were staying with father, that it was your last trip."
She trailed off, grabbing her aunts frail hand. Her Aunt was young, early 40's, but the damage done by traveling and her health made her look older and frail. She didn't look good, Kate could her the rails in her lungs and was happy she came when she did.
"I had to." Her aunt said weakly, removing the mask, "I had to Kate, your father…you're in danger! They're coming sweetheart, you need to run."
Kate shook her head, gently placing the oxygen mask back on her aunt. Her sp02 was 84% and Kate wondered for a moment if she wasn't becoming a bit loopy from lack of oxygen.
"Auntie, calm down. I'm not in any danger. I'm fine see? It's probably just…you know…it."Kate wondered if psych had been called, with her aunt raving like this.
How long had she been like this? What all had she been saying? Kate figured she might have to do some damage control.
"No, sweetheart, you are. I-I have an envelope, in the drawer for you. It's a letter from you're father…and my will."
"Aunt Mandy, don't talk like this!" Kate exclaimed, grasping her aunts hand tighter, but her aunt only patted it.
"Ye ken I'm dying Kate, if you don't than I want a refund for all the med school tuition I paid for because you'll be a cruddy doctor. Read the letter, it explains…the danger…they're horrible Kate, you can't let them find you. I put a few stones in as well, to help you." At this her aunt grabbed her hand roughly. "Don't go through unless you have to. That's how they find you. That's how they know where you are, these wicked, soulless creatures, all in black …Ringwraith's their called…it's our fault they came… Kate I've never seen anything like them!" Her aunt was getting worked up and Kate tried in vain to calm her down.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Auntie, I've only been through the one time. It's not something I'm doing again. I can't even if I wanted to, I'd lose my residency. I'm safe, I'm ok, try breathing slowly. Yes, that's it, let's get your oxygen mask back on. You can't tell me much if you're not breathing." Kate jokingly chided and her aunt made what sounded like a laugh.
Slowly Aunt Mandy lifted her hand, tracing Kate's face. The face that looked less like her father and more like her grandfather, more like her Aunt Mandy. Same thick dark hair, same bright green eyes, but more of her grandmothers' high set cheekbones and long neck. Her petite figure and her tenacious personality she got from her mother.
"I promised your father I'd protect you like you were my own daughter. He kent I'd take care of you fine, but having to let you go…it almost killed him Kate. He loved you. Your mother loved you. They loved you so much. You ken that, right? He had to, had to save you." Her aunt said softly, her eyes staring at Kate but her mind was in a far-off place…in a time so far from here. "We have some oddities about us…that you ken…but you…there's something different than your great grandmother, even your grandmother had. We could only go through time, but you…your mother…she could go further… God I'm not even sure I'd believe it my own self if it weren't for those devils showing up on our ridge asking about you"
"Auntie…what are you talking about? I don't understand. Is my father alright?" Kate was worried now; her Aunt was speaking these crazy things…this wasn't normal.
"Och, he's fine sweetheart. He took a bit of fright, but he's alright. But that's why I came back instead of my retiring there on Fraser's ridge. He needed me to warn you, he knew he wouldn't make the trip…and I'd been through so often. I told him I'd come warn you, look out for your safety. I had to warn you…I had to warn you."
Her Aunt was getting tired, her eyes shutting for longer periods of time and Kate gently patted her hand, urging her to get some sleep.
"Just get some rest, Auntie, we will talk about it in the morning." She said calmly, trying to hide the worry in her voice. What was she on about?
"No!" Her aunt suddenly exclaimed, a fit of passion causing her to sit up in the bed. "Use the stones, Kate please! If you must, and ONLY if you must. But have a mind where you want to go. Even the smallest thought of anything else can take you there. You mustn't think of any other world. You must not. Only, you can't let those things get you, who knows what will happen to you! Who knows where they'd take you!" Her aunt was pleading, grasping her hand in hysterics. Very unlike the usual free-spirited and brave aunt she'd known all her life.
"Auntie, you need to calm down, your blood pressure. I'm fine, there are no other worlds."
"Yes, there are Kate! There are! I saw him! The eye! I saw him! He saw me, he knew I was coming back to warn you. He wants to use you, you're the only one who can go there and back, he thinks he can use you as a key. But he must not! I saw him! You have to keep safe! I love you! I love you, you have to stay safe, I promised. I promised"
"Aunt Mandy? Auntie?! Nurse?! She's coding! Help, get a doctor in here now!" Kate lost all shred of clinical calm she learned to build up threw her years as a student, trying desperately the keep her aunt alive if only by yelling for her.
She suddenly knew what it was like to be the patient's family in the ER, having to watch their loved ones dying. It was awful and made even worse by the fact that there was nothing she could do.
"Ma'm we need you to step out." A nurse said to her, her Scottish lilt soothing and commanding all at once.
Kate nodded numbly, letting them work, but she knew.
She was a doctor, a surgeon. She knew. She knew it was over.
Death changes things, no matter how often you saw it and Kate knew that her Aunts death was going to change things, beyond the typical grief.
Something in the world had shifted. Something so subtle that Kate never would have noticed.
They were coming
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Kate quietly let herself into her motel room, a cheap off the road one she got last minute after boarding the plane. She wasn't expecting to have to stay in a hotel but evidently her aunt had sold Lallybroch a while ago.
The key stuck and she gave it an impatient shove, allowing it to finally open.
This really is a crappy room, she thought, throwing the manila envelope on her bed and heading to check out the mini bar.
She needed a drink, it had been a long night and with her Aunt gone…Kate really was alone. Though not totally alone, nothing her good friend Jack Daniels couldn't help with she thought wryly.
She moved over the bed, sitting the drink untouched on the end table, and sat down quietly putting her head in her hands. She was so tired. And heartbroken.
Guilt ate away at her for not coming sooner…maybe there was something she could have done. Maybe if she noticed the way her aunt was talking she could have alerted someone sooner, she might not have had a heart attack if she hadn't been so worked up.
She wanted to cry, to drain this glass of whisky and then finish off the bottle, but there was too much to do, and Kate was nothing if not practical. She shoved her feelings down into that safe space, where she usually hid them and washed them down with the whisky.
Sighing from the burn of the whiskey she grabbed the envelope and pulled out the thick package of papers and the letter, deciding she would get to work on the will.
Out tumbled four good sized gemstones, and an odd ring. Kate picked it up inspecting it, a heavy masculine ring, not her father's taste to be sure. Two snakes coiled around the band, entwining themselves around an emerald. She's never seen it before but figured her father had sent it with her Aunt only for the stone.
First things first, she thought, gingerly grabbing the envelope that contained what she knew to be her father's letters. She took another sip of whisky, steadying herself, then decided to drain the glass instead.
To my only daughterthe envelope read in the same determined and familiar writing of her father, a man she only really knew from these letters and brief snippets of memory. The envelope opened easily, time not being forgiving.
My dearest Kate,
If you are reading this letter now than I am sorry for it. Mandy wasn't supposed to show you unless she absolutely had to, which means she must be dead or alarmed enough to show it to you. That thought grieves me too much to write about but it is not the purpose for this letter.
You are in danger. Yes, I know that sounds gruesome and horribly overdramatic but it's the truth. Black Riders, Ringwraith's they are sometimes known as, are looking for ones like you. You know of our gifts and while I know you haven't wanted to utilize them (which is probably for the best, pick a time and stay there I would say), there are things you don't know about it. Things you don't want to know but you must. Please read this carefully.
. You had often asked questions about your mother when you were a child, questions I was not always able to answer, or unsure exactly how I would answer. But your mother, rest her soul, was not like us. She could travel, like us, yes…I just did not know how far
She had no memory of where she came from until many years later, a bump on the head, you see. When she finally regained her memory …I assumed she had been talking about another time, you see, it sounded so medieval.
I couldn't ever have imagined she would have come from a different world all together. She was not supposed to come to our world, insisting she had no idea how she got here. We made sure she was safe, fed and eventually we became great friends and then lovers.
We were happy together, with our life and overjoyed when we brought you into it. I did not know I could know such happiness, but that was not to last. She had fallen ill.
I thought it was because she had traveled without the protection of stones, and that very well could be. I tried my very best to help her, grandma Claire did what she could until she passed herself, but she had never seen anything like it. It was a slow disease, it took its time. It was almost like a cancer…but different.
Your mother passed away, leaving all her love with you. It broke my heart to look at you, wondering how to tell you that you no longer had a mother. Wondering how to raise you, with all your strength stubbornness and intelligence (a healthy mix from the both of us) in a world that would have limited you solely based on your sex. No, you deserved better than that.
So, I decided it would be best for you to go back to a time that allowed so much more opportunity for you. I could not have made that journey myself… I am sorry for it. I'm sure I would not have made the journey and I couldn't risk leaving you orphaned, so your aunt volunteered. Mandy was always ready for anything, and she wasn't married here…this time never really suited her. I know you must hate me for it on some level and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me one day.
The night we had come to a conclusion that you would be leaving, there came a knock on the door. An old man, wizened and gray, saying he had urgent matters to discuss with me. I was suspicious but entertained the man who called himself Gandalf. He said he knew your mother, my wife, but was more familiar with her brother Aragorn.
They had been searching all these years for her only to discover that it was too late. Gandalf asked about her illness, the manner of her arrival, the date and time she arrived, was she carrying anything. To be honest I didn't remember much and he grew very cross with me, I believe he thought I was purposely keeping information from him and I suppose on some level I was.
Then he explained he knew all about our ability to pass through the stones, our whole family tree being able to! But your mother…she could pass through worlds. As you can imagine it was quite the shock to me! She must have inadvertently found a stone circle, some opening that sent her here.
Gandalf told me her coming here ripped a hole in the delicate fabric hiding our world from theirs, a place called Middle Earth, drawing the attention of a dark lord Sauron. All of this meant nothing to me, and angrily I asked what that had to do with me, my daughter or my wife now that she had passed. Gandalf informed me that just as our ability to pass through time is hereditary, her recently discovered gift could have also been passed to you.
This was a dangerous combination for you, to pass through time and worlds, something he said the enemy could and would use. As Sauron's power was growing, he was able to send out his servants to look for you…to wield your power for his evil doings.
All this, as you can imagine was too much for me to process, and I was so overcome with grief, fear and anger that I foolishly brandished my gun at the old man. Just as quickly as I did this the gun grew burning hot in my hand, the room grew dark and this old man straightened and grew ten feet tall.
"Do not take me for some addled old fool!" He yelled at me "I am trying to help you! To save your daughter and both our worlds!" Then just as quickly as it happened, he was back to the bent and grey old man, seating in my best chair, the fire giving off its normal soft glow once more.
Gandalf told me we must send you away, in secret, to some time none of us knew, that we must never see each other again, never visit again. It was imperative, he said, that you were to be erased from our records, no one could know who you were. What you were.
We didn't listen.
I didn't know when or where you were, I insisted on not knowing, but Amanda often came back every few years or so, a welcome presence, bringing updates on you, your schooling and any beaus you had. As the years passed the old man and his threats had lost their weight. We grew bolder, making more frequent visits and I had even myself begun preparations to go back with Amanda to live with you. Be a father to you!
I never heard from the old man again, and things resumed their normal quiet place, too quiet for my part, I missed you and your mother but I learned to adapt.
Mandy came like usual, same time, same place. We laughed and carried on as brother and sister do but one fateful night we heard a terrible shrieking.
Black Riders came to the door, looking for you. Mandy escaped and I won't go into much detail except to say that I am alive and will heal just fine.
I have sent this letter with her, along with several stones that you may use for protection and a ring. Your aunt will caution you not to go through the stones out of fear but I disagree.
If you hear them, the terrible shrieking, or tales of strange creatures cloaked in black roaming through your town you MUST go through the stones. Never allow yourself to be captured by these things.
I have seen their face. They would do you great harm and stop at nothing to be sure that you are taken to Saruman who would use your gifts for evil. Protect yourself at all costs. If you believe that you are in trouble head to the standing stones at Craigh na Dun.
I hope, and do believe that traveling worlds work the same way as time, so you must think of a man named Aragorn in Rivendell. That is your mothers brother, your uncle, and from how your mother has spoken of him I believe he will protect you, he sounds like an honorable man. Think only of Aragorn, in Rivendell in the third age (orders given expressly by Gandalf) and bring the stones with you! I'm not sure how but they offer protection when traveling through time, I'm not sure how many you'll need to pass through worlds but I could only secure four (plus one for your aunt) so best to bring all of them with you.
There is also a ring, a gift given to your mother by her brother for safe keeping; it will prove to Aragorn that you speak the truth. Unfortunately, I have no other words of council to give you, and no advice on how to travel through. No soothing or comforting words, just my love to send you. Be safe. Be well. Trust your instincts. Do great things. With all of my love and your mothers, stay safe my love.
Your loving father,
Jem Mackenzie.
Kate exhaled loudly wondering if she had drank too much, somehow making up all this in the letter. This just couldn't be true. It was ridiculous.
She was fine.
She was safe.
She wasn't in danger.
And she sure as shit was not leaving her residency based on some 200-year-old letter her father wrote her.
She didn't even really know her father. For all she knew he was a drunk, and written the letter during a night of binge drinking to make amends, to ease his guilt at making her leave.
But she knew in her heart that was not true, her father would not lie like that just to make himself feel better.
And she knew her aunt. She knew that was real fear in her auntie's eyes, something she never saw before. Doubt started to ebb away at her stubbornness, the drink weakening her resolve. Maybe it was true.
Were there strange creatures looking for her, wanting whatever gift she may or may not have? It was late at night and Kate hopped up, checking the lock on her door and ensuring the blinds were shut tight.
Night time often leads credibility to the darkest of fears, even ones so absurd as this.
"This is too much." Kate slurred, flopping herself back on the bed. She didn't want to think of this now. She hadn't really slept for over 48 hours and she was exhausted, sad, confused, and not entirely sober enough to look through a legal document like her aunt's will.
I'll get to it in the morning. Kate thought, shutting off the light and laying back on the bed, not bothering to change or pull the blankets around her.
The will would still be there to sort through in the morning, and so would this crazy letter.
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Kate knew she was dreaming, she must be, for she had never seen a place so beautiful as this.
A forest that felt so peaceful, glowing almost by itself, soft voices singing in the background. Yet something was odd, off a bit.
Her vision was blurry, like she was looking through a pool of water, and even though her sight was obscured there stood in front of her the most beautiful women she had even seen. She stood tall and powerful, gracefully turning her long neck to and fro, looking for something, someone. She found it, her eyes rested on Kate and relief flooded her beautiful face and then was immediately replace by concern.
Kate frowned, wondering why such a thing would look at her this way, and what was she saying? Kate tried to motion that she couldn't hear her but the women kept repeating it.
Then suddenly a piercing wail ripped through the dream, sending shivers through her body and the woman's head snapped up, quickly calling to someone. She looked at Kate her eyes piercing straight through her soul and she heard the women's voice.
"It's time to go now, Kate. You must go now." She said, her voice and face far too calm for the present moment.
"Go where? What are you talking about? Who are you? Kate asked the woman, trying to make sense of it all.
She was never drinking that much again.
The woman smiled down at her with something akin to pity.
"I promised to keep you safe. You know where to go. It's time to leave now."
"I-no. I can't. I don't know how." Kate whimpered, embarrassed by how childlike she sounded, but there was something about that sound that terrified her.
It screamed again, quickly joined by others calling out to each other.
Kate swallowed hard and looked to the women, not really sure what else to do.
"You know what to do. I will help you and guide you. But you must go now, quickly." Kate didn't move, despite the warning in the woman's voice and quickly the woman's face changed to something so beautiful and terrifying Kate would have cut off her own hand if she asked her to. "Go now, Kate. GO NOW!"
Kate woke with a start, the screams ripping her from whatever dream she was in. At first, she thought she must still be dreaming, but the screams and wails started up again, sending waves of fear through her and she bolted up of bed.
"Yup, yeah I got it. I'm going!" she muttered to no one in particular, quickly grabbing the keys to her rental car and the folder that held her father's letter, mothers ring and the gemstones.
Kate bolted out the door, not bothering to lock it behind her, hopped into the car, turning it on before she had even shut the car door. She put on her seatbelt while maneuvering the car, trying to read the signs and find the quickest way to Craigh na Dun.
The ride there was tense, about a 30-minute drive spent with Kate looking over her shoulder every now and then, swearing she saw ghostly figures on horseback chasing after her in the dark.
A part of her, the logical part, tried to reason with herself. Tried to explain away those cries and tell herself she was being so foolish! That she was just scared and the combination of sleep deprivation, alcohol and grief had muddled her thought.
She might have believed it too. Had she had more sleep and a full belly maybe she would have stayed in her room, made herself go back to sleep.
But she had heard those screams and it scared her to her bones.
Whatever those creatures were, the fear she felt far outweighed her fear of traveling through the stones, and that was no small fear.
She finally arrived, wondering how fast she could climb up that hill without being seen. The sun was starting to rise, creating strange shadows and colors in the sky, combined with the terrifying and all too familiar buzzing sound from the stones she felt like she would vomit at any moment.
She would have known where she was if she had been blindfolded.
The stones called to her, making her skin jump and twitch, her body trying to prepare itself to be ripped apart, cell by cell.
Kate hesitated, her hands gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles had turned white, wondering if she couldn't just turn around, go home and never look back. What was she doing? Could she live out her days hiding from them? Was it possible to maintain her career, everything she'd worked so hard for, sacrificing everything? For what? For this Aragorn? She didn't even know him! She wasn't going to put herself through this to jump into an even greater danger.
"You have lost it, Kate."
She could go back and just hide. She was tired. Overly paranoid, a bit hungover?
And then she saw them.
Ghostly creatures clothed in black, sitting on black horses who stamped their feet in impatience. They were about 6 miles out, coming out of the forest; they knew she would be here. Could they see her?
Well that's that then.
Kate begin to break out in a cold sweat and slowly grabbed the envelope, trying to unbuckle herself as quickly and quietly as possible.
Somehow, she knew they saw her, felt their eyes on her even if she couldn't see their faces and she felt her skin tingle.
She wanted to scream and cry and vomit, she had never been so unexplainably scared in all her life. This wasn't real, this wasn't happening. She didn't want to do this!
She looked up at the stones, her body now visibly trembling from fear of these shadowy figures and from the memory of traveling through.
That small movement seemed to be enough confirmation to the Black Riders and they urged their horses onward charging forward toward Kate.
Now or never. Now or die. She thought and bolted from the car and up the hill toward the stones, the sound and energy of them making her slip and fall, as she scrabbled up the hill, scraping her knees and elbows as she fell.
Aragorn, Rivendell. Aragorn, Rivendell. Aragorn, Rivendell.She chanted to herself a mantra that propelled her up the hills, she was so close, but so were the black riders.
She could see the horses now. Their eyes rolling wildly, foaming at the mouth, the sweat sliding off their neck. Too close. They were too close! She could smell a decay in the air, flooding her nose and she gasped for breath. What were these things?!
She was crying now, fear and adrenaline allowing her only the release of tears because she knew what she had to do and it terrified her! She didn't want to do this! She didn't want to do this alone!
Summoning up whatever courage Kate had left and she extended a shaky hand and place it on the stone just as a shadow of a horse and rider passed over her.
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Kate knew something wasn't right before she was even conscious. Her body, already starting to put itself back together, twitched and trembled like she'd been struck by lightning and she lay there for who knew how long, convulsing and gasping for breath.
She could hear birds chirping around her but couldn't quite open her eyes yet. She knew she was there. In whatever strange world she was in, and she knew if she opened her eyes she would be letting go of her world, her life to face whatever lay before her.
She decided to, instead, give herself a quick once over, mentally taking her vitals. Everything felt fine, heart rate normal, she didn't feel anything missing, she needed to open her eyes, to get a real look at things.
Slowly she opened her eyes, giving them a moment to adjust to the too bright sun. How long have I been out? She wondered, noting how much the sun had risen. Sitting up gingerly she grabbed the envelope that seemed untouched other than slightly singed, and slid on the ring, it felt more secure to keep it on her finger.
She also noticed that 3 out of 4 of the stones were nothing but dust, doing their job protecting her she supposed. Odd though, the stones had never been destroyed before. She quietly slid the last emerald into her jean pocket, deciding she would mull over that another time.
Stiffly, she turned to look for a stone circle she might have tumbled from and let out a low whistle when she finally saw it setting atop a hill. Had she fallen all that way? It was a long way to fall but all in all, she was safe and intact, just a few bumps and scratches resulting in the fall but nothing life threatening.
She looked around, surveying the forest. It looked safe enough, but that could just be the light of day. Once night fell there was no telling how safe it would be. She couldn't stay here. She needed a plan. She needed to find this Aragorn or Rivendell and she needed to find it quickly.
Where was she? Could she really be in another world? It looked like an average forest to her.
Fear started to gnaw at her. Maybe she had screwed up and she wasn't in Middle Earth at all, but still in her world? She could be anywhere! In any time!
She swore at herself, and shook her head. No, she had done it right, how hard could it be? She was not in her world, that she somehow knew. She gingerly stood to her feet, dusting leaves and dirt off of herself as she formulated a plan. She needed to find a main road, she could flag down a car or something. Or a spaceship she thought wryly. Either way, she'd need to find help, someone who knew how to get to this Rivendell. She would find Aragorn, get this whole mess sorted out and head back home! How hard could it be? Hello long lost Uncle, please call off your freaky rider men who apparently are putting me in mortal danger, if you'd be so kind. Well, she could always work on that while she walked there.
"Right, well…pick a direction. Off you go." She muttered to herself.
The quicker she sorted this all out the quicker she could go back to her home, and save whatever was left of her job, which she would surely loose if she didn't show up after being off for 3 days.
Choosing the clearest way Kate started walking, hoping to find something relatively soon. However, after several hours of walking she had seen no one, nothing. No roads or highways, no signposts or powerlines. She was dripping with sweat, exhausted and starving.
Where the heck was she? Surely, she would have seen something or someone by now!
She continued walking despite her growing concerns, toward what she didn't know, but the forward motion gave her hope. Hope that she desperately needed as the sun began to set, and the cold of night began to settle around her.
Kate had never camped. Not once in her life, so she hadn't the first clue what to do. How did one start a fire with no matches? Wasn't there some trick where you rubbed some sticks together. Seems easy enough, Kate sniffed and grabbed to sticks, trying to mimic whatever demonstration she thought she had seen to no avail.
Realizing she might need some sort of kindling she grabbed a few leaves that were blessedly dry and set them around the area, hoping that would prompt some fire to emerge. Kate sat there, rubbing those sticks together for longer that she wanted to admit and still she wasn't any closer to a fire.
"Oh, good grief! Cavemen could do this, Kate!" She shouted to herself, indignantly throwing the sticks into the woods.
Fine. I don't need a fire. It's not even cold. This is fine. She told herself, rubbing her hands together and blowing into them.
"Now what?"She muttered to herself. No fire, no food, so shelter. What was she supposed to do, sleep on the ground? "Should've let those things kill me." She said morosely, thankful no one else was here to hear how dramatic she was being. Many people camped and lived through the night, surely she could too!
Staring lamely into the dark, she vaguely remembered hearing it was safer to sleep in a tree, which seemed like a fine idea to her; who knew what kind of animals or creatures they had in this world.
Stubbornly she pulled herself up into a tree and tried her best to settle into a comfortable spot to sleep and regain her energy.
But sleep never came that night for her.
Or the next night.
Or the night after that.
Anytime she might have been on the verge of sleep, a scramble from an animal, the hoot of an owl, the cry of a wolf, or a shriek in the night jolted her out of it.
She was too scared to fall asleep, she hated to admit.
She felt like a child, alone and afraid in the dark with no idea when she would get out or see any other person again.
Days past and she was starting to feel delirious! She hadn't eaten in such a long time her stomach was hurting, her limbs were weak and she was starting to wonder if she should attempt to catch one of the squirrels, but she was thankful to have at least found a stream to drink from!
Panic began to claw at her, the next morning, when she realized that it could very well be weeks before she found her way out of these woods. God, if she only had a map!
She was beginning to lose hope, the sun starting to set again, when suddenly she spotted a column of smoke few miles from her.
Oh, thank God! She started laughing, clapping her hands to her mouth as the tears streamed down her face. Finally!
Where there was smoke there was fire, and more often than not a campfire, with people!
There! Hurry!
Maybe if she arrived there quickly enough those people would have some food they would be willing to share?
That was the plan, make way to the campfire. The smoke was a bit further than Kate thought, but she didn't mind so much so long as she had a plan.
However, the closer she got the smoke, able to even smell the fire, the more unsettled she felt.
The woods around her had gone eerily quiet, save for the sounds made by whoever was at the campfire. The hairs on her arms stood up.
This wasn't right.
Maybe this was a trap set by those riders? Maybe this was their plan? Get her lost in the woods until she'd gone half mad and then kill her?
Stop being ridiculous! Whatever those riders were last night, this clearly isn't it! You're too worked up! Keep moving! Kate chided herself, ignoring the warning in her gut. You're just over paranoid, you need sleep and food. Keep moving!
The smell of musk and decay filled her nostrils as she walked closer and suddenly she didn't think it was such a ridiculous notion to turn back. Women were supposed to trust their gut, right? She had always trusted herself before, why had she stopped now? She knew nothing of this place, she couldn't go running off after every campfire! That was ridiculous!
"Bad idea."
She spun on her heels and quickly walked in the opposite direction, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt up over her head.
Ooof! She grunted, running straight into the most horrifying creature she'd ever seen. It was a foot taller than her, with mottled skin and strings of dark hair hanging off of what she thought was his scalp. His features contorted into a sneer, showing off its yellow teeth. What the-
"Well what have we here? Lost, are we?" It leered, sizing her up and not being subtle about it. "You ain't no elf. Good, it's been awhile since we've had man flesh…good bit of sport you'll be."
Kate rubbed her eyes, blinking stupidly.
Man flesh?As in … food?
Her mind simply would not allow her to process this…this thing in front of her. What even was this?
Every fiber in her being was urging, begging her to run but she could not make her feet move. She just stood there gaping, a silent scream still frozen in her throat.
It wasn't until the creature grabbed hold of her arm that she snapped into action.
She screamed, loudly and desperately, not knowing what else to do. She punched and kicked him but it only made him laugh and yell out in some gargled speech to whatever else was out there.
"JESUS H. ROOSEVELT CHRIST!"She screamed, stomping on its feet and doing everything she could to get it to let go of her until it got bored of her fighting and yanked her up, throwing her like a sack over its shoulders. How the hell was she getting out of this?
Focus Kate! You need a weapon, something.Kate steeled herself, the way she normally did when she had to act tough around the other residents.
She would get out of here, she had to!
She kept beating the monster and screaming, but it was unbothered by her as her fists fell on him like rainwater. Kate was crying, her fear reaching fever pitch, begging for this monster to let her go… until she notices a dagger hanging off his hip and she allowed herself a small sliver of hope… if she could just reach down far enough and grab…got it!
In one swift motion, before she could scare herself out of this she had yanked the dagger out of its sheath and plunged it up under what she hoped was a vital organ. Yanking it out she stabbed again as it squealed and threw her to the ground, and she took off at full speed. She could hear it yelling and squealing, as it scrambled after her and then she heard it fall to the ground.
She had no clue where she was going but she could hear more coming.
She kept screaming, and running hoping someone would hear her. She gripped tighter to the dagger, a horn blowing in the distance but she didn't stop running.
A warning to more of those creatures maybe? And then she could hear the thundering of horse hooves.
Arrows whizzed past her and she dropped to the ground, turning behind her just quick enough to watch the arrows sink into about 5 of those creatures.
Oh. My…
A blur of horses rode past her, men with drawn arrows sat atop of them, some with swords slashing at any of the monsters that where alive and dared to fight back against them. She stared up at them from the ground, her eyes wide. What the hell was happening?
Kate was not going to stick around long enough to get their names! Pushing herself off the ground she took off at full tilt, sliding on leaves and mud, but she pulled herself up and ran again, willing herself to stop crying! She could her the pounding of hooves behind her and she ran faster, stupidly thinking she could outrun it before one of the men rode in front of her, stopping her dead in her tracks.
No, no, no! She screamed internally Just go away please!
Two more came behind here, while the other three rode off to search the surrounding areas for any surviving monsters.
She couldn't breathe, she was sure she was going to have a heart attack. Three men stared down at her from atop their horses, calm and cold, not at all looking like they had just slaughtered a pack of monsters. They had such an unearthly beauty about them…such a striking contrast to the monsters she had previously met Kate wasn't sure what scared her more! Nothing this beautiful could be safe!
They looked like archangels, that was the only way to describe them, her evident saviors. Beautiful and terrifying, all staring down at her in derision.
One of them, a man with hair so blonde it almost looked silver gracefully jumped off his horse, slinging is bow over her shoulder and headed to her slowly, warily. He motioned for her to put down the dagger, slicked with the monster's blood.
Why was he doing that? Did it not speak? Well, Kate sure did!
"Not on your life buddy." She spat, and gripped the knife tighter ready to strike; adrenaline, shock and embarrassment making her sound braver than she felt, but the shaking of her knife betrayed that.
The other two long haired men behind her jumped off their horses and stepped forward in one fluid motion, bows drawn and aimed at her.
Me?! They really think I'm the threat here?
"Are you kidding me?!" She screetched.
The first man waved them back, his blue eyes studied her, assessing her like a wolf would its prey, but he didn't seem to want to eat her. Not like those other things. She couldn't tell if he was curious or suspicious, maybe a bit of both. After a beat, he calmly crossed his arms.
"You have no need of that, no harm will come to you." He said finally, raising an eyebrow at her when she didn't lower the dagger. "You have my word." He said again. Kate sniffed.
"I have your word? Fat lot that will do me! Your word means nothing to me! I don't know you! No, I'd feel much more comfortable holding this if it's all the same." She said firmly, but lowered it slightly in a show of good will. She had questions she needed answering. "Who are you? What were those things?! Where am I? Am I near Rivendell?"
The man stood of straighter, not giving much away in his face but his stance showing he was a lot more suspicious of her now. His eyes moved over her, appraising her warily.
She was sure she looked insane, like some sort of wildling, covered in dirt and mud, waving around a knife that she had no idea how to use. She knew she must have smelled rank, and maybe they would really have just let her go had she not looked this frightening.
"What business do you have in Rivendell?" He asked, eyes narrowing. Kate swallowed, wondering if that was the wrong question. She didn't know who to trust, but at the moment these men seemed like her best option. Her only option, really.
"I'm looking for a man named Aragorn? I was told he was in Rivendell." She said, unsure of herself. "I was told he would help me. I'm supposed to look for him" What if Aragorn was not a good man? The blonde haired raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"You know of Aragorn? By that name? But how could you know he would be in Rivendell?" Kate huffed. Did he know the man or not?
"My father said someone named Gandalf told him."
"You know Mithrandir? Is he a friend of yours? Who is your father then?" He asked, growing more suspicious by the minute.
It wasn't that he didn't want to trust the woman, but these were strange times and the enemy was cunning, he would have no qualms about using a human woman to do his bidding. Though she was small she did not look innocent!
"No, not mith-rand-ir, Gandalf. My father's name is Jem Mackenzie, he said Gandalf told him to tell me to look for Aragorn, in Rivendell. He's supposed to be my uncle I guess. Is he there or no-" Before she could finish the man ripped the dagger out of her hand and held it to her neck, the other two men restraining her. He spoke a strange language to the men before giving a cold glance her way. "What the hell? Get. Off. Me!" She yelled, trying to sound as threatening as she could.
"You lie!" He spat, glaring into her eyes, practically daring her to deny it.
"I do not! Are you insane? What is wrong with you? He is my uncle! His sister was my mother!"
"More lies! Aragorn has no living relatives. Any sister he had died long ago and he would not look fondly on those who would seek to use her memory to deceive him! You will tell me the truth and why you search for Aragorn!"
"Well not as long as you'd think! I've never met him but he was my mother's brother. Her name was Raen, after her mother Gilraen, who I've also never met...which I realize now, sounds suspicious, yes, but that's who I was told to ask for, I was told he could help me." The blonde-haired man released the knife after she was bound and turned to walk away, shouting orders in his odd language. Kate was starting to get hysterical now; would they leave her here?! Just leave her in these woods to die or be eaten by those monsters? Or had he just given his buddies the green light to kill her? "Please, you have to believe me! I don't have any proof except, oh! Except this ring, look, it's on my index finger! It was my mother's! I was told to show it to Aragorn as proof I was who I say I am!" He turned, and went to inspect the ring, and when he inhaled sharply, Kate sighed in relief.
"Where did you get this?" He whispered in disbelief.
"My mother, I told you. I don't even remember her, she died when I was very young so it's not worth asking questions. I'm still trying to figure things out myself. Do you believe me?" She asked, twisting around to try and look at him. His answering response was a command spoken in another language she had never heard, and the men restraining her finally let go.
"Forgive me." He said, his voice tight and not totally devoid of suspicion, but more forgiving than he had been. "I cannot say I believe you entirely but I am sorry for being too quick to find you at fault. Aragorn is a dear friend of mine, I would not have him taken for a fool. Not many know him by his real name, only by Strider." He did seem sincere, and she nodded, absentmindedly rubbing her wrists.
"Soo he's a good man then, this Aragorn?" She asked, the man nodded, smiling at her though it did not reach his eyes. "Oh, and I'd like my knife back please."
"He is a good man. I will bring you to him if you wish. You will meet him and he will decide for himself if what you say is true." Kate sighed, finally feeling like she was on the right course after the chaotic last few days. He extended his hand in greeting. "I am Legolas, these are my kin from the Greenwood"
"Thank you! Kate Mackenzie, nice to meet you all. So, you'll help me get to Rivendell then? How far is it? Also, my knife?" She asked, growing annoyed that he was simply choosing to ignore her. "I need a weapon. Especially as a woman traveling with a group of men. So I'll have that back now."
"No harm will come to you while you are under my charge. If what you say is true than you should have no fear. It is another day's journey, come you will ride with me." He commanded, ignoring her indignant sniff. Kate eyed the group doubtfully, wondering if they would even let her decline the invitation at this point, especially considering it hadn't sounded like an invitation at all, so much as a command. She had said too much... that was stupid of her. Eventually Kate nodded in response, relenting as she walked forward.
It beats walking. She thought to herself, wondering what time and world she was in that felt horses were the superior mode of transportation.
"Ride with you, hmm? Thank you for the honor. Is that so you can keep an eye on me?" She asked jokingly as he hoisted her up onto the horse.
"Yes." Came his stiff reply as he settled himself behind her. Before she could turn around to check if he was kidding he called out an order in the same strange language and they were off, headed to Rivendell. Whatever that was.
A/N: All right, so that was the first chapter! A bit of a long one and probably some questions for those that aren't familiar with Outlander but they will be answered at some point. Also, not I'm not a surgeon but I am in the medical field, so if anyone is an actual surgeon and it sounds funny to you…sorry I probably heard it from Grey's anatomy haha. Also hope no one will be insulted by how Kate feels about other possible positions, that's just how she is. I'm writing the next chapter and hope to have it up soon. Please read and review, hopefully you like it. It's all purely for fun.